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Last week we told you that some very nice family friends gifted us with a large amount of fresh peaches. This last week we were able to use gevery last one of them in some really delicious ways!

We started by trying out a freezer jam recipe we found on Pinterest. There are tons of recipes for this so we picked one we thought sounded good to us. After making and trying the first batch we turned right around and made another batch. It was fairly simple to make with only the peeling and pitting of the peaches being the time consuming part.

Next we wanted to can some pie filling to have all year long. We made the pie filling and used lemon juice as the preservative. We were able to can fourteen jars of pie filling. We can’t wait to try it in a pie soon. We’ve got a really good pie crust that came from the family of the people who gave us the peaches.

We then had one bag left and decided to make one last round of freezer jam. It is really that good that we made three rounds of it. There are so many recipes out there for things you can do with peaches. Once the peaches on our property come in we will have so many ways to use them. I definitely want to try to make a peach crumble and of course peach Bellini’s!

What are some ways you all have used fresh peaches? We would love to hear any different ideas to put this delicious fruit to good use!

I hope everyone has been having a great summer so far. We have been busy here on the farm. I wanted to update you on what we’ve been up to the last couple of weeks!

My sister, her husband and my nephew came to visit for the Fourth of July. When they first arrived we hosted a 40th birthday party for my brother-in-law. It was a fun gathering with a nice appetizer hour, delicious buffet and a red velvet cake for dessert. We then had a great Fourth filled with tons of great food, amazing friends and a pretty spectacular fireworks show. The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday and we always go all out. I’ve been experimenting with decorated sugar cookies and I feel like these came out pretty well!

We have been getting a ton of tomatoes from our garden and decided to make several batches of marinara. We are hoping to make plenty to last us throughout the year until next summer. We always share our jars of marinara with friends and family as well so we need to make a lot. Hopefully we will continue to get a steady supply. We also planted pumpkins this last weekend and will be keeping eye out for them this fall. We will update you on how those go and how you can use them in various ways.

One day I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to try my hand at some cinnamon rolls. I’ve never made cinnamon rolls from scratch and thought they would be delicious and a nice challenge. For my first attempt they turned out really well. I’ll have to do a future post to share the recipe with you all.

So far the first half of the summer has been busy and full of fun. We are looking forward to the rest of the summer. We just had a family friend drop off a ton of peaches. Next week we’ll let you know how we use them up. Here’s to the dog days of summer and making plenty more memories!

-Cristie

We have previously talked about our vegetable garden and our pecan trees. Some other great sources of food to have on your property are fruit trees and berry bushes. Some grow wild and some you can plant. We’ll talk about what to plant, how many to plant and how long to expect until harvest.

On our property we have wild growing blackberries that come out to greet us each spring. They are delicious to just pop in your mouth for a snack or to bake into a cobbler. However, use caution when deciding if wild berries are edible! We also planted raspberries last summer that are growing like crazy. We have not seen any fruit on them yet this year but raspberries can take one to two years until harvest. Most berries will take one to three years to harvest so you will have to be a little patient. You can try planting many variety of berries. Like any fruits or vegetables you will want to think about what you enjoy eating and what grows well in your environment.

Fruit trees are similar to berries, in that they take some time until they are producing fruit. We planted three apple trees and two peach trees around four years ago. They started producing fruit last spring but the deer got to them. This year they came back in and are doing well. You need to plant at least two trees of each so they can pollinate. Apples are great to pick and eat or to make pies and apple butter. The peaches are great for cobblers and jams.

I get great pleasure in checking on our fruit sources. They are a great way to save money and get good quality food straight from the source. I encourage you to try your hand at planting some fruit to reap all of the wonderful benefits!

–Cristie

I think we all know how expensive groceries are getting these days. Something we decided to do was purchase half of a cow and split it between me and my husband and my mom and dad. This was a little cheaper per pound than what you can get at the grocery store and we knew exactly where it came from and where it was processed. We were able to get very lean beef in a variety of cuts and also support our local rancher.

When you purchase a cow you have to have it processed by a butcher. You will receive ground beef, steaks, cube steak, stew meat, ribs, roasts and brisket. You will need to have a large freezer to keep all of the meat. When you get the meat it is a good idea to organize the different cuts so it is easy to just go to the freezer and grab what you need.

There are so many recipes you can make with your beef. Some of my favorites for the ground beef are spaghetti, frito chili pie, flautas, hamburgers and sloppy Joe’s. There are several crockpot recipes you can do as well. I love just throwing a roast and some potatoes in the crockpot in the morning and coming home to a ready to go meal. You can also do some short ribs in there with a few ingredients including some wine and just make some mashed potatoes and enjoy.

One of my favorite recipes to use the stew meat for is something we call meat and rice. Not a very creative name but it is so delicious. You will put your stew meat in the crockpot with a can of cream of mushroom soup, a dry onion soup packet and about a cup of water. Let it cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 6 hours. Make some rice and put it on a plate and cover with the stew meat. Super simple but oh so good!

I know it can seem overwhelming to get so much meat at once but in the end it is more cost effective and convenient when your trying to feed your family. I would highly recommend getting your beef in this way because it is really delicious and you are supporting a local rancher.

Over the next few months we will be sharing more farm to table recipes and ideas. You will get some of our most cherished canning recipes, ways to use different herbs, great flowers to grow to keep fresh flowers in the home throughout the spring and summer and much more!

-Cristie