Last week, with the help of my kids, we canned 13 quarts of applesauce from our own apples. Now we have a couple more batches of applesauce, then apple butter, apple jelly, dehydrated apples!

I didn’t do a In the Kitchen with Linda post last week, so I missed sharing a picture of my sons wedding cake. I was still recovering from the wedding that was held here on the property. I, being a perfectionist, see all the mistakes and have spent the last week going over in my mind everything that I did wrong. sigh….. My son and his new wife were happy, though. So that’s all that matters!

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner? See my menu below!

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I canned 10 quarts of pears last week from pears given to us. The kids are looking forward to eating them this winter.

I also put a couple of bags of mixed zucchini and yellow squash in the freezer. These will be for casseroles this winter. I also put 4 gallon size bags of tomatoes in the freezer.

This week, I’m working on grape jelly. And a wedding cake! Pictures to come next week.  🙂

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner? See my menu below!

[Read more…]

I’m trying to stay ahead of the produce coming from our garden and given to us by others. This week, I cut up a couple of medium sized zucchini and froze them. Well, I consider them medium size compared to some we’ve gotten from the garden. Others would consider them large. This gallon size freezer bag has two zucchini in it.

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There was a lot going on in my kitchen this week. We were blessed again by a neighbor giving us corn. I put eight meal sized bags of corn in the freezer.

I had already canned 13 quarts of corn, so I decided to try my hand at canning creamed corn this time. I followed the directions in the (affiliate link) Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I canned 9 pints, and put 1 pint in the freezer. My pressure canner only held 9 pints, and I didn’t want to run the canner again for only 1 pint. I haven’t eaten any yet. It doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as creamy as store bought creamed corn, which is the only kind of creamed corn I’ve ever had. It will be interesting to see if it thickens up after sitting, and cooking.

 

Hannah, 17, was busy in the kitchen this week, too. She made homemade Angel Food Cake. Twice. We don’t know what happened to the first one, but it was a fail. The second one came out great. She followed the recipe both times. shrugs. Baking is like that sometimes. She then decided to make Chocolate Pudding in the crockpot. We’ve made it many times on the stove top. I really liked how it came out in the crockpot. And no worries about it burning on the bottom of the pan!

She sliced the cake, topped it with the pudding, and homemade whipped cream that she made. Can you say, YUM?!

 

Our new homemade yogurt maker came early in the week. Hannah made a batch of yogurt, and really liked the new yogurt maker. In the past, she has used the crockpot to make yogurt, but it’s so hard to regulate the temperature. I also used the yogurt maker to make a batch of homemade sour cream. It worked well.

Here’s the yogurt maker I purchased. (Affiliate Link) Euro Cuisine YM80 Yogurt Maker

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner? See my menu below!

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After canning green beans and corn, 75 quarts worth in three days, last weekend, it took me all this week to recover. So nothing much happened in the kitchen except meals. My daughter made cookies, but I didn’t do anything.

I’m mostly recovered now, so it’s time to get back to work. I have some  bananas that need to be made into muffins today. I also have some peppers to turn into hot pepper jelly. Then we have to start on the apples. Our apple trees are overflowing!

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner? See my menu below!

[Read more…]

I didn’t write a menu last week. That would be a fail. I found my self struggling with what to cook every day. Walking from fridge to freezer to cabinet, and back again because nothing looked good. Meals are definitely better, and more nutritious when I plan a menu.

Do you write a menu, or do you do what I did last week?

My neighbor stopped by last week with a giant bowl of blackberries from her yard. I filled 6 eight cup bags. That’s a lot of blackberries. That will be a lot of yummy blackberry cobbler this winter!

 

 

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….What’s For Dinner?

 

In the Kitchen with Linda – Dinner Menu:

 

Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Taco Pasta Salad

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Leftovers, hot dogs

Monday – chicken – Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore, brown rice, broccoli

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, green beans

Wednesday – chicken – Cheesy Onion Chicken in the crockpot, brown rice, peas, carrot sticks

Thursday – beef – Meatloaf, baked sweet potato fries, corn

Friday – Sabbath Dinner –   Chicken Pasta Salad, carrot sticks

 

 

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

I love making homemade potato salad for your cookouts, or just for a light summer meal. Homemade tastes so much better than store bought! My version has a secret ingredient. shhh…….it’s parmesan cheese! It’s not too much, so that everyone knows it’s parmesan cheese. It’s just enough for people to notice something different and ask “What’s in here?” I never tell. So now you have to keep it a secret, too! lol

This recipe is easily adjusted to your tastes. Use your favorite kind of potato, peeled or leave the skin on. Use hard boiled eggs or onions, or celery if you like. I have chives growing right outside my door in my herb garden. If you don’t, leave them out if you want.

 

Here’s how I make my potato salad.

 

Homemade Potato Salad

5 pounds of potatoes, peeled, diced, and cooked

2 cups mayonaise

1 cup milk

5 tablespoons sweet relish

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

paprika, optional

chives, optional

1/4 to1/2 cup each diced onions and diced celery, optional

2-3 hard boiled eggs, optional

 

In a large bowl, combine the mayo, milk, sweet relish, and parmesan cheese. And any other vegetables you would like, such as onions or celery. Gently stir in cooked potatoes. Sprinkle paprika over the top. Sprinkle diced chives over the top if you like them.

Some like to stir in or top their potato salad with hard boiled eggs. If you do, add those.

I don’t normally add salt and pepper. The cheese adds just enough saltiness. You may like to add more. Taste before garnishing the top, and adjust according to your taste.

 

Here’s a printer friendly version.