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I’m back after a long, unplanned hiatus

I apologize for the long hiatus I ended up taking from my blog.  It started out with our homeschool schedule becoming extremely hectic for a while and then, about the time we made some cutbacks, my father-in-law had a hemorrhagic stroke.  He spent the next 21 days in ICU & we spent the next 21 days at the hospital.  After 21 days of quite literally being on a roller coaster ride, he went home to be with our Lord.  That was on December 5th.  December 6th was my husband’s birthday, the 18th would have been my father-in-law’s 2nd wedding anniversary, & then we threw in Christmas & the flu for Katie & I.  It took me about 2 weeks to fully recover from the flu.  Then we started back to into our homeschooling routine.  It’s not been an easy time, especially since we lost my mother-in-law 3 years & 1 week before my father-in-law. 

 

So, that about sums up where I’ve been & brings us to where we are now.  I’m not sure how much I’ll be posting, but I’m hoping to be post at least 3 times a week.  I’m leaving it in God’s hands.  

 

This year, I’ll be focusing on simplifying – our home, our “stuff”, our schedules, etc. – while also learning more & doing more preserving & becoming more self-sufficient.   I can say that, so far this year, we’ve sorted through all of our clothes & donated about 4 bags of clothes to our local thrift store– most from the kids, especially our son who has taken a pretty big growth spurt in the last few months.  We’ve also donated another 2-3 bags of miscellaneous odds & ends that we just didn’t “love”  anymore.  Hopefully, the items will find a new home with people who “love” them & will use them.  We’ve also done a complete pantry overhaul & I donated a dishes that we haven’t used in a very long time.  It’s so nice to see the clutter leaving & being able to see, love, & use the items that we do have.  Less really IS more!

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Preserving Mushrooms

While shopping at Aldis, they not only had onions on sale, but they had mushrooms on sale for $0.69, so I bought 12! What am I going to do with these mushrooms, especially since I already have a bunch of dehydrated ones?  I’m going to can these so that they can easily be added to homemade pizzas, etc.  Mushrooms have to be pressure canned.  They CANNOT be water bath canned.  I followed the instructions in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.

 

First, trim stem ends & any discolored areas.  Soak in cold water for 10 minutes.  Drain & rinse well. Aren’t they pretty?!

 

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I sliced my mushrooms with an egg slicer, then placed them in a lemon juice solution to keep them from browning.  Next I placed the mushrooms in a stock pot with enough water to cover & bring to a boil over medium-high heat; boiling for 5 minutes.

 

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I drained the mushrooms, discarding the liquid, and the packed them into half-pint jars (half-pint or pint jars ONLY).  Next, I ladled fresh boiling water over the mushrooms, leaving 1-inch headspace.  Then, I pressure canned them for 45 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  (The pounds of pressure & time are the same for half-pints and pints).

 

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And a close-up look:

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I think they turned out beautifully!  This is the first time that I’ve canned mushrooms, but I can guarantee that it won’t be the last.  I first read about it over at A Working Pantry, so I knew that when I came across another good sale on mushrooms, I was going to give it a try.  (Thank you, Patsy!) They were so easy to do.

 

My oldest daughter thought they were store-bought canned mushrooms!  LOL  I guess that means I did a good job, then!  Just one less thing that I have to buy that’s precanned/processed.

 

This post is linked to:

Heritage Homesteaders

Oak Hill Homestead

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Waste Not……

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After buying 54 pounds of onions, I had 18 onion bags lying there just waiting to be throw away turned into something useful.  So, I did what I’ve been doing for years.  I turned them into pot scrubbers!  These work wonderfully for scrubbing dishes, stovetops, etc., and they don’t cost a thing since you’ve already paid for them when you bought the onions. 

Here’s how you turn them into scrubbies:

First, cut both the metal ends off:

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Next, you want to gather it together and fold in half:

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Cut in half:
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Store as you see fit.  Here are all of mine that I have right now. 
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I store them in a small plastic cup under my sink that I can quickly grab a new one when I need it.  Unless you are cleaning something really greasy, each one will last quite a while.  When done, discard replace with a fresh one. As you can see, I have a few different colors.  I’ve saved any plastic bags from lemons, fruits, onions, etc. that I can cut up and reuse.  Some of the larger bags, I am able to get 4 to 8 scrubbies out of. When they are longer, I will fold in half, cut, fold in half again, cut again, etc.  But don’t cut them too small or you won’t be able to use them very well. 

This post is linked to:

Laura Williams' Musings