Showing posts from June, 2020
How to make a quick and easy mini apple pie with crescent rolls and canned apple pie filing. This dessert takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, and they taste delicious. Earlier this week, I was really craving something sweet but I didn't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. My standby quick and easy dessert is either a peach or apple dump cake since I have so much canned pie filling. One can only eat so many dump cakes, so I came up with this easy crescent apple pie. It took about 10 minutes to assemble, so it was quick, easy, and yummy! This isn't completely original--I've seen crescent pie desserts before. But I did add my own spin to the classic recipe with a few tricks my grandma taught me. This would be amazing with vanilla ice cream on top! Unfortunately, we didn't have any. I will make sure that I do for next time!
Learn how to make Instant Pot iced coffee concentrate. This makes several cups of coffee that you can dilute with water to make iced coffee drinks at home. I have a new obsession this summer: iced coffee. I was never a fan of cold coffee, but it turns out that I just didn't know how to make it properly. I've been experimenting with different ways to make iced coffee, and I'll be sharing them with you in upcoming blog posts. I usually use the cold brew method. but that takes a full day to make. I forgot to brew some, so I was looking for a faster way to make it. Rather than brew the coffee and chill it, I decided to try Instant Pot coffee concentrate. This method makes several cups of coffee concentrate in about 1.5 to 2 hours. This is a concentrate, so you should always dilute it with water. Even if you add milk or creamer, definitely water this down.
Learn how to make an old fashioned dill pickle recipe and how to can it. This is an old recipe that's been passed down for generations. It has a distinct garlic and dill flavor that pairs well with sandwiches and other foods, and the pickles are great on their own as a snack. Like most women from her generation, my grandmother was an expert at preserving food. She grew up on a farm and later bought a farm with my grandfather. She raised four kids while my grandfather farmed. She was an amazing cook, and I'm so glad to have some of her recipes. This particular recipe was lost for many years after my grandmother passed away. None of the kids had the recipe, so we thought it was gone forever. Then my mother, who married in to the family, found the recipe in her recipe box almost 10 years after my grandmother passed away. I got it too late last year to make pickles, so you better believe it was the first thing that I made this year when my cucumbers were ripe. My grand
How to make an easy French toast casserole. This can be made the night before and makes a great make ahead breakfast for a family or for a crowd. This easy French toast casserole recipe makes a delicious breakfast, brunch, or even breakfast for dinner. My kids love it when we have breakfast for dinner. At one point, we had over 40 chickens. We were getting about 30 eggs a day, and we just couldn't eat them all. This French toast bake is a great way to use up a lot of eggs. This is also a good way to use up leftover bread. I actually used hot dog buns to make it for this blog post! I'll also give you some other bread ideas and mix ins to make a new family favorite.
How to make a delicious peach iced tea recipe from fresh or frozen peaches. This is an easy recipe, and it tastes just like that famous Italian's restaurant's peach iced tea but for a lot less money. This can also be made sugar free or with a sugar substitute. When we moved to the farm, I was so excited that we would have an established orchard. I didn't even know that peaches grew in Ohio! We have about 15 peach trees. I don't know what kind they are, but there is one white peach tree. That tree gives us the most delicious white peaches. Our peaches are ready in August each year, so they are later than than in the south. I can the peaches and make jam, peaches in light syrup, and peach pie filling. I also freeze some for recipes like this peach tea recipe. I've made this in the middle of winter with frozen peaches, and it tastes just like I used fresh peaches. This is actually a two part recipe. First you make the peach syrup, then you make the tea. Th
Learn how to decoupage with napkins on glass. This adorable unicorn mason jar looks amazing, but it's so easy to make with a napkin, paint, Mod Podge, and a mason jar. My home is mainly decorated in farm house style. I guess I'm jumping on the band wagon, but I really do live in a farm house. I like my old farm house, but farm houses do have their problems. My kitchen is not large and spacious. We are severely lacking in closet space. And we only have one bathroom. Farm house living is not as glamorous as they show on TV. Even though I'm drawn to the rustic and worn look that's so popular, I still like cutesy things. When I saw these unicorn napkins, I knew they were too cute to just use and toss like their intended purpose. No, these unicorns were made to be seen. So I used them to make a decoration, and now I'll show you how to decoupage with napkins on glass. I used mason jars because I wanted them to be functional as well. Again, farm houses have their d
How to make a healthy blueberry smoothie recipe without banana. This can be made dairy free with almond milk and dairy free yogurt. It has ground oats and flax seeds to thicken without using a banana. I've got two picky eaters. One way I sneak in extra fruits, vegetables, and nutrition is by offering them smoothies. This blueberry smoothie recipe is made without bananas, and it's so quick and easy to whip up. When I started making smoothies, I was a little intimidated. They called for odd ingredients that I didn't have and didn't keep on hand. They also used specialized equipment that I didn't own and didn't want to purchase. That's why I like this easy blueberry smoothie recipe. I can make it in a blender, which is a common kitchen appliance. It also has easy to find ingredients. I didn't add any bananas because I don't always have bananas. It is one of the few fruits my kids will all eat, but we buy them on rotation because they eat them in
How to make whole fruit popsicles with fresh or frozen fruit. This easy recipe can be customized with different fruits, so you can create different flavors. Use your choice of fruit juice, coconut water, or yogurt to make your frozen pops. My kids love popsicles. I'll admit that I've been known to sneak some from their stash of frozen treats, too. My kids will happily take the cheap pops, but they definitely prefer the more expensive varieties. One of my kids can't have artificial dyes or high fructose corn syrup, and I prefer that they don't eat preservatives. I also limit refined sugar when I can. We tried some natural fruit pops, and they loved them. I loved them, too. But they get pricey. So I learned how to make whole fruit popsicles so they can have their random fruit combinations and experiment with different flavors.
How to make an easy homemade Italian dressing recipe with Parmesan cheese. This dressing is delicious on salads, in pasta salads, and as a dip for sandwiches. I'm trying to avoid preservatives and artificial food dyes and certain other ingredients, so I make a lot of my foods from scratch. I've been making my own salad dressings for over 10 years. Over the years, I've tried several different recipes. I tweaked recipes, added ingredients, and adjusted the amounts until I found a recipe that I loved. This homemade Italian dressing recipe with Parmesan took some tweaking, but I managed to make it and easy recipe with simple ingredients. It's slightly sweet, a little tart, and packed with flavor. It's perfect for a salad topped with steak or chicken. Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe With Parmesan I use Italian dressing for a lot of different recipes and not just for salads. I have a homemade zesty Italian dressing mix recipe that I really like for a quic
Learn how to make delicious air fryer corn on the cob. This is a quick and simple way to make corn that's completely hands off and cooks beautifully. In the summer, we eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables from our garden and orchard. What we don't grow, we buy from local farmers. I live in farm country. Our small farm is surrounded by corn or soy fields on three sides with the road on the fourth side. Dairy cows, corn, and soy support most of members of this county. There is no shortage of fresh sweet corn. The farmers pick it and place it in huge bins in their yards. You pull up, grab some, and place the money in the tin. I get a great deal on fresh picked sweet corn, and the farmer can get a higher price than selling it at auction. It's a win for everyone. We have sweet corn several times a week in the summer. It's a quick and easy side dish, and two of my three kids will eat it.
