The Egg Diaries: April 28th to May 4th

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.  Now, a Blog Hop, so you can join in by sharing the ways in which you use your eggs.  Link up at the bottom of the page.

I used all these eggs and more in one week!

If you are new to raising chickens, you might be surprised to find out that eggs, like fruit and vegetables, are a seasonal food.  Hens will usually lay much lighter or not at all, as was the case with the majority of our hens, during the winter months.  To stock up for those winter months, I use many of our eggs by baking and freezing what we can't eat within a few days.  That way when winter comes and we've only collected 3 eggs in a week, we can enjoy those eggs for breakfast and raid the freezer for baked goods.    

This week I made one of my favorite muffin recipes, Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins.  You'll find the recipe at the bottom of the page.

Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins - Recipe is at bottom of the page

The recipe makes a dozen muffins, so we ate six and the other six went into the freezer to be enjoyed either in the hot summer, when I won't want to turn on the oven, or in the winter when there are few eggs.  

Oh.. and before I forget, over at The Beehive Cottage, there are Emu Eggs!   They are so beautiful.  If you've never seen emu eggs before, you should definitely have a look.

The food items I used eggs in, are in bold type.  They do not link to recipes unless stated.

The Egg Diaries

Mon April 28th

0 Eggs - Breakfast:  Toast with peanut butter and bananas

0 Eggs - Leftover Cheeseburger Casserole

2 Eggs - Dinner:  Spinach Salad with Sourdough Bread

2 Eggs - Fed to the Dogs

4 Eggs Used

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Tues April 29th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  French Toast and Bacon

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Cheese, Apples, Crackers

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce, Salad

5 Eggs Used

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Wed April 30th

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins (recipe below), Bananas, Orange Juice

4 Eggs - Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwiches, Vegetable Sticks

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Cod Fillets baked with Spinach, Beets

2 Eggs - Fed to the Dogs

9 Eggs Used

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Thurs May 1st

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  Cheese and Ham Omelette, Grapefruit

0 Eggs - Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins, Cheese, Apples

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Spaghetti with Leftover Sauce, Salad

5 Eggs Used

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Fri May 2nd

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Toasted Bagels with poached eggs, Cranberry Juice

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Tuna,Vegetable Sticks, Crackers

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Beef with Mushrooms and Spinach, Rice

3 Eggs Used

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Sat May 3rd

0 Eggs - Breakfast:  Leftover Dinner from Friday night (yup, for breakfast!  Mr. B's request)

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Popcorn!  Bananas  (Yes, this was a strange day!)

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Pork Chops, Rice, Peas, Carrots

8 Eggs - Scrambled and fed to the chickens

8 Eggs Used

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Sun May 4th

2 Eggs - Breakfast:  Bacon, Cheese and Egg Sandwich on Toasted Bagel

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Homemade Minnestrone Soup

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Homemade Pizza

2 Eggs Used

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Total:  36 Eggs Used

Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cupcake/muffin liners in your pan or lightly grease pan.
Makes 12 muffins
Note:  I use melted butter in place of vegetable oil, which is usually called for in carrot muffin and cake recipes.  If you prefer not to use melted butter you could use the oil or substitute coconut oil.

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup melted butter (let cool so it's not hot)
3 eggs lightly beaten
2 tablespoons buttermilk (or 2 tablespoons milk with a dash of vinegar added to it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrots (approx 1 large carrot or 2 medium, grated with large side of grater)
1 to 1 1/2 cup raisins (1 cup is fine but we like more raisins in our's)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and softened butter.  Add the molasses and blend well.
Add the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Place your dry ingredients, the flour, baking soda and salt, in a small bowl and stir.

Add the dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl and stir well.  The mixture will be thick and sticky.

Add the grated carrot, raisins and nuts and stir.

Spoon into your prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the muffin springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick stuck in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Linking to Homestead Barn Hop #158

We'd love you to join The Egg Diaries and link up below!