Even that precocious little MBA Jane has found herself a man (I can’t let that girl out of my sight for even one morning!).

(Wondering who she is? She’s Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In her former life … )

Mr. Wonderful, she calls him.

Well, he does look awfully cute. And he says the sweetest things (more about that in a minute).

But still.

“MBA Jane, are you sure he’s the one?” I asked.

“I’m sure, MJ,” she replied, all soft-voiced and smitten, her eyes sparkling with more romance than a Harlequin novel. “I love him more than I love ALL my pairs of shoes. More than my strawberry lip gloss. More than Justin Bieber. More than my cell phone, MJ—my. cell. phone!”

Wow. This is serious.

“It must be kismet, then,” I told her.

“Oh yes, I’d like him to kiss me very much!” She nearly fell off her stilettos.

“No, Jane, kismet. You pronounce it, kizz – met. It’s a word that means destiny or fate. Like, you two were meant to find each other.”

“Ohh, we sooo were,” she crooned. “It’s totally fate! Like that time I found a vintage pink Chanel jacket in my size at that thrift shop!”

But then her smile faded. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Well, that’s a cool word and everything, MJ. And I like to learn new words, but …”

“But what, Jane??”

“Well, do you think he’ll still kiss me?!?”

I told her she should probably prepare her pucker because I am pretty positive he will, especially if those sweet nothings I hear him telling her are any indication.

All she has to do is squeeze his muscular, manly hand and he’s all wonderful …

“Did you have a hard day, honey? Why don’t you sit down and let me rub your feet?”

“You’ve been on my mind all day, that’s why I bought you these flowers.”

Uh huh, sure, I thought. I’m skeptical, but still listening …

“The ballgame really isn’t that important. I’d rather spend time with you.”

“You know, honey, why don’t you just relax and let me make dinner tonight.”

This guy’s pretty good, I thought. And then he said something that almost had me falling for him, too. The phrase never (ever) before heard from a man:

“Actually, I’m not sure which way to go. Why don’t we stop here and ask for directions?”

Dang! He really IS Mr. Wonderful!

Here’s the word to remember, girls. It might just be kismet when you meet your Mr. Wonderful, too!

Kismet (kiz-met) n.
Fate; destiny.

Turns out, Butters is actually an orange tabby whose name was pulled out of a hat for pet of the month.

Not being a cat, or having red hair, I cut my losses, but congratulations to you, Butters.

… 8 years old, he found the canister in his father’s outback junk pile—a common scene in rural America where “spare parts” are necessary for running a farm. Under pressure to come up with a birthday gift for his mother and without a penny to his name, he spent several days polishing it before giving it to her. Now that I’ve made it into a lamp, his precious gift has center status along with some pressure gauges that came off the family tractor, now aging gracefully in that same junk pile.

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.” -Aaron Rose

INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN PIES
PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES
MAKES: 4 SINGLE SERVING PIES

Filling
3    boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ lbs)
½   t salt
¼   t pepper
2    T olive oil
1    shallot, minced
2    t butter
1    T flour
¾   cup chicken broth

Crust
1 1/3  cups Budget Mix
3       T butter
2/3    cup buttermilk

1. Sprinkle chicken with about half of the salt and pepper. In a medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
2. Once oil is hot, place chicken breasts in the pan, seasoned side down, sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper, and add shallot.
3. Cook for about 8 minutes, flip over and cook for an additional 8 minutes, or until the juices run clear. Remove chicken from pan and set aside to cool. Reserve the cooking juices for making the gravy.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F. In a medium bowl, blend Budget Mix and 3 T butter together using a pastry blender. Once mixture resembles coarse crumbs, pour in buttermilk and mix just until dough forms.
5. Heavily dust a clean surface with flour and roll the dough out to about 1/16” thick. Cut out four squares (about 5”x5” for ours) large enough to line the inside of four ramekins. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut 4 pieces large enough to cover the tops of the pies. Set aside.
6. Shred the chicken breasts using two forks and divide evenly between ramekins.
7. Re-heat the skillet with the reserved cooking juices over medium heat and melt 2 t of butter. Add flour and mix well. Pour in chicken broth and simmer until the mixture has thickened.
8. Divide the gravy evenly between the four ramekins and cover the tops of the pies with dough. Roll in the edges of each pie and press into the sides using the tines of a fork, and cut a slit in the top of each pie.
9. Place pies on a cookie sheet and bake at 425°F for 30 minutes.

Gather ingredients.

Mince one shallot.

Sprinkle 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts with ¼ t salt and 1/8 t pepper.

In a medium skillet, heat 2 T olive oil over medium-high heat.

Once oil is hot, place chicken breasts in the pan, seasoned side down.

Sprinkle with the remaining ¼ t salt and remaining 1/8 t pepper. Then add the shallot.

Cook for about 8 minutes.

Flip over and cook for an additional 8 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

Remove chicken from pan and set aside to cool. Reserve the cooking juices for making the gravy.

Preheat oven to 425°F and add 1 1/3 cups Budget Mix to a medium bowl.

Add 3 T butter.

Blend together using a pastry blender.

Once mixture resembles coarse crumbs, pour in 2/3 cup buttermilk.

Mix just until dough forms.

Heavily dust a clean surface with flour.

Roll the dough out to about 1/16” thick.

Roll out dough.

Cut out four squares (about 5”x5” for ours) large enough to line the inside of the ramekins.

Re-roll the remaining dough and cut 4 pieces large enough to cover the tops of the pies. Set aside.

Shred chicken breast using two forks.

Divide evenly between ramekins.

Re-heat the skillet with the reserved cooking juices over medium heat. Melt 2 t of butter in the skillet.

Add 1 T flour and mix well.

Pour in ¾ cup chicken broth.

Simmer until the mixture has thickened.

Divide the gravy evenly between the four ramekins.

Cover the tops of the pies with dough.

Roll in the edges of each pie.

Press into the sides using the tines of a fork.

Cut a slit in the tope of each pie.

Place pies on a cookie sheet and bake at 425°F for 30 minutes.

Merit Badge Awardees

… what I was up to. Mini-Jersey Sally O’Malley in the background, pregnant (I hope) with Milky Way’s baby, wasn’t the least bit interested in me or my camera.

Can’t you just picture one of these dainty, well-behaved, TINY milk cows in your backyard? They are the size of a very large dog but more than willing to help you put food on the table.

Through their efforts, the fields are once again filled with indigenous flowers and native grasses, also home to countless elk, moose, deer, bear, wild turkeys, hawks, pheasants, rabbits, eagles, owls, and more.

Below, Indian Paintbrush peeks through tall native grasses.

The hills are also dotted with the lavender-hued Wild Iris, for which the long dirt road to my farm is named.

The Arrowleaf Balsamroot.

Shooting Star.

Camas flower.

Then this pretty little blue/purple flower. Which has me stumped! Any suggestions from you horticulturists out there?

And always make sure you watch out for ticks!

Long pants are important when hiking in the long grass around here, or you might get that ‘ticklish’ feeling.

Click here to read why native plants are so important to an ecosystem.