Homemaking on the Homestead

I have an exciting week a head. A friend that I met online 14 years ago is coming to see me! We started out meeting on an Yahoo Group and continued our friendship over all the years. So I'm hoping for easy meals, without a lot of fuss so we can spend our time visiting and sight seeing. Today I plan on doing some house spruce up in prep for her arrival. So I'll pull some frozen Orange Chicken and pot stickers (from Costco) and make some noodles and a salad to go with this. The rest of the week is looking like this: Pulled Pork Sandwiches I'll make this in my Instant Pot and serve it with buns and coleslaw and maybe make a potato salad too. I'm thinking watermelon sounds good to go along with it. Chicken Soup I have some sweet potatoes and was thinking of a fall-ish type soup. Chicken, sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. I'll serve french bread with this and probably a salad. Pot Roast I'll make in my IP of course :). And serve it...

I decided to gently step into this fall season with a meal that had a fall-ish feel to it. I bought a turkey breast, boneless, and cooked it in my Instant Pot. I really could not believe how moist it was. Usually turkey breast is dry (at least to me) and not always my favorite part of the turkey. But a pressure cooked turkey breast is so incredibly moist. It was devoured in no time. I bought my turkey breast at Costco. It was a Butterball in the frozen section. I started opening it up and thought.. I should take a pic of it in case anyone looks for them. So it is a little wrinkled in picture but it will give you an idea of what it looks like... The turkey comes with a gravy packet as well. I poured the gravy packet into the IP stainless steel pot and added 1 cup of water. I sprinkled a little salt, pepper and garlic over the turkey and put it in the pot. I left the netting that is on the breast on so it would be easier to remove from the pot. It came off very easil...

It's beginning to feel a bit like fall here. We had a couple 80 degree days last week and hubby and I went swimming in our pond and enjoyed the sunshine and warmth. We both agreed that this was most likely the last of the days warm enough to swim. We had rain and cool weather over the weekend and temps in the forecast are looking a lot more like fall. I'm sad to see summer come to an end. It is my favorite of all seasons. But, it is time to embrace fall and all the changes that come with it. Do you have a list of things you do in the fall around your home? I've always take this time to do a little fall cleaning. After a summer of open windows and doors the dust really starts to collect in all the corners. I also like to clean my kitchen cupboards. I use to do a lot of fall baking and cooking so in preparation I would clean and reorganize the cupboards. I don't do as much baking anymore but I still like using this time of year to just freshen up th...

I was really stumped this weekend trying to figure out what to serve this week. Have you ever had one of those times when nothing really sounds good? That was me. As the weather here is cooling down I'm thinking about fall type meals. While shopping last week I found Costco had turkey breasts for sale. I bought one. It's about 4lbs. I'm cooking that tonight and will make gravy and serve it over rice. And maybe pull out some frozen cranberries and make a half batch of my cranberry sauce . I'll serve green beans to go with this. The rest of my week is looking like this (I did finally figure out what to make :).... Creamy Tuscan Garlic Chicken I saw this recipe not long ago on one of my favorite pressure cooker blogs and it sounded so good. It looks pretty fancy but in reality with the Instant Pot it looks pretty simple. You can find the recipe here   I'll serve pasta, french bread and a salad with this. Green Pork Chili (Salsa Verde) This ...

I've been dealing with dry eyes for a few years now. I have other eye issues including double vision at a distance. But my biggest problem has been extremely dry eyes. I wear contacts but even when I don't wear them my eyes are dry. I go to the eye doctor once a year and he has been trying to help me solve this issue. I was put on steroid drops at one point that did help. But they have side effects, like so many other drugs. After that the doctor put me on prescription eye drops called Restasis. This worked very well. I put the drops in morning and night. Their main goal is to increase your own tear flow. I have one big problem with this. When you stop putting the drops in your eyes, you go right back to where you started, dry eyes. So you are tied to the drug. I have a personal issue with this. If it at all possible I have no desire to be on a prescription for the rest of my life. I know for some, it is necessary. I don't want to be tied to that if at ...

I had a busy crazy week. But it was all good. I had visits from my sons, my son's girlfriend, a trip to Port Townsend to see my mother in law and her hubby, and a weekend spent with my grandchildren here giving my daughter and her hubby a little break. It all left me happy but also left my house looking like a tornado has gone through it! Ha, ha. Today is house recovery day. I have a big to do list to tackle. Hopefully this week I'll be back here blogging a bit more. Needless to say after such a busy week I was thankful to have a menu all planned out last week and my Instant Pot to help cut down my time spent in the kitchen. Today I'll be making pork chops. I had them on my menu last week but had one evening with a big house full so I made chili (and nachos) instead. So I'll make the pork chops (in my IP of course) and I'll serve rice and broccoli with this meal. The rest of the week is looking like this: Clam Chowder When we went to visit ...

Happy Labor Day! Do you have fun things planned for this day? A bbq or a picnic maybe? :) Hubby had to work last night so today we have not planned anything big. We were hoping to go and visit my daughter and family, but they have colds, so we will go another day. The weather here is cloudy and cool, but despite that we are going to have a little bbq. I have some steaks in the freezer that I bought a couple months ago when they were on sale. I think I'll make some garlic red potatoes in my Instant Pot and I have a cantaloupe that I need to use. Maybe I'll add a little garlic bread with this. The rest of the week is looking like this... Pork Chops I found a good deal on pork chops last week when I was shopping. I'll make a rub with my favorite combo of spices (salt, pepper, garlic, Italian seasonings) and then cook them up in my IP. I'll serve rice and a salad on the side. Chicken Noodle Soup Homemade chicken broth, chicken, a few veggies and ...

Spaghetti was always one of my go to dinners when I needed something quick and easy. With the Instant Pot, well, it only got easier and quicker! Below is a short little YouTube on how to make spaghetti in an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker). The recipe is below the video. Instant Pot Spaghetti 1 lb hamburger 1 small onion, chopped 1t salt 1 ½ t Italian seasonings 1t granulated garlic 1 can or jar spaghetti sauce, 24 oz 1 can/jar of water (the can or jar the spaghetti sauce was in) 8oz angel hair pasta ** Turn Instant Pot (IP) to “Saute” and wait until it gets hot. When it says “Hot” add hamburger and chopped onion and cook until the hamburger is browned. Turn IP “Off”. Add spices. Add spaghetti sauce and water and stir. Add pasta (it fits better if you break the pasta in half). Stir around a little, just enough to submerge most of the pasta in the liquid. Put lid ...