Dee

I have made pies since I was a teen....in other words a LONG time. Tonight, we're having a bake sale auction and I was asked to make a lemon and a butterscotch pie. No problem, I thought! Here are the results. I'm hoping and think they'll taste fine but look at the meringue. I didn't do anything different, one from the other, and yet they don't look at all alike. So, I'm here to tell you, even if you've baked more for 1/2 a century things are seldom perfect. Just jump into it and give it a try. If you make a mistake, you can only get better. With today's prices homemade of almost everything is so much cheaper, and usually better, than mass produced. Try it! You just might like it!

I wrap my breakfast burritos separately in plastic wrap. I also put 2 pancakes, or however many you'll eat at one time, in sandwich bangs. They separate pretty easily and I either toast or microwave them. For DH I also scramble up 5 dozen eggs and put in cubes of ham. Can't tell you how much ham. I freeze in individual servings in sandwich bags and into the freezer they go. Waffles the same way. My waffle iron is 56 years old, got it as a wedding gift, and back then I'd never heard of Belgian waffles. After freezing whatever I've made, it goes into gallon bags so they're easy to find. DH, as I said before, is an easy keeper and this makes life easy for both of us.

EmeraldCat, I've watched her videos. She is a busy woman and does have some great ideas. There are other homestead type women I enjoy watching too. It seems they all have huge families and do more work in a day than I do in a month. Fun to watch!!!

At least Homey! I had to look up Zuppa Toscana Jeepers. Looks good!

I love these ideas. Some I've already done but others I haven't. I'm going to try them. Winter is long up here in the north country, and I'd love to get lots done and in the freezer for those long, cold dark evenings when I don't want to cook. More ideas please. This is fun!!! Thanks everyone!

let's start cooking ahead for quick meals to have from the freezer. (Gardening is done up here anyway.} The price of food is going up and up and up. Eating out has become so expensive and for us it's at least a 20-mile drive, one way. So, I'm a bargain shopper and cook ahead kind of gal. Our local grocery store had Italian sausage, normally $3.99 lb. on sale for $2.50 lb. this week. I bought 5 lbs. wish I'd thought ahead enough to buy 10 but, oh well. Anyway, DH loves Italian sausage for breakfast. Since he sleeps late in the mornings, he fixes his own breakfast. I don't mind cooking things for the freezer, I just don't fix his breakfast in the morning when I've been up for hours. So, the 5 lbs. of sausage made 23 patties. Most meat patties I cook ahead I wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap. DH doesn't know the difference, so I just put his on a cookie sheet in the freezer and throw the whole kit and Kaboodle into a bag once frozen. He's happy, I'm happy and the price was great! The 2 packages under the rack of sausage are tuna casserole. We ate it a couple of times and are tired of it for now. Into the freezer it went to be made into 2 more quick meals later. Love these quick meals. What do you do? I would love some new ideas. meals.

Becca, welcome to the world of raising chickens. You will love your girls!!! I ONLY buy Red Star. They're a sex link which means you should NEVER accidentally get a rooster. They're a heavy breed so don't fly over fences, and they lay beautiful brown eggs. They're friendly girls and I guarantee you'll love them. I've also had a variety of others through the years. Most because they were cute and different looking, or they laid "Easter eggs". As to housing, we had a pre-existing building so I'm not much good at helping there. I will say they MUST be locked up tight at night because a variety of animals are just waiting for supper. After a few evenings of leading them to their building they will just automatically go in and all you'll have to do is lock the door. I had an elderly woman, before I was the elderly woman , once tell me to keep them locked up until about noon. They'll lay their eggs inside the nest that way instead of all over the farm. She was right and it worked for me. Have fun Becca and enjoy those girls. They are a blessing!

Jeepers, I think you must be as mad as I am. It's sure fun confusing those men, isn't it? We don't live close to an Amish community but there are a number of them in the state. I love going by on Monday's when laundry is on the line. Watching the kids play ball at their school at recess. I like their general store; I like their baked goods. Their lifestyle is so interesting, but I am way too lazy to even think about it. Thanks, euphrasyne and Littlesister for your nice comments. I'm glad it gives you nice memories euphrasyne. They're the best!

Trips to the sale barn. buying calves at the salebarn .mp4

Was it the Amish Country Store, Mt. Rider? Love to wander around that place.

Thanks for the update, Darlene. It's good to know. I'll be stocking up as soon as I see it on sale.

Thanks, euphrasyne!

I have a question for you ladies BUT first Joyfilled I'd like to have a piece of that bread and jelly. It looks delicious!!! I've made bread and rolls, etc. for years. Used to do it all the time but not so much anymore. My question? I've never used vinegar when making it. I've been googling it today as a recipe I read calls for it. It sounds like I should have been using it all these years. Do any of you put vinegar in yours?

Jeepers, that's why I do so much cooking ahead and freezing.....I too am a lazy cook. The marathon is the way to go! The other day our local store had Italian sausage on sale for $2.88 lb. I bought 8 pounds and cooked it all into sausage patties, put them in the freezer and it will be ready to make a quick breakfast or DH can nuke one anytime he wants one. They also had 10 lb. tubes of hamburger for $2.88 a pound and I made maybe 5 pounds of hamburger patties and the rest browned ground beef. Those are all in the freezer and it will make it so easy to throw a Tator Tot casserole, pizza, spaghetti, etc. together with having the mean already cooked. Yep, I'm a lazy cook.

I'm out of zucchini for now but I'll check these out closer if I get more. Thanks MM!

I have to really hide zucchini euphrasyne so DH doesn't know he's eating it. He's got this thing about it being too worthless to eat. LOL I know, I know but he's such an easy keeper that I don't push on the few things he grumbles about.

Wow euphrasyne that is gorgeous!!! I'm sure it'll take a while to get it done, for me it would be forever, but I hope you'll show us when you're finished. I can't wait to see it!!!

As much as I hate to admit this, I have only a few books in the house. With access to our library and a librarian that's been there 31 years and gets us every book we want I don't feel the need to own. We have a very nice budget and the majority of us like the same things. We are mostly middle aged to older women. Our school is gone and if the kids need a library, they use one in their school, the town where they go to school or the internet. If I want a particular book but know no one else will be interested, she will inter-library loan it. If it's one like Carla Emery's, The Encyclopedia of Country Living, it's on my shelf. Others are the Blue Book, Wild herbs/plants, etc. I'm a voracious reader, mostly novels, and always have a "real" book, an audio book and a book on my phone. I can't be w/o a book but only have 1 shelf of my own.

Thanks, Jeepers I needed that AND you're right, Annarchy took care of it. She's GOOD! I've been filling my freezer, for the last 3 or 4 days with zucchini products blessedhomemaker71. I made 4 loaves of zucchini earlier but now have put in 3 doz. chocolate, peanut butter chip muffins, 2 1/2 doz. zucchini, carrot, walnut muffins, chocolate zucchini brownies and yesterday I baked a zucchini cake. All are delicious. All are cut into serving sizes that I can take out and have thawed for a meal. Or microwave it if I don't plan ahead. This was all, not the bread, from one giant zucchini. I still have enough to make more things but have decided to freeze the rest. IF I had hamburger on hand, I'd make up a bunch of meatballs for the freezer but with the price of hamburger I'll wait. We let our renter have the pasture free of rent this summer and he said he'd supply us with beef this fall so I'm hoping for tons of hamburger. I'd like to be able to tell him that we don't want steaks just hamburger or roasts, but I don't quite know how to do it. Am hoping an opportunity to just happen to mention it comes along. Anyway, the extra freezer is nice, and I hope you can talk DH into getting another. I think the chest type is more economical BUT the upright is much nicer for finding what you're looking for.

DH looked all evening and never did find it again. I'll show him this video euphrasyne and see what he thinks. Thanks bunches everyone!

From what I see of young pinecones I can't find any that look like these things. DH told me an hour ago he knew right where he saw it and would send me the link. He's still looking. LOL

Oh no MM, I just checked to see how my hamburger, sitting on the counter, was coming and found it's a package of brats. NO hamburger in the freezer. I keep waiting for a sale but guess I'm going to have to break down and pay the expensive prices. I keep hearing the cattle prices are dropping but don't see beef on sale much. I've been getting some really good sales on pork though! I'll let you know when I try it! LOL

DH and I watch a lot of YouTube videos on a variety of things. One of the things we like is watching homesteading type videos in other countries. The picture below is some kind of berry, we think, a lady in Ukraine was picking from her garden. Does anyone have an idea what this is???

Oh, that does look good Midnightmom. I've already taken a pound of hamburger out of the freezer to thaw. I'm going to try it tomorrow for dinner! We aren't much for sour cream either, so I think I'll just leave it out. Like you, I'll use tomato sauce instead of paste. I just got 2 tiny cabbages from the garden and now I know what to do with them. Thanks bunches mm. I'll let you know what I think!!!

I was given a gigantic zucchini (below) and I have a huge bowl of shredded zucchini sitting on my counter. A week or so ago I baked 4 loaves of zucchini bread and put it in the freezer. So far today I've made chocolate zucchini brownies and zucchini, carrot, crasins muffins. I have many bags already shredded and in the freezer. I could put more in, but I'd like to do something with it. I will make more muffins. I just ate one and they were delicious! My question.......what else can I make? DH doesn't like it cooked where he can tell he's eating it. Hence, the mixtures of bread, cake and muffins. TIA for your help!