Homemaking on the Homestead

  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 ...

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)...

 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...

The kitchen can be a complex room. So much goes on in there. There is a constant daily use of supplies and dishes and cleaning going on. So being well organized is a necessity. This is a room that needs a plan and a good routine to keep things moving. One way to come up with a plan to better organize your kitchen is to step back and look at your kitchen and consider all that you do in there. The variety of meal preps, the storage of food, pots and pans, the baking, cooking, etc… Then break your kitchen up into zones. You can start with a baking zone. Examine where you keep your supplies. A baking zone will have measuring cups for both dry and liquids, measuring spoons, mixing bowls, as well as spices, baking powder, soda, etc. You want everything simple to access so that making a batch of muffins does not become a chore of digging around to find needed supplies and equipment or walking from one side of your kitchen to the other. I stay in one area of my kitchen and ac...

I use to have a clothesline and loved hanging my laundry out. I made a simple little bag to hold my clothes pins. You don't need a lot of sewing skills for this fast easy project!  Make a Simple Clothes Pin Bag for your Clothes Line! Summertime is time to hang out the laundry! I love my clothesline but was always struggling with how to deal with the clothes pins. Well I have solved that problem and want to pass this on to all you clothes line ladies!!   This is a VERY simple project to make! If you don’t sew, do not despair because you can hand stitch this one! Supplies: 1 child’s size button up the front shirt,  about size 2T or 3T 1 coat hanger Thread to match the fabric Lay the shirt on the table and button up the front of the shirt. Turn the shirt inside out and sew the bottom of the shirt closed. Turn the shirt right side out and unbutton the first few buttons at the top. Now you have a little ba...

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 ...