Garden Update!

Good morning from Texas! The picture is our view to the west this morning. Simply beautiful.

Today is the next to last day of school here, my kids are super excited! And we have many things in the works around here. We're hoping to get a propane tank soon, so we'll have a working stove again, which means canning will be easier and homemade baked goods, like bread! We're also hoping to get some building done this summer, building a shed, various livestock areas and maybe even a greenhouse (fingers crossed)!

Now on to the garden!

Our morning glories are going crazy and I never trellised them, however I like the way they look without it so not worried about it this year.

The marigolds planted by the front steps have a bloom that's almost ready to burst open. We have a lily about to bloom as well. The rest of our flowers are still doing their thing.

The green beans should be ready for harvest soon and probably the peas not long after that.

Several of our tomato plants have buds or are already blooming. I'm excited to see how many tomatoes we end up with this year and to find out which types do the best for us out of those we planted.

Our pepper plants give me some worry. Most of them just don't seem to be taking off. But it's still early so maybe, we'll just have to wait and see.

The squashes, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon are growing away still. And my stick garden seems to show more signs of life each day.

As I said, we're still early in the season. I'll keep you updated as things progress into harvesting!

OMG You're a Prepper?!?!?!

Hello Lovelies, so been dealing with some stuff, and yes.. I am a prepper.. sort of.. I have a Homestead mindset, but since I don't have a home to stead.. I do what I can.. and that is prepping.

Do I think that there will be a Huge Zombie Apocalypse.. Nope.. already here.. hello look around.. zombies.. instead of brains they seek out WIFI.

Do I think that the End of the world is coming.. Nope.. Maybe the end of the world as we know it.. but not the end of the world.. the Planet can survive JUST fine without us screwing stuff up.


WHY THEN DO YOU PREP?!?!

Well I was raised in the south.. where there are a LOT of tornados, and Hurricanes, and really really nasty storms that would knock out electricity for sometimes days.

I believe in being prepared. I have been through a lot of stuff in my life and I can not comfortably sit there and go .. oooh everything will be fine. I will be fine.. because I dont know if I will. But I know if I do stuff to be prepared I can do my best to be prepared, for whatever may come.. will I survive a Nuclear attack? No.. probably not.. probably wouldn't survive if Yellowstone blew up either, but we CAN be okay if a Storm knocks out the power, if my Husband who is the ONLY source of income for our family loses his job, or gets kicked out of the military, We have money in savings, and I am working on having enough food and water set aside to last us and maybe 2-3 other people for 3-6 months.. that will take time.. and energy.. especially since I currently DO NOT have a canner, and we are surviving on one person's income since I am disabled.

Do you expect any of these things to happen? well No one expects the unexpected.. Why do you buy car or house insurance? because you hope you WON'T need it, but you have something there incase you DO need it, and that is why I prep.

What are the benefits of prepping?

well one .. duh.. being prepared..  we have ONE insured car.. so ONE drivable vehical.. .. what happens if we cant go to the store for a while? well not a big deal.. my Husband can get a ride to work, and I can work from our pantry stores.

If a Storm knocks out our power for a few days, well I have enough stuff on hand to make sure that we survive, and have light (because I make candles) and that my fish will survive.. because .. well my fish are my babies.. I will do a post on that at some point.. but today is not that day..

You prep to be prepared, I keep survival equipment such as, Life straws, Paracord, fishing equipment, guns, ammo, Emergency saws, emergency candles, etc etc ec.. so that Okay say we are on the road and something happens.. say SHTF and we don't have what we need to survive otherwise.. well then we have backups..

I also have stuff for trading and barter since I make soaps and such. MUCH more than I could ever need, but you know what.. people like being clean.

So yeah.. I am a Prepper.. not a crazy OMFG THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING Prepper.. but a Prepper none the less..

and yes.. it does drive my husband crazy.

Just a day (Taz)

Today we went to our local Bulk place Winco, and my husband was in total shock that I didnt fill the cart up and he looked at me like I was insane, but the fact was, there were a LOT of things I would have picked up, but I need certain things, so what I am able to bulk up on and stuff, is rather limited right now.. What I wanted to do is to look up prices, because you save money Buying in Bulk, and being able to Can and Dehydrate etc.. but right now while I can dehydrate, I dont have much storage room, so I am working on cleaning out the room for that and for my birthday I am asking for a pressure Canner so that I can can food, and buy in bulk.. but Pricing is a good idea cause I found Cheddar MUCH cheaper than our usual store, so I got some.. and I got other things much cheaper, but some things were WAY more expensive than we can get at our local Kroger/Smiths or at our Commissary.. so I know not to stock up there..  The weekend after next there is a Case sale at our Commissary and they have great prices so I will be stocking up on cans.. I cant stock up on too much fresh things because our entire family is about to go on our normal summer vacation to visit family and friends in another state.. so Know when to shop when not to shop..

Anyway.. yeah YAY my husband took me to my Winco, and he even apologized when I didn't make him go broke and I think I got something through his head today..

I stock up and prep, not because I HOPE I will need stuff, but because I might.. and I would rather have the stuff we need IF we need it.. than need it and not have it.. its kind of like insurance.. you might not need it, and you hope you wont need it.. but you want to have the stuff just incase


anyway Lovelies I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Peach Mango Salsa Recipe

Hello My lovelies, I hope you are all doing well today,  Since I just got done making Peach Mango Salsa for my husband I thought I would share the recipe.

Now My recipe made 4 cups give or take.. and this is what I used, so be sure to take it and make it your own. 

What you will need : 

1/2  Red onion 

1 Lime 

Fresh Cilantro or Cilantro paste 

1 Fresh mango 

1 14 Ounce Can of Peach slices 

1 Large Jalapeno (you can use more if you like it spicy.. we really dont) 

1 Tsp Kosher salt 

4 medium to large Tomatoes 

1 Bell Pepper (I used Yellow) 

you can use your food processor or a knife, I used my Ninja Food processor for the Mango, and a combo of my Mandoline, and my Vidalia Chop Wizard for the rest of it. 

I chopped up my entire mango, and Gave it a few taps with my Food processor and plopped it in the bowl,

I then added my onion chopped with my Vidalia on the fine setting (which is what I used for the entire thing) 

Sliced my Bell pepper with my Mandoline and then chopped that up with my Vidalia

I sliced my Tomatoes with my Mandoline and chopped that up with my Vidalia 

I cut my Jalapeno in to 4ths after deseeding it and chopped with.. you guessed it my Vidalia 

finally I added my peaches then moved on to the seasonings so to speak 

I added 2 Tbsp of Cilantro paste, 1 tsp of Kosher salt and the entire Limes worth of Juice.. Mixed it up and there you go.. it took me about 20 minutes total but totally worth it. it taste delicious, and that is coming from me who does NOT like fruit in my Salsa other than the Tomatoes. 

so easy peasy I hope you make it and let me know what you think.. any questions please feel free to ask. 

***** Edit****

This recipe is very strong of Onion, and to get it right for my VERY picky husband we did test..

He did not like it chunky, he thought it was too oniony, and he didn't Know.. SOOO I added 2 more cans of peaches, a bit of the Juice, half a Clove of Garlic, two tablespoons of sugar, a Tablespoon of Honey and some Stewed Tomatoes.. Blended that to a finer consistency and he is a Happy camper..

SO If you like a more salsa type salsa.. Go with the first one.. if you want a very sweet slightly savory salsa.. go with HIS version.. I don't eat salsa since I have GERD, so this got made for him.. I hope you  figure out what works best for you.. Just Go with what makes you happy, get dirty, and experiment.

Info on finding great things at great prices

First of all please do not think I am insulting your intelligence, That is so SO not the point of this, however some people often overlook things, or don't think of things.

I was looking at my local Buy and sell KSL, and I wanted to cry quite honestly.. someone was giving away FOR FREE 7 Chicks. Her son had won them for something to do with Ag class, but they did not have the set up for them.  So.. some lucky person got 7 free chicks! 

I Have been looking at Equipment and stuff to get into raising, and breeding Chickens, Rabbits and goats, and Honestly.. that stuff is QUITE expensive.. So I have been looking at second hand stuff, which at this point is Pointless for me except to annoy the snot out of my husband, who thinks we have enough crap so I am not allowed to stock up on stuff like that..

But if you are in a Situation where you are saving up for land, or a house of your own, where you can keep Rabbits or a few chickens, or if you already LIVE in a place like that.. CHECK YOUR BUY AND SELLS! DAILY! you will not be sorry.. yes some days they have squat, but some days they have amazing deals.. one of the things I wish I had a place for was 185 Gallon Water storage tank for 85 dollars!  That is an amazing deal, 50 gallon food grade Barrels 2 of them for 50 dollars, which is totally doable,  Someone was selling a chicken coop for 50 bucks, and there are days where you will find something that might need a bit of work.. okay.. so do the work if it is an easy fix.. I have also found that people are often willing to make a deal, or even trade.. which is awesome. 

Buying Second Hand can save you THOUSANDS of dollars on equipment, some people just want to get rid of stuff they no longer use because they upgraded or downgraded.. and they are willing to make a deal just to get rid of it..

If you want FREE 5 gallon Buckets, TALK TO YOUR LOCAL RESTAURANTS.  Most of them use Food grade 5 gallon buckets and will give them away to you because its cheaper than the price they pay to recycle them. 

If you want to make Biofuel, talk to those same places to see if you can have their dirty oil, again.. its easier and cheaper for them to give it to you than it is to recycle it or dispose of it! 

BUY in bulk! whenever you see a REALLY great deal.. buy in bulk, you can Can, dehydrate, or freeze A LOT of stuff. 

So yes.. some of this is probably stuff you already knew, but some stuff people don't think about.
I hope this has helped you and I hope you have a great day! 

Garden Challenge

I was just looking through the new vlog posts of those I subscribe to and was inspired! So I thought I would pass on this vloggers way of thinking and challenge you to get started (if you haven't already).

When trying to decide what to grow, don't just buy random seeds/plants. Why? Because you might possibly plant things you don't currently use or end up with a bit of this and that, not having enough of any one thing to use effectively for your family. This could lead to waste and frustration.

So, what do you plant? Here comes the genius that inspired me!

Pick at least one thing that you are constantly buying when you go grocery shopping. It doesn't matter what it is, it could be broccoli, tomato sauce, peanut butter, pickles, a particular herb/spice, etc. Now make a plan to grow the ingredients that you would need to feed your family that item over the next year (or season if you really want to baby step).

What if you don't grow enough? Not a big deal. Plant what you think you'll need and if it's not enough, double or triple what you plant next year!

The only things you need to think about when choosing the item you are going to make at home are..

Will it grow in my zone?

Can the harvest be stored? (dehydration, canning, freezing, root Veggie storage, etc).

I love this way of thinking and over time it would get you to a more self reliant place with less stress and that is the goal! So I challenge you, if you're not growing yet, try this and produce a healthier product for your family and stop paying to much for it at the store!

Homemade simple yeast bread a How to blog

OM NOM NOM.. I love Home baked bread.. nothing in the world like it, and since I made homemade lasagna today, decided to bake some fresh bread to go with it.

I decided to show you guys step by step via pictures and words what I did.. and stuff.. but first you need the ingredients!!!!

5 Cups Flour *I used Bread but AP works fine as well. *
1 package of yeast or 1 Tbsp. *I used Quick rise but any will do*
2 Cups WARM water. NOT HOT.. Warm
1 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Salt * I used my own hand ground pink himalayan.
2 Tbsp oil of your choice *I used safflower
Cornmeal * Optional but I never make bread without it.
and also Optional is a Flour sack Tea Towel.

Alright.. got everything Gathered? yeah you do! awesome.. Okay Add the sugar to your warm water and stir it in until it completely dissolves.. Now add your Yeast and stir it in, when it is done it should look like this

see the light froth on top.. after about 10 minutes that froth will turn thicker like this

This is how your yeast showed you PROOF that it is alive, hence the name Proofing..  Okay at this point you will add your salt to the water along with 1 cup of flour and mix it up, it will look like this.  

Okay for the next step I wisely in my opinion abandoned the whisk, because you will be adding 1 Tbsp of your Oil, and 2 more cups of flour. Mix well until it forms a solid sticky dough.

Alright.. has your sticky dough formed? Now for the part where it gets Messy but fun.. Lay out your tea towel on a table.. or if you want a big mess to clean up just apply straight to your table.. two cups of flour, and Dump your sticky bread dough right in the center of it.. I will also show why I use a tea towel in the next couple of steps. 

Now to fold the dough over and knead it without getting your hands super sticky and gross. 

ignore the bruise on my hand and wrist, that was from a failed attempt at an IV at the doctor's office. 

 Basically you Roll half your dough over on to itself with the towel and push down, then you open it up and do it from a different direction.. do that until the bread is no longer sticky and then to it with your hands kneading and punching down the dough. 

 If it gets sticky just repeat the folding steps, DO NOT over Knead your dough.. that mans more than 10 minutes, it should spring back lightly when you push in to it, and then its good, form your dough in to a ball and then add 1 tbsp to the bowl you had your dough in before, and that if you were smart you scraped out REALLY well.

I added a bit too much but no worries there.  now add your dough in to the oil and make sure that it is COMPLETELY Coated in oil, empty the powder remnants of your tea towel and the flour that didn't get incorporated in to the trash, and then if you do like me, take it outside and snap it a few times.. just to get the majority of the flour off..  Take said tea towel, and Cover the bowel.. I would suggest moistening the towel first.. JUST BARELY DAMP not soaking, I didnt with the first rise and I regretted it.

so thats the bread dough all nice and covered in oil, then covered with the tea towel. 

Let this rise.. for at least I would say an Hour

after it has lay the tea towel back down and sprinkle lightly with flour just so your newly risen bread dough does not stick.  Now Dump your dough ON to said tea towel and smack it down

I did a bit more light kneading and then repeated the last step,  

I then Cut the dough ball into two halves and put it in my Long loaf pan, That I had sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled my Corn meal lightly on the bottom of, though you can put it in two loaf pans, Smack it down, smash it in to the pan basically, though hopefully you do a prettier job that I did, and then cover it again to rise IN the pan. 

let it get NICE and tall.. before you bake.. 

BAKE TIME.. you want to set your stove for 350, and LET IT HEAT UP! that part is kind of important.. for the rise in the pan as you can see I set the bread on top of my stove and let the heat of the oven pre-heating help it rise..

Pop your pan in to the middle of your oven or pans if you used two.. and cook for 30 - 35 minutes until your bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when you tap on it.

Notice its on a tea towel? Its also on a cooling rack, I wrap my fresh baked still hot bread in a clean fresh tea towel after taking it out of the pan to cool, so that the moisture in the bread actually softens the crust.

Let the Bread cool off for at least 20-30 minutes, slice and enjoy!

I hope that this was easy to read and understand, if you have any questions please ask in the comments, and if you make it yourself please share pictures I would love to see what you make!

Basic Soap Recipe 3

Above is some Sandalwood soap I made using this recipe, if you are wondering what the dark spots in the middle are.. This recipe partially Gelled, and that is what causes the Dark spot in the middle. 

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you.  I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said, let's get on this.


Ingredients you will need :

Lye
Purified or well filtered water

*Tussah Silk if you choose to use
* Sea Salt/ Pink Himalayan Sea salt  if you choose to use
* 1 Tsp of sugar if you choose to use


Coconut oil 92 degree
Cocoa Butter
Castor Oil
Rice Bran Oil, Refined
Olive oil

Fragrance or Essential oil of your choosing if you choose to use it.

If you would like to make a size other than a 2 pound recipe such as mine is the percentages are as follows


Water as a percent of Oil weight is 38%
Super fat 5%
Lyce Concentration 25.864%
Water : Lye Ratio 2.7225 :1

Coconut Oil 92 Degree - 25%
Cocoa Butter  - 12.5%
Castor Oil 6.25%
Rice Bran Oil Refined - 18.75%
Olive Oil - 37.5%


For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk to the Lye water. To counteract the softness of this recipe, and increase the Bubbliness I added 1 TSP of regular sugar to the Lye water as well.


Water - 12.16 Ounces
Lye 4.47


Coconut oil, 92 degree - 8 ounces
Cocoa Butter - 4 ounces
Castor Oil - 2 ounces
Rice bran oil, refined - 6 ounces
Olive Oil - 12 ounces

1 ounce Fragrance oil or Essential oil

The Soap Qualities for this bar are

Hardness - 39
Cleansing - 17
Conditioning - 58
Bubbly - 23
Iodine before salt to lye water - 61
INS - 146


And, there you have it folks. I will do some of my more detailed Soap recipes soon, but I figured I would start with my Basics and work my way up from there!

Triumphs & Setbacks

I've been wanting to make another post, I just am not sure what everyone wants to hear about and I haven't had much time the last week to think about much. My oldest's prom was last weekend, this weekend she had Miss Rising Star and sadly she did not win, but that's okay, she was still the awesomest! Being the end of the school year, it's been busy with kid stuff. If anyone has any specific questions or wants to see certain content, let me know! As for today's post, triumphs and Setbacks, you're going to experience both in gardening (or homesteading in general for that matter), it's just a fact of life, so i wanted to share some of my most recent.

The picture that you see is one of those Setbacks. Our cats (I'm guessing), decided to be cute and knock over all the planters on my rack. I wasn't to thrilled at all. But I managed to save most of the plants. We will have to replant our backup carrots and might have lost some lettuce and spinach plants. I discovered the destruction yesterday morning and this morning found another one knocked over. So today if I have the chance (our oldest 3 are getting ready to leave for a band field trip), I'm going to see if I can't find a way to keep the planters in place!

I discovered today that most of the compost pile we started just a couple of months ago has broken down already! It seems a silly thing to get excited over, however it's the first time we've tried doing our own compost and I honestly didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. So now that I've seen it's working, I might start a bigger pile!

This morning I discovered that our red potatoes are sprouting, so yay! And our stick garden is springing to life!

So far we've had more success than problems (knocks on wood), though I have a few problems to solve.

Basic Soap Bar recipe 2

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you.  I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said. HERE we go.

Ingredients you will need : 
  Avocado Oil 
Castor Oil 
Coconut Oil 76 Degree 
Lard 
Olive Oil 

Lye
Water (Purified or filtered well)

Fragrance Oil or Essential oil if you want to use
Himalayan sea salt and Tussah silk if you choose to use.
Sugar If you choose to use

The Percentages are as follows if you would like to make a batch that is not a 2 lb batch like mine is.

Water as a percentage of oil weight 38%
Super fat Discount 5%
Lye Concentration  27.036%
Water : Lye Ratio  2.5987 : 1


Avocado Oil -  6.25%
Castor Oil     - 6.25%
Coconut Oil  - 25%
Lard              - 25%
Olive Oil       - 37.5%

For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk to the Lye water. To counteract the softness of this recipe, and increase the Bubbliness I added 1 TSP of regular sugar to the Lye water as well.


Water - 12.16 oz
Lye  - 4.51 oz

Avocado Oil - 2 oz
Castor oil  - 2 oz
Coconut oil - 8 oz
Lard - 8 oz
Olive oil - 12 oz

1 oz of Fragrance oil or Essential oil of your choosing

The Soap bar qualities of this recipe are

Hardness - 38
Cleansing - 17
Conditioning - 57
Bubbly - 23
Creamy - 27
Iodine (before salt in lye water ) 59
INS - 151

There you go, I use this as a base for stuff that I want to have a thinner trace like my Rainbow soap which is pictured.

A rare post which is me linking to someone else to answer a question about soaping.

I have had to answer this question SOOOOOO many times and Bev from Our Half Acre Homestead answers it well so here is a link to her


Any other questions about Soaping please ask and I will do my best to answer your questions.
Thank you for joining us!

Super Vegetable Oil Soap Recipe 1

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you.  I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said. HERE we go.

Ingredients you will need are :

Lye 
Water 
Himalayan Pink Sea salt * 
Corn silk * 

Canola Oil 
Coconut oil 76 Deg
Cocoa Butter 
Caster Oil 
Olive oil 

Fragrance oil or Essential oil of your choice. 


So you can make your own size batch the Percentages are : 

Water  as Percentage of oil 27.82% 
Lye Concentration in water 33.333% 
Super Fat 5% 


Canola Oil 34.29%
Coconut Oil 24.71%
Cocoa Butter 8.57 % 
Castor oil 8.57% 
Olive Oil 22.86% 

For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk (in this to stay vegan I used Corn silk instead) to the Lye water.

Water - 8.9 Ounces
Lye 4.45 Ounces 

Canola Oil - 10.97 ounces 
Coconut oil - 8.23 ounces 
Cocoa Butter - 2.74 ounces 
Caster Oil - 2.74 ounces 
Olive Oil - 7.32 ounces 

Fragrance or Essential oil 1 ounce 



The Soap Bar Qualities of this recipe are as follows: 

Hardness : 31 
Cleansing : 17 
Conditioning : 64 
Bubbly : 25 
Creamy : 22 
Iodine (without salt in lye water) : 70 
INS : 131 



I hope that you enjoy this recipe and if you make it Please share pictures and let me see and comment!

I just scared myself

I received a free packet of early salad tomato seeds with an order I placed. So I was trying to decide if we wanted to try planting a few seeds late, just to see what happens. I asked one of my kids and we decided to count the number of tomato plants we already have.

Holy crap!

We have almost 60 tomato plants right now!

So then I was thinking, if most of these are tomato, how many are pepper plants?

A little over 30..

I didn't realize we had so many..

Lesson learned and some advice to share. I had planned to take detailed notes in a garden journal. However, I got lazy. I much prefer playing in the dirt to sitting in front of my laptop taking notes. But still, taking notes is a very important part of the process, especially if you're just starting out.

You should record how many of each seed you plant, how many sprout and how many survive to the point of transplanting (if it's not direct sow). You should record each varieties yield and any problems you have. This will not only help you keep up with what you have (so maybe you don't take a head count and start agreeing with your family about your sanity), it'll also help you plan easier and more successfully for next year, giving you an idea of which kinds and how many to plant.

Until next time, get up and grow something! Just maybe not in the crazy numbers I ended up with! LOL

What do I have in the fridge Style Pork Stew.. YUM

Well went shopping got some Pork stew meat and Beef stew meat.. and Forgot to get the normal veggies and such I would get for them.. So I used what I had in my Fridge and pantry.. and this is what it was.. and it turned out DELICIOUS.. Measurements are not exact for the most part cause I kinda just grabbed stuff and chunked.. so do taste test.

1 Pound of Pork Stew Chunks..
3 Small Potatoes Cubed
8 ounces of Frozen corn
2 Stalks of Celery Sliced
1 Green Bell pepper
4 cups of Beef stock (you can use whatever you have)
1 Tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar that I always put in my pork stew
1 Tbsp of Kosher or Pink Himalayan salt or to your preference
2 Sprigs of Fresh Thyme
1/2 Tsp dried Parsley
2 TBSP fresh Cilantro
1 Tsp Dried Sage
1 Bay leaf
3 TBSP Butter
1 Tsp Ground pepper or to taste
1 Small onion Chopped
Garlic powder to taste
Onion powder to taste


Okay.. So Basically I cooked the Pork first got it nice and lightly browned, added the fresh onion and sauteed it with the pork.. every thing else I just kind of threw in.. I cooked it in a small stock pot on the stove for about 4 hours and then put it in the Crock pot to cook on warm for another few hours.. and I stole a bowl though it still has cook time left.. IT IS DELICIOUS.


So Thats a Me Recipe.. I Love Recipes that are exact but I like following my own nose too.

What's in the Container?

A better question might be, what isn't in the containers lol! So, as promised, here's a list of what we have growing in our containers (so far).

Tomatoes - We currently are growing 10 different varieties. The heirlooms we're trying this year are Brandywine, Roma, Red Cherry and Yellow Pear. These were all started from seed many months ago (my kids threatened to have an intervention as I had so many plants!). Since then, we have added a few hybrid varieties (early producers or heat resistant) just to ensure our harvests this year. These include Phoenix, Solar Fire, Heatmaster, Early Girl, Celebrity and Patio.

Peppers - Jalapeños, Pablono, Bell and Banana

Herbs - Lavender, Sage, Dill, Thyme, Rosemary, Peppermint and Basil. I was having issues getting these to grow in our native soil, so for the moment I have them in containers under my grow lights. As some get rather large, I will be transplanting them to larger pots in the future.

Potatoes - We have two kinds this year. Yucan Gold (as pictured) and red potatoes (planted in my free Grow Bags).

Carrots - I have a few "backup" carrots planted. These were one of the few things we planted in the ground this year. However, one of my kids had weeded the spot by simply pulling the weed tops off. I discovered the large amount of roots left behind afterwards when I had to transplant some other plants in the same bed. So, as a precaution, we planted some backups.

Salad Stuff - Romaine Lettuce and Baby Spinach

Summer Squash - Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck

Cucumbers

Sugar Baby Watermelon

Vining Peach Cantaloupe

And now for the newest additions.. The Stick Garden! This is what my kids have named it so far lol.

Sugar Sweet Cherry
Dwarf 5 in 1 Pear Tree
Dwarf Flowering Cherry
Hazelnut Trees
Thornless Loganberries
Sunshine Blue Blueberry
Triple Crown Blackberry
Reliance Grape
Mars Grape
Marquis Grape
Heritage Raspberries

Of course we also have flowers in some of our containers, we have girls and they'll attract the much needed bees. These include a mix of wildflowers, morning glories, moonflowers, cosmos, rose moss, aster, petunias and marigolds.

We're still not done planting, in or out of containers, I'll keep you updated with new additions and how things are growing through the season. Until next time, go grow something, you won't regret it!

The Awesomeness of Containers

There have been questions concerning my container gardening, so let's see if I can answer any of them!

Intially I had planned to plant in the ground like "normal people" this year. However, there are many reasons I am growing in containers instead. Some of these only pertain to this year (so far), but others are just great pros of containers. So here are a few reasons as to why we decided to go this route this year, though there are tons of other benefits, such as space saving, which is a concern for many.

1. Weather - Nature was being a bit more indecisive this year than usual. Any time we planned to get busy working on garden beds, another wave of "Texas winter" would hit. By the time we could safely put plants outside, it was already overdue and we didn't have much of anything prepared.

2. Soil Issues - We do not have the greatest most desirable soil here. There are a few patches here and there that plants would be overjoyed with. However, most of our yard is made up of rocky sand or hard pack clay, neither of which is suitable for much of anything you would want to grow. This being said, there are many ways to improve and fix these types of problems, we just simply did not have the time or resources this year. I'm hoping to work on this during the off season this year so we have more space to plant next year.

3. Kids - If you have kids, you will understand this one. Regardless of how many times you tell them to watch where they step, they're going to trample your plants if they're in the ground and don't have a neon flashing sign attached! People mowing are also going to be an issue, I've already lost one newly planted blackberry to a rider this year. Also, like raised beds, it is almost impossible to over water! And when you have kids helping, this is a major bonus. Our nieces were here this past weekend and between them and our youngest two, they watered the plants for at least an hour lol! They had a great time, got to help and no harm done.

4. Portability - I love the fact that if need be, we can just pick them and move them. So, if something isn't getting enough sun or is getting to hot in the killer summer afternoons, someone is mowing, bad weather is rolling in, maybe you need to avoid a fire ant bed. Whatever the reason, they are easily moved and quick to do even if you have a ton like us.

5. Weeds - Though it is possible to get weeds in containers, it's not as likely. So this alone makes the gardening process so much simpler and easier to maintain through the season. You also won't have to worry about plants competing for nutrients and water.

I hope this helps answer any questions and maybe even inspires some to get planting. With containers you can grow anywhere and it's a great way for people with limitations to still be able to garden. In my next post I'll tell you about everything we have in the containers (so far) this year!

My Dad's Spaghetti Sauce.

This was my Father, Richard Allen Renaud. He was an amazing dad and a pretty awesome cook when he tried.. He Died two years ago and I miss him, and his Spaghetti sauce VERY VERY much.. I will be making it soon, and I really wish I had a stock pot big enough for it.. gonna scrub out my HUGE Crock pot and use it instead.

He never made it the same way twice, often using cans of stuff we had in our kitchen that he got on sale.. but there were always certain aspects that were in EVERY batch and the cook time was the same.. so Here we go.. and remember.. this is basic so tweak it to how you like it.. and remember this makes A LOT of sauce that you can store in your freeze or can for a long time.

Standard Ingredients

2 packages of Sweet Italian Sausage Chopped in to chunks and browned

1 pound of Hamburger Browned 

1 package of  Hot Italian Sausage Chopped in to chunks and Browned 

1-2 onions Chopped up and sauted in a bit of the fat left over from the Meat being browned. 

Since I don't have A Stock pot I will put this directly in to my Crock pot with 

1-2 Cans or Jars of marinara or spaghetti sauce.. whatever you have on hand 

1 14 ounce can of Chopped or Whole stewed Tomatoes

1 14 ounce can of tomato sauce 

1 small can of Tomato paste

Fresh or Canned mushrooms to taste (not something you need to add I just REALLY love them) 

Italian seasoning to taste,

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Chopped dried onions 

and Beef or veggie broth

Stir this up really well and then put your crock pot or Stock pot on low and simmer it for 8 hours MINIMUM! stir frequently and if you notice it getting too thick for your taste add a bit of Water or stock to your pot.. 

This produces a really delicious THICK spaghetti sauce that is the BEST I have had.. My dad would make HUGE batches once or twice a year and then we would eat it throughout.

Not really High tech and fancy on telling you what to do but that is a perk of this.. you kinda suit it to what you love.. what you like and what works for you.  

With this the Sausage and onion is really important but the Tomato sauce etc that can go with what you have in your pantry.. this is a really good recipe for when rotating out stuff.

It is high in Acid so it stores well in cans if canned properly and it just gets better with time.. and DO NOT cut the cook time on this.. it will be tempting because it SMELLS like heaven.. but trust me.. just dont. Let it cook long and slow.. everything melds together to make the most delicious sauce ever. 

Oatmeal Milk and Honey Recipe 1

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you. I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said. HERE we go.

The Ingredients you will need are

Water
Lye NaOH
Coconut Oil 76 Deg

Vegetable Shortening 

Soybean oil 

Canola Oil 

Tussah Silk (If you choose to use )
Himalayan Pink Sea Salt (if you choose to use) 

Milk - 1/3 liquid 

Ground Oatmeal 

Honey 

Optional - Oatmeal Milk and Honey Fragrance oil 

The Percentage Recipe for this is as follows

Water as a percentage of water weight  38% 

Super fat discount 5% 

Lye 26.712% 

Coconut Oil 20.45%

Vegetable Shortening 54.55%

Soybean Oil 13.64%

Canola Oil 11.36% 

For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk to the Lye water.

This Recipe is different than most recipes and I will do my best to explain.. I just kinda do my thing.. 

Water - 8.86 Ounces 

Lye - 4.46 ounces 

Coconut oil - 6.54 ounces

Vegetable Shortening - 17.46 

Soybean Oil - 13.46

Canola Oil - 11.36 

Okay AFTER you have Combined these to a VERY LIGHT trace you will add the following 

Milk/goat milk/ or Heavy Cream - 3.3 Ounces 

1/3 Cup Finely ground oatmeal 

1 TBSP Honey 

1 Ounce of Fragrance oil IF YOU CHOOSE to add this.


Okay I will give a Warning about this Recipe.. The Sugar in the Honey make this get REALLY REALLY hot.. so it has a possibility of Volcanoing.. so Stir in completely and be sure of watching this Closely.. I never had issues with my Small 2 pound Batches but I made a Large 8 pound batch that went haywire. So there is your warning..


The Soap Bar Qualities of this soap are as Following : 

Hardness - 33 

Cleansing - 14

Conditioning - 62 

Bubbly - 14 

Creamy - 2 

Iodine Before salt in lye - 83 

INS - 130

if you have any questions please ask in the Comments, I always reply.. if you want to see more let me know what you want to see and I will see what I can do. 

I hope you like this recipe if you do please let me know and if you make this recipe show me pictures I want to see your creations! 

Basic Soap Recipe 1

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz here with another Soap Recipe for you.  I will Again remind people that this is NOT a How to Blog post, it is simply the Recipe I use to make my soaps. Look on my Blog post for Vinolia soap, or Favorite Youtubers, posts for Where to go to learn about soap making and never attempt to make soap without proper Precautions and knowing at least the basics of soap making, and ALWAYS run any recipe through Soapcalc to make sure that you have it right. . With that said. HERE we go.

What Ingredients you will need :

Coconut oil 76 Degree
Vegetable Shortening for Cooking
Soybean oil
Lye
Water
Himalayan sea salt (if you choose to)
Tussah Silk (if you choose to)

The Basic Recipe using Percentages are :

Water 27.8%
super fat 5 %
Lye 33.333 %

Coconut oil 20.69 %
Shortening 55.17 %
Soybean oil 24.14 %



For my 2 Pound loaf Recipe this is the Amount of Lye, water, and oils That I used. Please Note that in EVERY Soap Recipe I add 1 TBSP of Pink Himalayan Sea salt and a cotton ball sized pinch of Tussah silk to the Lye water.

Water - 8.9 Ounces
Lye - 4.45 ounces

Coconut Oil - 6.62 ounces
Vegetable Shortening - 17.65 Ounces
Soybean Oil - 7.72 Ounces

Fragrance oil or essential oil 1 ounce

In this recipe The only thing you need to physically add heat to to melt is the Shortening, after that is melted the Coconut oil will melt with the heat of that and the Soybean oil is already at a liquid state.


The Soap Bar Qualities of this recipe are as follows :


Hardness - 35
Cleansing - 14
Conditioning - 60
Bubbly - 14
Creamy - 21
Iodine  without salt in lye water - 85
INS - 132

I hope that you enjoy this recipe and if you make it Please share pictures and let me see and comment!

My Favorite Youtubers for Homesteading and Prepping

Hello Lovelies, It's Taz again back with another post, this time about my favorite Youtubers for Homesteading.. Now This is NOT a complete list, but it is some people I CAN NOT stop watching lately and there is SO MUCH useful Information.. So I will Share By Subject


Soaping

Soap Queen TV 
Soaping 101


Homesteading MISC

Our Half Acre Homestead 
Jnull0 
Big Family Homestead 
Nutnfancy ( There are some political views I dont agree with on here but there are still a lot of really great videos
North Carolina Prepper 
Michigan Snow Pony 
Joe Robinet Bushcraft 
Homesteadonomics 
Healthy Prepper 
Bexar Prepper 
Backyard Homesteader 


Beekeeping

Plain Ol Beekeeping in Plano Tx 
Hives and More 


Gardening

MI Gardener 
Growing Your Greens
Horticulture and Homes 
Groworganic Peaceful Valley 
Grow your Heirlooms 


Food Storage and Recipes

Linda's Pantry
Dehydrate 2 Store 



If there are any you want to add let me know and I will check them out!