Pioneer Woman at Heart

from the Homesteading Journal. . . We stocked up another truck load of hay for the goats. Speaking of goats, my 15 year-old said she could feel Peanut's baby kick.  She is due to kid in about May.  (sorry for the bad photo - bad lighting) I am trying my first batch of "budget" baking mix and we made Monster cookies.  They were pretty good too. I've found another way to add kale to our meals - mix it in with garlic mashed potatoes. Note to self - plant more Kale in the garden this year. I've also been looking for ways to utilize our stocked up blueberries and ricotta cheese.  Both are future goals for us - produce enough home grown, chemical free blueberries to stock up, and make homemade ricotta cheese from our own raw milk.  I've been adding both ingredients to pancakes and topping with a homemade honey syrup.  Every time I bought a bottle of pancake syrup (when real Maple syrup was too expensive), I would cringe.  To my surprise, the hom...

Take time to watch the sunrise each morning.

The last couple of days we have had a thin layer of snow each morning.  The problem is that it's over a layer of rain that froze, melted and froze again.  The school closed yesterday and today they have a 2 hour delay.   I mixed up my first batch of "baking mix" that will be stored in those two containers you see in the photo.  Last year my Uncle gifted us with some dishes and those containers have been very useful.  The mix will be used to do baking with, and to see if it's useful for us (in saving money).  I am a whole wheat flour kind of person, so this is a real test for us.  If you haven't seen Candy's blog, this recipe can be found here:  Lazy J Bar C Farm . I'm starting to work on my "family history" projects (in teeny tiny steps), and remembered that Mom gave me her mirror and hand brush set last year.  This set was given to her in 1956 for my Grand parents.  It is completely unused and in perfect condition.  The ...

Jasper and Tiger were playing and fell asleep right afterwards.  Jasper is sleeping with his head directly on top of Tiger's head.  Both are sound asleep.  Awwww!   My 15 year-old and her Billy goat.  It takes a lot of love to love a Billy goat..... Good barn kitty!  This doesn't show the love that this cat has, but she is a wonderful mouser.  We have 3 barn cats and they are so loving to us.  They can kill a mouse one minute and curl up underneath our chins the next.  Aurora (pictured above) can purr very, very loud.  She's truly one of a kind. If you've been following my blog, you know I've finished the egg beater rack , the strainer plant pot , the garden mushrooms , and the drapery ring ornaments . You also know I still working away on the sherbet colored afghan, and a knitted block blanket.......well, guess what?  I've added more "projects" to my list.  I have a wonderful idea for using ...

If you get a chance, zip on over to my S.C.R.A.P. blog to see the latest finished, re-purpose project.  It started with an old hand egg beater:  http://scrapreusedandrecycledartprojects.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-can-i-do-with-old-hand-egg-beater.html I'm working on more later today if I feel good enough.  Yesterday, I found out I have an ear infection and sinus infection.  The antibiotics are making me very sick and very tired. Oh...and for my "list" I have added more projects (LOL!) Last night we tried Spicy Tuna Melts , and they were a hit.  So easy and very healthy.  We had a salad for the side dish.  Tonight, I have no idea what I'll be making.  They family is counting on me, now that they've had a week of really good food.  Maybe western style ribs in the crock pot?

We have tried a few healthier versions of Macaroni and Cheese, but haven't really found one we all like.  Of course, this is a tough dish to replace that ooey, gooey cheese sauce we all like. After searching the Internet, I found a few that may taste pretty good.  I baked Sweet Potato Mac' n' Cheese , and we loved it!  It doesn't have that cheesy taste you get with a cheese sauce but my kids devoured this.  The ingredients are simple, and some day, I hope to be making my own cottage cheese from scratch (or ricotta).  I know we will be adding "sweet potatoes" to the garden this year also.  For our dish, I used whole wheat penne noodles. Very simple, and very good.  I had broccoli as a side dish.   I've had two good meals in a row, so the family is counting on me.  I'm back to searching for clean eating dishes, and hopefully find a delicious dish again. As for the update, hubby and I have been back to the gym for over a week now. ...

I am trying to add more vegetables and fruits to our meals, so I made Rutabaga Fries to go with baked Tilapia and peas mixed with carrots.   These were okay, but nut spectacular.  We used a recipe that required fresh chopped rosemary and onion powder.  They were good, but not really good.   There are so many recipes available for baking these.  I may try using a garlic herb mix on them the next time I bake them.

That's a shocker title - "Don't Feel Like Watching TV."  You'd have to wonder what's wrong with them.  Even though I try to limit what they watch, for them to say that, is a rarity in this house. I guess it's proof that your kids watch what you do, and I do a lot of handiwork here.  I do think that "craft" got a bad name somewhere along it's lifetime, and we often hear people say "I don't craft." If you think about it, even cooking can be a "craft."  It's a skill using your hands, and it's a bit sad that "crafting" has been stereotyped. Okay....back to my story.  After a long day of working out, shopping for groceries, and picking up one kiddo at an overnighter, I was ready to relax early.  I decided "jammie" hour came early and began to knit in my room.  All the sudden, kids started coming in and going in an out of my closet (also the storage area for most of our crafting supplies)....

We've been watching the "Chopped" Foodnetwork show, and the kids love it.  Last night our 12 year-old begged for her own box of food to cook with. We gave her 2 boxes of black wild rice, a jar of pimentos and a bag of mini-marshmallows.  I had no idea what to get, or how creative she could be. She cooked the rice, added the pimentos and added leftover diced chicken we had that she marinated a bit in soy sauce. She made a dessert with the mini-marshmallows and crushed rice chex cereal.  She added raisins also.  It kind of tasted like rice krispie treats, but tougher to chew.  She did pretty good. I think they had so much fun with this that I may purchase items for her and her younger sister for another round. Gus came home late afternoon yesterday.  He's doing good and getting lots of pampering.  He follows my son everywhere now.  The vet told my son that the growth/lump was very deep, black and very nasty looking.  My son agreed to...

This is Gus.  He's about 11 years old.  We went to the humane society to find a kitten or cat, to play with our long time cat Mattie (oldest daughter's cat).  When we got there, I was busy looking at the cats, and my husband disappeared.  I found him in the dog section.   We walked through, and every dog was barking except Gus.  That was his name at the humane society also.  He just sat in his cage and looked at us.   I kept thinking, what did someone do to you? I really thought his ability to bark was not there.  He was so quiet and so calm. Poor Gus, and another dog, had been left out and abandoned by someone.  They just moved out, left the dogs tied up outside, and left them there.  Horrible. I once wrote on a topic for a Web site on family pets.  You can read the original story about our pets here: http://www.helium.com/items/1754966-our-pets-and-how-they-live-in-harmony .  I do need to update it, but yo...

Well, most people were right.  All of the those library books got me into a lot of trouble - ha ha ha ha! UGH!  I found soooo many ideas I want to make for friends and gifts and family and and and and...... Check this crochet project out..... This could have been my "best friend" when I was sick!  These are super cute and handy.  I wonder if these would be useful to women in nursing homes?  The pattern for these are in a book titled Big Book of Crochet, by Leisure Arts.  This book is packed with ideas!  And that's just the beginning.  I have already started writing book titles and projects into my "crafting journal." It seems like I am adding projects every day now.  I did have plans to make my Mom some notecards from wallpaper, and did not, so those are on the list again this year too. Speaking of projects, my 9th grader is working on a box assignment for Art class.  The box is a cigar box and they are filling it with item...

If you are like me, and have leftover pumpkin butter you need to use up, you may like the recipe we tried.  I baked a Pumpkin Butter Bread . Although it wasn't our favorite, they ate it up.  I didn't have raisins and walnuts, and that may add more flavor to it. This year I am trying to give myself a day "off."  We do honor the Sabbath on Sunday, but I really need to give myself a "break" and tend to  myself for a day. It's been slow going on this.  However, it's only been two weeks of initiating it also.   Ha ha ha!  A day "off" is a good day to bring home library goodies and browse books.  I found a few great ideas for using up my yo-yo's for Christmas ornaments and some great gift ideas. I also finished (YAY! I can say the word now) the last of the cat flour sack towels. I am also making progress on my mixing bowl re-purpose project. Somewhere around the house I have the original magazine article on how to make these:  ...

from the homesteading journal. . . I made another batch of homemade dishwasher detergent. This has saved us money and kept the chemicals off of our dishes. Although many of the kids are not willing to try my homemade deodorant, I can say it holds up to a full workout at the gym, followed by an afternoon of wood splitting. The snow has melted and the rains have arrived again . The yard looks like it flooded already, so the laundry is being dried inside. . . {scrap fabric drying on my indoor clothesline} from the baking/cooking journal. . . I used to cook from my pantry to keep foods from expiring, but so often I am cooking from my freezer.  With the increased amount of garden and fruit frozen versus canned, I searched for recipes that can use up my shredded zucchini, and blueberries.   I baked two loaves of zucchini/blueberry bread , and realized that I could also utilize any applesauce I have frozen as well (in place of cooking oil).  I had to ...