How I Earn Free Merchandise

I have to tell you of how I have earned $220.00 of free Amazon gift cards, which I have used to buy DVD's, collagen and other THM products.

I found this website called Swagbucks.  It is one of those survey websites and you can spend some time to answer the surveys, but you can also earn money by shopping online through their website.  I don't know about you, but I shop online at places like Amazon and Walmart quite often. If I shop through Swagbucks at these websites, I earn money.  I also found that you could earn money by booking hotels through their website.  I wish I'd seen this earlier because when Larry is working regularly, he stays about 10 nights per month at hotels.  That would equate to $75 of Amazon gift cards, or you could choose from lots of different gift cards, including PayPal.

So, just by booking a hotel through Swagbucks, I earn about $7.50.  They have hundreds of stores you can shop at and earn money. Such as, Expedia, Old Navy, Cabela's, Staples, Sears just to name a few.

If you want to check it out click here.  I would appreciate if you did go through this link, as I would receive referral Swagbucks and if you do it soon you could earn an extra 300 SB ($3.00) as well.

My Amazon shopping cart is full of items waiting for me to earn enough Swagbucks to redeem them for a gift card. I can't wait to place my order.

God bless.

This post is linked up to:

Monday of Many Blessings
Welcome Home Wednesdays Link Party
Wake Up Wednesday Linky Party

Making Tomato Sauce From Frozen Tomatoes

I have finally processed the last of my frozen tomatoes. I still had about 30 lbs in the freezer and needed to free up that freezer space.  I have already canned lots of tomatoes and more salsa than I can count, so I figured we need some tomato sauce.

Now, I love freezing our garden tomatoes whole in the fall.  That way I free up my time to process the other garden fruits and veggies in the busy season.  Then, when everything has quieted down and I feel like canning, I have them ready.

Also, when you freeze tomatoes and after they thaw, the skins just slip off. So no need for boiling them.  Bonus!!!

The skins didn't really bother me for this recipe anyway.  Garden grown tomatoes tend to have thinner skins and I was running them through my food processor.

Tomatoes thawing out.

Ready to be processed.

I just made a very simple recipe.  I cooked 3 chopped onions in about 1/2 olive oil.  Then I added 8 cloves of minced garlic.  Then I added all the processed tomatoes and salt and 2 Tbsp crushed chili peppers.  I cooked this until it reduced by about 2 quarts. Then I added a big can of crushed tomatoes and 156 ml can of tomato paste.

I'm sure I could have processed the jars in a water bath, but I chose to do it in my pressure canner because of the oil.

I ended up with 18 pints when it was all done and now I finally have a little bit of freezer space.

Thanks for stopping by.

Crystal

2 Corinthians 9:6

6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

Thriftiness - Canned Almonds

I don't know about where you all live, but around here almonds are mucho dinero.  I think it's around $18/kg at Costco.

When these almonds in the shell came on sale for $0.99/lb at Christmas I couldn't pass it up.

I bought 11 lbs of almonds and 2 lbs of hazelnuts.  I had the idea that I would oven can them after I shelled them.   It took me over a week to shell them all and because it took so long, we nibbled on them quite a bit.

I calculated the cost on the shelled nuts and found them to cost $5.50/kg.  That's 1/3 the cost of Costco.

Then I oven canned them in pints using the oven canning I posted in this post.  It is a method of canning dry items in jars and they are supposed to stay fresh for years.

I have already been snacking on a jar and they are SO good.  They are very crisp and tasty.

Thanks for stopping by.

Crystal


This post is linked up to:  Home To 4 Kiddos

"Scrap booked" Guest Book

 

I wanted to share this idea I came up with a few years ago for a scrap booked guest book.  I really wanted to have a guest book, but I thought what a great idea to take a picture of the guests and add it to the page they signed. I wish I actually did scrapbook, but I'm happy with how it looks.  I love how it captures precious memories of visits. I actually had misplaced it when we moved here 2 years ago and just found it in time for my cousin's visit.



This is the first page of the guest book.  It is when my cousin and her family came for a visit 5 years ago.

Me and my mom on one of her visits at the farmer's market.

Of course anyone could make this look nicer than me, but I really like looking through it and thinking of those lovely visits.

This post is linked up to; Hope in Every Season

How I Save Money In The ... Kitchen

I just wanted to share a few simple ways that I save money in the kitchen.

1. Reuse Ziploc bags.  I saw my dad's girlfriend wash out a Ziploc bag about 5 years ago and I thought she was completely bonkers! Sorry Leslie!  But, now I see what a great idea that actually is.  The freezer bags are so sturdy that they can be reused a number of times.  When I had meat in them, I wash them out with dish soap and very hot water. Scrubbing it nice and clean. Then I put it over top of something, like a bottle of pop, until it is dry completely.  I always make sure these bags are labeled, "meat" with a sharpie.  If I just had veggies or something, I wash it out and dry the same, but I don't label those ones.
2. Use containers or alternate coverings instead of plastic wrap.  When we have left overs, I either put them in a storage container in the fridge, or I cover it with those kind of shower cap things you can get at the dollar store.  They come in packages of 10 and I wash them after each use to use again.  We haven't had to buy plastic wrap in years.
3. I have already done 2 posts on how I really don't use any tin foil as well.  Instead of covering casseroles with tin foil in the oven, I put a metal baking sheet on top and I cook my baked potatoes in a covered casserole dish together, instead of individually wrapped in tin foil.
4. Use an oil pump sprayer or spritzer instead of Pam.  My mom bought me one of these about 20 years ago and I have gone through a few since then. (Luckily, I found them on clearance for $0.44 each!)  I always use this to spray my bread pans or anything else that needs a little oil. They work by pumping the top that puts air in the canister. Then it sprays out just like Pam. They look like this one from Pampered Chef;

So there are just a few ways I save money in the kitchen. 

This post is linked up to; Living Well Spending Less

What I've Learned About Pressure Canning

I have had my pressure canner for 3 years now. It is a very old one and it didn't come with instructions.  I have never seen anyone use a pressure canner and had to figure it all out so that I could can up lots of great foods.

So, I have been using it and learning with each batch. I'd look online to trouble shoot my problems and I think after 5 batches this year I have finally got it down!  I found a lot of my questions answered on the Presto Canning Website.   I especially had a problem with losing the liquid in the jar during processing.  I am happy it's still safe to eat, but of course, I want to do it right!

The main steps I have learned are;

• Leave 1" head space in the jars for vegetables
• Once all jars are in the canner, bring the water to a boil on high, with the lid on and the vent open, for 10 mins to heat up all the contents.
• Once you have processed the jars for the proper length of time, take the canner off the heat and let it come down to 0 pressure on it's own. Do not take off the weight or open the vent. This takes about an hour!

I found out that higher elevations need more pressure. So, I am at 3000ft here and at this elevation, I need 15lb of pressure.

One more thing that I have found to help a lot has to do with our well water.  Our water leaves a white mineral build up in all my canners and especially on the aluminum racks in the canners. I read that if you add 1 tsp of vinegar to the water in the canner, this will not happen and it's completely true!

I'll leave you with a picture of some potatoes I canned up tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

This post is linked up to Raising Homemakers Growing Home A Better Mom Happy and Blessed Home Homestead Barn Hop Time Warp Wife Savings 4 Six Serving Joyfully Hope in Every Season Living Well Spending Less
Raising Arrows

Need a Greeting Card?

We just celebrated Ben's 10th birthday.  And you know, with all the preparations, I didn't get around to buying a card.  So, I looked online to find free printable greeting cards and found a great website.

It is called Greetings Island.  You can make invitations, and all sorts of cards for all occasions and holidays.  I liked it because you can personalise both inside pages with text and clip art and you can personalise the back.  This is so great! I was able to write "Happy 10th Birthday!" and a bible verse inside with a picture of balloons.  It shows you how to turn the paper to print on both sides. My printer runs differently though, which I knew, and turned the paper so that it would work.

This website is great when you're in a pinch and it's kind of fun.

This post is linked up to; Thrifty Thursday

Canning Experiment - Carrot Cake Jam & Peach Jelly

Jalapeno Peach Jelly, Peach Jelly on top, Carrot Cake Jam on bottom

I was so excited a few months ago to see a way to use all the peach when canning.   I bought 25 lbs of peaches when they were on sale to can.  But I didn't throw away the peels, I made jelly!  I saved all the peels and a few pits, covered them with water, simmered it for 1/2 an hour and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

The next day, I strained the juice out, using a tea towel.  I got enough juice to make 2 batches of jelly.

4 c peach juice
1 pkg pectin
5.5 c sugar

But for the second batch, I added a finely diced jalapeno pepper to make Jalapeno Peach Jelly.  Wow! It is really good!  It is a lot like pepper jelly.  I would serve it with crackers and cream cheese.  IF, we have any left after eating it on our bagels with cream cheese.

While waiting in line at the grocery store, I picked up the Taste of Home Preserves magazine to look through. It was $11 so I wasn't going to buy it. But, I found a recipe for Carrot Cake Jam that I wanted to try.  I searched it on their website and it is on there.  It is like Fall in a jar!  Rebekah and I really like it on top of our bagels with cream cheese. I also tried it as the filling for a layered white cake. It was really good too. Although, I think it would have been better in a spice cake with cream cheese icing.

Carrot Cake Jam on bagel

I am so happy to have found these new recipes!

This post is linked up to:  Thrifty Thursday  Hope in Every Season  Fresh Eggs Daily Growing Home

No More Foil! Part 2

This was not planned.  But this is a follow up to the post I did last week, No More Foil!

Last night I was making barbecued pork chops for supper and thought baked potatoes would be great along side them.  With my plan to not buy tin foil anymore, I was stumped at how to go about it.  When I have food cooking in the oven, I just cook the potatoes in a covered casserole dish along with whatever else is cooking and they are usually done at the same time, but I didn't want to put a glass casserole dish in the barbecue.

This is what I came up with.  I washed and pricked the potatoes as usual. Then I microwaved them for about 6 or 7 mins to get them started cooking.  When I lit the barbecue, I put a cast iron skillet on the rack with the potatoes in it and covered it with a lid. (This is when I wish I had a cast iron dutch oven.) I closed the lid and let them cook while the BBQ warmed up and then they cooked another 20 mins while the pork chops cooked. They turned out great! Although, next time I might turn them once during cooking.

It's probably silly to see how long I can go without buying tin foil, but like I said in my last post, it's one less thing I have to buy from the store and I like that.


This post is linked up to; Thrifty Thursdays

No More Foil!

I came up with this idea out of sheer need. I had no aluminum foil and I knew it wasn't on sale anywhere. Needing some to cover a lasagna I was making, I used what I had on hand. Which was a metal cookie sheet. I just put it on top of the baking dish and it worked great!
Now, whenever something needs to be covered, I just use my cookie sheet.  This is now one less thing I have to buy from the store.  Yay!

 

This post is linke up to Thrifty Thursday

One of My Favorite Breakfasts

Lately I have been so enjoying homemade "greek" yogurt and homemade granola for breakfast or a snack. We ran out of Harvest Crunch a while back and I still have lots of old fashioned oats and sunflower seeds left from my bulk order, so I decided to try making granola.

I followed the basic recipe from here.  For the sweetener, I used part honey and part corn syrup and I did't have any oat flour, but now that I'm thinking about it, I probably could have just ground up some oats in my coffee grinder.

To make "greek" yogurt, I start by using Balkan style yogurt as my yogurt starter.  I had been using the cooler method to make our yogurt, but lately I have just been putting the jars in the oven and then warming it up to 130 degrees. Then I turn off the oven.  Every hour or so I warm it up again and turn it off repeating for 8 hours. It sounds labour intensive, but I just do it on days I'm around. Your supposed to keep yogurt at about 100 - 110 degrees. This way has been working great for me and I love that it doesn't use much electricity. I have been tempted to try the crockpot method, but I am really trying to lower our electic bill.

I strain my yogurt serving in a very fine strainer to get out the liquid. My mom had given me one just for yogurt a long time ago, but it's showing signs of it's age now. This strainer works just as good.

I usually add some canned peaches or raspberry jam as well as the granola.  Then I just enjoy!


This post is linked up to Mondays With Countrified Hicks

Living History Books

In our home, we have a daughter who can not read enough history books! Rebekah prefers American history, because it's a little more exciting than Canadian history.  She also likes biblical history.
So, I have found that buying all these books is really starting to add up.  I bought her the first 5 of the Heroes of History by Janet and Geoff Benge.

 

 

These books are great! And Rebekah can remember most all of the facts she reads, but there are so many and it would cost a fortune to buy them all.

 

I thought it would be nice to have some Living History books. Living History books are books written in a story format about real people or events. That makes them easier to relate to and remember and maybe a little more interesting than a biography book.

 

So, we set out to some thrift stores.  We were blessed at the first thrift store. We found a Signature Book about "The Story of Edith Cavell" for $ 0.50.  These books are out of print, but can be found on Amazon, Ebay, or at thrift stores or library book sales.  Rebekah and I both read it and it was very good.  We looked up the Signature Biography Series and found out they have 51 titles.

 



I had also read that Landmark Books are very good and have many titles. So, I headed off to a local used book store. You would not believe what was sitting on top of a box just as I walked in.  The Clara Barton Landmark Book!  The owner hadn't put it on a shelf yet, because he didn't know what section to put it in. Which makes me think he doesn't get a lot of those types of books in.  He charged me, I think $1.50.

I see now, we just have to make more of an effort to look at the thrift stores and used book stores for these books so that we don't spend all of our homeschool funding on history books! We might even find some "Heroes of History" if God wills and Rebekah can read until her heart's content.

PS: If you check out Rebekah's blog, Country God Girl, you will see she has a whole section on history posts.

This post is linked up to Thrifty Thursday

Homemade Bagels - Who Knew?

Yesterday Rebekah and I tried our second attempt at making homemade bagels, and guess what? They turned out! Not only did they turn out,but  I must say that they are the BEST bagels we've had in a long time. They are really easy to make, only a little longer than making buns because of the boiling step.

We made multi grain. I was inspired by Mennonite Girls Can Cook. I mentioned this was my second attempt. The first time, the bagels completely deflated after the boiling step. I cooked them anyway and they tasted very good. I realized what my mistake was while we were making them yesterday.  Again, the same with my bread dough, I let them rise way to much, so that they were not stable enough to keep their shape.

This time, I started boiling them right when they had only doubled in size.  But a cool thing happened as I plunged them into the simmering water, they grew a lot and they even had more oven spring in them while they were baking.

This is how we made them in our mixer;

1 1/2 c warm water
1 egg
3 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp sugar

1 c 7 grain cereal (multi grain) which has been soaking in boiled water for 7 mins and drained.

6 c flour
1 1/2 Tbsp instant yeast (or you can proof regular yeast in 1/2c of the warm water from above with 1 tsp sugar)
1 Tbsp salt

Mix together for 5 mins.  Start with 5 c of flour and add more as needed. This dough should be on the stiff, but workable side. I think we ended up adding 7 cups of flour altogether because the soaked cereal had more water in it than I thought.

Take about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of dough at a time and roll it into a ball. Poke your finger through the middle and form the bagel.  Place on greased cookie sheet and let rise until doubled in size.  This should make about 18-24 bagels.

Close to the end of the rising time, bring 3 inches of water to a boil with 1 Tbsp sugar in it, then keep simmering on medium heat.  Add 3 bagels at a time and cook 30 seconds on each side. I resprayed the cookie sheet with oil while I was boiling them. Then return bagels to cookie sheet.

You can see in this picture how much more then bagels rise in the boiling water.

When you have boiled a whole sheet of bagels, brush with beaten egg white and bake at 375 for 25-35 mins, depending on how big you made them.  We made ours very small and only had to bake them 25 mins. We got 35 bagels out of this recipe.



While that sheet is in baking, get the other bagels ready for the oven.

We have been enjoying this delicious treat and I can tell you, that I hope never to buy another bagel again. Rebekah said that she likes making bagels more than bread, so I think I will hold her to that.

This post is linked up to Raising Homemakers Growing Home Saving 4 Six A Wise Woman Builds Her Home The Charm of Home Our Simple Country Life Above Rubies Hope in Every Season A Mama's Story

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Well, we're not exactly desperate, but I can think of better things to spend $40 on right now rather than a haircut. The only thing is, I really, really needed a haircut. So, I finally got brave and let Rebekah cut my hair.  I had an idea months ago about putting tape across my back on my shirt as a guide and getting Rebekah to cut along it. That is what we did.
You can see in the picture below that my hair was getting very long and stringy.

Once Rebekah was done I gave myself a few layers with the haircut I mentioned in this post to soften up the edges a bit.  It turned out pretty good.  I wanted more of a square back and that's what I got. The layered haircut I can give myself has a V shaped back to it.

You can kind of see the "new do" in the picture below.

Thank you Rebekah! And yes, I am making bagels in that picture. But I will post about that later.

My Frugal Week and Oatmeal Bread and Soup Recipe

I have noticed that a lot of you are blogging about your frugal accomplishments on your blogs and I love to read all your ideas. So I thought I would post more often about how I have been making our money go further.

This week I have been able to feed my family for less, thanks to a nice ham, milk on clearance and homemade bread.  I have had to pinch our dollars a little tighter than usual, so I thought I would start by cooking one of the picnic smoked hams I had in the freezer. They were on sale for $2.00/lb a while back and I bought 3 of them.

These are the meals we have enjoyed so far;

Ham supper
Ham and cheese omelet
Ham supper again
Ham macaroni casserole
Ham sandwiches
Yellow bean soup x 2

And I still have 3 little packages of ham put away for either ham and cheese omelets, or for pizza topping.  So this $15 ham will serve us 10 meals! I love it!

It is so easy to make ham broth. First I put the bone in a big pot and fill with water. Then I bring it to a boil and simmer for 3-4 hours. Then I let it cool enough to take the rest of the meat off the bone and strain the broth.  I like to put the broth in the fridge to chill because the fat will harden on the top to make it easy to take off.

Yellow Bean Soup

My grandma made yellow bean soup every time we were able to visit her. I have always loved it and I am so happy to able to pass the recipe down to my children.  I think it is a Mennonite recipe.  This is how I make it. (Please let me know if I've done something wrong Mom)

Ingredients;

1/3 c margarine
1 chopped onion
3 cubed, cooked potatoes
3 c chopped, cooked yellow beans (or green beans or a mixture or mixed frozen vegetables)
1 - 2 c chopped ham
4 c ham broth
1 c water
1 c milk
1 c whipping cream
2 tsp summer savory
salt and pepper

Cook onion in margarine. Add the ham and cook 1 minute.  Cook potatoes if not cooked yet. I add the beans the last 4 minutes. I also use this vegetable water for the water in the recipe.
Add the veggies, ham broth, water and bring to a simmer.  Add milk, cream and spices. Heat and serve.

For the last 7 months or so I have been having an awful time making bread.  It just hasn't been working out. I have been making bread for over 10 years and used to sell out at the farmers market. 
I decided to start from the very beginning and make one loaf at a time with a simple recipe. By doing that, I think I found out my problem.

I had been letting the dough rise too much on the first rise.

 

If dough rises too much to begin with, it uses up all the power in the yeast and won't rise later.  I wanted to make a nice big, fluffy, crusty loaf.  So I need to get lots of oven spring.

Once I figured that out, I set to work making a new recipe.  This is what I have come up with so far;

 

 

Oatmeal Bread (Rebekah made this batch and is still improving on her loaf forming)

This recipe makes 4 loaves and you could substitute 3 c whole wheat flour for the white flour and still have fluffy bread. (I sometimes add some honey as well to make it "Honey Oatmeal Bread".)

 

Ingredients

 

4 1/2 c warm water

(If using dry active yeast, dissolve yeast in 1/2c of the water above with 1 tsp sugar for 10 mins. In the meantime, mix the other 4c of water with the following sugar, oil and oats. Follow the instructions and add the water and yeast mixture to the other water mixture before you add the 1st amount of flour.)
1/4 c sugar

1/3 c oil

1 1/2 c oatmeal

 

Mix together in mixer and let sit for 3 minutes.

 

Add

 

5 c flour

2 1/4 Tbsp instant yeast

 

Mix

 

Add

 

4 c flour

2 Tbsp salt

 

Mix for 7 minutes.  This dough needs to be a little sticky, as the oatmeal will absorb some water while rising, but not so sticky that it sticks to your hand.  If it's too sticky, add more flour, 1/2 c at a time.

 

Let rise in greased bowl for about 45 mins (until doubled in size)

Punch down and divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape in to loaves and put into greased bread pans. Let rise for about 50 minutes (until dough has doubled or is above the pan by about 1-2 cm). 

Bake for 30-35 mins at 375 degrees.

 

Another way I have saved money was to buy milk on clearance. There is a store in town that I buy all our milk from. When I'm there, I always check the expiry dates.  I know that they will mark them down to less than half price one week before their best before date. We had errands to do today and I knew this would be the day they would be marking the milk down. So, we went there, hoping there was some left and there were three 2 litre bottles. 

 

I will make some yogurt tomorrow, even though we would drink all that milk in a day and a half (or less if I  make cookies), but we also need yogurt.

I am really trying to get to know each store in our area.  So I know where is the best place to buy certain foods and how they mark down their groceries.  This has been a huge benefit to us and has helped us substantially.

 

Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.

 

Psalm 54:4


This post is linked up to Feminine Adventures - Thrifty Thursdays ; Raising Homemakers

 

 



Thrifting Fun

 

Today we experienced a big blessing.  Well, it started as a problem at first. Larry had to get to a dentist because he had a huge toothache. He was able to get an appointment with one in our nearest big city, 40 mins away. We all decided to go so that the kids and I could look in Value Villiage while he was getting worked on.  I stopped shopping at Value Villiage because I found it overpriced, but there are a few things I am looking for that I would pay more money for if I found them. So, off we went.  This is where the blessing kicks in. When we arrived at the store, we saw big signs that said, 50% off Nov. 19th.  Wow! That made things a lot more affordable and Value Villiage actually has very good quality clothing.  Our 3 thrift stores in our town are really lacking in the good quality department.  Well, we shopped until Larry phoned to say he was done and we picked him up. Then I asked him if he had to get to work right away and he said not right away, so I asked if we could go back to Value Villiage to look around some more and he said we could. Yay!  So just take a look at what we scored....

 

A jacket with a tie up belt.

2 pretty shirts.

Another jacket with a tie up belt and a cardigan.



An old fashioned dress, that I hope I'll wear (I've been craving old fashioned clothing for some time now) and a really dressy shirt.

A very warm winter coat.

 

A queen size, very warm quilt.

So here is a list of what we were able to find;

3 pretty shirts
2 blouses
1 skirt
1 dress
2 cardigan sweaters
1 pair of pants
1 winter coat
2 cute jackets
2 skirts for Rebekah
1 shirt for Rebekah
2 pair of pants for Ben
1 leather jacket for Ben
1 shirt for Ben
1 jacket for Jacob
1 pair of winter boots for Jacob
1 pair of ski goggles
3 towels for Larry's semi
2 quilts
2 balls of yarn

all for $111!

What a blessing!

Making Butter - With a Mixer

 This week whipping cream was on sale at our grocery store, something that rarely happens, and so I thought I would make some butter to have on hand for the upcoming holidays. Butter goes on sale here occasionally for $3/lb and I just bought whipping cream for $1.94/litre.  I used 1.5 litres and I ended up with 1 1/3 lbs of butter and 1 full quart of butter milk. I use the buttermilk in place of milk in my bread recipe. So, I guess the savings aren't wildly wonderful, but, there was a little savings and it only takes about 20 mins to make butter with your mixer. Here's how I do it;

First, I pour the whipping cream into my mixer. I have a Bosch and love it. I have had a Kitchen Aid, but for a serious baker, it just couldn't hold up.  In the picture below, the cream is just at the thick cream stage.

After the whipped cream stage, the cream starts to break down again. You can see in the picture below that there is a lot of liquid.

About the 10 minute mark, the buttermilk really starts to separate and the butter starts to form into small clumps.  Then all of a sudden, you have 2 things in your mixer, which is the buttermilk and the butter.

At this point, I strain the buttermilk into my quart jar. Then I start squishing the butter against the side of the mixing bowl with a wooden spoon to get out the rest of the liquid. I also add about 2 tsp of salt to the butter, which will get worked in as you squeeze the buttermilk out of the butter.  I run cold water over the butter to help rinse the liquid off.

When I have as much of the liquid out as I can, I form the butter into smaller serving sizes.  For this I use my Pampered Chef dry/liquid measuring cup. I set it at 1/2 cup and squish the butter in, then I push it out onto plastic wrap, wrap it up and freeze it.  We only use butter on special occasions as it is just out of our budget to use everyday. So, 1/2 cup is a great size for a treat. When they are frozen, I put them all into a ziploc bag in the freezer.

I was able to get four 1/2 cup portions and one 2/3 cup portion and a quart of buttermilk for $3.  It's a good thing to keep in mind if you happen to find whipping cream on clearance.  Butter is easy and so yummy to make!

This post is linked up to Homestead Revival Barn Hop  Share it One More Time

A Big Change Coming - We're Moving

Some posts are harder to write than others and this happens to be one of those posts.  Now it's not because I'm sad, because I am over that, it is because the Lord has been teaching us something that I really want to be able to explain properly.

I'll go back to the beginning of July when Larry and I tried to refinance our mortgage to pay off some of our bills. We realized we were getting nowhere fast and had to do something.  Well, our broker told us there was no way we could do as we wanted and maybe we should look into selling our farm and look for something less expensive. When Larry said that out loud, I just went to bed and cried, and cried and cried some more. We have been here for over 6 years, almost the longest I've lived anywhere in my life. But Larry said he wouldn't make us move because he saw how upset it made me. THEN, it struck me that the idea actually made sense and would be best thing for us. Larry has to work SO hard just to make minimum payments, it just didn't seem fair to him to stay on.

But this is when we both just started to look to the Lord. I guess we got in this situation partly from the year Larry had been seriously injured by his semi truck and couldn't work and maybe mostly because we hadn't been waiting for guidance from the Lord in our finances and even though I have been very careful with our money the last 4 years, we just really needed to FULLY trust in God.

If we would just have remembered these verses that most Christians know off by heart we might not have gotten in such a situation.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

So, I started looking for something we could afford, but still in the country in our area. And I found only one property on Kijiji (like Craig's List).  It was a duplex, made into a single dwelling, moved onto 7.6 acres on a basement. We went and looked at it on July 14th and knew that this would be the only house that really would be an option for us. But, praying all along that God would completely close the door if it wasn't where He wanted us.

We put our house for sale on the same website about a week later. We couldn't afford a realtor.  We just prayed about what amount of money we needed and trusted God to send buyers or not send buyers if that was His will. Well, within 2 weeks we had 2 offers! One couple had to sell their house first, so we gave them 2 weeks, but they didn't sell it. So, we let the second couple have a go at it. It took about 2 weeks but they have everything settled to take possession September 26th. 

While we were waiting, I started to worry that the house we wanted to buy would be sold and we would have to rent something. That wouldn't be so bad, but we have animals and I wanted to bring most of my apple orchard with me!  But Larry said, if God wants us there, nothing will stop that from happening. So, we just prayed that if God wanted us there that it would still be available.  Larry phoned the man who was selling the  house and told him that we were just waiting to hear back from the couple's bank to see if they could buy our house and I can't believe what he said! Well, I should believe it because God is so awesome. He said that other people were interested, but he told them he was just waiting to see if we could buy it first. Larry didn't even ask him to do that, even though I wanted him to. God was making a way and showing us that He is in control.

But God really wanted us rely on Him. So, it was almost as if He was holding up a candle so that we could take one little step at a time and not see anything ahead in the darkness. Like Psalm 119:105 says, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path"  We really didn't know where God would lead us, but we kept going on the path of open doors. If He closed a door, we would wait and pray for the direction of the next step.

So, we stayed the course and went to a lawyer, had offers written up, sent everything off to our broker and waited. We had to wait about a week to hear, because some things had to still be done, but we finally heard the news that we were all approved and could buy the house.

This is not what we want to do, but it makes sense. We have so much stuff and the new property doesn't have the outbuildings that we have here to store stuff in. So, we have to use an old wooden garage for a barn and we bought a 53' trailer to move everything and then to use as storage there.

But, I feel completely at peace about it. I really feel this is where God wants us and somehow He will bless us there.

I will write more about the move and share pictures soon. The only reason I even wrote this post is because we ran out of boxes to pack in and I wanted to share how good God is and praise His name. He is mighty and powerful.  And to share that the only reason I didn't completely lose my marbles during this whole process, IS because of my trust in the Lord and knowing that no matter what happens, God is here with us and I can find joy it that.

"....do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10

I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride with my emotions during this whole process. If it looked like we would move, I'd be sad about leaving our farm. But, if it looked like we could stay, I would wonder how we could ever get ahead. So I had to keep this verse close in my mind;

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:6-7

God is good!





This post is linked up to - Raising Homemakers Link Up & Thankful Homemaker Link Up

In The Kitchen

Wow! This time of year can be hectic. With the harvest, preserving and school starting. But it is so rewarding to pick what you have grown and preserve it into something yummy that you can enjoy in the months to come. And it is such a joy to see my children learn and be excited about learning. Well, I have been busy in the kitchen the last week and school has been SLOWLY starting. Here are some of the foods I've been able to put up.

I was only able to can 10 quarts of Dill Pickled Beets this year. Usually I can 49 quarts as I am able to sell quite a few. Oh well, we will enjoy them this year.

My friend traded me some cucumbers for some of my zucchini. So I was able to make 5 pints of Bread and Butter Pickles. My mom always made THE BEST bread and butter pickles and she lost her recipe of course. I tried once a few years ago and they were horrible! So I tried again and they turned out very well.  I also made the most fabulous, simple Apple Juice.  This apple juice tastes just like from the store, with no weird after taste or anything. This is how I made it:

Cut apples in half and fill a big pot. (I used hard, sour, bigger green apples)

Sprinkle 1-2 Tbsp cream of tartar over the apples.

Now fill the pot with boiling water

Put the lid on it and let it sit for 24 hours

Strain juice (I used a colander with a paper towel in it)

Now you can freeze this juice or can it.

I brought the juice to a boil with about 1 cup of sugar

Sterilized my quart jars in the canner for 10 mins

I processed the quarts for 30 mins.

My son is so picky and he loved it. I also thought it tasted very good, although I do not like apple juice.

This is what the apples looked like after they sat in the pot for 24 hours.

I also made fruit leather. I basically made apple sauce, then I added 1/2 a pint of super hard apricot jam I made a few years back. It set way to firm to use, so I use it for cooking with. Then I lined my cookie sheets with parchment paper. I really try not to use parchment paper too much, because it is so expensive here, but I have tried everything else and parchment paper really works the best. Besides, it doesn't take that much to make these. I spread out the apple sauce fairly thick and even. Then I put 2 cookie sheets in the oven at 200 degrees. for about 6 hours. I had to do this a number of times for all the batches. So eventually, I just put them in the oven after I had baked supper, with the oven off. After letting them sit in there for about 2 hours, I turned the oven on to 200 for about 1 hour, then I turned it off again and  let them sit in the oven over night. These ones had such a nice texture. Then I cut them into strips lengthwise and rolled them up and put them in a bag in the fridge.

When I was looking on a link up somewhere, I can across this recipe for homemade pizza sauce from Foy Update. A neighbour had just given me a bunch of tomatoes, so I thought I would try it. We have been using Ragu as pizza sauce and it isn't that good, but cheap. When I was finished canning up 3 pints, there was still about 1/2 a pint left. So, I made a greek pizza with a precooked, homemade pizza crust I had in the freezer. This sauce is really good. It has a fresh taste, not like Ragu. For a greek pizza, I spread the sauce on the crust. Then spread mozzarella cheese all over. On top, I added, thinly sliced onions and green peppers. I baked this until cooked. After it is cooked, I add fresh chopped tomatoes and feta cheese on top. In the background in this picture, you can see the apple juice I made from small red, sweet apples. I used the same technique as mentioned above, but these apples made a different tasting juice. I am going to use it for Hot Apple Cider in the fall and winter. I will pour a quart or 2 (depending on how many friends are over) into my crock pot with some whole cloves and cinnamon sticks. This will be a very nice on our cold winter days.

Well, now I am just waiting for my tomatoes to ripen, which will probably have to happen inside. I estimate that I will have about 40 pounds. And I still need to pick our yellow crooked neck squash. It will be very nice to be done with all of this and just start to enjoy fall, as it seems to have set in around these parts.

God bless you all.

 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

New King James Version (NKJV)

This post was liked up to Homestead Revival Barn Hop

Another BIG Cost "Cutter"

I just love sharing ways I am learning to limit our expenses. We have had less money to work with lately, so I am really looking for ways to cut our costs and God is so faithful to show me ways to do it.
I have been blessed by other women's blogs and especially This Beautiful Life, where Paula shares how to give yourself a haircut! I only get to the hairdresser about once a year, because I don't seem to find time and it seems like we can never afford it. I don't take Rebekah very often either. With Paula's super easy instructions and step by step pictures, I was able to cut my hair and Rebekah's. It was so easy and has nice style to it.  Larry shaves the boys hair and now I can do mine and Rebekah's. That should save us quite a lot of money each year.

Here is a recap of other cost cutters we do;

• Make our own liquid laundry soap (estimated cost - less than $1/year)
• I no longer use plastic wrap for opened packages of cheese. I just put them in used bun bags.
• I grind up my own bread crumbs from stale homemade bread in our coffee grinder.
• I hang our clothes out to dry.
• I have found the the fast cycle on our dishwasher (20 mins) works just a good as the full cycle I have always used (60 mins) and it doesn't have a dry cycle, which I don't like to use anyway. I think this would be a huge savings.
• I haven't been buying extras like canned mushrooms. Nobody really notices them in a dish anyway.
• I buy our meat on clearance and freeze it right away.
• Of course, I buy our milk at Shoppers Drugmart, where I earn rewards points towards free groceries.
• I usually only buy anything if it is on sale.
• Preserve our own jams and pickles.

That is a few of the things we do here at our home to cut costs.