Tuesday, September 1, 2015

5 Reasons Why You Need Dairy Goats

5 Reasons Why You Need Dairy Goats

 

We often get asked why in the world we have dairy goats.  I'm going to give you the 5 main reasons why we have dairy goats and why you should have them too!

1)    Lactose intolerance is a problem in our family.  Goat’s milk is about 10% lower in lactose (milk sugar) then cow’s milk.  Well that doesn’t sound like a significant amount it’s a big enough difference that lactose intolerant people typically thrive on goat’s milk, which is the case for our family.  Although no one is really sure why, it’s possible that goat’s milk is digested and absorbed more efficiently, so there’s not any lactose left undigested which causes all those nasty reactions.  Keep in mind that lactose intolerance is different than a cow’s milk allergy (CMA).   CMA is a protein allergy, while lactose intolerance is sensitivity to a carbohydrate.  Anyhow, when my hubby used to have too much ice cream or cow’s milk he would know it, immediately.  All of the typical symptoms would appear and quickly.  Now that we have our own dairy goats and I make our own goat milk ice cream and cheese he no longer has to worry about it.

2)    Goat milk has more nutrients and fatty acids.  My girls are petite for their age and don’t eat a lot, so I want to give them as nutrient rich foods as possible.  Goat’s milk has more essential fatty acids than cow’s milk, such as linoleic and arachidonic acid.  Goat’s milk also has more vitamin B-6, vitamin A, Niacin and Potassium.  Need I say more!

3)    Goat’s Milk is easier to digest than Cow’s Milk.   How could that be?  Goat’s milk has smaller fat globules and higher levels of medium chain fatty acids. This basically means that it’s much easier to digest and easier on your tum tum!  It also means that Goat’s milk is naturally homogenized.  Because the fat globules are smaller it doesn’t separate like cow’s milk, which equates to less processing and a more natural product.  Goat’s milk is also lacking an alpha casein protein that cow’s milk has, which can also trigger digestion trouble for some people.  

4)    Buying Goat Milk Supports smaller family producers.  We have our own Nubian Dairy Goats, but there are times when we’ve had to buy Goat’s Milk.  It’s a great feeling to know when we buy our milk we’re supporting our neighbors and community.

5)    The Goats are fun!  Goats are the most adorable creatures and fun to have around!  Of course there are times when they push our buttons or it’s in the middle of a spring blizzard and no one wants to go to the barn.  But all in all having goats is a great experience!  

Until Next time Live Simply and Live Country



Tuesday, August 25, 2015

GROWTH- A Prayer For Back To School







It's a new school year and it's a big one for us, our oldest daughter began middle school.  I've spent the last two months asking myself, how did this happen so fast?  Much to my surprise having a daughter in 6th grade has brought back some vivid memories for me, as if I was in middle school just yesterday.  I remember the mean girls, the popular girls, the smart girls, the athletic girls, the country girls and so on.  I can still feel the internal tug-of-war and the confusion of trying to figure out where I belonged, as if just being me wasn’t okay.   I have an anxious feeling within my soul, like my daughter's experience will be as confusing as mine.  

It really doesn't help that we just moved to a new town and our children are entering new schools for the second time in two years, that's an entire blog post in itself.  Just today during a particularly anxiety ridden time I was praying and contemplating the complexities of our situation.  During my daily run, I was listening to one of my go to podcasts, Midday Connection. I was very excited to listen because one of my favorite Midday guests, Dr. Jennifer Degler, was talking about stress and the timing couldn't be more perfect.  During the podcast, God reveled to me many things, but what impressed on me the most was that I'm in a period of grieving.  Grieving because my daughters are growing up and I’m not ready.  Grieving for time and relationships lost to moving numerous times.  It's as if the past two years we've been fighting one battle after another, never gaining, never getting out of survival mode, never growing and at times losing vision and hope.  I'm sure we gained many positives during our time in the desert, one always does, but the positives of difficult situations can be almost impossible to see when you're in the midst of a battle.  The word that kept coming up during my run was growth; it's what we've been missing and what we need so desperately.  I realized that what I really truly want for myself and my family during this next year is spiritual, emotional and relational growth.  This is my prayer for the next school year.  I hope it will bless you as well.
.   
Grace- for others and themselves.

Resilience- of spirit and mind, even when things are hard and unfair.

Openness- to positive new experiences and people.

Wisdom- to know which friends to keep at arm’s length and which ones hold close.

Thankfulness- for one thing each day, even if the day has been difficult.

Humility and Hope- Humility to realize the world doesn't revolve around them and hope for the future, this time in their lives will be but a blink.

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Wonderfully Delicious Brisket

Wonderfully Delicious Brisket

 

It's a good thing my hubby's a hunter, because my family loves a good chunk of meat!  The latest dish I created was the "Wonderfully Delicious Brisket", it's a combination of recipes I found on Pinterest.  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so I created my own, I love to do that, don't you?  I used a brisket from a buffalo my husband hunted a few winters ago, even though I used buffalo you could use any type of meat that's available.  I have to say it turned out great!  This is what I did:


3 or 4 lb Brisket 
1 1/2 Cup Water
1 Tbl Spoon Beef Bullion
1 Packet Ranch Seasoning
2 Oz Liquid Smoke
3 Tbl Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Salt
1 Onion 
1/2 Cup Butter


1)Spray the crock with cooking spray and place brisket in the bottom.  

2)Pour water, Liquid Smoke and Worcestershire Sauce over top.  

3)Dissolve the beef bullion into the water mixture and sprinkle Ranch seasoning packet over top.  Sprinkle garlic powder, pepper and salt over top.  




4)Gently pull the edges of the brisket up and let the liquid underneath.  

5)If you wish, put the brisket in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.  If not you may go on to the next step.  I didn't marinate the meat overnight and it still turned out delicious!

6)Cut the onion into slices and place over top of the brisket, place stick of butter on top.   


7)Cook on low for 8 hours.

8)Let the brisket rest for 15 minutes then slide the brisket against the grain and serve with your favorite BBQ Sauce. (I added some ketchup to the leftover juices from the brisket and served it as the sauce, it was delicious!) 

There you have it!  A Simply Country Living brisket recipe. Do you need dinnerware to serve this tasty dish on?  If so, check out my dinnerware section on Simply Country Living.  I'm having a free shipping special just to say "thanks"!

Until next time, Live Simply and Live Country!
 


Thursday, August 20, 2015

Fantastic Red Velvet Cupcakes



If you know me at all you know I have an obsession with baking, like a serious need to go to BA (Baker's Anonymous).  My little baking problem started about 10 years ago when my girls were babies.  Over the years I’ve tested and tweaked a lot of different recipes in order to find what I like to call "Baketastic Perfection".  The hands down winner of all time is this recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes.  It’s by far my most requested flavor from friends and family.  Why is it so good?  I'm not 100% sure but I think it's because of a little tweak I made to the recipe after watching an old rerun of DC Cupcakes.  I started using raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar instead of plain old white vinegar.   I think this little tweak makes a HUGE difference, maybe you should try the recipe and let me know what you think!   

¾ cup butter
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 ¼ cups sugar
1 1-ounce bottle of red food coloring
2 tablespoons milk 
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar

Let the butter and eggs stand and come to room temperature, for about 1 hour.  Line your muffin tin with the cupcake papers.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder and salt, set aside. 
Preheat oven to 350⁰F.  In a large mixing bowl beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds and gradually add sugar, continue beating until light and fluffy, scraping down sides if needed.  Add eggs, red food coloring, vanilla, and milk beating after each addition.  Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk beating until just combined, don’t over beat!  In a separate bowl mix baking soda and apple cider vinegar, then grab the kiddos and have an impromptu science lesson.  After the science lesson fold the vinegar mixture into the batter. 
Spoon the batter into your muffin tin and bake for about 20 minutes.  Let the cupcakes cool completely then frost with Cream Cheese Icing.  
 Then you can proudly display your masterpiece on this cool rustic cupcake stand from Simply Country Living!  That's "Baketastic Perfection"!

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Welcome to the Simply Country Living Blog! My name is Amanda and I'm passionate about living the simply country life. I live in Cody, Wyoming, the rodeo capitol of the world! If that's not country I don't what is. I live on a small place with 20 irrigated acres with four horses, one pony, 15 chickens, 11 Nubian milking goats, one dog and one cat. I'm the owner of Simplycountryliving.com, a on-line country home boutique full of high quality, unique products you will love!
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