Homemaking on the Homestead

Monday Hamburger broccoli rice casserole, watermelon, salad Tuesday Pizza & Sushi (take out), egg rolls, veggie platter & dip Wednesday Bbq chicken , mashed potatoes, salad Thursday Leftovers Friday Bbq burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, fruit salad, chips & dip, s’mores – we’re having a 4th of July family & friends bbq at our house Saturday Leftovers Sunday Spaghetti, french bread, salad  

I was a little late in the season or getting my berries. It is the tail end of strawberry season here and the raspberries are now coming in. But I really wanted to make a few jars of jam. Nothing says summer sweetness like homemade strawberry jam. So my girls and I headed out last week to find berries. We found a produce store that still had them! So I grabbed a couple boxes… That night I made my family strawberry shortcake for dessert (recipe here ) and the rest were used to make jam. While I was out I also grabbed a ½ flat of raspberries. The kids kept snacking on them (which is ok with me!! Need to enjoy them when they are in season). I used the remaining raspberries in some of my jam as well the next day. If you’ve never made any kind of jam or jelly I have step by step instructions on my website for making a few different types of jam. You can find those instructions HERE . My son took a few pics while I made the jam. I started by washing jars… T...

Do you ever struggle with these? I think we all do. Maybe for me it is my changing season of life. I see my purpose in life shifting… moving, changing. Some days I lack motivation. Some days I lack inspiration. I’ve prayed about this, seen answers to my prayers and know God has a plan for me. God is good all the time!! He has a plan for all of us. It may not be children anymore, but it is something amazing. I’ve spent a life time dedicated to my children and raising them. As that has begun to wane for me I still see them needing me but not in the way they have needed me in the past. I’m fine with that as quite honestly I’m tired! I’m ready for a slight change in purpose. ~smile~ If you are expecting answers to it all, I apologize as this blog will not answer those questions. But God can and will. Life is about seasons. Life is about fulfilling God’s purpose in our life. I have faith as these years change that He will continue to show me the path He has planned for me. ...

My older children living at home all work and have schedules that are all different. Breakfast can be a challenge for them. Sometimes I make a meal for them, but usually they take care of their own breakfast. I wanted to give them something easy as an option so I made up a pancake batter that can sit in the fridge for a week or so. When someone wants a couple pancakes they simply pull it out of the fridge, stir it up, cook up a few and put the batter back in the fridge. So far this is working great and they are enjoying this easy breakfast option.   Refrigerator Pancake Batter 2T yeast ½ cup warm water 4 cups flour 1 ½ t baking soda 2t baking powder 6T sugar 2t salt 6 eggs ½ cup olive oil 3 cups buttermilk In a small bowl combine yeast and warm water and let this sit for a few minutes to activate. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar & salt. In a medium bowl beat eggs and add oil and buttermilk. Add yeast mixture and ...

Monday Leftovers! Have a few things from last week so this night is a leftovers buffet Tuesday Ranch chicken tacos w/all the trimmings, tortilla chips & salsa Wednesday Pulled pork sandwiches , coleslaw, watermelon Thursday Italian chicken soup, french bread, salad Friday Garlic brown sugar chicken, pesto pasta, green beans Saturday Hamburger/rice enchiladas (using sour cream enchilada sauce ), chips & salsa, salad Sunday Leftovers  

Not in the sense of “condensed cream of mushroom soup” used for cooking. But rather a soup.. for eating.. that is very yummy!! I had about 16oz of mushrooms that I did not use up as fast as I had thought I would. I could have given them to the goats or tossed them in the freezer to use in my next batch of veggie stock, but instead I wanted to make them into soup; which I did last night to go with our dinner. It was delish and my family ate it all up. I served it along with sautéed sausages & cabbage, cornbread and a salad. It would make a great simple lunch or an addition to your dinner meal.  Cream of Mushroom Soup 16oz fresh mushrooms, sliced 1 medium onion, sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 stick butter 6T flour 4 cups chicken broth 1 ½ to 2 cups half n half 1t salt dash of pepper In a large stock pot melt butter. Add mushrooms, onions and garlic. Sautee until all veggies are soft. Add flour and stir it in. Add chicken broth and stir to remove ...

  My selection of convenience home canned meals was running low. I decided to can chicken cacciatore. Since I didn’t have a recipe I ended up with more ingredients than I needed and I so I used the rest to make soup and can that. In all I ended up with 14 jars of yummy home canned easy to prepare food. My plan was to make chicken cacciatore and I started out with 12lbs of chicken, 2 - 67 oz. jars of Prego spaghetti sauce, 3 large onions, 3 green peppers, 2 ½ quarts of chicken broth and about 15 cloves of pressed garlic. The picture shows everything but the chicken broth…   I poured both jars of spaghetti sauce into my 8 quart stock pot and added 2 cups of chicken broth so the sauce was not too thick. While my sauce was heating up I put 7 quart jars in my sink and filled them with boiling water, I put my canner on the stove and let that heat up and got my lids soaking in hot water. Now I was ready to start filling up my jars. I filled about half t...

After a nice long stretch of warm days the weather has cooled down, so soup is on the menu this week! Also I realized I have a large amount of mushrooms that I’m not getting used up like I thought I would so I’m experimenting on Tuesday to make my own cream of mushrooms soup. If it turns out, I’ll share the recipe. Monday Spaghetti, french bread, salad Tuesday Homemade cream of mushroom soup, fried kielbasa & cabbage, corn bread , veggie platter Wednesday Homemade Pizza, salad Thursday Cream cheese chicken veggie soup, dinner rolls , salad Friday Spanish rice w/hamburger, chile relleno casserole, refried beans , salad Saturday Leftovers Sunday Tuna patties , buttered pasta, salad  

Happy Father’s Day to all the great Dad’s out there… Give your hubby an extra hug today for being an awesome father; hug your own dad as well. I sure wish I could hug mine. He passed away several years ago and I miss him very much. Don’t miss an opportunity to lavish your father in love and encourage your children to do the same… it’s a great opportunity to remind your children of your husbands most cherished traits and all he does for the family. Bake him up his favorite treat today as well! My kids at home are making him up a batch of peanut butter oatmeal cookies.. his favorite.. Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup peanut butter (peanuts only), the kind without added sugar and oils 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 2c. oats 2 cups flour 1 t. baking powder 1 t. baking soda ¼ t. salt In a mixing bowl (a stand mixer works best) cream butter, peanut butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. N...

Please excuse a bit of disorganization while I make some changes to my blog!  My blog has been in need of an update for some time now. Hopefully the changes will make it easier for my readers. I’ve added a few extra pages to my blog. The “About Me” , “Recipe” & “Family” pages are what I’ve accomplished thus far. My desire with the “Recipe” page will be a place that lists all of the recipes that are here on my blog. This is a BIG job as I have been blogging for about 9 years! :) But many of my older recipes (that I still use) can be found on my website The Family Homestead . I will continue to add recipes to this blogs “Recipe” page. I realize also a little more organization is in order on that page… one step at a time.. It’ll be under construction for bit… There is also now a little tiny Pinterest button at the bottom of each post. Some ladies have written and asked about that, it is now there to share. Also for printing.. if you want to print a page of m...

  I realize we are more than a week into this month but I figured this challenge won’t take long. This month’s challenge is not actually “in” the home.. but an important extension to my daily for sure and often is very neglected…   The challenge for this month is… cleaning out the inside of our car and giving the car a good wash   The weather here has been nice and warm so it is a perfect time to get out and tackle this job. I know I have a very bad habit of hopping in the car, heading to town, taking care of business and then when I return my mind is on everything I need to still get done in the day and the last thing I think about is cleaning out the car from the day’s activities… so I figured it was the perfect time to clean it out, wipe it down, clean windows and mirrors, vacuum and then give it a nice wash down. So how about you? Time for some car clean up and love?   We Can Do This Girls!!  

Monday Crockpot beef roast, crockpot new potatoes, salad, watermelon Tuesday Pork & rice oven baked burritos, cornbread, salad Wednesday Baked chicken legs, potato salad, carrot sticks, watermelon Thursday Italian chicken soup, crackers, salad Friday Hamburgers w/all the trimmings, potato chips, fruit platter Saturday Leftovers Sunday Baked pork chops, pesto pasta, cesar salad    

This may seem like a strange question. The events of last week made me come to some conclusions and ask myself this question. Here is a little about me and the events of last week…. First off, I was raised by a father who was a very independent thinker and taught/showed this to me as well. I learned to think outside the box and how to make informed decisions. Over the years in raising children I made choices that were not the norm. I homebirthed most of my children (and delivered 2 of my grandchildren at home), I homeschooled, I don’t vaccinate my children and lastly I don’t/have not done well-baby or well-child checks. I did not make these decisions lightly. I read for knowledge, I studied each of these decision in depth, prayed (obviously it should go without saying this was in conjunction with my husband) and made the decision as a knowledgeable, loving, caring parent. I do not expect anyone to agree or disagree with my choices as they are just that.. my choices ...

Monday Chicken pot pie , watermelon, veggie platter Tuesday Marinated chicken , brown rice, salad Wednesday Pulled pork sandwiches, fruit Thursday Fish sticks, mac & cheese, salad Friday Beef pot roast, roasted potatoes, salad Saturday Chicken cacciatore over pasta, french bread, salad Sunday Crockpot chili , chips & salsa, veggie platter