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These slow cooker pork chops in cream sauce with potatoes and mushrooms are the perfect comfort food.  Layers of creamy mushroom sauce over melt in your mouth pork chops and tender yellow potatoes come together for a delicious meal the whole family will love.

It takes a little prep to put this meal together, but then you can relax knowing that dinner is done.  Add a side  of roasted green beans or glazed carrots to round out the meal.  

You can use bone-in pork chops, but because the meat cooks so tender, some of it will fall off the bones while cooking, making it hard to find the bones when serving.  I think it's much easier to serve if you use boneless pork chops.  We processed our own pig that we raised and our processor cut our pork chops bone-in, so I have been removing the bones myself when making this dish.  It is really easy to remove the bones using kitchen shears (affiliate link).  You can also use pork steak in place of pork chops, but I would still remove the bones.  

Slow Cooker Pork Chops in Cream Sauce with Potatoes and Mushrooms

Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
2-3 lb. yellow potatoes, peeled and diced
Fresh ground salt and pepper
6-8 boneless pork chops
1 Tbsp. Butter or olive oil
8 oz. Mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, diced


Cream Sauce:
1 Tbsp. Olive oil or butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. Cooking Sherry
1 C. Heavy whipping cream
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 C. Chicken broth
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning (affiliate link)
3/4 C. Grated parmesan cheese

1. Put potatoes in the slow cooker.
2. Grind a few grinds of salt and pepper over potatoes.  
3. Next layer pork chops.  You can also use bone-in or cut the bones out of the pork chops.
4. Then saute mushrooms and onions in butter or olive oil until caramelized.  
5. Season mushrooms and onions with fresh ground salt and pepper.  
6. Layer the mushrooms and onions over the pork chops.

To make the cream sauce:

1. Saute garlic in olive oil about a minute until fragrant.  
2. Then add cooking sherry to deglaze the pan.
3. Next add the rest of the sauce ingredients except parmesan.  Simmer stirring occasionally for a few minutes until sauce bubbles.
4. Turn off heat and stir in parmesan.
5. Pour the cream sauce over the mushroom layer in slow cooker.  
6. Cook on low for 5-6  hours.  

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I think some of the best gifts are homemade or local handmade products.  I love receiving unique homemade gifts especially for things I can use like consumable food gifts or pampering things like handmade soap.  Since I preserve our garden harvests, I decided to make these home canning homestead gift baskets as wedding and Christmas gifts this year.  

I made this homestead home canning basket for my cousin as a wedding gift in August.  I remember working so hard to get pasta sauce and grape jelly canned a few days before her wedding just so I would have them for the gift basket.  We already had honey and pear butter, but I wanted more to fill in the basket.  

This is not an easy gift to make as the home canning takes a lot of time and effort and procuring all of the extras to fill in the basket takes a lot of time spent shopping, but it's a unique personal gift that I think anyone would love to receive.  Also, when filling a basket like this, the costs can quickly add up so you'll want to shop sales as much as possible.  If you can plan ahead and keep an eye out for coordinating linens and things for your basket, you will save a lot of time and money.  

Here is where I found all of the items for this wedding gift basket.

Harvest basket, wooden spoon, and cream colored towel: Hobby Lobby
White tea towels: Rural King
​Green towel, Plaid towel, and striped napkins: Kirklands
Bow was made by my husband from a roll of plaid ribbon: Walmart

Since I had a couple of months to plan my Christmas homestead baskets and I was making several of them for family and friends, I wanted to save money on baskets and get just the right baskets.  I knew that I would be paying $10-$20 per basket at Hobby Lobby and they were sold out of the harvest style baskets I liked so I started checking local antique and thrift stores.  We have two really nicely run local thrift stores near us.  One is run by one of our churches and the other by an organization that funds scholarships for local students in the medical field.  The most I paid for one of my thrifted baskets was $4.50 from an antique store.  I made more than 10 gift baskets for Christmas presents so this was a significant savings.  I could not find as many baskets as I needed that I really liked, so I used some nice gift boxes that I already had or purchased at Dollar Tree for some of the smaller baskets.  You could use sturdy gift bags for small homestead gifts.  

Where I found supplies for the gold Christmas basket above:

Basket: thrifted
Andes mints in wrapped package: Walmart
White tea towels: Rural King
Plaid towel: Hobby Lobby
Yankee Candle: Walmart
Tumbler and hot pads: Dollar Tree
3 jars of home canned items
Gold plaid bow made from ribbon I already had

I made a harvest basket like this for both my parents and my in-laws.  They were very similar in contents.  

Where I found supplies for the Christmas harvest basket:

Harvest basket:  We already had one and I found a second one in an antique store.
Christmas towels:  Church thrift store
Gold towel:  JoAnn's Fabrics
White tea towel:  Rural King
Popcorn:  Rural King
Necco Wafers: Save-A-Lot
5 jars of home canned items

Another cute basket style that I found at our church thrift store.

I found these chalkboard tags at Dollar Tree and signed them with a silver sharpie.  They add the perfect touch.  

Are you gifting any homemade gifts?  I would love to hear what you are making.  

Check out these harvest baskets (affiliate link) and this oval willow basket (affiliate link) 

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Every year I try to post my current favorite things before Christmas because it's always nice to get ideas for trying to find the perfect gift.  Anything I write about in these posts are products I use and love.  We have a homestead with a huge garden and a few livestock and I love to cook and create recipes so I am writing this post with the homesteading foodie in mind.  

First, I have to share my favorite cash back service for shopping online, Rakuten.  If you order through my Rakuten link today (cyber Monday), you will earn 20% cash back at lots of stores.  I love getting cash back on things I was going to purchase anyway.  I always check Rakuten before ordering anything to see if they have cash back for the particular store.  They usually have a discount code for the store too.  Join for free through my link and get $40 when you spend $40!​

I'll start with kitchen gifts first and share some of my favorite things that make my life easier in the kitchen.

We have this Teyga clean/dirty magnet (affiliate link) on our dishwasher to let us know if we can load dirty dishes or if we need to unload.  Since we are a family of 6 with so many people using dishes and the boys unload the dishwasher, it really comes in handy.  It is very sturdy and has a strong magnet.  You simply flip it over to switch from clean to dirty.  

I love a good plaid cotton tablecloth.  The tablecloth pictured is my favorite.  I got it at Kohl's last winter.  Kohl's does have some pretty nice cyber Monday deals.  You can also get 1% cash back through Rakuten.  My second favorite tablecloth is a red check Pioneer Woman tablecloth that I found at Walmart last summer.  My affiliate link is for Amazon, but if you can find it at Walmart, it is less expensive there.  

If you are into making pastries and candy, a marble board (affiliate link) is a wonderful gift.  I love using it to make pie dough.  It helps keep the butter cold while working with the dough.  And if you are a food blogger, it makes a very nice background for overhead shots.  ​I received one like this for Christmas last year and love it.  Mine is the larger 16 X 20 size so I can roll out large sheets of dough.  

A slow cooker (affiliate link) is a godsend, especially if you have a family to feed.  I have potato soup in mine as I write this since today is a busy day and we still have potatoes from the garden.  I have a simple crockpot slow cooker that I have had since we got married almost 20 years ago.  It works great. A friend told me recently that her non crockpot slow cooker which replaced a crockpot one she had previously used doesn't heat up as well and that it takes a lot longer than what the recipe says.  I have used my sturdy crockpot slow cooker (link to a similar crockpot) hundreds of times and it is still going strong.  

My sister recently wrote a post on her blog Honing a Healthy Home about freezer meals of which many are also crockpot meals.  Check it out for ideas on simplifying dinner preparation.  Here is a quick link to my slow cooker meals.  

If you are shopping for a gardener and they home-can their produce, they can always use canning supplies.  In fact, canning lids are often sold out in my local stores.  Jars and rings can be reused, but lids have to be new to make sure they seal properly.  A set of new canning lids (affiliate link) would make a great stocking stuffer for anyone who cans.  A Ball Blue Book (affiliate link) is essential for any home canner and is always a great resource.  I have three of them.  The Blue Book is a great gift idea for someone new to canning.  For a personal touch, you could gift pretty canning labels (affiliate link).  My aunt sent me a really cute set from Current.  

My sisters gave me a simple Kitchen Aid Immersion Blender (affiliate link) like this one a few years ago and I can't believe how much I use it.  It is so handy to simply blend in the pot when making soups and canning.  I use it to blend salsa, apple butter, and pear butter when canning and use it for many of my soup recipes.  

I treated myself to this compost bin (affiliate link) this fall because I was using a cheap basket from the dollar store and often had fruit flies.  When I am putting up produce, I fill this bin daily, sometimes more than once a day.  It is sturdy, the kids run the compost out to the compost pile for me and it holds up great to their wear and tear.  It is a lot bigger than my old bin so it holds a lot and it has a charcoal filter in the lid which reduces smells.  It is attractive which was important to me since it would always be on the counter.  I wanted something with a classic farmhouse look.  I have been using this bin for several months and really like it.  I use these compostable bags (affiliate link) to line the compost bin.  

Cheese cloth (affiliate link) is a great practical gift that would make a nice stocking stuffer for the homesteading foodie.  It has so many uses...as you can see, I use it for straining honey.  

Seeds (affiliate link), plants, and trees are useful gifts for homesteaders.  There is always a project to plan and many of these projects revolve around planting.  We plant a huge garden every year and are working on building up a berry patch and orchard.  Someday I want to plant a perennial garden in front of the house.  There are many mail order options for shipping plants to people.  We actually ordered our blueberries from a family owned farm in Kansas.  My father-in-law shipped bulbs to our son for his birthday this year since he is really into plants.  Another great gift would be a gift card to the local garden center.  

About a year ago, I ran out of my regular moisturizer which I ordered through the mail so when I was in Walmart I decided to see what was in the natural products section so I wouldn't have to wait for an order to arrive.  I found Egyptian Magic (affiliate link) and decided to give it a try.  Now this is the only moisturizer I use.  I LOVE it!  After using it for awhile, I thought my skin looked brighter and healthier.  I am 45, but look younger than my age and I think this moisturizer will help my skin to look youthful for a lot longer.  It feels greasy when you put it on, but after rubbing it in, it just makes your skin feel so soft and doesn't feel or look greasy at all.  I think my makeup goes on so smoothly after I moisturize too.  My husband has asked for this multiple times in the winter to combat dry skin.  

My favorite place for clothes is Lands End.  I order tall clothes for myself and they always fit.  They have incredible sales pretty frequently.  If you sign up for their email list, you will always know when there is a sale.  

Today you can get 60% off your order at Lands End and free shipping.  Use code BIGDAY.  Plus if you order through my Rakuten link today, you will earn 20% cash back.  

I love my Pact Organic socks! Everyone needs socks and these are the softest, sturdiest socks. I first found out about Pact organic from a blog review I wrote a few years ago and I have loved them ever since.  ​They also have great sales this time of year and if you order through my link you will save 20%.  You can read my full review of Pact Organic here.  These Christmas sock gift boxes are only $10 today for cyber Monday!

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I hope you all find the perfect gifts for your loved ones and have time to enjoy the Christmas season and celebrate God's greatest gift, Jesus.  Merry Christmas!

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On of the best things about Thanksgiving dinner (besides the turkey) is homemade gravy made from pan drippings.  Homemade turkey gravy is so flavorful and simple.  You can prepare it in just a few minutes while the turkey is resting and get it on the table in plenty of time for Thanksgiving dinner.  

Turkey Gravy from Pan Drippings:
1/4 cup pan drippings (from the turkey roasting pan, make sure to get some fat)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup flour
Salt and pepper to taste

1.  Pour fat drippings into a skillet.  
2.  Add flour and stir in until blended.  
3.  Gradually add broth.
​4.  Cook and stir with a whisk over medium heat until gravy comes to a boil and starts to thicken.
5.  Continue cooking, stirring frequently for another 3-5 minutes until thickened.  
6.  Salt and pepper with fresh ground salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 4 cups gravy

Some things you may need:
gravy ladle
​gravy boat
wire whisk

​

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Nothing says fall like pumpkin pie.  But before you make the most delicious, mouthwatering creation of creamy pumpkin filling with aromas of fall spices wafting through the house, you have to make a good pie crust.  This never fail butter pie crust is my favorite all around pie crust.  It's flaky, buttery and full of delicious flavor.  

This has been my go-to pie crust for several years now, but the one I had been making wasn't as good as it could have been and if I am going to go to the trouble to make a pie crust it should be really good.  My husband who really should be a food critic, determined that the crust recipe I had been making was industrial and lacked flakiness.  He was right.  This pie crust is so much better!

So I decided to try my hand at my Aunt Carol's Never Fail Pie Crust again with a few tweaks.  I had abandoned this recipe because it called for shortening which I avoid buying since it is such an unhealthy fat.  I use real butter in place of shortening.  To make the dough easier to handle, I freeze the butter ahead of time and use ice water.  ​The result:  A delicious, flaky pie crust made with butter instead of shortening.

​Yes.  If you have extra dough leftover, simply press it into a ball and store in a zipper seal bag or container in the freezer.  Make sure to label with the date and contents.  When ready to use thaw in the fridge for several hours or even overnight.

Yes, you can make your pie crust ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze it.  I often make pie crust the day before I need it and either press it in a ball shape to roll out later or form it in a pie pan, cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying out and refrigerate overnight.  This is really helpful when entertaining or planning a big holiday meal.  

Special Supplies:
Rolling pin (affiliate link)
Pastry blender (affiliate link)

If you are really into making pastries, you might consider a marble board (affiliate link) to help keep pastry cold when working with it.  I received one like this for Christmas last year and love it.  Mine is the larger 16 X 20 size so I can roll out large sheets of dough.  

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed (2 1/2 sticks)
1 tsp. salt
1 egg, well beaten
5 Tbsp. ice water
1 Tbsp. vinegar

1.  Cut up butter and put it in the freezer for a while before starting.  
2.  Cut butter, flour, and salt into coarse crumbs with a pastry blender.  This takes a little of work since the butter is frozen.  You can also process this step in a food processor.
3.  Combine egg, vinegar, and water.  Pour liquid into flour mixture all at one time.
4.  Blend with a spoon just until all the flour is moistened.  If it is crumbly, just start pressing it together with your hands until it becomes a soft ball of pie dough.  
5.  Roll 1/2 of the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Fold flattened dough in half and then in half again so that it can be easily lifted into the pie pan.  Lift the dough into the pan and unfold so that it covers the pie pan.
6.  Press the dough into the pan and trim and shape the edges for a one crust pie.  For a two crust pie, pour filling into the pie.  Then cover with top crust, seal and shape the edges.   
7.  To bake without filling, generously prick sides and bottom of pie crust with a fork to prevent the crust from collapsing into the pan.  Or line with foil and pour pie weights or dry beans onto the foil to weigh the crust down and prevent it from shrinking into the pan.  
8.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown at 425 degrees.  If I use pie weights, I bake for 15 minutes and then bake for another 5 to 7 minutes after removing the foil and pie weights.  If making a two crust pie, follow baking instructions in the filling recipe.  

 This recipe makes enough dough for two pie crusts.  

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Since we grew green beans in the garden this summer, roasted green beans quickly became a favorite side dish.  These green beans are so good...I have seen my kids eat them like French fries.  Plus they are really easy to make, you can get this dish on the table in 30 minutes or less.  

We planted three rows of beans on cattle panels and were amazed at the abundant, continuous crop for several months.  We ​enjoyed lots of green beans, sold some at the farm stand, and froze several quarts for winter.  

Yes, you can substitute frozen beans instead.  I have made them with fresh green beans and frozen green beans and they are delicious either way.  Frozen green beans help make a really fast weeknight side dish.  

You could use canned minced garlic from the store, but I wouldn't use it here.  I keep a jar in the fridge for convenience, but I think fresh roasted garlic is so much better in this dish.  The aroma and flavor of fresh garlic is far superior to jarred minced garlic when roasted.  In fact, you could add more than one clove if you like for even more of that yummy fresh roasted garlic flavor.  

Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients:
1 lb. fresh (or frozen) green beans
Drizzle olive oil
Fresh ground salt & pepper
1 clove garlic,  minced
To serve:
Fresh grated parmesan (optional)
Fresh snipped rosemary (optional)

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2.  Wash green beans and trim ends.  
3.  Mince garlic. 
4.  Toss beans with garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper in an oven safe pan (a 9 X 13 pan or large iron skillet works well).  (affiliate link)
5.  Roast beans for 15-20 minutes or until desired tenderness.  
6.  If desired, top with fresh grated parmesan and fresh snipped rosemary before serving.  Trust me, this makes it amazing.  

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These pumpkin cookies with browned butter glaze are a fall family favorite.  Soft pumpkin cookies with a caramelized sweet glaze finished with a pecan on top are simply delicious.  Add them to your fall baking lineup and the dessert table this Thanksgiving.  

My students used to make these  in my foods classes and they always loved them.  And that was before I knew about the merits of browned butter icing and how it takes these cookies from really good to rock your world amazing!  
​

To make browned butter, you simply melt the butter on the stovetop until it turns a light brown color and smells fragrant with a caramely slightly nutty scent.  The cookies are not that sweet on their own so the sweet caramely buttery icing compliments them well.  
​

Enjoy these perfect little fall confectionary gems!
​

Pumpkin Cookies:

Mix first:  
                1 cup sugar
                1 cup canned pumpkin
                1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
                1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

Mix in next:  
                    2 cups flour
                    1 tsp. baking powder
                    1 tsp. baking soda
                    1 tsp. ground cinnamon
                    1/4 tsp. salt

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined cookie sheet.  Bake in 375 degree F oven for 8 to 11 minutes.  Let cool, then glaze tops of cookies.  

Browned Butter Glaze:
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp.  vanilla
1 to 2 Tbsp. milk

Heat butter on stove over medium heat until browned.  You will smell a caramely, slightly nutty scent when it is ready.  Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla, then milk until smooth.  

Glaze cookies after they have cooled a few minutes.  Top each cookie with a pecan.

The glaze will harden quickly, so don’t make the glaze until after all of the cookies have baked.  

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

​

Did you know you can make homemade pumpkin puree from pie pumpkins?  
homemade pumpkin puree

​You also might like:  Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie

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This apple slab pie with crispy, flaky layers of buttery crust filled with warm cinnamon apples is the perfect dessert for fall.  

You start with a good pie crust.  You can use your favorite homemade crust or your favorite boxed store bought pie crust.  Boxed pie crusts are sold in the refrigerated section of the grocery store where you find canned biscuits.  If you use boxed pie crusts, you will need two boxes (4 crusts) to make this apple slab pie.  Two crusts for the bottom layer and two crusts for the top since the slab pie covers a larger area than a regular size pie.  I use my favorite Never Fail Butter Pie Crust recipe.  One batch of this homemade dough makes two pie crusts which is enough for the bottom layer of a slab pie.  You will have to make a second batch of dough for the top layer.  If you make cookie cutter cut-outs for your top layer, you will probably have leftover pie dough which will be nice for another pie.  Maybe a brown butter pumpkin pie or a pecan pie?  

Yes.  If you have extra dough leftover, simply press it into a ball and store in a zipper seal bag or container in the freezer.  Make sure to label with the date and contents.  When ready to use thaw in the fridge for several hours or even overnight.  All of the dough cut-outs pictured here are made from leftover dough I had in the freezer.  

A really easy way to make an impression when making this apple slab pie is to use cookie cutters to cut out dough shapes and place them as the top layer.  I used leaf and apple shapes here for fall.  You could use Christmas cookie cutters for Christmas or stars and flags for the 4th of July.  You could also make a lattice top or a solid crust top.  If you make a solid top, make sure to cut vents to release steam.  

This apple slab pie is perfect for your next pot-luck.  It will serve more people than the traditional 8 serving pie and it is so easy to eat.  My kids love how they can pick up a piece of pie and eat it like a hand pie.  

Enjoy this delicious taste of fall.  Make it extra special with a scoop of your favorite vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.  

Special supplies:
10 X 15 rimmed jelly roll pan.  (affiliate link)

If making homemade crust, you will need:
Rolling pin (affiliate link)
Pastry blender (affiliate link)

If you are really into making pastries, you might consider a marble board (affiliate link) to help keep pastry cold when working with it.  I received one like this for Christmas last year and love it.  Mine is the larger 16 X 20 size so I can roll out large sheets of dough.  

Ingredients:  
​Enough pie dough to make 3-4 pie crusts or 2 boxes store bought boxed pie dough.  I make 2 batches of our favorite Never Fail Butter Pie Crust.   

Filling Ingredients:
8 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced* 
1 T. lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon, fresh squeezed)
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar
Dash salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbsp. flour

Optional egg wash to brush on the top layer of dough before baking.  

• Whisk an egg and about 1 Tbsp. water, then brush a thin wash over the top pastry layer.  Follow with a sprinkling of sugar.  This will give the top pastry layer a nice caramelized color and flavor.  

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2.  Roll out, then press pie dough into jelly roll pan (enough dough for 2 pie crusts).
3.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing filling.
4.  Combine apple pie filling ingredients and spread in pastry-lined jelly roll pan.
5.  With a second batch of double crust pie dough or another box of pie dough, roll out the dough and make the top layer.  You can make cookie cut-outs, lattice style, or a solid top with slits for venting steam.   (If you make homemade dough and don't use all of it, freeze the extra for later.)
6.  If desired, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  Then bake until golden brown and filling is bubbling about 45 minutes.  Check while baking and if needed tent foil on top to prevent over browning.  

​Serve warm or at room temperature.  Store at room temperature covered with a lint free tea towel or plastic wrap.  
​
​*(I usually buy Gala apples because they are great for baking and eating.  Here is a list from Pioneer Woman with the best apples for pie.)  

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Okra is one of the easiest vegetables to freeze. It's so simple that I have been putting up okra every few days as I harvest it in small batches.  You can freeze it without blanching it, or simply dry-blanch it in the oven for even longer storage.  

If you have never seen an okra plant, this is what it looks like.  This was our first year to grow okra and I think it is a garden crop we will continue.  I followed the directions on the seed packets which included soaking the seeds first and planted them.  I actually forgot about them and soaked them an extra day or so, and some didn't come up but we still got a nice little crop of okra.  The plants seemed to grow pretty quickly and we have had a continuous harvest for weeks.  

We grew green and red okra which makes a pretty harvest basket.  (Basket pictured has green beans and okra.).  We cut the okra from the stem with scissors or pruning shears.  The stems are really thick and they rip apart if you don't use scissors.  The boys love harvesting okra.  It's the first thing they want to do when they are in the garden.  You want to harvest every couple days because the okra grows really fast and if the pods get too big they become too hard to consume.  I like to pick okra around 3-5 inches long for optimal tenderness.  Larger pods go in the compost.  In the video below, I cut a large okra pod to show how it is too hard and fibrous for consumption.  It is so hard, you can hear me cutting into it.  

Watch my quick youtube video to see how easy it is to freeze okra.  

What you need:
Fresh okra
Sided baking sheet or jelly roll pan
Parchment paper (affiliate link)
Freezer zipper bags (affiliate link) or storage containers

Instructions:
Simply wash and dry the okra.  Slice into rounds.  Place on parchment lined sided baking sheet.  Freeze for about 4 hours.  Place okra in zipper seal bags or storage containers, label, and return to the freezer.  This method will keep okra fresh in your freezer for up to 4 months, maybe even longer.  For longer storage, (up to 12 months) simply place pan of okra in a 350 degree F. preheated oven for 7-8 minutes then cool pan a few minutes before freezing.  This is called dry-blanching and will preserve the texture, flavor and color longer.  

​Here is our favorite shrimp and sausage gumbo recipe which uses okra.  

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