Super Saver Saturday- Get Cooking!

Just washed organically grown okra ready to be sliced for tonight's dinner. I could eat okra everyday I love it so much!

Hello Everyone! What's for dinner tonight? ; )

One of the biggest expenses in a household is money spent on food. Check out the USDA food budget info at http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/FoodPlans/2012/CostofFoodJan2012.pdf. They have four plans listed: thrifty, low-cost, moderate, and liberal. According to their thrifty plan, I should spend $162.60 to feed three adult men ages 19-50 and one 50 year-old woman. Occasionally, my 27 year-old daughter and her nearly 1 year-old son are here eating also.

I don't think I even come close to spending that much weekly, unless we include pet foods, cleaners, and toiletries (and I use coupons and sales on those!). Lest you are now worried about us, let me assure you that we eat at least three times a day and we eat well. I cook the majority of our meals at home and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. Being able to cook and shopping for bargains has been a huge help to keeping our costs under control!

Let me share some of what I do and hopefully shed a little light on what others can do, too.

On Thursdays, my husband brings home a variety of groceries that he finds on markdown at the grocery store. I am never sure exactly what he will have when he gets home. Talk about life being like a box of chocolates.

This week he purchased two packages of already prepared vegetable kabobs that had been marked to $3.25 per package, about a 50% reduction from the regular price. They had mushrooms, red onions, yellow squash, zucchini, green peppers, and red peppers. I did not immediately pop these on the grill for the evening meal. Instead, I took stock of other items we had and decided to take the kabobs apart to use in the following meals: red and green peppers, and mushrooms were reserved for eating fresh in salads and with hummus for lunch. The zucchini, yellow squash, and onions went into two different dinner dishes; Mediterranean Stew, and Ratatouille. To these dishes, I added our homegrown Japanese eggplant and okra. Both of these meals are served over brown rice, which I made from scratch on my stove. A 2-pound bag of brown rice at my local grocery store was $1.18.

Japanese eggplant grown organically from our garden. These ones are headed into Mediterranean Stew.

So, the cost to produce or enhance three meals to feed 2 women and 3 men was $7.68 AND there were leftovers for lunches. Take that USDA thrifty meal plan! Also, we are consuming a lot of vegetables in these dishes and everywhere where we turn we hear that we need to eat more vegetables.

I didn't begin my adult life with a Ratatouille recipe in my back pocket. But, thankfully, I had a grandmother who was very practical and had given me a Betty Crocker cookbook when I turned 13. The edition I received had wonderful illustrations that showed the most basic of cooking skills, such as scrambling an egg.

My poor cookbook is falling apart so I had to find a stock photo to show you what I think is the best cookbook ever. I know that my grandmother would be very pleased to know that I have used it and loved it so much over the years. 

If you don't know how to cook., there are resources everywhere to help you learn: YouTube, the Food Channel, libraries, blogs, 4-H, The Cooperative Extension Service, your mom or grandma...

Don't waste another minute or another dollar at the fast food places, learn to cook as soon as possible!

Garden Update

My husband and I garden in central Texas. When other parts of the country are just getting into the swing of gardening, Texas is hot, hot, hot and gardening slows in July. The weeds in the garden are gigantic, the temperatures are over 100 degrees, and the mosquitoes are on the prowl for their victims.

This cantaloupe weighed over 3 pounds! 

We are harvesting a lot of items right now-corn, cantaloupes (well, we are not harvesting them so much as collecting them because they are taking themselves off the vines and we just pick them up and take them into the house!), tomatoes, peppers, spaghetti squash, okra, Chinese long beans, and onions. We  recently harvested about half a wheelbarrow of red and yellow onions. Some are larger than softballs! Yes, everything really is bigger in Texas!

In our area, we plant onions in November to get the largest onions possible. 

Just as it is the hottest and we only want to be lounging inside with a cool drink, we need to start working and planning for our fall garden. In our area we are fortunate that we can garden just about the whole year around.

Our goal is to be able to produce all of the fruit and vegetables we want to eat. This year is the best we have done so far towards that goal. Last year, we added fruits to our garden. We planted grapes, dwarf pomegranates, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, two pear trees, and a fig tree. Our five blackberry canes produced a pint or more of berries every day for nearly three weeks. We are definitely going to expand the amount of blackberries we are growing!

There are few things I find more satisfying than creating a meal whose ingredients mainly came from our garden. I am looking forward to many more home grown meals and new recipes in the future and I will be sharing them right here with all of you!

Just washed okra waiting to be tossed in cornmeal and fried for dinner. 

Making the Most of Summer

My husband, youngest son, and I just celebrated the first full day of summer by lighting the fire pit and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows together. We sat outside talking, enjoying the longest day of the year, and looking at the much brighter moon. My husband was surprised when he looked at his phone to check the time and found that it was still light at 9:00 p.m.

I love that aspect of summer. Longer days mean more time to enjoy the perks summer brings with it. I rise earlier in the summer as my body is very attuned to the light cycle. I stay up later for the same reason.

Last week I took a lazy nap in the double rocker on my mother-in-law's back porch.  With the ceiling fan on high, my favorite Pandora station playing in the background, and the cooing of Mourning Doves, I was in nap time Nirvana. I couldn't have pulled this feat of relaxation off so well any other time of the year. It is a summer thing.

Another summer pleasure is making cool, refreshing drinks, meals, and desserts. Our big garden is a major player in this effort. My husband harvested a nice selection of tomatillos, tomatoes, peppers, and onions today. Right away I began planning a salsa cruda to top some homemade tortilla chips as a light appetizer before one of our dinners this week. Our various mint plants are also providing nice additions to iced tea and minted water.

Each season lasts only a short three month period of time. I am determined to enjoy each season while it lasts instead of complaining and wishing it away for the next one. So, raise a glass of iced tea to summer and let me know what you will be doing to celebrate and enjoy the next three months.

Summer Daycation Plans

Nothing says summer more to me than a cold drink and sunshine!

Summer is about to begin and I am all aflutter with plans to have a fun summer. It doesn't matter that I have little to no money to throw at my summer plans! I have a philosophy that I can enjoy my life without spending a lot of my hard earned money I am very fortunate in that the area of the country where I live abounds with many opportunities for free or very little cost.


There are area lakes, rivers, and dams within an hour's drive from my home. Staying cool when our Texas temperatures rise above 100 degrees will be easy when lounging on an inner tube floating lazily down a spring fed river. There are also many tree covered 
parks where one can hike, lounge, picnic, or barbecue inexpensively. A park near my home is comfy even at 100 degrees. My husband and I enjoy walking there in the summer on the pink granite paths and enjoying the shade of large pecan trees. 

There are museums about a 20 minute drive from me that are either free or offer reduced price admission. I hope this will be the summer I finally take time to enjoy these resources and stimulate my mind. I have my choice of history, art, and science museums for my self-development activities. 

I plan to read many of the books I have downloaded for free on my Kindle. I love taking time during the summer to escape by delving into novels or a novel series. In 2011, I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series; it was the perfect distraction for what was an
otherwise bummer of a summer. So far this summer reading list has the following on it; The Chronicles of Amber, Anne of Green Gables, and perhaps some works by C. S. Lewis. 

I will be spending time working on my landscaping and seeing what I can scrounge for free to add beauty and interest to my yard. I need to finally fill in the garden area I carved out during spring break. It will be a restful spot to linger with those novels on a summer evening. 

Just recently we have been enjoying the light flickering from our fire pit and tiki torches in the seating area near the new garden bed. It is so relaxing having our dinner al fresco and following it with a dessert of roasted marshmallows or s'mores.We feel as if we are on vacation each time we get that fire pit going. 

What will you be doing this summer? How do you relax and entertain yourself on a budget?

Super Saver Saturday Landscaping

I have to confess right now that my husband and I are scroungers. If someone has a pile of nice looking rocks, lumber, furniture, or whatever piled up on their curb for the taking, we are the folks who are likely to be carting it away to use in our home or yard.

I like to make good use of still useful objects. I also like to re-purpose items to extend their lifespan. I am not a rabid recycler type but I do like to live within my means and if that means scrounging to accomplish something I am trying to do I am not averse to doing so.

A while ago, my father-in-law had my husband help him to neaten up his yard. In the process, he showed Joe a large amount of landscaping edgers he no longer wanted. Hubby contacted me to see if I thought they might be useful to us and I agreed that we could put them to work in our yard.

Yard sale purchased lawn furniture in front of house before I began creating new garden bed.

 We have lived in our home for 16 years and we are now in the process of of
repairing and remodeling what the years and a restricted budget have done to the house.

Today I spent some time arranging these edgers in my front yard so that I could have a new garden bed. Since I am off work this week for Spring Break, it is the perfect time to get some tasks done!

Looking much improved even before adding soil and plants!

I spent about 1 1/2 hours digging the soil to insert the edgers and moving the edgers to the garden bed area. I have a bit more to do before I am done installing the edgers and can add soil and plants. I got a Home Depot gift card for Christmas from my sweet husband and I plan to finally use it to get the soil for this project. I will do a combination of purchased plants and planting seeds to fill in the area. Purchased plants will give me color right away and seeds will be very affordable and fill in around the purchased plants to make the garden bed lush and full over time. 

Just need to dig in five more edgers and the new bed will be complete!

Once the plants are in the new garden bed, we will have a nice view when relaxing around the fire pit!

I am in need of some new cushions for the lawn furniture that hubby acquired for me about five or six years ago through a great yard sale deal. The current cushions have seen about four summers here in central Texas and will be allowed to retire before much longer. I bought the current cushions one or two at a time until I had the four cushions I needed. I may try my hand at making the new cushions by using the old cushions. My favorite thrift store often has great deals on fabric and I could sew new covers for the old cushions. The firepit was a gift from my three younger sisters a few years ago for my birthday.

It may take me longer to get things done the way I would like since they need to be done with little to no budget, but when I see what I have been able to accomplish I am very happy and satisfied with the results. What are you doing on a shoestring in your home and yard?

Spring Break

Rose bush hubby bought as an anniversary gift a few years ago in bloom. 

Here in central Texas it is Spring Break week. The weather has been heralding spring's arrival for a few weeks, kids have all had ADD at school, and parents are talking themselves out of calling in "sick" to work. A break is definitely needed for all.

Today I am enjoying a leisurely visit to the library to work on my blog and other writing projects.
My library has a really nice lobby with Wifi for their patrons. My son and I brought some drinks and snacks and we are both relaxing with my laptops. I made some Raspberry Zinger iced tea and brought it in some small canning jars. I love using canning jars for transporting snacks and drinks-so cost effective and easy to do.

Canning jars aren't just for jam at my house.

Anyway, back to Spring Break-I am going to combine getting lots done at home with having some fun this week. Several of my jobs are in the education field so I have off today, Tuesday, and part of Thursday. Get ready to see some before and after pictures of my home if all I have planned is accomplished.

I want to get some new flowers planted in the front yard. I so crave lots of color in my landscape! Here we have the challenge of being in and out of drought conditions so plants have to be chosen carefully.

I have two living room chairs begging to to be reupholstered. Sad thing is that our staple gun has gone to staple gun heaven. Good thing is that some very nice husband gave me a Home Depot gift card for Christmas so perhaps I can get a new staple gun and make those chairs look refreshed during my week off.

I have my dining room table covered with books that I need to sell (books have been there for ahem...several weeks). I need to photograph the books and list them for sale.

I just realized that I have only detailed chores that I need to complete! All work and no play does not a spring break make!

I need to schedule the fun stuff posthaste...I just remembered that I am going to meet with a friend for dinner and get together with another friend to hit up our favorite thrift store. Maybe a trip to the dam would be relaxing too.

Stay tuned for my Spring Break adventures....

What are you doing for your Spring Break?

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Here I am with our onion harvest in May 2012!

I live in central Texas where it is possible to garden pretty much 365 days of the year (smiling broadly as I write this). My husband and I have had a garden the last 14 or so years and I have slowly been working on my front yard landscaping as time and budget allow.

We are working towards the goal of our garden supplying the majority of the fruit and vegetables we consume. My husband has more time than I do to work in the garden right now and has been planting tons of items. We do the planning together and I assist with weeding, watering, and harvesting.

Late fall harvest of okra, green peppers, tomatoes, Chinese long beans, and chard. 

Currently we are growing: potatoes, turnips, beets, radishes, Oregon peas (edible pod pea), yellow and white onions, Romaine lettuce, asparagus, strawberries, blackberries, green onions, a variety of peppers, cherry and Roma tomatoes, fennel, red cabbage, and regular cabbage. We plant our onions in December and when we begin harvesting in May they are softball sized!

My hubby, Joe, pulling onions.

In two weeks we will be able to plant Chinese long beans! These beans are really long-last season I measured one at 22 inches long! We save and dry some of the mature bean pods to have seed for the next season. These beans are great producers and grow from spring until the first frost.

Chinese long beans! I don't have to pick many  to have plenty for our evening meal!

By the time we have spring in full swing, we will also have planted tomatillos, watermelon, cantaloupe, yellow squash, zucchini, butternut squash, pattypan squash, a variety of herbs (thyme, rosemary, basil, mint), and probably at least one new fruit tree (last year we planted dwarf pomengranates and two pear trees in the front yard).

I will continue with gardening info and updates because I love gardening. Tell me, how does your garden grow?