Pioneer Woman at Heart

I've been making my homemade vanilla for years.  I simply purchase madagascar vanilla beans (non-gmo, organic), and organic vodka.  I'll admit, it's become more difficult to find an organic grain vodka, but make sure it's grain, not a potato vodka. Place 1 cup of vodka in a pint canning jar.* Slice 5 vanilla beans down the center of each, and then cut each bean in half.  Place vanilla beans into the vodka filled canning jar. Place lid/rim on and store in a cool, dark location for 3-6 months. Shake the jar once a day. Strain, and store in amber glass bottles. It makes a wonderful gift for Christmas, so start early, and have it ready in time.  I purchased amber bottles, created my own label, and it was very much appreciated.  Include recipes, or the recipe to make it when gifting. *use any glass jar that will hold 1 cup of liquid and still leave room for shaking the jar.

Hopefully it's not to small of print for you to read.  Something neat for someone traveling.

Monday's are typically the worst days of the week for Hubby and Youngest.  I try to get something sweet baked, but early morning started with a kitchen full of dirty dishes.  We were lazy for sure.  We were stressed over the car accident, and it was cold out and raining the entire time, so we all (after getting the car home) pulled on comfy clothes and watched movies.  Hubby and I watched Smokey and the Bandit, and our daughter watched her favorite movies in another room.  I crocheted, and for once, started and finished an entire scarf.  It's a Harry Potter Gryffindor scarf. The young crowd goes goo-goo over these.  Who knew?   The dishes sat though, so first thing Monday morning, I had a messy kitchen to clean up before I did any baking, other cleaning or laundry.  Boy were we lazy.  I had a ton to wash.  Sunday morning, I made homemade biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and fried potatoes.  Yeah, lots of dishes...

The weather finally gave us some relief with the recent heat, but the rain came with it.  Too wet now to weed.  Not that I'm complaining, ha ha!  The rain forced us to cancel a motorcycle poker run Saturday.  Actually, the event was canceled along with other area events.  The rain wasn't supposed to arrive until late Saturday, but we woke up to rain at 7am. I'm so organized that it took me a half hour to find the large tote of cotton yarn, ha ha!  Literally.  Had me laughing too.   I'm busy crocheting more mug/coaster sets.  I have set a confirmed date this month for a Farmer's Market event.  I already have a scarf order for a Christmas present too.  I still need more mugs, but our weekend was a bit of a shock.  I'll try later this week to locate some. Not much going on here but rain. Lots of rain. We didn't get the 30mph winds they said we would, nor the torrential rainfall, but we did get lots of rain.  ...

I like to freeze these uncooked, because they cook up pretty quickly.  It's a great way to use zucchini too.  I double this and use my large pampered chef cookie scoop, getting about 34 to 35 meatballs. Turkey Zucchini Meatballs 1 lb. ground turkey, organic 1 cup shredded zucchini* 1 tsp. homemade Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder 1/2 tsp. homemade onion powder 1/4 tsp. organic (or homemade) crushed red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper *if using thawed, frozen shredded zucchini, squeeze out liquid before adding. Shape into balls and freeze or cook.  To freeze, I put them on a try and freeze, then remove and freeze in an airtight freezer container or freezer bag. To Bake (thawed): Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a pampered chef stoneware bar pan.  Bake 16-18 minutes, or until done. To Bake Frozen: Bake 20-25 minutes or until done. I like to bake the meatballs about an hour ...

It was a day to label all those jars and find a place to store them for winter.  In doing so, I found a pint of last years green tomato salsa.  I cooked a small amount of corn off the cob, and black beans, mixed those in with a bit of our hot salsa and the green tomato salsa and boom - a cold meal was made.  If you call it a meal.  It was a back up for the two coming home from a very hot day. Latest berry picking.  Looks like a snack vs. freezing it.  Or into a smoothie. Hubby brought home a loot of peppers, given to him from a co-worker. I was tickled pink to get them too.  I was so, so happy to receive the generous gifts - hot banana, chili, jalapeno, and tabasco peppers.  And one single habanero. Here's what I made: Fire powder. Fire powder is a mix of hot peppers that we simply use to flavor just about anything.  The habanero went into the fire powder, along with a few of every hot pepper. To make them, simp...

The heat wave continued through the first of the week, bringing us more uncomfortable weather, but I needed it for more ripe tomatoes so I tried not to complain.  Today, it's supposed to be the last of hot day.  I guess we'll see.  It was so hot some schools without AC let out again early and will again today.  Hubby has to work in rooms with hot machines, and yesterday, he almost got sick twice.  I told him to request an ice jacket (vest filled with ice) today.  Some machines can be from 130° up to 700-800°F.  He is requesting those jobs be delayed by a day today.  He was so sick when he got home, all he could eat was the blueberry bread I made.  So glad I made it. Our daughter's school has AC, but the school buses do not.  We are not used to having heat waves in fall, and she has a black school uniform (pants).  No time to change to shorts on the way home either.  She came home miserable too and went straight to the ...