Little House in Winter -- The Beautiful Life

Nick is working on finishing his handmade doors, Sadie is his sidekick, and Esther is (not very) patiently awaiting spring. This life is slow and intense and sometimes frustrating...but it is beautiful. A NOTE TO OUR FRIENDS: Our middle child, Stella, had a bad fall on this day. That's one of the reasons that we didn't upload all weekend. The other three reasons were snow, snow, and snow. Stella fell on the concrete at school and the school staff was very concerned for her. As it turns out she is fine, but she still had a bad day and didn't want to be on video. We went ahead and made a vlog anyway, with the rest of us, and she'll be back in tomorrow's update, just as spunky as ever. And you know I'll get caught up again with uploads someday. :) Thanks for hanging out with us! We appreciate you! -- The potato casserole is another no recipe recipe. Nick is the one making it in this video, but we both make versions of it. If I were making it the gravy might have been a little thicker and I probably would have added corn. I can corn and am always looking for ways to sneak it in. :) Prepare your potatoes and your chicken ahead. We do this to use leftovers, and you can do pretty much the same recipe with pasta or rice instead of potatoes. It is a poor man's food. If you've got a few cups of cooked chicken and nothing else, that's the time. Cut the chicken into cubes and precook your starch (your potatoes, rice, or pasta) and any vegetables you want to add that aren't already soft from being canned or frozen. Then heat up a skillet for the gravy. The gravy starts with equal parts butter and flour in a cast iron pan. I do about 3 Tbsp each. Cook this (the roux) until it is just barely turning brown, stirring constantly. Add 2 cups chicken broth and 2 cups milk, which you hopefully remembered to mix together ahead of time and bring to room temperature. :) Add the liquid steadily, stirring constantly, and keep the gravy over medium heat until it thickens. When it is thick, you can add the rest of the ingredients, including some crushed dry herbs and salt and pepper, stir gently, and throw it in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Enjoy! __ Our Facebook page is here: http://facebook.com/fouchomaticoffgrid/ Our Instagram is here: https://www.instagram.com/fouchfamilyoffgrid/ About the Fouch Family: We are Nick and Esther, and our three kids Milo, Stella, and Sadie. We have lived off the grid -- in the sense of not connected to the power grid -- for four years on three acres of wooded land in Southwestern Idaho. Nick is a finish carpenter working on building his own business. Esther is a writer, the author of a recent memoir called "What Falls From the Sky," and a daughter of the homesteading teacher and activist Carla Emery, who wrote "The Encyclopedia of Country Living." Nick and Esther were both raised in Idaho, near where we live now, but we've also lived in Massachusetts, Utah, and California. Our kids are ages 10, 8 and 5. Esther's book: http://amzn.to/2xd3V2r Esther's mom's book: http://amzn.to/2woLudq Mailing address: **Cards and letters only, please, unless you're sending Nick a tee shirt, size XL. Fouch Family 6568 S Federal Way Box 173 Boise, ID 83716-9277