Pioneer Woman at Heart

                                                                                 I love a pan of roasted vegetables, and this was a bit different than my normal seasoning (as well as vegetable variety).  It called for 5 cloves of garlic, 1/3 cup of olive oil, 1 tsp. of paprika, homemade onion powder, and 1 tsp of homemade Italian seasoning (and salt and pepper).  The second photo is a cheese mixture with feta, cream cheese, yogurt, and honey.  We loved it!   Oh, in the end of the cooking time, I tossed in some sliced turkey sausages. I do miss fresh garden goodies.  Finding "fresh" in the stores is not the same.  We have nothing to harvest this time of year, as we do not have a greenhouse. It is pouring down rain as I get this very last blog post for ...

  Happy New Year!   I'm excited about a new crochet project, and it is a sort of a motivation tool for something else.  I'll be posting later about it.  Overall, it will reduce my time wasting internet scrolling, pointless social media scrolling (looking for recipes, patterns, exercises are all good scrolling minutes, he he!), procrastination station, and endless him-hawing.  Not to change the subject, but I mean some scrolling is needed to avoid endless days of shopping in stores looking for something my husband suggested we buy. I found one close to what he feels we need at Harbor Freight, but it's wall mounted, and runs on batteries. Does it even exist?  I'll be searching for it, but we may have to buy battery charged or a rechargeable light.  He wants a solar chargeable, motion sensor, small table light (sort of the brightness of a nightlight) for the bathrooms.  We lack outlets by the toilet, and do not want to put in a floor strip light...

Sort of a boring post today.  I know not everyone can afford "organic" groceries anymore, but wanted to share some things.   I have been reading the ingredients on the black eyed peas in stores here, and we cannot buy "organic" canned in any of the stores in the area.   The non-organic cans of these beans contains an ingredient I was not familiar with - diosodium EDTA. I did some searching on google (I know it's not the best resource), but I did find this information.  I am reading it is mostly used in cosmetics.  Anyway, I found organic black eye peas do exist, but I have to order them online. Organic canned black eyed peas do not contain the Diosodium EDTA.  In the brand we found, it contains Kombu Seaweed. By the way, you can buy these dried, and soak and bake them yourself. I am looking into that variety as well.  I found another "dip" recipe that calls for black eyed peas to try, but I think we love the last one we found (in moderation with o...

  We tried the homemade "Velveeta" in my traditional Christmas dinner Cheesy Potato Casserole.  It was pretty good, but we have a review on the taste.  Overall, it made the potato dish turn out a creamy texture and gooey goodness. The original recipe (potato dish), that was given to me so many years ago, actually does not require "Velveeta" in the recipe.  Over the years, it was added for more creamy potatoes, as well as sour cream. The original recipe for the homemade "Velveeta" called for mild cheddar cheese.  We both tasted it before using it, and we both felt there was not enough "cheese" flavor with using the mild cheese.  I will be making this again, but with medium cheddar.  Not sure if sharp would be too much, considering we use sharp cheddar in our potato dish as well.  We only bake this potato dish at Christmas time. Results:  It's a heathier version of a creamy addition to a recipe.  First, the Velveeta spread sold in stores i...

  My Aunt sent me 10 different stuffed snowmen years before she passed away.   I love displaying them around the house, and it adds some Christmas sparkle to the air. Merry Christmas Eve!  I have our make ahead Christmas morning breakfast ready to simply heat and eat on Christmas. I'm not sure what the plan is for the day today, but I am sure I will at least get one type of cookie baked, and maybe more tomorrow. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!  Merry Christmas Eve © December 2024 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  Yes, we have Christmas themed bedding.  It is coming out of storage today.  I'm very behind, but it's happening.  In fact, I have another King Christmas comforter to give away, but it may be next Christmas.  The kids have apartments, and no room, nor a place to wash a King comforter.  Any who, I'm hoping the new view of the bedding will put a spark in our Christmas spirit.  We've had some bumps in the road for sure this season.  I think it will make the house a bit "brighter" and happier.  I have a bad habit of worrying about things that rob my sanity and happiness.  Do you have a prayer in regards for not worrying? As long as we have life, we have problems.  It's how to be able to laugh and smile, to get thru the problems, worry, or setbacks, and what not. The Christmas tree is up, grocery shopping has taken place (although we had to go to three stores because most were lacking supplies), and we both got haircuts.  The hairc...

  As per my last post, I am back to share the taste test on this new recipe (dip). We decided to add feta cheese to it.  I tasted it prior to adding the cheese, and it was more bland.  The only "flavor" was the red onion in this recipe.  It is healthy, so don't let that stop you from trying it.  It is a healthy appetizer to make or make and take to gatherings.  It's great for a snack or light lunch. Taste test results?  We love it!  Serve with tortilla chips of your preference. Recipe is Black Bean and Corn Dip Recipe is online from:  What Molly Made I had to buy the fresh red bell pepper, fresh cilantro, and fresh green onions for this recipe, but think how nice it would be to make this in the summer with your garden goodness. I could not find organic candy canes this season, but after two years of searching, I found this organic candy cane syrup (I love a mint hot mocha/hot chocolate).  It does not expire until spring of 2025, and than...

The newest tincture has been strained.  It's a "Sleep" tincture.  We have not tried it yet, not actually needed it (oddly). While our handy-man continued working on the rest of the drywall sanding, painting and trim work, I baked us up some delicious beef and bean breakfast burritos (minus the rice).  I actually found a new seasoning recipe on YouTube, and will be using that for any future beef/bean burritos.  We loved it.  She calls the seasoning "All Around Seasoning" and it is perfect for the breakfast. All Around Seasoning.  In case you are wondering, her burrito recipe is also on YouTube. Speaking of YouTube, it's a handy resource for just about everything.  From Fix-It videos to "Fix" your body videos. I found myself needing stretching exercises, and I am amazed at how well they are working out for me.  As we get older, health issues can sometimes catch us off radar. In light of how our bodies change (as we age), we have been looking for lin...

I had a slow start to yesterday's chores, and was able to capture the sunrise, despite the fact it rained the entire day.  I'm glad I got to see it.  Although my front porch was covered in rain too, thanks to the wind. Using homemade infused oregano oil is somewhat different for a sinus infection.  Instead of simply taking the oil itself by a dropper, my Dad taught me to drop a few drops onto a teabag, and heat a cup of medicinal tea.  It got me thinking, because this is the 2nd or 3rd time I was reminded oregano can be used to make a tincture too.  There have been some other herbs I ran across this winter, that I will be making tinctures with next spring.  So thank you to all of you for suggestions.  I know I will be dehydrating more goldenrod (some of my adult kids drink the teas too). Three days now, and our handy-man has still had car repairs to delay is ability to work here.  If he can't commit, I plan to finish it all by myself.  Hopefu...

The holiday decorating has not even been happening around here as it should, and for two reasons - 1. How I am feeling and 2. The room repairs / renovations. I have not felt up to doing any holiday shopping, nor even shopping for baking and cooking supplies for the Christmas Day meal.  I have nothing ready.  Nothing.   Also, the handy-man we hired has been a no-show the last few days, due to his car breaking down.  Just lovely.   By the way, in the meantime, I have put about 5 sticky notes up on the walls for places that need "fixed" and have paint issues.  Splatters, scratches, you name it. I have not been ill like this for a long long time and it stinks.  It's like the virus that keeps on giving and refuses to go away.  Once I have a good day, the next day something new arrives.  One day it was congested ears.  The next a dry cough with chest pressure.  The next itchy/watery eyes.  The exhaustion comes and goes as i...

  Remember that, almost 14 pound jarrahdale pumpkin we grew and harvested?   Well, I finally roasted it, pureed it, and froze it all.  By the way it tastes great, the color is amazing, and the end result was a fantastic amount of pumpkin for one pumpkin. Did you know, that if you have a proper way to store these jarrahdale pumpkins, they can stay in the "pumpkin" form for up to 12 months?  I do like that aspect of it, but they are a bit of a challenge to slice.  If you can cut butternut and spaghetti squash, you can cut up one of these. Ideally, we wanted to roast part of it for a dinner, but time was against me, and I still wasn't feeling great.  In fact, I was ready for PJ's, my bed, hallmark and some crochet by the time I was done freezing the pumpkin puree. I Roasted the "Mother Load" ~ Jarrahdale Blue Pumpkin © December 2024 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

We paid our handy-man a partial payment the other day, and low and behold, he never showed up yesterday.  I did get some rest however.  One the of kids wanted to deliver something late, and they didn't show up until almost 8:30pm.  It may sound early to you, but when you are under the weather, it's early. I've been drinking goldenrod tea, and taking our homemade Four Thieves Vinegar.  The Four Thieves seems to help the annoying cough that developed after everything else.  Thankfully, I have kombucha and other probiotics in stock too. After speaking with someone who works for a hospital, if your "what feels like" a sinus infection is viral, they do not prescribe antibitiotics.  I'm watching my symptoms closely.   I also talked to someone locally who has the same symptoms, and they too, thought it was a sinus infection (from the severe early on miserable pressure).  It was not.  Again, watching myself closely, but things seem to be better ...

It's a brisk -2°F windchill this morning (15°F).  The weatherman warned us.  Maybe it will kill off some germs. I blame it on the weather, but my sinuses are a hot mess.  The pressure is so uncomfortable.  I am breaking out my herbal teas, my lavender eye pack (for headache relief) and ordered myself a headache ice pack wrap now. I made homemade "Vicks Vapo-Rub" and this time around, I doubled the recipe, but used a combination of coconut oil and olive oil.  It came out to the perfect thickness, and made about 4 ounces.   Note:  Allow it to completely cool.  Make sure the jars do not have a cardboard insert in the lid.  If you put the lids on too soon, you will have condensation on the inside of the lid which will cause your rub to go bad faster.   The link will take you to the recipe, but as you know coconut oil becomes very solid when it's cold.  I have not tried making it with simply 1/8 cup coconut oil and 1/8th cup o...

  Homemade detangler was restocked.  Pretty easy to make, starting with a tea made from marshmallow root.  I think I've been using it for about a year now. Current crochet blanket.  I wanted to use the granny square stripes to use up this yarn, but you can see that the color varies from skein to skein.  Oh well.  I have one more skein, so I hope it creates the right size.  It is a bit larger than my usual lap afghan.  It's been a slow project with other work around here. Our handy-man showed up.  Work has begun on the room.  Carpet is ripped out (wooden subfloor treated), storage area drywall replaced, and mudded, ceiling light removed and cleaned, and ceiling has a new coat of paint.  Much more to do, but making progress. In the meantime, I started to purge my books (many of these are non-fiction), and filled 2 1/2 boxes so far.  I found a file folder container that had about 25 plastic document envelopes (with business card s...