"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.

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

One step forward, two steps back ~ 3 Ingredient Crackers ~ Red Lentil Crackers

 


I dropped my readers, while looking up at the ceiling for some reason, and they fell off my head. Ha!  I've been using them this way for a few days now.  I hope to replace them soon.


I feel like the hallway repairs/renovations are one step forward, and two back lately.  First, we are painstakingly painting a second coat of paint to all of the trim in the hallway.  The hall gets a lot of light, and I'll be honest, the second coat does look a lot better.  It will take some time to complete that job now.  

Next up, we discovered that one outlet is not working at all, and another is on the fritz.  We will be replacing both of those in the hallway too.


I am a journal junkie, and yes we have a home journal.  I have been good at taking notes, and stapling/or taping the paint chips on appropriate room pages.  I log the store, the cost, and sometimes include the receipt.  If we need to touch up paint or buy new anything, it's been written down for future reference.  If you are repairing or renovating, I highly suggest getting one for your own home.


I made the 3-ingredient crackers again, and this time I used my silicone mat for the first 15 minute bake.  The recipe states to flip them onto another baking sheet with parchment paper.



The dough sticks to these too, so I guess use parchment paper to avoid more things to wash.  I still like these the best so far, but it is pretty difficult to get the entire dough thin enough to bake crisp. I even put the thicker ones back in the oven and they did not crisp up this time.

Welcome to my kitchen, where I try recipes, so you don't have to - Red Lentil Crackers.  They are less fuss, bake nice, and are crisp.  There are several recipes out there, and this one I tried did not have a lot of flavor.  Look for a recipe with more spices/herbs if you try these.  They are thicker, so I'd spread it out much thinner, but they are very crisp (some are too crisp in my opinion).


The last trip to the grocery store, I found some organic cucumbers again.  We made my quick chicken salad, and love these.  It's been light meals here lately with all the work, but healthy meals.

In a quick pinch, I mix organic canned chicken with organic mayo, and a bit of home canned hot pepper relish, and a bit of sweet pickle relish.  I did not have any red grapes, or would have added those, and I did not add a boiled egg, as we had egg salad for another meal.  If I have celery, I dice some of that too.


Did I share this tip?  I save the lids off of our organic mayo (I don't make it fresh in winter when the eggs are in low production).  The lids fit perfect for when I open a jar of hot/sweet pepper relish.

Monday, February 5, 2024

Happy Homemaker Monday

The lack of sunshine was dragging us down, but we finally got a full day of it Sunday.  We didn't have time to go get the hallway flooring over the weekend, but that is okay.  If you have done repairs and renovations, you know it's best to start at the top and work down, and get all of the painting done before the flooring goes in.  We are not done painting.


 Today I am joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.



The weather . . .
We are excited to hear we may reach the high 50's, and possibly 60° later this week.  Perfect weather to paint the door to the garage and possibly side door (interior side of the doors).  They forcasted "freezing fog" for this morning.  I have never heard of that.

Right now I am . . .
Making a 2nd pot of coffee and finishing this post.

Thinking and pondering . . .
I'm thinking about purging another bookshelf, that contains mostly books on grammar, writing, and writing skills.  I had a moment in my life, where I wrote freelance articles, and it was fun.  I have not had the ambition, motivation, nor energy to continue that path, so the books may be purged.


How I am feeling . . .
My fingernails are down to the quick from washing walls and window trim.  I am constantly applying hand cream too.  Otherwise, pretty happy with our repairs and hallway progress.  My elbow is sore from constant work (the one I fell on the ice).

My hair is much softer from using the homemade hair detangler.  It is said it will repair damaged ends, so I hope to have a good update in a month or so.

On the breakfast plate . . .
French toast made with Ezekiel bread, blueberry sausages and scrambled eggs.

On the menu . . .
I have absolutely no idea, ha ha!  I will be working on that later this morning.

On my reading pile . . .
I'm still reading this book, although with all of the painting going on here, I have had zero time to read it.


On the TV this week . . .
YouTube videos on fixing dog scratches on a fiberglass door.  I have just learned about dog scratch protection panels that you can simply stick on your doors to prevent them from causing damage.  I wish I knew about these before the dogs here (over the years) damaged the door.

Movies on Netflix

Looking around the house . . .
Excited to purge more.  I donated all of my display stands (took 3 boxes) to a local thrift store (not a chain thrift).  I'm going to start purging books in my "office" in between repairs/renovations.

I also got rid of a large box of large plastic Easter eggs.  I bought them for an "adult" egg hunt, but year after year, the rain and mud prevented it.  

The new smoke alarm was installed in the hallway, ceiling paint touched up in a few areas, walls were spackled and sanded, and hallway windows primed and painted one coat.  It will take a second coat before we paint the walls.  The wood trim was just so dark in color.  Both drywall patched areas were re-installed and mudded in (and drying).

On the to-do list . . .
-clean veggie/fruit drawers in fridge
-dust living room, Master bath/bedroom
-wash bedding
-sweep and mop Master bath/bedroom

For the week, deep cleaning:
-wash kitchen blinds and windows, wash valances


From the camera . . .
To save money on paint tape, we are using this tool to prime and paint around the window trim edges. It takes longer, but paint tape is not cheap either.  Photo is the beginning of priming the window trim.

Devotional, Prayers, Bible Verses. . .