Ditch the Doubt ~ Toss it Out! New Recipe Tried and Misc. Tidbits

I have finally sorted the odd assortment of Christmas items from last month's purge, and yes some went into the trash.   If you need permission, ditch the doubt and toss it out!  The rest donated.  Job complete. ✔  

What else can one do when it's -15°F (again), and there isn't even "wind" outside.  It's cold here.  More snow is in the forecast.  

One new recipe that also went into the trash - a millet bar recipe.  I thought it would be "fun" to buy some organic puffed millet and make a really easy recipe, but it tasted horrible.  The small amount of puffed millet cost me $1.33. 

A recipe I will keep!  Oh my goodness it was so good.  By the way, it was a recipe I had, and wanted to try to the last two years.  Literally.  I don't think I have ever roasted acorn squash, because it was always one squash that never grew to size here (have no idea why as we can grow all other squash).

My husband kept telling me how his Mom baked acorn acorn squash, and insinuated that I make it the same way.  I did not.  I tried this recipe, and I prepared the inner mixings the day before (minus the squash), so it can be done that way too.

The recipe is online with Farmhouse on the Boone, called "Stuffed Acorn Squash with Sausage and Apples" but be aware that the website is heavily loaded with ads (recipe states "apples" but you use one apple).  Very annoying ads.  I used my cell phone to obtain the recipe, and even that way can be annoying, but the recipe is worth trying.  Especially if you have apples in your cellar or basement from your fall producing apple trees and/or garden grown garlic.

Who knew?  Sometime last year, a hotel we stayed at gave guests a free newspaper.  We found a free full page puzzle page for our entertainment, but I brought it home for "on the road" reading too.  Who knew it would come in handy for re-potting plants indoors during winter?  We don't get a newspaper here, so I was thankful we still had it "messy" jobs around here.

I can now take homemade hand lotion, and other toiletries that require refilling, on the road (travel or for home).  I have used amber glass jars for a long time, but when it comes to taking something on-the-go, glass is tricky.  These tubes came in two sizes, and the refill hole is a nice enough size to refill as often as needed.

I have a homemade hand lotion recipe that I make, but it leaves my hands "oily" for too long of a time.  I'm now on the hunt for a recipe that is much closer to one that I purchased last year (also homemade with organic ingredients).  It was thick, and it absorbed much better.   Thank goodness for the library and their inter-loan program, in order to access many books for this hunt.

One more fun item to share:

I honestly forgot about, until I came across them again to wash up.  I did not find these in your everyday box store either.  I found them at a store operated by the Amish last year.  They are salt and pepper shakers, with spring top lids to keep them closed off.  I thought they'd be great for outdoor grilling and/or camping.  They were just a few dollars too.

I don't have anymore "new" recipes to try, but I'm sure a few will sneak into the meal plan here and there. Oh, we do have one more recipe to try that uses home canned pickled jalapenos.

Ditch the Doubt ~ Toss it Out~  New Recipe Tried and Misc. Tidbits  ©  February 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

This and That

Most of our days here have been snow covered, and no sunshine.  We are tickled pink, when we do get some sunshine.

Raise your hand if you put on 14 layers of outerwear, then trudged thru mountains and hill-slides of snow and ice to tend your hens, came back inside and removed the layers to realize you forgot to get the mail from the mailbox?  Yep.  My hand is up, ha ha!  I'll chalk it in as exercise.

I know you are probably reading this and thinking, "this blog can't get any more entertaining" ha ha!  Well, it can.

The hubster strikes again.  He wanted to know if we still had some mini tubes of krazy glue to fix something.  I dug around his "catch all" drawer in the kitchen to take a look-see.  

First, the drawer is "his" because he puts anything in there after completing a home repair/job when he is too lazy tired to put it away where it belongs.

Second, my hands came back out of a corner of the drawer, all purple and goopy.  He put a small canister of purple primer in the said drawer, and the lid was not tight.  Hmpf!  It spilled all over, and is not meant for bare hands.  Nor for a kitchen drawer.   What a mess.  I am pretty sure, after a good scolding, he won't do that again (but most likely will).

I've also have more days than I'd like, where it's been super busy "kitchen" days, followed by a mountain of dirty dishes.  Anyone who cooks/bakes from scratch is going to have dirty dishes in a mass form.

The feed store peas are sprouting nicely for the ladies (chickens).

New recipes tried. . .

Lima Bean and Ham Soup.

I used dried beans as the recipe stated.  I went by the recipe online, shared by Just a Pinch Recipes.  Don't skip the bacon in this soup.  We loved it!  Seasoning of course is thyme and oregano from the herb garden.  

The lima beans have left the cupboard I am "baking/cooking" my way out of now.  I do believe this is the very first time to even use dried lima beans.  It's not a regular go-to bean, so it was fun to try this soup.

I adjusted the soup to a crockpot soup.  Tip:  Plan this soup the day after you make bacon for breakfast, and save 4 strips for the soup.  Save your ham bones from the holidays for winter soups like this.

Jalapeno cornbread.  I think this is the second new version to try.  My husband said, "this is the best cornbread ever!" when he devoured it.  It contains honey, and a small bit of brown sugar, but it is all real ingredients.  I'll have an update on this, as we compare it to one more new recipe in the near future.

I used our home canned pickled jalapenos for this recipe.  I love a recipe that not only utilizes something I canned, but also the brine in which it's canned in.

Current larger crochet afghan.  It's about 36 inches by 36 inches right now.   I am going to research a new lap afghan pattern for the next donation blanket, but I may have enough scrap yarns (again) to whip up a scrap yarn lapghan first.

I called about my back ordered yarn, that was due to ship back in December, then gain in late January.  They are saying it's due to ship in March now.  It's cotton yarn, so I hope this is not how it will be locating yarn for a project.

This and That  ©  February 2026 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart