Sunday, August 31, 2014

I didn't get a whole lot done today.

I did go out to the garden area and picked most of the carrots.  There are still some in the planter box, because they are still little.  I brought the carrots inside and Angela cleaned them for me.  Then, I shredded them up and put them in the dehydrator.  I also got 2 large zucchinis shredded and in the dehydrator.

I still have 3 or 4 really large zucchinis and 4 really large yellow squash to do something with.  Yesterday, I picked 16 zucchini and those 4 large yellow squash.  I gave 8 of the zucchini away, and still have lots to work with.  I haven't decided yet if I am going to shred more and put in the dehydrator or bake some breads.  I don't have any breads in the freezer right now, so I really should do some baking tomorrow.

I did make macaroni salad for tomorrow.  We are going to have bbq pulled pork sandwiches, macaroni salad and watermelon and cantaloupe.  Maybe something else, if I am motivated.

I still need to get started on laundry before I have to go back to work on Tuesday.

Friday, August 29th, 2014

I didn't get much done today at all.  I worked and on my breaks, I was a nervous wreck.  Keith had his surgery and got 4 crowns for a total of 6 now in his mouth.  He did pretty good and obviously was starving when he got home.  He's decided that he likes jello and I knew he liked pudding.  He even ate Costco pizza for dinner!

I did get to Costco tonight and got some needed things.  Costco had a buy one get one free on the Finish dishwasher tabs.  So, I now have 4 boxes of those.

We were going to go up to Lance's family's land and pick grapes tomorrow, but Lance decided that he has too much stuff to do.  He's re-doing some shelves in the garage and he also has to make crates for work (he gets paid to make the crates).

I didn't get out to the garden at all.  So, I need to do that tomorrow.  I also need to go out and buy more canning jars.  I have 6 jars left.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

I haven't blogged in awhile.  Things have changed since my last post.  I now work as a bus aide.  I get 2 breaks between routes with approximately 1 1/2 hours of free time for me to get things done at home.

So, my first break today, I basically ran errands.  I took Jill a bag of goodies to her house to say thank you for all the apples she let me pick from her trees :)  My second break, I went and helped out in Angela's class at school.  The teacher didn't have much for me to do, so I got to come home and check email for awhile before going back to work.

Tonight, I've taken the dehydrated, shredded zucchini out of the dehydrator and put in a jar.  Then, I diced up 3 bell peppers that were from last week's Bountiful Basket.  I have one tray of diced bell peppers flash freezing in the freezer now.  I will get one more tray in there tonight.

Tomorrow, Keith (my youngest) is having dental surgery.  His teeth break easily because he can't have dairy.  So, I need to go out and get some pudding, jello, etc for him to eat.  Lance is taking him for the surgery tomorrow since I have to work and am still on my 90 day probation.

I am also going to get outside to the garden.  I probably have another 10 zucchini that are ready to be picked.  I also want to start pulling the carrots and doing something with them.  I'm not sure what. 

Make Your Own (MYO) green onion dip mix

So, Lance and I love green onion dip!  We eat a lot of it, but I hate paying for those little packages at the store.  And, I like being able to say I made it from scratch.  So, I set out to figure out how to make my own version of it.  I think it is pretty close to the store packages.

Green Onion Dip Mix

1/2 tsp dried green onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chicken bouillon granules

Mix together and store in a baggie or other container.  To use:  Mix the mix with 1 cup of sour cream and refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

To Make dried green onion powder:  Clean green onions and cut into 1 inch pieces.  Place in dehydrator or oven at 145° for 6 hours.  Once dry, place in spice/coffee grinder and powder it or place in a ziploc bag and use a rolling pin to powder it.

This is perfect for using the tops of all the onions growing in your garden.

To make a large batch:

Mix 1/4 cup dried green onion powder with 1/2 cup of chicken bouillon granules and 2 tablespoons of garlic powder.  Store in a half pint or pint jar or any air tight container.

Homemade granola recipe

I finally gave in and tried making homemade granola.  It's good and so easy!  My 8 year old daughter liked it with milk, so that is a great thing.  It didn't clump together, but I read an easy tip to make it clump.  I'll try that next and then post it if it works.

Granola


7 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsps vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix quick oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla together.  Pour oil and honey into a 1 cup measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute.  Meanwhile heat up the oven to 400°.  Mix the liquids with the oat mixture and combine really well.  Pour onto 2 parchment covered cookie sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes or until light brown.

Leftovers and potatoes

Tonight's dinner is leftover spaghetti (not much either) with a green salad and homemade bread.  The bread smells so yummy (it just came out of the oven).

My goal this weekend is to cook up a bunch of potatoes.  I bought a big bag of potatoes from Costco, so I want to bake up a bunch and dice / chunk some up for home style potatoes (and freeze them).  I'm thinking that I might do most of them that way, because that would be a big time saver for mashed potatoes, too.  Just pull out a bag of potatoes and  heat, add milk and butter and mash them up.  Others, I will bake and cool in the fridge and then shred for hash browns (and freeze these, too).

I really want to make things easier on myself by having these ready in the freezer and saving us money at the same time (by not going out, not wasting food, etc).

Do you have any time saver things that you do to?  Please share:D

Easy patty-melt type sandwich recipe

2 posts in one week????   Pinch me....  no, you don't really need to pinch me.

I did a twist on a recipe  ( http://blogchef.net/taco-grilled-cheese-recipe/ ) .  I didn't have leftover taco meat, but I did have a pound of ground beef that I needed to use (and the kids were on my last nerve), so instead of making baked ziti casserole like I wanted to make....I made a version of that recipe.

Instead of the taco meat, I seasoned my hamburger with granulated garlic and black pepper (a lot of both because I'm a garlic and pepper freak).  And, of course, crumbled the ground beef up.  4 out of 5 people ate every single bite.  That is saying a lot since our kids are 8, 6 and 3.  It does make a mess while you are assembling it, but oh does it taste good.  I'll be making it again, but I just might cheat and not crumble the meat up as much.  And, maybe I'll add in some onions to mine since I love onions, too.

There was something else that I was going to post about....but, my old age (41) must be kicking in now.