The kitchen is where simple living comes to life. It’s where home cooking meets food preservation—where you turn garden harvests and pantry staples into nourishing meals for your family. In this space, you’ll find from-scratch recipes made with whole ingredients, along with trusted techniques for preserving food through canning, fermenting, dehydrating, and freezing. Whether you’re making soup from fresh vegetables, putting up jam, or planning a pantry that supports your values, these resources will help you slow down, cook with purpose, and make the most of every ingredient. Because feeding your people well doesn’t have to be complicated—it just has to be real.
One of my favorite things about the summer garden is the basil. We pretty much use basil for one thing….pesto. I shared photos of our first batch of pesto for this season and a couple of local friends asked me about freezing in glass jars. Then I got a comment on the post asking how …
While freezing cucumbers is probably not the first thing people think of when they want to preserve cucumbers, it’s actually a very useful thing to do. Here’s the thing with freezing cucumbers, the texture will be different when they’re thawed. If you can accept that fact, you can successfully freeze cucumbers. You can freeze cucumbers …
I’ve always believed that that of all our budget categories, the grocery budget is the easiest to save on from month to month. For the most part, there’s very little you can do about your mortgage, there’s only so much you can do to reduce energy costs, and I don’t know about you but our …
Chicken and rice is favorite combination at our home. What’s not to love – it’s a delicious and frugal combination? When you purchase a whole chicken it’s one of the least expensive meats and rice (even our favorite, basmati rice) is cheaper per pound than pasta. One of our staple chicken and rice meal is …
Homemade soup is very easy to make using ingredients that you already have on hand. Soup recipes are great but they don’t have to be followed to make a great soup. Use this process to learn what makes a great soup so you can create your own family favorite, from scratch, soups and stews. Don’t …
I love decorating cookies with my children. In fact, our oldest son was probably just 2 years old when I decided we’d decorate cookies together every year. So, for more than 20 years we set aside a day in December to make cookies and decorate them. Now that my kids are older, not everyone participates …
Almost every day my youngest daughter asks if she can bake something. The funny thing is she’s not much of a sweets eater so it’s not just because she wants to eat something sweet. She just truly enjoys baking and making something for everyone to enjoy. Of course we don’t bake every day but I …
After hurricane Harvey we were without power for eight days. We didn’t stay in our home during that time but did come daily to work on starting the clean up and to check on things. We were totally fine but one thing I was mourning was losing everything in my freezers. You see I have …
Preserving zucchini and summer squash in a variety of ways is a wonderful way to cut your grocery bill and ensure your family has organic food through the winter months. We are in the height of zucchini and summer squash season right now and while it is overwhelming at times, it’s also a huge blessing. …
While we all joke about how prolific zucchini is, it’s my favorite summer vegetable. Because of it’s mild flavor, zucchini is super versatile and can be used in a wide range of recipes. Whether you grow your own or pick them up from the farmers market or grocery store, make sure to make a few …
Get the flavor of traditional lasagna and use up that surplus of summer zucchini with this easy zucchini lasagna recipe. Since this recipe substitutes zucchini for lasagna noodles, it’s also a great recipe for those who are gluten-free or on a low-card or keto diet. Zucchini lasagna will quickly become a family favorite! Why Zucchini …
I don’t know about in your family but in mine I can never get the servings right when I make oatmeal by the pan. Six people should eat six servings, right? Especially when I add chopped apples, maple syrup and cinnamon. And yet, time after time I find myself with oatmeal left over. Fortunately, I …
Can you eat cauliflower leaves? Are broccoli leaves edible? These are questions I found myself asking a friend. I knew you *could* eat a cauliflower leaf but did it really taste good? I’m sure I’m not the only one who wonders these things. Whenever my friend from Kenya comes over she reminds me of how many …
Have I ever mentioned that I have a son who doesn’t eat sugar? Well, I do and it’s a good thing….usually. He will eat fruit and will put honey in his oatmeal and have maple syrup or dewberry preserves on his pancakes but for the most part he’s sugar free. Occasionally though it throws this …
It is almost apple season and my family is so excited. While I will buy apples out of season for eating fresh, I won’t buy them out of season for anything else. Apples make a great snack on the go or to pack in a lunch so I buy the year round. I like preserving apples …
Water bath canning is used to preserve high acid foods by putting filled jars in a “bath” of boiling water. It’s a fantastic way to fill your pantry with jams, jellies, pickles and condiments. Hot water bath canning is usually the first canning someone does, and for good reason. With water bath canning you don’t …
My family loves trail mix but it can be super pricey. And while it is certainly a better snack than most packaged foods I know I can make it healthier and cheaper than anything I can buy already made. For my older kids, I like to add dark chocolate espresso beans to the mix. Here’s …
We got seven peaches off our peach tree this year. Oh my, they were so very good! But obviously, with only seven we just ate them and didn’t even think about preserving them. So, I did what I do every year. I purchased peaches so I could actually preserve peaches for the rest of the …
I know, who can think of soups, especially heavy soups like chili in this heat? I do. In fact, every summer I spend a couple of days canning chili con carne and beef (or venison) stew for the winter. Why? Because it helps me feed the family home cooked meals even during the busy school …
Pressure canning is how you can stock your pantry with shelf stable low acid foods, such as vegetables, meats, legumes and even meals in jars. While it can seem intimidating at first, learning how to use a pressure canner is actually quite easy. It’s funny how when people find out that you pressure can food, …