Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Winner recipe!  New recipe tried! I had just enough cashews to use up, and the oven was already on, so..... Of course I used my homemade garlic powder in this recipe. Perfect for a chacturie board for any occasion. Delicious  as a snack. The recipe is free online with The Southern Lady Cooks. A bit sticky for a travel snack, but pack it up and enjoy it at your accommodations with cheese/crackers and a bottle of wine. It would make a nice gift too, along with some other creatively made food items, a bottle of wine, or specialty cheese/crackers.  The ideas are pretty endless. I've been experimenting with our frozen garden green beans.  I recently just tossed a bag full (maybe 3 cups) into an 8 x 8 baking dish, added 1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder, and drizzled it with some organic olive oil.  Gave them a toss with some tongs, and baked them at 400° for 30 minutes.  I then sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top of them.  Oh my gosh!  Deli...

Monday we woke up to lots of fog.  Although school was delayed, our youngest still had to be up at her school (33 minute drive) earlier than normal bus pick up time.  She was heading to her first hair show.  I'm gonna assume next year she'll be going and spending more money as she learns more. The temps heated back up again, but it came with rain.  So frustrating as I cannot get in the garden to get the garlic planted.  I don't want to say it, but it may be the first fall we do not plant garlic.  This year has taught me that planting too late is just not worth the work followed by loss of harvest. I remembered I had pears in the freezer, so those pie crust crumbles came in handy.   It was my very first time to bake a pie using frozen fruit vs. fresh.  I thawed them completely, but they didn't look like the normal 2 1/2# fresh (meaning not enough).  I thawed 5# of frozen and drained them. It turned out perfect.  A...

November 1st sparked the start of National Novel Writing Month, and I am back to it this year.  Last year I didn't get to participate, but this year I am fired up.  Of course it helps to know that I need to submit a contest short story piece, but that will only entail 8,000 words.  NaNoWriMo requires 50,000 words in 30 days. Baking continues . . .  English muffins for some breakfast sandwiches.  A sausage/potato/kale frittata as well. All of my regular chores are still in action too, so I'm hoping to keep a balance somehow.   And of course our Staywell health insurance program has a bonus day on Nov.1st to obtain 15,000 steps (to earn 50 points).  So exercise was not left out either. Garden work continues, although cold.  I'm yanking green bean plants, weeds, and a few last tomato plants/stakes.  If there is a will, there is a way. . . and I call it quits when I can't feel my fingers any more.  The days are gett...

It's a chilly 32°F here this morning.  Brrr.  We have not yet turned on the heat (nor burned wood).  Wood....let's not be reminded we are so far behind on that chore (gasp!). I recently used some pumpkin puree to try another new recipe - Pumpkin Ricotta Stuffed Shells (Country Living, online). I purchased my pasta shells.  Barilla is certified Non-Gmo.  If you prefer, you could use homemade lasagna noodles and roll them, slice and bake in the tomato sauce too (for a completely self-sufficient dinner, adding a garden veggie for a side, homemade rolls etc.).  The basil and sage came fresh from my herb garden.  I had just enough of each herb. We absolutely loved this dish, but to me it lacks a protein.  I think I'll have a side of meatballs or something with it next time, for us meat eaters.  Tuesday night I went to bed completely e-xh-aus-ted.  I spent the day baking and mashing sweet potatoes, amongst other chores. ...

I'm joining Sandra for Happy Homemaker Monday at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  Hubby and I had a very productive weekend, had some fun, and some rest time.  He even made cookies yesterday (what a man!).  It's back to work this week, and I hope the wind dries up that veggie garden.  It's soaked to the rims today. On the breakfast plate. . . Freshly picked red raspberries and. . .  Leftovers from Sunday - pumpkin waffles (homegrown pumpkin), homemade sausage patties, fried homegrown potatoes with green onions. Right now I am. . .  - writing out a grocery list, brewing a quart of tea infusion The weather outside . . .   Much colder than yesterday.  Yesterday, we enjoyed breakfast on the porch, then simply relaxed most of the afternoon.  A few home repairs were completed too.  After the rain stopped on Sunday, cold air moved in and the wind picked up.  Today the wind is down, but cold, cold, cold.  Woke up to...

The previous rain left things very wet outside, so the inside got the attention it needed all day Friday. I roasted 1 larger pie pumpkin for making a batch of pumpkin butter. I put 2 cups in the fridge, and the rest went into the freezer. I roasted 6 more pumpkins for pumpkin puree, and have one very tiny one went to the porch for fall decor.  The puree will be used for pumpkin pancakes/waffles, pumpkin muffins and bread, pumpkin hummus, pumpkin steel cut oats, pumpkin-sage macaroni, pumpkin pie . . .just anything. I roasted more whiskey-bacon pumpkin seeds as well.  They are so good.  I updated over on the recipe post.  I doubled the amount of pumpkin seeds. (Saturday sunrise, just before we enjoyed our breakfast on the porch) Saturday the weather warmed back up, so I high-tailed it to the tomato patch and starting yanking those pesky stakes and tomato plants (which surprisingly, some were still green and alive).  What we started...