Another Year, and a Challenge Accepted

Welcome back dear readers! Well, it’s 2026 now. I wish you all the best this year has to offer. May it be soft and easy!

Howdy to the new folks joining us. Please everyone wish all the critters a happy birthday! Everyone turns a year older on January first on the farm, regardless of when their actual birthday is. I do have all the sheep and dog birthdays written down, but Brandy girl is an unknown to me.

She deserves a special shout out as this marks her 31st turn around the sun. Happy Birthday Brandy! You are the reigning Queen of the farm!

I would say send apples and carrots; except she is the only critter here who will not eat treats! Such a silly girl!

New Year’s always bring a special kind of anxiety to me. I’m glad to see the old one done, but I worry about what fresh hell I will have to go thru this time. I get that all of life is change, that good comes with bad, and it is a continuous ebb and flow. That doesn’t mean I have to like, or want, to embrace it.

I kinda think I’ve had enough bad stuff in the past to last me whatever remains of my life. This year can just keep that crap away from me.

2026 consider yourself warned!

I also hate that it means I have to start another year without my Rob at my side. There has been lots of crying over the past several weeks.

I don’t do resolutions. I’ve tried in the past only to find that I feel incredibly guilty for not keeping them. Rather than put myself thru all that, I just don’t make any. I do what I can, when I can, and hope that it is enough. Besides, I don’t think too many people are watching! Eh, maybe I’m wrong, who knows!

Are you watching me??? LMAO! Must be pretty boring if you are.

My friend Laurette issue a challenge to me over the past week. She found an adventure in a book called “The Adventure Challenge: Solo Edition" and she completed it herself before challenging me to do the same.

And that was to cook a food/meal from a movie you love.

She did schnitzel with noodles from “The Sound of Music” Did you just sing the song?? Yeah, I did.

Doesn’t that look just divine!!!

Naturally I had to play along and after wracking my brain all night, and tossing ideas off of Laurette. Truly I was drawing a total blank on movies or even TV shows with food in them. I felt pretty dumb until Laurette tossed out “Downton Abby” and it took off from there.

So I dove into my history nerd self and remembered I had cookbooks that go with the “Outlander” series!!! Stroke of luck there, or maybe just a stroke?

I settled on The Cheerful Chicken’s Poulet Au Miel aka chicken in honey. More specifically Chicken in the Heather. Page 116 from Outlander Kitchen: To the New World and Back Again (again Amazon, how about some love here!)

The Cheerful Chicken is a reference to an inn/brothel in Scotland where Jamie was staying for a time after being injured.

This was super tasty, very moist, and something I will make again. The sauce is pretty fragrant when you mix it up, but when it gets baked, it’s quite delicate at first with a bit of a kicker on the backside from the mustard.

I took the remaining chicken the next day, chunked it up, used some of the sauce and mayo and made chicken salad out of it. Yeah, it’s decadent!

1T Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus enough for pan greasing

1/2 C heather honey

1/4 C Dijon mustard

1T Red wine vinegar

1t minced fresh thyme

1t kosher salt

1/2t ground pepper

3lbs bone in skin on chicken pieces

A few notes on ingredients: No heather honey here, so I used honey that came off our farm in Colorado. Mainly alfalfa/wildflower honey. Worked just fine for me. Fresh thyme, none in the store, so I did use dried. Local store was out of bone in skin on chicken, so I used boneless skinless boobs.*

My honey was crystalized, so I heated it back up to make it liquid again.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease baking dish with EVOO generously.

Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl until well incorporated.

Dip your chicken pieces in the sauce.

Place in the baking dish, if using bone in, place skin side down. Pour remaining sauce over the chicken.

Bake for 30 minutes, turn over chicken, and bake for an additional 30 minutes or until done.

The chicken boob’s I used were pretty huge (I think they were DDD’s!) and needed additional time to cook.

The sauce will thicken up also.

I had this with some 7 grain blend and green beans! Made for a very tasty and filling meal!

Enjoy!

I challenge you to make a food from your favorite movie or TV show! Share with us what you did and pics if you got them! I would love to see what you make!

ps I found used “Downton Abbey” and “Yellowstone” cookbooks so we shall see what is on the table from those coming soon!

Blessed Be!

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Thank you again for your financial help! I am so very grateful for it and would not be making it here without it.

I hope you will consider continuing to support the sheep! Even if you share, like, or comment on here it helps get the word out about us.