Sweet & Spicy Refrigerator Pickles

#1. Slice up 1 onion & about 6 cups cucumbers & put in a bowl.

#2.  In a pot simmer 1 1/2 c. white vinegar, 3/4 c. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. red pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 1/2 tsp. dried mustard, 1/8 tsp. black pepper. Simmer until sugar dissolved.

#3.  Pour liquid over the cucumbers & onions. Stir and allow to set on counter for about 15 minutes.

#4. Ladle "pickles" into jars & place in the refrigerator for 2 days before serving. 

This made a little over 2 pints.

(Yes I am re-using an old pickle jar)

 

Enjoy!

Homemade Ro-Tel Style Tomatoes

1 gallon chopped tomatoes
6-7 jalapeno peppers (depending on the heat you want)
1 large onion
2 T. salt
1/2 cup white vinegar

Put all except vinegar in a large stock pot. Allow to simmer about 30 minutes. Turn off fire & stir in the salt & vinegar.
Now, ladle into your clean, warm pint jars.
Wipe rims with a clean damp cloth.
Put on seals & rings.
Place in pressure canner and process as your canning manual suggests. ( I put in 2 1/2 qts water & 1/4 c. vinegar into my canner)

 

For my area and canner was 11 pounds pressure for 10 minutes.

Let cool off in the canner for a little while before removing to a dry towel.
Allow to set over night & do NOT mess with the lids!
They will "pop" naturally to get a good seal.

*Can foods at your own risk. It's nothing to be scared of, but you should follow the directions on processing time.  I've been doing this a long time so I pretty much know if something has gone "bad." When in doubt or it doesn't smell right, throw it out.*

Salmon Patties

2 cans salmon
1/2 c. old fashioned oats
2 eggs
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 T. Dijon mustard

Mix all up well with a fork, breaking up the bones & skin. (yes I leave them in but don't tell my kids)
Place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Take out and make into patties. -Whatever size you like.  Either little ones or big enough for a "burger."
Fry in a skillet with a little coconut oil. When golden on each side drain on paper towels.

We all love these and sometimes I make them with tuna instead of salmon.  They are also great on top of a salad for a healthy lunch!

Homemade Tomato Sauce

This is the easiest way to make homemade tomato sauce.  You don't even have to measure!!!

Put a bunch of fresh, washed, & stems cut off  tomatoes through your juicer (or blender if you don't have a juicer)
Skins and all! 
Pour it all into a big pot with a little salt.
Simmer about 2 1/2 hours or until it is as thick as you desire.
You can add any other spices or whatever you like, but this batch I left just as is and I will season it up when I go to use it.

Short & Really Sweet!

Just a little reminder to spend quality time with our families!

Trim & Healthy Pancakes and Fruit Syrup

These were, for me, surprisingly good!  My batch made 12 small-medium sized pancakes. You can eat 1/3 for a serving. So that means I got 4. Top them with fresh fruit or some sugar free syrup & you have a good low cal, healthy breakfast!  (leave off the butter you won't miss it)

1 C. old fashioned oats
1 C. egg whites (it took about 6 of our eggs to make 1 cup)
1 C. low-fat cottage cheese
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. truvia (or other sweetener but if you use sugar they will not be as low-cal)
1 tsp. vanilla

In a blender put oats & grind until like a course powder.
Then add in the cottage cheese, egg whites, baking powder, sweetener, & vanilla.
Blend well.
Pour batter onto hot skillet or griddle that is lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Cook like usual pancakes.

*This batter will be a little thick so you will have to spread the batter out with the back of a spoon to make your pancakes.

Super Easy Fruit Syrup

Fruit:  1-2 cup of strawberries, blueberries, mixed berries, rasberries, or peaches
1-2 tsp. sweetener
1-2 tsp. thickener (cornstarch, arrowroot, glucomannan)

Put fruit in a pot.
Bring to a simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until berries are softening and the juice is around them.  (their own juice)  Add in a couple of teaspoons of sweetener. If the syrup is too thin for your liking add in about 2 tsp of cornstarch, or whatever thickener you like. Simmer until thickened, stirring often. 
Serve warm over pancakes. Refrigerate the left-overs and it's great on anything especially some greek yogurt!

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

I've seen this type of recipe around for a while so I thought I'd try it out.  I made this recipe 3 days ago and this morning I ate some of the left-over.  (Still just as good!)  I love recipes like this where you can have extras for another day because I'm not that much of a morning person & I really don't like to cook most mornings.  You could make this without the blueberries & probably use strawberries or whatever you like or just leave out the fruit all together.  I'm eating mine with a turkey sausage patty and lightly drizzled sugar-free maple syrup. 

Baked blueberry oatmeal

1/2 c. blueberries
2 cups oats
 2 eggs or 3 egg whites
1/4 cup sweetener (I used truvia)
1 T. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt

 Soak your oats over night or at least an hour in water.
Drain and then mix everything together. Except blueberries.
Put into a 9x9 greased baking dish and spread it out.
Sprinkle with berries.
Bake, uncovered,  at 350* about 30 minutes or until set.

Enjoy!

Father's Day on a Budget

Here is what we have planned for Father's Day:

1. Dad gets a breakfast burrito and coffee.
2.  We will let Dad open up his new shorts (you can wear shorts to church here)
3.  Church.
4.  Home to open up his 'manly pool float'   (It's a chair type thing with cup holders for the pool)
5.  He gets to relax in the pool with a drink while in the front yard the kids and I will detail his truck.
6.  Lunch is:  BBQ chicken, macaroni salad, and bacon wrapped jalapenos (he loves those), brownies
7.  My son is going to take him fishing for the evening.
(Daughter & I have something to do at my mom's church this evening)

I think his favorite will be the truck & if we paid to have that done it would be around $100.  Out to eat about $50.  My son is paying for gas in the boat.  So we're saving a lot but still Dad gets a great day!

Bomb Diggity Meatloaf

I slightly adapted this recipe from a cookbook and let me tell you it was the best gosh darn meatloaf I've ever made!  So I'm dubbing it "Bomb Diggity!"  I wish I had a picture but we've ate on it a couple of days and it's gone...

Bomb Diggity Meatloaf

2 1/2 lbs. ground beef
3 eggs
1 cup chunky salsa
1/2 cup sour cream
1 slice Ezekiel bread, torn into small pieces
1 T. taco seasoning

Mix all very well with hands. (It was much moister than my usual recipe)
Put into an ungreased 9x9 inch square baking dish.
Bake at 350* for about an hour or until cooked through.
Pour off grease and allow to set for 5 minutes.

Slice & serve up the deliciousness!

I served it with salad, rice, & zucchini.  YUM!

The Homeschooler's 23rd Psalm

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.

He maketh me to live on less sleep:
He leadeth me through the noise of many voices.

He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me to teach
The right lessons each day, for His name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of undone
Laundry and kitchen messes, I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me, my teacher's guides and
Answer keys, they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence
Of threatening school officials and critical family members:
Thou anointest my head with heavenly wisdom, my cup runneth over.

Surely educated and godly children shall follow after me
All the days of my life: and I will dwell again one day
In a clean house with the Lord forevermore.

I thought this was really cute!

Zucchini & Chicken Soup

This one will depend on how many servings you want to make.  It is not difficult at all & feel free to add any other veggies, meats, or seasonings you like. I'm going to give the recipe for the way I made it for lunch Sunday. About 6 good sized bowls.

1/2 chicken, cut up (light & dark meat)
Water to cover the chicken
1 1/2 cups chunky salsa  ( I used home-canned.  You could chop up some onion, tomato, and jalapeno if no salsa)
3 zucchini
1 sprig rosemary
salt & pepper

In a big pot place your raw chicken pieces, salt & pepper, & rosemary. Fill with enough water to cover.
Boil until chicken is cooked & beginning to fall off the bone.
Remove to a plate to cool & debone.
You can take a spoon and spoon off some of the fat if desired. (It's a pretty lean soup so I left it)
In the boiling broth put the salsa (or veggies) and zucchini.
Boil for about 10 minutes & add in the deboned chicken.
Taste & adjust seasonings to your taste.
Serve!
I ate mine as is with a spoon of sour cream.  Tim & the kids had theirs over tortilla chips.

Other suggested add-ins: carrots, cabbage, okra, potato, garbanzo beans, black beans, green beans, bell pepper, onion
Could be served over: rice, chips, corn tortillas, quinoa
Toppings:  avocado, grated cheese, sour cream

*This soup freezes well!

Banana muffins

I bought a few too many bananas this week so here's another yummy banana recipe.  I've brought these to pot lucks and they are always a hit.

In a mixing bowl place:

3 bananas (the riper the better)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable or coconut oil

Mix well then add in:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
*1/3 cup chopped nuts, optional

Mix until combined.

*If you want to add some chopped nuts stir them in now.

Put in greased muffin tins. I usually get about 18 regular sized muffins out of this.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. They will be light brown & toothpick will come out clean.
                            

Don't let your bananas go to waste!

Did you know you can freeze bananas? 
You sure can.
Peel them first (trust me I've read you don't have to but it's almost impossible to get off the peel frozen)
I break mine in half and put into a good freezer bag.
You can now use them in recipes (thawed) OR our favorite banana ice cream & smoothies.
I'm not really sure how long you can leave them frozen, but I know that after 2 months (found a bag I forgot about) they were still great!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T. olive or coconut oil
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning blend (Tony's)

Put oil in bottom of crockpot to avoid sticking.
Then the chicken.  Sprinkle everything else over the top.
Cook on low for about 6 hours.
When chicken is tender shred it up with a fork and return to crockpot for about 15 minutes to reheat.
Serve on warm tortillas.

Use any other toppings you like. ~ Tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, jalapenos, etc.
In the picture we used fresh cilantro, sour cream, & a squeeze of lime.

Howdy Ya'll!

I've had a couple of different blogs over the years and have posted on them for a while & then seem to lose interest.  I'm going to give this a try again though.
To give a brief background I am a wife of 20 years & mother of 2, ages 19 & 14.  I live on 3 acres in the deep south. We raise (on a small scale) chickens, ducks, & pigs.  We also have a garden & I love to preserve, cook, & can our foods.  We are also a homeschooling family. (Just 1 now)
I hope to write about all of the above & more.
If you visit I hope you come again & feel free to ask questions or share you own advice for any of the topics here.
Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

Delicious Banana Oat Pancakes

These pancakes are so moist and easy to make.  They also happen to be vegan! (Not that we are, but they are some really good pancakes)

In a blender put the following in this order:

1 1/2 cups almond milk (original, or vanilla flavored)
2 bananas
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder

Blend well until all combined.
Pour onto hot griddle or skillet & cook just like regular pancakes.

Center will be set but they will be a little more moist than typical pancakes.

Top with butter & syrup.  They are good plain too!