Homemaking on the Homestead

 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 ...

  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 ...

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.

 Here's an easy dinner to put together and it's healthy too! :) This recipe and photos are from The Family Homestead (A large website that I no longer have online but I am posting many articles and recipes here on my blog). I hope you enjoy this meal!  ******************** Healthy and Quick Lasagna I am a big advocate of cooking from scratch and keeping it frugal and healthy..  but every now and again I need something quick to put together that does not sacrifice health. I know I will spend a bit more to make it healthy but I also know I am spending much less than if I was to buy take out food for my family and with that added expense there would be no health advantages.   This is one meal I make that is quick to put together and I have used the healthiest ingredients I could find.  Here are the basic ingredients: Healthy & Quick Lasagna 1 lb hamburger 1 onion, chopped 1jar (25oz approx) organic pasta sauce such as the brand Muir Glen 1 contai...

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

I recently made some fantastic banana bread. One of my daughters sent me the recipe and I had very  ripe bananas on hand. It was a perfect way to use them :) Follow the YouTube link below for a quick video and recipe link.  https://youtu.be/WrklD8h2pFk

Hello friends!  In today's video I'm showing you how I make a quick and easy chicken alfredo.  This is becoming my newest go-to recipe because it's so easy and so good! :) https://youtu.be/6TkgqgRJRKw

If you find yourself with very ripe bananas and are wondering what to do with them, here are a few ideas.. Ripe bananas can be mashed up and added to pancake or waffle batter. Mash up 1 to 2 ripe bananas add to your favorite batter recipe. Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Yield: 12 muffins ½ cup buttermilk or sour milk ½ cup mashed banana (1 large banana) ½ cup honey 1 egg 2 c flour (add extra flour if you grind it freshly. Batter should be thick) 1 ½ t. baking powder ½ t. baking soda ½ t. salt ½ t. cinnamon ½ cup chocolate chips, grain sweetened In a medium bowl mix together buttermilk, honey, mashed banana, and egg until well mixed. In another bowl mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon until all ingredients are well combined. Mix liquid ingredients with flour mixture. Stir until just mixed. Fold in chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into greased muffin tins until almost full. Bake at 350 for 20 to 22 minutes. BANANA CAKE ...

Good Afternoon!  In today's video I'm sharing an afternoon I spent in the kitchen making feta cheese burgers and turning my leftovers into brand new meals.  I hope the video inspires you to find ways to use up leftovers :) https://youtu.be/t6ymdwIe6hY

Years ago granola was a staple in our home.  I made gallons and gallons of it to keep 8 hungry tummies full for breakfast. It was much better, in my opinion, than commercial breakfast cereals.  Now that my kids are grown and gone it has been years since I made a batch of granola. This year I wanted to give it away as gifts. I pulled out my recipe and got busy! The ingredients for granola are very simple. You can make changes based on your own preferences.  The basic ingredients you will need are:  Oats Flour Powdered milk Coconut flakes Cinnamon Salt Oil Honey Vanilla To begin get a very large bowl and add the oats, flour, powdered milk, cinnamon and salt.  Stir it all up to combine everything. In a small saucepan combine the oil, vanilla and the honey.  I have always used olive oil for my recipe and never found the taste to be overwhelming.  You can use whatever type of oil you prefer.  Heat this up long enough for the ...