Pioneer Woman at Heart

I may be repeating information in this post, but I was reminded how wonderful it's been by adding dehydrated organic mushrooms to soups, pastas and stews this winter. Of course this is in addition to all the frugal tips I've shared. Olive Oil Olive oil is expensive if you are buying it organic and non-gmo.  Olive oil should taste like olives. If it says it comes from more than one source, you are not getting true olive oil. If organic and non-gmo are important to you and your family, consider buying it by the gallon.  Especially if you thrive to be self-sufficient, and use it for infusing (to make homemade lip balms, lotions, creams, balms, etc.).

Sunday, just as we sat down at the front porch for our dinner, the deer came out for their dinner.  This time she brought two youngin's with her.

Considering I was on the go for the last few nights, we have not had a good hot meal. I opened the freezer and pantry, and whipped up a crock pot of chili.   Over summer I did not have enough jalapenos to pickle any, so I sliced and froze them in baggies.  For the chili, I simply took out some, and finely chopped them while frozen.  They chopped so nicely too. I am thrilled with the tomato paste I canned too.  I was saying my thanks for every item we where blessed with over summer, and stocked up, as I made the dinner. Everything that went

I just tasted our first batch of applesauce.  I enjoyed it with a sprinkle of organic cinnamon.  Absolutely delicious. 

I was starving for a good breakfast, so I tossed onions, potatoes, green pepper and zucchini in a pan to cook for

This is how I make my ketchup.   I do not peel my tomatoes because I use a sauce maker (you could also use a food mill).  Wash, trim and slice up 10 pounds of paste tomatoes.  I simply cut my paste tomatoes in 4th's and toss them in the pot.

There were a few requests on how I made these fire starters.  I do write another blog regarding the use of scraps of just about anything, and creating something new, useful or even art. 

I have one kiddo who loves frozen yogurt.  However the stuff you buy in the store is processed with unhealthy ingredients (high fructose corn syrup etc).  I decided to buy some yogurt, and toss in some honey and my homemade vanilla.  The kids churned it in our ice cream maker.  As a kid, my siblings and I, always churned ice cream (on special occasions) with a hand crank ice cream maker.  I love my ice cream maker too.  We made goat's milk ice cream in it last year.  The results?

Sharing another steel cut oat recipe. This smells so good when it's cooking.  Sorry for the bad photo, it was not the best time of day to take one indoors.

Millet cannot be bought in stores here, so I did/do have to order this online.  Funny thing is, is that it arrived timely with Hubby's sugar issues.   This brand is non-gmo as well as organic. Millet is what they call a "smart carb" so I wanted to try it for a healthy grain in our meals.  It is said to help maintain blood sugar levels.  And of course, it has a lot more benefits than that.

Years ago, we discovered a recipe that was a family favorite.  However, it contains three cans of condensed cream of chicken soup and one of celery soup.  Needless to day, I have not made it in many, many years. Yesterday I made the recipe, and used homemade soups, organic chicken, and organic tortilla chips (which were made with non-gmo oils, believe it or not).  It took a few days to make my soups ahead of time, but it was worth it.  Here is the recipe.  

We have one hen that refuses to get off the eggs.  The problem?  Well, Sparta is in the dog kennel, so the eggs have zero chance of fertilization.  Go figure.  It's the perfect time to let her sit on some, but we can't.  Sparta has a lot of healing to do first.

I finally took the chicken necks from my freezer the other day, and today I will make homemade broth.  I will freeze it instead of can it, and most likely use about half of it before the current chickens are butchered. I have never made broth from scratch (strangely), so this is a new step for me.  I've always purchased it (gmo-free, organic) from the grocer.  However, prices have gone up to over $4/box.

The snow did not hurt my daffodils, or even the new sprouts of green onions in my herb garden.

I made Honey-Jalapeno Grilled Chicken the other day.  I have to say, it was pretty good.   

I'm sharing this recipe, that I found in a N o vember /December 201 0 issue of Clean Eating (so I am very behind in reading through magazines I bought a t a library sale many mo ons ago ..... ).  I did look on -line but the recipe was not on Clean Eatin g's site.  S o here you are . I t's a penny pi nching re cipe too!   Chicken Succotash With Gingered Sweet -Potato Toss 4 4-oz boneless , skinless, chicken brea sts 8 o z. green beans, tri mmed and rinsed 1 lb. sweet potatoes , peel ed and roughly chopped into 1 -inch cubes 3 clov es garlic, sliced into thin rounds 2 Tbsp. e xtra-virgin olive oil, divided 1 tsp. ground gin ger 8 oz. frozen corn Pinch sea Salt Sweet Paprika , to taste Fresh ground black pepper, to tas te. One:   Remove any visible fat from chicken, cut breasts into 1-inch cubes , and set aside. Two: Fill 2 medium pots halfway with water and bring to a bo il.  Add beans to 1 pot and turn hea t down to medium.  Simmer...

T here is more to be said for organic, or chemical free, foods.  I have been reading "......" and learni ng even more lately. Did you know tha t organic ketc hup contains 3 x the lycopen es that regular store brand ket chup contains?  That's a bon us , in addition to being chemical f ree.  I us e a lot o f ketchup to make homemade sloppy joes. Did you know that 1 T ab lespoon of ci nnamon contains 1 8 ca lories ?  I knew it was good for you, but was not a ware of the cal ories in it. Well, I am really en joying reading Chef MD's Big Book of C uli na ry Medicine , by John La Puma, M .D. and Rebe cca Powe ll Marx.  W e did not grow brussel s prouts thi s pas t summer.  I think we simply over lo o ked it.   I realized, that without growing them, I didn't serve them for meals.  This book highlights foods , and breaks down the cont ents of each, and the benefits of each. I w ent in search for frozen, as fresh are not in season here, and f...

(Applesauce chicken cooking in the crockpot) Hubby and I are officially back to the gym.  The means frugal and easy meals , that are also healthy.  Although pio neers didn't have c rockpots, th is meal is very se lf-suffi cient .  It could easily be cooked over a fire using cast iron pans too. First , I w ent sea rch ing for cookbooks on meals using apple s auce, but I didn't find any (just baking cookbooks).  I found a crockpot dinner recipe on- line, using chi ck en and applesauce. Anyway, back to the frugal dinner.  I f I don't rai se it, I do buy organically grown chicken.  It's not frugal, but worth our healthy lifestyle. And of course I buy when it's on sale or clearance, and freez e it too. Then I needed a side dish.  Red Quinoa? Yep, but after checking the cupboard, I was out.  Sweet potato frie s?  Yep, but not conducive to working out at the gym, and expecting kids to turn the fries every 15 minutes.  H m m?...

I told hubby, we could skip buying the cow and just make regular trips to the bakery that sells this butter.  It's a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive, but we all need to get away right?   I haven't convinced him yet, so we may just have to buy the cow some day soon.   I am already searching for a butter churn. I am really enjoying the taste of this growth hormone free butter.  It's tastier than organic butter I find in stores here.