Eat's of the Week ~ January 29, 2012

My NEW fence around my garden.  It is still being worked on but it is oh so close to being done!

Sunday

Buttermilk Herb Chicken

Green Beans

Roasted Potatoes

Monday

Leftovers

Tuesday

Double Decker Taco's

Mexican Rice

 Our daily green smoothies loaded with vitamin C and B complex!

Wednesday

Zesty Italian Bake

Salad

Thursday

Big Salad, Boiled Egg and Toast

Friday

Keith is going to surprise me when I come home from work :)

Saturday

Barbecue at Church

My sister and I camping in south Georgia this fall!

A New Daily Must

I have been wanting to drink green smoothies for awhile now but I never knew how to really make them.  Then I got an email from Blendtec for a Seasonal Green Smoothie. So I gave it a go and I love them.  The best part is that I am getting five servings of fruits and veggie in a yummy full of flavor smoothie.  It calls for a pear but I only used a pear once because it gave it a gritty flavor.  I have replaced the pear with an apple and I use the spinach/greens that we use for our everyday salad.  Keith is enjoying them also and they are now apart of my morning routine.

Seasonal Green Smoothie
Ingredients:
½ C Water
1 banana
1 orange, peeled
1 pear, quartered and cored
2 C spinach or preferred leafy greens
1 C ice cubes

Directions:
Add ingredients to FourSide jar in order listed and secure lid. Select “Whole Juice” and serve.

 Yields 28 fl oz. Servings 2.

Nutrition info per serving:
CAL 141   FAT .8 g   SatFAT 0 g   CHOL 0 mg   SODIUM 24 mg   POTASSIUM 623 MG  

 CARB 35 g   FIBER 6 g   SUGAR 14 g   PROTEIN 2 g 

Eat's of the Week ~ January 22, 2012

 

Sunday

Twice Baked Potatoes and Salad

Monday

Sausage Gravy over Buttermilk Biscuits

(I will use 1/2 lb of sausage instead of a full lb.  It has more gravy this way)

Tuesday

Very Big Sweet Potato and Salad

Wednesday

Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole

(I am going to try out making 'Cream of ...' so I can make it dairy free)

Thursday

Talipa, Green Beans and Pan Fried Carrots

Friday

Leftovers AKA Clean out the Fridge

Saturday

Chili and a Bon Fire

Photo Credit

Eat's of the Week ~ January 15, 2012

Sunday

Small Salad, Boiled Eggs and Buttered Toast

Monday

Big Big Salad and Toasted Garlic Bread

Tuesday

Egg Quiche, Sauteed Garlic Potatoes and Onion and Salad

Wednesday

Small Salad, Buttered Toast and Granola Bar

Thursday

Chicken Veggie Stir Fried Rice

Warm Vanilla Soothers

Friday

(we are both off this day so this will act as a lazy day for us and we will have a stay at home date)

Big Juicy (hopefully) Steaks

Asparagus

Baked Potato

Saturday

Visiting a Friend

These rooster Lunch and Dinner are not living with us anymore.  I listed them on Craigslist Tuesday afternoon and they were gone Wednesday.  We got them originally for extra laying hens but they turned out to be males.

2011 for Us

In 2011 we learned a lot, struggled a lot and gained a lot.  Without our faith in Jesus Christ and our constant prayers we would not be where we are right now in 2012.  Here is a recap of what we (mainly I) did in 2011.

This quilt was made for a co-worker of Keith's at the fire station as a wedding gift.

This Turning Twenty quilt made with 12 fat quarter instead of the traditional 20 fat quarters was made for Keith's Mom as a 60th birthday gift.

This patchwork baby quilt was made for my sister's best friend who had her first child.

This All About Me quilt was made for my Dad.  This quilt is all about him in that the fabric used represents his life to include sailing, the railroad, wood, trees, marbles and tons of tools.

We have come to love Saanen goats and have done our homework and found out that goat milk does not affect my tummy.  We are preparing to get goats this year.  Until then I will continue to visit Bob and Tammy's goats when I visit my sister.  They are the sweetest people and goats.

My sister and I visited the Bahama's.

Keith and I went camping at West Point Lake and had a nice quiet week with a visit from some dear friends and my Dad.

We got two baby chicks that are both roosters.  It is not very funny but they are very pretty.  (We had a fox get one of them Sunday morning.  We are trying to nurse him to better health.)

I made homemade vanilla extract without all the nasty chemicals.

My dear husband made me a nice barrel composter that spins all the way around.

We also got two kittens.  Oscar and Curtis are our watch cats for the yard.  But they have been inside since the fox scare.  I don't want a fox to get them or for them to get in the trap that we have set in case the fox tries to come back.

We added a lean-to to the left side of our shop that the boat sits under.

And I made some new friends in Christ.  These are my Yada-Yada girls.  We hold each other accountable in our day to day struggles according to God's will.

In addition to all of these things above:

~I Canned Apple Sauce

~I Made Apple Butter

~I Mastered Whole Wheat Bread (we now eat it as our only bread)

~I Made a Picnic Quilt

~My Mom got Married (A LOT of praying then)

~I Now Sell Arbonne

~I work part-time at a quilt store Sew Much Fun

Ummm... so much more but I will end now.

Happy 2012!

2012 Tea Towels

Right now I am suppose to be walking on the treadmill.  I said I would do it from 7am-8am while watching Good Morning America.  BUT these cute cute tea towels have me hunting for my favorite ones. 

 

 

 

 

And until tomorrow they are B1G1 free, so you get 2 for $11 plus shipping.  I am making a few baskets for some sweet ladies that have been my mentors through the year and these would be so great to go along with the jam and homemade bread and the homemade holiday potpourri.

 

 

 

Which one is your favorite?

Eat's of the Week ~ October 2nd

For Keith's birthday in September, I made Chicken Salad Sandwiches and we had a picnic at Callaway Gardens.  I wrapped each one in a cute white lunch sack.

Monday

Something on the go

Tuesday

Pantry Bean Soup

Cornbread

Wednesday

Chicken Bean Burritos w/ leftover beans

Taco Rice

Thursday

Cube Steak

Gravy

English Peas

Rice

Friday

Spaghetti Pie

Salad

HM Garlic Bread

Saturday

Regular Size Chili or HUGE Chili (I can't decide if I want to invite the in laws over or not)

Ant's in the Garden

I went outside Monday morning to prep my vegetable bed for the plantings of lettuce, carrots and radishes (maybe collards too) to find that more than half of it is covered in ants. I came back inside and found this great website http://www.simplepestcontrol.com/index.html , I hope you will find it useful. It has many bug, critter, bird and weed control tips and methods.

I used this recipe:

"Mix three cups of water with one cup sugar and four teaspoons of boric acid (Borax). Pour around a cup of solution into separate jars. Pack the jars with cotton balls to about the halfway point. Seal the lid and poke a few holes at the center." 

It said that Boric Acid AKA Borax:

"is a perfect ant poison. It’s cheap, natural, and much less dangerous (though not harmless) than commercial poisons. Best of all, when mixed correctly, boric acid is a slow ant killer – it allows ants time to bring it back to the nest in sufficient quantities for an ant apocalypse."

I mixed it up and dug through the recycling bin.  I could only find two containers so two is what I did.

My ant killing buddy Curtis laying on an old ant bed.

I dug out two holes and buried the containers.  I wanted it easy for the ants to get to the bait so I tried to make it so they didn't have to climb up the side of the jar.

Look at them exploring this thing that came crashing down on their house.

Circling the lid and going in.

I hope this works, I want to get this bed planted soon as lettuce takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  So hopefully by the end of the week I can add some compost and plant everything.

Making Pearsauce

Last Wednesday I got busy.  I cored and sliced this whole basket of pears.

I got the canner ready so when I was ready it would be ready.

Saved the cores for the chickens.

 Added a little cinnamon and water.

Set the crock pot on high and went to bible study.  When I came home they were nice and soft.  I cut the propane tank on got the water boiling and used a hand held immersion blender to mush them up.  Keith said that the pear sauce was a little runny compared to apple sauce so this week (Yes I am making more) I will omit the water and just add cinnamon.

I filled seven pint sized jars and left 1/2" head space and canned them in a water bath for 15 minutes.  I always add 2 extra minutes for the water to come back to a boil.  So they spent a total of 17 minutes in the water.

Directions and guidence taken from http://pickyourown.org/pearsauce.htm

The Top Is...

DONE!