Hallelujah! The Heat Has Broken

The past week or so has been hot here in Wisconsin.  And not just annoyingly so...face-meltingly so. All the grass is dead, the water in our ponds and lakes is at the lowest I've ever seen. The crops are dying. We are in the middle of a drought. On Saturday afternoon the 100°+ temps that we'd endured for days scooted over for a little bit of cool air and I, for one, was ECSTATIC.  One more day of swimming from the air-conditioned car to air-conditioned buildings, and back and I was apt to climb the bell-tower with my sling shot.

Mr. Ben was happy too. We went for several walks Saturday night and Sunday. He'd been cooped up in the house for so long, he had LOTS of news to read on the area trees and hydrants. Consequently, we didn't get very far, distance-wise, but one of us got a lot of reading done!

The crew at the barn was much happier yesterday too. I can't imagine how it was for them last week, sweltering in their furry coats in the blazing meadow and non-air conditioned barn. The staff did everything in their power to keep them cool including keeping them in out of the sun,  providing swimming pools, freezing water in plastic containers for them to lie against and running the industrial fan to move the air  in the barn around. [Aside: last summer, I watched two roosters stroll into the path of the fan and get blown down the barn like feathery tumbleweeds. I was worried for a minute that they might be hurt...until I watched them run back up and jump into the jet stream again. They had their own little chicken amusement park ride!]When I got there yesterday, it was in the middle seventies and all of the animals were almost giddy. It's supposed to be reasonable this week so they'll be comfortable and safe.  Now if we could just get some rain....

 I took advantage of the cooler weather yesterday and actually cooked! I made an excellent chicken filling for tacos, enchiladas, burritos or even taco salad. I found the recipe on Pinterest and it was uber-easy.
 Crockpot Salsa Chicken
Put 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts in crock pot.
Sprinkle with one packet of taco seasoning.
Mix 1 can cream of chicken soup* and 1 cup of salsa and pour over chicken.
Cook 4 hours on high.
Shred chicken with two forks (it pulls apart easily).
Add 1/2 c sour cream*

*I used 98% fat free soup and fat free sour cream and couldn't tell the difference.

The salsa I used had corn in it and I really liked the result. You could add corn, black beans and/or sliced olives to jazz it up.  I had some in a burrito with some shredded lettuce last night and will have it on lettuce as with crushed taco chips for a salad today. I froze some as well. Try it! It's YUM!

Comments

Barb said…
Even the song birds here are singing happier, more relaxed songs. I heard a locust yesterday and the "folk wisdom" is six more weeks until the first frost. I have to admit, I had a little thrill run up my spine. The older I get the more I really dislike this hot, hot weather.
Lisa/knitnzu said…
YAY! We escaped the horrific heat the rest of the country has been having, but it's also cooled down here. 64 degrees at my kitchen table this morning!

Too funny about those roosters!

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