Last weekend I had the opportunity to learn how to make and can salsa with my parents and Grandma. Although I was excited to try something new in the kitchen, I have to say my favorite part of the day was spending time with family. I love my grandparents’ house; I spent a lot of time there growing up so it’s filled with memories and has that comforting feeling you get when you ‘go home’. One of the other great things about their house is Continue reading
Similar to hearing favorite old songs, smelling familiar scents can take you right back to a specific point in time and remind you of fond memories. I’m hoping this stove top holiday potpourri does just that for Hailey when she’s grown and living on her own. It was simmering on the stove a few mornings ago when Continue reading
It’s officially Fall! If you read my last post, you know I’m not terribly excited about this change in seasons; however, Fall does have its own set of perks. One perk is our annual trip to a great local orchard for apple picking! Last year was our first apple picking adventure and despite the cold and windy weather that day, we quickly decided to Continue reading
As mentioned in my canning green beans post, next on the list was tomatoes. If you made it through the green beans, I promise you will do just fine with tomatoes! Tomatoes can be canned multiple ways; this post will focus on smooth, flavorful tomato juice, but open kettle canning is another option and provides you with Continue reading
This is simply my two cents, but it seems to me unhealthy eating is directly correlated with ease and convenience. Pause..I just spelled convenience right without the help of Spell check! That never happens; it’s been the one word in my life that just would not stick in my memory. Woo! Okay, undo pause. I hope my ‘Homemade Alternatives’ category can do some good in this world of processed food that’s easy to grab without second thought and show people how easy the healthy options are too! This particular one just may be one of Continue reading
This past weekend I spent Saturday morning at my grandmother’s house learning how to can green beans grown in her garden; I’m wondering why we didn’t plan to do this sooner, but I’m thrilled we’ve done it now! My grandmother has been a gardener for as long as I can remember spoiling our family with fresh produce every Summer and carrying us through the Winter months by canning, a very valuable skill to have on your life resume. Now that I know just how Continue reading
Making homemade alternatives for usually store bought items is becoming a trend at our house and I really suggest you do the same in at least some cases, because it’s quick and easy! My latest homemade alternative is an oven fry mix I used when baking pork chops a couple nights ago. I usually buy Continue reading
The ‘Homemade Alternatives’ tab is my favorite new addition to the blog! I hope to continue adding more and providing great recipes that serve as better alternatives to pre-made items at the store. The first recipe I tried for the Homemade Alternatives tab was homemade taco seasoning, worth checking out if I do say so myself 🙂 It’s so easy to purchase store bought versions of dressings, condiments, seasonings and more, but the fact is Continue reading
Something new I learned this weekend? Homemade taco seasoning is better than the store bought packet of seasoning in every way! I suspected it would be and I have no good answer for why it took me such a long time to finally make my own. I’ll go with ‘because we don’t cook Mexican food that often’. However, that might be a change in our menu around here now that I have a healthy and cost effective way to make a delicious seasoning! Not to mention, Continue reading
Our Front Door Looking in... 