Monday – Garlic Chicken (I am going to bake this the night before according to the directions and then have my husband “grill” it to heat it up and put stripes on it on Memorial Day), Roasted Potatoes, Baked Beans, Strawberry Spinach Salad, and Corn on the Cob. (I am making lots of side dishesRead More
It Is Better to Have Tried and Failed…
My food waste for this week is semi-homemade hummus. At Whole Foods Market they sell hummus mix in bulk for less than $3.00 a pound. I had been buying small packages (8 oz. container – I think) of premade hummus at Trader Joe’s for $2.99. I thought this was a good opportunity to save moneyRead More
The Great Flower Compromise
As my husband was leaving work to pick me up on one of our first dates a colleague asked, “aren’t you going to bring her flowers?” It was too late for my husband to purchase any before picking me up, so when he arrived he greeted me by apologizing for not bringing flowers. Being myRead More
GG’s Taco Salad Recipe
This salad, even with alterations, reminds me of my childhood. My grandmother knew it was one of my favorites and made it whenever I visited her. As she has gotten older and given up cooking, I have been able to return the favor and make it for her. Ingredients:1 lb. ground beef (I sometimes useRead More
Weekly Dinner Menu Plan
Monday – Spaghetti with Red Sauce, Broccoli Salad (inspired by the local deli), Gluten Free French Bread (wish me luck!) Tuesday – Tacos, Refried Beans, and Spanish Rice Wednesday – Use leftover taco meat and cheese to make Taco Salad Thursday – Use leftover taco meat, spaghetti sauce, black beans, and Spanish rice to makeRead More
Preventing Food Waste…
With Miracle Leftover Night! I was determined not to have any waste this week, so I took stock of the things that were a little old and decided to find a way to use them up. Last night’s spontaneous leftover dinner was Chicken and Rice Soup. The soup used up leftover chicken, rice, carrots, andRead More
The "Uniform"
A couple of months ago Gwenyth Paltrow received a lot of negative attention for her new blog GOOP. I decided to check it out and could not figure out what the big deal was all about. I personally believe that if you have an open mind you can learn from almost anybody. I am notRead More
Guidelines to Eliminate Food Waste
We wasted food again this week. Well, actually my husband wasted food because nobody else would have opened this can of olives to begin with and if they did they would have transferred the contents to a glass bowl with a lid per mom’s food saving guidelines! Unfortunately, my husband is the only one whoRead More
Salvaging Dry Rice: Fried Rice Recipe
Ever wonder what to do with the leftover white rice from getting Chinese take out? It is usually dry and unappetizing. Instead of tossing it out you can add it to soups or casseroles. However, my favorite way to use it is to make Fried Rice. Fried Rice is actually better when made with driedRead More
Extending a Short Growing Season
I checked the Farmer’s Almanac and our average last frost is June 19th and the average first frost is August 23rd. Fortunately for my husband I did not check the almanac until after we moved here, otherwise he would be geo-baching it! I do a couple of things to work around our short growing season.Read More
Plant Stakes Courtesy of My Flower Bed
Or Sometimes It Pays To Be Lazy… Last fall we were caught off guard by an early snow storm. We had not yet completed our fall yard clean up when the storm hit and even though the snow melted in a couple of days, we never found our way back out to finish. One benefitRead More
How to Build Raised Garden Beds
Or Why I sympathize With Mr. McGregor We have herds of rabbits roaming our property, mowing down anything edible. They even eat the plants they are not supposed to like! My husband and son made me several garden boxes last year so I could grow vegetables and are in the process of making me severalRead More
My Small Victory Over Mother Nature
Last month I took a walk around the backyard after a severe thunderstorm to survey the damage. A Russian sage plant lost a fairly large branch. I decided to try to save it. Even though I took several horticulture classes in high school (it was the only way to avoid dissecting a frog) I didRead More
Creating Inexpensive Lean Hamburger
When I buy hamburger I prefer very lean meat. Unfortunately, very lean hamburger rarely goes on sale. My local store regularly puts 85% lean hamburger on sale. To create “leaner’ hamburger I drain the fat off after I am done browning it. Since fat can’t go down the sink, I drain it into an emptyRead More
Making More Room in Your Freezer
I buy food in bulk when it is on sale. The limiting factor when it comes to stocking up on meat is my freezer space. I wish that I had a large capacity freezer, but until a great bargain comes along I will continue to cram as much food as possible into the little freezerRead More
Miracle Leftover Night
Impromptu Chinese Chicken Salad Angela Barton at My Year Without Spending posted her food waste picture last Friday. She had to toss lettuce and when I was replying to her post with suggestions for using up the salad in the future I realized that it had been along time since I posted a Miracle LeftoverRead More
Salvaging a Dry Roast
Every once in a while a roast just doesn’t turn out as I planned. Maybe I tried a new recipe or a different cut of meat, but whatever the reason the roast came out of the oven a little tough or too dry. That night I will serve it as planned with extra drippings pouredRead More
Warning: You Are About to See Dirty Dishes
The most inexpensive cleaner is organic and nontoxic: Hot Water! My sweet husband forgot to grease the pans before he made Breakfast Pizzas for my son. The pan with baked-on cheese is pictured below. I soaked an old dish cloth in really hot water, then spread it over the baking sheet and let it sitRead More
Scalloped Potatoes with Ham and Peas
This recipe was inspired by childhood Easter leftovers. My mom usually made ham, scalloped potatoes, and peas for Easter dinner. The day after Easter I would take a little of each of the leftover dishes and stir them together and make my improved scalloped potatoes. I don’t make scalloped potatoes on Easter Day, primarily becauseRead More
This Post Was Hijacked By a Snowstorm
Today’s post was going to be about inexpensive, organic solutions to common garden problems. I was going to relate how I combined crushed garlic with the water in the milk jugs from my $2.00 greenhouse to make a rabbit repellent to protect my bulbs. Instead I have to share that a predicted thunderstorm arrived insteadRead More
