Kitchen
From-scratch recipes, canning and preserving guides, and the freezer meals we lean on. Real food from the garden, the pantry, and the pasture.
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In our kitchen this season
Breads & Baking
Soft banana pumpkin bread with ripe bananas, pumpkin, warm spices, and optional chocolate chips, nuts, or cinnamon crumble — baked as a loaf or muffins.
Loaf bakes 55–70 minutes • 1 standard 9x5-inch loaf
Desserts & Sweets
Thick, buttery cookies with lightly crisp cinnamon-sugar edges and soft, chewy centers. This recipe makes 18 cookies.
Prep 15 min • Chill 20 min • Bake 10–12 min • 18 cookies
Main Dishes
A smoky, no-bean chili made with ground beef, jalapeños, crushed tomatoes, Kinder's seasoning, and Spicy V8.
About 3½–4 hours • One large pot, about 8–10 servings
Breakfast & Brunch
A fluffy pancake mix that fits in a quart mason jar. Just add whole milk, an egg, melted butter, and vanilla — no buttermilk needed.
Prep 10 min • Rest 5–10 min • Cook 2–3 min per side • Approximately 12–14 pancakes
Breakfast & Brunch
A small, simple batch of homemade granola with old-fashioned oats, walnuts, sliced almonds, flaxseed, cinnamon, honey, and vanilla — lightly sweet and great over yogurt.
Prep 10 min • Bake 20–25 min • 1 small batch
Breakfast & Brunch
A simple homemade vanilla coffee creamer made with half-and-half, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla, with easy caramel and coconut variations.
Stovetop, then chill • 1 jar
Main Dishes
Dutch oven beef tips with tender beef and rich homemade gravy. A comforting main dish for dinner, especially served over mashed potatoes.
Oven: about 2–3 hours
Main Dishes
Homemade meatloaf made with ground beef, old-fashioned oats, onion, tomato sauce, and a simple sweet-savory glaze. Thick, hearty slices that hold together well.
Prep 15 min • Bake 60–75 min • Serves 6–8
Main Dishes
A four-pound chuck roast, vegetables charred on the comal, and three slow hours in the Dutch oven at 375°F.
About 3.5 hours • Feeds our family with leftovers
Side Dishes
Creamy homemade mashed potatoes with butter and warm whole milk. A simple side dish that holds beef tips and gravy nicely.
Prep: 15 minutes • Cook: 20–25 minutes • 6–8 servings
Side Dishes
Easy green bean casserole made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and crispy fried onions. A simple classic side dish for holidays and family dinners.
Prep 5 min • Bake 40 min
Side Dishes
Easy cheesy corn casserole made with corn, Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix, cheddar cheese, and Mexican crema or sour cream. A warm, simple side dish for holidays and family dinners.
Prep 5 min • Bake 45–55 min • Serves 8
Breads & Baking
Soft, buttery, classic pull-apart rolls made with a bread machine dough cycle.
Dough cycle • Rise: 30–60 minutes • Bake: 20–25 minutes • 15 rolls
Breads & Baking
Soft banana pumpkin bread with ripe bananas, pumpkin, warm spices, and optional chocolate chips, nuts, or cinnamon crumble — baked as a loaf or muffins.
Loaf bakes 55–70 minutes • 1 standard 9x5-inch loaf
Breads & Baking
Soft cinnamon banana bread made with applesauce and ripe bananas. Bake it as one loaf or use the same batter for easy banana muffins.
1 hr 15 min • 1 loaf
Desserts & Sweets
A rich and creamy homemade hot cocoa mix in a 1-quart (32 oz) mason jar, perfect for homemade gifts. Makes approximately 9–10 servings using ⅓ cup dry mix per 8 oz hot water.
Prep 10 minutes • Approximately 9–10 servings
Desserts & Sweets
Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies made with old-fashioned oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and your choice of chocolate chips, raisins, or M&M’s.
Chill 20–25 minutes • Bake 9–11 minutes • 36 cookies
Desserts & Sweets
A fudgy brownie mix layered in a quart mason jar — an easy homemade gift. Just add butter, eggs, and vanilla and bake in an 8×8-inch pan.
Prep 10 min • Bake 33 min • 9 large or 16 small brownies
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
How I turn fresh yellow peaches into a homemade peach topping that can be water-bath canned for the pantry and used in iced tea, pancakes, biscuits, yogurt, and more.
About 1 hour 15 minutes • About 7 half-pint jars
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
The classic Sure-Jell strawberry jam we make from our raised-bed berries — crushed fruit, pectin, sugar, and a short water bath.
1 hr 15 min • About 8 half-pints
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
Our two old plum trees give us more fruit than we can work up in a day. We pick and wash the plums, then spend the next few days making batch after batch of traditional plum jam for the pantry.
Multiple batches • Varies by harvest
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
We grow either bush beans or pole beans each season, pick them by the bowlful, cut them into two-inch pieces, and pressure can them a canner load at a time.
1 afternoon • About 14 quarts
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
Direct-sown beets, cooked and slipped, packed into jars with a simple sweet-and-sour brine we make the same way every year.
2 hrs • Varies by harvest
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
Sweet corn straight from the garden, blanched in water with salt and butter, cut off the cob, and packed into the freezer for winter.
1 afternoon • Depends on the picking
Canning, Freezing & Preserving
A simple way to turn frozen garden tomatoes into an easy freezer-ready tomato base for soups, chili, pasta sauce, casseroles, and more.
Cook until reduced, plus cooling • Roughly five quart-size freezer bags
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