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For the most part I think the readers here are the type to make sacrifices in an effort to either help the environment or save money, or both. Around here we’ve given up almost all processed and prepackaged goods. I generally don’t miss these things. I really miss Kraft Mac N’ Cheese. In a box. Really, really miss it. So quick. So easy. And cheesy. And delicious. Oh my. I really miss it, did I mention that? Am I along here? What do you miss?

If you were expecting a post about our family history sorry to disappoint! Brian was working up the field that borders one of our pastures and he hooked this alfalfa plant. Wow! I had no idea the roots ran that deep.

Instead of “every light in the house is on”… every apple in the house is peeled. Sure there are a few eating apples left but every apple that was destined for a jar is in one now. Last year I think I was done with apples in September. Not so much this year! I made applesauce for a long time. When I got to the end I did some apple pie filling. Aren’t they pretty? Note: be patient and heat apples through first to avoid this half filled look. I thought they were warm enough but I was wrong. Here’s the aftermath: Whew! Another canning season under my belt! I’m a little disappointed in my total amount of applesauce. I didn’t count them yet to know exactly what I have but it doesn’t look like as much as I wanted. However, I did can more pears and peaches than last year so we still might have enough fruit to get through the year. Pantry update coming soon! 🙂

This post is linked to Frugal Fridays over @ Life As Mom. Click the image below to check out the other great tips! You may recall that awhile back we joined a cow share program. I had really good intentions of making all sorts of things with the milk but have yet to get around to most of it. That, combined with the fact that we’re still not quite comfortable drinking it raw, plus the fact that it only stays fresh about a week, all means that we have a lot of milk building up. I had 3 gallons of souring milk in the fridge already when I picked up a fresh gallon yesterday. I made mozzarella with the new gallon (more on that later!). What’s a girl to do with all the sour milk? Use it! That’s the nice thing about raw milk: it sours instead of rotting. It works wonderfully in all that bread I’ve been making and freezing. The recipe I use calls for dry milk and water. I substitute the same amount of milk for the water and leave out the dry milk. I shake the gallon really well first, heat to the proper temperature, stir

This posted is linked to Works for Me Wednesday. Check it out for other useful tips! I’m lovin’ homemade bread now that I can make a good loaf consistently. My schedule doesn’t allow for baking every day or every other day so I like to make several loaves when I can and freeze them. This is how I’ve been doing it. The bread tastes as good after freezing as it does before, albeit not as warm and tantalizing as it is fresh from the oven. I do use plastic bags. I bought a “value size” box of storage bags on sale for less than $3. It includes 75 bags and twist ties to close them with. 1. Let each loaf of bread cool completely, then slice if desired. Put the loaf in to the bag, press the air out, and tie snugly. 2. Put 2 loaves into a paper grocery sack, side by side so that the long sides of the loaves touch the creased sides of the bag. 3. Fold the bag over as shown and tape or staple securely. 4. Label clearly along the front and stack in your freezer. To use I take a bag of 2

This post is linked to the weekly blog carnival Tackle it Tuesday. Click on the banner to see what everyone else is tackling this week. This post is also linked up to Two Cents Tuesday over at Not The Jet Set. I don’t recall if I have mentioned the Living Like No One Else forum here yet. It is a forum dedicated to Dave Ramsey followers (boy does that sound like a cult or what!?) who are working their Total Money Makeovers (TMMOs). The Living Like No One Else (LLNOE) forum is free knock off version on the real TMMO forum that costs $$$ to join. When you go to the LLNOE homepage it really doesn’t give you a lot of information. I just took the plunge and signed up – and I’m so glad I did. It has really help me to get back on track financially and overcome my struggles with the farm finances. A couple weeks back I made out a real, official, Becker Farms budget. People always stress the importance of having a budget: every dollar needs a name, tell your money what to do, if you aim at nothing you will hit it every time,

5:45 PM: Still peeling apples! I’ve got a full load (7 quarts) processing and lots to go. I’ve been doing some here and there and want them DONE. Of course I’ve taken a few breaks. I read all 3 parts of the “how we came to be” story over at Who Says 8 is Enough? I give them a lot of credit, I don’t know if I could ever handle being a foster parent! Other than reading that I’ve just had the DR show going on my laptop or iTunes playing. 6 PM: Brian called and said he’s going to be at the field for awhile yet. He went to take a load of soybeans to the elevator for the neighbor that we work with and he’s going to haul more than he thought. I did chores: fed the horses some hay, threw in hay and corn for the 2 steers, and checked the chickens. They usually only need their water and feed refilled every few days but we check them and look for eggs once or twice a day. The chickens are hilarious. I bring them kitchen scraps and goodies so often that they come running to the edge

Hopefully this will be about as typical of a Saturday as we have around here so I thought I’d share “a day in the life”. 7 AM: Brian’s up, I say, “Are you staying up already?”. Dumb question! 7:15 AM: I’m up now too. Might as well start a loaf of bread. After over a year of trying to use our local whole wheat flour I’ve finally figured out how to turn out decent loaves of bread! I use Phoebe’s favorite recipe and let my breadmaker do the mixing, kneading, and rising. I think I was overkneading and adding way too much flour when I was doing it by hand. 7:20 AM: I stare at the bathroom cabinet and contemplate how hard it will be to refinish it. Brian took the doors and drawers off awhile ago and I’ve been slowly taking the paint off them. Ugg. I’ll think about this later! How about some blog reading instead… 8 AM: Time to do something useful. I take the huge stock pot of out the fridge and put it on the stove. It is half full of applesauce all ready to can, it just needs to be brought back to a

I don’t have much in particular to post about. I just wanted to put it out there that I’m still here! I had posts all ready in my head for the past week and never got around to any of them. The menu plan was a bust. Brian has been so busy that I ended up riding in the semi with him quite a few nights just to see him. That means lots of leftovers and grilled cheeses. I guess he just gets in that mode and works, works, works. He’s up for work by 6 and got home after midnight two nights I think. I’m either sleeping in the passenger seat by then or falling asleep at home. I used to be able to work like that but now it seems like I need so much sleep or I’m tired all the time. It doesn’t help that I have trouble shutting my mind off and falling asleep and have nightmares so often that keep me tossing and turning. I’m about ready to look for a sleep therapist or something but I’m trying a few other things first. I.E. reducing stress/stressful thoughts, cutting back the caffeine (tea) before bed, trying

Monday: Chicken Patties & Buttered Noodles Tuesday: Baked Rotini w/ garlic bread (based loosely on this recipe) Wednesday: Hamburgers/hot dogs on the grill w/ rice Thursday: Short ribs in the crockpot (I think I’m going to try this recipe and alter it for the crockpot) Friday: Sirloin steak & roasted potatoes (I inventoried our freezer and we have 8 packages of sirloin steak!) Saturday: Steak sandwich & chips Sunday: Leftovers A lot of these are carried over from last week since we had some late nights and just snacked when we got home. I have a knitting class after work this Thursday and next so I’m going to try to use up some of the cuts of beef that are hiding in my freezer. I’m making a point to post more of the recipes that I use here on MPM, whether it be my version or a link to the original. What’s on your plate this week? See what’s on cooking over at this week’s Menu Plan Monday.