Pioneer Woman at Heart

Last fall, I roasted the last of the mashed potato squash we grew in the garden, and froze them.  I thawed a container for a dinner, and it thawed very nicely.  Hardly any water in it, and I just gave it a good stir before reheating. Reheated with some salt and butter, and it tasted as good as freshly roasted mashed potato squash.  Yum!  I'm happy to report it worked out very nicely to roast, freeze, thaw and reheat.   We will be growing mashed potato squash again this year.  I'm so glad we discovered this squash. Mashed Potato Squash ~ Does it Freeze Well?   ©  May 2025 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  We have been having some beautiful weather here lately.  I however, have not put laundry out on the line, as we call this "bird" season.  Flocks of them are in the area, so as soon as they move on out, I will be able to enjoy the clothesline once again. We purchased a "blind date" with a puzzle back on January 31st, from an area local store, while out on a getaway.  However, we paid $18.00 for this puzzle, and when we got it home, it was a used puzzle (box was falling apart).  I never saw any signage that stated the puzzles were used, so my husband insisted we purchase a 1,000 piece one.   Well, we finished the puzzle finally.  (puzzle is a portrait by a famous artist) There were two puzzle pieces in the box that did not even go to the puzzle. As we predicted, there were pieces missing from the puzzle.  We plan to donate the puzzle pieces to a place that recycles them with art/crafts.  Very disappointed.  We won't make this mistak...

Grab a cup of java.  I apologize, this post ended up too long.   October was a busy month for us.  We had so many plans, our plans had plans.  Whew!   Three weddings - one in another state up on a hill (they drove us up with a tractor and wagon) over looking a river, the other on a hill at a castle, and the third we didn't make it to. There were car shows, trunk or treats for the littles, a long distance trip to re-stock baking/cooking supplies (it's hard to find organic non-gmo in our area), garden work,  yard work and more.   One thing that did not happen, was our last camping trip, and it's probably a good thing considering.  The state put a burn ban on the campground, and the nights were down to the 40's.  The whole point to go camping (for us anyway) is to go off grid, enjoy nature, campfire cook, and enjoy an evening campire.  No being allowed to have a campfire, was the ticker that crossed the last camping trip off the c...

  I have not baked an angel food cake in a few years.  There were just not enough eggs.  However, with my foot fracture, the eggs multiplied here at the homestead.  I decided to bake us one, and it is delicous!  I also now have a recipe for a frosting for the future (family recipe).  We are enjoying this one as it is, but a drizzle of fruit or whipped cream will be nice too. On a side note, I checked my blog, and I last baked one in 2022, and guess what?  It was raining, ha ha!  Well, it wasn't raining yesterday, but it is today. I saved all of the yolks, as I was already making us a breakfast scramble, and added them to the scramble. You can save the yolks for pretty much anything. I used another dozen eggs for the breakfast. From the freezer - garden green bell pepper, diced ham from the last holiday, and I thawed some dandelion greens and added those too. In the end, I tossed in some chives from the herb garden, and some tomatoes. I saved the e...

Today is the last day of February for 2024.   Hopefully it's the last day of our winter as well.  Although, every day has been up and down weather, and yes, more snow yesterday.    

  First, here is the link for the Pumpkin baked oatmeal with toasted pecans (The Real Dietitians).  One of my biggest challenges has been to cook and bake without white flour, sugar and pasta.  Per my husband's doctor's strict instructions (for the last 7 years), I am trying my best, but as a baker and cook from scratch gal, it's been a huge challenge.  Hence, the new recipe trials. I found this recipe on social media, but have no source for it.  I'm thinking someone just tossed stuff together.  Anyway...   1st - I added cinnamon and nutmeg, and I'm glad I did. 2nd - they are a bit on the "dry" side, any ideas on what to add that is healthy? 3rd - they need more blueberries Notes:  I used 1/3 cup monkfruit (I feel monkfruit is sweeter than real sugar), and used homemade vanilla. I tried this recipe first, as I had frozen (vs. fresh) blueberries, and plain greek yogurt.  Oven bake times may vary, as you see mine are a bit toasty on top. Mix ...

Temperatures remain cold here - 3°F with a wind chill of -15°F this morning. I follow the blog Mennonites Can Cook, and they recently shared a recipe for Brunch Pie .  I can easily get distracted with new recipes, or they can inspire me to use up what I have (so I did). I used canned mushrooms (we do need a lot of that vitamin D in the winter).  I need to dehydrate more next winter.   Although the sun was shining for a few days, I'm not always out in it long enough. I decided to try it next, but I swapped out the frozen hashbrowns with frozen rutabagas , that I froze last year.   Also, from the freezer, I used my garden green onions, (I had fresh bell pepper) and added frozen and cooked watercress greens and a pinch of homemade fire powder.   Hot peppers are a good source for a lot of goodness for our health. Not to forget about all the condiments I canned last year, we topped the breakfast with some home canned cowboy candy too.   We added a...

I have baked eggs in the oven on a sheet pan previously, but I wanted to make scrambled eggs for easier breakfast sandwiches.  I also wanted them in the freezer for a quick breakfast, or if we had company (aka kids). I did some research on time, temperature, size of pan, etc. I decided to go with 18 eggs, a 12 x 17 inch sheet pan (jelly roll pan), and parchment paper. Tip: Spray oil onto the pan, line with parchment paper, and spray again.  You will want 15 inch wide parchment paper, or your eggs may go under the parchment in the sides or corners.  I used my 12 inch paper and it went under one corner just a bit. Preheat Oven to 350°F, bake 15-17 minutes or until eggs are no longer jiggly in the center.  It does take a much steady hand to put this in the oven without spilling it.  I may use a smaller pan and 12 eggs next time.   I can cut 12 servings this way and freeze them for future sandwiches, or m ake the entire sandwich, wrap in plastic wrap, the...

  I haven't knitted in a long, long time.  I have only knitted a scarf, and most of the time dishcloths.  Socks are still on the bucket list, but I realized how sore my finger tip can get.  I found these at the Dollar Tree for $1.25! I've been focusing meal planning on what needs rotated out of the freezer and pantry.  Other than fresh fruit on the menu.  You know like the canned ketchup, frozen blueberries, frozen bell peppers, frozen green onions - just anything put up last garden season.  I use home canned ketchup, and frozen bell peppers in Four Beans and Sausage. A one meal in a crockpot recipe. A random breakfast dish I layered with cooked sage sausage, cooked (from the freezer) garden bell peppers, and added green onions I froze last summer.  Oh, I chopped to jalapenos I froze last summer, and boy it was delicious.  I also freeze the cheese blocks that go into dishes like this (grated), so I checked that supply as well as butter. ...