The Ways of Her Home

Embracing the homeward call

Recipe Binders

As part of my summer organizing, I knew I had to get my recipes back under control. They were such a mess! I've had a great system for about 10 years, but it was time to clean it back up. I'm not talking so much about cookbooks today although I did straighten them and take out a couple to donate. Instead, I'll be talking about those loose recipes you tear out of a magazine, print off Pinterest, or have on a recipe card. When we moved to this house 11 years ago, I came with all my cookbooks and a big basket of those loose recipes. There were so many that anytime I wanted to use a particular one, I had to thumb through the entire stack. This hadn't been a problem when I first started the ... Read more

Prepping the Kitchen for Fall Cooking and Baking ’24

Summertime brings a huge cleanout for me each year. This summer, I reorganized a lot of areas of my house, but definitely spent the most time in the kitchen! My cabinets and drawers had really gotten bad. We do a LOT in there. It's more than just a kitchen, really. It's also our school, our science lab, art studio, gift wrap station, and much more. One of the benefits a of good kitchen cleanout is that everything I do in there now works a lot smoother than before and I'm already looking ahead and seeing how much more enjoyable it will be for fall cooking and baking. Last August '23 I posted 3 things I had done that month to prepare my kitchen for fall. You can read that post here. Today ... Read more

Mongolian Stir-Fry at Home!

A restaurant that our family has come to enjoy is Yummi Yaki. Do you have one near you? We all love it! You pick your starch (rice or noodles) and then go through the buffet line to select your meats, veggies, sauce, and seasoning, and then hand it over to be stir-fried. It's comes to your table hot and savory and so delicious. It's a fun treat, but pricey for a family. But since getting a Blackstone, we can enjoy them at home! I do the prepping of the meats and veggies and my husband does the stir-frying. Everything is lined up on our kitchen island for each person to go through the "buffet" and fill their bowls with their desired ingredients. Then we take our bowls of ingredients ... Read more

Banana Pudding Cheesecake Pie

We love pie at our house so I'm always either on the lookout for new recipes or making up my own recipe. One weekend I decided to make a pie for Sunday lunch, and I wanted something fluffy and cheesecakey with a banana pudding twist. So, I came up with the "Banana Pudding Cheesecake Pie"! Doesn't that look delish?! Here's the recipe! You can also make your own whipped cream instead of using Cool Whip. Even though I make and enjoy fresh whipped cream, my husband actually prefers Cool Whip. It's one of his all-time favorites, so when I really want to treat him, I'll plop an extra double dollop of Cool Whip with his slice of pie and he's a happy guy! For this month, we're both on ... Read more

A Sweet Beginning to Wedded Bliss!

Back in April my daughter had the honor of being a bridesmaid for her sweet friend and I had the honor of making the bride's wedding cake and cupcakes! The mother of the bride is my good friend Missy, who can pull together an event better than anyone I know, and her daughter's wedding was certainly no exception! She has her own blog and I'm sure she will post about the wedding (I hope so!) therefore I don't want to share much here until she's had a chance to do so, so today I'm just going to share the cake. This was the same cream cake recipe I made for my own daughter's wedding two years ago and you can read about that wedding here and here. Ahh, sweet memories! The wedding venue was ... Read more

Back to Kombucha! (and sourdough)

Any kombucha fans out there?! A few years ago, my oldest daughter started drinking kombucha, and then not long after that, my younger daughter got hooked on it as well. I'll admit that it wasn't my favorite at first, but after learning of its great health benefits (probiotics through fermentation) and trying different flavors, I grew to enjoy a cold glass of "the BOOCH" every now and then. But y'all! It's not cheap! So, it was reserved for treat days. Until.... Our friend, Beth, from church found me one Sunday and asked if I was interested in learning how to make kombucha. Well, yes mam! And knowing that I homeschooled my 2 younger kids, she invited us all over for a lesson. You ... Read more

Squash Casserole

There's a saying down here in the South during summertime that goes.... “Better not leave your car unlocked at church on Sundays--not because of crime but because a church member might leave a bag of squash in your front seat!” So funny! But let me just say I've never turned away squash--I love it! When I set out to start a garden this year, I decided to keep it small, and it's been the perfect starter size--just enough for our family to eat. Considering I'm the only one in the family who really likes squash (my husband thinks it's vile), I've been happy to eat it all up myself! My 2 squash plants began yielding in late May and I've been getting 2 or 3 squash a week and that's ... Read more

May Teatime: Hummingbird Scones

Good morning, friends! I have a recipe for you today! I've mentioned before that my daughter and I get together with our friends, Missy and her daughter, about once a month (or every other month) just to experiment with some tea and scone recipes. We take turns meeting in each other's homes and making a new recipe. It's kept pretty simple with usually just a scone and maybe one other small store-bought treat. But the main point is to get/give feedback on the scone and brainstorm how we might tweak the ingredients to make a better scone. My daughter and I hosted in May. We've pretty much gone to just putting everything out on our coffee tables instead of doing a formal dining setup. It ... Read more