Recipe: Crockpot O’ Gold

I have been using my crockpot (slow cooker) a lot lately, since the new baby doesn’t let me get much done! I have one recipe that is my crockpot go-to meal. I threw it together one day after trying to find a way to get more cabbage into our diet. It is very simple, flexible and virtually impossible to mess up! Since it is comparable to an Irish meal and St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner I decided to...

Homemade: Monkey Cupcakes

Homemade is a series about making more items and gifts yourself in an effort to save money! Hopefully it will inspire you to make some of your own homemade items and share them with us. Last time I posted about my homemade crochet sock monkey, so I thought I would share with you my homemade monkey cupcakes! For our girls birthdays we rented a local church room that has a HUGE 2 story playhouse in it. When the girls said they...

Meal Planning with a FREE Customizable Printable M...

I have to admit that for years I read about bloggers who swore by meal planning and I wanted nothing to do with it. I didn’t think I needed it. Then I thought it took too much time. I also didn’t want to be tied down to a plan. I wanted to eat what I was in the mood to eat that day. Fast forward a couple years and add 3 children, homeschooling and managing 3 businesses while trying to maintain the home and a...

RECIPE: Concord Grape Jam

print Concord Grape Jam Ingredients 5 lbs Concord Grapes (10 cups) 3 cups sugar 3 Tablespoons lemon juice Directions Wash and peel grapes, keep skins separate from pulp. Place grape pulp in a saucepan and cook over medium low heat for about 15 minutes. Occasionally mash with a potato masher to help break down pulp. Remove pulp from heat and press through a food mill or strainer to remove grape seeds. Boil grape pulp,...

RECIPE: Concord Grape Pie

print Concord Grape Pie Ingredients 2 – 9″ pie crusts 5 cups concord grapes 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup flour 1 teaspoon lemon juice a pinch of salt Directions Wash and peel grapes, keep skins separate from pulp. Place grape pulp in a saucepan and cook over medium low heat for about 15 minutes. Occasionally mash with a potato masher to help break down pulp. Remove pulp from heat and press through a food mill or...

HOW TO: Peel & Remove Seeds from Concord Grap...

This month we traveled to a local farm and got to pick our own organically grown concord grapes. We have been busy in the kitchen making grape pies, grape juice and grape jam! Here are some helpful tips on how we removed the skins and seeds from our delicious Concord Grapes! 1. Remove Grapes from stems and wash thoroughly! This is a great activity for kids, mine where extremely BIG helpers! 2.  Place the eye, or spot...

RECIPE: Pear Butter

print Pear Butter Ingredients ¼ bushel pears ½ cup honey ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ tsp clove ⅛ tsp allspice Directions 1. Follow steps 1-7 in How to Make Pearsauce. OR Peal and core pears and place in crock pot on low with 1 cup of water. 2. Cook pears down until they are reduced by ½ the volume and desired consistency. 3. Add honey, cinnamon, clove, and allspice. 4. Process jars using boiling water bath...

RECIPE: Pearsauce

print Pearsauce Ingredients pears Directions 1. Pull stem from whole pear. 2. Cut pear in half. 3. Use a melon baller or metal spoon to remove seeds. 4. Cut pears in half one more time so they are now in quarters. 5. Place pears in a pot and fill with about 1″ water and heat over medium heat until pears become very soft. 6. Remove pears from heat and drain water. 7. Place pears in your Kitchen...

Canning Pears – Cold Pack Method

print Canning Pears Cold Pack Method Ingredients 1/2 bushel pears = 13 quarts Very Light Syrup 12 cups water 4 cups sugar or honey Directions 1. Wash pears in cold water. You can also add a little bit of vinegar if you like, but I normally just use water. 2. Prepare syrup prior to placing your pears in jars. Bring water to a boil and slowly add sugar, stir until dissolved. Reduce heat and keep syrup at a low...

How to Pressure Can Whole Tomatoes (raw pack w/o l...

print Pressure Can Whole Tomatoes without liquid Directions  1. Wash tomatoes in cold water. Bring a pot of water to a full boil. Place tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute (or until a crack appears).  Place lids in a small pot of water and place on low heat, DO  NOT BOIL. 2. Immediately remove tomatoes from boiling water and place into ice water for 1 minute. 3. Place the tomato on a cutting board and...