Have you ever got ready to make supper and realized you don’t have the sausage you thought you had? I have and it can ruin a supper plan, especially if you’re on a short timeline.
Sausage herbs & sausage
But thankfully it’s really easy to make homemade sausage. It’s a simple recipe and it tastes fabulous.
I’ve used this recipe with deer, beef and pork and they were all good. The flavor is just like store bought sausage. I know you’re going to love it.
A Breakfast Style Sausage
This is a sage-type recipe, not a sweet maple style. It makes a great breakfast sausage out of any of the meats mentioned above. It can be used in any recipe you want to use it in.
Mixing herb miix with ground pork.
The ingredients are simple and ordinary, mostly things you probably have in your spice cabinet.
Ground pork from our local meat locker.
This recipe is for 2 pounds of meat. It’s easy to divide or add, however you need.
Sausage Recipe
2 tsp of sage
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground black pepper
1/4 tsp of dried marjorum
1 TBL brown sugar
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper
1 pinch ground clove
Mix your spices together in a small bowl.
Cooking sausage seasoned pork
Add it to your 2 pounds of your choice of thawed meat.
Using your Homemade Sausage
From here you can crumble and cook so you can add to any dinner or breakfast dish like a frittata, or other breakfast casserole.
Cooked ground sausage.
Or you can make it into patties for a side of eggs or even as a part of a supper mix.
This recipe taste just like a sage breakfast sausage you can get at the grocery store.
Cooked sausage, pasta, a white sauce and your choice of a green.
It’s great used in several kinds of meals. This homemade sausage can be used in everything from pizza to breakfast. Using white sauce or red sauce.
Ground sausage and red sauce made from home grown tomatoes.
It’s simple and it’s really easy. Enjoy!! Give it a try. Let us know what you think, how you used it and if you feel inclined share your awesome recipe. I’m sure we’d all appreciate it.
Thanks for following along. Let me know what you’d like me to try and share. I’d really love to know what you would like to see.
I hope you’re all doing well, staying health and washing your hands a lot.
So what’ve you been doing while you’re at home?
Have ya been doing some cooking, trying some new recipes or experimenting with old ones? Cleaning closets, dusting corners and catching up on a “to do list”?
Or are you like our family, is your job an “essential services”? Are you working non-stop to keep us all going? Let me know in the comments what you’ve been up to the last several weeks.
Our jobs are considered “essential services”. We’re both still working full-time. I’m lucky enough to get to work from home most of the week. But my husband still has to go out every day.
We leave the house as little as possible to get what we need. But being home a lot doesn’t bother either of us. We both really enjoy having so much time at home.
But that means while I’m at home I get to experiment a lot with new things.
I have celery growing from organic celery scraps bought from the store.
Just a few days in.
Can’t wait to see how this turns out. I can tell you it’ll be a while before I know.
This was my first one, planted about 3 weeks ago. That’s Big Princess in the back ground enjoying her pillow.
I have sweet potato slips in the works started from organic sweet potatoes from our local organic market.
Baby sweet potato slips.
I’ve canned everything from cornbread to meatloaf to beans. All of which are new to me. I can’t promise any of it is approved by the USDA. But it all worked for me. And it was fun.
I’ve started making my own tortillas. They’re so easy and good
A fresh batch of tortillas on a rack cooling.
And I’ve got a mess of seedlings started in the house, ready to plant in the garden soon. I started a few things too early and they need to be in the ground, but the garden isn’t ready yet. Hopefully they’ll hold on for another couple weeks.
And….I dehydrated marshmallows!! I know, it sounds so easy, and it was. But who actually thinks to dehydrate marshmallows? So Good!!
One of three jars of dehydrated marshmallows.
Let me know what you’re doing while you’re staying at home. I’d love to know what you’ve been experimenting with.
If you are working at one of those “essential jobs”, thank you for what you’re doing. Please know you are appreciated.
It’s cold and flu season and using an herbal anti-viral can be an easy step in helping your body fend off an illness.
Adding honey sweetens anything.
If something as easy as drinking tea can help, you’ll want to choose the best herbs for the job, right?
There’s a ton to choose from. Some are really tasty, others not so much. But everything is sweeter with honey, right?
I’m not going to tell you’ll be safe from a virus using an anti-viral herb, because herbs just don’t work that way. But I will tell you, that it will help support your body in fighting off a virus and if you do catch one, it can help your body fight it off.
It’s not a cure all, but it’s one more barrier between you and the virus.
What is an anti-viral or antimicrobial herb?
An anti-viral kills or inhibits the replication of a virus. An antimicrobial is something that kills microorganisms. Microorganisms includes bacteria, virus and fungus. They’re the heavy hitters, not harsh, just tough.
Herbs aren’t like the drugs of modern medicine. You don’t just take this herb for that problem. What may work for one person, may not work for another.
So if the first one you try doesn’t work for you, find anther one. There are tons of anti-viral and antimicrobial herbs out there.
Here’s a list of 5 of my favorite, easy to find anti-viral or antimicrobial herbs.
This list of herbs are ones you can find really easy. That makes it super simple to use them as often as possible. Drinking 2-3 cups of tea a day is really the best way to use herbs in a preventative way.
1. The Elder Tree
Elderberries.
One of the most popular anti-viral herbs is the elderberry. Actually the leaves, flowers and berries are all anti-viral, but generally the berries are what everyone knows. I wrote about making elderberry syrup here. This is great because kids like it and it’s easy to get it in them.
You can also make jam with the berries. I haven’t done that yet, but it sounds good. I kinda think with all the sugar added to the jam, while it would taste good, might negate some of the benefit….but maybe not. Who knows.
2. Lemon Balm
This is another one of my favorites. I put this in a lot of my teas because of its benefits and because I think it tastes good. It’s also a relaxant so I love that extra benefit too.
A bunch of lemon balm
It’s super simple to grow. It’s part of the mint family so you probably want to plant it in a container or it will eventually take over your yard. I wrote a whole article about lemon balm here, if you’d like to know more. There’s some really cool folklore behind this herb.
3. Lavender
Lavender is an antimicrobial.
Lavender is great to cook with, like these Lavender Shortbread cookies and in all different sorts of tea. And it smells divine. But I’ve found a little goes a long way. Too much in your tea and that’s all you can taste. It can overwhelm if you’re not careful.
If you’d like more information about lavender, you can read about it here. It’s another one that has a ton of uses, so I hope you’ll check it out and find all kinds of ways to use it.
4. Rosemary
Organic dried Rosemary
Yep, that’s right. The same stuff you have in your spice rack. Besides adding it to your favorite dish (I like it on my eggs), you can also drink it as a tea.
But you don’t have to drink it as a tea to get its antimicrobial benefits.
I’ve found most recipes call for a teaspoon of this or a half teaspoon of that. Try adding more than what it calls for. Though, you still want your recipe to taste good, I’ve found adding more than what it calls for can add more than just flavor. Just add small amounts at a time so you don’t overwhelm your food.
5. Thyme
Dried Thyme
Again, here’s another one from your spice rack. Who knew?
Thyme is another antimicrobial with an added benefit of being an expectorant.
Lore says that in ancient times soldiers drank it as a tea and used in their bath before going to war to increase their bravery and courage.
I have to admit it wasn’t too long ago that I actually tried these kitchen herbs like a tea. And I got to say, I was kind of surprised that I liked them. I didn’t expect that. Putting them in food is one thing, but you just never think of drinking them like a tea.
Get your anti-viral brew started.
Have a couple cups of tea a day or a good long soak with a bundle of herbs in your bath (or even pour a strong brew of tea in your bath) or just cook with them, or better yet a combination of these. Any of these methods will work to support your body in fighting against a virus.
Do you have any herbs you use to help fight off colds and flus? If you do, share them in the comments.
These are just my favorite, I’d love to know yours.
Subscribe and like if you liked the information here today. And I’ll talk to you again soon.
Until then –
Health, Wealth & Blessings ~Tracey
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. It is for educational purposes only. Please do your own research to find what is best for you and your family.
Here’s one my new products. This Calendula Oil is more versatile than you think!
🌼 Calendula has anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties, making it not only great to help relieve and calm eczema and rashes, but also to soothe bug bites!
We use Sweet Almond Oil as our carrier oil. It has lots of Vitamin E which is anti-aging and helps soften and smooth fine lines. The fatty acids in it also help the skin to retain its moisture, to heal the skin. Now, I know some of you may be intimidated to use an oil on your face however, Sweet Almond Oil is non-comedogenic and also has Zinc in it which helps to heal acne scars! So you see, this oil is a great go-to for everyone! 🥰
This Calendula Oil makes your skin feel silky soft. And the Sweet Almond Oil absorbs so well and it doesn’t give you that greasy and oily feeling.
🩹Moms, toss it in your handbag for those impromptu scrapes, cuts or bug bites for the kids! Keep another at your vanity, to moisturize your face after cleansing! Keep another in your first aid kit at home! The list goes on with how you can use this product!
It’s packaging is also for easy use, just spray! Clean and simple! 👏🏼
I know you’ll love it and so will your skin. Contact me at tracey@simplymediy.com. I’d love to tell you more.
Be sure to follow us on Facebook & Instagram @traceysenchantedherbals. Check us out on Facebook to see what all we have to offer.
Basil (Ocimum basilicum), sometimes called sweet basil is another herb from the mint family, that I enjoyed this summer. It’s a culinary herb that smells absolutely fabulous and it tastes pretty good too.
A cool fact about the mint family plants is that they have square stems.
A few basic basil facts.
Basil is an annual. That means it dies off every year.
At the end of the season it’ll bolt (flower). Once the flowers dry they drop their seeds. reseeding itself for the following spring so it can start all over again.
There are several different varieties. Some are green and and some are purple and some that are a mixture of the two. But all of them have those amazing oils which causes that amazing aroma and awesome taste.
It likes both heat and sun. Mine sat in full sun all year and as I picked it over this summer, it only got bigger and bigger.
Don’t forget to keep it watered though. You’ll know when it needs water, it’ll look really sad.
If you only grow it so you can walk by, run your fingers through it and smell it daily, that would be okay. There were plenty of times you could find me standing over my basil while I watered it, just messing with the leaves so I could smell it.
But wait, there’s more. Basil has so many uses.
First and foremost, we all know it’s great for cooking. The flavor and aroma is divine. Especially fresh. Just pick a leaf or two and munch on them, if you have any doubt.
Go ahead, give it a try. I’ll wait….
There’s nothing better than fresh basil in your tomatoes sauce or on your morning eggs or even on your pizza.
I hear it’s great made into pesto too, but I’ve have to confess I’ve never tried presto.
Picking basil
I’ve used it all season as a fresh herb and I picked it and dehydrated it for the winter months.
Dried basil
As the end of the season gets here, it’ll begin to bolt. But, you can make it last a little longer by picking the flower buds off. As the plant flowers the leaves will begin to die off. If you pick the flowers, more leaves or whole stems will grow.
I’ve let mine go on to flower now, because they are I’ve already got a good supply dried to use over the winter and…..well…..it’s just a pretty plant.
I’ll just let it continue to flower and reseed for next spring.
Some benefits you may not know about.
Did you know basil is a great herb to add to your tea blends? If you haven’t read it yet, you can learn about making your own herbal tea blends here.
Basil has been shown to be mildly soothing and sedating. It’s considered to be an expectorant so as a tea it’s a good way to relieve a cough and get rid of that wet yucky stuff in your throat and lungs too. And it can help relieve a sore throat.
It’s really good for the stomach. There’s a reason it’s always been used in so many foods.
It’s been shown to relieve belly cramps and gas and it’s even been used for colic and to help prevent nausea.
And it’s even been used as an antiseptic.
Basil even has it’s own folklore.
In Greece basil is believed to bring good luck. So it’s planted in front of homes to bring the family luck.
The Greek Orthodox Church uses it in their holy water and it’s devoted to the Hindu Gods Krishna and Vishnu and is often cultivated around the temples where they were worshiped.
My basil plant.
I hope you learned something new about basil and that you’ll look at it with a new prospective, with new ideas in all the ways you can use it.
Make a cup of tea with it after supper and relax. Pay attention to how it makes you feel. You might just find your new favorite after supper drink.
If you have different ways to use basil or an awesome recipe you’d like to share, leave it in the comments below. I’d love to know how you use basil.
