Since I just posted my super secret (giggle giggle) salsa recipe... I figured I might as well add my special homemade taco meat recipe too. Everyone loves this and we make it quite often. It's inexpensive to make and honestly super yummy! I always have some taco shells at the house as well as the … Continue reading Homemade taco meat recipe
Author: Conestoga Chuck
Conestoga is another name for a horse drawn prairie wagon. So conestoga Chuck is about traveling with pets and keeping it fun, organic, and inexpensive in the prairie homesteading tradition of making things instead of buying and making do with less. Enjoying the wild & wonderful and traditions of our pioneering ansestors rather than the material things in life ... while also enjoying the companionship and warmth of our family and pets.
Which brings me to the chuck part in our name. Chuck is the beautiful collie mix in the page profile photo. A little play on words with the chuck wagon theme lol hence conestoga Chuck was born. We hope you enjoy our page! Occasionally conestoga Chuck will allow guest writers in the form of his humans ... simply because they type better than he does. Opposable thumbs and all that :)
Occasionally you may see some Amazon links in posts for useful items that we have found to be extremely nice to have. We post these links for your convenience, but please note as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Easy homemade salsa that goes good on just about everything (even eggs)
So I'm posting this really for my adult son who calls me about once a month and asks "what do I buy to put in that salsa again?" "What are those green things called again?" And for all the other people who have asked me the same questions lol This stuff is fabulous with nachos … Continue reading Easy homemade salsa that goes good on just about everything (even eggs)
Designer, pet/kid friendly, window treatment
We have a sliding glass door in our house, and if you have pets you know regular hanging curtains will just become a hassle with pets (or small kids) pulling them down (and with cats they like to claw at hanging curtains). So big shout out to my cousin for this idea! We found a … Continue reading Designer, pet/kid friendly, window treatment
Part 2: homemade cottage cheese, raspberry jam mini fruit fritters
So I have my yummy homemade cottage cheese (see previous post) and we have been experimenting with different flavors and we have concluded we all like two flavors best when using as a cracker/bread snack spread. A tiny dash of applewood smoked salt (flavor one), and a mixture of Italian spices (ours are from our … Continue reading Part 2: homemade cottage cheese, raspberry jam mini fruit fritters
Hand made chenille blankets: a lost art
Chenille blankets were the brain child of 15 year old Catherine Evans Whitener in 1895 who invented the technique. She received so many orders for her new style blanket that she began producing them in larger orders. Eventually manufactures copied the blankets she invented and they kept quite a few Georgia families from starving during … Continue reading Hand made chenille blankets: a lost art
Homemade buttermilk cottage cheese and cottage cheese raspberry jelly filled cookies!
So I'm reading my 1924 ladies finishing school book (see my bibliography page for more info) and I learn that in 10 easy minutes I can turn buttermilk into cottage cheese with no other added ingredients! Whoa! I gotta try this! But then ... what am I going to do with the cottage cheese? Right? … Continue reading Homemade buttermilk cottage cheese and cottage cheese raspberry jelly filled cookies!
Pioneer style wood ash lye, peppermint soap: a living history experiment
I've always wanted to make some real pioneer style wood ash lye soap! So I'm going to give it a try. I've done a bit of research using a ton of different books and websites so I can't exactly reference any one specific recipe or site... so I'm making this up as I go along … Continue reading Pioneer style wood ash lye, peppermint soap: a living history experiment
Instant pot, homemade gourmet mac and cheese: no more time to make than a box mix folks!
Ok so this has got to be the yummiest Mac and cheese ever! It has two secret ingredients (shhhh don't tell anyone!) which are powdered mustard and evaporated goats milk! It's also an easy way to use up any stray bits of cheese you have in the fridge lol. Take a 1lb box of elbow … Continue reading Instant pot, homemade gourmet mac and cheese: no more time to make than a box mix folks!
How to books: old books that are useful to figuring almost anything out and some other useful random information
I decided to keep a running list of books I have found useful on helping me figure out how things were done "back in the day". So think of this as my bibliography page in a sense.... along with a lot of lessons from family, friends and people I have met along the way. I … Continue reading How to books: old books that are useful to figuring almost anything out and some other useful random information
Fall farm chores to prepare for winter living, and husking some black walnuts!
Well we have been super busy here, but we did take time out for a visit to the local pioneer village museum to purchase some absolutely huge pumpkins to carve, toast seeds, and make some yummy pumpkin treats (pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake etc). 'Tis the season for everything pumpkin! Next we cleaned out … Continue reading Fall farm chores to prepare for winter living, and husking some black walnuts!
Conestoga Chuck 