Pioneer Woman at Heart

Zuri-raptor has landed again.  This time she stole a stuffed animal from the box heading to the thrift store, and simply ripped out the head.  I do declare.  That dog! I got a lot of rest yesterday, but Hubby had to go to work today.  He is the one keeping me from over-doing work, and resting more.  He even cleaned the tub so I could take a hot soak in tea tree oil.  He wasn't feeling good and we both took a long nap together.  I'll have to keep myself on track today. I don't think it will be a problem either.  I'm only up to get one kiddo off to school, get the fire going, and make sure another daughter is up to take dogs out and feed the cats.  Today it will be a repeat of yesterday - rest, warm soup, mullein tincture, herbal teas (many with ginger), four thieves vinegar, essential oil diffuser, homemade vap-rub etc.  Oh, and Mom is home now.  Thanks to my 18 year-old, who went up to transport her.  

Here is the recipe I promised to share.  The original recipe is linked, and below I will explain what I added. I found the "protein packed" breakfast recipe online at Lentils.org  (click Lentils.org to the left to go directly to the recipe), and changed it up a bit to try. Lentils for breakfast?  I mean why not, I add black beans them too.  Lentils are high in protein and low in fat, and provide many nutrients as well as fiber. First I made my lentils the day before, and that way I had that job done.  You need cooked lentils to make this frittata. I still have homegrown sweet potatoes (they lasted much better than all the other potatoes too).

A few new recipes were shared with me by blog followers, just before the holidays.  I failed miserably at trying them, but chalked out a few days to try them this month. First, I made the rolls you roll up like crescent rolls (using oil).  I love the idea you can let the dough "stand" for the night, and then again in the morning, so you have the job done in small bits, leaving time to do whatever you need to in the morning.

I can't say things are back to completely "normal" yet, but getting there. I've tried my absolute best to maintain my good diet and exercise, and continue to do something I enjoy each night, while sending prayers up for just about everyone.  Hubby reminded me to get back to my blog, as it too is part of what I enjoy.  So here I am. In the process of keeping things normal, I think I converted our vegetarian daughter back to a meat eater.  While baking meals for the extended family, and the aroma and wonderful taste of casseroles from years ago, she's eating meat again (18 year-old).  Big shock to all of us, but we also giggled when she slobbered over that recent meatloaf I made.  And in the process of so much talk about meat, Hubby is about 98% agreeing we raise meat birds this spring.  It'll be a matter of if we can whip up housing for them.  We used to raise them in a part of the old big barn.

Yesterday we were called.  Our great nephew (21 years old) passed away due to a bad car accident, then we found out our great niece (even younger) is in another hospital for (admitted for another reason the night prior) and this morning my mother is in the hospital. I'll be back when I can.  

I've been experimenting with different deodorant recipes.  The last one I made was in liquid form, and the recipe was from Mountain Rose Herbs.  You can see my post here .  I like the liquid roll on, just don't ever put lemongrass in it. It will burn (it's just very strong). I wanted to try another recipe for using deodorant containers.  No messy application, and I am hoping for a consistency that won't melt in summer. I'm trying to convert my girls to using homemade vs. store bought organic/aluminum free (expensive) deodorants.  It has been a tough road in converting them too. In the very beginning of these trials we first started out with a recipe that used coconut oil - hard in winter, soft in summer, and it was applied by fingertip.  It was shunned quickly by the girls, and Hubby didn't want to mess with it when we had to keep it in the fridge in summer. You can simply use baking soda for a deodorant too. I have not tried this (yet).  Exp...

I absolutely forgot to join in on this last Monday.  Today I am.  I'm joining up with Sandra at Diary of at Stay at Home Mom.  My week is starting up with less stress and more of a better plan this week. Sunday, by 3pm I shockingly told Hubby, "I haven't had a hook in my hand all day!"  Nope.  We had a lumberjack breakfast, cut a load of barn wood (making another dent in the debris pile), and spent the rest of the day in the kitchen.  It was a meatloaf, potato kind of day.  I also got a frittata baked for on-the-go breakfast, along with homemade blueberry pancakes for those who were not on the go.  With breakfast baking/cooking freeing me up today, and the bed sheets already washed and dried, I'm ready to tackle cleaning chores today. On the breakfast plate. . .

I've never been one to eat oranges.  I'm not sure why, or maybe it was not introduced to me on a regular basis growing up?  Anyway, I am doing my best to be vigilant with all good foods this winter (on account of sickness on the rise too).  Clementines have made their way into my diet for the first time in a long time.  Regularly.  It's hard to find organic citrus this time of year too.  The store even cut back the size of bagged organic apples (so no canning applesauce yet). I have also realized, with my scale not moving for weeks, that I am not getting enough protein (or I'm building muscle right now).  I've been adding more to my breakfast and lunch now.  Black beans mashed with onion (cooked in the crock pot all day), topped with home canned yellow squash relish has been my favorite to eat with eggs lately. 

The Bad: I spilled honey all down the front of my bathrobe. The Good : My bathrobe got an early spring washing. The Good:   We are eating a lot more pumpkin and squash this winter (thank you Garden!) The Bad:   I haven't eaten a fresh lettuce salad in months. (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash, snap peas, onion, carrots were added last) The Good:   All of this delicous-ness came from my garden - Chicken Teriyaki was made

Plantain tea (1 teaspoon dried plantain weed, 1 cup of boiling water - steep) is good for an upset stomach. Comfort food - Pumpkin-Sage Macaroni and beets.

Our "grandson" has been staying with us for the last few days. He may be here for a while yet, while our "Vet Tech-in training" daughter gets her move straightened out. We now have a "dog" blanket over the bed quilt so the dogs don't ruin it.  However, "grandson" Jesse has been given soul rights to the blanket for now.  He's old, and he can barely get on or off the bed anymore.  He's been getting spoiled by us.   The hot pepper pickled eggs have been delicious on top of chicken or tuna salad (made with my home canned sweet pickle {or zucchini} relish).  Yum!  Reminder:  Check the batteries in your smoke alarms.

I was directed to another blog, by a blog follower, which has a different type of blueberry oatmeal muffin recipe.  Thank you by the way.   I have to admit, I did not follow the recipe entirely.  I switched

The Good:  we are still being provided with frozen, mashed garden grown sweet potatoes (and they taste great when reheated).   The Bad:   I didn't can applesauce this past fall.  Organic apples are too expensive yet, and our trees have not produced.

I always try to call work fun, so I don't get down and out about doing it.  Actually, it was Hubby who said he's glad we had to go out and cut wood yesterday.  He said it's good to get fresh air in winter.   Then again, he's the first to say, "why do we do this?" when we run out of wood and we haven't planned early for it, ha ha! The last few times we split wood, I found beauty all around us and went back out with my camera.  Hubby laughs at this, and calls me "crazy." Here are the photos I took:

Warning:  This may be the most boring post you'll ever read. There are two rooms that drive me nuts (and I mean NUTS!), and for 3 years I have attempted to clean them out, purge, organize etc.  Hubby jokes to me all the time, saying "what is it this time, going on 3 years?"   A stay-at-home Mom should have the house superbly spic and span, right?  I mean that's what we are home for, to keep things in order, run the kids from here to there (which we are still doing)....the CEO of the house and family.  Ha, yeah.  It's a battle for me, considering I do all things self sufficient.  Those things take time, and I am a busy, busy gal, but the rooms cause me mental chaos when I have to enter them.

It's been nice to be back in the kitchen baking breads.  First on the agenda - biscuits.  I'm playing around with different size cutters, to obtain just the right size for a breakfast sandwich.  Oh we slobbered over our recent sandwich with farm fresh eggs, cheese, and organic bacon.  Yum. I use my 2 inch cutter when the biscuits are for sausage gravy or hamburger gravy.

. . .  lavender bags finally made.  It's been on the "after craft show" to-do list.  I used scrap fabric for the bags, and the smallest scraps of yarn to tie the bags with.  My dresser drawers now smell lovely. . . . finished this granny square scarf for upcoming craft show (if they still hold it, weather may be an issue).

Have you ever made or eaten pickled eggs made with hot peppers?   We love them, but I need to work on tweaking the recipe now.   First, boil your eggs, cool and peel them, and place them in a wide-mouth canning jar.  My home layers lay large eggs, so I could only fit 10 eggs in my quart jar. I made my first jar of them, using habanero peppers that I froze last fall.  I am almost out of jalapenos, but this has me thinking of different hot peppers to plant and grow this gardening season. I also used organic non-gmo white vinegar, and homemade pickling spice (you can find recipes all over the internet for this too).

Frittatas continue to be Hubby's on-the-go breakfast meals.  This one is rather hot.  I added more jalapenos to it, and less potato, and more zucchini.  Loads of dandelion greens too.

I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay-at-home Mom today.  Traffic outside is moving like a turtle today.  Oye.  Only in our state can weather go from negative temperatures, to snow , and now rain within 24 hours.  No wonder so many people are getting sick.  Not us....we are outside often to get wood, and tend to animals, and we do not keep our heat at high temperatures either. Anyway, let's get started with today's business, shall we? On the breakfast plate. . . Homemade yogurt, homemade granola and pure, local maple syrup.   The weather. . .

I have had a few requests for the Blueberry-Strawberry Muffin recipe.  It is on my blog, just click on: Blueberry Strawberry Muffin Recipe

There is a book at the library, I've had on hold for a long time. There are only two copies, and people are renewing and renewing, and I am still 18 on the wait list.  I'm considering buying it, but I don't have time to read this month (just yet).

Looked what arrived in the mail.  It's my current "read."  Thank you Leigh for telling me about this company.  I am having a fun time looking through it, and planning the garden this coming spring.   What is your favorite seed source?   I got the "Mom!" alert yesterday. School lunch packings were at a minimum.  

It's cold.  Very, very cold.  However, we warmed up to a 10°F this morning.  It actually feels warm, ha ha!  The high today is 11°F. My kitchen is back to the basics and we are loading up on greens.  It was so nice to have enough eggs to make a

I strained the pickled garlic, and a jar of infusing mullein.  I totally forgot to check the calendar, but I was only a few days late on both jars.  I can't wait to taste the garlic.  It's the first time for me to pickle garlic.  I've made mullein tincture for a few years now, so that's not new, but needed.  Just in case. So far, we are staying rather healthy, and keeping germs away (using homemade "lysol" wipes, a diffuser in my

I'm on a roll with posts this new 2018 year.  I'm also on a roll in getting things done and lists crossed off.  I literally have a list that I never finished from bike week, and one to do after the last craft show.   Well?  They are both getting crossed off. It was actually fun doing something different than crocheting or knitting. I have been wanting to make reusable "cotton balls" for years, and just haven't found the time into making them.  I decided to hand sew them, but I'll be getting the sewing machine out soon. I needed my hand sewing skills renewed anyway. I apply apple cider vinegar toner to my face daily, so we were going through a lot of cotton balls. If you are not aware, I also have a blog, where I post recycled, up-cycled or scrap type projects/crafts/handiwork.   The DIY "cotton balls" are eco-friendly, and help keep our homestead on the path to a deeper self-sufficiency.   How I made my reusable pads:...

Happy New Year!  Did you stay up until midnight and watch the ball drop?  We did not, ha ha!  We were fast asleep watching "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."  We'll have to back up the next time we watch it, ha ha!  Hubby fell asleep way before me.  The deconstruction process of the Christmas decor has already started.  We'll have to bring in the totes and take them back out in one trip.  It's cold.  I do not make "resolutions" for the new year, I simply keep on, keeping on (but better). I made my first cup of hot basil tea.  Not "Holy Basil" but regular, good ol' herb garden basil.  I keep a fresh pot growing indoors during winter.  I ran out of dandelion root, then ran out of dandelion teabags, so I made basil tea for a "detox" tea.   It is said to help fight off illnesses and infections, clean the kidneys, builds the blood (purifying it), and kills bacteria. It's also said to be a circulatory stimulant.  My b...