Garden of Weed'n Update

It's been awhile since the last garden update.  I have been able to get a lot more tomatoes and peppers since the weather stayed so warm.  It seems to be cooling off for good now, so soon the only thing left in my garden will be some cooler weather veggies.

Lots of tomatoes.

Gobs of cherry tomatoes.

Lots of green peppers and jalapenos.

Tomatillo - it looks like I'll have a pretty big harvest of these babies.  Salsa Verde here I come.

Garden of Weed'n Update

It's been awhile since I've posted - it's amazing how busy summers can get.  I will get back to regular posting soon, I promise.  Until then, here is another garden update (although these pictures are two weeks old already).

The pumpkins are blooming!

 Cucumbers are blooming like crazy!

Tomatoes

 Raspberries

Potato blossoms

Garden of Weed'n Update

It has been raining and raining and raining here.  The rain has given me a nice break from watering the garden, but when it rains like this, it seems like the weeds grow faster than the veggie plants!  Once my garden dries up a bit, I have tons of weeding to do.  I suppose I could go yank those weeds out now, but I don't feel like being a big muddy mess.

The tomatoes are starting to blossom.

 Potatoes are growing like crazy.  Should probably throw some more dirt on them.

Raspberry blossoms are turning.

How are your gardens doing?  I've heard this is a bad year for strawberries - anyone have any strawberry patches?

Garden of Weed'n Update

Phew!  Got the garden all planted.  Well, it's mostly planted.  I'm adding a row of beets every two weeks so that we can harvest them every two weeks.  That will be an ongoing process.  The tomatillos aren't in yet, but that's purposeful.  They don't like cold nights, so I need to wait a few more weeks with them.

Are you gardening this year?  Is it worth it for you to save money by growing a garden?

Garden of Weed'n Update

Oh my, oh my. Do you like to garden? I sure do, and I am getting excited about starting ours again this year. I haven't done much yet, just some planning and fertilizing of the dirt (thanks to our chickens). I'm going to be sticking to some old favorites and hopefully trying a few new veggies.

This year I'll be selling some of my produce at a local Farmer's Market. I'm really excited about it. I hope to make a few extra dollars, but I doubt it will be much after factoring in the price of the Farmer's Market permit, the liability insurance and the gas to get to and from the market twice a week. But, oh well, I want to give it a shot......so we'll see how it goes!

How about you....do you have any experience with a Farmer's Market?  Any plans for a garden this year?

Garden of Weedn' Update

This is what my harvest looks like just about every other day. Yay for bell peppers and squash! (Wow, I just realized how shiny my mother-in-law's plastic tablecloth is....)

Garden of Weedn' Update

This time of the summer, most gardeners could probably do several blog posts a week because of how fast everything is growing. I'll try to spare you all the boring details and just stick to one post a week.


This is what I am getting from my garden every other day.

Peek-a-boo sunflowers.....time to bloom!

Yay! Little squash!

Jalapenos......mmmm.....I can taste the pico de gallo already!
(Why, yes, those are weeds and crabgrass in the background. Thanks for noticing.)

Garden of Weed'n Update

It's been a few weeks since I've done a Garden of Weed'n update. So hear ya go.


Our squash and pumpkins are blooming! Woohoo!

Little itty bitty green peppers.

Gobs and gobs of cucumber blossoms and little cucumbers. While I was weeding today, I found a decent sized cuke and picked it. It was SO yummy.

Some lilies.


We also have lots of tomatoes that are starting to turn red, but I couldn't get a decent picture of them. I'm just not much of a photographer.....that and I have a cheap-o camera. Last week I picked enough string beans to fill an ice cream bucket. They were so good!

How are your gardens doing?

Garden of Weedn' Update

Yep, time for a garden update. It's been really wet and rainy here for the last few days, so no weeding is getting done. But, I thought I would post a few pics anyway.

These are the sunflowers.
Yes, I know there are lots of weeds. Yes, I know the weeds are almost as tall as the sunflowers. It's too muddy to get in there and pull all those buggars. ;)

Some of the tomatoes are already blooming!
Yes, I know there are lots of weeds.

And my squash plants are coming up nicely.
Surrounded by lots of weeds, of course.



So, all you frugal gardeners.....how are your weed patches gardens doing?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Do you have a garden? I enjoy gardening. It's one of our summer activities that I really look forward to - well, except for the weeds. Here in the upper Midwest we don't have much growing yet, but I thought I would post a couple of pictures.

Why? I don't know.

-Maybe to inspire you to start a garden. Gardening can really put a dent in the grocery bill and it can be really relaxing to get outside and dig around in dirt.

-Or maybe just to put some nice pictures on the blog.

Our strawberries are blooming!

Apple tree blossoms in our little orchard.

So, what is growing/blooming in your garden?

Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip

If you are getting the hang of menu planning (or even if you aren't), here is another little tip that I have used to save some money on the grocery bill:

Plan your meals around the weekly sales at your local supermarket.

I get a sales flyer in the mail every Monday from my local grocery store.  This can really be helpful in my menu planning.  For instance, if I see that they are having a big sale on ground turkey and there is also a markdown on buns, guess what will be going on our menu?  Yep, turkey burgers.

Some people love this challenge and others don't, but it can save money on the grocery bill.  It's definitely an opportunity to be creative with your menu.......and to stretch a few dollars.

Friday's Frugal Food

One thing I have slowly started to do is season my food with herbs and spices that I have on hand instead of using the pre-packaged mixes.  Take taco seasoning for example.  I used to buy those pre-packaged bags of taco seasoning all the time (my family loves taco night).  Out of curiosity, I read the list of ingredients and thought to myself,

"Wait a minute, I have most of this stuff in my spice cupboard already.  I bet I could make this myself."  

So I did.

And you know what?  We all liked it better than the store-bought mix.  And I knew exactly what I was putting in the meat.  Yay for no MSG's and no preservatives!

Here is what I do:

Brown a pound of ground meat.  Preferably with some chopped onions and garlic, but a few shakes of minced onion and garlic work great, too.  Add:
A few shakes of cumin.
A shake or two of oregano.
A shake of cayenne pepper.
A shake of black pepper.
A twist or two of sea salt.

That's how we like it.  If you are more of a measuring person, you could try this:

1 TBL minced onion (unless you chopped some fresh onion)
1 tsp minced garlic (unless you chopped some fresh garlic)
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes and paprika go great in this, too.  You could make a larger batch of this and keep it in an air-tight container, or you could add the ingredients one by one as you are cooking.  Whatever toots your horn.

Mmmm....I want some tacos now.....

Money $aving Monday - Quick Tip

Find a cheap meal (or two) that your whole family enjoys and make it often. Homemade soup and bread is a very common meal around here. So is rice and beans. Yummy, healthy, filling and CHEAP.

Menu Planning

Planning your meals ahead of time can save a great deal of money and make your life a bit easier. No more stressing out over what to make for supper. No more realizing at the last minute that you have nothing to cook and then resorting to that money-waster called fast food.

Before I got into the habit of planning our meals, the process of getting groceries and cooking was a HUGE chore to me. I dreaded it. Our monthly grocery bill was at least $400, usually more.

Now making meals isn't that big of a deal and I actually enjoy getting groceries. And because I plan our menus, I'm only spending $250-$300 a month on food. Major improvement.

There are several ways to go about planning menus, some are more complicated than others. In this post, I will describe the way I do it, which is one of the more simple ways. I'm all for simple and efficient.

I only plan our suppers. Around here, breakfast consists of granola, cereal, yogurt, fruit, or leftover pancakes/waffles. Sorry, but I am not going to get up at 5:00 a.m. and make a monster breakfast for everyone. I have more important things to do....like sleep. Lunch is usually just sandwiches or leftovers. No need for me to "plan" those meals.


First thing's first, get a notebook. If you lived in our house, you would have to write "Mom's Notebook, DO NOT TOUCH" on the front of it because of the little paper thieves who also live here.

Make a Master Menu List. In your notebook, start a Master Menu List. This is simply a list of all the meals you are willing to make. I have around 75-100 meals on my list. One of my goals is to add at least two new meals to this list every month. When you are making your list, be sure to ask your family which meals are their favorite.

Choose your meals. I do two weeks at a time. Some people find that planning for the whole month is easier. Do what works best for you. Choose two week's (or a month's) worth of meals from your Master Menu List. On a separate page in your notebook, write the starting date and ending date of those two weeks on the top of the page (example: Feb. 1 - Feb. 14). Then write your list of 14 meals below. You could assign meals to specific days, or you could just look at the list each day and pick which one sounds good to you.

Next, make your grocery list. Look at your two-week meal list and decide what groceries you'll need. It's always a good idea to check your pantry, fridge and freezer as you make your grocery list. I hate it when I purchase something at the grocery store only to come home and find out that I already had it.

Now, follow your plan!


And that's basically it! Now you know exactly what you will be making for supper the next couple of weeks and you have all of the ingredients on hand.


Extra tips:

Get in the habit of thawing out your meat a day in advance.  Part of the after-supper-clean-up is to take out tomorrow's frozen meat and put it in the fridge to thaw.

One cute idea - you could get a chalkboard or whiteboard and hang it in the kitchen. Write the weekly menus on them. Then everyone will know "what's for dinner."

If you prefer, you could print a blank calendar and fill it in with your menu plans. If you don't feel like making a calendar yourself, you could print one of these:

Menus 4 Moms

The Project Girl

Cooking For My Family

Monthly Menu Planner


Do you plan your meals?

Simple Shopping

Have you heard of Alice.com?



I found out about it recently and it's going to be a great thing for our family. Basically, it's an online store that helps you organize and order the products you need and use in your home. Most of the products on the website are cheaper than I have ever seen them in any stores around here. Plus, Alice.com finds coupons for you that you can use when ordering, making the products even cheaper.

And did I mention that Alice.com always has free shipping? Love it. It's so convenient to buy all of your household needs in the comfort of your own home.

Click here to start an account with them and get a $10 credit once you spend $50! What a deal!

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Grocery Savings

A great way to check out the sales and deals at all of your local grocery stores! Go to:

www.mygrocerydeals.com

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