Homemaking on the Homestead

In today's video I share how to make pizza from start to finish, including homemade pizza dough and sauce! Recipes for the dough and sauce are in the description box of the YouTube video.  https://youtu.be/3HeUVSGVIHg

For over 35 years beans have been a staple in my home. I have found them to be a wonderful frugal resource to stretch the grocery budget and in years past feed my large family good quality, nutritious meals at the same time. Beans are a very high quality, nutritious, budget friendly food for your family. They are a good source of soluble fiber, the kind that helps lower cholesterol. Beans in general, are good sources of folate, potassium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc. They are also low in fat. Beans are not a complete protein by themselves and need to be coupled with brown rice, whole wheat, cornmeal (as in cornbread or tortillas or tortillas chips, etc), cheese, or meat to get the most benefit from them. One of the main drawbacks that people complain about is that beans cause gas. If you are not use to beans in your diet, your body has more trouble digesting them. So the good news is that the more you eat beans, the easier it will be for your body to digest ...

In today's video I'm sharing an easy and delicious potato salad recipe.  I use hash browns to make this and cook them in my Instant Pot.   If you don't have an Instant Pot you can cook them in any way you would like.   https://youtu.be/dse4IHnGmE0

Things are getting a little scary out there with articles on possible food shortages.  Having some healthy delicious meals you can make with beans and minimal amounts of meat is very frugal and helps stretch resources. This was how I fed my large family for many years.  I'll be sharing some of these meals over the next few blog posts.  Black Bean Chicken Chili was a big hit with my family.  This meal can easily be made meatless as well or with less meat then the recipe calls for.  This recipe makes a lot of chili. It freezes very well if it is more than you need. The recipe can also be cut in half.  I've posted step by step pictures on how to make this meal below the recipe.  ************** Black Bean Chicken Chili 3 cups dry black beans 12 cups water 1 T salt 1 large onion, chopped 1 ½ lbs boneless chicken (can be thighs or breast), cut into bite size pieces 1 T minced garlic Olive oil 1 cup frozen corn 1 can Rot...

In my latest video I'm continuing with my HomeKeeping series. In this chat I discuss weekly routines and dealing with procrastination. https://youtu.be/CYwyZaAxr4U

This article is from my previous website, The Family Homestead. I wrote it several years ago but I think the information is useful. I still have the same cast iron frying pans I mention and I still love them! :) Cast Iron Cookware Crystal Miller Last year I purchased my very first cast iron pan. I had some great concerns with my current pans and was looking to make some changes.   I have been quite happy with my decision and have since purchased a 2 nd  pan and have a list of pans to continue to add to my collection.  I have been a Teflon user for many years.  In recent years there have been many negative things written about Teflon and from a health standpoint that was beginning to bother me.  I found it interesting to note that the government has not assessed the safety of non-stick cooking surfaces.  Yet I now know from reading on this subject that Teflon heated up on a burner will omit a toxic gas that is bad enough to k...