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
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Our local store had a buy one get two free sale on pints of strawberries. I could not resist the sale, but now I have to use up a lot of strawberries fast and I don’t want to make jam so I am going to make my daughter’s favorite salad: Strawberry Spinach Salad 1/2 lb.Read More
Fast, Inexpensive Do-It-Youself Composter
Make your own composter in under 30 minutes and under 30 dollars with this Home ECOnomics video. The composters that are demonstrated are easy to make and an improvement over my open pit composting. I happen to have the materials to make both of the composters in this video, so it will not cost meRead More
From Grilled Chicken to Pasta Salad
Day 1: Grilled Chicken, Creamy Garlic Pasta, and Garden Salad The secret to perfectly grilled chicken is to bake it! I put my chicken in a 13 x 9 pan and coat it with my favorite Italian dressing (Bernstein’s Restaurant Recipe Italian which I buy in bulk when it goes on sale) and bake atRead More
Create a Temporary Greenhouse Using a Plastic Drop Cloth and Recyled Milk Jugs
Last summer my husband made several raised beds for my garden. Instead of making the posts flush with the box, he extended them 1 -2 feet higher than the box, so I could attach chicken wire thus denying Peter, Benjamin, and friends their usual midnight snack. I enjoyed gardening last year and was soRead More
Mistress of the Obvious!
Stop the presses! This news just in: Refrigerating Fruit Keeps it Fresh Longer! I realize that this probably seems very obvious to some, maybe even most of you, but I just realized this last month. Until last month, I kept my fruit in baskets on the counter. My theory was that if my children hadRead More