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.

Adopted Motto

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

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

I found this recipe in my "try it" stash pile.  I must have printed it way back in 2010.  You'll probably laugh, but I even found a crochet pattern in my "recipe stash."



Youngest was still in elementary school, and I had been recycling school papers for printer paper.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Homemade Granola






Sharing another recipe we've been making here for a few years now.  We love this version and have gifted it many times.  I use organic/non gmo ingredients.

Random Tidbits ~ Puppy Mayhem

I opened the fridge, only to find some grated zucchini I had thawed.  Not letting it go to waste, I made us some zucchini muffins.

These come in handy for a healthy after school, or take to work, snack.  Do you think I can count is as a vegetable? Ha ha!

My stove was already heated up, so I turned down the heat and picked out another recipe in the pile.  Don't worry, I won't share every new recipe.

Friday, March 4, 2016

A "Pile to File" Recipe ~ Cranberry Nut Clusters


I had a stash of chocolate left from last Christmas.  I had cashews that I had not yet made Curried Cashews with, and I had some organic dried cranberries for salads.

....and I had 10 minutes before my washing machine was done.

I made Cranberry Nut Clusters.  Easy, quick and delicious.  Another new, and amazingly quick, recipe.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! ~ From Pile to File Recipe

I finished going through the remaining older recipes, and all have been purged, copied or double copied.  Extras went to the girls, and heirloom recipes passed down.  It was hard to decide on so many of them too.  Many of my grandmother's recipes for dessert required instant pudding and jello mixes.  A few called for pop like 7-Up or Teem.

The only recipes left, are ones that I have not yet tried.  I'll be honest, I purged that pile already, and have reduced it.  There are still some that may yet go from "stash to trash."

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Random Tidbits

Our 14 year-old daughter is on the way to D.C. with her 8th grade class today.  They return Saturday.  She's the last one in the family to go.   Although big snow flakes are falling , the weather is pretty nice for them today, so they should have a fun time.   Praying for a safe trip.

It has been, and will continue to be a busy week of running kids here and there.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Barf Cookies ~ An already in the file recipe

Recipes seem to lurk all around my kitchen.  Even though I am on the road to completely being organized (a bunch of larky), I realized I had a recipe box in one cupboard that I haven't opened for years.

Actually, we only opened it to access cookie/candy recipes at Christmas.

I decided to empty that cupboard, purge, wipe it out and start tossing recipes from the box.  One recipe book went to one of the girl's hope chest for when she moves out.  One recipe book will go to the library as a donation.

I found fun recipes in the process.  Like one from Jr. High School Home Economics class, ha ha!

And one of my mother's family favorite, hand-me-down, recipes - Barf Cookies.