Homemaking on the Homestead

My daughter Hannah has started homeschooling my oldest granddaughter, Elizabeth. She is in kindergarten and having a super fun time with her. She called me the other day and was wondering what she could be doing with her 3 year old daughter, Rylee. Rylee is a very busy little girl, very hands on and badly wants to “do school”. She does not like coloring or writing. I suggested a homeschool box of hands on fun things for her to do while she is schooling Elizabeth; a box that only gets brought out at school time in order to keep everything interesting to her. One of the fun things about being a grandma is finding ways to help my children out, and anything homeschooling gets me excited. So I set out on a quest to see what I could find for little Miss Rylee that would be different and hands on. I went to the local dollar store and my two daughters, Leanne and Sierra, went along with me. We pooled our creative juices together to see what kind of things we could find a...

  Another week has flown by!! I had a few meals from last week that did not get made.. kids ate elsewhere and I had leftovers.. Ok by me. Some will reappear on this week’s menu. I’ve been so blessed by my neighbors! They have kept my family in a steady supply of corn on the cob, summer squash and cucumbers.. those yummy veggies will also be on the menu. ~smile~ Monday Spaghetti & meatballs, corn on the cob, watermelon, salad Tuesday Bbq steak, roasted summer squash (on the bbq), French bread, cucumber salad Wednesday Beef & bean burritos, chips & salsa, salad Thursday Leftovers Friday Pork chops, pasta salad, corn on the cob, salad Saturday Italian chicken casserole, French bread, salad Sunday Cowboy crockpot casserole , dinner rolls, coleslaw  

With costs of a college education going through the roof and parents wondering how on earth they can provide this for their children, it may seem like an impossible task, but, there is hope. First off, I’ve heard from parents that did not want to have more children simply because they feared how they could put them through college. I find that odd, from my own perspective. If a child wants college, he/she can find a way to make it happen. When I had my children somehow I missed the memo that said it was MY responsibility to put them through college. Every child has to make their own choices in life. Some of my children have not gone to college (gasp!), and some have. And for the ones that have, they have done it on their own. It is possible for a child to earn a degree, work a full time job and pay for their degree on their own. I know because I have children that have done this. You just have to think outside the box. College just does not always happen inside a...

  I did not plant a garden this and I am so thankful to my sweet generous neighbors. They have blessed my family with all kinds of goodies from their garden. We’ve been enjoying an abundance of cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, and zucchini. I’ve done my best to incorporate them into our meals and this week’s menu reflects that. Monday Tuna patties , corn on the cob, sautéed zucchini & onions, pasta w/butter & salt Tuesday Beef & bean burritos, chips & salsa, cucumber salad Wednesday Chicken salad sandwiches, potato chips, peaches Thursday Crockpot chicken chili , chips & salsa, salad Friday Leftovers Saturday Baked pork chops, zucchini patties , rice pilaf, green beans Sunday Crockpot kielbasa , rice pilaf, watermelon, cucumber slices      

    This is the time of year that either the garden is overflowing with zucchini or the neighbors are bringing it to your door (as it is for me :) no garden this year but my sweet neighbors are making sure I’m not lacking) .. ~smile~ . I’ve always done the best I could with it and tried to make use of it during this season. Here are some of the ways I’ve used it.. Cut it up and stir fry it with onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil – yum!  Zucchini Pesto Pasta (love this stuff!!) Salmon Stuffed Zucchini Chocolate Zucchini Bread Zucchini Patties Zucchini Pickles (canning recipe) Zucchini Pineapple (canning recipe) Zucchini Sausage Soup (canning recipe) Freezing zucchini for use in veggie broth/stock Freezing zucchini for use in stir fry and soup   Enjoy the zucchini season!!        

The sun is shining, the days are long, the heat is wonderful (at least in my view ~smile~) and winter seems to be a far off distant thought. But one thing I know, as surely as the sun rises and sets, winter will be here. The endless days of rain, cold, snow will come. And we will need to keep warm. We heat with wood. We have a wood furnace that is our only source of heat. It does an amazing job heating our home. It is in the basement with a vent up to the main floor. We keep it going all through the later fall, winter and spring. In the summer my hubby and sons have the task of bringing in the wood for the year. Our property is covered in trees and every year we’ve lived here we’ve been able to glean the wood needed to keep us warm (we burn about 6 or so cords of wood each year). Normally we find fallen trees (from winter storms), large limbs that need to be cut from other trees, or select trees to take down to make room for other trees that are still growing. This y...

Monday Crockpot chicken chili , chips & salsa, watermelon Tuesday Bbq burgers, potato salad, coleslaw Wednesday Crockpot tater tot casserole, watermelon Thursday Leftovers Friday Baked pork chops, summer pasta, salad Saturday Sour cream chicken enchiladas , chips & salsa, salad Sunday Tuna patties , mac & cheese, veggie platter  

My new computer arrived and I’ve got it all set up and running, thanks to my IT tech son! And thankfully I was able to avoid Windows 8 and still running Windows 7. So hopefully I’ll be back to blogging regularly again! With summer here I’ve not wanted to heat up my kitchen any more than necessary so I’ve been using my crockpot a lot. Also I’ve been in a “the simpler, the better” mood when it comes to cooking. The outdoors calls my name and the kitchen does not this time of year! ~smile~ Here are a couple recipes I’ve made recently that were very good and simple to throw together. Crockpot BBQ Kielbasa (you can adjust the size of this recipe easily to work for your family) 3lbs kielbasa (I actually used chicken sausage from Costco. The brand was Aidells) 1 onion, sliced 5 or 6 large mushrooms, sliced 1 bottle (more or less) bbq sauce (the size is not that important as the main goal is just to cover the sausages & veggies with it. I used about 2 or 3 cups) ...

I'm still dealing with computer stuff.. My new computer is on its way. Thanks to my IT son in law my new computer has been ordered and we are still waiting for its arrival.. I guess I'm taking a little summer blogging break until I'm back up and running as usual.. I'll post as I can.. Monday Leftovers from the weekend Tuesday Grilled salmon, crockpot garlic potatoes, coleslaw, watermelon Wednesday Meatball sub sandwiches, coleslaw, watermelon Thursday Summer pasta (made w/chicken), veggie platter Friday Baked chicken, potato salad, green salad Saturday Leftovers Sunday Beef & bean burritos, tortilla chips, fresh fruit