The Pauley Principle: December to Remember Give-Aways

Welcome to The Pauley Principle!

The Pauli Principle, named for Wolfgang Pauli, deals with atoms and electron-sharing that results in new, stronger bonds. Think 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, a shared delectable (!) electron and VOILA! Water!

Similarly, when you prepare whole food to share with family and friends, especially foods you've grown, something amazing happens. Meals become tastier and healthier. Your soul, not just your stomach, becomes fulfilled. You live life more abundantly as a result. During a shared meal, the bonds that people create grow stronger and become something new: GREATER than the sum of the parts! I give you The Pauley Principle.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

December to Remember Give-Aways

The holidays are here! The holidays are here!

I love this time of the year! In the spirit of giving, for all my family, friends and faithful followers, I'm doing a weekly give-away between December 1st and Christmas Day!

(No, not the boots. There's a story behind those boots, but not now.)

It's the time of year for gift-giving, and that can put a real stretch on family budgets! To help with that and to help spread the joy of Christmas, each week this December I'll be sending one lucky winner a gift that you can actually use and enjoy!

How to enter: First, you must be a follower of my blog, basically about country life. (Just click on FOLLOW at the top of the page. I will not be sharing your info.) Second, leave a comment. I'll be collecting names, one entry for each comment you leave, and throwing the names into a Santa hat. Yes, a Santa hat. Then I'll draw one lucky winner each week! Winners will be notified in a blog post right here on Sundays.

Get your entries in!!! My third give-away is coming up on Sunday, December 18th!!! The prize will be bacon, pancake mix, and our very own, open fire, iron kettle, slow-steamed maple syrup.

Chris gathered the sap twice a day from our maple grove. And the maple syrup is so delicious with a hint of smoke!

GOOD LUCK!

I have bacon, pancake mix, and our delicious and smoky open fire cooked pure maple syrup!!!

The drum roll sounds as I draw for the final winning name in our

Christmas to Remember holiday drawings....

AND THE WINNER IS...

mmeyre!!!!

Is that YOU, Marcia Eyre? Please get in touch with me!

CONGRATULATION S!!!!!

AND A HUGE

THANK YOU

TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS SO FUN!

18 comments:

JessiNovember 30, 2011 at 6:59 PM
What a great idea!!
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lto2012November 30, 2011 at 8:02 PM
I'm so happy to be following your blog, finally! Mine is at www.lto2012.blogspot.com
Keep up the good work!
-Logan Oates
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jkamettNovember 30, 2011 at 10:02 PM
I love, love, love this idea! I love your blogs (even though I don't comment) but for giveaways oh yeah! :)

My blog site is
http://kelly-thestarfish.blogspot.com/

I am going to check out Granny Sue. For me I love random acts of kindness and giving so I should try this out too.

Kelly
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AnonymousDecember 1, 2011 at 8:05 AM
I am now an official follower!!!! Love your blogs and always look forward to them!!!! Everytime I drive by your house I smile and think of your stories!
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DanitaDecember 1, 2011 at 11:14 AM
Such a great idea!

Danita
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Allies Creative DesignsDecember 2, 2011 at 10:52 PM
Love your blog. Such a great idea around Christmas.
Can't wait to see you....
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Allies Creative DesignsDecember 2, 2011 at 10:54 PM
I'm checkng my google account . I have not been able to post anythng until now. Sorry couldn't post earlier. I alway love your readngs and articles. Hugs
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robinlt_64December 3, 2011 at 12:02 PM
Do cousins get special drawings?? LOL!!! j/k!!! Great idea for fun though!
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lto2012December 3, 2011 at 12:47 PM
Consider this my official entry! (:
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JessiDecember 4, 2011 at 11:17 PM
Logistics question:
For the next drawing, will it include all current comments and followers -or- only comments/followers received since the previous drawing?
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UnknownDecember 5, 2011 at 12:12 AM
I believe the fair thing to do is start fresh each week.
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AnonymousDecember 6, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Cookies and treats! That sounds yummy!!!!!
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jkamettDecember 6, 2011 at 7:45 PM
Oops I "officially" missed the last one but that is okay. I am just glad to be here this week! Thanks for sharing so many wonderful thoughts and ideas.
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Granny SueDecember 9, 2011 at 12:36 AM
Put me back in! I love love love maple syrup :)
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Allies Creative DesignsDecember 10, 2011 at 4:46 PM
Hope I week the cookies this week.! Nice seeng you the other day!
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UnknownDecember 13, 2011 at 12:57 PM
I want to thank all of you who entered. I've enjoyed your comments and your support! Thanks for following. This has been humbling but SO! MUCH! FUN! My third and final drawing is next Sunday!
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AnonymousDecember 13, 2011 at 2:14 PM
Last chance to win!!!! Thanks Ronda for having this fun drawing!
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DanitaDecember 18, 2011 at 1:44 PM
Can't wait to see who wins next.
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Give Yourself the Fast Food Alternative: 1, 2, 3 makes 4 and More

For many people, late night ballgames, church, work and other events make fast food too convenient to resist, but what's in that stuff? I can't begin to answer. Big franchises such as Taco Bell say the 63% or so that isn't beef is made up of "the secret ingredient". If we consume their food, don't we have a right to know what that secret is? And more importantly, what's it doing to our bodies? My plan is worth the effort since meals eaten at home with the family benefit our physical and mental health.

Here's an alternative and my answer to Rachael Ray's A Week in a Day. I call it 1,2, 3 Makes 4 and More. On the fifth day, Friday, make a quick and easy pizza.
In one day, you can make a roast, a hearty soup, and a one-dish casserole to get you through most of the work week.
Meal 1: the roast with salad and a veggie.
Meal 2: the soup served with warm bread or in a bread bowl.
Meal 3: the casserole with a salad.
Meal 4: soup from Meal 2 served with sandwiches using the roast, Meal 1.
Meal 5: homemade pizza.

Plan meals and shop for it. Then take a few hours to prepare the entrees ahead. Start with a roast seasoned to taste. I'm talking real meat. While that's slow cooking, start chopping veggies and meat for a good, hearty soup, one that will be a meal in itself. Get it started and simmering away and then begin a one-pot meal that takes a little more attention.

This week my plan is Day 1, a slow roasted ham with salad and mashed potatoes; Day 2, minestrone; and Day 3, shepherd's pie. I'm making mashed potatoes for two days (meals 1 and 3) at one time on my cooking day. The fourth meal will be ham sandwiches with minestrone. Salads and breads round out the meals for the week. Fruits with cheese make a quick and good-for-you dessert. A truly delicious recipe for shepherd's pie is in my blog.

Be good to you. Be good to others. On days 6 and 7, change it up by going out, having a pot luck with friends and family or grilling out. Remember, live your life abundantly.

About Venison

Venison should taste really delicious! No kidding. It is my favorite meat, except for crab.

Some things to consider though:
*If you wouldn't think of eating a bull, then don't eat a deer that had huge antlers or was in rut. I don't. It affects the flavor and tenderness of the meat.
*Replace the deer fat with beef fat for your ground meat for an 80/20 ratio. Deer fat tends to be slightly bitter and leaves that thick coating in your mouth that, although edible, is not palatable.
*For roasts, sear with butter and olive oil. These impart a wonderful flavor.
*For sausage, use pork shoulder, at a ration of about 3 parts ground venison with 1 part ground pork shoulder.
*Venison by nature is a lean red meat. A good young deer processed properly will give you many delicious meals.
*Anything you would do with beef, except ribs, you can do with venison. Look for my recipe for Shepherd's Pie. Use either beef or venison. Enjoy, share, and live abundantly.

Plan Now for Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is cooked down from sap that you gather from sugar maple trees. There are no other ingredients, not even water. And it's incredibly good. On the market, maple syrups will often have corn syrup, gluten, color and other additives which can stretch profitability and decrease the steaming time required. Since it takes 35-45 gallons of the thin slightly sweet sap to make a gallon of pure maple syrup, doing it the old-fashioned way takes time but the result is pure YUM!

If you have the opportunity to tap into maple trees and decide you'd like to give this a try, plan ahead. If you steam off the sap inside your kitchen, it can strip your wall-paper! Been there, done that, at our old farmhouse. If you cook it down outside with a gas turkey fryer, the cost can end up being around $8 a pint. We began cooking over a wood fire a few years ago, using a tripod and kettle. Oh, and a large firewood supply. Whatever method you choose, proceed slowly and with caution.

Gather your supplies. We use food safe plastic jugs, buckets, and little water line spouts. Maple syrup production houses will collect into stainless steel vats using long water lines but we simply gather the jugs, pour into buckets and bring it to the kettle twice daily. I buy little pint jugs to store it in. Very fresh, very pure. Start tapping the trees when daytime temperatures are going to be above freezing but nights are still very cold. In Ohio, the sap will be running fast sometime in February.

Try my cousin Stephanie Krupla's recipe for Sticky Bun Tea Ring and you'll want to search for maple trees you can tap into yourself!