If you have your own fruit trees or partake in loss leader deals at the store, you may find yourself with lots of extra fruit on hand during the summer. Rather than letting your overripe fruit go into the compost pile, why not take advantage of the sweetness of fruit at this stage and learn how to make fruit leather? It's nature's candy! So you've made your strawberry jam, ...
RECIPES
How to Make a Delicious Peach BBQ Sauce {+ Canning Instructions}
Whether you are purchasing peaches from the store or using your peach harvest, you may not have thought of making something savory with them. After you've made your jam, fruit leather, and wine, make sure to save a few lbs to make peach bbq sauce! Barbecue is some of the best food on earth, thank God it's so easy to do! Todd and I ran across this recipe when we were trying ...
How to Make Fig Wine at Home {Step-by-Step Instructions}
Summer is the season when many delicious fruits are harvested. Sometimes the windfall more than provides more than enough jam, frozen fruit, fruit leather, and other fruit products until next harvest. A great way to use up all of your extra figs is to learn how to make fig wine at home. A few years ago, we were invited to a friend's farm to harvest figs from her huge tree. ...
How to Make Strawberry Wine Step-By-Step
There's little more satisfying than filling your plate or glass with something you made with your own hands. Even better if it's something you have grown on your homestead! Making fruit wine is one of those satisfying activities, and this one yields the best flavor. This post will teach you how to make strawberry wine with store bought, or home-grown berries. If you ...
How to Make Strawberry Sauce {Using the Tops!}
It seems such a shame to throw away some of the kitchen scraps we generate. If you are a gardener, chances are that you throw yours into the compost pile, or if you have chickens, to them. But have you ever thought of eating some of them? This recipe will teach you how to make strawberry sauce out of the scraps you may have leftover from canning or dehydrating! There is ...
5 Delicious and Easy Ways to Use Dehydrated Pinto Beans
One of the best things about beans is that it is a completely perfect food to convert into convenience food! Don't believe me? Well, why not dehydrate some beans and use these easy dinner ideas for pinto beans so you can have home-cooked convenience foods on your shelf that are both healthy and quick! First of all, I want to tell you that if you are looking for super ...
How to Make Dehydrated Beans for Convenience Food
As homesteaders, we are constantly busy, aren't we? There is so much to do on our properties that needs attention, and all of it seems to be RIGHT NOW. Despite the fact that we have plenty of food at our fingertips from growing food in our gardens, chicken coops, and perhaps even our livestock, the one thing our homesteads can't really give us back is time. Let me show you how ...
How to Can Pinto Beans {and other dried beans}
Pinto beans, and really, beans of all kinds are a nutritious, inexpensive way to get protein into our bodies. They are so versatile -- great in burritos, chili, soups, salads, and other recipes. Still, paying $1 per 15 oz can is so much more expensive than canning them yourself. Here's my safe instructions on how to can pinto beans in a pressure canner. Pressure canning ...
How to Make Your Own Homemade Chili Seasoning and Other Homemade Mixes
One of the best ways that I have found to save money is to make more from scratch. Being busy and on the go all the time makes it really tempting to let others prepare our food. In the end, though, it's best to make our own seasonings. I'll show you how to make your own homemade chili seasoning that will go beautifully with dehydrated, canned, or in the chili recipe ...
How to Make a Knockoff Starbucks Medicine Ball Tea Recipe
It's the time of year when cold and flu are prevalent, and we look for a good cup of hot tea that will help us get well and stay well. This knockoff Starbucks medicine ball recipe is one that's been around our household since my daughter first made it. My daughter Abi has always been a whiz in the kitchen. She has very specific tastes, and often, those tastes are much more ...
How to Bake a Perfect Holiday Dinner Ham
Holidays can be so stressful, especially now that we are doing most of our own cooking due to stay-at-home orders. This recipe will make your holiday ham dinner shine more brightly, and with less time! My family loves ham, and after all the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers in November, we are all ready for ham at Christmas! What Makes a Great Ham Dinner? Actually, ...
How To Save Money by Freezing Pumpkin Puree
Growing pumpkin is relatively easy and depending on the type you are growing, each one can yield quite a bit. Freezing pumpkin puree is a good way to save money on food if you use canned pumpkin frequently, and if you aren't picky about the type of pumpkin you are freezing. Having had to be pretty tight with my budget over the past 30 years (save for the past 6), I've ...