Pioneer Woman at Heart

Sorry if this is a boring post about beans, but I have a few new recipes to share - from "pile to file" keepers.  I've found my voice this month, so watch out for long posts.  I think I have blog-i-tis this October.  I can't blame the weather either.  It's been hot out again. The only other news, is that while I was sitting on the porch with leg up sipping my hot herbal tea yesterday, a car hit a deer just yards from our north drive.  The driver pulled over (a young girl), and the deer flopped around on the road for a few seconds, then got up and ran off.  The same area a car hit one early morning not long ago.  There is a corn field adjacent and north of our property.    Before We also got some barn siding removed last night.  We are tired folks.  Simply tired. We've been eating more beans than meat lately.  It helps the budget as well as our health.  These meals were over a period of time. ...

Meals were from the freezer and pantry.  Remember all that onion soup I froze?  Well, I pulled some, along with frozen corn we put up, a jar of home canned potatoes, and with pantry goods, created a potato/corn chowder.   Honestly, this was so good. I have homemade baking mix on hand, so I pulled shredded zucchini for some muffins for school lunches.  Evening snack was popcorn, which we still have plenty of.

With all the kiddos home yesterday, and the outside temperatures chilly, I used up four apples that where getting too soft to enjoy.  

When walking three miles didn't de-stress the stress yesterday, I gravitated to the kitchen where the singing began. Instead of writing poems in my head, I was singing Johnny Cash's "Burn, burn burn...." as the shallots burned my eyeballs.    Oldest Daughter thought I was cracked in the head until the shallot fumes wafted into the living room, where it burned her eyeballs. 

I'm still deep cleaning.  I came across cloth napkins, that at one time, I had planned to embroider for gifting.  Not sure what I had intentionally planned, but I did tackle this unfinished project. Now, at this point, I could have just given them away or even donated them, but I tossed them all into the washing machine instead.

Even though it's November, we are still seeing some color in our flower beds.   "Huh, I haven't heard you say, I'm going out to the garden today, in a long time.  I think I could get used to that," said my 11 year-old early this morning. Speaking of garden, my fitbit is reading 3,000 less steps per day, now that I'm not outside doing any outdoor work.  However, we haven't figured out our heating situation yet, so  that may change with splitting wood.  I'm going to have to do something to continue to get more exercise.  This may mean heading back to the gym, with a 5am workout.  Hubby needs it anyway.  They are warning employees about weight.  They are at a point now where they will not hire anyone that is over a specific weight, and will start looking for ways to fire employees, that weigh over a specific weight.  More and more employers are taking this route.

I've been busy in my kitchen these past few days.  The rainy days here, have simply motivated me to bake, mix, and shake it up a little.  I am finally at a point in our self-sufficiency stride, where all of my homemade goods (and home grown) are coming together in all of my recipes. Homemade Mexican Taco Mix is made using home grown oregano, onions, and garlic.  I can then use the seasoning mix for all sorts of recipes, such as my salsa dip (using home canned salsa too).

I used our library's free interloan program to borrow this book from another library.  It's wonderful!  If you liked Letters from a Woman Homesteader, then you most likely will enjoy this book. It is not full of letters, but journal entries from Mollie Dorsey Sanford, from 1857-1866, while she and her family moved from Indiana to Nebraska and Colorado Territories.

Remember those baby food jars I needed?  Well, I finally got around to making one jar of homemade vapo-rub.  I think I will be trying several recipes. A farmgirl shared the recipe with me.  This recipe is for adults (over the age of 12 I believe, but you could always swap out the peppermint for a safe oil for children).  Always do your research on what oils are safe, if you have young children, infants or if you are pregnant.

I am learning to be much smarter with my dehydrator, and saving money at the grocery store.  They had 16 oz. tubs of organic cottage cheese marked down for clearance.  I paid $1.49 each, for two tubs.  They are normally $4.89 each.  They fit nicely on the 4 trays in my dehydrator. 

I finally got some salsa canned, and it was with my very own tomatoes.  I was so excited to see Hubby bring in more tomatoes, we ended up with 10 pints of salsa.  A huge blessing, considering it's been the worst garden year (rain). I even had more tomatoes leftover, but not enough for salsa, so I blanched and froze them (another huge blessing I didn't think we'd get this season). I have been looking around for inexpensive jars for making homemade vapo-rub (cheapest I can find in stores is $2.99/each for a 4 oz. jar).   Well, another farmgirl gave me the idea to just buy baby food, to get the jars. Duh!  I guess with no babies in the house, that simple idea never occurred to me. It's a great bargain if you ask me.  I paid $.59/each for them, and bought sweet carrots.  I used the baby food to make a carrot cake .  I linked the recipe I used, and used my home canned applesauce in place of the oil.  I got my jars, an...

I never thought I would use the camper as my opportunity to find useful homes for things I had stored away in my house. I bought these red dishes about 16-17 years ago, and have moved them twice, and just dug them out.  They will be perfect for the camper.  I'm not filling the landfill with stryofoam and plastic, and I'm not packing glass (which Hubby doesn't want packed in there, and I agree).  Also in my dusty pie safe, was my grandmother's can opener.  I washed it up and it's going on the camper too (you never know).  Grandma would be proud to know it's still being used.  Another item in my pie safe, was this vintage cup rack. At our last (city) home, I had a "coffee house" theme in my kitchen.  I had all sorts of coffee house signs, espresso cups and stand, and all the decor you could imagine.  After moving to the farm house (with very little wall space in the kitchen, and counter space), I put this in storage....

I needed Italian dressing for a steak marinade and did not have any on hand.  I checked my cupboards and made this from scratch.  If you are interested in the recipe, I got it from

Here is a photo of the clothes dryer (drying rack, whatever you want to call it), that my Mom and cousin picked up for me.  They happened to be in the right place and the right time.   The price tag reads $58.95. They paid $30.00.  You can tell it's handmade (most likely by Amish), and is about 6 feet tall when put up to it's highest setting. I love the fact they put these rods at the very bottom for support.  All of my smaller ones (metal and wood) start to wobble side to side after months of use.

From the Homesteading Journal . . . . . . made my own bird deterrent for the strawberry beds - recycled pie pan, string, and a piece of recycled tent pole.  I used what I had, considering the budget is tight right now (from the tile project).  Later in the day I saw robins snacking away as soon as the wind stopped (and the pie pans stopped banging away).  I guess I better start saving up for bird netting and supplies.  However, I did spray paint some small stones red, and placed them under the plants for now too.  We'll see if they return after pecking at a stone.  . . . planted new curly parsley, and more tomatoes.   . . .in preparation for hot days, I started to save and fill empty plastic bottles with water.  They are being frozen to place in goat water buckets. . . . the bathroom tile project continues - humidity is a huge factor in it's completion. I cannot wait to use my shower again. . . .found a way to recycle t...

Over the weekend, a thrift store was having a customer appreciation sale - 50% off store wide.  I got all of this (two bed sheets, 3 vintage tablecloths) for about $8.00 total.  The bedding will be saved for camping, and possibly a few of the tablecloths. 

We are very much enjoying roasted pecans on our salads lately, so I sta rted ma king my own (vs. buying them already roasted ).  Here, a 3.5 oz. bag of honey roasted pecans costs $3.99. 

....all within the last few days     . . . Hubby and son rigged up the dog kennel for the meat chicks, and the layer chicks are out side now (we got the kennel for free, covered the top , and sides with chicken w ire).  The barred rock la yers ar e finally outside.

I've been using my rubber stamps to spruce up plain w riting paper to hand write letter with .  I only have one color of ink, and a f ew stamps, and still I am having fun with them.  I am stamping my e nvelopes too. I can see that I will need to save up and get a few more colors of ink and a few more stamps (of my favorite things).  I got th ese pa ds of paper at a very low price, and can reuse my stamps for anything . Mom is getting a hand wr itten/homemade Mother's Day card.  My Aunt is getting a hand wr itten le tter this week too.  Anyone else writing letters /cards this mo nth?  Happy Mother's Day to all!  

. . . planted two types of potatoes, lettu ce, red and yellow onions, spinach, arug ula, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower a nd broccoli .  I picked some as paragus too.  W e used the rain barrel water to water the veg etable p lants we planted, and love it.  The rain barrel saves us water, and electricity ( so we don't have to run the water pump to do it).  We definite ly want two more barrels this year. . . . weeded out the raised bed s of straw berries. . . . planted a r ose mary plant and some organic basil seeds. . . . planted organic sunflower seeds and tw o varieties of Sha sta Da isies.        . . . dehyrdrated organic baby kale for dog tre a ts (could not find organic , regular kale). . . .made more homemade dog treats in the dehydrator . . . . my 16 year-old made another bat ch of goat's milk soa p . . . . picked up a t ruck load of mul ch fo r the fl ower beds .  I need a nother load. . . .divi ded my Thyme and pl...