What a year! RancherMan & I have enjoyed a wonderful year filled with fun projects and new endeavors. Here’s hoping your year has been wonderful as well. To celebrate this year coming to a close, today I’m sharing with you the TOP 10 Homesteading Posts of the Year! Curious to see the most popular posts on the blog this year? Read on, dear friends.
~by Texas Homesteader ~
As is our tradition, RancherMan & I are making many of our Christmas gifts ourselves. This year we’ve been busy making several different kinds of gifts. I’ve also been experimenting with making extracts – it’s all been so much fun!
I thought homemade mint extract might make great gifts. But I needed to purchase small jars to hold the extract.
But it just seems… I don’t know – not quite right to go to the craft store & buy small bottles. Thankfully I’ve found an alternative that works beautifully – check out today’s Homestead Hack.
by Texas Homesteader ~
Looking for Christmas ideas? Everything from homemade gift ideas to how to quieten the noise and stress to create a holiday you love. Well you’ve come to the right place!
Today I’m sharing a roundup of my Christmas Ideas posts and there’s some good reading here! So grab some coffee & come stay a spell…
by Texas Homesteader ~
RancherMan absolutely loves my homemade KitchenAid Sandwich Bread so I endeavor to keep him supplied in it as often as possible.
I like to make sure the crust of my bread is flavored in buttery goodness and we only use real butter, but of course I like to use it in moderation.
So recently I pulled my fresh loaves from the oven, went to butter the tops and I thought “Hey, there’s an even EASIER way and it uses less butter!”
This is certainly not a new idea but it’s one that I’ve adopted in the kitchen each & every time I’m buttering the tops of my fresh homemade loaves. Y’all know I’m a big fan of using it ALL.
by Texas Homesteader ~
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Y’all know I hate plastic. Hate. Yes, HATE. HAAAATE plastic, so I wanted to get rid of the plastic tumbler I’m using to drink water throughout the day.
I’ve had aluminum water bottles & wasn’t pleased with the experience. I’m assuming maybe stainless steel wouldn’t have the same issues?
But although I’ve shopped for stainless water vessels, I really, REALLY would prefer to drink from glass.
As a matter of fact the last time I had multiple-day tractor duty mowing pastures I used a canning jar filled with ice water so I could enjoy that icy refreshing water in glass. And I loved it.
But the jar was so big around I was afraid I would drop it. Especially since my grip was ‘iffy’ after hours long maneuvering of the tractor’s steering wheel.
I need a glass water vessel that would be much easier and safer to grip but still holds a lot.
by Texas Homesteader ~
I found six different ways to enjoy that whole chicken I cooked. I was surprised at how many times that one bird could feed us using the leftover chicken. We’ve really gotten a lot of mileage with different meals out of this one bird. Check it out!
by Texas Homesteader ~
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(Note: Some links in this post are for further information from earlier posts I’ve written. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click them and buy something (almost anything, not just the item noted) I could receive a small purchase. But the price you pay will NOT change. It’s an easy way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket. So click often! Thank you!)
OK by now y’all know I’m a dehydrating fool! I bought my dream appliance, an *Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator and I think I’m in love!
I’ve put that thing through the paces, dehydrating all kinds of fruits and veggies. And I’ve even made Italian-flavored tomato leather to just roll out and plop on my homemade French-Bread Pizza. No rehydration needed! I think it’s safe to say I’ve been bitten by the dehydrating bug.
I use many dehydrated veggies in my wintertime simmering Endless Soup. And I use most of my dehydrated fruits as replacement for raisins in my Homemade Pumpkin Granola.
But I’ve also been dehydrating veggies to grind and use for my own homemade powdered seasoning. I hate to pull out a large dehydrator to dehydrate such small portions, and it almost seems even my other small household model is a bit much.
Check out today’s Homestead Hack. I’ve found a way to quickly dehydrate small amounts of food for FREE!
by Texas Homesteader ~
I make quick & easy denim baskets using repurposed denim from old worn jeans. You can use them as a cute country-themed part of your home’s décor or even as cute gift bags. And it takes only sewing three straight lines. If I can do it, anyone can!
