Hello all,
It is in fact already September and we are actually writing a newsletter!
Ranch Happenings: The open house was a success in spite of the insane heat, and we are grateful to all who braved it. We hope you had a great time and got to see a little more of what we do here. We had professional photographers come out that morning and take some great photos for the up and coming, new, website. Same web address but waaay more user friendly and informative. With that, we will have a new system for ordering that we will keep you all posted about once it’s ready. Look for that in the coming weeks. We will also have Thanksgiving turkey orders go through the updated website. Hang tight for that.
Some of you know that after the longest wait ever, Betty has in fact had some babies!!! They are a little over a month old now and still with momma. She is super protective and a very good momma. We have one boar from her litter who will be able to keep the growth going once he’s old enough to “date”. We rearranged some pastures so our other up and coming boar, Red, has his own little hut and his own pasture for now. He can see Betty and her babies and Pofey, the matriarch, checks in with him often. He is not alone. We also have one wiley little escape artist girl but she’s just curious and hasn’t wandered too far yet.
The new hoop house is officially up and it is FULL of lots of beautiful new chickens! The egg situation here is always feast or famine so once again we look forward to having tons of eggs within the next month. It seems every time we say we are inundated with eggs they slow down.
The alpaca and sheep also have a cute little pasture and hoop house for shelter. If you haven’t met Toby, the ram, yet he is a must see. He is super friendly and quite the character. No goats…sigh, some day.
We have lots and lots of Happy Life Ranch swag available! T shirts, long sleeve and short, many colors and combos and also hats. These will all be up on the website but by all means contact Melissa or Gus at (630)-687-0006 (Melissa, Me lol) or (630)-877-7718 (Gus) for pics or if you’re here ask to see the options.
Niko is still working away and getting quite the rancher/construction worker tan and Nina is officially back at school as a senior AND taking college courses at Prairie State.
FARMERS MARKETS We have not been able to attend any farmer’s markets lately what with all the changes going on here but we miss them and hope to get back to it. We highly recommend Beecher Farmers Market, Cedar Lake Farmers Market and Tulip Tree Gardens. We will be attending a super cool Regenerative even at Tulip Tree this coming Saturday, September 11th. Come and check it out and follow them on Facebook.
DOG FOOD: The very short wait list is getting shorter as we work out how much we need so if you would like to add to it let us know.
Pricing: Beef- $7.25/lb. Boar- $5.25/lb. Turkey- $5.25/lb
Veggie CSA: The Gatto’s veggies are coming along beautifully. Some slots are still available for their CSA. Feel free to contact Janet directly with any questions. 708-359-4449.
As always, we appreciate your support so much. Eat well, stay well.
Ready! Set! Eat! Meal
Email your order to info@happyliferanch.com 3 days in advance of when you need it. We will have it ready for you to pick up between 4PM – 6PM.
Provide Name, Full Address, phone number and email address. We will send you an invoice through quickbooks.
MEALS:
- Full Slab Baby Back Ribs… $60.00*(1 full slab (each slab is 2-3 pounds), 16 ounces of fresh homemade Cole slaw and cornbread)
- Chicken Cacciatore…1/2 PAN…$40.00* (1 pound of spaghetti, 7 pieces of chicken and a container of sauce) FULL PAN…$75.00* (2 pounds of spaghetti, 14 pieces of chicken and a container of sauce)
- SAUSAGE AND PEPPERS, ½ pan…$55.00* (sausage, green peppers and onions prepared Greek style with rice pilaf)
- Greek Chicken…$60.00*(whole chicken with roasted potatoes, carrots and celery)
- Steak Fajitas, ½ pan…$70.00* (grilled steak with sweet peppers and onions)
- Steak Tacos, ½ pan…$85.00 (approx. 40 tacos: comes with Corn and/or flour tortillas, cilantro, onion, homemade salsa).
- Shredded Chicken Taco, ½ pan…$85.00 (approx. 40 tacos: comes with Corn and/or flour tortillas, cilantro, onion, homemade salsa).
- Ground Beef Tacos, ½ pan…$80.00 (approx. 40 tacos: comes with Corn and/or flour tortillas, lettuce, tomato, homemade salsa).
- Roasted/Grilled Bone-In or Boneless Pork Center loin…$75.00* (3-4lbs of pork loin with roasted potatoes, carrots and mushrooms)
- Roasted/Grilled Leg of Lamb…$80.00* (3-5lbs boneless or bone-in leg of lamb with roasted potatoes, carrots and celery prepared Greek style)
- Italian Beef, ½ pan…$60.00* (roasted beef pulled apart for sandwiches with AU JUS, with sweet peppers and onions)
- Melissa’s Chicken Soup…$25.00* (1 quart)
- Greek Salad, ½ pan…$30.00* (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta and kalamata olives with homemade Greek dressing)
***We can cater your next event, just give us a call at 630-877-7718***
Let us know what y’all think.
Thank you for supporting our small family ranch,
Gus, Melissa, Niko, Nina Athanasopoulos