My Week on Wednesday… And a Year in Review

I can’t quite believe that, as I am writing this, that the whole of 2014 is gone and that it is a brand new year! It has been an amazing year full of growth and change here on this blog, and also in our lives.

So for this first post of the year, I am collecting some of my favorite posts collected over a year’s worth of My Week on Wednesdays–from myself, my friends over at the Homestead Bloggers Network, and some of my other favorite bloggers.

 Some of my Favorite Recipes

Apricot and Onion Chicken from April J. Harris of The 21st Century Housewife

Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot from The Little Kitchen — This is delicious, and easy-peasy!

Pumpkin Lasagna with Sage White Sauce from Game and Garden

Chicken and Dumplings from SchneiderPeeps

Chicken and Rice from The Elliot Homestead

Homemade Fish and Chips from Montana Homesteader

Butter Chicken in the Crock Pot from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Sourdough Stuffing with Mushrooms, Apples, and Sage from Two Peas and their Pod

Strawberry Beet Green Salad with Strawberry Dressing from The Homestead Lady — THIS dressing was probably the very best thing I had all spring. As long as the strawberries held out, we poured it over everything that was even vaguely lettuce-like!

Slow Cooker Lentil Black Bean Chili from Ten at the Table

Frugal Split Pea Soup from Richly Rooted — We LOVE this!

A Braised Spring Stew Recipe from My Humble Kitchen

Persian Stew with Summer Vegetables from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Farmers’ Market Winter Soup from Nourished Caveman

Mushroom Wild Rice Stew with Swiss Chard from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Simple Spanish Garlic and Egg Soup from Tessa the Domestic Diva

Cock-a-Leekie Soup from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Gingered Mushrooms, Greens, Carrots with Black Rice from My Sister’s Pantry

Homemade Garlic Chicken Cream of Mushroom Soup from Fresh Eggs Daily

Mushroom Soup with Herbs from Keeper of the Home

(See more from this adventure here)

English Muffin Bread from Brown Thumb Mama

Berry Omelet from Pantry Paratus

Cream of NOT Wheat from Tessa the Domestic Diva

Gluten Free High Protein Breakfast Bars from Waldorf (Inspired) Moms — Perfect for snacks, too!

Soaked Pancakes from Whistle Pig Hollow — Most of the time when we have pancakes, we have these. 🙂

My little homestead became famous thanks to Jess from The 104 Homestead when she wrote Christine’s Story: The Heart of a Homesteader. This post makes me cry whenever I read it — Jess wrote SUCH a wonderful post!

 

Kitchen Tips & Preserving Summer

How to Make Feta at Home from Lady Lee’s Homestead

Ways to Use Your Canned Tomatoes all Year Round from The Kitchn

Canning Salsa from Homespun Seasonal Living — Excellent tips here!

How to Harvest Sunflower Seeds from A Return to Simplicity

Drying and Using Lavender from Homespun Seasonal Living

How to Make Old-Fashioned Peach Butter from The Prairie Homestead

How to Can Pickled Beets from The Prairie Homestead, post written by Annie of Montana Homesteader

Blueberry Currant Jam from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Replace Your Canned Pumpkin with Homemade Puree from The 104 Homestead

How to Dry Your Own MINT and Make TEA from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Bean Soaking 101 from Mix Wellness

10 Cookie Baking Secrets that Grandma Knew from Joybilee Farm

Kefir Fermented Bread Dough from The Homestead Lady — This is so awesome! No yeast is needed… and you can use yogurt or live buttermilk if, say, your kefir is dead again

5 Reasons Why I Still Eat Refined Flour from Our Heritage of Health

And my homestead — specifically my kitchen — is back in the spotlight,  thanks to Lindsey of Cultivate Nourishing’s Homestead Kitchen Tour!

And Isis-Kitten came to live with us: The Next Chapter: In which I get a Kitten.

Taking Care of Mother Earth

66 Small Changes that Make a Big Difference from Attainable Sustainable

Many Composting Methods from Homespun Seasonal Living — Luckily there is no ONE way to compost! Pick the method or methods that will work for you and go to it! 🙂

Heirloom Vegetables: Better for the Backyard Garden from Better Hens and Gardens

Gardening for Pollinators: 8 Tips from One Acre Farm

5 Reasons to Plant Wildflowers from Back to Basics

(see more wildflower pictures here)

How to Use Pee in Your Garden from Northwest Edible Life

Is Your Dryer Toxic? from Imperfectly Happy

Felted Wool Dryer Balls from These Light Footsteps

This year’s most popular post: Why my Daughter Will NOT be Selling Girl Scout Cookies

 

And the year’s second most popular post (which wasn’t even written this year!): Lice Stay Away Spray. Not that I’m surprised… nobody wants lice!

Taking Care of YOU: Natural Remedies & Healthy Living

Statins and Memory Loss from Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Natural Remedies Cheat Sheet from DIY Natural

Crafting a Natural Bug Repellent with Essential Oils from Herbal Academy of New England

Natural Insect Repellents from The 104 Homestead

Food Rules from a Fourth Grader from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers — written by the Boy!

How to Clean a Dog Sprayed by a Skunk from Gentleman Homesteading Consultant — We have not yet had the pleasure of trying this recipe out… but we keep the ingredients on hand just in case!

Lavender Bath Salts from Fabulous Farmgirl — You’ll want this after you un-skunk your dog. 😉

Herbal Remedies for Headaches from Herbal Academy of New England

Ancient Moroccan Soup to Cure Colds or Flu from Lady Lee’s Home

Homemade Hand Sanitizer with Essential Oils from The Prairie Homestead

All Natural Shampoo & Body Wash from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Homemade Hair Detangling Spray from Purposefully Simple

Rosemary Scented Hairspray from Taylor Made Ranch — I really MUST make a batch of this for the Pixie’s ballet buns… though I don’t think I will use rosemary for the Pixie’s blond hair. 😉

Make Your Own Super Bubble Solution from Blue Yonder Urban Farms

Some More Favorite Recipes

Coconut Cake with Lemon Glaze from Naturally Loriel — This is now our go-to birthday cake. It is SO fabulous!

Real Food Chocolate Cake from The Troup’s Address

Grandma’s Apple Pie from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Deep Dish French Apple Pie with Salted Dark Caramel Sauce from Richly Rooted

Flower Infused Ice Cream Recipes from The Mountain Rose Blog — Four beautiful recipes to try

Fudge from Our Nourishing Roots — Two recipes here, Chocolate Peppermint and Orange Citrus

Jan Hagel: A Dutch Christmas Cookie from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Yummy, Non-Alcoholic Butterbeer from The 104 Homestead’s Daughter — This is absolutely delicious! 🙂

Gingerbread Cookie Latte from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Pumpkin Pie Latte from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Immune Boosting Chai Tea from Herbal Academy of New England

Homemade Dirty Chai Latte from This Organic Life — Yes. This is chai-spiced coffee. 🙂

South African Hot Toddy from Homemade Mommy — THIS is fabulous. It’s billed as a warming drink for when you’re under the weather. But you don’t have to be sick to drink it!

Pumpkin Spice Cider from Once Upon a Time in a Bed of Wildflowers

Thank you for joining me for this special version of My Week on Wednesday! We’ll be back next week with the themed posts and the Quote of the Week and all of the other regular My Week on Wednesday things! In the meantime, be sure to come visit me on Facebook, hang out with me on Google+ and follow me on Pintrest and Twitter! 

And be sure to join us a week from Friday when the From the Farm Blog Hop returns!

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The photos in this post were edited with PicMonkey.

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This post has been shared at: Simply Natural Saturdays, Simple Saturdays, and Simple Life Sunday. And Thank Goodness It’s Monday and Mostly Homemade Mondays. And  Fat Tuesdays,  Wildcrafting Wednesdays, the Homestead Blog Hop, Real Food Wednesdays, Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter, and the HomeAcre Hop.