You would not believe the number of people I encounter over a year that still do not understand the difference between water bath canning and pressure canning. There is an equal number of people who still do not know what is safe to can in a water bath canner and what is not. Here are a few facts about water bath canning that should hopefully clear up the confusion. What IS the Difference Between Water Bath Canning and Pressure Canning? To put it simply a water bath canner cans at ... [ Read More ]
Super Easy, One Bowl, Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies
These cookies are a breeze to make, you can mix them all in one bowl, the hardest thing about making them is unwrapping the Hershey's kisses! I like to make these every year at Christmas and they are one of the first things to go. This year I am going to make sure there are plenty by making two full double batches. (There are six of us in this house so they will go fast). These are easiest if you have a stand mixer, if you don't then you can still make them but you ... [ Read More ]
Three Fun Ways for Kids to Play with Their Food
Today's post is a guest post, courtesy of www.funkidspajamas.com Usually we tell our kids not to play with their food, but occasionally there are exceptions. Here are three of them. From caterpillars made of fruit, to reindeer breakfasts, with these fun and edible dishes, your kids can have a great time cooking, playing, and eating. 1. Reindeer Breakfasts With this dish, your children can kick off their day with some delicious food and play before even ... [ Read More ]
Must Have Artisan Bagel Recipes
One big gripe I have had for a long time is the exorbitant price of some baked goods. Bagels for instance can cost between $3 and $6 for six good quality bagels. That is too much, considering how easy bagels are to make and how affordable the ingredients are. Bagels do take a couple of extra steps and a bit of practice, but I taught my future daughter in law who has no prior baking experience how to make them in one session. She went on to make her own bagels right after ... [ Read More ]
Homemade Cream of Chicken and Rice Soup
I went looking for a creamy soup recipe and had a hard time finding what I wanted. When I finally did find the type of soup I was looking for it was made with a large amount of expensive and processed foods. I used the recipe as a very loose guide and made my own recipe. I decided share it here, because it turned out great and there are those times when you want a heartier comfort soup and this is it. I used a chicken carcass to make this, as it is my way of getting ... [ Read More ]
7 Amazing Ways to Use up All of those Garden Fresh Tomatoes
I may not have a garden this year, but I remember all too well the abundance of tomatoes and the yearly scramble to decide what to do with them all. It seemed some years like I would never get through the endless pile of tomatoes that littered my table, the counters, and every other available surface. In truth it is not the abundance of tomatoes that is so much the problem, I knew how to can them all into a variety of tasty tomato goodness that would last us through the winter. The ... [ Read More ]
The Ultimate Don’t Waste Your Thanksgiving Turkey Guide
We grew our own turkeys this year, and the one thing you really can’t do when you grow your own, is pick your own size of Thanksgiving Turkey. You can choose between Monstrous and not so monstrous but in the end you are likely going to end up with more turkey than you anticipated. This has been our dilemma this year. We only have 3 of us in our family so we can only eat so much turkey in the few days after the holiday. Not one to let things go to waste, it is ... [ Read More ]
Easy Sun Dried Tomatoes
Last time I went to the store for sun dried Tomatoes the cheapest I could find them for was $5 for a tiny little package. Since I needed two packages for what I was making, I decided to pass them up and not make what I originally had planned on. $10 for a single ingredient just seemed like way too much money just to add them to a meal. While I am sure I could have found them for less if I shopped around, we do not have a lot of grocery stores in our area and by the time I ... [ Read More ]
The Very Easy and Never Ending Jar of Pickles
I used to think my father in law was a bit out there when he would use the old pickle juice to add onions and cucumbers to, pickling has to be more complicated than that was the rational I had. But after some experience in making refrigerator pickles I realized that reusing the liquid from your pickles over and over not only is an easy way to keep a never ending jar of pickles in your refrigerator but it is an excellent use of resources. It has been impossible to keep pickles in our house for ... [ Read More ]
English Style Pickled Onions
Pickled onions were a staple in my husband's home when he was growing up. He spent his middle school and high school years in England and pickled onions where a part of many meals in their home. It did not take long before I heard stories from my English mother-in-law about how quickly the pickled onions would magically disappear out of their pantry with hungry teenage boys of course being the culprits. I knew I had to try my hand at making these and in the beginning my in-laws would bring ... [ Read More ]