home made granola

my pan after the granola was scrapped off, eewww!!

i tried a granola recipe i found on kellythekitchenkop.com. it was very hard, and not nearly as flavorful as i would have hoped it would be. :( well it did save me one morning and for this reason i will be trying it again with a change to it. how did it save me you wonder?? well it was time for breakfast one morning and i didn't have anything for the boys to eat, not even toast!! all i could find was the extra hard, un-tasty granola i made. so, thinking quick for morning time, i warmed up some milk (delicious raw yummy good for you milk) on the stove. i poured the warmed milk over a couple a bowls of the granola and let it sit, for about 5 minutes. the granola softened up but didn't get mushy (yiipeee!!!), i put some honey (raw, yummy good for you honey) over the top and served it to my boys. they LOVED it!! ike said he would like to have it again, apparently oatmeal can be boring (?? LOL).


so here is the recipe, with the one little change:


4 cups of oats (old fashion)


4 cups of water (filtered)


1/2 cup kefir


mix these together and let stand over night. the next morning drain off as much of the liquid as you can. i used a colander. then add :


1 1/2 tsp cinnamon


3/4 cup maple syrup (my folks' neighbor's dad', who still boils it down over a wood fire....delicious)


2 handfuls of walnut pieces (when we make raisins again those will be added too)


line pan with parchment paper (you'll really want to do this!!) and bake in a 275 degree oven for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. (i think i may try to do mine in the dehydrator, we'll see)





if you happen to stop by and end up trying this recipe, please let me know how yours turns out!!

soap making*

soap making **
i make my own soap. we use it for everything from cleaning our bodies to cleaning our clothes, even our dishes. it's the best soap i have ever used and i will not go back to the detergents found in the stores. well here is how i do it.i get beef suet from the local meat market where i purchase all our meats. then i render it and make tallow. i cut the suet up into pieces, put them in a pot and add some water (about 2-4 inches). then it is brought to a boil and let boil for about half an hour. i do squish it, while it's boiling, with my potato masher to get all the good fat out. the boiling separates the grizzle and sinew and such from the fat. once it's done boiling i use a colander and strain it into a container and put it in the frig over night. the next morning i drain the water from the bottom of the container and take the solid piece of tallow and boil it done again. in the frig it goes for the night. the next morning i drain the water again. at this point the tallow can go in the freezer for future use.

i get my soapbox ready by lining it with parchment paper. my hubby made me the boxes, isn't he sweet?

when i am ready to make soap i get the tallow out and weigh it.

once i have the weight i can do some math and get the amount of lye and water that i need. *note: lye is a caustic material and needs to be handled properly!! wear gloves and protective eye wear when working with lye.*the tallow goes into a pot and it melted down to a liquid.

i mix the water and lye together in the sink.

the lye & water mixture does give off heat.when the tallow is melted i add the lye to the melted tallow.

over a low heat i stir

and stir until i get trailings, which is like pudding sitting up on itself.

then i pour the soap into a prepared soapbox to let it cool and solidify.

if i get go soapy bubbles when cleaning out the pot and when i stick my hands in and i doesn't sting then i know i have a good batch of soap.

after about 24 hours i remove the soap from the box and let it finish curing on a rack.this is about 3.5 lbs. of soap.

* *note: this is NOT a tutorial, just the steps i take to make the soap for my family. if you are interested in making your own soap please get a good book or find a reliable online site with explicit directions on the process.

laundry soap.

i get lots of questions as to what recipe i use for laundry soap so i thought i would post it here!

2 cups soap flakes, i make my own but you could use fels naptha or plain old ivory.
2 cups baking soda
2 cups sodium percarbonate
1 cup soda ash
1 cup borax
i mix these all together in a plastic storage bin, give it a shake and it is ready to go!
i have a front load HE washer and i use about 1/3 -1/2 cup. i also use vinegar in the fabric softener spot.
if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

how i make bread......for my mil

well my mil asked how i make my bread so here is what i do and one of the recipes i use.

White Bread

5 3/4 to 6 1/4 cups of flour

1 package dry active yeast ( i use 2 1/4 tsp of bread machine yeast)

2 1/4 cups milk

2 Tblsp sugar

1 Tblspn butter

first thing i do is get everything together. i measure everything out.

i get 2 cups of flour with the yeast in the bowl of my mixer, the remaining flour gets put in a separate bowl to mix in later. the milk, sugar, and butter go into a small pan on the stove. i heat them to 125 degrees.

once they get to temp, i pour them slowly into the flour and yeast mixture and use the bread hook to mix them together.
after they are mixed together i use a wooden spoon to mix in most of the bowl of flour (i leave some out to dust my hands and pastry cloth during kneading). i don't use the bread hook because it's bent and will not mix the dough completely.
once the the flour is mixed in and i have a ball of dough, i turn it out onto the pastry cloth.

i knead the dough for 4-5 minutes until i get a nice ball.

i butter up a bowl and put the bread in for the first rising. i put a towel over the bowl and place it in the microwave (don't turn it on) and let the bread rise for one hour.

after the first rising is over i punch down the dough and divide it into 2 loaves.

i let the loaves rest covered on the counter for 10 minutes. While waiting i butter up 2 loaf pans. when the 10 minutes are up i put the loaves in the pans.

i, again, cover these with a towel, place in the microwave and do a second rising of 30 minutes. in the mean time i preheat the oven to 375 degrees. when the second rising is done i bake the bread for about 30 minutes.

they come out a nice golden brown, hhhmmmm....homemade bread.

i do butter the tops when they come out of the oven. this helps stop the crust from getting to hard. when the pans are cool enough to handle i flip the bread out onto a rack and cool the rest of the way down. be careful i usually lose a loaf to the hungry bellies of my boys before it is completely cooled :)

something new

today we had millet with dinner. millet is a grain that has been a staple for many cultures for many many years. i just used the basic instruction on how to make it. nothing fancy, no recipes , just basic millet. it was kinda dry, i added butter to it. it reminded the family of rice but the texture was different. i would really like to try it in a recipe,or add pieces of cucumbers and tomatoes. otherwise it was ok.

first day welcome

well i thought i could add some recipes here so as soon as i get time i will add the recipes we use here :)