Putting Up Okra
This week we have two Walmart bags full of okra. I wash them whole, cut off the ends and keep cutting into rounds until I reach close to the tip and throw the tip away. When all the okra has been cut, I shake them in cornmeal to coat then shake them through my colander to lose the excess meal. I lay the okra out flat on cookie sheets then lay the pans in the freezer. In a few minutes, the okra is frozen. I fill pint sized plastic zipper bags with the mealed okra, lable and freeze it. The okra doesn't stick together and it goes straight from the freezer to the frying pan. That's the only way we eat okra. Well, my husband likes okra and tomatoes stewed and the tiny pods of okra boiled, but he's the only gross one in the family. :)
Until next time,
Loretta
The Tomatoes are Gone
Finally! We are through putting up tomatoes and I'm still thinking it's not enough. When winter comes, I make a lot of chili and soup with fresh tomatoes and 10 quarts may not get us through.
This is our final count:
10 quarts of tomatoes
15 pints of tomato relish
6 quarts plus 8 pints of salsa
We have a couple bags of okra to put up then I think we're through.
Have a blessed day and always be thankful for what you have.
Until next time,
Loretta
Is My Home Canned Food Spoiled?
How can you tell if your home canned food is spoiled? There may be a slight odor coming from your storage area, or seepage coming from a jar, or maybe a noise where air is escaping a lid. Maybe there are no visible signs at all. So how can you really be sure your food is safe to eat?
As long as you have followed the canning directions EXACTLY, and taken extra care with your glass jars, lids and rims and heated them properly, you have a 50/50 chance for good results.
The next step is allowing proper time for cooling before storing your goods. Leave your freshly canned food on your counter or table top until the next day, do not remove the rims, do not wipe them, and do not move the jars. The next day, inspect the jars. Did they seal? Look at the contents. Are they clear? Do they still appear fresh? Then remove the rims and wipe the jars with a damp cloth. Label them, date them and store them. Check them at least once a week to be sure the seal did not break as it sometimes can. Notice the colors, if the contents look strange, don't chance getting food poison, dispose of the contents. If there are bubbles or foam in the jars, decide if they need to be reprocessed or disposed of.
Even when your food has been in storage for two months or longer, keep checking the jars for seepage, discoloration, odor and even noise.
BEFORE STORAGE:
Inspect the jars: Did they seal properly?
Inspect the contents: Do they appear normal? Are there any air bubbles? Is there any foam?
Remove the rims: Did the seal pass the fingertip test?
If you can answer yes to these questions, store your jars in a cool dark place.
IN STORAGE:
Weeks and months after your jars have been stored and you are doing a routine check, you may find where the lids are losing their seal. If so, discard the contents right away and finish checking the remaining jars. You may see that the colors are fading or darkening, this does not always mean spoilage, but it will be your decision on what to do with the contents. If you hear a noise coming from where the jars are stored, (you'll have to listen very closely) then there is a jar somewhere that has rotten contents inside and you should discard it immediately. Clean up any seepage that was left behind (if any). If you begin to notice bubbles or foam inside the jar, discard the contents. When you open a jar, smell the contents, stir the contents and smell them again, rinse when necessary and heat before eating.
Keeping these tips in mind and doing a routine check will help keep you and your family safe from serious food born illnesses. Understanding of course that there is no guarantee on anything home canned, or even store bought. Your best judgment and good knowledge in food preserving is your best guide.
Until next time,
Loretta
Tomatoes
Since our garden didn't produce many good tomatoes, we went picking in a local field. We brought home five 5-gallon buckets full of them! So far I've got 7 quarts, 8 pints of Salsa and 15 pints of Tomato Relish. They didn't look like much lying there on a sheet on the living room floor but, my goodness, I feel like I've not even made a dent in them. My fingernails are pink stained and my hands are still burning from the peppers used in the salsa. Some are spoiling before I can get to them :( so, that's where I'll be for a while.
We picked up a pressure canner from Walmart... something I said I would never do! But there it was and I needed something larger than the pots I had to can quarts in and since the tomatoes are starting to spoil, I needed something quick.There's no gauge and no lock on this pressure canner. There are weights to remove for adjusting the pressure. This is new to me. My mother was burned pretty badly several years ago by a pressure canner and I've never gotten that image out of my head. We'll see how it does.
Happy canning!
Loretta
Cindarelly, Cinderelly...
This morning has been busy and I feel like there are many more mountains to climb! Is a housewife's work ever really finished?
Physically, I've: washed the few dishes that were in the sink from last night, cleaned the sink, wiped the counter tops, made our bed, separated the dirty clothes, put a load in the wash, sorted through the tomatoes, washed a lap tub full of tomatoes for making relish and salsa later today, peeled washed and diced: potatoes, carrots, onions & peppers to go into the roast that has been cooking all night in the crock pot, made coffee, made breakfast for my husband and reminded him to pick up a belt for the mower before he ran out the door, swept the kitchen floor, read comments on my blog, read all of my friends blogs, made new friends, and took some pictures.
Mentally, I've: planned this week's home school schedule, planned this week's menu, made note of how I want the school room organized to function better, and made note of chores for the girls to do today. The windows need cleaning. Peppers... so many peppers... I'll dice and freeze them when the tomatoes are all used up. Made note of the fact that my husband is on vacation this week, (except for a meeting this morning) so I'll have more laundry to wash, more dishes to clean, more food to fix and more dirt on the floor. I don't mind it though... I love him!!!  Need items to make our wildlife habitat... make stepping stones... clean around the blueberry bush... gather items for Geography lessons, make flip charts for Math/Algebra formulas... evaluation in two weeks... portfolio is complete, woo hoo... help Emily strengthen her math skills... Haley's birthday on the 27th (all she wants is a Dirt Cake and new clothes!) family get together Saturday... teach class Sunday... homemade ice cream social at church Sunday night... that's next week... right now salsa and relish time. Nagging cold!... take tylenol for headache.
Whew! I'm spent!
Have a blessed day!
Loretta
The Weightloss Challenge: Part Three
I was a size three when I met my husband thirteen years ago. I'm not looking for that three anymore. I've had children and my body has changed. I'm looking for the healthy me I use to be, when I ate A LOT of fruit and drank water all the time. I exercised daily and literally swam for miles. My body was toned and I was in excellent shape. Now, I feel like a completely different person and I don't like who I've become. I don't like the way I feel or look and I'm doing something about it. Today, I'm making a difference, and I'm starting with me. ~ Loretta
Join me in this challenge to a healthier, happier lifestyle.
I'm not sure where or when my diverse eating habits started and it doesn't matter now. I can't fix what's in front of me when I'm consistently looking backwards.
Making healthier food choices is my challenge. I love sweets and junk food and I love to eat them as a meal and in between meals! Breakfast is usually around 7:00 and consists of two or three cups of coffee with creamer and sugar. My real breakfast is at 10:00 and that's usually chips and dip or a bowl of cereal with added sugar or a grilled cheese sandwich; just something easy. Lunch is usually around 1:00 and I usually have a salad or leftovers from the last nights supper. Sometimes, I just have another cup of coffee. Then I get an urge to snack until supper time. Snacks are Cheezit's, a granola bar (loaded with sugar), a glass of chocolate milk (2% milk), a sandwich, or some mac and cheese. Usually whatever is available for a quick fix. At supper, I cook! This is when my hardworking, diabetic husband comes home and I want him to have healthy choices. So, I cook vegetables, provide wheat bread, bake instead of fry meat, and watch those portions.
Thanks to a helpful, friendly post from "takeadeepbreath," I have kept a close watch on what I'm consuming each day. I knew I snacked and sometimes skipped meals but, I didn't realize to what extent. Wow!
Well, here we are in our third weight loss challenge! A couple of you have already posted your testimonies, and I thank you for sharing that on my blog. It does me a lot of good to hear the challenges you are faced with, as well as your accomplishments, and I look forward to hearing from each one of you.
This time, I'm not going to focus on an amount of weight to lose. My challenge for all of you is this: Keep a food journal of what you eat and drink each day. Then, to the side of each listing, write healthy foods you can replace them with. This challenge is to monitor what you consume and to be aware of healthier options. So, get out that pencil and notepad ladies, and let's see what the results are by the end of August.
The best dishes, and the best of health to you all!
The House
With school about to start, and the school room in a mess, I have a lot of work to do today. The girls' evaluation is in a couple of weeks and I still have not pulled their portfolio's all together. I straighten the schoolroom, but the girls are getting sloppy with their stuff and have decided to start eating in there. The laundry is piling up and so is the dust.
No doubt, I've gotten off schedule. Being sick over the weekend helped contribute to the laziness I've been feeling this week. But, I'm slowly getting back up to full force.
I've been planning the new school schedule and we will have half an hour of exercise each day, right after our health lesson. That should help with the weight loss challenge. (Where did my third challenge go?!)
Well, I'm off to clean this room, get caught up on the laundry, and post the third challenge.
"In all things give thanks,"
Sisterhood Award
Two of my blogging buddies wyldmommahomesteader and jimswife have chosen me to receive the Sisterhood Award. It's such a simple little gift, not even a gift really, I can't hold the award, or set it on a shelf. It's just a thought; a pleasant thought to brighten someone's week and it brings me joy all the same... Ladies, I am honored and uplifted. Thank you.
Some blogs I read are hysterical, helpful, thought provoking, tempting and humbling. Since two of my favorites listed above have already been given the award, these are my additional choices.
blueyedgirl
HopefulHeart77
Zucchinimom
Pennysue
sharondubars
haflinger
mulberrylane
gabbie427
ladyhen
takeadeepbreath
Here are the rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link the person from whom you received your award.
Have an awesome day!
Homeschool Info
We already live in the woods, so nature is all around us. But, we often take our surroundings for granted. The National Wildlife Federation has a neat study tool on You Tube. I watched the videos on creating a Wildlife Habitat and then I created a weeks worth of worksheets each containing six to ten questions about the videos. Since the girls love to use their email, I thought it would be neat to email each assignment to them daily, for the one week study, then they can email it back to me for grading.
The Wildlife Habitat is something fun for the kids to get involved in, it will get us all outside, and the cool part is they can become "certified" and put up a sign on our property. How cool!
I love nature but, my husband is a hunter..hmmm...
Next we will have to put up a No Hunting sign! LOL!
The Challenge: Part Two
Diet pills, right now, are not an option for me. There are too many risks involved. So, there must be something I'm missing. Why isn't the weight coming off? The only thing Doc was concerned with was "being overweight leads to other serious health issues, like diabetes." Okay, I understand. So what do I need to do? His reply was to get active. More active than house work, homeschooling, errands, my cleaning jobs, and gardening? You'd think that would be enough. But no, it is not.
So, here we are at our second challenge and I've lost 1 and a half pounds. I guess the good news is that I haven't gained it back. But discouragement is starting to set in.
So, ladies, what are you doing to lose weight and stay active? What methods have worked for you?
Another Use for Fragrance Oils
Mopping the floors is one of my least favorite chores. Mopping alone is bad enough, but the smell of the chemicals lingers for hours. So, I grabbed my essential oils and dropped a few drops onto the floor and into the mop water.
I was using bleach water on our floors and had to let the solution sit a while because our ceramic tile floor stains easily. For what ever reason, I don't remember, I picked up a bottle of Amonia from the supermarket. I started using amonia on my floors I just want to say I didn't have to let the solution sit on my tile floors to work on those stains. They came right up! But the smell is a tad strong for me, so I dropped a few drops into my mop water and straight onto the floor. Instead of that harsh chemical smell lingering throught the house, I have a plesant, fragrant scent.
Try it in your sprayer or make a solution of fragrant water to spray onto the floors before moping or wiping up spills. I like this so much, I'm putting it in my cleaner bottles for everyday cleaning.
Until next time,
How to Stretch Ground Beef
Ground beef is a staple item around our home, but I don't like thawing the whole package to use only a portion of it. So, I thought of the dishes we use the beef for: tacos, spaghetti sauce, hamburgers, chilis, soups, meatballs, burritos, and more. To make thawing and meal prep's easier on me, this is what I do.
1st: Decide what meals I want to have with this beef, then start dividing the beef in the right sized portions it will take to feed my family.
- Hamburgers: Patty out the burgers and divide the raw meat patties with freezer paper or wax paper. Wrap them with saran wrap and seal them in a ziploc bag.
- Tacos, Burritos and Spaghetti: Brown the meat, add the seasoning. Cool, seal, label and freeze.
- Chili and Soup: Make chili or soup as usual; cool, seal, label and freeze.
- Meatballs: Make meatballs, brown them, cool, seal, label and freeze.
Here is our favorite recipe for meatballs and meatball sauce:
Meatballs
3 pounds ground beef
2 cups oatmeal
1 chopped onion
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix all ingredients together, form meat balls, place in a single layer in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with meatball sauce.
Meatball Sauce
2 cups ketchup
2 Tablespoons liquid smoke
1/2 teaspoon chopped onion
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Blend all the sauce ingredients together and pour over meatballs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
Until next time,
A Mother's Hope
We visited our oldest son (my step son) and his family in Mississippi over the weekend. Our oldest daughter is staying there for the week with them. She's twelve and will have her thirteenth birthday this month! I can't believe she's that old already. It's kind of quiet without her. I get the joy of taking over her part of the chores while she is on vacation and her little sister is bored without her.
I don't like looking at their baby pictures, they makes me sad. I wonder when they got so big and where was I when it happened. I've always stayed home, except an occasional temporary job. Now I clean offices, but they go with me and are a tremendous help. I wonder how I will manage without them?
I hope I've taught them what they need to know. I hope they know how to pray, how to keep house, cook, bake, mend, and decorate inexpensively. I hope they know how to love their husbands and be devoted to them. I hope they will know how to raise their children and give proper correction and guidance. I hope they know to trust God for all their needs and I hope they remember everything they have comes from Him. I hope they fall in love with and marry good God fearing, respectful men who will love them, be caring, considerate, kind toward them and be devoted to them. I hope their husbands will be awesome daddy's. I hope my children will be Christians and have a blessed life with lessons to learn from and strengthen them.I hope they know how to forgive and how to move forward.
I hope...
Soap Making
I've found that many ladies are making their own soaps, laundry detergents, lotions, etc.. so I thought I'd give it a try too. I started with the melt and pour method, which is a lot of fun. The girls had fun with the different colors and scents and thought it was cool when the soap was popped out onto the counter. The house smelled really nice too (extra bonus!)
I do well at holding on to cute boxes and containers for later use, so I pulled out this gold miniature bathtub that came with bath soaps and bath salts one Christmas. I wadded a plastic Walmart bag in the bottom, covered that with some shredded paper, then arranged the soaps of different sizes and colors and displayed it on our bathroom counter. For final touch, I took a large pink flower head and nestled it in an open corner in the back with the larger soaps. Cute!
I'd like to try making soap from scratch, so I had picked up a bar of Castile soap because of a soap recipe I found, but now I don't remember where I saw that. Guess I'll just have fun with the melt and pour method until then.
Christmas Crafts
Although it's 100 degrees outside and no rain in sight, Christmas gifts are on my mind. This Japanese craft looks beautiful and sounds fun. How can you go wrong with fabric, a craft ball, cord, and some glue? They will look wonderful on my Christmas tree this year and I hope my family will enjoy them as gifts.
Until next time,
Be creative!
Loretta
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