Pioneer Woman at Heart

  For some reason, the two humans walking around here, named me Alvin.  I love to torment the woman!  I sort of crawl up the downspout drain, and when she's weeding in her flower beds, I like to zip on down the spout and give her a fright. He he!   I also love to eat that delicious bits of morsels he sets out in a bowl.  How did she know I'm hungry?  Ha, I eat it up before that cat comes up to eat, he he he he!  Even though I know it's not good for me.  She'll only leave it out during the day, as those rotten raccoons will devour it all first.  I don't care that she moved the bowl way up by the door either.  I just sneak on up and stuff my cheeks full and carry on. Ha!  Hope you enjoyed that "tidbit" for today.  He really is a pain in my rump.  The cat hasn't even caught him/her yet.  I'm surprised.  Our last barn cats eradicated all chipmunks, but this one continues to try and take over the place.  It ...

  Woke up to mornings in the upper 30's.  Brr.  Rain flooded our asparagus patch.  I am hoping I will have some more asparagus to harvest today.  The continuation of cold nights, has my green onions looking drab. Food is the topic today, as I have very little to share.   I've been thinking how much fun it was last year to try new Christmas holiday recipes.  We loved the sunflower seed brittle recipe we tried last year.  You may get a "Christmas" post out of me this year.  New recipe we tried and absolutely love it.  I have made many, many breakfast casseroles/quiches and frittatas, and this one is a keeper.  I do believe it is a "first" mushroom type quiche to make as well.  I'm officially saying it's a "first time" event this year.   I takes an entire box of frozen spinach, but once you squeeze all that water out, you don't have much left. I used organic baby bella mushrooms, but otherwise did not change any of...

  New recipe tried - Kidney bean salad with Lemon (recipe is free online at A Virtual Vegan).  I did make slight changes to the recipe. What I did. . . Instead of cane sugar, I used a Tbsp. of lemon infused honey. I used a full organic English cucumber. I used both fresh parsley and cilantro (had some that needed used up, as it's not garden season and I have to buy it). I used red onion. I chilled the salad for a few hours before serving. We added crumbled feta to the salad when I served it.  Yum! Rain is here again.  It's due to come down off and on later and even tomorrow morning.  Our evenings will start dipping into the 30's (hopefully no hard freeze). Thankfully, my three cilantro plants, that came up by themselves, from last year's seeds, are still thriving in the herb garden. Kidney Bean Salad ©  April 2026 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman  at Heart

  Did you can pickled jalapenos last garden season?  Or last year with farmer's market jalapenos?  It was a "new" to us item to add to our pantry, and here is the update regarding the two cornbread recipe trials.  One is actually more like the traditional corn casserole, often served at the winter holidays. The first recipe we tried, we loved!  If you remember my post, it was a more dense cornbread, but with some home canned pickled jalapenos.  A nice spicy cornbread for soups/stews and chilis. I was incorrect on the source for this specific recipe.  It is online free at Bowl of Delicious . We adapted organic ingredients, and if you make the recipe with buttermilk, it's even better.  We really liked this recipe. The next recipe was more of a "corn casserole" type baked dish, very similar to the traditional "corn casserole" one might bake at the holidays for a side dish.  The recipe was from an online source (Farmhouse on the Boone).  I ...

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...

  Do you ever buy a used cookbook from a thrift store, because of something "shiny" you see inside?  Then do you go home, put the book down, and completely and utterly forget what you wanted to try? Well, I did just that with a thrift store cookbook purchase.  I bought it early a year ago (or longer, ha ha!).  I have had it out on the table, then counter, then table, then counter, then the kitchen island, and then back and forth.  I finally.....finally (screaming from the rooftop), made a recipe I decided on. First, let me tell you, the cookbook is all about high carbs (the good kind).  I do plan on reading the forward in the cookbook another day.  Much of the recipes are not for our liking, but I did try a biscuit recipe (that I had been wanting to try for months!!).  On a side note, this cookbook, has a lot of reading sections in it, as well as recipes.  I'll be taking a closer look at it soon. The recipe called for lowfat cottage cheese an...

  We had another rainy day, so I was able to have a much slower indoor day (sort of).  It was also so humid outside after the rain stopped, so it was not even enjoyable.  There was also a smoke haze in the air, compromising the air quality.  I did not get any Swiss chard cut as it heavily downpoured most of the day yesterday.  Our garden is about 2-3 weeks behind, compared to last year.  I think it was due to a very cold May, and we planted much later.  I am getting kale, Swiss chard, and radishes.  The zucchini is on, but only about 1 inch long right now. I do need to dig the fall planted garlic up soon.  I dug one up already, and we are very happy with the size of it this year. I'm trying out my "vegetable" keeper container to see how long it keeps our freshly cut kale fresh.  I bought the containers on clearance a few years ago, specifically to keep pickling cucumbers in, to collect and keep fresh, until I had enough to can with....

We can't seem to get a break from the rain right now.  I checked on the garden.  It's flooded.  Like parts of it have 4 inches of standing water.  Woke up to a chilly 36°F outside.  So cold, I had to turn a heater on, and today I need to order propane (gulp!).  Way too cold for a garden to grow, so I am praying my already planted herbs and flowers survive this dip in temperature.  Wet and cold do not mix well for an abundant garden.  My feverfew seeds did not sprout at all, so I may need to re-buy them if we want a harvest this year. I have been bringing in about 2-3 asparagus a day lately.  We are at the end of harvest, but we keep getting a few a day. I'm already utilizing fresh herbs from the garden.  The cilantro seed sprouts are holding up in this colder weather too.  Same with the dill seeds I planted. About turnips . . . Turnips are the most under-rated cruciferous vegetable in my opinion.  Probably along the same path ...

Nothing is tastier and more satisfying, than picking freshly grown cucumbers from the garden.  In anticipation of summer garden goodies (trying to pump myself up, because I'm lacking garden mojo this year), I'm trying a new recipe.  More so, I wanted to taste this combination, because it would be great for a hot summer day when eating a full meal seems too much work.   The credit goes to the cook book "Come Hungry" by Melissa Ben-Ishay. I borrowed the book from the library.  It has a lot of good recipes, and some repeat instructions I already know, but one caught my eye for a high protein snack.  It's nice to have a hearty snack available when we come in tired and worn out from garden work. If you have dill growing in your herb garden, that is a plus to make this.  Along with a few pieces of homemade sourdough bread. In the making of this, cottage cheese was one cheese I never got around to making when we had dairy goats here at the homestead.  Do you ...

My goodness!  It's 13°F this morning.  Spring can't make up it's mind around here.  I have the newly purchased tulips and hyacinths (in pots) indoors for now.  I had high hopes to plant them by now. I am praying this early cold spell in April does not kill my wild violet harvest, or fruit tree blossoms.  I have yet to see one asparagus up either.  It was up much earlier last Spring. A new recipe tried.  Baked Perch.  Recipe is from allrecipes, but I adapted organic/non-gmo ingredients.  Perch (lake perch from our state) was gifted to us, and instead of frying it this time (vs. beef tallow), I baked it.  In the past I have baked walleye and it turned out delicious. By the way, in the past I have baked walleye, and it was very good.  I did read the recipe reviews. Some people used panko instead of crushed saltines, some used all grated parmesan cheese.  I found organic/non-gmo saltines, but I'm thinking all parmesan cheese would ...

  I found a few printed recipes in the back of my binder, when I changed them out to new binders recently.  I found a recipe I had printed back in July of 2021, and gave it a try (without reading any reviews).  Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole. It's delicious.  However, the next time I make this, I will finely dice the sweet potatoes, roast them, and then layer it all to bake.  I found the shredded sweet potatoes gave it a "mushy" bottom texture.  It is very light, and not a "heavy" breakfast.   The only thing I did different, was that I used real meat instead of the "vegetarian" meat the recipe called for.  Oh, I also added 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground garlic (homemade) for added flavor and some salt and pepper. I found it strange that the recipe did not call for any seasoning at all.  The recipe is still online at allrecipes. Tidbits. . . We woke up to 21°F this morning.  The cold has returned, but thankfully no snow this March (like...

  March is what we call our "mud" season.  Everything is thawing, or there is rain and flooding, and sometimes a snow shower in the mix.  Mud.  We get lots and lots of of a muddy mess, which prevents any or all outdoor work or play (unless we find paved hiking/walking trails). Mud season can feel unending and arduous, but also inspiring as the warmer/sunny weather arrives. Monday - 13°F windchill in the morning (I attempted to sit in the sunshine for a hot minute, and the clouds moved in of course) Tuesday - 36°F windwill in the am.  High for the day was 60°F (insert smiling face), but we had am rain. Wednesday - 53°F (windchill of 48°F), rain Today?  - 37°F Snow!   Nothing new going on.  We are patiently waiting for spring to stay put.  If you remember, we were trying to get an online appointment for new tires last weekend? Well, my husband actually got an appointment made over the phone, and drove there after work to the said appointm...