Making Vanilla!

 Alright, when I saw the my sister-in-law was making her own vanilla with a bottle of Vodka, I thought she was a little nutty.

Then, I went to the cupboard and looked at my imitation vanilla in the cupboard.  Ingredient list was Water, alcohol, vanilla bean extractives, and sugar.  Interesting! 

So, I went a did some looking at how to make a more PURE vanilla.  I checked out my sister-in-law's info and HER sister-in-laws info.  From there, I ordered my vanilla beans from Olive Nation.  I paid $13.46 total for 16 beans.  (Free Shipping!)

When I received the beans, it took me several days to get up the strength to go to the store and buy vodka!  When I did, I felt I needed to explain why I was buying it!  The cashier said, "Honey, I don't judge!".  But, I'm a God-fearin' woman, who doesn't drink this stuff!  I promise!!!  I'm sure after doing this a few times, I won't feel the need to explain, but this day I did...

I got home and put my stuff together!  I cut the beans long ways with my kitchen scissors.  And stuck all 16 in the vanilla.  I think I saw where you put 10 or 12 in but I got 16 so I thought I might as well use them all and maybe it will last longer!  You can continue to reuse your beans for several more batches of vanilla! 

After only a day and a half, this is what the beans looked like!

You should let the beans sit, for 4-6 weeks.  It has been ONE week for me so far, and it has darkened dramatically AND already smells heavenly!  I can hardly wait!

When are YOU gonna make yourself some???  :)

Homemade Thanksgiving

Alright, Thanksgiving is in just a few days, and I want to hear what you all are making!  Preferably, I want to know what YOU have raised on your plot of dirt, and are serving on your dinner table (or A dinner table)!  Or items that you made completely from scratch!

Yesterday, I had a get together with MY family and the plan WAS to have our turkey that we have raised, but hubby's overtime and other activities, we ran out of time...  So had to go with a store bought turkey... (Thanks Jennie-O!)  But, we DID have our potatoes (mashed potatoes) and corn.  I also made bread from scratch and had some of our homemade strawberry jelly with it...  Next year, hopefully I will have more time and be able to MAKE my own stuffing.  There is an elderly lady from church that makes WONDERFUL stuffing and I hope to be able to learn from her!  My family also brought some yummy goodies also, which made for a delicious meal!

So now, how about you?  Since we won't be able to (or have time to link up on Thursday for "From Scratch...", let's see what all you will be doing now!  If you don't have a link, leave a comment in the comments area.  I would LOVE to hear what you all are making!!!

From Scratch...

Hey!  It's Thursday!?  Ahhh!  I can't believe my week has been flying by!  Right now, I am posting this at almost 1:00pm, and I have been literally running all morning!   But enough of the complainin' and on to the good stuff!

So, Thursdays are when we discuss/ share what we have made from scratch in the past week!  So, right now I am going to TRY to remember what I have made in this past week!!!

• Pizza : homemade crust, ground turkey, organic mushrooms, cheese and homemade sauce....  
• Granola cereal...  
• Deer Roast, organic carrots and potatoes from our garden
• Grandmother Bread
• Homemade chicken noodle soup
• Homemade brownies (from a homemade mix!)

I think that is it!  Nothing that we eat comes from a "boxed meal".  Most everything is in some ways "from scratch"....  And always try to keep it healthy and mostly organic!

So, now it is YOUR turn!!!  If you can link up and share what you have made from scratch this week, OR share by commenting in the comment section!  I look forward to hearing what you've made!!!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday!  These week has gone so quickly, that I almost forgot it was almost the weekend!  When my hubby works a lot, and I have to kick it in and take on all of the chores, it makes a hectic week, but I guess it goes faster though!

But today, we are going to be sharing what we have made from scratch this week!  I would love for you to join in!

Alright!  Well, for MY family, like I have mentioned before, we don't do much from a box.  We may do Cheerios, or boxed wholesome pasta (just pasta, not a meal) but we don't do pre-made, store-bought, box mixes.  I MAY have some in my cupboard that we have got free or really cheap with coupons, but they are rapidly expiring, and I need to donate them!

On to what we did this week!  We haven't done a lot of our "normal" because we have actually got together with family once this last weekend and went to a Harvest Party.  But here is what we have done (if I can remember everything!):

• Deer Roast and Veggies.  (From a Deer my hubby got last year, just a few things left from it)
• Scalloped potatoes and ham (YUM!)
• Power Muffins
• homemade Brownies (from Homemade Brownie Mix)
• Cookies
• Homemade Play-dough

Leftovers and Pasta & Salads worked good this week, with hubby working and only kids to feed.  I love to make sure my kids have healthy food, but I tend to only work hard on food that my hubby will enjoy... :)

SO, what have YOU been making this week???  Please share by linking up OR by adding to the comments!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday!  And time for "From Scratch", where we can link up and share what we made from scratch this week!

This week seemed really busy for some reason.  Seemed like I did a lot of running and had a lot of chores!  I hope this doesn't keep up!  While you are reading this, I am HOPEFULLY on my way to pick up our new little male Jacob sheep.  Of course I have to travel 2 1/2 hours away in windy/ possibly rainy conditions... Which should be fun!  So, if you think about it, say a little prayer for me for safe travel.  I would sure appreciate it.

So, on with the show!  This week, this is what I made from scratch:

• Granola!  For cereal in the mornings!  Very filling, very healthy!
• Pumpkin Dinner Rolls.  This is a family FAVORITE.  Makes big batches and can be frozen to pull out later.  So nice!
• Baked Oatmeal.  Yum!  Warm, and filling for breakfast!
• Homemade chicken noodle soup (from home raised chickens).
• Mashed potatoes (from our abundance of potatoes this year!).
• Pizza!  I know you have all come to expect this one!  :)
• All other meals are made at home, never from a boxed meal!  I use as many whole ingredients as I can, and if I purchase something, I try to make sure it is "natural" or organic.

That's it for me!

What all have YOU made this week?  I would LOVE to hear!  You can either link up below OR add what you've made to the comments area!  Thanks!  And I look forward to seeing what you have all made "from scratch"!

From Scratch...

It is a beautiful Fall week so far, chilly in the evenings, and daytime temps are very pleasant.

Lots going on still on our little farm, and so life rarely is at a stand still.  Baking and MAKING are difficult when life gets busy, BUT you make time if it's important.  Tuesday I ran LITERALLY all day, run to this place then this place, then do this real quick before I have to go here.  But when I got home, got kids in bed and realized it was 8:30 pm, I WANTED to have some Breakfast muffins for the next morning.  So I made them!  9:30 I pulled them out of the oven, and they were ready for the next day.  Crazy?  Possibly, and very likely.  BUT, important to me....

So here is a run down of what I made this week From Scratch...

• Pizza crust (this might be on each week, as we LOVE it!).  Made with homemade sauce, turkey burger, organic mushrooms, and cheese.  There is enough dough that I also make breadsticks, and my boys love 'em....
• Crock pot whole chicken (raised on our farm) broth, organic veggies.... (kept the broth)
• Chicken noodle soup, made with save broth, noodles, organic veggies.
• Pumpkin muffins (new one for us, I made it with fresh pumpkin from our garden!0
• Power Muffins (double batch)
• Granola.  Delish!
• Warm Cider, YUM! (Dump cider in a crock pot, add chopped apple sliced orange and cinnamon sticks, let simmer on low for an hour or more)
• As well as most dinners, and some breakfasts being put together with whole ingredients and made from scratch...

I have much more planned for today, like laundry soap!  I ran out and need to make a new batch!  

What are YOU making form Scratch?   Please share what you made this week, either by linking up or sharing in the comments!  If you'd like, you can also use the button above that says from scratch!

Thanks for sharing!

From Scratch...

OK, kids.... (hehehe!) Sorry I am posting this a little late!  I was expecting the baby broiler chicks YESTERDAY.  But it took them 2 days to come 3 hours, I guess...  So, now that I am done getting them all snuggled in and all of my barn chores are done, I am excited to see what you all made from scratch this week!!!


This for me was crazy!  Last weekend we went to Michigan and the Upper Peninsula...  We got back and Monday was my catch-up day, for laundry, cleaning, etc...  I had a few other things on my schedule (I use the word FEW very loosely...) and here I am today!  I think I made 3 things from scratch this week... Failure? No.  We all have weeks that are busy, and as long as we STRIVE to bring healthy foods to our tables, no one can ask any more.

Here are the 3 things I made:

• Pizza Crust.  We just absolutely LOVE pizza!  Especially since I make the crust, I make the sauce, we brown some turkey burger, add organic mushrooms, and olives, then some cheese and I have some VERY happy boys in my house!  I have made this pizza crust recipe over the camp fire!  I usually bake the crust FIRST.  Then come back and put all of the toppings on, and then heat all of it up!  YUM!
• Granola Bars for our trip.  Of course, I had none of the usual ingredients!  NO walnuts (I just need to pick them up out of my yard now!), no chocolate chips OR dried fruit...  So I added about a cup or a little less of peanut butter.  I thought it was SO GOOD!  My boys, well, they weren't as excited about them.  SO I may just wait until I have all of the ingredients next time!
• Power Muffins.  OK, funny name, but a great and SUPER healthy muffin!  I got this recipe from my sister, and if I can get her permission, I will share it with you soon!  ;)

So, now it's YOUR turn!  What did you make this week from scratch?  PLEASE SHARE!  You can share by linking up OR by adding it in the comments below!  Either way, we would LOVE to hear from you!  I also love visiting your blogs!  Thanks for linking up!!!!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday!  Time to share what you are making "from scratch"!

This week I was more motivated to bake because I loved getting warmed up in the kitchen with the heat from the oven!  Plus the reward of fresh baked goodies just can't be beat!

This week I made:

• Apple Crisp in the crock pot!  Recipe coming soon!  :)
• Grandmother Bread
• Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries
• Pancakes with a new pancake mix (recipe coming tomorrow!)
• Power Muffins (recipe from my sister)

Today I am also planning to dehydrate some apples in my dehydrator.  We LOVE dehydrated apples...

Now it's your turn!  What did YOU make this week???  Please share in the comments or by linking up!  Feel free to use the button above!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday and once again time to share what we made from scratch this week!  Hopefully now that temps are dropping (in SOME areas!), it will be easier to get into the baking mood!  And if you haven't been in the kitchen for a while, this is your challenge!  Make something new this week!  And then share with us next week how it went!  Not always are my attempts successful, but mistakes help us grow and learn!

This week, my sister and I made a trip to the bulk food store.  It is always so fun to have a list of new ingredients to try in a new recipe, and then to pick them out at the bulk food store.  This week my new ingredients were Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour and Sesame Seeds.  I used the Sprouted Whole Wheat Flour last night in homemade pancakes and in homemade granola...  It is GREAT for you and tastes good!

Some of our bulk food items.

You will also see that I have honey in the pic above.  I get that from my uncle.  We DO have our own honey bees, but we didn't collect any honey from them this year.  We are going to leave the honey for the colony this Winter.  Until then, I still need some GOOD honey to substitute for sugar in many recipes!

Last night, I was so happy to FINALLY have wheat flour, I made some of our favorite homemade granola...

A favorite in our family: Granola!

I didn't have the dried fruit, but I added mini chocolate chips.... Mmmm!

This week, I also made some muffins, and replaced the normal sugar amount with honey.  SO we don't have to feel so bad about eating them!  :)

I am looking forward to trying a few more recipes this week also...  I will share them if they turn out to be any good!

So what did YOU make this week?  Care to share?  Please either link up or share in the comments!

From Scratch...

Crazy morning!  Crazy week!

Boy do I need to go to our "bulk food" store!  I'm runnin' out of EVERYTHING!

This we enjoyed a pizza crust that I made extra, and covered then stuck in the freezer!  LOVE IT!  It was SO easy!  Next time I make one pizza batch, I am going to make another to freeze!  It was a quick and easy meal!  And healthy!

Last night, I also made a small batch of apple sauce in the crock-pot.  Ooooh buddy, the smell is heavenly!  NO secret recipe, just cut up some apples then add cinnamon and a little sugar (or honey if you have it!).

A recipe is coming in this next week of a new favorite here in our household... My favorite thing about it is, I don't think you can mess it up!  :)  Love those!  And I promise, more pictures of food!!! 

So what are YOU making this week???  Share a link or tell us in the comments!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday! And starting today, we are going to be sharing again what we are making "from scratch"! I cannot WAIT to see what your making this week!

Our egg production has been down, A LOT. Let's say... to zero. ZERO. Zip. Nada... So baking our usual favorite treats, hasn't been happening. Which is a BUMMER!

BUT, I have been making this delightful new recipe, English Muffins! English Muffins are one of my FAVORITE breakfasts. I used to buy these because I didn't know that they could be made! Not by regular people anyways! And it is so simple!



I got my recipe from Happy Homemaker. Check it out HERE. The thing that takes the longest is the rise time! AND you make them on your griddle! LOVE IT!

What new and fun things are you making? Care to share??? We would LOVE to see! Link up if you can or share in the comments!!!

From Scratch...

Are the days flying by, or is it just me? I am keeping super busy, although the weather has been less than desirable for working outside. All this rain and cold is BAD, BAD!

Better to be indoors and working in the kitchen, eh?

Here are some things I have worked on (or are going to do) this week:

• Homemade Graham Crackers
• Chocolate Wafers
• Tortillas
• Breakfast Burritos (with the homemade tortillas!)
• Egg Salad (for sandwiches)
• Baked Oatmeal
• Grandmother Bread (of course!)

Some of these items I am making today, for the weekend! :)

So what are YOU doing in the kitchen??? Care to share any new recipes? Especially healthy, YUMMY ones??? :)

From Scratch...

I hope you all have been able to enjoy some nice weather wherever you are. It's been nice here, and we've been getting a decent amount of rain to go along with it. Great for the garden! :)

I have been able to spend a little time in the kitchen this week. LITTLE. I actually had someone give us a few loaves of bread (leftover from an activity) so we didn't bake bread this week! SHOCK! But I need to either today or tomorrow...

Here are the FEW things I made this week:

• baked oatmeal
• graham crackers (recipe from my sister. YUM! I will share this with you soon!)
• Weed Killer (OK- so this one isn't really kitchen either BUT it is a GREAT non-chemical weed killer. Safe enough for kids, animals or whatever! I will be sharing this recipe soon also!)

SO, how did YOU do this week? However much you did, I want to encourage you to keep on doing it! Making things from scratch is a great way to monitor sugar, salt and other items we don't need a lot of in our diets. Keep on working at keeping your family healthy, and concider making it a goal for you to try one new healthy recipe a week. I have been trying to do this myself, and I think we are definitely better for it!

Link up or share in the comments how you've done, or feel free to share a great healthy recipe! Next Monday, Healthy Camping! Share any recipes that you know that would make camping food a little healthier! (psst! This is when I share my graham cracker recipe!)

From Scratch...

It's Thursday, and time for another addition of "From Scratch...!". Sorry. I really HAVEN'T been watching too much TV! This week I got a little lazy in the kitchen. Hubby has been working lots of overtime, and I can throw together food for the boys, and they don't much care what it is, as long as their bellies are full. Oh, and as long as they have a "treat" afterwords.

I have actually, as beautiful as the weather has been around here (sunny, and semi-warm...), I have been stuck inside putting finishing touches on my church's Pictorial Directory. This is my first time "designing" a directory, and has been work but it will turn out good! But I have to have it finished by tomorrow, and I'm still waiting for pictures from people. So I will continue to work at it until tomorrow!

This week in the kitchen, like I said, not much accomplished. Bad mother? No. All of us have off-weeks, and that's alright. We can't be Martha Stewart's cooking staff EVERY day... (Hubby says Martha doesn't do anything, it's all her staff, which I can't argue with!) So, don't feel like you have failed if you had a crazy week. Just keep pluggin away, and try harder the following week. Which I hope to do!

Here are the few things I accomplished this week:

• Grandmother Bread! :)
• Baked Oatmeal
• Strawberry Shortcake (made with frozen strawberries and our homemade yellow cake mix. Thanks for the idea Megan!)
• Tortillas (actually, this is today's project. So I can't lie and say I already did it. But today is the day!)

That's it!

So, how did YOU do this week? Please share in the comments or by linking up!

From Scratch...

I guess these last 2 days, I have been making up for what I wasn't able to do in the kitchen last week. Even though this week wasn't any better! I have been praying about my time, and praying that what I am doing is the most valuable way to spend my time. I guess the kitchen is valuable! :)

Here is a list of things I made this week, from scratch:

• Grandmother Bread :) (4 loaves)
• Applesauce Cake . This is a WONDERFUL whole wheat recipe!
• Brownie Mix. I put together a few of these mixes, to have "just in case"!
• Yellow cake. Made this from a mix I had put together a few weeks ago.
• Chocolate Wafers. I could eat the WHOLE LOT of them. Literally.
• Homemade Pizza Crust and pizza sauce. Yum!

I can see some sprouts of lettuce and spinach coming up in my garden. I can't wait until I can start adding those delicious items to our meals! Mmmm! I am dreaming of my May 1st garden planting date.... I cannot wait for the delicious veggies that we can enjoy then!

How did your week go? Did you make anything from scratch that you would like to share? If so link up or add the recipe to the comments section!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday, once again, and time for "From Scratch"!

It has been another crazy week for us and I did my best to keep making things from scratch! Sometimes you have to fight yourself to find the time!

But here are the things that I found time for this week!

• Grandmother Bread (Bet you didn't guess THIS would be on my list! :)
• Homemade Pizza (YUM!), with homemade pizza sauce (my own "dump a little of this and a little of that" recipe"
• Stromboli (thanks again, Genesa!)
• Tatertot Casserole
• AppleSauce Cake (I will be posting this recipe soon. It uses all whole whest flour, which I KNOW some of you will LOVE!) Delicious!

Well, Speaking of busy, I'm off to the races.... ;)

What did YOU make this week!? PLEASE SHARE!

From Scratch...

I can hardly believe it is already Thursday! Here I was talkin' all big and bad last week about getting back to our routine ... And guess what?! NOTHIN' routine about this week! NOTHIN'! OH well, it's almost Summer, and that means I will be struggling with routine even more!

So, bad news is I didn't get to try any new recipes this week. Good news is I did get some pretty yummy-looking recipes written down to try! I cannot wait! So here is what we did this week!

• Grandmother Bread (Wait. I know you are in shock. :)
• Scalloped Potatoes. This recipe is great, but I need to still get a Country Gravy recipe to cover for the envelope mix that I use.
• Deviled Eggs. Hubby loves to make these, and he made some for our Easter get-together with family.
  

I think that has been about it! We had Easter, and my mother-in-law didn't ask that we bring much. And the rest of the week has been full of babies and a trip to the hospital by my dad (he is OK, just stubborn). So meals have been fast, some leftovers, etc... Next week, more new recipes!!!

How did you do this week? Busy week too, or did you get a lot accomplished? Can you share what you made? You can share in the comments section or you can link up to your blog entry! Let's hear it, how'd you do?

From Scratch...

It's Thursday, and time to share what we have made from scratch this week! Are you ready?

Here is what I have made this week:

• Chocolate Syrup! Yum! Definitely going to be making this more often!
• Homemade noodles!

• Stromboli. I got the recipe from Genesa, and the family loved it. Of course I didn't have the same fillings on hand, but I used ground turkey, pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. Yum!
  

• Grandmother Bread. I made 4 loaves this week! SO FAR! Making 2 more Saturday!!!

So, how about you??? What have you made from scratch this week? Please share with us, either in the comments or link up below!

From Scratch...

Boy, this week, being Spring Break for my boys, has been busy and everything has been way off our "schedule". This last weekend we had a birthday party, and this coming weekend more birthdays! And 5 birthdays to celebrate in between 9 days!


So, spending time in the kitchen has been a struggle, but I have been determined to not skip out in the kitchen.


Last weekend, I actually tried my hand at making hamburger buns! They turned out well, though I may try other recipes. The buns were big, and heavy. But good! I also made our french fries and Lemonade. Yum!


I, of course, made Grandmother Bread!

I made Yellow Cake and Brownies.

I also tried my hand at French Bread and succeeded!

For my son's birthday, he also requested Tacos, so I made out tortillas again. We LOVE these. We also have extras for leftovers! YAY! I always have to double the recipe. :)



So, what did you make this week? Please share! You can leave a link here OR a comment in the comments section. I can't wait to see what all you have made this week!

From Scratch...

It's Thursday! And time again for "From Scratch...". A time where we encourage each other to make more from scratch! Plus, hopefully we can get some NEW ideas of things that have worked for others!

So, let's get started! This week, for me, was another busy week. I think I am going to have to adjust to this busy schedule, because I think it is only going to get worse! We have baseball on the horizon and baby animals to come on our farm. Plus SPRING! And all of the wonderfulness that brings! (Is wonderfulness a word???)

So, this week, I had NO menu plan. Which is NOT a good thing. When I have no menu plan, I tend to hold off until everyone's hungry, and I am in the middle of something. Next week, I HAVE to get back to the "plan". It really helps my sanity!

A few of the things I made from scratch this week:

• Grandmother Bread. This will probably be on every list for the rest of my life! It's just a bread that is so good, and works well for a side or a sandwich.
• Brownie Mix & Yellow Cake Mix. These 2 are great mixes to have sitting in your cupboard! They are "homemade convenience" foods! And SOoo good!
  
• Homemade Gummy Worms. I was hoping these would have turned out a little better, but they were OK, and the boys liked them all the same. I doubled the recipe and I think I would have added 3 boxes of jello, and one less unflavored gelatin???
• Homemade Pita Bread. This is a great recipe I adapted from HERE. We don't have a bread machine, so we adapted it from there. We added salad, tuna, and ranch dressing to it. The boys LOVED it.

I know there were a few dinners like Tater Tot Casserole that we made, that I don't have the recipes for (on the Internet) but we enjoy in our house...

So, how did YOU do this week??? Please link up and share or write in the comments!