Uncategorized – The Red Shed Project

Good people, good food & Taco meat.

Hello! Long time no write. This post has been on my mind for awhile now and I feel strongly about it so it’s time to get it done.

On my YouTube channel and some in this blog I mentioned future plans and goals for the Red Shed Project. One of those goals was to source my own food to reduce food costs by gardening, foraging, hunting and fishing.

I have to admit none of these have stuck or really allowed for a self sufficient food source; yet. However, an interesting food source has recently become available, Taco meat. Yes, Taco meat.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Not taco meat as you are thinking but rather a play on words. Gotta get a laugh in where you can. I will explain taco meat and give a simple recipe so pull up a chair and I invite you to spend a few minutes with an old shed head.

First things first, Taco is the nickname of Steve McDonald a driver for DOT foods. He delivers to the company I work for . His credentials on the side of his rig (see picture below) speak for themselves.

I guess you could say our meeting was purely coincidence and based in circumstance but I choose to believe differently. I met a good man and friend when I met Taco and I look forward to our seeing each other weekly if only for a moment.

After some time and many visits we struck up a working relationship and soon began to share each other’s lives and events. In the early days he would bring a pizza for me that I would share with a coworker. He later switched to bringing a Hillshire Farm smoked sausage. He buys it at the local Piggly Wiggly where my daughter and son work. My daughter is assistant night manager and my son is head of the produce department. I am very proud of them. My coworker was not interested in it and I keep it now to myself. Muahahaha , it’s the little things…

When managed right this meat is the base ingredient that can feed me for 2 to 3 days. I look forward to it every week and am very grateful for it and never take it for granted.

Taco, should you read this know that I am glad I met you and you are a friend and a unique individual that the world needs more of! Never change and keep spreading good things!

As promised I will include my most recent recipe, Beefy Ramen and a few pics of the preparation and of other food and meals accredited to ‘Taco meat’….

Beefy Ramen

First I bring my water to a slow boil for about 8 minutes then drop in the sausage and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

While the sausages is simmering I begin to prepare my other ingredients. For spices I chose Cajun, garlic and ginger with a dash of Louisiana hot sauce. You can choose ingredients to best suit your taste.

I add equal parts of spices, roughly half a teaspoon each, to the bottom of my empty mixing bowl. By now the sausage should be ready and I remove it and replace it with the Ramen noodles. I cook the noodles 8 minutes as well and then let them stand in the water with no heat for an additional 2 minutes to finish cooking.

While the noodles finish I sliced the meat and pour it into the mixing bowel and stir to coat the meat with the spices. Stir until little or no loose spices remain in the bottom.

Next, drain the water from the noodles and pour the noodles over the meat. When adding the beef spice packages to the noodles I like to sprinkle evenly across the top and let it set for a couple of minutes before stirring. It seems to dissolve and mix more evenly.

After standing a few minutes I add a dash of hot sauce for a little extra kick then stir all ingredients together thoroughly and enjoy. Serves 2 to 4 respectively; prep time 20 to 30 minutes.

There you have it, good people, good food and Taco meat! I am including some pictures of other food/meals provided by Taco. I hope you all enjoyed this post and good luck in all your endeavors!

The Red Shed Report

Hello and welcome back to the shed! So glad you came! It’s been several months since my last post so I decided to give a ‘Red Shed Report ‘.

Nothing major has changed from a Shed viewpoint; mainly just holding it down and living the shed-life. This year’s resolution was to only use electricity I produced or gathered elsewhere and to reduce my food cost.

Everything was going as planned then…. COVID finally struck home with us at the Red Shed. We were diligent and had dodged that bullet for nearly two years. Within a months time my entire family had caught it. I am fortunate and blessed to say we all have gotten over it relatively easy and no long term symptoms as I write this.

Our family is a true case study; two are vaccinated and two are not. We range in ages from 15 to 47. Two males two females. We all seemed to recover at the same rate and exhibited similar symptoms. The worst thing, I think, was the fatigue. My prayers go out to anyone reading this who has been affected by COVID in one way or another.

When Covid struck all plans went out the window and we went into ‘survival ‘ mode. So for this post and in an attempt to reestablish routine, I decided to just catch you up a little and to post some pictures of my world at the the Red Shed.

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Until next time may peace and prosperity be in your lives and enjoy the pictures.

Jeepers creepers where’d you get those peepers

New product at The Red Shed General Store Shop now

New Product at The Red General Store Shop now

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY FROM THE RED SHED

The Red Shed Project: Surviving the cold

Hello and welcome back to the Red Shed. As with most of us real life kicks in and makes everything else take a back seat. I have been busy with all my endeavors and have not posted in awhile.

We had a pretty rough winter as did most southern states. We are not prepared for it. I wanted to take the time to post how I survived the winter in The Red Shed.

I use propane as my main heating source. If you are considering propane and you use the bbq tanks and one pound cylinders , I would like to share what I have learned.

First and probably most important is find a propane supplier and not buy from the gas station refill centers. A supplier can refill cheaper and usually you get more pounds per tank. Trust me it will save a bundle. For me it was like getting a third 20 lb tank for about five dollars every third fill up.

My next advice , and this may not be for everyone, is research and invest in refilling your one pound tanks yourself. This will also save you a bundle. Follow all local and state guidelines. There are plenty of helpful videos on YouTube.

I use a Big Buddy heater with the hose attachment and a twenty pound tank located outside The Red Shed. I use it to heat The Red Shed, heat my water for bathing and occasionally food preparation. I have found propane to be both a safe and affordable option for me.

The following are a few picture of some of the items I use and my adventures last winter in The Red Shed.

Bun Bun approved the heat source.

Various meals prepared in different ways, a few pictures from my world and heating source and accessories. ***Note on the one pound refill adaptor: make sure you get the one with the wide opening. Both will work but the narrow one takes a long time.***

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?”

” Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” -Matthew 6: 25

The Red Shed Project: Surviving the heat

Hello to all my faithful followers ( which is exactly one LOL Thanks Lisa 👍). Welcome back to the The Red Shed! It has been awhile since my last post. Busy, busy, busy. I thought I would catch my readers up on life in The Red Shed.

Originally I had planned on doing some posts on my solar array, rechargeable batteries and chargers but as the heat is on the top of the priority list I will catch you all up on that topic.

When I moved in The Red Shed late last September 2019, staying cool wasn’t a problem. I did have the foresight to plan for this summer. Some of you may have heard of a ‘swamp cooler’ and that is the option I chose for my air conditioning.

I work in a food distribution warehouse and was able to utilize a lot of resources there. We sometimes get sample products shipped to us in Styrofoam coolers packed in dry ice. I scavenged a few that were to be thrown away as they are one time use only.

We distribute both dry goods and frozen so an unlimited supply of free ice is not a problem. I have a few gallon jugs and two liter bottles that I saved that I use as my ice bank. The two liter bottles were actually scavenged on site from a fellow coworker; Jerry Hill. He never buys anything less than a two liter because he says “Why pay for a 20 oz when you can get a 2 liter for almost the same price?” He drinks about one a day so it did not take long to acquire the bottles and jugs I needed.

Everyday I pack them up and carry them to work and place them in our freezer, bring them home in the morning and stock my ‘swamp cooler’ with them. I have to admit it is a chore but lately my mantra is “do what you can with what you have.” It is a prototype and I intend to build a better one later. If you are looking for ideas on swamp coolers I suggest checking out Pinterest.

The following pictures will give you an idea of my set up. You will see my cat Sage or as I affectionately refer to her as ‘Bun Bun’ giving it her approval. She stays in the big house while I am at work.

If you all get a chance PLEASE check out a fellow blogger at Our eyes open for some great content and breath taking pictures. Come back soon!

Psalm 7:17 KJV

“I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the Lord most high.”

The Red Shed Project: Final thoughts

Glory be to God for giving me the inspiration,courage and determination for such a project. Thanks to my wife and children for their support and patience. I would also like to thank my family at PALMER FOODSERVICE for allowing me such a great opportunity and always letting me know they truly care about their employees.

As I worked to transform this building I also worked to transform my life. I was faced with many trials and will continue to be. I pray to God to keep blessing me and continue to change me into the man I am meant to be.

I have been moved into The Red Shed since September 29 2019 and off the electric grid since October 8 2019. There are plenty of odds and ends to do to The Red Shed but like most projects, it will never be complete. I will be doing something to it for some time. Check back often for updates on The Red Shed Project.

My next project is going to be my solar array and will give details in that blog. I will cover a simple 12 volt battery solar powered array and installation. Purchasing new panels, testing old panels, batteries, maintence and care. I will also cover other topics such as small L.E.D. lighting and rechargeable AA,AAA,C, and D batteries and two different types of chargers and more. So come check me out and maybe together we can learn something. 😂

If this blog interested you and inspired you please stop by my You Tube channel and online store. Thanks again for joining me and peace be in your lives!

The Red Shed project

These are the final stages of the interior. You will see the electric panel and floor progression and completion. And talk about mind blown, I got to the shed one morning and a cicada was going through a transformation as well as the shed and myself! Wow, what a sign to reaffirm that all things change.2 Corinthians 5:17″Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new”.

The Red Shed Project

Pictured here are the final stages of the door. I had originally intended for the panels to be free floating but a couple of days after assembling it ( and a weather change) the door swelled drastically. You can see how it pushed the panel apart. This continued to be a problem after installing. I finally framed the inside of the panel to stop it. I was actually more pleased with the look of the finished door as opposed to how I had originally intended it. I used strap hinges for a more rustic look and the uneveness of the door and jam. The wood was treated with coconut oil. Revelation 3:20″Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him and he with me”.

The Red Shed Project

The door proved to be difficult as I imagined. I assembled it like a ‘sandwhich’ layer by layer. It is three boards thick . I built the two outside layers first then placed shorter boards in the center to create a pocket for the panel boards to be inserted.

John 10:9-11

9) “I am the door, by me if any man enter in,he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundtly.

11) I am the good shepherd: the good sheperd giveth his life for the sheep”.

The Red Shed Project

Pictured here are the final stages of the walls and the ceiling install. You can see the repurposed light that was a tree lamp. It was cut down and used as a salvaged industrial track light. Also pictured is the access hatch to the loft area. I mentioned in a previous post the building was not square and that I did not bring it into square. You can see the variance on the ceiling (it was substantial) but with the help of my Kreg JIG™, I joined two boards together and concealed it well. It is a great tool for odd jobs as well as big projects. I highly recommend it.

1 Samuel 25:6

“And thus you shall greet him: ‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.”