I am very excited to be taking on the the Food Waste Reduction Challenge hosted by Crunchy Chicken (see sidebar for link). To start out I tossed any old food that I found in the fridge so that we can start fresh. Most of what I tossed were old dressings and sauces that we never use and brought here with us from the old house. I also threw out some shrimp and cocktail sauce from Christmas and one thing of leftovers from a restaurant. I plan to use my postal scale to weigh anything we throw out in February. When I got to the freezer I was relieved not to find much that needed to be tossed. I did pitch some leftover cheesy potatoes we had frozen from our wedding. Then I came across the several bags of frozen shredded zucchini from last years garden. I had yet to use any of them. So, what’s a non-wasting girl to do with all that zucchini? Make muffins! Yeah, chocolate muffins to be exact. I pulled together a recipe from a few different ones to come up with the following: Chocolate Muffins with (Shhh!) Zucchini2 2/3 cups whole grain pastry flour (or
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Homemade Garlic Shells
Alright, here’s the recipe for homemade garlic shells that I’ve been using. My friend at work gave me the idea and the basic ingredients. I’ve been experimenting with it and like the results. My husband and I both like the Lipton garlic noodles in the bag but they are expensive and full of preservatives and other junk. I doubt I am saving much because this recipe uses heavy whipping cream, but when all the ingredients are purchased on sale (or if you have a family cow!) it should work out to about the same, plus you know where it was made. The recipe is not real exact but tweak it to your liking and it will turn out fine. The taste is a little bit sweeter than I was used to at first. However, today Brian made the bagged kind again and they tasted quite bland to me. I guess taste buds adjust pretty quickly! Ingredients:1 cup heavy whipping cream1-2 cups milk or water1 Tbsp butter or margarineGarlic powder or saltParsley for colorMedium sea shells (pasta) Pour the heavy whipping cream in a medium saucepan. Add 1-2 cups water or milk (or a combination of the two). I add about
Continue readingBack 2 Basics and Other Challenges
I’ve decided to start the Back 2 Basics Harvest Keeper Challenge for 2009. Chicken eggs will be the only thing on the list for now but I am excited to see things rack up once spring arrives. This will be very good for me because I kept no records from all of the farming and canning I did last year. Check out my sidebar if you’re interested, and go visit Farm Mom for a better example. Other challenge updates: We haven’t been using our corn burner at all due to it malfunctioning and refusing to keep a fire going. Brian is trying to track down the problem but in the meantime we’re blowing our budget with all the fuel oil we’re burning. So much for keeping track of the corn we use! We do keep the thermostat set low (58-62 F) and I finally found the controls for our dual heated blanket so we use that every night to take the edge off. I covered most of our windows with the clear plastics kits in the fall and although I don’t how much that is helping I do like that I can’t feel a breeze when I walk by the
Continue readingPumpkin Pie Squares
Abbie over at Farmer’s Daughter is hosting a Christmas Cookie Recipe Swap! I’m excited to check out everyone recipes. Here’s my first contribution. Pumpkin Pie SquaresRecipe taken from Farm Journal’s Best-Ever Cookies by Patricia A. Ward. 1 c. sifted flour1/2 c. quick-cooking oats1/2 c brown sugar, packed1/2 c. butter1 (16-oz.) can mashed pumpkin (2 c.) <—-2 c. was most of a bigger can for me, not sure about that1 (13.5-oz.) can evaporated milk2 eggs3/4 c. sugar1 tsp. ground cinnamon1/2 tsp. salt1/2 tsp. ground ginger1/2 tsp. ground cloves1/2 c. chopped pecans1/2 c. brown sugar, packed2 Tbs. butter Combine flour, oats, 1/2 c. brown sugar and 1/2 c. butter in bowl. Mix until crumbly, using electric mixer at low speed. Press dough into bottom and 1/2″ up sides of ungreased 13x9x2″ baking pan. Bake in 350 degree (F) over 16 minutes.Combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and cloves in bowl. Beat well, using rotary beater. Pour into baked crust.Bake in 350 degree (F) oven 20 minutes.Combine pecans, 1/2 c. brown sugar and 2 Tbs. butter; sprinkle over pumpkin filling. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 2
Continue readingHomemade Laundry Soap: Liquid
My Mom & I have been using this recipe for years now so I thought I would share it. It came from our local paper, author unknown. Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe: 3 pints water 1/3 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated 1/2 cup Super Washing Soda 1/2 cup borax 1 quart hot water 2 gallon bucket Note: You may be able to get your local grocer to order the Fels Naptha for you, or you can find it online. The grocery store should have washing soda and borax, looks near the stain removers and other laundry aids. Step #1: Mix grated soap in a large saucepan with 3 pints hot water. Heat on the stove over low heat until dissolved. Do not allow to boil. Step #2: Stir in Super Washing Soda and 20 Mule Team Borax. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat. Step #3: Add 1 quart hot water to 2 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture and mix well. Fill bucket with more hot water, leaving a few inches at the top, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load. I like this mixture a lot and find it
Continue reading9 Things We Do With Apples
Sorry for the long gap in posts – I lost my internet connection for awhile this week. I have apples coming out of my ears and there is no end in sight – STILL! I thought I would share some of the things that we do with them around here to preserve the harvest. Here’s the list: 1. APPLE BETTYThis recipe was suggested by my mother-in-law and can be found in the Better Homes & Gardens “New” Cookbook (mine is definitely not new, more like 30+ years old). The recipe calls for 4 cups of apples so I peel and slice mine and freeze them in 4 cup portions. As you’re peeling drop them in some water & lemon juice to preserve the color, then drain & freeze. I don’t bother rinsing mine. Here’s the recipe: “Apple Betty Pie”4 cups sliced pared tart apples or 1 No. 2 can (2 1/2 cups) sliced pie apples, drained1/4 cup orange juice (I’ll skip this if we don’t have any)1 cup sugar3/4 cup all-purpose flour1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/4 teaspoon nutmeg1/2 cup butter Mound apples in buttered 9″ pie plate, sprinkle with OJ. For topping: combine sugar, flour, spices, and dash salt. Cut in butter
Continue readingGreening Your Dishwasher
So a little more than a year after moving in and rearranging our kitchen to make room for a dishwasher, it is finally up & running. And I sure am loving it. I have lived without a dishwasher for most of the past 4 years and I really thought that maybe I wouldn’t use it much once I had one – WRONG! With all the baking I do now I still have quite a few things to hand wash but it is very nice to just put the rest of the dishes right in there and have it all done for me. However, I was a little worried about how environmentally friendly this was going to be so I thought I’d do a little research. Please see the links to my sources thoroughout. Apparently, if your dishwasher is more than 10 years old it is worth investing in a new one. The energy cost of running such an old machine is prohibitive. One article I read mentioned possibly donating an old machine. In my opinion it would be much better to call someone who will cut it up for scrap and find uses for the motors, fans, etc. Our dishwasher
Continue readingIndependence Days Update
1. PLANT SOMETHING: Some of my watermelon plants are coming up now. I planted three different kinds of cucumbers: one for slicing, one for pickles, and lemon cucumbers. I also planted my six little blueberry bushes in front of the house. One of them is mysteriously missing now and since ordering season is over for them I guess I’ll have to get another one next year. I have a feeling that the puppy must have dug it up but I couldn’t find it anywhere in the yard. What a bummer. On a good note, the potato plants that were accidently run over with the rototiller are coming back up again. I’m not sure if it is the same stems or new ones so hopefully it didn’t hurt the yield too badly. At least we’ll have some! 🙂 2. Harvest something. Not much ready right now. Next year I’ve got to plant some lettuce! My gooseberry plants have some pretty big berries on them but I don’t think they’re quite ready yet. I guess you could say we are harvesting hay because that is stockpiled feed for our animals all winter. We got 85 good bales off before a hailstorm hit
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