Garden season brings us fresh jalapenos, and we use them for so many recipes, canning recipes, salsas, etc.
In anticipation for summer garden goodies. . .
I had a few fresh jalapenos leftover from a recent meal. Store bought of course.
I dehydrated those fresh jalapenos per the temperature guide that comes with my dehydrator. Many people today have dehydrator settings on their actual kitchen stove, or even their air fryer. I have an actual dehydrator. I do like my smaller one, now that we are cooking for two. I am able to dehydrate, using either 1 up to 5 trays at a time, so it's super adjustable.
Once the jalapenos were dry, I ground them in a coffee grinder (specifically used only for such foods/herbs).
I then mixed it equally with salt (and ran all of the mixture in the coffee mill/grinder), and I stored it in an airtight (or re-purposed spice jar) jar. I used fine pink Himalayan salt for ours. You can do your measurements however you like. Don't forget to label her jar.
Use the jalapeno salt on just about anything you'd like to use it on. I'm thinking this would be good on popcorn too.
We do use a lot of frozen (sliced) jalapenos in recipes all year long, and we use "fire powder" as well, but this combines the two for an easy addition to any meal.
Jalapenos contain capsaicin, which is said to give you a metabolism boost, as well as provide healthy nutrients etc.
Now, when I cook, and my husband says "it needs jalapenos" which he says almost daily, he can add it quickly. He can also use our fire powder (a dehydrated mix of mixed hot peppers at the end of the garden season, with no salt).
To read about our "fire powder" see this post: HERE.
It's hard to believe that we are approaching the last day of February 2025 this coming Friday. The weather was definitely much more "winter" this year, but February is the month we tend to get the most snow.
There has been some beautiful sunrises this month. I'm blessed be able to capture a few. We even squeezed an adventure in this month.
We have also driven around, and located some new hiking/walking trails to enjoy nature and get exercise (maybe even a few picnics).
Although we had much of the month in freezing and subzero temperatures, this week it warmed up to a wonderful 53°F.
Seen during the day recently. Even the deer are enjoying the warmer weather this week.
I had the chance to read a new book on the porch this week, before the month ends. Oh my gosh, the sun felt so good.
The ground is a very mushy mess this week, so there is no work progressing on the new chicken coop, but we have not forgotten about it either. However, I did ask my husband where the new wire cutters were for this project. We both have no idea, but I surely hope we find them.
I did however, take a walk out to the fall planted garlic, and all but a few are up already. I did not walk on the garden, due to the thawing out here, but will check it again soon.
Our bunching onions look pretty good for being February too. I may be harvesting some to go in tonight's dinner.
I finally got all of my medical appointments off the calendar too. I had to change one twice due to icy roads. I've been bringing a book along with any travel friendly crochet/knit projects to any appointments or any longer drives, and have finished another book. More granny squares for the book blanket are in progress (insert happy face).
I rescued our lost roll of shelf liner. The clerk indeed must of put it down behind the counter, because they had it at the customer service counter. I had to sign to get it back. Literally. Anyway, I took advantage of the store visit, and purchased a few zipper storage bags to help organize the current closet.
Only about 950 pieces to go on this puzzle, ha ha! It's been too nice outside to work on it.
Here is the newly tried frittata recipe (29.4 grams of protein, cut in 4 servings). It called for sun dried tomatoes and fresh spinach. I think feta cheese and cottage too, but we finish it off today. We loved it, but I felt the fresh spinach added too much moisture to the frittata, so I will wilt it and squeeze it dry next time we make it. I may be topping mine with home canned cowboy candy too. Oh, I did add a pinch of homemade "fire powder" to it.
Recipe: Cottage Cheese Egg Bake (Frittata in a pie dish)
From: Sweet as honey online
I also made the homemade chicken breakfast "sausage" patties, but used organic ground turkey. I left half of the brown sugar out this time, and may even leave it all out next time. It's basically to carnalize it while making them.
I'll be posting the red lentil hummus recipe and an update on handiwork soon. I plan to enjoy every minute of the last days of February.
It wasn't really planned, but the first day of November was dedicated to resetting my home and health, and recharging for the fall/winter chores.
The travel coffee maker (single, but cheap brand) was cleaned up and put away. The cooler we traveled often with, was also put away. Counters completely cleaned off and sanitized (I like my homemade 4 Thieves cleaner), extra purchased dry goods were canned and vacuumed sealed, travel totes with paper plates etc. were put back in storage, and the suitcase put back in storage.
I have two absorbant coffee pot/grinder mats. While one is being washed the other is put out. It really helps keep the coffee pot area tidy. We like coffee.
I double checked canning supplies, expiration dates on pectin, and so forth. Checked the winter tea supply, and even dehydrated more sage.
I had a half bag of sugar sitting on the counter for a few weeks, and finally put it canning jars, and vacuum sealed them. I did not can a lot of my regular condiments this year, due to lack of garden harvest, and it needed to be stored for future use.
I did the same with some extra oats I purchased as well. I am, however, running out of wide-mouth canning jars.
There is nothing better, than to wake up to a spic n' span cleaned up kitchen. It was then, that I could light a candle, relax, re-write my to-do lists, and really recharge physically and mentally.
Kitchen Tip: Did you know that if you are out of baking soda, you can substitute 3 teaspoons of baking powder for 1 teaspoon of baking soda?
I just learned this, but typically we have more baking soda on hand than powder. I thought I would share this tip, but I have not needed to try it.
The first Sunday morning (time change for us), despite it being 36°F out, I took my coffee to the porch to watch the sunrise. There were 4 deer that came out for viewing. There were 3 bucks and a doe grazing in a harvested corn field. You can see the bigger buck the very right. We saw two more later in the mid-morning (doe and a buck).
We finally did a garage clean out. Whew! I could not believe how much we were able to donate, give away and toss out. It really was a big mess in there. I even moved all of my empty plastic drawers (used to store yarn) out there to organize things.
No menu plan yet this week, but I came up with the most delicous breakfast burrito with leftovers. You could eat this as a scramble too.
(husband added hot sauce to his, but you could also add jalapeno if you froze any, or even fire powder)
I used leftover scrambled eggs from my husband's to-go breakfast, diced up leftover brisket, cooked half of a butternut squash that was already cubed, added bell pepper, onion, garlic, rosemary and sage. We added just a bit of shredded cheddar cheese. It turned out so good, and we wasted zero leftovers
The to-do list is pretty much the typical list for November, although much of it was done in October last year. We are finally getting rain this morning, and we are expecting a warmer month. I'm still waiting on cooler days to roast and preserve pumpkins, spaghetti squash, acron squash, etc. I have tinctures in the making, and oils infusing for salve making, so the month will not be idle (but yet a much slower pace).
I had a recipe (put on the internet in 2021) I made once last year, and could not find it. I ended up finding it, but the recipe called for Weber's store brand Garlic Jalapeno Seasoning.
You know me right? I went on a mission. First, I am not really a person to store a "mixed spice" in my pantry, other than my homemade "fire powder" for spicing up dishes when I want to.
However, they do come in handy for traveling, and especially when camping. Mixed spices also come in handy for grilling out, grilling at a picnic etc.
To see the actual ingredients in the store brand, you can simply read the label next time shopping, or find it on the internet. I have no idea what stores sell it, or if they even make it anymore, but sharing what my mission was pretaining to this seasoning.
The original seasoning contains sugar (more than the jalapeno), "spices" (no specifics on what this is), citric acid, gum arabic, rice concentrate, and "natural flavors" (huh? why?).
Salt is listed first as an ingredient. I salt and pepper myself, so I left this out, but you could add it.
Other ingredients listes are Garlic, Onion, Jalapeno Pepper, and Green Bell pepper.
I'm also sharing links to some of my older blog posts that may help if you have never dehydrated garden goods, or are interested in getting a dehydrator for this purpose.
1-2 Tbsp. Jalapeno Powder, Homemade (the more, the more heat)
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. Green Bell Pepper Powder to your taste, or leave out
Mix and store in an air tight container.
Note:
2/3 cup dehydrated jalapenos = Approx. 2 Tbsp. Jalapeno powder
Our jalapenos are being harvested from the garden now.
If you do not grow a garden, or own a dehydrator, many Amish or bulk stores sell these ground powders, but be sure to read the label. I have seen green bell pepper powder for sale, but it is expensive.
If you are wondering about the recipe that started this all, here it is:
I am not affilated with the cook on this video. I found it by searching for new recipes to make with our home grown green beans - One Skillet Cheesy Ground Beef and Green Bean Casserole.
Note: I first made this recipe with fresh minced garlic and jalapenos, so you don't always need a special seasoning
Another time I simply used homemade onion powder, homemade garlic powder, homemade fire powder, and homeamde green bell pepper powder.
Today's post title should be "Youtube made me do it" ha ha!
Temperatures remain cold here - 3°F with a wind chill of -15°F this morning.
I follow the blog Mennonites Can Cook, and they recently shared a recipe for Brunch Pie. I can easily get distracted with new recipes, or they can inspire me to use up what I have (so I did).
I used canned mushrooms (we do need a lot of that vitamin D in the winter). I need to dehydrate more next winter.
Although the sun was shining for a few days, I'm not always out in it long enough.
I decided to try it next, but I swapped out the frozen hashbrowns with frozen rutabagas, that I froze last year.
Also, from the freezer, I used my garden green onions, (I had fresh bell pepper) and added frozen and cooked watercress greens and a pinch of homemade fire powder. Hot peppers are a good source for a lot of goodness for our health.
Not to forget about all the condiments I canned last year, we topped the breakfast with some home canned cowboy candy too.
I picked up some local orchard apples, so I baked us an apple pie. Not the healthiest way to start the new year, but I did.
I freeze my pie crust crumbles, so all I have to do is add the ice water and roll the dough (recipe is online with King Flour's website).
The recipe is from a very old book of mine - Farm Journal's Complete Pie Book, printed in 1965. I haven't bake an apple pie in a long, long time. I used to can apple pie filling when all the kids still lived here. The pie was not a pretty thing, but tasted okay. I have only baked Dutch apple pies if I remember correctly. I will bake it again, but not too soon, and tweak the recipe.
I also realized, I only have one pie cookbook on my homesteading bookshelf. Do you have a favorite pie recipe book that you use? Do you have a good old fashioned apple pie recipe?
I have gotten tired of breakfast sausage and bacon lately, so I switched things up, dug into the freezer, and baked us a breakfast pie. I tossed this together with eggs, Canadian bacon, mushrooms, and a few more ingredients. There are no potatoes in this, so it's healthy, and we won't be eating it for 3 days, like our scramble breakfast. We are due for some greens on our breakfast soon too.
As you can see, the news around here is a bit boring. The rain left us, but the colder air is with us.
It doesn't look like much, but I finally got around to using some thawed spaghetti squash. If you follow my blog, I roasted all of our garden spaghetti squash and froze it. I tested it out with a combination of healthy ingredients. I call it chicken spaghetti.
What's in it? When it's sort of like the recipes I found online for using an instant pot (don't have one), but I baked it in the oven. If you google for recipes, you will find many recipes to give you ideas.
I cooked the chicken the day prior in my crock pot, and shredded it. I thawed 4 cups of frozen spaghetti squash, added tomatoes, cooked onion and garlic, seasoned it all, added some sliced bunching onions from the herb garden, tossed in some cheeses and baked it.
It turned out very good, although, we both were him-hawing on adding some flavor to it. Maybe some jalapenos, possibly some "fire powder" or even homemade taco or fajita seasoning. I may add some black olives too next time.
I have written it all down, to also tweak, but we are very happy with the thawed spaghetti squash in this vs. pasta. I am also happy with the thawed spaghetti squash. I didn't have a lot of liquid in it, as I drained it prior to freezing it. Overall, happy I froze it the spaghetti squash.
I forgot to load the photos yesterday, on how I grind my dehydrated hot peppers. I also use this method for grinding other dried foods, like garlic powder or onion powder.
I have an electric coffee grinder that I specifically use for this purpose. The inner piece is removeable, making it easy to wash for the next use, and the cord winds up, and is stored in the lower inside of it.
I use mini funnels to pour the ground hot peppers into a spice jar or recycled glass jar. The color and flavor of our "Fire Powder" varies due to the mix of hot peppers.
I mentioned making a new "medicinal" and here it is . . .
Garlic Honey. You fill your jar about halfway with cloves of garlic (instructions say add how many you want on most that I have read), fill the jar with raw honey and cap it. You have to burp the jar daily for about 2 weeks. Some instructions say to flip the jar each day to coat the garlic with the honey.
Need a boost? Take some honey. Feeling sick? Eat the garlic.
I'll let you know if this was worth making or not. Raw honey is not cheap around here. Have you made and utilized garlic honey? I would love to hear your feedback on it. I'm late on getting winter medicinals made, but back at it now.
Speaking of medicine and illnesses, we did have covid. We are finally back to feeling somewhat "normal." There were employees going to work with covid, and not staying home, so the spread continued after my husband stayed home. I guess these people were not showing many signs, but enough to know they should have stayed home.
Moving on to some chit chat . . .
We discovered a butcher with non-gmo/free range/no antibiotics within a 2 1/2 hour drive from our homestead. We picked up a turkey tenderloin, 1 # sausage, 1 # ground beef, and a slice of smoked ham.
We have already tasted the turkey and it was delicious! We are talking a real turkey tenderloin. Not that stuff at the grocery store they pump with sodium.
We have also tried the sausage. It does contain brown sugar, but it is not anywhere as sweet as what you buy in grocery stores, and it tastes almost like they smoked the meat for it. We have also now tried the ground beef by grilling burgers. The ham will be part of today's breakfast. We will be taking a cooler back before winter, and stocking up.
It's a small locally owned business in the Amish community. They only accept cash/check, and are closed on Sunday. We are looking forward to a trip to re-stock now. We may try other cuts of their meats as well. They do cut their bacon thick, which we are not a fan of (thick cut), but we my try it after another trip there.
I'll admit, the cooler weather has been nice lately. We've had to turn a few heaters on too. The rain is moving in, and for several days.
If you blinked, you would have literally missed this beautiful sky Monday morning. It was there one minute, and gone the next. I was lucky to get the camera in time.
Wash, slice and dehydrate the mix of garden hot peppers. Keep those seeds for more heat in the "fire powder." I used my mats to keep those seeds. In the past, I used parchment paper.
Dehydrate according to you dehydrator instructions. I have a small coffee grinder I used for grinding herbs, and I when these are dry, I grind them up, and pour them into a recycled spice jar and label.
It's a great way to use up all those leftover hot peppers in your garden. You could freeze them too, but I find that drying them and grinding them, makes a nice spice flavor to add to meals.
I tried a new apple oatmeal breakfast dish to change up breakfast. It's called Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal, and if you have canned applesauce from last year you need to eat up, this recipe is for you. I used one apple from our trees as well. The recipe is online with "The Real Food Dietitians" and honestly, I have no idea how I found it. It has 1/4 cup maple syrup/honey in it, but in moderation, it did not bother my husband's sugar levels.
I made these banana muffins a second time. I noticed the recipe does not call for salt, but calls for baking powder. I added 1/4 tsp. salt this time. They contain organic quick steel cut oats and Einkorn flour, and no sugar/sweeteners.
Homemade Granola. I think I used every measuring cup and spoon I own ha ha!
I used one of our apples to make a mayo free slaw salad. It was pretty good too. Simply juice from a lemon, some olive oil and salt. I added chives from the herb garden. It was 1/4th of a cabbage, one carrot, one apple, and some chives from the herb garden.
I was prepared to whip up a mayo free dressing, if needed, but we like it this way. Just something different to try, and healthy.
Meals were adjusted again, off the meal plan. I had some barley that needed used up, so I ended up making a vegetable barley soup. My husband was still not feeling well. I roasted a rutabaga and added it to the soup.
I went out to pick jalapenos for our next meal this week, and it was slim pickin's. Not much. I was hoping for a round of "fire powder to end the season, but there is not much out there.
We are to have a few cooler days, but we warm back up to the 80's soon, so I'm am hopeful, but I guess we'll see. I did not check the bell peppers, but will today unless it's raining.
Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words regarding my husband being sick. He came home with a runny nose. I brewed up a few cups of hot yarrow tea, and he was feeling much better this morning.
To make the new breakfast casserole, I needed sausage. The recipe called for Italian, but I simply used my homemade sausage recipe, by swapping out the pork with lean ground turkey. I put the extra into the freeze for other meals.
I made a new breakfast casserole, but after putting it together it is basically like a bake I make, only the potatoes are swapped out with cauliflower. It's very good, but I will season it up next time with either jalapenos, garlic or fire powder. I topped it with dandelion greens as well.
Today, I am on the hunt for someone to at least remove the popcorn ceiling. Wish we luck. Nothing is cheap anymore. We can do the painting, but I have never removed the popcorn ceiling. The floor work is slow going right now, which is driving me crazy.
I signed up to make rolls for one Thanksgiving, and yesterday realized, I cannot get to my recipes. They are buried in my office, where the door is in the living room. It's packed with stuff from the living room, and of course the floor is not in yet. I guess I'm off the hook for that this year ha ha!
I may take a mashed cauliflower dish. I mean, I need something my husband can eat. That's the bad thing of a get together - all the options are not healthy, other than maybe deviled eggs. When I think about it, almost all but the meat is bad - cheesy potatoes, corn casserole, sweet potato bakes have brown sugar toppings, stuffing, rolls, mashed potatoes, corn, any side salads with pasta in it....heck even my BBQ crock pot green beans have brown sugar in it. I guess I'm on the hunt for some other healthy sides, besides sweet potatoes with garlic, butter and thyme.
Well, we are to get rain and snow today. And it's another day waiting on a quote to get the gutters cleaned before the weather gets too bad.
