Pioneer Woman at Heart

  The latest granny square for my "book" blanket.  I try to match the colors the best I can, and with what yarn I already have.  I just have at join it to the blanket.  The book is being passed on to one of the kids, so another book out the door and off the shelf. On the Hook   ©  March 2025 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  I think the title of this post should have been "Kitchen Capers" or what's going on in the kitchen these days. Not much. I pickled red onions.   These are healthy and can be added to many dishes, rice, salads, tuna/chicken salad or topped on hummus.  The ideas are endless really, but it's nice to have it on hand.  I made us protein bites for snacks.  I really like these during summer when it's super hot outside.  I do think the amount of mini dark chips can be reduced, but they are very good.  I'll be honest, I can't recall where I got this recipe, but I am on the hunt, so I can share.  I used to make these a different way, but these have coconut in them.   What's Cooking?   ©  March 2025 by  Kristina  at  Pioneer  Woman at Heart

  March is what we call our "mud" season.  Everything is thawing, or there is rain and flooding, and sometimes a snow shower in the mix.  Mud.  We get lots and lots of of a muddy mess, which prevents any or all outdoor work or play (unless we find paved hiking/walking trails). Mud season can feel unending and arduous, but also inspiring as the warmer/sunny weather arrives. Monday - 13°F windchill in the morning (I attempted to sit in the sunshine for a hot minute, and the clouds moved in of course) Tuesday - 36°F windwill in the am.  High for the day was 60°F (insert smiling face), but we had am rain. Wednesday - 53°F (windchill of 48°F), rain Today?  - 37°F Snow!   Nothing new going on.  We are patiently waiting for spring to stay put.  If you remember, we were trying to get an online appointment for new tires last weekend? Well, my husband actually got an appointment made over the phone, and drove there after work to the said appointm...

  I inquired about rental space in a store that sells locally make crafts (about a 35 minute drive or more).  There is a wait list, the rental space charge is a whopping $6 per square foot, and a 20% payment to the owners on any of your sales.  Sigh.  I have given up on that route.  Unless I be-friend an owner and strike a deal, it is impossible to continue to make and sell in rented store spaces anymore.  At least in our area anyway. Does anyone else get tired of businesses having only online bookings?  We have been trying to get new tires on one of our vehicles, and one place won't take appointments, another is online only (very frustrating system according to my husband). Not to mention, that once you book anything online, they message you a ton of reminder messages (very annoying). We had a very busy weekend, so it's back to home updates, and regular work around here.  Oh, and we visited the other nearest JoAnn Fabrics store.  They had mu...

The new sprouts for the chickens.  These are organic peas.  I am sprouting a small amount to introduce them to the ladies (chickens) and see if they like them or not.  They love sprouted lentils.  They should be ready to treat the ladies in a few days now.     Welcoming March!  We already had our first adventure day trip on March 1st.  We drove a few hours to visit one of the kids and their new house.  The weather was back to freezing cold here, so what a better way to spend a Saturday in winter. I surely gave me a break from lining closet shelves and purging clothing. My goodness, it was so nice to see the kids and their pets again.  We haven't seen their pets in many years, and Jasper (cat), bless his heart at 16 years old, sniffed my face, put his nose to my nose and rubbed his head on my forehead.  He remembered me.  He did the same with my husband.  Such a sweet moment. Of course we stopped at a pet store and pic...

  The month of February typically is the month we tend to get the most snowfall.  Now we are thawing out, and having some flooding.  Heck, Wednesday we started out with everything frozen again, then snow showers, followed by a day of rain. Yesterday we woke up to fog.  The weather is all over the map right now.  Just after dinner time last night, we had a rain shower.     Ribbit, Ribbit. 🐸  Sounds like Rip it, Rip it.  It's where the term "frogging" a crochet project comes from.  Ripping out stitches due to mistakes in previous rows. I did more frogging this past week than I wish I had, ha ha!  I worked on the blue and white baby blanket , but kept making mistakes.  I am not sure if it was my husband talking to me, or if I was just having an "off" day. Ha.  If fact, I had to rip out a few rounds last night (again) due to an extra stitch I had made in a previous row.  I hope to get it finished soon.   U...

  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...