DIY Elderberry Syrup – it’s SO easy!

I’ve mentioned a few times recently on the Homstead Emporium facebook page that we’ve been making, and taking, Elderberry Syrup and many have asked how to make it, so I thought I’d share on the blog, just how simple it is!

DIY Elderberry Syrup Kit

 I first tried elderberry in lozenge form after reading about how it can aid in boosting the immunity, and overall health. I found some onsale at well.ca and thought I’d give it a try. I REALLY wanted to buy elderberry syrup, but the price was just way too high for our family of seven. With the small size of the bottles, we’d be going through one every day or two!

Then I met Delia, from Delia’s Pantry! She’s local, also moved to our area recently just like us, and also attends our church. She let me know that she had Elderberries in her new shop, Delia’s Pantry, and I could get them at a good price through her. As it turned out, she’s due any day with her second child and needed a postpartum stash, so we actually were able to work out a trade! What a blessing for us both!

My first batch, I simply used what I had on hand. Dried elderberries from Delia, cinnamon & ground cloves in my pantry. I didn’t have ginger, so I omitted it from my first batch.

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Since then, Delia has brought in organic cloves, organic ginger, and quality cinnamon, so my next batch was MUCH nicer!

To make my syrup, I used the recipe found at wellnessmama.com

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It’s as easy as putting all your ingredients, minus the honey into a pot. Bring it to a boil, simmer for a while, strain…

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Add in your honey.

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And you have GLORIOUS Elderberry Syrup!

It really is, that simple! And, the cost of making it myself is SO small that now, we can have Elderberry Syrup every day! When my youngest was sick with stomach flu last week, I added just a little to some ginger-ale (with real ginger in it) so that I knew she was at least getting SOME vitamins and energy!

Now I add it to ginger-ale as a refreshing treat for myself too.
A friend mentioned it’s great on pancakes too! At over 20$ for a tiny bottle, there’s no way we could do that. Now that I make it myself, we’ve got LOTS, so we’re going to try it! It sounds too delicious not to!

Delia’s Pantry and I have joined forces to offer simply DIY Elderberry Syrup making kits at Homestead Emporium! The kit comes with everything you need, except for the water and honey! A recipe is also included in the kit!

You can purchase the kit direct through Delia’s Pantry facebook page, or if you’re already familiar with shopping Homestead Emporium, you can purchase through us. Either way is fine with both of us! Delia’s got some other awesome things available as well, so it’s worth checking out Delia’s Pantry facebook page. Since she’s just recently opened shop, she’s still working on an actual online ‘storefront’ and with her second child due any day (her due date was a few days ago!) she may be just a little while getting that completed. If there’s anything you’re wanting from her, you can contact me as well and I can always ship for her, to you and combine the orders into one package! We see each other at least once a week, so that’s not a problem to combine from both our shops! It will be our pleasure to serve you the best we can!

Honey garlic meatballs

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I promised a photo and recipe for honey garlic meatballs.

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I believe this came out of a magazine years and years ago and I can not remember which one. I feel bad not being able to give credit where credit is due…

I have made this recipe so many times that I don’t really follow it, I use no measuring utensils, and just throw it all together as I go, tasting along the way.

It always turns out the same…DELICIOUS!

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Meal Planning

Life is busy! Having just moved, and now moving again by the end of June, (no, we still don’t know WHERE, still praying for a home & a miracle!) makes life even busier!

However, I have 7 mouths to feed every day, ages 12 to adult, including three ‘men’!
There’s no time to be TOO busy to create good, hearty, meals!

I find meal planning helps a LOT when busy. I can ALWAYS make the time to cook, it’s a must,  but to try and decide every day at the last minute, what I should cook? I have NO time for that. So planning is a must!

I just finished this week’s meal plan, after ‘consulting’ what everyone would like to see on their plates, and taking into consideration the requests made from me, and also my need for simplicity on my busiest work days, and this is what we’ll be eating.

*I’ve included links to recipes because I LOVE it when other’s share their recipes with me!

Monday- Tuna Casserole (Elsa’s request)http://southernfood.about.com/od/tunacasserolerecipes/r/r90110b.htm

Tuesday- pork chops & rice bake (a favorite that Alesia used to always make for the family) http://www.food.com/recipe/simply-oven-baked-pork-chops-and-rice-142542  with asparagus & Hollandaise Sauce (recipe given to me by our ‘extra’, Josh’s friend Steven who is living with us)http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fsimplyrecipes.com%2Frecipes%2Fasparagus_with_hollandaise_sauce%2F&h=hAQFNFBnA
Wednesday-Homemade Pea Soup (this will be a crockpot meal, as Wed. are my busiest work days, and there is no extra time for cooking)
Thursday-Beef Macaroni Casserole  http://southernfood.about.com/od/pastabake/r/bl30512v.htm  with spinach salad (recipe given to me by our ‘extra’, Josh’s friend Steven who is living with us)  http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Raisin-Walnut-Spinach-Salad
Friday, it’s Steven’s birthday so I asked what he’d like to have for dinner that night, he replied with: Buttered chicken, mixed veggies bake consisting of carrots, beets, yams, yellow onions & fennel. I’ve never made either before, but I’m always up for new recipes!

This week’s baking by whoever cares to make it, either myself, the girls, or possibly even Steven:
Blondies: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/blondies/

How about you? Do you meal plan? If so, what’s on YOUR menu this week?