Homemade Garlic Powder

 

The tool on the left is used for removing the garlic skins.  you place the garlic inside the tube and roll it with your hand.  The tool on the right is used to slice the garlic.

You put the top piece of the slicer back on top and twist the bottom as you press down the top. I have learned to not over fill this, making it much easier.

I know this is a repeat post, and I do make it yearly most garden seasons.  If you have never made garlic powder you can click on my post below on how I make it, after the garlic is dehydrated.  

My very first years making garlic powder, I would hand peel, and hand slice.  

How to Dehydrate Garlic and Make Garlic Powder

Tips:

-Use latex gloves.

-Rinse all the tools/knife if you are not going to do dishes right away.  Garlic dries rock hard, making washing things difficult.

-I only have 4 mats for my dehydrator, so I use parchment paper some times, so that I don't lose the very small bits of the garlic.  I do recommend parchment paper over simply using your trays.  It is much easier to un-stick the garlic from the paper, push it to the center, and fold the paper in half to slide it into your grinder.  It makes way less mess, and clean up much easier.

-Save your garlic skins to make broth or flavor other dishes.  Store the skins in a freezer bag.

Homemade Garlic Powder © Nov 2023 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Fall Garlic Planting ~ Garlic Powder ~ Recipes that Use It

We worked on barn wood all day Sunday.  We are very tired and sore.  I took photos, but will load them later to share.  As soon as we finished removing boards so we could load up a trailer, a stranger pulled in wanting the metal hay rail.  We now know why the other guy wanted it - money.  Each little metal piece (photo to come later) is worth $10.00.  Not including the rail.  So this stranger, after we did all the work, just drives on in and asks for it for free.  I'm going to put signs up for those types of people. Oh, and the stranger immediately asked for the pulleys.  Hm.  The nerve of people. 

So, without photos of the barn clean up, I'll share my garlic.  A frost is possible in a week or so, and I wanted this job done.

Last year I planted about 175 cloves of garlic.

This year? 

I planted 70 cloves of Moroccan Creole, 56 cloves of Russian Giant, and 100 cloves of our regular variety (so far - we have no idea what type it is, as we were gifted it to start our first garlic bed years ago). 

Grand total so far:  226 cloves of garlic

In the fall I also dehydrate a lot of our current garlic, and grind it into garlic powder.  Pure home grown, chemical free, no fillers, no anti-caking agents, goodness.

Many of my recipes call for fresh, but some call for powdered.  These recipes are listed using what I grow or make, so you can adapt and of course reduce for smaller families.

Here are a few recipes (and links to recipes) I use my home ground garlic powder in:

Garlic Scape Powder ~ Spiced Peanuts

Woke up to a brisk 49°F (feels like 47°F).  Brrr!  Not good for the garden.  Sheesh.  Yesterday the wind was blowing so hard I chose not to use the clothesline in fear my bloomers would end up in the next county.

Garlic scapes are part of the garlic plant that gets cut off to help the plant continue to grow.  By the way, if you do not grow garlic, check your local Farmer's Markets for garlic scapes.  Many gardeners sell them this time of year.  

They are edible and we love to make garlic scape dip with radishes we grow as well.

They also last a long time in the refrigerator, but this year I tried something new with the remaining scapes.  I dehydrated them into garlic scape powder.

Dice scapes and use the temperature on your dehydrator you use to dehydrate vegetables. Once they are dried, grind to a powder using a coffee mill and store as you would garlic powder.  It's a milder flavor, but I'm excited to have it in my pantry this year.  I've never dehydrated garlic scapes before.

I had a jar of dry roasted (unsalted) peanuts that needed dealt with before expiration, so I made spiced peanuts. 

So good!  It's just a 16 oz. container of peanuts, 2 Tbsp. organic canola oil, 2 Tbsp. of sugar (I used monk fruit), 1 1/2 tsp. organic cumin, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. organic cayenne, 1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder.  Mix in a bowl, spread onto a rimmed baking sheet, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 300°F.  Cool on waxed paper.  I bake mine on my pampered chef stoneware pan.

Dehydrating Garlic ~ Making Garlic Powder

Dehydrating garlic was next on my list of "to-do's," and to make garlic powder from my home grown garlic.  Some of my followers have probably already made homemade garlic powder, so forgive me if it's a boring post.  This is a first time for me.

We were gifted garlic two years ago, and planted all of them in the garden in the fall.  I dug them up the next season, and repeated that for one more year, expanding our harvest this year.  

Finding my Mojo

After waking up with a bit of a sore throat (allergies), I decided to take Thursday off from the garden (avoiding the grass), and get some inside work done.  I was up just before 5am and downed a cup of hot ginger tea before making good ol' organic coffee.

It started as a beautiful day, but I was praying for rain too.  We need it badly.  We got rain too.  Twice during the day, but not enough.  We could use more.

Even though I've been whooped by dinner time, dinner has still been getting made - homemade chicken alfredo and roasted rosemary asparagus.  The alfredo sauce has been posted before, but not the entire recipe.  We are just low on fruit.  The red raspberries need rain.  The blackberries are loaded, but not ripe to pick just yet.

Homemade Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup organic butter (or homemade)
2 cups (1 pint) organic/non-gmo whipping cream
4 oz.  organic cream cheese (or homemade)
1/2 tsp. minced garlic*
1 tsp. homemade garlic powder
1 tsp. homemade Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup grated organic Parmesan cheese.

Melt butter, cream cheese and whisk in the whipping cream.  Continue to whisk until blended, then add the remaining ingredients.

Toss in diced and cooked organic chicken, and your favorite cooked pasta.

Note:  I've used freshly minced garlic before, and you can also make your own homemade minced garlic.  Simply dehydrate, but don't grind it into powder, just pulse in a coffee mill until it's "minced."  You can also mince it fresh onto parchment paper and dehydrate.  I linked on how I slice and dehydrate the garlic.  To make the powder I grind it up in a small coffee mill and store it in a glass jar in the cupboard.  

Roasted Rosemary Asparagus
Clean asparagus and lay on a baking tray with rim.  Drizzle with organic olive oil and sprinkle with chopped, dried rosemary.  Add salt and pepper.  Roast at 400° for about 15-18 minutes.  

As for finding my mojo, I took my handiwork to the porch to simply have some well deserved relaxation time.  Although that was after I made a big batch of blueberry pancakes for the rest of the week and weekend.

I also started back on the book shelf.  More remains on my kitchen table.  I was able to sort out some to save, and a few more to give away.  I have not purged my crafting books though.  Those stay.  And anything homesteading related.

Easy Peasy Cheddar Cheesy ~ Healthy Garlic Cheddar Biscuits ~ Tales of an Accidental Baker

The wind chill was a perfect time to bake a side dish to go with our big pot of chili.  I typically make a buttermilk cornbread, but we have to keep an eye on my husband's diet.

By the way, this morning we woke up to 23°F outside!  Wind chill is 14°F.  Feels like a heat wave after that sub zero weather we've had.

I resurrected this draft (while looking for something else), that I have had for a few years now. I have no idea who gave me the recipe, but there are so many variations of them.

I can't make this stuff up, ha ha!  

First, my "whoopsie" below happened from using my recipe in my recipes, not off of this blog draft (thankfully).

It wasn't until I made them again, that I realized my blog draft said "baking soda" and my home recipe stated "baking powder."  Had I not even found this draft, messed them up again, and looked at both recipes, I would have never noticed until someone else baked them. 

Photo is when I forgot to add the baking powder (baked for 10 minutes), and they were still very good!  I said something to my husband about how they were small-ish.  He said, "I like them that way."

Funny story (again), the very first time I made them I left out the butter, and they were still good.

I made them again, but this time used the correct ingredients.  They are taller, but I still want to make them again, and swap the sour cream with greek yogurt (just to try).

 Call me the experimental cook?  Accidental baker?  Oh boy, ha ha!

They are delicious, and a nice substitute for cornbread if you, or a loved one is watching their sugar/starch. Top them with a bit of butter, and they will not last long in the house.

 Here is the recipe for the "Low Carb" Garlic Cheddar Biscuits I made the other day:

1 1/2 Cups Organic almond flour (superfine)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder (non-gmo)
1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder (organic)
1/2 tsp. homemade onion powder (organic)
2 large farm fresh eggs
1/2 cup organic sour cream (or homemade)
4 Tbsp. organic butter, melted
1/2 cup organic shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside.  Mix wet ingredients, then add we to dry and mix well.

I lined my muffin pan with parchment cups for easier removal (which worked great), otherwise use a non-stick spray.

Makes 12 muffins. Batter is slightly thick, but bakes up so nice.

Bake at 450°F for 10-11 minutes.  

Note:  I sometimes freeze organic sour cream, and had thawed it, stirred it and used it in this recipe.  It will be a thinner texture of sour cream, but worked great for baking.

Easy Peasy Cheddar Cheesy ~ Healthy Garlic Cheddar Biscuits ~ Tales of an Accidental Baker © Jan 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Bald Eagles ~ Homemade Seasoned Salt

We've been watching a family of 4 bald eagles out in a field by our homestead.  As long as the leave my barn cats and chickens alone, we are enjoying watching them.

I made homemade seasoned salt for a recipe I needed it for yesterday.  It was better than store bought seasoned salt.

I used my homemade onion powder and garlic powder to make it too.

Homemade Seasoned Salt
2 Tbsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. organic paprika
1/4 tsp. organic turmeric
1/4 tsp. homemade organic onion powder
1/4 tsp. homemade organic garlic powder
1/4 tsp. organic non-gmo corn starch

Mix and use in any recipe.  

Homemade Sausage ~ Biscuits and Gravy Oh My!

I woke up Monday to a warm 63°F and later a high of 87°.  And guess what?  

We started the "resurrection" of the flower beds/rose bed/herb garden on Sunday (no chance in convincing Hubby to break out the chainsaw for wood chores in the heat either), and now we are to get 4 days of possible rain.  I guess the Good Lord thought I needed softer soil to rip those weeds out, ha ha!  

Clean up before the end of the day.  But oh, so much more to weed (like about 60-70 feet of flower/herb beds).

Monday, we labored (again).  Hubby mowed some more, we weeded, and prepped the garlic bed.  Oh that was a joy - windy as heck, and try putting plastic down in the wind.  It took us about 1 1/2 hours or more to pull up old plastic, till, and put the new plastic down.  Now it will sit for a week or so to kill off more weeds/grass before I fall plant.

Laundry was put out.  Dried in seconds with the wind, heat and sun we had.

Pie pumpkins were picked and brought inside.  There are more, and more baby ones just starting.

A few blackberries were enjoyed.

Now about the homemade sausage.... 

In our parts of the world, we can buy "natural" sausage in patties, but it's not organic/non-gmo.  I've been buying organic pork, and making it myself.

It's the next best thing to raising my own pigs, butchering and making the sausage myself (goals). Or some day having a neighbor, like-minded, to barter with some day. 

That's the tickler about homesteading - it's a simple way of living, but so many people confuse "simple" with "easy."

To make the homemade sausage:

Homemade Smoked Almonds

Hello?  Anyone out there in "cyber" land?

I love smoked almonds.  However, the ingredients in them are typically bad for good health.  Usually, they include bad oils and a form of soy.  In my opinion, all soy, unless it's organic/non-gmo, is bad for good health.  Very bad. If you saw how many times they spray the soybean field in my state, you'd never eat anything with it again.  Anyway....

I decided to make my own.

First, I made homemade celery salt using dehydrated organic celery leaves and salt. I had about 1/4 cup of dehydrated celery leaves, so I ground them up with a small amount of salt.  I didn't measure.  I just "eye-balled" it. 

Tip:  When you purchase organic celery with leaves, to freeze celery for winter, dehydrate your leaves for celery salt or to simply use in soups/stews, pastas, and other dishes too.

Then I made the almonds with the celery salt and other ingredients.  How did they taste?  

Delicious!  I used all organic ingredients and the egg white from one of our layers.

Homemade Croutons ~ Homemade Dry Italian Seasoning ~ Tidbits

It seemed as soon as we stocked some firewood by the house, the weather turned dreary, cold and then rain arrived.

 We woke up to this.  The sun is shining and the there is no wind.  It's actually a beautiful Sunday.  Warning....feeling talkative this morning.  Grab a cup of your favorite beverage.

Our grocery store is now selling an organic whole wheat (labeled non-gmo) bread.  I was lucky to get a loaf at a good price, which I made homemade croutons with.  Next batch I will try using homemade bread of some sort.

Fascinating Tidbits ~ Garlic Butter

I threw in "Fascinating" for extra thrill today, ha ha!  It's not really that interesting.

Gladys were all pulled for winter.  The bulbs have grown bigger over the years, and have outgrown their box.  They won't survive the winter here outside.

Finishing up homemade garlic powder ~ Growing Rhubarb Question

 

Using parchment paper on my dehydrator trays makes this grinding part easier.  I push the dried garlic to the center of the paper, and lift the sides to slide it into the coffee grinder.

The jar I use fits my canning funnel, making that part easy too.  You could use a smaller funnel for smaller jars.  We use garlic a lot, so hence large jar.

I dump out the older garlic powder into a cup with spout, put the new garlic powder in first, then the older on top.  All set for another year (maybe, ha ha!).

It's not exactly a quick job.  I wash all the trays after I dehydrate, so tastes and smells do not permeate into the next dehydrated food.  I wash the coffee grinder and clean out anything that blew off the trays inside the dehydrator.

Question about rhubarb:

Our rhubarb died last year, and we were going to move it anyway.....but...

I believe someone on here bought root starts online one year.  I can only find seeds (organic, non-gmo), and our local produce stand that sold them, closed their doors.

Where can I find them online?  If not, I need to order seeds or check our garden stores here.

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix

Spring herbs are here!

Store bought chives are expensive. The cost for the above bottle of dried chives was $4.58!  I freeze my chives, but for the dry Ranch mix recipe, I need dehydrated/dried chives.  The bottle above is .12 oz and when ground makes 7 1/2 teaspoons.   It is horribly expensive, and I have managed to kill the indoor chive plant I brought inside.

So....on a mission I went...

 I dehydrated chives many years ago, but did not do my research before hand.  I had snipped them, and placed them on parchment paper in the dehydrator, and they the fan blew them all over the inside.

Here is what I have researched.  

-if you wash your chives, be sure to let they dry or dry them with a towel, or use a vegetable drying pad to let them dry off any water from washing them.  Otherwise, your dehydrator time will be a lot longer.

-do not snip them, keep the the chives whole, and place in the dehydrator.

-do not use a heat higher than 95°F, and dry them for 12-16 hours (mine took closer to the 16 hour mark, and this can vary).  Check your dehydrator for the temperture setting.  My chives are very long and thick, so I used every tray in my dehydrator to avoid cutting them at all.  Also, rotate your trays during they drying time.

Keeping the chives whole, prevents them from moving around too much, and the temperature keeps the flavor retained.

I stored mine in a canning jar, and use a vaccuum seal to remove any extra air.  I also kept them as long as I could, and will grind them only when I need them, to retain flavor.

(the first time making this recipe, I did not have dehydrated chives, so I ground up a teaspoon of dehydrated shallots, and it was very good).

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix 

1/2 cup Cultured Buttermilk Powder

1 Tbsp. homemade garlic powder

1 Tbsp. homemade onion powder

1 tsp.  parsley* (see note below for this and next two ingredients)

1 tsp. dill* 

1 tsp. chives *

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Store in the refrigerator, or if you prefer to store it on a shelf, replace the buttermilk powder with powdered milk.  If stored dry with buttermilk in the fridge, you'll want to use it up in about 2 months.

It will fit in a half pint jar.  I used my canning funnel to fill the jar with ingredients.

*parsley, dill and chives are all dehydrated from the herb garden.

I first used this on chicken for a chicken, wild rice and broccoli casserole.  Years ago, I would just put the bone in chicken in the pan, but this time I cooked the chicken on the stove top, cubed with this ranch dry mix.  It turned out wonderful.

We also used it for a dressing (add what you like), and it's pretty good, and uses less ingredients to make.  It makes a very good dip recipe for vegetables.  We like to blend cottage cheese (vs. sour cream) and add the dry Ranch mix.  So good!

On a side note, I freeze chives as well, for other dishes .  I simply snip, store in freezer bags (flat), or fill freezer containers.  I just take it out, use what I need and put it back into the freezer.  We can enjoy chives in the colder months of winter.  I also freeze some of our green onions with the same process.

Best Way to Dehydrate Chives ~ Homemade Dry Ranch Dressing/Dip Mix© Apr 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Honey Roasted Cashews ~ Oven Baked Frozen Garden Green Beans ~ Gingersnap Pear Pie (old post link)

 

Winner recipe!  New recipe tried!

I had just enough cashews to use up, and the oven was already on, so.....

Of course I used my homemade garlic powder in this recipe.

Perfect for a chacturie board for any occasion.

Delicious as a snack.

The recipe is free online with The Southern Lady Cooks.

A bit sticky for a travel snack, but pack it up and enjoy it at your accommodations with cheese/crackers and a bottle of wine.

It would make a nice gift too, along with some other creatively made food items, a bottle of wine, or specialty cheese/crackers.  The ideas are pretty endless.

I've been experimenting with our frozen garden green beans.  I recently just tossed a bag full (maybe 3 cups) into an 8 x 8 baking dish, added 1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder, and drizzled it with some organic olive oil.  Gave them a toss with some tongs, and baked them at 400° for 30 minutes.  I then sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top of them.  Oh my gosh!  Delicious, and so easy for a winter side dish.  

I had a blog follower interested in the ginger pie, so I went on a search and found it.  We did not get pears from our trees last year.  The proper name for the pie is Gingersnap Pear Pie.  Gosh, I haven't made this in many years.  I have frozen the pears for this pie before, and it still turned out delicious.

(photo from November 2017)

Here is the post for the pie:  Gingersnap Pear Pie

Honey Roasted Cashews ~ Oven Baked Frozen Garden Green Beans ~ Gingersnap Pear Pie (old post link) © Jan 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

I had a very relaxing island getaway weekend with my husband.

We came back fully recharged mentally and physically.  I've got my to-do list written out and ready to take on the day.

The island has a huge wild flower area and you can't see from the photo, but it is loaded with mullein.  I could not believe how much was in this area.

Grab a cup of your favorite java.  Sorry, but this post is a bit of a long one.  Taking a few days off gives me some things to talk about today.

Before we left I got 3# of tomatoes in the freezer, and I'm drying all the skins for tomato powder.

We are still getting a few nice sized green bell peppers from the garden.  I haven't yanked the plants yet, and with rain coming, I'm leaving them in for now.  It's been a blessing to get so many this year.

I finally got the garlic harvest down from hanging and will be planting the larger ones today for my fall planting.  These will be planted in grow pots.

We won't run out of hot peppers this winter.  It'll be nice to have on hand for soups, chili, pizza toppings, all sorts of casseroles, breakfast and whatnot.

I also got locked in on our pre-pay propane rate before winter is here.  Glad I remembered to do it.

If you asked for the home canned ketchup recipe I updated my last post with the link, where it is on my blog.

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

The weather outside is . . .

The rain has now shifted from Tue/Wed to today.  So....with help of a daughter, and my husband, we picked all my black beans and we fall planted 52 cloves of garlic.  Although, I do need to plant more, but will need to buy it if I can find it so I have enough for next year's homemade garlic powder, minced garlic and so forth.  I use a lot of it with my canning recipes.  I also picked 3 more green bell peppers and one lonely cucumber.

Anyway, back to the weather, rain is 90% today, 78°F/48°F.

How I am feeling this morning . . .

Well, ready to take on the day, but a certain cat thought I needed to start my day at 3:30am.  He's not even my cat.  Sigh.

On my mind . . .

My to-do list.  I already checked off two for today that we did yesterday, so that makes my mind rest a bit.  I'm not looking forward to the shift my husband is working, as that puts all the garden work on me alone this week (one day at a time).

On the breakfast plate . . .

Bacon, Egg and Potato Casserole, Coffee

On my reading pile . . .

Seed catalogs.

On my TV . . .

We signed up for beast TV, so now with a box we can get all sorts of channels.  Hubby watched his favorite football team play last night and he's a happy man.

On the menu . . .

-beef stew, homemade biscuits

-homemade biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and fried potatoes

-roast, potatoes, onions and carrots

-possibly a cake or sweet item on the menu this week.

On the camera. . .

Picture of the moon I took last Friday night.  Strangest shape I have ever seen, but neat to see.

Looking around the house . . .

Well, the tomatoes are dwindling down, but at least the dishes were washed before I got home after our weekend away.  Romeo needs his toys restocked so one of these day I'll get that done.  He's acting up lately.

New recipe I tried last week or one I want to try . . .

Kahlua Krisipe Treats using homemade Kahlua.  I'll be test tasting these at dinner.

To relax this week I will . . .

Crochet. Maybe work on Christmas tree ornaments.

Something to share . . .

On my prayer list . . .

This country (FL and Idaho have lifted all restrictions, and FL said they would never shut down again and banned fines for people not wearing masks), my youngest daughter, our family, and any personal requests.