"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Went straight from summer to winter...


We've had a few beautiful sunrises at our place lately.


Mia, wanting to play as soon as I sat down to knit a bit.


Made my first Einkorn chocolate chip cookies.  I didn't have whole wheat, but they tasted great!

Started up the wood stove once again, but had to use my clothes dryer for the first time in a looooong time.  It was cold and it rained.  At least the garlic is getting a good watering.

Cleaned all the straw out of my emergency chicken coop (adjacent to the main one), because the rat (or something) came back and starting chewing a new hole. Grr!  Re-set the trap.

While embarking on the mission to do the dishes, I found 45 other things that needed done (while mentally making a list of other things that needed done).  Isn't that how it always goes.  I walked into the garage to see if we had newspaper, and noticed garlic hanging.  Oops.  Brought that in right away.




Got the mail, and my beautiful bling wallet arrived!  Thank you so much for the give away Goatldi!




Snow was predicted, along with the rain and wind, so I trimmed the tops of the zinnias (no time to pull the plant), and brought in what little bit I could of green onion and chives to freeze.



One of the books I brought home from a recent library loot trip.  Once again, gaining more recipes.  There may be a few gems in this book.


Overall, Saturday was sort of a strange day after 3pm.    Our oldest daughter called to check in her dog Mia.  She's out of town for a few more weeks.  One daughter and her boyfriend came out to pick up her mail, and drop off some bandannas for her dog Jesse.  After they left, my youngest daughter left for a birthday party.  

I was home alone with the dogs until Hubby got off of his long 10 hour day work shift.  It was sort of strange.  Too quiet if you ask me, and that was when the weather started to change.  I got another arm load of wood and kept the house toasty.  I brought in a few things off the porch and stored them for winter, but I'll need reinforcements to put the larger items away.


Saturday, October 20, 2018

Tidbits ~ Ham and Pea Pasta

I'm very concerned about Hubby.  His long hours have totally exhausted him and he's not feeling well. Wednesday night was the first time he would try one of my tinctures for sinus pressure (and it worked and he wanted it this morning).  I brewed a tea infusion for him, for exhaustion.  He was willing to trudge out to the coop and help me fix that hole, but I could tell he didn't want to do anything but eat dinner and lay in bed.

As the holidays approach, I thought it would great to share this comfort food recipe we love.  Although homemade noodles are wonderful, I made it this time with organic/non-gmo macaroni noodles.

Have leftover ham?  Make this delicious garden to table casserole!

Ham and Pea Pasta

1 cup diced  home grown onions
1 Tbsp. of organic butter*  
Saute together until onions are clear, then add 1 cup diced ham, and cook about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

3 cups organic/non-gmo pasta (cook and drain while you saute onions).  I like to use homemade pasta if I have it on hand.  Lately, I've found inexpensive organic pasta at our local store.

In a large mixing bowl mix the following ingredients:
1 "can" of homemade cream of chicken soup*
1 cup of home raised milk, or organic milk
2 1/2 cups organic shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup homegrown garden peas, cooked and drained*
1/2 tsp. homemade onion powder
1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder
 - thyme, to your taste
 - salt and pepper
Add the cooked onions and ham, and cooked and drained macaroni noodles.  Mix well.

Pour into an oiled or sprayed (non-stick organic spray) 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle homemade dried onion flakes on top (optional).  Bake 10 more minutes.

Optional:  add 1/2 cup organic sour cream to the mix

*organic cream of chicken from the grocery can be used, or you can make your own (Simply Scratch online recipes)  You can also substitute with homemade condensed cream of celery soup.

*frozen organic peas can be used, simply thaw prior to adding