Homemaking on the Homestead

Monday Salmon patties, garlic roasted potatoes , salad Tuesday Tomato soup , ham & cheese sandwiches, salad Wednesday Hamburger/rice enchiladas, tortilla chips, salsa, salad Thursday Chicken bacon crockpot chowder, french bread, salad Friday Leftovers Saturday Chinese chicken fried rice , pot stickers, salad Sunday Hamburgers w/trimmings, chips  

My daughter Hannah and her hubby Will are expecting again (#3)!! I cannot tell you how excited my husband I are for a new grandbaby to hold, snuggle and love on.. oh the blessings of being grandparents! In the past I heard people exclaim the joys of being a grandparent. I never understood until I was there. She is due July 9th! The wait won’t be long now!!  

I’ve been doing a little experimenting with gluten free baking. There have been a few reasons for this. One was just a pure interest in it. Another was reading the book Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health . I found it interesting, but not quite sure I agreed with everything he had to say on the subject but it was much “food for thought”. My daughter Hannah has been working hard to improve her family’s health and wanted to go gluten free due to a few issues she thought might be helped by this. So I jumped at the chance to help her out. :) I did a lot research. I found a lot of confusing recipes. Lots of strange ingredients, lots of new recipes to try out. I had failures, that were expensive! I talked with a friend of mine who is doing gluten free baking due to a few issues with her children. She wanted to see if this would help. She gave me a lot of tips on what she was doing and how it was going. So with her help I was able to...

Sierra is having a wonderful time in S. Korea with her sister Leanne! Being the budding photographer that she is she has been sending pictures. I thought I’d share a few with you.  She has sent me over a hundred pictures so it was hard to pick out just a few.  But I did my best and here they are...  Her first stamp on her passport...  Seoul is a big, big city!!!!  A trip to Busan... Leanne and our family friend who Sierra is traveling with (in Busan)... A trip to the Kings Palace.. Hope you enjoyed the photos!! 

I love clam chowder!! I love chowders of all kinds for that matter. ~smile~ Last week I made a batch of clam chowder and took some pics to share how easy it is to make. I buy my clams at Costco. They come in a very large can, 51 ounces to be exact. I find them to be the best price in my part of the world. I made a huge pot of it. You can cut this recipe down in size to meet your family’s need. It’s pretty versatile.. Here is the recipe according to how I made it.. Crystal’s Clam Chowder 5lbs potatoes, peeled & cubed 1 large onion, chopped 1 cube (stick) butter 1 large can clams (mine was 51 oz), drain, reserving the liquid – you will use some of it for the chowder 1 can corn, do not drain Milk Reserved clam juice Put peeled, cube potatoes into a large pot (8 quarts). Cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until fork tender. Drain most all of the water. While the potatoes are simmering heat a large frying pan on medium high heat. Put butter in pan and ...

Monday Leftovers – Made a big pot of Yummy Pinto Beans yesterday and have enough for dinner tonight along with a salad and whole grain crackers Tuesday Crockpot pork roast, mashed potatoes, salad Wednesday Hamburger/rice enchiladas , tortilla chips, salsa, salad Thursday Salmon patties , garlic roasted potatoes, salad Friday Tomato soup , ham & cheese sandwiches, salad Saturday BBQ – having my daughter Hannah and her family over for dinner … have not figured it all out yet! Sunday Leftovers  

I tried out this recipe one morning using just one apple. Not only was super good but very nutritious to boot!! My father in law ate it and ended up eating way more fruit that morning than he usually does. Now I plan to make it with several apples. It goes great with oatmeal for breakfast. I do not have exact measurements for this recipe as I just basically did it “off the cuff” one morning. The recipe is extremely flexible and hard to ruin! Stewed Apples Apples – the number you desire is up to you Honey or brown sugar Cinnamon, just a sprinkle Water Begin by washing the apples. Cut them, core them and then dice up into small pieces. I did not peel them. Put apples in a saucepan. Pour water into the pan. You don’t want to cover them; just enough to cook them. Drizzle in a bit of honey. For the one apple I did I would guess I put in a little less than a tablespoon of honey. This is optional if your apples are super sweet. You can also sprinkle with a little brown...

I had an anonymous poster ask me a question after my last blog post. Here is what she asked: Crystal, I envy you, you are so at peace with your life and family. Right now I am struggling in my faith, I know to trust in the Lord and follow his path, but sometimes the path isn't always clear. What do you do when that path seems "unclear? I really gave this a lot of thought. I find it hard to answer questions like this. I feel inadequate to be able to give absolute answers in things like this. I don’t have answers for every person. Only God does. What I’m sharing here is my own experiences and how God has worked in my life… First I’ve found over the years that the biggest obstacle in knowing God’s will in my life is my “self”. I have desires and wants and sometimes what God asks of me is not always in line with those desires and wants… aww.. the first lesson I’ve had to learn. I need to get my “self” in line with what God wants from me, not the other way arou...

I’m still here!! Just have not had time to blog. I have a few quiet moments tonight so I thought I send out a little update. We moved my father in law in on the 27th of March. He has been here a little over 2 weeks. There have been a LOT of adjustments to make. It has been a big job. We realized in so many ways that this has been the right thing to do. It confirms what God was laying on our hearts when we made this decision. We are all currently adjusting to a new routine in the household. This has been a challenge for us all. My sister in law has been staying with us and what a blessing this has been!! She has helped out in so many ways and I am so grateful for her time with us. On the positive side we have been able to get his medications under control. He was way off with them. The benefits of just this one thing have been amazing. He is stronger and now has a few medical issues under control. Previously, with him living so far away and my husband & I goin...

Monday Leftover cabbage rolls, dinner rolls, salad Tuesday BBQ hamburgers w/all the trimmings, potato chips Wednesday Bbq chicken legs, mac & cheese, salad Thursday Pizza chili, tortilla chips, salad Friday Leftovers Saturday Asian chicken noodle soup, egg rolls, salad Sunday Roast beef w/gravy over mashed potatoes, garlic roasted veggies