Humble Beginnings

Homestead Challenge - Day #2

When I married Johnny 12½ years ago, I burned everything!!  I used to cook everything on high and he would still eat it, but not heartily.  We were seniors in college at the time and lived on $50/wk in groceries - sometimes less.  But, I didn't really cook from scratch.  I cooked from boxes, seasoning packets and cans.  I enjoyed cooking, but really didn't know how.

There were a few things I made well...stews, soups, chicken & dumplings, salads.

However, my mother-in-law is an AWESOME cook.  She cooks those stick-to-your-rib meals - fried chicken, hams, turkeys, biscuits, cornbread, black-eyed peas, etc.  We used to have Sunday dinners at her house for several years, but things change, schedules change, etc.  I still love eating at her house.

But, I have learned a lot about cooking from her.  My mother was a good cook, but she left when I was 14, so I didn't really spend those vital teen years cooking or baking with her - learning the art of cooking.

So, many years and burned dinners later, I have become a really good cook.  But, now I don't buy anything in boxes.  Our dinners are from scratch.  I don't buy "dinners in a box" anymore.  I now read cookbooks like novels - from beginning to end, especially those that are based on someone's life and their family recipes.

So, in order to save our family money, I cook from scratch.  Meals are cheaper, tastier and faster than we go out to eat.  I've learned to create so many delicious meals just from the items we have on hand.  I have stopped going back to the store when I run out of an item (except for buttermilk which I use regularly).  I just wait until we make are usual shopping trip - that in itself saves $$$.  Also, I know that my family is eating a healthy meal as I know exactly what's going into it - what vegetables, spices, chicken/vegetable stocks.

It's much cheaper to make our meals from scratch than it is to buy a meal in a box.

Right now I'm even taking it one step farther - I'm putting together a family cookbook asking all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., to send me their favorite recipes, stories behind the recipes, family anecdotes, etc.  We're going to make our own family cookbook.  It'll be a great way to share the history of our families to our children or grandchildren one day.  My grandmother was the ultimate homesteader having raised 11 children.  My dad is 73 years old, so he remembers a lot of growing up and what grandmother did around the house.  I plan on tapping his brain to see how much info I can extract from him!  He says I was born 80 years too late. 

At any rate, my homestead challenge for the day is to cook from scratch.

God's blessings to each of you!!