What Foods Can Be Frozen? This Might Surprise You!

Do you know what foods can be frozen?  It might surprise you!  I use my stand up freezer to save both time and money, and here's how you can too. When we got married, my husband already had a stand up freezer.  Even though it was just us and then our oldest for the first five years, the freezer was invaluable. It eventually died, and we went without one for a while.  It stunk.  By then, I had three little ones and only the freezer in my fridge. My dad gifted us a stand up freezer one year for Christmas.  It was a huge blessing for us.  I was able to stock up on food when it was on sale to save money.  I could also make freezer meals so I could save a lot of time. Even though my parents had a freezer when I was growing up that was always full of food, I didn't know what foods can be frozen. Freezing foods save a lot of time and money, so here are some tips for knowing what foods can be frozen and how to use your freezer effectively. What Foods Can Be Frozen? B

Easy Pumpkin Butter Recipe and Uses

This easy pumpkin butter recipe is made with fresh or canned pumpkin puree.  You can make it in under an hour on the stove or in a slow cooker. The first year we had a big garden, we planted both carving pumpkins and pie pumpkins.  Making pumpkin puree is truly a labor of love. It can take hours to make, and you don't get that much from each pumpkin.  I only make pumpkin puree every other year because it takes so long. Since you can't can pumpkin puree, I freeze it to use in recipes like this easy pumpkin butter recipe.  I've used for pumpkin pies and other desserts.  It has a brighter orange color and a slightly different flavor. You can use homemade pumpkin puree in this recipe, or you can use canned pumpkin.  Both work well. This easy pumpkin butter can be made on the stove in under and hour or in a slow cooker in about 5 hours.  The slow cooker version is thicker and I think melds the flavors better, but the stove top version is still very yummy.

Easy Hot Apple Cider Recipe Crock Pot or Stove

This easy hot apple cider recipe can be made on the stove or in a Crock Pot or slow cooker.  It's easy to make and perfect for a crowd. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the return of the pumpkin spice latte, but I'm over here wondering if it's too early to have an easy hot apple cider. I love me a good PSL just as much as the next basic girl, but I prefer a spiced apple cider drink.  We have a lot of bonfires on cool autumn evenings, and there's just something about sitting around the fire in a hoodie sipping on a warm cider drink. This recipe is easy to scale up, so you can make it for a crowd or just for yourself.  Store leftovers in the fridge to enjoy for a few days. I love using my slow cooker, so I use that if I'm making this for a crowd.  You can also use the stove if you're in a hurry. The nice thing about the slow cooker is that you can start this hours before you want it.  If you're in party prep mode, that's a big time saver as it get

Pumpkin Yeast Bread Recipe

This pumpkin yeast bread recipe makes a wonderful loaf that's perfect for eating plan or with sandwiches.   I love a good pumpkin quick bread because it's yummy and, well, quick.  But there's just something about a pumpkin yeast bread. This light and fluffy bread is like it's cousin the quick bread with real pumpkin puree and similar spices, but it's firmer and perfect for making toast or sandwiches. When I saw this recipe for the first time, I wasn't too keen on trying it.  But then I thought about how yummy cinnamon bread is and decided it was worth a try. This bread tastes just like fall.  It's full of savory pumpkin flavor the complements other flavors like turkey and ham. It's pretty quick to whip up, too.  Make an extra loaf to freeze for your Thanksgiving leftovers. PUMPKIN YEAST BREAD RECIPE Pumpkin yeast bread is pretty similar to regular sandwich bread.  Substitute the water in the recipe for pumpkin puree, and you've got

Easy Refrigerator Dill Pickles Small Batch Recipe

This easy refrigerator dill pickles recipe can be made in a small batch.  They are crisp and full of dill and garlic flavor.   We had some crazy weather here in Ohio this summer.  It started raining in late May, stopped for two days, and then rained almost every day in June.  We managed to plant our garden on one of the days it stopped raining. Unfortunately, the rain flooded parts of our gardens.  I was only able to get two cucumbers, and they didn't taste that great from all the water. A friend got a great crop, so she gave me several large cucumbers.  As much as we love fresh cucumbers, I knew I couldn't eat them before they went bad. I normally make bread and butter pickles or dill pickles and can them, but I didn't really have enough to make it worth my while. So I decided to make these easy refrigerator dill pickles small batch recipe. These don't taste exactly like canned dill pickles, but they are so delicious with their own unique flavor. Each jar