In the garden

My garden is doing just as poorly this year as last.. oh well. I will keep trying and keep learning. I think it was still lack of bees.
Here are some squash, zucchini and tomato plants. The tomato plants actually look a lot bigger now and I have staked them. We will see. The squash looks bad and no results.

Here you see pepper plants and my gynormous cucumber plant. The cucumber plant just keeps going and going and going. My pepper plants look beautiful but nothing. Last year they bloomed and fruited really late in the summer though so I have not given up hope yet. With all the rain we had in the past few weeks the weeds are totally out of control. I pull and pull and pull, but they just keep coming back. Here it's not so bad. Of course this picture was pre rain!

And here it is, boys and girls, my big garden bounty so far this year. Yum-O they are good!

I really believe in growing my own food so I will just keep trying. Someone suggested a humming bird feeder for the back yard so that is on my list of things to try.

I thank God for the cucumbers though. It's nice to see something for my labors. :)

Be Blessed!

At the grocery store

Since finding Dave Ramsey we have been very strict about eating at home as much as possible. We do have a budget for eating out but with five kids lets just say it's not much of a budget. LOL
Now, we have decided to tighten our belts even more for awhile and not eat out at all. (That's our goal) for awhile. Sorry, my Chik Fil A friends that includes my Tuesday lunches. I thought the best way to do this would be to plan every menu before shopping.

After 4 weeks of this I remembered why I don't do it that way. My grocery budget went up about $100-$150 dollars. Not really working out for me so much..

So I'm going back to the old ways. A stocked pantry, meal planning when I get home from the grocery store, crockpots working over time.... the frugal kitchenista. :)

With the above method I can spend between $175-$250 every two weeks on groceries for a family of 7 with leftovers. LOL

I buy a couple of whole chickens either roast them for a meal one night or boil them for meat.
If I roast them I take all the bones and leftovers and throw them in the crockpot with some water, some vinegar, carrots, onion, maybe some spices. I let sit for a little while so the vinegar can do it's magic then I turn on the crockpot. In a few hours I have chicken broth that I can now can with my new handy dandy canner and store. If I boil the chicken I do the same thing as with the roasted chicken except when it's all done I tear the meat off the bones and freeze it for future use. This works great when chicken is on sale. I hear you can do the same with turkey but the only turkey I ever bought ended up thawing in my garage while we were out of town. Yeah. Yum.

We also buy beans and brown rice like it's going out of style. I always have those two staples in my pantry. Doing this we discovered that our family LOVES lentils. Who'd of thunk it? We have a lentils meal at least once a week now.

I only buy fresh produce if it's a great sale. With the exception being greens and carrots. They are so much better fresh. Frozen fruits and veggies are a better fit for my budget though I know some would disagree. Also I am hoping to get more from my garden this year.

I do splurge and buy cheese every shopping trip. I get the cheapest I can find but it goes a long way in helping to pull a meal together. I also splurge on Organic milk and when I can really find some extra money I buy raw milk.

I buy cans and cans and cans of tomato products. I buy salsa and spices. With a few ordinary ingredients it's easy to throw together a meal for just pennies.

Every three months or so I go to the health food store and buy olive oil, coconut oil. and honey. I also get organic wheat flour and pastry flour for my bread.

We eat oatmeal for breakfast most mornings and lunch is either pb or cheese on tortillas or leftovers.

When I get home I sit down and plan my menu for the week. My crockpots pull duty with chicken broth, beans, or meals. My oven bakes bread for the week. My food processors chops and dices and shreds. The stovetop is used to brown beef and cook rice. I do a lot of my cooking on Monday and it's that much easier throughout the week to have stuff ready when dinner time rolls around.

Next week I will blog about meals I made and prep that went into it. I won't be grocery shopping for about 4 weeks but then I will blog about that adventure. :)

Be Blessed

The Simple Life: Yogurt

I have only made my own yogurt a few times, but man was it easy! It taste different than store bought but is that really a bad thing?
Here is a whole discussion on how to make yogurt.

This is how I made mine the few times I made it.
1. heat milk to 160 or so.
2. put 3 T. starter in qt. jars
3. let milk cool to 110
4. use funnel to pour milk into jars with the yogurt starter (2 c. per 3 T. of starter)
5. put jars in oven with light on.
6. leave 12-14 hours and remove. do NOT stir, put lids on and refrigerate.

I used raw milk and Dannon full fat plain yogurt. According to the discussion above you can use non-homogenized milk or organic whole milk as well. I have never done either one. I just used a candy thermometer to check the temps.
Next time I make it I will take pictures. If we ever get a battery for my camera. :)

Here is another neat way to make yogurt. I think I will try this soon.
Make yogurt in your crockpot.

If you don't want to make your own yogurt it's probably not that big a deal. Honestly, I usually just buy the Dannon full fat plain yogurt and use it for all my yogurt needs. Its really not that expensive and I love plain yogurt.
I can substitute it for sour cream, I can put it in smoothies, I can add fruit and honey and have a great snack, I can use it to bake with... so many uses.
Making my own yogurt just makes me feel good. Maybe I'm just weird. LOL

Be Blessed!

The Simple Life: Bread

I have been reading lately about living a simpler life. I am a very modern, materialistic girl. I am striving towards a more simple life style. It relaxes me just reading about these people who have decided that they just don't need "it". Whatever "it" may be. I know its not an easy lifestyle. And I know this city girl has a loooooooooooooong way to go. But Im willing to take baby steps. One of the first steps I took was bread. One common thing among most simplicity seekers was making your own bread. I have been doing just that for awhile. I thought about it awhile back. When I mention that I bake my own bread by hand I am usually met with shock and awe. Followed by murmurs of praise to my greatness. This always makes me laugh. Making bread costs me about 15-20m of labor. If that. Here is my recipe and step by step instructions. I try to bake it on Mondays and Thursdays if needed. It really is quiet simple. I will tell any beginners that my first few loaves were not that great. My suggestion is to keep trying. Adjust it until you get it to your liking. We were not real big wheat bread eaters around here. I started by using some white flour with the wheat and weaned us off of that. Now its all whole wheat. I have been using a little bit of whole wheat pastry flour about a cup to the mix and kneading it on the pastry flour. This has given us a smoother and lighter texture. Almost sandwich bread quality. :)
The above is my dream. Its a Wonder Mill Grain Mill. Dh doesn't think we need one right now so I just enjoy it vicariously through online friends. :)
Hopefully, this will be what I get for Christmas. The Kitchen aid grain mill attachment. Its a great start.. I think.
And worse case scenario I buy this hand mill. I can't imagine being able to get enough flour for bread from this bad boy without killing myself, but I'm sure after awhile I would be better at it. And boy what muscles I would have!!

I would love to have fresh ground grains to work with. Until then though I am happy to do with what I have!

One more....

Ok I just wanted to post one more thing. Tonight we took a family trip to our local health food grocery store and to Walmart. I picked up a lot of things at both places. At the health food store I got:
A big bottle of apple cider vinegar
3# bag of organic pink lady apples
Carob powder 16oz
3 cans of organic chunky tomato sauce
3 cans of organic diced tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
raw local honey

We spent a lot of money here, but 3 of those things will last me for quiet awhile.

Then we went to Walmart. I noticed Walmart is starting to sell alot of the products I could find at the health food store. I mean there are still some things I would have to get at the health food store. But Im impressed that Walmart is at least trying. I do think if money were no object I would buy all of my food through co-op and the health food store though.
I am going to make a price book though for the health food store, the co-op, and Walmart. I really need to make my grocery money stretch while buying the best food I can.
I bought some Dannon full fat yogurt to attempt to make my own yogurt. I have been reading up on it at Welltellme.com and Im excited.
I guess I better include Publix in my price book because we get a lot of organic stuff from them also.
This has been a very busy week, but oh the things the Lord has shared with me. Im so excited. Sometimes I lay awake at night and just think about all the promises DH and I have recieved from God and all the visions he has given us. Not so much in a Old Testament way, but more things he has laid on our hearts.
For instance a more "self-sufficient" life style. Self sufficient in the sense that we can get by on our own as much as possible with growing our own food and staying healthy through natural means. When I shared with hubby this vision about a year ago and then again in October of last year I was amazed that he had the same vision. I approached him with the wacky idea of paying off our debt and saving and looking for some land we could live off of and he was amazed that it was something I wanted to do. We both still feel this calling strongly and Im learning everything I can.
Hubby is still working towards a career change. Oh Im so excited and proud of him. I wish I could shout it from the roof tops but it will still probably be a few months until I can. Just know that if you know us, your jaw will drop. Hubby compared himself to Moses the other day when he said this is the last thing I thought I could do, but God says, "let ME work through you!" How exciting is that!?!
He is working out every night. Either jogging or upper body excercises in the garage. Of course this motivates me to stay on course with my weight loss. I cant be fat and frumpy with a hot muscled man...can I? ;)
We have grown so much closer during this time. My patience and my controlling ways have been tested to the max, but it has been worth it to hear hubby praise me to his friends. He looks at me with so much love in his eyes, and believe me those puppy dog brown eyes have always overflowed with love for me so to see even more is overwhelming sometimes.
Well I really need to get to bed!
Oh one more thing. God led me to start re-reading Created to Be His Helpmeet in October. Im convinced that this reading coincided with hubby's career change plans just for this reason. Reading it and the Bible every morning has really shown me how to bless Roy during this time.
Im married to the greatest guy in the world...and you better believe I know it...and I make sure he knows that I know it!
Ok Im done babbling. Sorry got on a kick.

Be Blessed!

The Simple Life

Ok I have a confession to make... I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with the Amish. I have read many books about them. My husband laughs at me because he knows I could NEVER be Amish. But I do think a lot about the simplicity of thier lives. (Yes, I know they have problems!) They hold marriage and family in such high regard. It must be nice to know that when/if you get married as an Amish girl your husband will have been raised with the same beliefs you have. He will be a hard worker and good provider for your family. I would love to have been raised with the hard work ethic the Amish women have. Up before sunlight to start their day. Me? Im doing good if I can get up right after sun light. And breakfast... well I shuffle around throwing stuff in bowls and hoping it taste like breakfast! :) But I digress. The Amish people live much like the early church. Relying on thier hard work and each other. And of course God. There are some Amish I have read about who follow tradition more that God but I have read of others who are very heaven bound. Of course I dont believe everything I read but I do enjoy studying Amish culture and history. I think had I been born Amish I would be ok BUT I dont think I could convert to being Amish. I love my washer and dryer, my dishwasher, my AIR CONDITIONING! But as I studied the Amish culture something one man said really made me stop and think. He said you dont have to be Amish to enjoy the simplicity of the Amish lifestyle. You can lead a simple life wherever you are. Of course thats true.
Hubby and I have been discussing end times lately. There are many signs pointing to the end so be alert always! I am not saying what I am about to say to start a debate. Its our view of scripture. I know there are many. We believe that the Bible is a bit mysterious about a Christian's place during the end times. Our motto is "we hope for pre-trib rapture but are prepared for anything." From what we have read in the Bible and studied we see a Pre-Trib rapture BUT we do concede that there are many verses that could point another way. Yes, I read the Left Behind books. I even enjoyed them. They are not my Bible though. I have a reason for bringing end times into this.
If we are wrong and we are not raptured out before the Tribulation we as Christians may be called to live a "simple" life style. We may have to figure out how to get by without electricity. I have a friend who does reenactments and she has told about the tent they have to set up and the stove she has to cook on and so forth and so on. Read here about her reenacting lfe. One day the electricty went out at her house before she was getting ready to start dinner... so she just went into reenactor mode and made dinner without electricty. I was so impressed with this. If my electricity goes out (as it did many times last year during hurrican season! Welcome to Florida) the first thing I think is.... WOW it sure is hot! Then of course we go into.. "what are we gonna eat" mode. Looks like cold Beanie Weanies... MMM! :( Maybe I should study the Amish lifestyle a bit more. It probably could not hurt to be prepared to live without electricity during hurricane season or during the tribulation. I will ponder this some and make a list of some things I would like to learn to do myself and then blog about my experiences.


Around the House:
Tada!! The table has been moved! I repeat the table has been moved! It looks a little cramped... hmmm.... I mean COZY in our great room now but at least I can move in the kitchen! The bad news is the bench I had two children sitting on is broken. The leg fell off. *SIGH* now we are back to having to eat in shirft. I guess I need to get garage selling or post a want on freecycle. I dont know what to do. When we visited friends in Tampa we went to thier Pastor's house and he had a big long conference table as his dining room table. He said he got it free from the local college giving away office furniture. Im thinking this would be just the thing for my growing family. BUT I could really use some more chairs at this point. Please pray with me over this. I really enjoy family togetherness at dinner and we just dont have enough chairs to do it right now.
The rest of the house is a disaster as I had to rearrange a few more things to get the table moved. I better get in there and fix it.
All fixed. I was able to add another bookshelf to my expanding library but now I have to figure out where to put the stereo.
The dishes are all done. Every last stinking one of them! I dont remember the last time all the dishes were done. Im so happy!
Im back to the drudge I mean joy of laundry. It seems everytime I get to a good point I turn around and it has piled up again! I dont mind the washing and drying but my goodness the folding and putting away is driving me nuts. I guess what I really need to do is weed out some of the children's clothing. Maybe they just have too many clothes.
I still have not made the Moravian Sugar cake yet. I need to get on that.
Hubby and I were laughing last night. He was able to sit down and do the taxes finally. When it asked for his occupation I said we could put down fully time procrastinator for both of us. He laughed and considered it. I love making him laugh. He is such a funny guy that when I get to make him laugh it just makes me so happy.