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A Farmhouse Pantry, Grand Saline, TX (2026)

01/20/2026

There is something so warming and cozy about a simmer pot going during the winter. But is also serves a purpose of adding needed moisture back into the dry air caused by fireplaces and heaters running. But for those of us with gas stoves, who wants to waste the propane on running simmer pots all day. Or even use up a burner on your stove. My solution..pull out my electric skillet. Works perfectly turned on low and sits on the corner of the counter out of the way.

12/03/2025

I would like to introduce you to VEGGIE POWDER. What is it, you ask. Well it is exactly what it sounds like. I use my left over ends from vegetables, ones that are getting a lil old to use, and ones that we really don't eat(like broccoli..YUCK) but could use the nutrition to make powder. I dehydrate them in my dehydrator and grind them in my coffee grinder. Uses are what ever you would like a little punch of flavor or you feel the need to give a dish a little more nutrition. I sprinkle it in soups, stews, etc. And our favorite thing is to sprinkle in on pan fried potatoes.

09/12/2025

So canning season has officially ended at the Thomas house today. Though I may add a few more. All the jars are on the shelf, labeled, and ready for use.

08/26/2025

Who doesn't love something sweet? But seriously taking the time to bake some times seems like a struggle. AND I LOVE TO BAKE. So, having some sweet items mixed up in the pantry, is a blessing. All I have to do is add the wet ingredients, mix and bake. I have shared my brownie mix before. Now here are some items in a jar to give you some variety. There are 3 cookie recipes and a sweet bread recipe. They are all pretty versatile on what you add in. By spending just a little time mixing these up you can save time later when you don't have it but want(or need) a treat. ENJOY MY FRIENDS!

COOKIE MIX
Ingredients for Jar
• 1 ¼ cups old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup brown sugar light or dark
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup Mix-ins of your choice choose from chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, chopped nuts, dried fruit, or shredded coconut.
• ½ cup butter softened (1 stick)
• 1 large egg
• 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack in the center position. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, egg, and vanilla until well blended. Add the cookie mix and mix well, breaking up any clumps. Drop the dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between each ball of dough. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until light golden brown, rotating the pan’s positions halfway through. Remove from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack.

SWEET QUICK BREAD RECIPE
Ingredients for Jar
• 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 6 Tablespoons coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 cups whatever mix-ins you like
Dried cranberries
Pumpkin powder (rehydrated with water and pumpkin pie spice) or pumpkin puree
Chocolate chips
Mashed ripe bananas
Chunked strawberry jam
Blueberry vanilla jam

To make bread, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a loaf pan. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the contents of the jar (Sweet Quick Bread Base Mix) to your wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. Do not overmix. If desired, add in your choice of mix-ins (see suggestions below). Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.

CHOCOLATE CANDY COOKIES
Ingredients for Jar
• 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup white chocolate chips
• ½ cup candy-coated candies (such as M&Ms

Directions for making cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Melt 1½ sticks butter in a sauce pan or microwavable bowl. Let cool. Add one egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk to combine. Pour contents of jar into butter mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. With the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies slightly (you may want to shape them). Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until tops are cracked. Remove from oven and move parchment to wire rack to let cookies cool completely.

GINGER SNAP COOKIES
Ingredients for Jar
• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
• 1 cup Sugar (3/4 cup for dough, 1/4 cup for rolling)
• 1 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1 teaspoon Ginger
• ¼ cup Molasses
• 1 cup Butter softened to room temperature
• 1 large Egg

In large bowl, cream together Butter, Egg and Molasses. Gradually pour dry mixture into wet mixture while beating together until well combined. Reserve remaining 1/4 cup Sugar in small bowl and set aside for later. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour. After dough has finished chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll dough into small 1″ size balls, roll dough balls in remaining sugar until fully coated, then drop onto nonstick cookie sheets (approx. 3″ apart) Bake 7 – 9 minutes, or until done.

07/31/2025

And WHY don't you have a bread machine? Yes, they are great for making bread that is homemade without all the work and fuss... but there is so much more you can do with it. How about some easy to make dinner rolls. What is so great about these? You can mix all the dry ingredients together and store them in your pantry till time to make. See recipe below.

Mix these ingredients and store up to 3 months in the pantry.
4 cups sifted all purpose Flour
2 Tbs Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 Tbs Powdered Milk
1 Tbs Active Dry Yeast
When ready to use add first to your bread machine.
1 1/4 cup warm Water
1 beaten Egg
3 Tbs of Vegetable Oil
Then dump dry mixture on top. Set Bread Machine to dough setting. The mixture will combine and rise. Once this is done, remove dough and shape into 12 round rolls and place on well greased cooking sheet. Cover and let rise 30 mins till doubled. Place in preheated 400 degree oven and bake 8-10 mins, or until slightly golden brown. Be careful not to overcook or they will be dry. DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE!

07/29/2025

THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS IN JULY! Preserving pie fillings for the holidays. Canned some Pecan Pie filling, prepared and froze some pumpkin puree from some pumpkins given to me by friend. Never to early to get things ready for the holidays.

07/15/2025

I hate to throw out bread when it starts to get stale. Seems like a waste just because you cant make a good sandwich with it. So I throw it in the freezer and then when I get a good amount I turn it into croutons.
Simply cut it into about 1 inch squares. Then sprinkle with Olive Oil and toss. Next add garlic powder and italian seasons or whatever type you like. Mix it up well and bake in a 350 degree oven stirring every 10 mins till they are the perfect texture of a crouton.
You can also use these crushed up as seasoned bread crumbs.
Or even use to make homemade Stove top Stuffing. I have attached a great recipe.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups croutons
3 tbs unsalted butter
1 rib of celery chopped
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs dried parsley or 2 tbs fresh parsley
1/2 tsp sage
1/4 tsp marjoram
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
Instructions

1. Dice the celery and onion and portion out the remaining ingredients so that you have them on hand. I portioned
them out into individual cups for aesthetic reasons, but you can portion them into a single bowl to save on
cleaning.
2. In a large sauce pan, melt the butter and kosher salt over medium heat.
3. Add the celery, onion and garlic and cook until the veggies are softened and the onion starts to become
translucent. Roughly 5 minutes.
4. Add the herbs, spices and chicken stock to the mix and stir. Bring to a boil.
5. Once the mixture hits a rolling boil, add the bread cubes. Quickly mix in the bread cubes to the liquid and then
cover.
6. Remove from the heat and let the pan sit for 5 minutes. Using a fork fluff the mixture and serve.
7. Although this took about 15 minutes longer to make than the box stuff it was delicious.

03/13/2025

My pantry is filled with DIY mixes and one of my favorite is my Brown Gravy mix. I use it on lots of things. Like with Roast(which we are having tonight for supper), Meatballs and Rice, and anything that calls for a package of Brown Gravy Mix. I hope you love it too!

BROWN GRAVY MIX
3 cups All Purpose Flour
¾ cup Beef Bouillon Powder
2 tsp Black Pepper
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
½ tsp Dried Parsley
Mix Ingredients and store in airtight container. (will last up to 1 year)
To Make Gravy:
Mix 2 Tbs of Mix, 1 cup water or Beef Broth and 2 Tbs of Butter. Whisk together in saucepan over medium heat till thick.

02/10/2025

Here is a great recipe I wanted to share. ENJOY!

BREAKFAST BARS

Ingredients
• 2 medium ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted (or avocado oil)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 scoops collagen protein (~20g) (sub protein powder of choice)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (sub cacao nibs or dried fruit if making vegan I like Dried Cranberries also)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8" baking dish with parchment paper.
2. Place bananas in a mixing bowl and use a fork to throughly mash. Once pureed, stir in peanut butter, maple syrup, oil, and vanilla.
3. Add rolled oats, collagen or protein powder, chocolate chips, walnuts (if using), and salt; stir to combine.
4. Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. If desired, sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips overtop. Transfer to the oven and bake for 27 to 32 minutes, until set.
Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and let cool completely before slicing into.
5. Once cooled, slice into 12 bars. (I also like sprinkling some flaky salt overtop, however this is totally optional!)
Notes
STORING: Place bars in an airtight Tupperware container and store at room temperature for 3 days. After that, refrigerate for up to 3 more days.
FREEZING: Let the bars cool to room temperature before wrapping each square in plastic wrap. Place the bars in an airtight container and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat: remove the plastic wrap and warm on a microwave-safe plate for 30-60 seconds.

12/30/2024

THE PANTRY CHALLENGE
What is it you ask? It is a 2 month challenge to not go to the grocery store and eat only what you have at home. This challenge is not mine. It was started by Jessica at . And what is the purpose of this challenge? Well there are many reasons why I have to decided to tackle this challenge and here are the main reasons.
1. To save money. Everyone knows when you go to the grocery store, even if you are a list shopper like I am. You will impulse buy. And you will over buy what you want and even sometimes skip what you need. Without going to the grocery store for a period of 2 months you will see that a lot of the things you generally purchase are a waste of money and also time.
2. To use up the items in your pantry and freezer that may have been sitting there a while. Also to clean out jars for the upcoming planting and harvesting seasons. Cycling through items in your pantry and freezer are good ways to save money by not letting anything get old, or even unedible. Even though home canned food can last longer on the shelf, the nutritional value of anything canned (store or home) will begin to deteriorate at some point. And no one likes to find that frozen item at the back of the freezer that has ended up with freezer burn and you have to throw it out.
3. Cut down on waste and trash. We have a lot of home canned and non-package foods but trips to the store generally makes the trash can full by the time everything is put away. Convenience foods and packaged items tend to come in plastic and I am a firm believer in glass storage containers.
4. Staying out of the stores during the months of January and February also cuts down on the exposure to Cold, Flu and Covid. During this season, we all know that getting sick is inevitable but reducing your chances of contact at the grocery store can help.
5. This helps me with planning my garden and seeing where I need to up my game. I can tell if I need to plant more of less of some items by seeing what we run out of and what we have a crazy amount of left.
6. This is the time when experimenting with recipes can be fun. If you have that peach sauce you didn’t seem to use much this year, then maybe find some recipes you can substitute apple sauce for it. or make some homemade icecream and top it with the sauce.
THESE ARE THE TOP REASONS TO ATTEMPT THIS CHALLENGE FOR ME.
NO – you don’t go to the store and purchase 2 months worth of groceries to begin with. That is not what you are trying to accomplish. Getting some basic items you might need currently in your pantry is fine. Like right now I need to refill my flour and sugar 5 gallon buckets.
YES- you can go to the store if you need to. Some people allow themselves a small budget for fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products. I have decided to do 50 dollars every 2 weeks. But use this money only if necessary.
I will let you know how is goes and keep you informed along the way. If you would like to attempt this challenge along with us. Please use if you post anything.
THIS IS ACHEIVABLE! Many people and done this a succeeded.

A Farmhouse Pantry

01/20/2026

12/03/2025

09/12/2025

08/26/2025

07/31/2025

07/29/2025

07/15/2025

03/13/2025

02/10/2025

12/30/2024

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