Heche's Homestead

Home
United States
Stoughton, WI
Heche's Homestead

Call Website Contact the business

🌱 grow more 🧶 preserve more 🫙make more 🐣
Practical homesteading on One Half Acre in Wisconsin
Helping busy families grow, preserve, and make more!
(1)

11/06/2026

🐄 THE BULK BEEF BREAKDOWN: EPISODE 2 - - WHAT THE HECK IS A CUT SHEET?

So you’ve found a local farmer, decided buying beef in bulk might actually make sense for your family, and now someone hands you a form asking how you want your cow cut up…

EXCUSE ME, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH THIS?! 😂

Don’t worry, friend. This is exactly what we’re figuring out together!

A cut sheet is where you tell the butcher how you’d like your portion of beef processed. Depending on your processor, you may get to choose things like:

🥩 Which cuts you’d like to keep as steaks or roasts
🍔 How much beef you’d like ground
🔪 How thick you want your steaks
📦 How you’d like your meat packaged
🍖 Whether you want specialty cuts and soup bones

The goal is to customize your order to fit YOUR family and the way you actually cook.

Never cooked a beef shank? Maybe you’ll want to learn! Only eat ground beef and steaks? That’s useful information to discuss with your processor, too.

You don’t have to know every cut of beef or become a butcher overnight. Ask questions, find out what options are available, and make choices that work for your household.

That’s what this series is all about: learning how bulk beef works without making it feel like you need a degree in agriculture to get started. 🤎

Next up in The Bulk Beef Breakdown: What does buying beef in bulk ACTUALLY cost? We’re talking hanging weight, processing fees, and the difference between the price you see advertised and the beef you bring home.

👇 Tell me: Have you ever filled out a cut sheet, or would you be completely lost the first time, too?

Save this for when you’re ready to explore buying beef in bulk, and follow along for the next episode!

11/05/2026

HOMEMADE APPLE C***R 🍎

Some moms meal prep. I accidentally start a small food manufacturing business.

A little apple c***r, a whole lot of chopping, and a kitchen that looks like an apple orchard exploded. But future me is going to be VERY happy about this one!

Homemade apple c***r, preserved for cozy fall mornings, holiday gatherings, and all those days when I want something delicious without starting from scratch.

How to can apple c***r:

🍎 Start with fresh-pressed apple c***r or homemade apple juice.

🍎 For the clearest c***r, refrigerate fresh juice for 24-48 hours, carefully pour off the clear liquid, and strain through damp cheesecloth or a coffee filter.

🍎 Heat the c***r quickly, stirring occasionally, until it begins to boil.

🍎 Immediately fill hot, sterilized pint or quart jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims, apply lids, and process in a boiling-water canner 15 minutes.

You can use code HECHES10 when stocking up on Forjars supplies too 😍 You’re welcome!

One less thing for future me to worry about. And one more reason to love a well-stocked cantry❤️

11/05/2026

I found a cranberry scone recipe from 1995, and honestly, I think we need to bring this kind of baking back. ✨

I was thrift shopping and came across the 1995 Southern Living Annual Cookbook. You know the kind. A big, beautiful cookbook full of recipes from a time when people still wrote things down on paper and passed them along to the next generation.

Naturally, I had to bring it home.

And tucked inside was this cranberry scone recipe that immediately caught my eye.

Because if there’s one thing I love, it’s finding an old recipe that deserves another chance.

So I gathered my ingredients, pulled out my flour, butter, and cranberries, and got to work.

There’s something so satisfying about making a recipe that’s been around for 31 years. It’s like getting a little glimpse into someone else’s kitchen, all those years ago.

And the best part?

These scones turned out SO good.

Flaky, buttery, and full of tart cranberries. The kind of thing you want to eat warm from the oven with a cup of coffee while pretending you don’t have a million other things to do. ☕️

I’m convinced we need to bring back more of these old-fashioned recipes.

Not everything needs to be reinvented. Sometimes the best thing we can do is open up an old cookbook, find something that sounds delicious, and give it another chance.

And honestly, this is why I love thrifting cookbooks.

You never know what you’re going to find. Sometimes it’s a recipe you forgot existed. Sometimes it’s a whole new family favorite waiting to happen.

And sometimes it’s a little reminder that the good stuff doesn’t have to be new to be worth making.

The cranberry scone recipe is in the comments!

Save this post for your next cozy baking day, and tell me: what’s an old recipe you think deserves to make a comeback?

Bonus points if you have a favorite old cookbook I should be on the lookout for next time I’m thrifting. 🤎

11/05/2026

CRANBERRY SCONES from the 1995 Southern Living annual recipe book:

2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ cup butter or margarine
1 cup whipping cream
¾ cup fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped

❤️Combine first 5 ingredients; cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.

❤️Reserve 1 tablespoon whipping cream; add remaining whipping cream and cranberries to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened.

❤️Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead 5 or 6 times.

❤️Shape into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges, and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Prick wedges with a for 3 or 4 times, and brush with reserved i tablespoon whipping cream.

❤️Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

Mary Bonney
Sterling, Virginia

MY NOTES:
😍 I needed an extra tablespoon of whipping cream for the dough, I’m guessing that’s because I used fresh-milled flour from Sunrise Flour Mill
😍baked for 16 minutes and they were PERFECT
😍 topped with my cranberry curd recipe and everyone went nuts!

11/04/2026

Where the heck do you find a farmer who sells beef by the quarter or half? 🐄

That’s the first question we’re tackling in The Bulk Beef Breakdown, my new series about buying beef in bulk.

Episode 1 drops today!

We didn’t jump straight into buying a half. We started with smaller beef bundles from local farms so we could try them out and figure out what worked for our family. That’s a great way to dip your toe in if a freezer full of beef sounds like… a lot.

And you don’t have to know a farmer personally to get started! Farmers markets, local food directories, and even your local butcher can be good places to ask around. I’ll share a few websites in the reel caption so you can save them for later.

One thing I’ve learned: once you start buying food in bulk, having a freezer inventory system is a game changer. I keep labels and organization supplies in my Amazon storefront if you’re looking for ideas, but honestly, a marker and a notepad work just fine, too. 😂 https://a.co/d/09A61gdp

Have you ever bought beef directly from a farmer? And what questions do you have about buying in bulk?

Cost, freezer space, how much meat you get, what to do with unfamiliar cuts… ask away! I’m building this series around what YOU actually want to know.

Episode 1 is up today! Come watch, save the farm-finding resources, and help me figure out what we should cover next. We’re learning as we go. 🤎

11/04/2026

🐄 THE BULK BEEF BREAKDOWN: EPISODE 1 - - WHERE DO YOU FIND LOCAL BEEF?!

Our journey started at a farmers market. We tried a local farmer’s steaks, loved them, and started asking about buying beef in bulk! If you’re in Wisconsin too, check out Nap-N-Hill Farm because we love them!

And if you’re wondering where to start, here are a few resources to save for later👇

🌱 Find Beef Local: https://findbeeflocal.com/

🐄 EatWild - Wisconsin farms: https://eatwild.com/PRODUCTS/wisconsin.html

🧀 Wisconsin Local Food Locator: https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/wilocalfoodlocator/

📱 Don’t forget: Search local Facebook groups, visit farmers markets, and ask your local butcher if they know farmers selling beef by the quarter or half.

Before you commit, ask questions! (I’ll cover all the questions in a future episode and give you a printable to have handy so you don’t forget anything!)

Always confirm current availability directly with the farm.

You don’t need to grow up on a farm or have special connections to figure this out. We’re learning together, one step at a time🤎

🐄 Next episode: What the heck is a cut sheet?!

📌 Save this for when you’re ready to find local beef!

11/03/2026

I harvested almost 40 pounds of butternut squash from my garden and now I have the very REAL problem of figuring out what to do with all of it! 😂

So far, I’ve turned the first chunk into roasted butternut squash soup, and let me tell you, I am SO excited about having this in the pantry for those nights when dinner needs to be as easy as opening a jar.

Because as much as I love growing food, I also love finding ways to make all that hard work actually work for our everyday lives. I don’t want to spend all summer growing a garden just to have it become one more thing I have to figure out how to use.

I want to be able to grab something I grew, preserved, and tucked away in the pantry and turn it into a real meal for my family.

And that’s exactly why I love canning.

Having the right supplies makes the whole process feel so much more manageable, especially when I’m working through a harvest this big. I’ve been using my FORJARS Canning Lids for projects like this, and I love having equipment I can count on when I’m preserving food for our family.

This first batch of squash soup is officially in the pantry, and I’m already thinking about all the cozy dinners it’s going to become this winter.

The best part? I still have SO MUCH squash left. Maybe I need to start a whole new series called “What on earth am I going to do with all this squash?” 🤪

What would you make with almost 40 pounds of butternut squash? Soup? Pie? Bread? Something I haven’t even thought of yet?

And if you’ve ever wondered what it actually looks like to turn a garden harvest into pantry staples, I filmed the whole process. From roasting the squash to getting the soup ready for the canner, it’s all in today’s reel!

P.S. If you’re looking to get started with home canning, you can use the code HECHES10 when stocking up from ForJars. Their canning supplies are what I reach for when I’m putting up food for our family (their can opener and funnel sets are game changing and cheap!), and I love being able to share the things that make this whole homestead thing a little easier.

11/03/2026

With almost 40 pounds of squash, what’s a girl to do?

Soup to start, of course! I turned almost 25lbs of these beauties into a quick canned soup for busy nights!

PRESSURE CANNING RECIPE:
❤️fill quart jars halfway with cubes of roasted butternut squash.
❤️add some sliced onion, I measured with my ❤️❤️❤️
❤️for each quart jar I added: 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp cumin
❤️fill to 1 inch headspace with hot chicken stock, veggie stock, or water
❤️pressure can quarts 90 minutes at 10psi adjusting for altitude.
❤️let jars sit undisturbed 12-24 hours before removing rings, checking seals, washing jars, and storing!

11/02/2026

My in-laws just brought home half a cow… and I am SO excited to start talking about it! 🐄

I know buying beef in bulk can sound like something you have to grow up doing, or something you need a giant freezer and a secret connection to a farmer to even consider. But that’s exactly why I want to talk about it!

We’ve been buying beef in bulk for a little while now, and we didn’t jump straight into a half. We started with smaller bundles from local farms so we could try different beef, ask questions, and get a feel for what worked for our family. And now that my in-laws have their half, we have even more real-life details to share.

Like… their order came to 318 pounds of packaged beef. And when I helped them take inventory, we discovered they had 102 pounds of ground beef alone! 😂 That’s a LOT of taco nights, meatballs, and burgers.

So this week, I’m kicking off a new series called The Bulk Beef Breakdown, where we’ll talk through all the things I wish I’d understood when we were first looking into buying beef in bulk.

We’ll get into where to find local farmers, what a cut sheet is, how pricing works, how much meat you actually bring home, freezer space, what to do with unfamiliar cuts… and all the questions that come up when you’re trying to figure out whether bulk beef makes sense for your household.

And I want to hear from YOU!

What have you always wondered about buying beef in bulk? Are you curious about the cost? How much freezer space you need? Whether it’s worth it for a smaller family? What to do with all those different cuts? Or maybe you’re already doing this and have advice for the rest of us?

Drop your questions in the comments! I’ll be using them to help shape the series, and if I don’t know the answer yet, we can figure it out together!

Because this isn’t about pretending we’re experts who’ve had it all figured out forever. It’s about learning practical ways to feed our families, asking questions, and sharing what we learn along the way.

Let’s break down this whole bulk beef thing together. 🤎

Address

Stoughton, WI

Telephone

+16085011618

Website

http://hecheshomestead.com/, https://get.aspr.app/SH1qux, https://www.hecheshomestead.com/product-page/monthly-garden-ch

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Heche's Homestead posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.