Pioneer Woman at Heart

  Lima Bean Hummus (my recipe) 1 can of lima beans, drained and rinsed 2 cloves of garlic, minced (we used home grown)* 1/3 cup tahini (dry roasted seeds, but any tahini will work) 2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. real lemon juice (from a fresh lemon) 1/4 cup water 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1/4 tsp. salt Mix everything in a food processor until smooth.  Adjust salt and garlic if needed.  If you do not grow your own garlic, you may need to add more to adjust flavor. Our homegrown garlic is loaded with flavor. Lima Bean Hummus    ©  March 2026 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

The recipe I use for our dry Fajita seasoning mix, is on my blog HERE .   I store the dry mix in a repurposed jar, and label it.  If you add the dehydrated onion  (especially if you make it yourself), you may want to store the jar in the door of your freezer.  The dehydrated onion can very easily absorb moisture (even in the cupboard), and the mix will become hard. Note:  We plan to add some home grown, dehydrated oregano to this mix next time it's made.  If we like it, I'll add it to the recipe, and how much we add to the recipe.  I almost feel it should contain some garlic powder too.  I've made notes on the original post. We use this dry seasoning mixture for chicken tacos too, but you could use dry taco seasoning as well.  We make that ourselves too. Homemade Fajita Seasoning (Dry Mix)   ©  March 2026 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  The weather is 19°F this morning, as I post this blog post today.  Brr.  I sure hope it warms up, but if not, it's a good day to bake something. I used my larger cookie scoop, and used the back of it to spread the cookie out a bit. One of the kids wanted a healthy banana cookie recipe, and I have a few.  I had to dig this one out and make to see if it was one of my keeper recipes (I have a habit of not taking notes). It's a soft cookie - no flour, no sugar. 3 ripe bananas, organic, mashed 2 cups of organic old fashioned oats 1 cup of finely diced apple or dates (I used half of both for this batch, using organic apples/dates) 1/3 cup organic canola oil * 1 tsp. homemade vanilla extract 1 1/2 tsp. organic cinnamon A few dashes or so of organic nutmeg Mix, drop on parchment paper line baking sheets, and bake for 20 minutes.  Cool on a rack.  I let these sit on the baking sheets a bit after taking out of the oven. I had larger bananas, so they needed a bit mo...

  Here is how I make our red lentil hummus.  It makes a good amount, but you can slather it on a cracker and top it with a sliced boiled egg, dip fresh veggies in it, enjoy it on a sandwich (of any sort) and so many other ways.  You can use hummus as your "sauce" for dishes. First, measure 1 cup of organic red lentils, and rinse them.  Add them to a pot and 3 cups of water.  Cook them until there  is no water left (they will be a mushy consistency).  You will need to watch the pot at the end so it does not burn to the pan. Take off the heat and allow to cool.  Go clean something, read a book, fold laundry or enjoy the outdoors for a bit. Place the cooked and cooled lentils in a food processor and add: 1 can organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1/2 cup Tahini 3 Tbsp. Lemon juice (I use fresh squeezed and often use one lemon, and don't measure) 3-4 Cloves of garlic, minced (to your taste) 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. cumin Mix in the food processor, chil...

Per a request for the recipe. . . I've been making this homemade version of "canned" cream of mushroom soup since February of 2014.  The link in my post below. Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup Another post with a few photos ....contains the link to the actual recipe online.  She has added fresh thyme to the recipe since I started making it, and have not added it to mine (yet). She also has the recipes for condensed cream of celery soup and condensed cream of chicken soup.  I have made all three of the recipes and they are keeper recipes for me. I adapt the recipes with organic/non-gmo ingredients for the healthiest soup recipes. I can say that the original recipe she had up, stated two cremini mushrooms.  Same with shallots, but she has listed amounts now.  Our stores stopped selling bulk cremini mushrooms all together, so I now buy organic baby bella mushrooms for ours.  I love it.  The shallots bring the party to the soup mix for sure.  So good....

  Breakfast Lasagna (there are more versions of this online) The recipe is found on a YouTube video.  It uses a lot of cheese to make this a "zero" carb recipe, but not low in calories.  You start by scrambling 18 eggs.  Here is the video LINK for the YouTube video on how she makes the breakfast lasagna. Gravy is made with breakfast sausage, cream cheese and beef broth.   Like I said, it uses a LOT of cheese. I'm not a subscriber, so I could not get actual measurements from her recipe, so I "eyeballed" it.  I used a mix of mozzarella and pepper jack, and some Parmesan cheese. The ham I used.  Honestly, didn't feel one 6 oz. package was enough, but I wasn't sure on the size of pan to use either. Here is my review:  I used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  It was too big of a baking dish, to get even layers. It was very good, but I will use my own milk based sausage gravy next time, and will utilize frozen diced ham we saved from the ...

  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...

  I have noticed, when I make an all-in-one chicken dinner in the crock pot (with chicken breast), it is the most tender chicken. So.... I started to do this, for any baked casserole dinner that has shredded chicken as an ingredient - place organic chicken breasts (fat trimmed) into a crock pot (I salt and pepper it first) and cover with organic chicken broth (low sodium).  I cover the chicken completely with the broth. I cook this on low all day.  I haven't really kept track of the hours, but maybe 6-7 hours.  I then turn off the crock pot, and shred the chicken, and add to whatever recipe I am baking in the oven.  I've even done this the day before, that way the chicken is already done.  It is the most tender chicken for our recipes.   Note:  The chicken is so tender I use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the crock pot, or it simply falls apart in the crockpot.  It makes it easier to get to the cutting board to shred. I don't...

  You can dehydrate the last handful of hot peppers in any form, but I place them in my food processor and grind them up to small bits. (dehydrated in the photo) I then spread them out on parchment paper and dehydrate in my dehydrator.  If you have an air fryer, most have a dehydrate option. When they are all dried, I put them in a coffee bean grinder (used only for grinding dehydrated items), and grind into a powder.  I store in an air tight spice jar. Add the ground powder to any recipe to add flavor.  I use it a lot in our breakfast casseroles/frittatas and scrambles. Yes there are Christmas towels in there😂 I fear for our world we now live in.  More and more people we know are sick with covid.  It's spreading like wild fire in our area.  A co-worker of my husband's could use prayers.  He is the same age as me, and was moved to a different hospital with covid.  Both of his lungs collapsed.  His name is Lauren (not sure if I'm spellin...

I have two kitchen tables.  We use both during tomato season then potato season.  They are perfect for feeding family during get togethers (which I miss dearly).  Anyway, my larger table has become he spot to drop stuff and not put it away.  Yesterday I cleared it off.  Everything went to their home. New tablecloths were put down, and yes that one on the table behind it is a Christmas one.  I really want a Christmas cloth for the smaller table in blues.  The one I have works for now. I also tried a new bread recipe.  First, I wanted to try it due to the lesser amounts of ingredients and it didn't require bread flour.  Second.  I needed bread to make a french toast breakfast. The recipe for the bread is a 4 ingredient recipe, which makes 2 loaves.  It's online (Simple Amish White Bread Recipe, Donna Elick).  I used all organic ingredients. I was skeptical at first.  It uses all-purpose flour and no eggs. I used the full 7 c...

  Bourbon Chicken (Crockpot Recipe) Place 2lbs. of organic chicken breast in a crock pot. In a bowl mix the sauce: 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger 4 cloves homegrown garlic 1/2 tsp. organic crushed red pepper flakes 1/3 cup organic apple juice 1 1/2 Tbsp. organic honey 1/4 cup organic brown sugar 1/4 cup home canned (or organic) ketchup 3 Tbsp. organic apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup Bourbon 1/4 cup organic soy sauce 1/4 cup water Mix all together and pour over chicken.  Cook on low for 7 hours or so. Just about 15 minutes before serving, remove chicken from crock pot, shred and set aside.   Mix 3 Tbsp. water with 3 Tbsp. organic corn starch.  Add to the crock pot mixture and stir.   Shred chicken and add back to the crock pot. Stir. Note:  I did not turn up the heat to speed up process, I simply let it sit on low, put the chicken back in, and gave it a stir. Serve over organic wild rice or rice of your choice and top with chopped green onions from your ...

No that we lack recipes, but I am starting to lack some ingredients.  I do not want to go to the store, so I am thankful I have recipe books like this.... I also placed an order for a few more books, and one is on making your own medicine (I do have books on this, but wanted more). My son purchased this for our daughter.  It is to hold his ashes.  I was doing pretty well about this lately, until it showed up.  I just about cried.  However, I do love the photo she picked, because that's what I remember about my "tater tot" and boy do I miss him a lot. Since we are under shut-in, I texted her photos of it.  She called him "Pooh Bear" and he even had a Pooh Bear Halloween costume at one time. Well, as far as homesteading around here, the weather got cooler.   I made egg salad, some breakfast veggie muffins with dandelion greens, and a new recipe of dill pickle dip, using home canned pickles.  As for the recipe for the ...

A batch of good 'ol hummus.  I had some non-gmo tahini that needed used up, and we are eating a good amount of garlic right now.  Too many people getting sick. Breakfast frittata - homemade sausage (organic lean pork with home grown seasonings) and dandelions from the freezer. Roasted dinner with a twist (adding asparagus vs. corn on the cob). Grain free fruit/nut bars - King Arthur Flour recipe (available online).  Amazingly good and healthy.  I didn't have shredded coconut, so I used chopped macadamia nuts and swapped peanut butter for the almond butter. Made my first no knead, no yeast sandwich bread - low carb too.  It doesn't rise as much as yeast bread, but it tastes great for a sandwich bread.  I found the recipe online (Low Carb Sandwich Bread).  It uses almond flour and coconut flour.  Now my husband can have an egg salad sandwich again, and PB & J, or Tuna or chicken sandwich.  I had all the exact ingredien...

Woke up to 18°F (felt like 9°F) yesterday morning.  We both forgot to stoke the fire before bedtime, so I was up at 5am getting it rolling to heat up the house.  We also had a thin layer of snow.  The chicken's water was frozen (I do not want a heat-able unit out in the barn), so I rotating watering units daily. Woke up to this on the computer this morning.  Just love this kiddo. I got my zip and zap back.  Maybe because of the cold weather, ha ha!  I was zipping around putting up more Christmas lights, and decorations.  Of course in between it all I folded towels, did more laundry, and put my craft totes away until next season.  I did the dishes, wrote out a shopping list, worked on the Christmas menu (cutting it down, but healthy and yummy), put some bows up outside, wrapped all the gifts, set rat traps in the barn, and brought in more wood. ...on the Christmas morning breakfast menu.  I know Hubby has to watch his...

Rhubarb is in season now.  Guess what concoction I made?  Well, the title of this blog sort of gave it away, ha ha!  I created rhubarb vodka. You can find the recipe online just about anywhere.  I used the recipe from BBC recipes online, adapted with homegrown and organic ingredients.   Rhubarb Vodka ·          1¾ pints (3 1/2 cups) organic vodka ·          2 stalks of homegrown rhubarb           3 Tbsp sugar ·          Lemon zest from half of one organic lemon or homegrown ·          3 organic whole cloves ·          1 organic cinnamon stick ·           (right after adding the sugar - shake it up when you sprinkle it on the rhubarb) 1.  I used my food processor to chop...

I adapted this family recipe with homegrown, organic ingredients.  The original recipe is from my own Mom, and called for "shortening" so feel free to use organic shortening if you can't find real lard or process your own lard. The crunch is also a thin dessert.  It is not thick and will go quickly, as it is so good.   Rhubarb Crunch 1 cup flour 1 tsp. Baking powder 2 Tbsp. lard (or shortening) 1/2 tsp. salt Cut lard into dry ingredients.  Add 1 beaten farm fresh egg.  Pat into the bottom of a 13 x 9 in. baking pan.  Scatter 2-3 cups of diced rhubarb over the crust. Mix: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup butter Cut butter into mixture and sprinkle over the rhubarb.  Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes.

The process of this spring jelly is so intriguing.  It starts out the color of this (above). Wild Violet Jelly 2 cups freshly picked wild violets 2 cups of water, boiled Place violets in a quart canning jar and pour boiling water over it.  Seal with the canning lid, allow to cool, and refrigerate overnight. Day 2 Strain the violets from the liquid and add juice of one lemon or 3 Tbsp. of organic/non-gmo lemon juice.  Pour liquid into a steel pan and add 1 pkg. powdered pectin and bring to a boil. Add:  4 cups of sugar, bring to a boil and boil 1 minute. Power into sterilized jars, wipe rims, add lids and rims and place in canner pot to boil for 15 minutes.  (1/2 inch head space) Cool for 24 hours. Yield:  approx. 4 - 1/2 pint jars or 8 4oz. jars. (3rd time I made this, I squeezed the liquid from the violets, getting 1 more 1/2 pint jar of jelly. Note:  I break this up into 2 days, since it takes a bit of time to pick all those vio...