Friday, July 20, 2012

Crispy, Crunchy, Homemade Pickles

One of my favorite things to make in the canning season is pickles. Not sure why, but I love it.  I've never come across a store bought pickle that tastes as good. Unless you make kerosene pickles like Aunt Bea :)

The method that I have found to work best for me is to use Mrs. Wages mixes. Thankfully, the bent-n-dent store had a bunch of them for .50 ea. Yep, I bought every single one!! I was getting concerned that maybe I wouldn't have enough when it came time make the pickles. Pulled out all the packages and learned I had enough for 65 quarts of pickles. I think I'm safe for this year at least :P

Our 1st big picking. Don't look like many but they added up to 9 pints. YEAH!!

Simple tools of the process.

Don't ya just love progress :)

Those cukes will never be the same.

The result - crispy, crunchy, bread & butter pickles. YUM!

Interesting little note - I don't remember all the details but I was reminded today of when I was a little girl in Greene County PA. My mom and dad always had several large gardens and one year the local paper must of caught wind of mom's pickle making.  She still has the pictured article of her pickles :)


Blessings to ya!

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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Gardening For a Family of 6

Growing enough to feed a family of 6 for a whole year requires a big garden.  For us it means 2 large gardens totaling 13,000 square feet.  Below are some pictures that I took today.  They look nice this time of year.
This is garden #2

Some tomatoes and cucumbers

 2nd Pea Patch

2nd Bean Patch

13 Rows of Corn



Garden #1

Roma Tomatoes

"Big Boy" Tomato

1st Bean Patch

Onions

Beets

My little herb garden.  Not much in it, only my 2nd year.

Heirloom tomatoes

Some fruits of our labor



Blessings to ya!!

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Monday, July 2, 2012

Pepperoni Bundles

Thought I'd share these tasty tidbits I made for the kid's and my supper.  Since my sweetheart is driving truck meal times when he is on the road have become more relaxed and kid friendly. :)

As most of us know by now, refrigerated biscuits and croissants in a can are no longer supposed to be eaten  as is. Well you can, but don't limit yourself to just that.  Below I will show you how I took 1 can of each and turned them into what I'm calling "pepperoni bundles".

*Unroll the croissants from the can.  Place about 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese and 2 pepperoni at the widest part.

*Fold them into bundles.

*Remove biscuits from the can.  Split each one in half.

*Sprinkle the cheese and about 4 pepperoni.

*Pinch closed with a fork.
Bake in a 375* oven for 16-17 minutes.

I served these with spaghetti sauce sprinkled with sugar. Yes, I'm one of those people who like my sauce to have a sweet taste to it :)  My boys loved them!!

Blessings to ya!!

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Goodwill Bargains

I love reading blogs where people share their bargains.  It's inspiring to see how others decorate their home for a little bit of nothing.  There was a time when brand new items from Home Interiors was the only way I decorated.  Well that is not possible for me to do when I want a home that is beautiful and cozy while on a tight budget.  So I go to yard sales and thrift stores for all my decorating.  Trust me you can decorate you home to look like you have $$$ with these bargains.

So I'm sharing the few things I found this Friday from Goodwill during their 1/2 off everything sale.

I couldn't get a picture that did this little, sun catcher justice.  I have found that bright blue pops in my "burnt gingerbread" painted kitchen.  I got this for $1.00.  It is very cherry and my little kids just love it.

I got these delightful little pots for $.25 a piece.  I have them sitting on the back of the stove.  Love how the paint has some "chips" in it.

This copper tone lantern cost $1.00, came with the bright blue candle. I have it sitting on the back of the stove as well.  I love lanterns and won't think twice to snatch it up for that price. :)

Those two collections together.  I love my kitchen.  

The sweet, ceramic jug cost $1.00.  It is being used to hold hand lotion.  The candle holder came from my "Secret Sister" from church.  Just love the punched tin.  It goes perfect in my outhouse bathroom.  The candle is a $.10 Goodwill bargain.

This is NOT a Goodwill bargain.  But I wanted to share it, because my sweet husband made it for me this weekend.  And I just had to share it with my blog friends.  He is very artistic with a scroll saw.  I love this!!

Blessings to ya!!

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