Welcome to the kitchen – where wholesome cooking and mindful food practices take center stage. This is your go-to space for embracing a simpler, more sustainable approach to life through nourishing meals and zero-waste habits.
Discover from-scratch recipes that celebrate fresh, whole ingredients, along with practical tips for preserving food through canning, fermenting, dehydrating, and freezing. Whether you’re stocking your pantry for the seasons ahead or finding creative ways to reduce food waste, these resources are designed to help you make the most of every bite.
Step into the heart of simple living and explore how thoughtful kitchen practices can add flavor, purpose, and joy to your daily routine. Ready to savor the journey? Dive in and start exploring!
If you need a little help keeping track of all the food you preserve for your family I have some free printable worksheets for you. Enjoy!
Transform raw kale into an easy and delicious side salad with warm bacon and a citrus dressing. Top with your favorite salad mix-ins, such as tomatoes, feta, seeds and nuts, and dried fruit. We can grow kale almost year round in our climate, so it turns up in many different forms during the week. This … Read more
Every year we forage dewberries which are a wild blackberry that grows in our area. We try to pick enough to last the entire year. We freeze some of the berries and we make a super easy dewberry jam recipe to give as gifts and to enjoy ourselves. This same method can be used to … Read more
Growing up I thought that to make “homemade” vanilla pudding you opened a box, added milk and gave it shake. When I learned that you could make real homemade pudding with staples from your pantry and refrigerator, I was hooked. Once you make homemade vanilla pudding you’ll never go back the boxed stuff again. Ingredients ¼ … Read more
For the past year or so we’ve been part of a meat co-op that purchases pastured meat in bulk. We order every two months. When we picked up out meat this time, Gabriel said “You should make shepherd’s pie.” You should have heard the “oh, yeah’s ” that went on when a few days later … Read more
We love Tex/Mex food and homemade chicken enchiladas are at the top of the list. This recipe is really more of a process than an exact recipe and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry – the one exception might be corn tortillas. There are tons of recipes for making chicken enchiladas … Read more
My boys have been getting quite a few calls to mow lawns now that the grass is growing again. That means I need more snacks on hand than I need in the winter. I really like to keep a variety of homemade waffles, banana muffins, peanut butter treats and granola bars in the freezer for … Read more
I love the convenience of having canned black beans and other dried beans on hand. However, I don’t like the price of buying canned black beans. So one of the first things I learned to can in my pressure canner was how to can dried beans. Every year I buy dried beans in bulk at … Read more
Homemade vegetable stew can be made with pretty much any vegetables you happen to have on hand. I use a combination of fresh seasonal vegetables, home canned vegetables and dehydrated vegetables to make this use-what-you-have vegetable stew. While I do have a real vegetable stew recipe that I share below in the recipe card, I … Read more
Every winter my children start asking for hot chocolate mix, because you can’t have winter without hot chocolate. This homemade hot chocolate mix comes together very quickly and tastes great. Once the mix is made, you can have rich, tasty hot chocolate by just adding hot water. Although, some members of my family like to … Read more
I’ve been able to spend some extra time in the kitchen this week and here’s some of what I’ve done…. We pulled up the basil that is flowering for the second time and I decided to just go ahead and make some frugal pesto even though I’ve heard that basil goes bitter after flowering. Let me … Read more
Lentils and rice is a super quick and frugal recipe that is hearty enough to serve for dinner. This vegetarian recipe is super flavorful with the addition of onions, carrots and a few warming spices. What’s so great about lentils? For starters, they are a nutritional powerhouse. One cup supplies 16 grams of fiber, 17 … Read more
All along the rural roads in Texas there are wild mustang grapes and muscadine grapes that grow. Every summer we go grape hunting and pick enough grapes to make grape jelly and grape juice. Mustang grapes and muscadine grapes are not the same plant, although most of us use the terms interchangeably, but they and … Read more
Fresh, zesty black bean and corn salsa, also known as Texas caviar, is the perfect appetizer for summer. Filled with garden fresh tomatoes, onions and corn this salsa goes will with fish and pork tacos and just plain chips. In fact, this salsa is so hearty and flavorful that we’ve been known to just eat … Read more
Summer is the time for light meals that are loaded with summer vegetables. It’s also the time basil plants are huge. One of our favorite meals is pesto pasta with summer vegetables. This summer vegetable pesto pasta dish is loaded with garden fresh vegetables such as yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. Ingredients Enough … Read more
Whole wheat flour tortillas come together quickly with just a few ingredients. They are perfect for soft tacos, burritos, wraps, or eating with soups. Probably the “hardest” part of making whole wheat tortillas is rolling them out. And as long as you’re willing to accept the funny shapes that often come out, you’ll be just … Read more
This easy peach cobbler recipe with canned peaches is a cakey not pie crust type cobbler. With just a few pantry staples it has an old fashioned flavor that will remind you of Grandma’s house. Serve plain or with or a splash of cream. For a special treat serve with a scoop of vanilla ice … Read more
How would you like to be able to serve fresh rolls whenever you want? Well, you can. The dough for this no-knead roll recipe can be made ahead of time – like a week ahead of time. It’s sometimes called a refrigerator roll recipe and the raw dough can be kept in the refrigerator for … Read more
Yesterday, we spent some time baking. I’m trying to get some snack type foods in the freezer before we start our school year in a few weeks. During the year, we have more outside of the house commitments and it’s nice to be able to just grab some muffins to take with us since some … Read more
My granny’s old-fashioned bread and butter pickle recipe is just what you’re looking for in a pickle. A crunchy pickle with the perfect balance between tangy and sweet! Last year our garden produced lots of cucumbers. At least a lot for our family since only 3 of us like them. We had enough that I wanted … Read more
Basil pesto is a great way to enjoy the bounty of the summer garden. This frugal basil presto recipe is made with just a few flavorful ingredients. To keep costs down, we swapped out expensive pine nuts for pecans. The flavor is still bold, as basil pesto should be, and the cost is quite inexpensive. … Read more