Biological Warfare: Alaskan Style

Ah... navigating the treacherous journey of being a mother to boys.

We live in a really great neighborhood, at the end of a culdesac. There is only one other little boy, but he is younger than mine and has an early curfew. So when my boys go out to play, they play with a great group of rough and tumble girls. Three total.

I was tidying up and playing with my baby, when I hear a knock on the door. This usually means one of the girls with a report about one or both of the boys being less than careful in their play. So, I open the door and here are two of the girls, solemn faced and fidgety.

Brunette: "Mrs. Bell? Uhm.. Connor is uuhmmm... throwing moose turds.... at my head."
Blonde: "Uh HUH!" (eyes all wide and concerned)

This is one of those tricky moments, where you have to be serious too, and not lose it laughing at the hilarity of it all.

nature's grenades

Me: (barely stifling a giggle) "Weeellll.... that's not very nice, but moose just eat grass, sticks and bark.. so it's not like dog poop. It's pretty harmless."
Brunette: (pulling the big sad eyes on me) "But moose turds are hard. So it hurt... and it was right at my head!"

When I got to the bottom of it all, they were playing "war" and throwing "stuff" at each other, like sticks and dirt clods. Then Connor and another little girl, started throwing the ample moose turds at everyone. So, since it was late already, I gave a diplomatic warning to everyone that no one should be throwing anything at anyone. Then told the boys it was time to call it a night.

So, my boys were pulled from their play, for engaging in biological warfare, of the moosey kind. I'm still giggling over it.

Trapped... So We Cook!

Clover among the clover.

So, I have this moose that has been a frequent visitor, since this summer. Her mother was hit and she showed up in our yard and stayed for almost a month. She ate a lot of clover (which is what my son Connor named her) and slept right out by our porch. We worried, when we left for a month, if she would survive, because she was so little. When we got back, we didn't see her for a while, but then here she came, ADOPTED! Another female was allowing her to tag along, which we were told was a regular occurrence.

 

A visit last summer.

Clover and her adoptive mother.

Fast forward to this morning. It's been snowing a lot! Here comes Clover looking for a pumpkin (which she ate during her last visit). Finding no pumpkin, she did something I never would have thought a moose would do. She got into one of my garbage cans and spread it just like a darn dog would do! Arg! Okay, so I like having her around, but not like this. I opened my door, took a step out onto the porch (where my trash cans are) and said, "Naughty moose! You go away!" and you know what she did? She bellowed at me! Yikes! I quickly got back inside and had to rethink how to get her away from the mess so I could clean up and secure the trash better. After a bit of trial and error, the neighbor helped lure her away, and I popped an umbrella at her a few times to keep her at bay while I took care of the mess. I also found out that at least this moose, doesn't appreciate the smell of Listerine sprayed on the snow around the trash cans. Whew!

Naughty Clover!

She is still out there. I threw some prunes out another door, hoping to lure her away long enough to finish cleaning, and she is now sleeping in front of the back yard porch. I sure hope those prunes don't give her the poops! Oh well.

Connor saying hello to Clover

So, we are trapped! The kids are home from school for parent/teacher conferences and going stir crazy because the moose makes it unsafe to go outside and play. She comes up to the windows and nuzzles the window. Sure seems like she could be a big sweetie, but moose are very territorial, especially around food this time of year. So, with the kids doing crafts, I brainstormed dinner. I figured one out from various items I had on hand and hope you find this one as yummy as I know it will be! Enjoy!

Creamy Crockpot Italian Chicken

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• bacon drippings (what I had) or 1-2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 green onion chive diced
• 1 (0.7-ounce) package Italian dressing mix
• 1/2 cup pork broth (or chicken, but I had pork left over)
• 1 (10-ounce) container refrigerated four cheese Alfredo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Brown chicken thighs in bacon drippings (or olive oil if no drippings handy) until browned. Place in crock pot. 

In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, cream cheese, garlic, chives, Italian dressing mix, broth, Alfredo sauce, Italian seasoning, and pepper and stir until blended. Pour over chicken in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir well, then serve over hot cooked pasta or rice.
You could easily add vegetables to this recipe to make it a one-dish meal. A package of slightly cooked baby carrots, or a cup of chopped sauteed onion should be placed under the chicken and cooked for the full time. Add sliced mushrooms to the crock pot in the last 2 hours. And add sliced bell peppers or zucchini during the last hour of cooking. Serves 4-6