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Communicating about essential oils, nature, photography, chickens and inspirations along the way.

 

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Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot

9/15/2020

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Hard Boiled Eggs from the Instant Pot
Using Duck Eggs!

By Cheryl L. McClure

When we began our journey with chicken keeping and duck keeping, I had no idea about eating duck eggs. I thought this would be an eye opener for those who, like me, just didn't know! Yes, you can eat duck eggs and they are great for baking and frying and even hard boiled!! They are a bird just like chickens and so why not? Some may find the taste a little richer in flavor and the texture not much different, but to us, they really enhance the baked goods we use them in.
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Small duck egg on left, double yolk duck egg on the right, chicken egg on top.
One of our hens is laying double yolk eggs (you go girl!) and the ducklings we hatched earlier this year have grown up and started laying small eggs. Hopefully they will get bigger as they get older! The brown egg is a nice sized chicken egg to show for comparison.

What better way to use the small duck eggs than to make hard-boiled eggs in the instant pot!

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Normally when I cook hard-boiled chicken eggs in the instant pot, I use the 5-5-5 method. Put several in a basket, add a cup of water, set the pressure to manual for five minutes, then natural pressure release for five minutes, then five minutes in an ice bath. Works perfect every time.
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Knowing that I want to have hard-boiled eggs in bulk to chop up and add to my chicken salad or regular salad I wanted to try it this way. All my duck eggs in this batch are a little smaller than chicken eggs. The beauty of this process: no peeling eggshells!! Woo hoo!

I’ve seen this done before in other recipes for the instant pot. You might want to check out Texas Homesteader and see how she cooks her chicken eggs. She has some other great recipes too.

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Instructions:
  • Crack 8 small eggs into a buttered 7 inch silicone pie pan (with lid) and place on trivet over 1 cup of water. Put the lid on! (I got my baskets and silicone pie pan at QVC. They fit perfectly.)
  • Set to manual pressure for 5 minutes.
  • Natural pressure release for 10 minutes.

But Oops! I forgot and left them in for 38 minutes!!!!!!!! Lol!

No worries! They came out fine! I was able to chop them up and use half of them in our chicken salad and store the other half in the fridge to add to our garden salad. What a great sandwich!

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I like to add chopped celery, pickle relish, grapes, craisins and sometimes pecans to my chicken salad. Adding essential oils to your recipe is also an option as there is a whole culinary set to access at essenty.com/cherylintexas and one tiny drop goes a long way!

Enjoy your hard boiled eggs!!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

picklecreekranch.com
essenty.com/cherylintexas - Nature at its Best



PS: You don't have to have a drake for a (duck) hen to lay eggs. But the good thing about chicken and duck keeping is we can grow our flock any time, with the help of the boys.

Follow our journey at the ranch on Facebook and Instagram!



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Mint Tea

4/21/2016

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Mint Tea
by Cheryl L. McClure

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Infuse your homegrown spearmint to make a wonderful crisp iced tea which will be caffeine free. Spearmint is good for digestion and smell is energizing.

It’s very simple to make and no measuring necessary since you can brew a pot of tea and later dilute with cold water to taste.
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Mint is pretty in the garden. Keep it from blossoming to extend your harvest time. Top it off periodically and use for infusing or dry as potpourri for the henhouse!
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First, harvest your mint by cutting the stems and rinsing in a water bath.
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Boil the water in your tea kettle and pour over the mint stuffed carafe.
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We had a coffee pot that died but we kept the carafe which came in mighty handy for this! The pictures shows it about half full of hot water but I had filled it up some more.

Cover the top and let steep for a while - 5 minutes or more is fine. The longer it sets, the stronger it gets. Add honey or sweetener of your choice (or not) to your glass container. Strain and pour; chill... and then drink up!!
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Your jar will be full if you don't drink it all before you take a picture of it. Just sayin'.
Anyway, I added some honey to a glass jar that we saved from when we had bought apple juice. (Reduce, reuse, recycle!) This worked very well to strain the tea into. Actually, the tea was so strong I was able to make two of these jars full and then some. It’s all about your taste and what you prefer. You can always chill it and add water later if you find it too strong.

Depending on how many leaves you use, the resulting “tea” will have a lot of color in rich reddish golden tones with a hint of green mainly seen at the edge sort of next to the glass. See it? If you are not into color like I am it may just look brown to you. LOL

When we were painting the walls in our house and I said I wanted to paint them “Silver Drop” and “Dolphin Fin", Jan Paul said they were grey! I exclaimed they're NOT grey - they have a hint of green in them!! Ok, so you know where I’m coming from, right?
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What about essential oils?

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Spearmint essential oil is great for diffusing and since it is so useful I like it too. It supports a healthy digestive system and the aroma is uplifting. I can add a drop of Spearmint Vitality EO to my herbal tea and bump up the flavor. During winter, there are no fresh mint leaves to be had around here, so that is a good time add a drop of essential oil by Young Living and drink it hot!
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You can purchase Spearmint Vitality EO here:

Spearmint Vitality EO
But to purchase at a 24% discount, become a member here> essenty.com/cherylintexas

Happy Diffusing, Infusing and Oiling!
Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

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DIY Chicken Treats

1/15/2016

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DIY Chicken Treats
by Cheryl L. McClure

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MYO (make your own), GYO (grow your own), DIY (do it yourself). Whatever the case may be, it's easy and anyone can do it!! Below are three ways to provide some treats for your flock.
DIY Flock Block
I made my own flock block for the chickens and put it in a suet basket to keep the goats out. But you can make them in an 8" x 8" pan to hang out for your flock. They will love it!!
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Makes two 8x8 blocks
  • 2 cups layer crumbles
  • 2 cups scratch
  • 1 cup of an Omega3 feed supplement like Omega Egg Maker
  • 4 cups oatmeal
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1 cup Cracked Corn
  • 3/4 cup Wheat Germ
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup Calendula petals (optional) like Starwest Botanicals Organic Calendula Flowers
  • 3 eggs, beaten, include finely crushed shells
  • 2 finely diced apples
  • 1 cup applecauce
  • 2 cups molasses
  • 3 cups water
  • 1/2 cup melted Coconut Oil (or any oil)
​​​Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease 2, 8" x 8" pans

Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl. Mix all wet ingredients in another bowl. Add wet to dry ingredients, mix well.

The mixture should hold together and not be oozing liquid. If it is still watery, soak up excess water with bread, squeeze the liquid out and then add bread pieces back into mix. Combine.

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Using Essential Oils Around Chickens

11/6/2015

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Using Essential Oils Around Chickens
by Cheryl L. McClure

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Let's face it, we all have off days, right? Even our pets do. Even our chickens do!!

Our poor hen, Lucy was looking pretty sad one day. I had been watching her and realized she was NOT feeling well. And my other half asked me how did I know?? Well she just wasn't acting right. She was going off and sitting by herself and not getting out to mingle or peck or scratch or anything! Her comb and waddle were both pale - almost white!! I wasn't sure what was going on. Her poop had become yellow and pasty and stuck to her feathers.

We thought she was egg bound so we did what the "Chicken Chick" suggested, and we put her in a warm bath and tried to get her to relax. 

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Chicken Henhouse-Coop Reveal!

8/13/2014

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Do you have chickens in the country or in the city? Did you have any idea what you were getting into before you started raising chickens? It has been a learning experience and fun one at that!

Since we are moving to the country to be closer to the ranch, we have to get the chickens situated in their new home! Jan Paul worked tirelessly to finish up the coop and attached it to the henhouse that we had built from recycled materials.

We researched the amount of space each chicken needs to come up with a number for their space.

What we found was:
10 sq. ft. per chicken in the run (coop)
4 sq. ft. per chicken in the henhouse


Now, when they are contained, they will have enough room to be comfortable inside the henhouse as well as outside in the coop. They have two doors to go out of, one into the coop when the dog is out, and one to go into the yard, when the dog is in. Next we will build the dog's fence so they can take turns. Ha! They have shade cloth on the west side and a metal top on part of the coop. They have chicken wire and hardware cloth. They have roost stations inside the henhouse and roost stations inside the coop at different levels. There is play sand inside the henhouse and we will add more play sand outside in the coop, plus their pool while it is still hot. Who knew having chickens would require so much care? With all the care though, we will be blessed with lots of fresh eggs!

We are so happy that this is doooooone!! I think I will call this the Chicken-Mahal.

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    Cheryl L. McClure

    Young Living Distributor
    #1176855

    I have retired from the corporate world and now enjoy keeping chickens, ducks, working in the garden and cooking more than ever before!

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    It's probably pretty obvious I love nature and art. Nature and landscape photography is a part of everyday life at the ranch. There are some pieces available as works of art that I would like to share with you!

    I only recommend Young Living essential oils because I am confident in their purity and the quality of their essential oils and other products. I am not a doctor. The information I post on this website is for educational purposes only. Young Living supplements are designed to improve nutrition; they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. However, scientific research has established a connection between nutrition and we all know better nutrition leads to better health.

    Please consult with the medical professional of your choice whether using essential oils or not. Remember that being proactive and taking responsibility for your health is in your own best interest. Dig in, research and make wise choices. I encourage you to see what others have done with essential oils and supplements by visiting Oil-Testimonials at http://www.oil-testimonials.com/.

    I hope that this website and blog will provide you with helpful information and resources to achieve your desired goals!!
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    Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns as I am here to help and hopefully point you in the right direction!​

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