Category Archives: Recipes & Cooking

Favorite simple yet delicious recipes in my Texas Homestead kitchen.

Easy Boneless Breaded Pork Chops Cooked Using The Power Of The SUN!

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

Well it looks like a sunshiny day and the wind will not be high. So I can’t think of a better reason to use my * Solar Oven. I want to bake boneless, breaded pork chops – OUTSIDE!

It doesn’t matter if it’s going to be hot or cold outside. That’s because the outside temps don’t really affect the cooking with a solar oven. I’ve heard it said that ‘all you need is a shadow‘.

Summer or winter – as long as the sun is shining and the wind isn’t high enough to mess with the reflectors, solar oven cooking is a GO!

Today I think I’ll try my hand at baked pork chops…

It's hot & humid outside, but I'm not adding it inside our home. How am I going to cook tonight's supper? You won't believe it! #TexasHomesteader

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Lemon Cookies Made w/Instant Potatoes

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

We were given a package of instant potato flakes. But I don’t cook with instant potatoes since we both much prefer the taste of real mashed potatoes to instant.

But y’all know how I hate to waste food, so I set out looking for ways to use them up. Thickening for soup? Sure. Topping for shepherd’s pie? Ok.

But it’s taking too long to use this bag of instant potatoes. So I set out to find a recipe to use ’em up a little faster.

Then I stumbled on a recipe to make COOKIES with them. Cookies? Really!??  Hummmm….

Cookies made with instant mashed potatoes?? YES! These cookies were surprisingly delicious, lemony & cake-like - check out my recipe. #TexasHomesteader

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MYO Thousand Island Dressing In Minutes

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

RancherMan’s not much of a salad guy. But he knows I’ll be pushing the fresh veggies on him every chance I get. LOL!

Recently I came by a larger quantity of carrots. So in an effort to make sure they didn’t go to waste I blanched & froze quite a few. I also steamed others for supper sides.

Oh, and I also sliced up some raw ones as well. In a sneaky sneak-in-more-veggies move I have a glass container that I keep in the fridge with these sliced carrots. While I’m preparing supper I’ll bring it out for him to snack on.

But he’s not one to snack on carrots without dipping them into a sauce of some kind. And his sauce of choice is Thousand Island dressing.

But then the unthinkable happened – we ran out of the dressing.

(In my best southern belle voice) “Oh gracious, what evah shall I do??”

In only 3 minutes time I can whip up homemade Thousand Island Dressing. Environmentally friendly, healthier and so inexpensive! #TexasHomesteader

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Save Time & Money With ‘Cook Once, Eat Twice’ Method Of Cooking

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by Texas Homesteader ~ 

“COOK ONCE EAT TWICE” The idea is simple – cook LOTS of a specific main entrée and enjoy it at mealtime that day. Then portion out & freeze the rest for quick meals later.

This easier method of cooking means homemade meals are a snap to enjoy now & also later. And less cleanup too! It’s been a game-changer for me. 

Cook-Once, Eat-Twice method of cooking is simple - cook many servings of a main entrée and freeze extras for ready-made meals later. #TexasHomesteader

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