Homemaking on the Homestead

  Thanksgiving has always been a big gathering at my house with family. This year it will be smaller because so many of my children live out of state. But no matter how many people you plan to be gathering with this holiday it helps to have a plan.  I wrote out this plan many years ago and it has served me well. If you need a little planning assistance perhaps my Thanksgiving Planner will help you out!  I'll be sharing some of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you over the next couple weeks.  Thanksgiving Planner     3 weeks ahead of time  Figure out how many people will you be serving and how big of a turkey you will need.  To calculate this, you need to figure about 1 ½ lbs of turkey per person.  So if you are feeding 8 people you would need a turkey that was about 12 pounds.  I usually buy them bigger so I will have leftovers.    Write out guest list   Plan out menu   Gather recipes   Write out grocery lis...

 It's fall time so let's make an apple pie!!  Apple pies and fall time are a great combination! I'm sharing my favorite apple pie recipe. I also have a link to my Never Fail Pie Crust recipe.  Below the recipes is my video showing you how to make this delicious pie!  ************************* Our Favorite Apple Pie 5 to 7 tart apples (5 cups) 1 Double crust pastry shell ½ cup sugar 3 to 4T flour (use the higher amount for juicy apples) ¾ tsp. cinnamon Peel and core apples and cut into slices. Put them in a large bowl and sprinkle the remaining ingredients over the apples. Toss carefully to coat the apples slices without breaking. Pour this into the pie shell. Top the pie with with second crust. Bake at 400 for 35 to 45 minutes or until apples are soft. Never Fail Pie Crust: https://youtu.be/HXgTzo06IXU I had some leftover apple slices so I turned them into Stewed Apples. Stewed Apples: I did not use a recipe. I melted butter (3 or 4T) added apples and a lit...

  Not only is fall time a great reason to have some delicious soups but soups are a great way to use up your leftovers. You don't always need a recipe to make soup. Here is my tried and true method for making soup, no recipe needed!  (From The Family Homestead Archives) ******************* Making Soup without a Recipe Crystal Miller When I make soup I will occasionally follow a recipe, but not always. I have found that often times the most frugal use of my food can create some yummy soup combinations. Taking a few of last nights leftovers and adding a few more ingredients from freezer and pantry can yield a delicious homemade soup. This makes better use of the food you have (prevents science experiments from taking place in your refrigerator ~smile~) and is super good on the food budget. Serve these soups with homemade bread or biscuits and watch your family smile in satisfaction. If you don’t feel you are creative enough to come up with your own soup, think again. It is easy ...

  I love these pumpkin cinnamon rolls!! I hope you do to. A great fall time treat! :) This recipe makes 2 9x13 pans or 1 large jelly roll pan. If that is more than you want the recipe can be cut in half.  Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls Crystal Miller   2/3 cup milk ¼ cup butter (half of a stick or cube) 1 cup pumpkin puree ¼ cup honey 1 t salt 2 eggs 1 T yeast 5 1/4 cups to 6 cups flour** Butter Brown sugar Cinnamon **Options: you can use half white flour and half whole wheat flour   In a sauce pan combine milk and butter.  Heat until the milk is hot and the butter almost melted. Pour the milk/butter combination in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid or Bosch mixer.  Let this cool to lukewarm.  Add the pumpkin pure, honey, salt, eggs and yeast.  Stir until well mixed.  Add flour and mix until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides of your bowl but is still soft and pliable.  Let this sit and rise for 30 to 45 minutes.   Turn the mixer back on t...

  These cookies are a family favorite! With fall time here I decided it was time to do a little baking. I haven't made this recipe in a long time! It hit the spot for a little sweetness on a cool fall day.  Below the recipe you see my YouTube video showing you how to make them.  ******************** Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup brown sugar ¾ cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 2c. oats 1 ½ 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 Sucanat. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Now add flour, oats, baking powder, soda and salt and beat well. Place rounded walnut size spoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for about 12 minutes. Makes approx. 4 dozen ******************** Watch me make them here...

  Beans are a great way to stretch the grocery budget. Black beans have been a favorite in my family for many years. In this post I'm sharing a few black bean recipes from The Family Homestead (my previous website). You can add meat to any of these recipes or serve them meatless. ***************************** Black Bean Burritos 6 cups cooked black beans 2 cups salsa 1 cup shredded carrots 8 oz. cream cheese 6 to 8 whole wheat tortillas 6 cups cheese This recipe makes a large 11x15 casserole. If this is too much for your family I would recommend that you make 2 of them in a 9x9 casserole dish and freeze one, unbaked. In the morning I get my black beans cooking. It takes approx. 3 cups dry beans to have 6 cups cooked beans (you may have a few left over that can be frozen and added to soup in the future). I cook my 3 cups beans in about 12 cups water and 1 T. salt for 2 ½ to 3 hours. After these have cooked you can then assemble your meal or refrigerate them and do it ...

This article originally appeared on The Family Homestead (my previous website that is now closed down). In the article I have Amazon affiliate links and I thank you for your support! You can read more about this in my Disclosure page HERE .   ******************* Apple Harvest! Fall time here in the North West means apple harvest time. I have 2 nice big apple trees that seem full of fruit this season. My daughters and I have our eyes peeled for when the apples start dropping. That is the sign for us that they are ripe. Then we have to work hard to collect all the apples before the deer get them! After the apples are collected it is time to start processing them. I have done many things over the years with my apples. One of the most common things I do each year is make applesauce. I was blessed several years ago by my very sweet sister-in-law with a Victorio Strainer. This is a great little device that hooks the table. You put your cooked apples (unpeeled and seeds still there)...

I love how fast and easy it is to make chicken stock in the Instant Pot. I have recipes, tutorials and videos on how to make stock on the stove or the crock pot as well. But unless I'm making a huge batch of stock my go-to method nowadays is making it in my IP.  It takes 1 hour of cooking time to yield the most delicious stock! The overall process takes a bit more than 1 hour. There is the time needed for the IP to come up to pressure and the time needed for the pressure to drop on its own.  I often purchase Costco rotisserie chicken. It's a bargain in my mind. For $5 I get a whole chicken seasoned and cooked. For the two of us I can end up easily with 3 meals from this. And then I also get the bonus of being able to make chicken stock from it as well. I think it's a lot of frugal mileage for my $5.  Below the recipe I have a video of how to make chicken stock Here is how you make chicken stock in your IP... Chicken Stock Ingredients Bones from 1 chicken – adding any le...

  I've been making this coleslaw for years now. It's my hubby's favorite. I typically make a lot of it in the summer but it's good no matter what time of year you want it! :) Below the recipe you will find my video of me making it.  My Favorite Coleslaw Cut up a small to medium head of cabbage: you can use a mixture of green & red if you would like. You can also add some grated carrots and diced onions. Dressing: 1/3 cup sugar ½ cup mayo ½ cup milk 2T lemon juice T vinegar 1t salt pepper, to taste Combine dressing ingredients and mix into cabbage.

  I'm struggling with how to simply do grocery hauls again. Since starting my YouTube channel I've neglected my blog. At this point my goal is to find the balance between the two and still keep my priorities at home on the top of my list. And throw in Hubby's retirement and finding our new normal with that, it's been a challenge! Ha, ha!!  :D I've done a few grocery hauls on YouTube but found that to be more of a hassle than it was worth. Last grocery haul I posted it on Instagram. That was a little simpler but I know not everyone has an Instagram account. So my current plan is to post the hauls on both Instagram and here on my blog. They will be a simplified version of what I use to do.  If you have an Instagram account and would like to follow me you can find me here:    https://www.instagram.com/homemakingonthehomestead/ On my YouTube channel I do post about twice a month (current goal as I just started this) the meals I make for the two of us in a week. I h...