Thursday, December 19, 2013

Homemade suet feeders



Come on in. I just love this time of year...I baked several dozen cookies today and the house smells divine. I made some gingerbread coffee to go with the cookies and of course there is hot chocolate.



 
I have finished up the suet bird feeders and already given a few away. So let me show you.
 
Here is one ready to go.
 
Here are the minis, from the Bundt pan. These are the cutest and would make a great kid gift.

 So let me explain what I did. I bought the suet in the grocery store. and slowly rendered it down. I found about 1 lb. of suet made a cup and half of liquid. I put cheesecloth over the top of the measuring cup to strain out the bits of stuff.

 Then I used about four cups of bird seed mixed with one cup of un salted peanuts and one cup of dried cranberries. Then I poured in the cooled liquid suet.

 Then I firmly patted the mix into my Bundt pan. I did put some fresh cranberries in the mold first to make it look pretty. Then you put them in the refrigerator or freezer overnight to harden well. I used my porch because it was cold enough and had more space. Now these are great for the cold weather, You don't put them out on a warm day because they will melt. The fat is good for those New England winter birds.
 
I got one as a gift last year and it was so pretty and the birds just loved it. It did not last but a couple days.
 
So to sum it all up you will need.
 
Bundt pans
cheesecloth
measuring cup
stockpot
ribbon
4 C birdseed
1 C unsalted peanuts
1C dried cranberries
some fresh cranberries
1 lb. suet
 
Have a blast, but don't forget the fat can be messy, so have some paper towels handy.
 

 

2 comments:

Primitive Stars said...

Afternoon, love the stairs decorated, so pretty......That is the best suet cake I ever seen, I will definitely make some, I enjoy feeding the birds so much.....Thanks for sharing, Merry Christmas, Francine.

Deb said...

Lovely..and lucky birds. Deb