Homemaking on the Homestead

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)...

Good morning friends! In my newest video I show you how to make my favorite jam, Strawberry Cranberry Jam. My family really enjoys this jam and if you make it I hope you do to!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTpY9Ffadng ***************** Strawberry Cranberry Jam  Makes approx. 13 half pint jars 3#’s frozen strawberries  12 oz fresh or frozen cranberries  1T lemon juice  2 boxes pectin  1t butter  8 cups sugar  Put strawberries, cranberries, lemon juice, pectin and butter into a large, 6 to 8qt, stock pot. On medium heat slowly bring to a boil. Stir to prevent it from sticking. Simmer and stir until fruit breaks up. If you want to hurry the process you can use a stick blender to smooth it out, or leave the fruit a bit chunky, the choice is yours. Turn up the heat to high and add sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar. Bring it all to a hard boil (a boil that cannot be stirred down) and boil and stir for ...

The end of summer always meant a lot of tomatoes for me. I would plant somewhere around 30 roma type tomato plants and that would yield a lot of tomatoes each year!  Each year salsa was always on my list.  A friend of mine (Leah) gave me her tried and true salsa recipe and we loved it. It was the recipe I used over and over again. Salsa for Canning… 10 lbs tomatoes, chopped 6 medium onions, chopped 3 cups bell peppers (any kind), chopped 12 jalapeno peppers, chopped and seeded 5 chili peppers, chopped and seeded (this will make it spicy or milder, depending on the peppers you choose) 10 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped 1 1/3 cups white vinegar 1/4 cup salt 2 tsp pepper 2 tsp cayenne pepper 2 tsp cumin 2 tbsp lime juice 3 cans tomato paste (the bigger cans, not the tiny ones) Combine all ingredients except tomato paste in a large stock pot. Simmer approximately 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and mix well. Si...

Garden season usually means a lot of zucchini! I am forever looking for ways to use it and preserve it. This recipe was a favorite of mine. ************************************** If you have an abundance of zucchini or yellow squash this is a great way to use it up!  Zucchini pineapple can be used in place of crushed pineapple. I also mix it with equal parts bbq sauce to go over meatballs, meatloaf or chicken. It can also be mixed into fruit salads. Lots of possibilities! (I had a large amount of yellow summer squash and that is why mine is all yellow in color.  If you use zucchini you will have green specks and that is ok too!)   8 quarts grated zucchini 1 #10 can pineapple chunks in juice 6 cups sugar 3 cups lemon juice Combine all ingredients (do not drain pineapple).. heat to a boiling, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Ladle hot mixture into hot pint jars and can in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Use in place of recipes that call for ...

If your garden is overflowing with tomatoes you might like to can a batch of spaghetti sauce! ************************ You'll need 20#'s of tomatoes for this recipe.  My favorite type of tomatoes are Roma Tomatoes. They are not as juicy as other varieties and are great for all types of tomato based sauces.  I also do not peel my tomatoes. I cut them up and puree them in my food processor. I've never had a problem doing it this way. It saves a LOT of time!  After pureeing the tomatoes I put everything in a large 14 quart pot along with more of the ingredients and let this simmer away for a couple hours..   Add the tomato paste and it's ready to can up! Due to the vinegar and lemon juice in this recipe it can be canned in a boiling water bath.  Remember to use safe, basic canning procedures. If you're not familiar with water bath canning you can find information HERE .    ******************************...

I baked a ham last week and with only the two of us to eat it, I had a good amount leftover. My ham was a bone in ham and weighed about 7 1/2 pounds. We had ham dinner for two nights. I removed as much of the meat off the bone as I could and cut it up, then made stock from the bone.  I made it in my Instant Pot. You could also make it on the stove top or in the crockpot.  I put the ham bone and the juices from the pan that I had baked it in into the IP.  I added about 10 to 12 cups of water. I didn't add any salt because ham is usually salty enough. You could also add extras to the stock such as onions or carrots or what ever you would want. I was fine with the stock as is. I put the lid on the IP, turned the knob at the top to "Seal" and set the timer for 60 minutes.. When the time was up I let the pressure come down on its own. Then I removed the lid and took the ham bone out of the pot.  There was still a bit of meat on the bone that I removed ...

Wednesday Snap Shot   will be on a break this week! :) I have a lot to do in town today to get ready for family coming tomorrow. So, no time to blog this morning.. Since many are in the middle of garden and canning season I thought I share one of my favorite things to can.. Salsa! I love this recipe. It was given to me by a friend and I've used for years and years and literally canned hundreds of jars of it... (I posted this a few years ago) Hope you enjoy it if you try it!  *************************** I’ve been busy making salsa! I used 40lbs of tomatoes to make 2 double batches. I made one batch in my 14qt pot … And the second batch in my roaster oven… It was a long day of chopping, pureeing, simmering and canning but I ended up with 31 pints and 14 quarts. I made 31 pints a few days ago, so I do believe we have plenty of salsa to last us for the year! I still have lots of tomatoes and more to pick. I plan on maki...

Summer time has always meant canning time here on my homestead.  Green beans were a staple.  I grew lots of them and we canned many hundreds of jars over the years. I posted this step by step tutorial on canning green beans about 5 years ago.  If you plan to try and can green beans this year, be sure to bookmark this post!  :) Remember:  you MUST can green beans in a pressure canner.  They can NOT be canned in a water bath canner.  All low acid veggies (and meats) must be pressure canned for the safety of you and and your family.   My green beans have not done as well as they have in the past. Our summer has been on the cooler side (except the last week) and it took them awhile to get going. My kids and I did our second picking today. I’m thankful for what I was able to can. I may have enough to get a few more jars canned with the next picking, which will most likely be the last. Our afternoon started with picking the be...