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Marinated Steak Bites
Marinated Steak Bites are a new favorite amongst the menfolk here at the Yankee Homestead. Older Brother refers to it as “that steak cooked in lard.” Mr. Native Texan calls it “perfect.” And to think, just a few years ago I was still refusing to eat red meat, let alone buy it or cook it for…
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Favorite Thanksgiving Stories for Children
My family loves to celebrate the changing of seasons and holidays with collections of our favorite books, such as the following titles from our list of favorite Thanksgiving stories for children.
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Singing in the Shadow of His Wings: Truths to cling to during trial and tragedy
At 2:15 in the morning on November 3rd, I underwent emergency surgery to remove an ectopic pregnancy. The night started out with a date at one of our favorite restaurants. Mr. Native Texan had returned from a long business trip and we were eager to catch up, as well as to give me a break…
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Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder
While I am not an “animal person” (something I recently came to terms with, after growing up on a small farm), I have always been a “nature person.” As an adult, I’ve come to value the many opportunities my childhood afforded me to become personally acquainted with God’s creation. As a parent, I greatly desire…
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Chunky Monkey: a frozen, sugar-free treat
This is one of Mr. Native Texan’s favorites, but we all love it here at the Yankee Homestead. We relied heavily on this recipe at the beginning of our Strange New Journey. Sometimes we’re too impatient to chill (ha!), but the chilling really does make a big difference. The ingredients and amounts are suggestions; we…
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Favorite Halloween Picture Books
As I mentioned in this post about local Halloween events , we don’t make a big deal about Halloween here at the Yankee Homestead. When the kids get a bit older I’d like to explore the holiday’s history, but for now we just carve pumpkins in October and dress up on Halloween night.
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Exploring Nature With Kids: The Nature Display
According to Richard Louv in his most excellent book Last Child in the Woods, [A] growing body of research links our mental, physical, and spiritual health directly to our association with nature—in positive ways. Several of these studies suggest that thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can even be a powerful form of therapy for attention-deficit…
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Hamburger Helper (the Real Foods version)
This Healthy Hamburger Helper recipe came from The Nourishing Cook, a blog based on the recipes from Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions cookbook. I tweaked the recipe a bit, but you can see the original recipe here. I usually double or triple this recipe, to have lots of leftovers. This requires using two pans at the same time,…
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Zand HerbaLozenges: fight colds and flu naturally!
Here at the Yankee Homestead, we’re almost completely free of all prescription drugs, as well as over-the-counter remedies. We prevent and treat our illnesses and injuries with real food, read food supplements, essential oils and other natural remedies. Here’s one of my favorites for treating and preventing colds and the flu, as well as for…
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Good Night, Sleep Tight: Favorite Bedtime Books for Toddlers & Preschoolers
If there are little people at your house, you probably have Goodnight Moon memorized by now. And Good Night, Gorilla. And possibly Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book. These all are wonderful books, and we do love them here at the Yankee Homestead. But sometimes, even Goodnight Moon can get old (even in Spanish). So, here are…
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