Prepped Living Blog

This past week the girls, some friends, and I went blueberry picking. We are fortunate to be able to pick at a private blueberry patch. This allows us to set up the pack-n-play for the babies under the shady branches of a lovely plum tree and basically settle in for the morning. We had the place to ourselves, so it was a quiet morning of friendly chatter, blueberry picking, and baby care. Our goal was for each of us to leave with one to two gallons of blueberries. We accomplished our goal, even with taking breaks to feed the babies, change diapers, rock them to sleep, snuggle them, etc. We are hoping to pick one more day so we can put away a few more berries for the upcoming year. What do we do with that many berries? Keep reading for a few ways we use our blueberries! Ways We Use Our Blueberries We use them fresh to: Eat plain Add to yogurt  Add to granola Make a blueberry, yogurt, granola parfait Add to smoothies Use in Sangria Make a dessert - This  Blueberry pudding cake  from Tast

Hello! It has been a while since we have done an update on our various projects, so here is a brief overview of a few of our projects. First of all, let me say that we have been a bit slow in the project area due to a significant amount of uncharacteristic travelling this spring and summer. The travelling was fabulous, but the amount of foraging and gardening we typically do this time of year has suffered. Nevertheless, I remind myself that each person's journey, whether prepping, homesteading, or living healthy, is accomplished one step at a time. Do what you can when you can, even if is just one small thing at a time. Little steps do add up. So, without further ado, here are some of our "little steps": Note: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an affiliate, we may earn from qualifying purchases. We know you have many choices when you shop. Thank you for supporting our blog and website! In the Garden - Successes and Failures We had quite a time this year getting

We enjoy trying new recipes each year. This spring we tried a new flower jelly - peony jelly. We have made dandelion and lilac jelly in the past and enjoyed them immensely. We had peonies in our yard, so when I saw a recipe for peony jelly, I decided this would be one of our new recipes to try this year. It fits well with our "harvest what you have" mindset. We had peonies, so why not? I am notorious for finding a recipe online and forgetting to bookmark it. Sadly, that is exactly what I did with the peony recipe we used. However, the recipe we used was similar to this one from Daily Dish Recipes and this one from Practical Self Reliance. First, I picked four large blossoms. I picked out any leaves and rinsed them well to remove any potential bugs and dirt. Four blossoms gave me almost eight cups of petals. I then put the blossoms in a half-gallon jar and covered them with boiling water. I let it cool on the counter for a bit. After ten minutes or so, the water was already

Sangria is one of our favorite summer time drinks. Not only is it refreshing, but it evokes memories of my long-ago trip to Spain where I first tried sangria. Last year, our eldest daughter and her husband gifted us with a sangria pitcher. It was made in Spain and is of a traditional design that has been used for centuries. I love the cheerful colors. It is just perfect for summertime. We hadn't made homemade sangria very many times before receiving this gift, but we have certainly put it to good use since. In honor of summertime, we are sharing our favorite sangria recipe with you. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Sangria Ingredients : 1 orange 1 lemon 1 lime 1 1/2 c. rum 1/2 c. cane sugar, or to taste 1 bottle (750 ml) dry red wine 1 c. orange juice 1/3 - 1/2 c. pitted cherries Directions : Place fruit, rum, and sugar in a glass pitcher. Muddle fruit lightly. Chill in the refrigerator for two hours. Stir in chilled wine and orange juice. Adjust sweetness. Notes:  1) We have