Kathleen | Roots & Boots, Author at Roots & Boots

4 Tips for Cooking From Scratch in Less Time

Recently, I returned to physical therapy in an attempt to address my ongoing sciatica. I know this doesn’t seem relevant to the topic at hand, but I promise to bring it full circle if you stick with me. 🙂 In assessing my situation, the therapist asked which activities tend to increase my symptoms. When I…

Homemade Crockpot Ketchup

This ketchup is one of the ingredients in Last Minute Meatballs, a new favorite around the Yankee Homestead. We actually went without ketchup for many months, using guacamole, hummus and mustards when we needed a condiment for dipping or spreading. When I came across this recipe, I just had to try it!

Favorite Children’s Books for Easter

Are there certain books you always read with your family to prepare for special holidays? Every year at my house we pull out the same special children’s books for Easter.

Children are a Blessing

At times, (okay, many times) my actions do not demonstrate my belief in this truth from Psalm 127:3-5, but it is true nonetheless. Parenting is hard. Sometimes I don’t like it. I don’t like it when my kids act like selfish brats. And I really don’t like it when, by displaying their sin nature, my…

A Pot o’Gold: More Irish Culture for Kids

What we love about this collection of “Irish stories, poetry, folklore, and (of course) blarney”: Brief selections. Perfect for kids! I tend to read one or two to the boys as they finish up breakfast or lunch. Excellent explanations. Each selection begins with a short description of pertinent background information, including remarks about the author.…

10 Simple Ways to Weave Holiday Traditions Into Everyday Life

Here at the Yankee Homestead, we love getting into the spirit for holidays and seasonal celebrations. We don’t do anything too elaborate, certainly nothing that would land on anyone’s Pinterest board. 🙂 Children love to celebrate, and I find that holidays make a great jumping off point for learning about all sorts of things–culture, history,…

A Wee Bit o’ Irish Culture

Tales from Old Ireland So I’m about 1/4 Irish. (And 1/4 Mexican + 1/2 German. Amish-German, to be exact. But that’s definitely a story for another day…) Mr. Native Texan also boasts some UK heritage. Not from Ireland exactly, but close enough to make the Emerald Isle dear to his heart. Even without familiar…

What’s for Lunch? (other than bread)

One of the questions I fielded most frequently at the beginning of our Strange New Dietary Journey was, “What do you eat for lunch?” I think the rest of the question was implied: “…if you can’t eat bread?” Whenever we eat lunch with non-Real-Foodies, there seems to be much curiosity over the contents of our…

Seasoned Taco Meat

Seasoned Taco Meat Notes: I always double or triple this recipe, in order to have leftovers. It freezes well, too. This taco meat is great for using up leftover veggies or frozen shredded zucchini from our garden. The possibilities are endless! It’s not a particularly labor-intensive recipe, but it does require a bit of time to…