Knowing we want to eat healthy, whole foods is easy. But finding the time and energy to get something on the table can be difficult. That’s part of why my Instant Pots (yes, I have two) are my best friends in the kitchen.
Since we raise pastured chickens for meat, I always have whole frozen chickens in the freezer. And I know most three to four-pound frozen chickens will fit into my five quart instant pot.
I usually sprinkle in a little salt, pepper, and, sometimes, oregano on the frozen bird. I toss in an onion, quartered, and a few cloves of garlic or some Frontier brand garlic powder. I add about a cup of water and set the Instant Pot on high pressure for about 55 minutes. It will take a while for the Instant Pot to get up to pressure, but in close to an hour and 15 minutes, I’ll have an entire chicken ready.
Add some sides, and dinner is ready.
Sometimes, I add a jar of salsa to the pot and five minutes to the cooking time, so I’ll have shredded chicken meat for an easy Mexican dish. If I have pressure canned beans on hand, I can add rice to my second instant pot (or grab some from the freezer), and we have all the ingredients for burrito bowls. (Sour cream and cheese are staples at our house.)
When I want even faster “homestead fast food” pressured canned “meals in a jar” get the job done.
Do you have any tricks or favorite meals for days when you are too exhausted to even think about cooking an elaborate meal? I’d love to read your comments below.
Choosing Materials for a New Fence
We quickly added a single strand of nylon electric wire around the inside of the entire pasture about six inches off the ground and a second strand about the height of an adult goat’s nose. As soon as the electric wires went up, our herd knew this was one serious fence and it was time to find something else to do— like jump off the small cliff so conveniently provided inside their new pasture.
Other Good Fencing Options
A solid wooden fence is another option that will work— it’s just a bit more work to build and usually quite a bit more expensive than the wire and electric options mentioned above.
Ranch panels— also sometimes called hog panels or cattle panels— can be a convenient fencing solution. They are strong and easy to put up. In fact, with a few panels and metal fence posts, you can have a decent pen in place within an hour.
However, there are a couple of drawbacks. First of all, baby goats can easily leap through the holes in these panels. Secondly, goats of all ages love to stick their heads in anywhere they can jam them— and if you have a goat with horns, it’s very likely they will get stuck. This becomes a dangerous situation when a goat gets trapped in a fence on a hot, dry day when it needs to drink plenty of water to stay cool.
In fact, if you have any goats with horns, you’ll want to make sure there is no fencing with large spaces between the wires or loose wire that their horns could become tangled in.
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