Ingredients: 1 pound of pasta (GF $1.99) 2 cups of uncooked peas (free from garden) 1 cup of uncooked carrots (.25) 2 T butter (.13) 2-4 garlic cloves, minced (free from garden) 2 T flour (GF .14) 3/4 C vegetable broth (.25) 3/4 C milk (.10) 1 T parsley, finely chopped (free from garden) BringRead More
White Chicken Chili
My family loves this easy white chicken chili recipe. It is made with chicken, white beans, rice, and corn. I realize that a lot of people view chili, soups, and stews as winter foods, but as soon as temperatures dip below 80 degrees, I make a batch of chili and serve it with a largeRead More
Peanut Butter Fudge and Peanut Butter Tip
Peanut butter fudge is one of our favorite candies, but as much as we enjoy it, we have a friend who declares it her absolute favoritist candy EVER. Before I visit her, she asks if I will be bringing her some peanut butter fudge…and the correct answer is “Yes, of course!” I keep trying to convince herRead More
Tomato and Basil Soup
I am overrun with fresh basil and I will soon have an overabundance of tomatoes. This soup recipe will help me eat into the excess produce. This is a very accommodating recipe so experiment with other herbs and spices growing in your garden. I have used both a pressure cooker* and a crock pot toRead More
The Pressure Cooker: Grandma’s "Microwave"
Big Bertha – My 20 year old pressure cooker. As a newlywed I called my Grandma to ask her for some cooking advice. I wanted to know the secret of putting a home cooked meal on the table within thirty minutes of my husband coming home. This was back before cell phones and my husbandRead More
Rice with Garden Vegetables
I wanted to use $5 Dinners Rice with Garden Greens recipe, but I was unable to access her site so I made up my own version which ended up including an ingredient that was inspired by Amanda at Coping with Frugality. As it turns out I did not have the 4 cups of spinach calledRead More
Dinner Menu – Week of July 6th
I am so excited! I think we will be eating from the garden for every one of our meals next week. I should be able to pick 5 tomatoes tomorrow and use them to make spaghetti sauce along with onion, garlic, oregano, basil, and parsley from the garden! I am planning on adding green beansRead More
Hooked On Cookbook Holders with Splash Guard
I have seen many pretty cookbook holders and had toyed with the idea of getting one for years, but always held back for some reason that I did not fully understand. When I spied the below cookbook holder at Walmart ($9.99), I realized what the others were missing: A splash guard! I have many recipesRead More
Using the Last Dregs of Salsa
Tonight I will make Chicken Tacos using the last dregs from the salsa jar. One day when rinsing an “empty” bottle to put it in the recycling bin I noticed that instead of truly being empty there was actually a layer of really thick salsa on the bottom. It had not reached its expiration date,Read More
Menu Plan – Week of June 29th
Last week when I broiled Chicken I decided to broil 4 pounds. I used 2 pounds in last week’s salads and froze the rest. I will pull out the frozen chicken on the mornings when I need it and let it thaw in the refrigerator, so it will be ready to add to dinner inRead More
Scotcheroos Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
Scotcheroos Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats combine the flavor of Scotcheroos with the ease of making Rice Krispie Treats. Scotcheroos are made with Rice Krispies, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips. Like Rice Krispie Treats, Scotcharoos are a no-bake bar recipe. The difference is Scotcheroos are made by heating corn syrup and sugar toRead More
Baking With a Limited Number of Cookie Sheets
Most of my cookie recipes make several dozen cookies, which is a good thing since I live with several cookie monsters. The problem lies with the fact that I only own 2 cookie sheets. After removing freshly baked cookies to a cooling rack, I wash the cookie sheets in cold water and thoroughly dry itRead More
Brazilian Rice with Green Peas
I have been harvesting peas a handful at a time. I wanted to use them in our meals, but I needed a recipe that did not require a large amount of peas. Then I remembered a rice and pea recipe that a friend gave me years ago. If I save up my peas I shouldRead More
Menu Plan -Week of July 22
I am going to take advantage of the abundance of vegetables growing in our garden this week. On Monday morning I am going to broil a couple of pounds of chicken, chop it up, and use it cold in salads. I am hoping that the variation in the salad seasonings will distract my family fromRead More
Cooking with Lavender
I love growing lavender, but I am not really a potpourri person. Loathing for anything to not be used to its fullest potential, I did some research to find alternative uses for lavender. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it can be used in cooking! I found some heavenly scone recipes at Hood RiverRead More
Pepsi-Cola Throwback Cake
I modified my favorite cake in honor of PepsiCo’s decision to bring back Pepsi-Cola Throwback. When I was growing up, we called this Rocky Road Cake, but I discovered that it was also called cola cake when I lived in the south. It is extremely decadent; after looking at the ingredients you will tell me thatRead More
Dinner Menu for the Week of 6/15
I replaced last week’s scrambled eggs night for frittatas. I found the frittatas recipe on The Frugal Engineer and felt it was more conducive to using up leftovers than scrambled eggs. And you know how I like using up leftovers! Monday – Teriyaki Chicken, Brown Rice, Glazed Carrots Tuesday – Use leftover chicken and carrotsRead More
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Nothing says Chocolate Cake Quite Like a Zucchini! Earlier this week Angela at My Year Without Spending put out a request for zucchini recipes. Everyone who responded offered a delicious and nutritious way to serve zucchini; I recommended cooking it in chocolate cake! It is easy to eat zucchini sauteed with onions and garlic inRead More
Flowering Tea
I love Numi’s flowering tea gift set and have given this to a couple of the tea drinkers in my life. Of course, I also bought one for my daughter and I to enjoy! It comes packaged in a nice bamboo box. Inside the bamboo box is a glass tea pot and a box ofRead More
Reusing Butter Wrappers to Grease Pans
Revisiting the Idea of Reusing Butter Wrappers: I know you are thinking, “can’t she just throw some things away”. Well, actually, no I can’t. At least not without thinking hard about any potential uses the item might have. When baking I set the butter (or margarine) wrappers aside and use them to grease theRead More