Lets Do Some Salsa!

Today I am going to make and can salsa. With a 1 year old in the house I often have to do things like this in stages. I don’t have several hours all together to do the chopping and such. So I do little spurts at a time.

I am also going to dehydrate onions for making my own onion powder…which, if you follow me, know that we do regularly.

I was able to get 36 pounds of onions at ALDI’S for $8.28. If I was to buy onion powder it wouldn’t be as strong as homemade and I would have to use about 3 times more than what I use from my homemade....so I am saving myself about $20 using homemade. PLUS no MSG, salt, or anything of that nature is added....pure, clean, food!

ALDI’S had tomato 4 packs on sale for .69 cents so I bought 12 of them. We bought jalapeno’s while we were gone to Texas at the Traders Village. The peppers were $2.50 and it was a HUGE bag. I used about 1/4 of the bag. I had some baby sweet peppers that I had gotten several weeks ago at ALDI’S when they were on sale for .99 cents that were red, yellow, and orange. I bought a 4 pack of the green bell peppers at ALDI’S for .99 cents.

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3 heads of garlic are chopped…messy job :-)

3 pounds of onions got chopped…Emma wasn’t excited about the smell of the process.

The seeds and cores went to the chickens. They love little playful treats like these.

I got 9 quarts of CHUNKY salsa.

Total price was $12.57 for me to make it. That means I got 288 ounces of salsa. Salsa in the store is about $2 for 24 ounces. So I saved myself about $6 making my own PLUS it has no msg or other chemicals or bi-products in it.

Getting Our Planting On

Today I worked in the yard from about 11 until 3 and then again from about 5:30 til dark. From 3 to 5:30 I was gone getting feed for the pigs and chickens.

I got some weed eating done and some of the trash and debris in the yard picked up.

I bought a foxglove at the store the other day. It was absolutely gorgeous and I had never seen one…I fell in love. It is a perennial and should spread like tulips and such do....next year I will be ordering bulbs that are of a different color…my hope is to have a whole front yard that blooms in different areas over the seasons. If I could do all flowers and not have grass to mow that would be okay with me. Our front yard has a good amount of trees, most of which are fruit trees, so it doesn’t get a lot of sun during summer time so I have to do things that are partial shade there.

One of the garden areas is planted. In this one I have 6 squash plants and 18 different tomato plants…with 3 varieties..large cherry tomatoes, homestead tomatoes, and heck I can’t remember the 3rd one right now. Down at the end where Morgan is standing we planted the grapefruit tree that we bought last year. The colored pots hold green onions, snap peas, jalapenos, okra, and Brussel sprouts.

Gracie, my Chiorkie and one of the Red-Blue Cochin Roosters was enjoying the fresh cut grass this afternoon

Oh this is the veggie salad I made for dinner last night to go with the meatloaf. It was SUPER good…

I bought some Arkansas Traveler tomatoes and we put them in their own little spot today. I didn’t get photo’s of it as I forgot so I will post them tomorrow.

Celery, Peppers, Onions, Eggs....Oh My

Today will be busy. I have started the first of the onions parboiling so I can get them in the dehydrator. I will have to do this process probably 4 times today as I have a lot of onions that need to be done. I will freeze part of them for cooking but most of them will be made into onion powder.

I need to dehydrate some celery as well. I have 3 bunches that need cut, boiled, and placed in the dehydrator. I have 6 bell peppers that I will dehydrate as well so I can use them in soups and such.

The first batch of onions is being brought to a boil.

Into the dehydrator we go.

The celery par boiled and into the dehydrator

Par Boiling the bell peppers

Bell Peppers in the dehydrator

Ready! Set! Dehydrate!

Nothing ever goes to waste here on the farm…so the onion peels will be going to compost. The celery leaves go in a bag to go in the freezer for when I make stock. The bottom shafts of the celery are in a container with water and in the window so they can grow me some more celery.

I have about 6 dozen eggs that need to be dealt with. I will be pickleing them with some jalapeno’s. The first 3 dozen are in the pot and about to start boiling.

For the brine I got a jar of jalapenos, added 2 of the same size jars of water and 1 size of the jars with vinegar. I have them warming on the stove.

6 Dozen eggs gave me 3 1/2 gallon jugs of pickled eggs....

Oh, Let’s not forget..the day always includes someone having to feed Little Man

I guess that is it for the Homestead today....It just turned 9 pm and I have been at it since early this morning!

Thanksgiving Left Overs...Grab The Pressure Canner

Boy, the last 48 hours, here on the homestead, have been super busy. Busy to the point where you get overtired and then can't sleep. I am sure you all know what I am talking about. 

I bought a 24 pound turkey, just before Thanksgiving, for .59 cents a pound at Tom Thumb. Due to family health problems we weren't anticipating having more than few people for Thanksgiving. That turkey managed to feed 5 of us for Thanksgiving, 2 sandwiches on Friday, A turkey pot pie last night, my husbands Turkey salad for lunch today at work, and gave me 6 quarts of turkey stock and 11 pint jars of canned turkey (I had 12 but one didn't seal so I went ahead and gave it to the doggie rather than try to reseal it or put it in the fridge). This was my first time canning any meat but I found the process to be pretty easy.

The turkey stock getting started on the stove. The only thing that needs to be added at this point is the carrot ends and peels which will be cut up next. 

ALDI's had potatoes, onions, and carrots on sale Friday. I bought 50 pounds of potatoes for $6.70. 6 pounds of onions for $1.38, and 6 pounds of carrots for about the same price. Produce, especially potatoes, can be pricey so I wanted to stock up. 

6 pounds of onions finally cut!

First of 6 trays of onions that will be in the dehydrator.

I have the onions in the food dehydrator right now, I am dehydrating half the carrots and canned 6 half-pint jars of carrots. I will be canning pints of russet potatoes tonight. I also got a good size bag of garlic that I plan on dehydrating as well. I am going to make onion powder and garlic powder, as well as some minced garlic for the fridge. 

I enjoy having large Thanksgiving and Christmas's at our house. Not so much presents but a large dinner where we can eat and just get together. That wasn't possible this Thanksgiving so I was a little depressed, however, knowing I am able to feed my family with the turkey for several of the coming months that makes me really happy...so it is a plus. 

This Christmas won't be a large one, either, but I am trying to keep my spirit's up and realize that sometimes things just don't turn out like we plan. 

This year has been hard for me and I have struggled to keep depression at bay. I believe that makes it worse that the Holiday's aren't what they normally are this year. 

When things don't really go as we would like we just need to regroup and try again. With that said, I am eagerly awaiting getting started hand making some of next years gifts. That should keep my mind busy and some of my emotions in check (hopefully).

Have An Amazing Monday!

Cooler Weather Can Be Expensive

For a lot of people cooler weather (winter) is their most expensive time of the year. The cost to heat a home, the expense of the Holiday's,  using a car more often because walking isn't as easy, the cost of food because we tend to eat more to stay warm (or so we use that excuse), higher doctor bills because of colds, the flu, bronchitis, etc, The price of food goes up for several reasons....1. fruits and veggies aren't in season, 2. it costs more to feed cattle in the winter so the price of meat goes up. The price of propane shoots up, the price of natural gas shoots up,  the price of wood shoots up.

When we choose to be particular with the money that God provides us we show him we are faithful in the small things. I know for some money doesn't seem like a small issue but if you look at it in the realm of what God says it simply isn't as important as other things in our Christian walk.

• buy a heated throw for each person in the house. (They are $19.96 at Walmart). This is an initial investment and won't have to be done every single year. These throws shut off after 8 hours of use. Since the kids are in school they will only use theirs about 8 hours per day. It costs about .03 cents per hour to use a heated blanket. If a family of 4 uses a heated blanket for 10 hours every day that is only $1.20 a day. My guess is you won't be using it near that much since some will be at school, others at work, etc. so the cost will be much cheaper. However, that is only $36 a month to your heating bill. These throws can be moved around the house for watching tv and such since they are small and easy to handle. At bedtime throw them on the bed under the blankets (under the bottom sheet is even better) for night time use.
• Lower the thermostat. There is no need to keep a home at 70 degrees in the winter time. Most people don't keep it that warm in the summer so it isn't needed in the winter, either. If everyone is using a heated throw you can easily turn your thermostat down to 60 or so.  This saves the wear and tear on your unit, as well, helping it to last longer and saving you the cost of replacing or repairing the unit. 
• Wear warmer clothes. I despise socks. I wear them when I have shoes on but other than during that time I hate them. I have learned to keep them on my feet in the winter. I have a $6 pair of house shoes I bought at Walmart 2 years ago. They still are in decent shape and get the job done. By adding the socks I am able to stay warmer with no extra cost to the household. 
• Running a humidifier in the "heat" of the day (noon to 5 or so) will help to make the air feel more warm. it costs roughly $9 a month to run it for 8 hours per day. A huge savings over the cost of running the heater at a higher temp. This also helps your nasal passages from getting too dried out especially if you run propane or wood for heat. 
• Let the thermostat go down at night. When you are under the covers (especially with your heated throw) you can easily let the thermostat get down to the 50 degree range. Set it to go higher about 30 minutes before you wake up to get out of bed. This will knock the chill off and keep the kids warm while they are getting ready for school or you are getting ready for work. 
• I like to soak in the tub but I also like warm showers. We live in a rural area so our water is stupidly expensive. Soaking in the tub for a bit is a great way to relieve tension, warm up, and just relax. Life isn't worth being tense all the time so a warm bath is a luxury that everyone should enjoy the added benefit of making us fell warmer so we aren't pushed towards turning the thermostat up is just a bonus.  Chances are you are going to bath or shower daily anyways so use it as a chance to get warmed back up. 
• Have "inside" clothes. We all feel better when we are lounging in comfortable clothing. When you get home (if you work outside the home) change into some flannel pajama bottoms or sweat pants and a sweat shirt, socks, and some house shoes. Adding these clothes when your body doesn't already feel cold will help you to not get "chilled" and therefore you won't be tempted to turn up the thermostat. 
• Put your heated blankets underneath you (or use a heated mattress pad). Heat rises. If an electric blanket is on top of you then you aren't getting the full benefit of the heat. By placing it under you, you will actually get more of the heat and can use a lower setting on the blanket making it even cheaper to use on a daily basis. 
• Keep hydrated. Keeping plenty of fluids in your system helps to keep you hydrated which can also keep you warmer (as well as healthier).
• Use "warm" foods. A bowl of hot stew is low in calories and will warm you from the inside out. Chicken and dumplings, stew, chili, potato soup, goulash, dirty rice....all these things have carbs in them which your body can use during the colder weather. 
• Watch your weight. When I gained weight I moved around less because it was more uncomfortable. The less I moved around the colder I got. It turned into a vicious cycle. Health is one of the many things that we take for granted but being healthy helps us to deal with the cold (and heat) better. 

When you make being frugal a game it no longer seems like such a horrible concept. I rather enjoy seeing how I can scrimp and save. For my family it is a lifestyle choice. It isn't something we are forced to do at this point in our lives but rather a choice to make sure that the future holds good things as well. 

There are a lot of other things we can do to help with our expenses....some of them require a little planning in the summer months....which means you need to plan in the winter to be ready for the summer to be plentiful enough to get you through the next winter. Keep in mind that what you do today to make wise choices will ultimately help with tomorrows bills. 

Welcome to the Farm Hippie and Hopster

We added 2 new rabbits to the farm last night. These two girls were “given” to us…of course it took a lot of gas to get them BUT they are really people friendly. They are very skinny compared to our girls so it will take some time to get them where they should be....

This is Hippie…

This is Hopster…

They are sisters and are both Red New Zealand’s....they are about 5 months old and would be ready for breeding, normally, in a few months..but these girls were so NOT an okay weight that we will not breed them until they are 1 and we can get them to where they are healthy. They looked at the rabbit feed like it was a crazy alien thing so I am assuming by that and their weight that they were on a grass only diet…SO NOT A GOOD THING! I gave them some leaf lettuce, timothy hay, and rabbit pellets with a big helping of water so they should be well on their way to getting healthy.

Busy Season on the Farm

Howdy from the farm!

Please forgive my absence. We have been so busy on the farm with spring/summer issues and of course, my health, that I haven't written much lately.

Friday we were driving down one of the old roads in our little community and found some Sand Plums on the side of the road. We asked the owners of the property if we could pick them and naturally they said yes. We came home and I made my first, ever, batch of plum jam. Oh my goodness it was tasty. The process was a little long but once the jam set up and I tasted it I just couldn't believe it. 

Yesterday I decided to make some Jalapeno jam. Oh what a treat that was. The house smelled really strongly of peppers so I can actually say the jam was breath-taking. 

I woke up this morning to a water leak so we had to head to town to get a part to fix the leak with. As we were driving down the country roads we found a massive thicket of sand plum trees. We stopped and asked if they used them. The older man and wife told us they planted them 10 years ago, made jam once, and we could always pick them when they were ready. What a treat. We gathered what few bags we had in the truck with us and went to picking. Today we ended up with 13 pounds picked in just a few short minutes.

I will have to wait until tomorrow or Tuesday to process these but they are here at the farm to be dealt with. I will probably go Wednesday or Thursday to all of our "approved" spots and do another picking so we can set back even more jam. The only cost to us is the pectin, the jars, and the 50 cents worth of gas to drive to pick them so I am pretty pleased with that. 

This past spring we had a tree get hit with lightening. It has finally started to give way in the good parts so we cut the part that was hanging down today and decided to go ahead and cut that up for this winters firewood. Morgan was hard at work.

Like with all things here on the farm we all must work, including the chickens. They were hard at work cleaning up the bugs, dust, and all kinds of goodies.

In true homesteading spirit we threw the limbs over to the goats to eat the leaves before we will cut the smaller stuff down for starting fires.

Every single piece of the tree has a purpose and will be used on the farm in the next 12 months. Absolutely nothing will go to waste.

Most of our animals are pretty good about doing their jobs without much coaxing like my little Turken Rooster.

Some are photogenic

There are those who just like to "hang out" and have good conversation.

And sometimes they demand attention and love to a degree that most people wouldn't believe.

BEFORE going back to work in the garden eating insects.

or before watching your sister do all the work while you just stay on the sidelines.

Please forgive the messes on some of the outskirts of the photo's. Morgan was working in the yard, cutting trees, and moving things around while I was trying to take photo's around him without disrupting him. He was pretty understanding of my desire to have the camera out today so I am tickled about that. 

Hope you have a blessed week full of exciting, new adventures.