Things I Don't Buy Anymore

 
I have been wanting to make this post where I go over all the things I no longer buy at the grocery store. I was really surprised that when I found all the items, there were a lot more than I thought. I have shifted to making a lot of this because of health reasons, but it is also cheaper to make this food at home.  
The first thing I no longer buy is bread. This is my sourdough sandwich bread. It has way fewer ingredients than the store bought. It is better for you too. I did buy a loaf of sourdough at the store when we were short on time one week, and I brought the loaf home and compared it to my bread, and the two loaves looked the same. It is a winner, and it makes up so easy in the bread maker.
*Note: If sourdough is not your favorite bread. I do like this recipe also, and it turns out a wonderful grocery store style white sandwich bread.

Ranch dressing: The quality of ranch dressing in the bottle was just starting to bother me. Especially when my family pours so much of it on their food. So I took a new turn and decided to make it. It has been a success, and the family loves it.

Biscuits: It has been a few years since I bought a can of biscuits. They are really easy to make, and, oh, so good! 

Cream of mushroom soup: You can also make this into any "cream of" soup. It really has a nice texture and works well in recipes too. 
*Note: Updating as of 10/14/24. I will also keep the "cream of" soups from the grocery store in my pantry after watching the events of this season's hurricanes.

Muffins: I took a day a few months ago and made it a muffin baking day. I then froze most of them. We have been unthawing these muffins and using them for breakfasts or snacks. They froze so well, I couldn't tell I hadn't just baked them. I wasn't expecting that!

Cinnamon rolls: Okay, need I say more! Fresh cinnamon rolls can be made in an hour. They are delicious, and the free smells related to this activity make it so worthwhile!! 

Frozen pizza dough: You can do a lot more with pizza dough than just make pizza. It is so easy to make and put in the freezer. I always have pizza dough ready to go.

Pizza: I no longer buy frozen pizzas. I used to buy about 12 a week! We started making pizza and haven't looked back. It is way healthier and easy to do.  
*Note update: I do also still buy the occasional grocery store frozen pizza, at my husband's insistence, when I am canning and gardening a lot. I went for a year or more without buying these pizzas, but sometimes you need a quick meal.

Cheese sticks: These are garlic cheese sticks. You could make plain ones. They work well for picky children and adults alike and go great with pizza. Dip them in marinara or ranch! 

Cranberry sauce: No more jellified cans of cranberry sauce for my family. I make this from scratch and can it so it is available for a side anytime we want to eat it.

Pie: I quit buying store pies a while ago. They are expensive, and I just fell out of the habit of getting them. We only eat about one a month, and it is no trouble to make them. 

Brownies: We used to buy the kids a lot of brownies, and I just make them now. It is a one-bowl and bake item that is so easy and fresher than the boxed, ready made brownies.

Cookies: I have made more chocolate chip cookies than anything else for the blog. It has always been my one weakness! I usually don't buy them anymore. I always have the ingredients on hand and can make a batch really fast.

Fruit jams and butters: I made a lot of jam this winter. I canned them all, and I still haven't gotten around to sharing them on the blog. I made so many that I now think I will just share our favorites. More on that soon. 

So I challenge you to make some of these items at home and forgo the convenience for healthier food. I included links to each food item in the text. They link back to my Victory Cottage cookbook. I share all my recipes for free on the link to this page at the top of the blog. 

Let me know if you make any of these items too! 

*Disclaimer: You have to do what is right for you and your family. Since I wrote this post, I have found legitimate reasons to stock the grocery store versions of these made from scratch items. It goes on a month-by-month basis at our house. In the winter I cook more, and in the summer I will get in the garden more.

In Victory!

Sherry

Cranberry Sauce

Every year, when the fresh cranberries come to the grocery stores, I buy up a supply of them and make this homemade cranberry sauce. I can it and keep it on the shelf for when the need arises and we want some. 

Cranberries are one of my favorite things to can. They set up perfectly and look so good when served compared to their jelled store-bought cousins. 

From Scratch Cranberry Sauce 

Yield 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon orange zest

3/4 cup orange juice (juice of 2 large navel oranges)

1/2 cup honey

12 oz. whole fresh cranberries

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat combine the orange zest, orange juice, and honey. Reduce the heat to low and gently simmer and stir in the cranberries. Cook the berries until they burst, about 15 minutes. Spoon the sauce into a half pint jar and refrigerate for up to 6 hours, then serve. OR:I hot water bath can mine with the hot pack method and spoon the sauce into a half pint mason jar with 1/4-1/2 inch headspace and then process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Take the canner off of the heat when done and let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes then remove them to counter to be undisturbed for 24 hours. Check seals and store for a year on shelf. Half pint yield: 4 jars

Recipe from: The Prairie Homestead Cookbook

Canning information from: Putting It Up with Honey

In Victory,

Sherry

Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Pear Apple Butter

 

Nothing makes it fall more than apple butter. This year, I took it further with my attempt at making it and tried this pear and apple butter.

Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Pear Apple Butter

Ingredients:
3.5 pounds apples 
3.5 pounds of pears 
1/4 cup water
6 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
1 teaspoon sea salt
 

Insructions:
Place all ingredients into a slow cooker (6-8 quarts). Turn the slow cooker on low and cover for 12 hours. Mine cooked 14-16 hours. 
Use an immersion blender or I used my countertop blender and purred the fruit until smooth.
Then I put back into the crock pot and kept warm (low setting) for six hours. The butter cooks for around 22-24 hours in total. Adjust the seasonings to your liking and store in the refrigerator for 2-4 weeks or water bath process. Ladel the butter into hot sanitized jars (1/2 pints), leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

 *I added 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 3/4 cup of white sugar to this and then canned.

Recipe adapted from: Epicurious

 November is all about hunting. The perfect time to pull out this plate!

Enjoy!
In Victory,
Sherry

A Time For Everything

 

Just like Squirrel Nutkin, I have been gathering food, and I am now making the fruit into jams for the winter. I like to freeze my fruit and can it when the kitchen doesn't get so hot. 

I have been trying to bake different biscuit recipes and find some new flavors to put on the menu for fall and winter meals. This biscuit was a chocolate chip biscuit, but I won't share the recipe. It was okay, but not a favorite. Do you change up your menu for the seasons and try out new flavors?

We took a nature hike this weekend and saw some wildlife. 

The leaves are just starting to turn, and some of the colors were very pretty.

When we came home, we stopped at a farm stand by an orchard and got some apple cider, and the kids love apple cider. I will bake with that next week.

In Victory,

Sherry

Homemade Blueberry Jam

This time of year, I take all of the berries and fruit I have frozen and make jam. This past week, I made blueberry jam. This recipe will work on any berry, but strawberry. It is wonderful to have a cupboard full of jams for winter when you can't get fresh fruit.

Homemade Blueberry Jam

Ingredients:

9 cups of crushed berries (4-5 pounds)

6 cups of sugar

Mesure out blueberries and add to a medium large (mine was 6 quart) stockpot. Coarsley crush berries as they thaw (if frozen) with a potato masher. Measure out 9 cups of crushed berries. 

Combine crushed berries and suagr back in stockpot and bring mixture slowly to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and cook rapidly to gelling point (220°F), stirring to prevent sticking. Skim off foam if necessary. I test my gelling point with a few large spoons placed in the freezer. I pull them out and dip the spoon into the berries and when I can swipe down the spoon and the fruit mixture separates and doesn't cover back where I swiped my finger I know the jam is ready.

Fill the hot jam into a hot jar that you have already prepared as per water bath canning instructions. Leave 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Center jar lid on jar and place band on that at fingertip-tight. Place jar on rack of hot water bath canner and when all are full lower jars into to the canner. Make sure the water covers the jars by an inch. Adjust heat to mediium high cover canner with lid and bring to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars or pint jars 15 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars set in canner 5 minutes. Remove the jars from canner, do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars. The proper way to store is without the band at all. 

Recipe from: Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving 

Enjoy!

In Victory,

Sherry

Apple Butter

I am getting ready for fall, and that also means fall canning. I made this apple butter in 2021, and we are just about out of it, so this fall I will be making more.

I use the recipe straight from the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. When the apples start to get cheaper and more plentiful at the store, this is the time to can them. Then you will have this delicious apple treat sitting right in your pantry.

Apple Butter 

Yield: 6 half-pint or 3 pint jars

Ingredients:

4 pounds of apples (about 12-16 medium)

2 cups of filtered water

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Wash apples under cold running water, drain. Core and peel apples, then cut into quarters.

Combine apples and water in a large saucepan. 

Cook apples at a simmer until soft. Puree mixture uisng method of choice. I just mash them and stir till pourable. Add sugar and spices, stirring until sugar dissolves. Cook at a gentle boil over medium heat until mixture is thick enough to mound on a spoon. Stir frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. 

Fill prepared canning jars of choice. Ladel hot butter into jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim to promote a good seal. Center lid on jar and adjust band to finger-tip tight. Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water in boiling water canner. Reapeat until all jars are filled. 

Process:

Lower the rack into simmering water. Water must cover the jars by an inch. Adjust the heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars or pint jars 10 minutes. Turn off heat, when time is up, and remove the lid but leave the jars in the canner for 5 more minutes. Remove jars from canner, do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours. Check seals. Label and store jars.

Recipe from: Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

Enjoy! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Victory Cottage Cookbook

 
I am adding a page at the top of the blog called "The Victory Cottage Cookbook." There over 100 recipes for seasonal cooking from scratch that I have posted on my blog for the last 13 years or more. I will be adding to this weekly.  To copy a recipe, just copy and paste into a word processor and then print. Blogger doesn't have recipe plug-ins that I know of. Victory Cottage is my Instagram account: @victory_cottage_

In Victory, 

Sherry

Home Sweet Home #338

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home! This week I had another important post! Find out what it means to have, The Seal of God. 

Then I posted: To be a Citizen of Heaven is more valuable than gold! It isn't for the weak of faith.

There are so many wonderful posts each week, here are a few 

that I enjoyed.

August Photo Gallery: Tad Poles, Caterpillars, & Tiger Lilies by Grandma's House DIY.

Canning Spaghetti Sauce- Step-by-Step Instructions by Our Simple Homestead. 

Jesus Robes Whom He Restores by Old Things New. 

Sherry

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Home Sweet Home #282

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home!  This week I shared my July Visual Tea/Garden Journal.  This is a monthly post I am doing where I visually share what is blooming at The Charm of Home to journal it.

I also shared Botanical Style by Selina Lake (Ryland, Peters, & Small, $29.95) .  I reviewed this fabulous new book where the author shares lovely botanical interiors, diy, and style tips to bring the outdoors in for every nature lover.  Get your hands on a copy, it is great! 

There are so many great ideas, decorating, and delicious recipes at the Home Sweet Home Party each week.   All of you are so very talented!  Here are a few that caught my eye. I pin a lot from this party each week! These features were all pinned! Thanks for joining me!

Betty at My Cozy Corner share Tea For Me.  Happy Anniversary Betty! 

Kristi at Making It in the Mountains shared 12 Creative Succulent Planter Ideas.  This by Garden Therapy is my favorite. 

Justjanblog shared Delightfully Overdone.  I think she got it right!  Don't you?

Jes at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth shared Savory Herb Butter Dinner "Roll"Muffin Mix-in-a-Jar.

I am really lucky to have all of your amazing posts because, it is you who make t Home Sweet Home party so special!  You are all so talented and share such wonderful posts! Thank you to everyone who joins me at Home Sweet Home!   It is wonderful to have you here!

Sherry

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Making Blackberry Syrup

It is time for Ball's 6th International Can-It Forward Day!  I am participating this year.  They so kindly supplied me with these blue glass mason jars and a copy of The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving.  

I took my blackberry harvest and made Blackberry Syrup.

The recipe was right out their new cookbook!  It was an instant winner for the family!  Waffles are always welcome and the children loved them with the blackberry syrup.

Blackberry Syrup  

Ingredients:

3 lb. (1.5 kg) blackberries
2 cups (500 ml) water
Cheesecloth
2 3/4 cups (675 ml) sugar
1/4 cup (60 ml) light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. (30 ml) bottled lemon juice

1. Place blackberries and water in a 6-qt. (6-L) stainless steel or enameled Dutch oven.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.  Cook, uncovered, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. (Do not boil.)
2. Remove from heat. Line a wire mesh strainer with 2 layers of dampened cheesecloth or a jelly bag.  Place over a bowl.  Pour berry mixture into strainer, and let drain 2 hours or as needed to extract 4 1/2 cups (1.13 L) juice. (Do not press or squeeze mixture.) Discard solids.  Rinse Dutch oven.
3. Combine blackberry juice, sugar, and next 2 ingredients in Dutch oven, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over medium-high heat; boil 1 minute.
4. Ladle hot syrup into a hot jar, leaving 1/2-inch (1-cm) headspace.  Remove air bubbles.  Wipe jar rim.  Center lid on jar.  Apply band, and adjust to finger-tip tight.  Place jar in boiling-water canner.  Repeat until all jars are filled.
5. Process jars 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Turn off heat; remove lid, and let jars stand 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

Makes: about 3 (1-pint/500-ml) jars
Recipe from: The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving
The recipe was wonderful; pleasing me with 3 of these beautiful blue jars full of blackberry syrup!

The blue mason jars are another new favorite of mine!  They have a wide mouth and are easy to wash.  The blue glass makes them oh, so, pretty to look at on the table.

The recipe book is full of over 350 of the best canned, pickled, and preserved recipes.  This year's copy had chapters on fermenting, dehydrating, curing, and smoking.  I found those especially interesting because I was going to get the dehydrator out and try some vegetables in it anyway, so now I have this to turn to.
Thank you to Ball for sponsoring the Can-It Forward Day by supplying me with the canning jars and the cookbook.  

Sherry

Home Sweet Home #281

Hello and welcome to Home Sweet Home!  This week I contemplated canning something with my blackberries in, Time to Can Tea. 

Then I followed through and will post tomorrow for the 6th International Can-It Forward Day; Making Blackberry Syrup. Come back and check this post out!  There will be live demos on Ball's Facebook page, coupons off of their site, and prizes to be given away!  

There are so many great ideas, decorating, and delicious recipes at the Home Sweet Home Party each week.   All of you are so very talented!  Here are a few that caught my eye. I pin a lot from this party each week! These features were all pinned! Thanks for joining me!

Jo, at Anne's Attic Design shared Shabby Chic Bedroom Reveal.  She did a marvelous job for her two granddaughters! 

Patti, at Old Things New shared DIY Mini Garden Conservatory.  She gives you complete instructions on how she made this! 

Tammy, at Living the Gourmet shared Peach Slab Pie.  YUM!

Pat, at On Crooked Creektt shared a lovely table on Summer's Buzzin' Right Along.

I am really lucky to have all of your amazing posts because, it is you who make the Home Sweet Home party so special!  You are all so talented and share such wonderful posts! Thank you to everyone who joins me at Home Sweet Home!   It is wonderful to have you here!

Sherry

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Attention: To link up you must have a permalink back to this party in your post or you won't be featured.

Link up anything from your home or garden.  I love seeing home tours and neat shops too!

My button for the party is under the button tab at the top of the blog, if you want to use it.   If you are new here I hope you will become a follower. Please don't link up more than two posts.  No Etsy link ups or direct advertising, please.  Please visit some of the other blogs and get some great inspiration.  Thanks.:)

Now let's see your beautiful home, delicious recipes, crafts, or whatever makes your home special!

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