Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, with a little planning and creativity, a garden can be one of the most frugal ways to put food on the table. Whether you’re starting from scratch or trying to cut costs in an existing garden, these frugal gardening tips will help you grow more while spending …
I was chatting with a new gardener recently about growing vegetables from seed and she mentioned that she doesn’t really understand how to read a seed packet. The information on the seed packet confuses her and it’s just easier to buy transplants. I felt the same way when I first started gardening and I’m sure there …
Right now we’re eating quite a bit of swiss chard and kale. Chard and kale are great because they grow year round here and they are my “filler” vegetables. And right now we’re needing that filler as we no longer have any broccoli or cabbage growing and the green beans and summer squash isn’t producing …
Many years ago, I canned about 30 quarts of pear chutney. I had never tried pear chutney, in fact I had never even heard the word “chutney” before that day. But our pear tree was producing a bumper crop that year and I decided it would be fun to try something new. {ahem} No one liked it…not …
Twice a year I go through our seed stash. I should probably try to keep them a bit more organized through the year but that just doesn’t fit with my personality. If you have a large garden then growing plants from seed is the least expensive route to go. And starting seeds indoors will give …
One of our favorite dinners is pancit bihon, which is a Filipino stir fried rice noodle dish. {By the way, if anyone knows why Filipino is spelled with an “f” and only one “p” and Philippine is spelled with a “ph” and a double “p”, we would like to know. So far we’ve made up …
Last week we got quite a bit of rain and although we normally wait until mid October to plant our fall/winter garden, it’s quite a bit cooler than normal so we are starting a little early. When I pulled our seeds out and started going through them, I thought about some of the gardening mistakes …
There are many ways to save money at the grocery store, but I truly believe this is the budget category we have the most control over. Unlike fixed expenses like housing or insurance, grocery spending can be adjusted week by week with small, intentional choices. Most people already know the basics — buying items on …
I love keeping home canned corn on hand. Although canning corn takes a little bit longer than canning other vegetables does, it’s totally worth it. There’s nothing like the flavor of locally grown sweet corn during summer, and when you can your own corn you can enjoy that bit of summer all year long. We …
Listed below are posts I’ve written about individual plants, pests or garden planning and maintenance. Just click on the link to take you to the post. If you want to know more about what goes on in our garden, like our monthly walk-throughs and updates, just click on the garden button in the sidebar (under …
Simple living means many things to many different people, for some it means living a minimalist lifestyle in possessions and commitments, for some it means self-sufficiency and doing all-the-things. For others simple living is somewhere in between. Regardless of what your definition of simple living is, I want to help you achieve it! Creative simple …
We love Tex/Mex food and homemade chicken enchiladas are at the top of the list. This recipe is really more of a process than an exact recipe and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry – the one exception might be corn tortillas. There are tons of recipes for making chicken enchiladas …
Homemade vegetable stew can be made with pretty much any vegetables you happen to have on hand. I use a combination of fresh seasonal vegetables, home canned vegetables and dehydrated vegetables to make this use-what-you-have vegetable stew. While I do have a real vegetable stew recipe that I share below in the recipe card, I …
Summer is the time for light meals that are loaded with summer vegetables. It’s also the time basil plants are huge. One of our favorite meals is pesto pasta with summer vegetables. This summer vegetable pesto pasta dish is loaded with garden fresh vegetables such as yellow squash, zucchini, carrots, onions, and tomatoes. Ingredients Enough …
I was able to spend a few moments this weekend planning out our spring garden. I’m trying to remember to keep it simple this year. We have so many other things to do this spring and summer that I only want to plant what we can take care of reasonably well. Of course, my resolve …
Stuffed squash is one of our favorite meals during the summer months when the garden is overflowing with different squash varieties. This vegetarian stuffed squash recipe has a Tex-Mex flare that my children love, especially when we use scallop squash but you can use whatever summer squash, zucchini (courgette) or delica squash you happen to …
This easy pasta salad is packed with fresh vegetables and topped with a zesty homemade dressing. Pasta salad is so versatile that you can use whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand or in the garden, you can use homemade or store bought dressing, and you can also easily make it gluten-free, dairy-free, keto …
This easy homemade pizza recipe, includes a pizza dough recipe, topping suggestions and even freezing instructions. Use this recipe to make family size pizzas, individual pizzas, or calzones. It’s a super versatile recipe. Pizza crust is a great recipe for beginner bread bakers because it’s very forgiving. This recipe will result in soft chewy crust, …