The Friday before Easter, as is a farmers tradition, I got out and planted our summer garden. Justin was super busy building our forever farmhouse, so I did all the garden work myself, with three kids underfoot. I tilled the soil and raked the soil and planted my heart out. The kids and I planted corn, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, okra, sunflowers, tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon. My little plants started poking.. Read More
I’m no Pioneer Woman (I’m pretty sure she cooks more than once every few weeks), but I do make a terrific chili. FYI the chili above is not my actual chili–it never hangs around long enough for me to get a picture. (source) It’s really rather simple. Let’s be honest, if I can make it, is has to be simple. And since it’s one of our most favorite fall/winter foods,.. Read More
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to our eating habits lately. As a family, we survive on junk: Cheetos, Lunchables, soft drinks (not so much the girls, but definitely me and J)….you get the picture. I’ve been attempting small changes in our diet (Deceptively Delicious brownies with spinach, green smoothies). We are working toward a clean(er) lifestyle. I am never one to go cold turkey on ANYTHING, so I’m.. Read More
OK so I mentioned in my last post, which just happened to be several days ago (so much for posting daily) that I am trying to be a little more healthy around here. Now, I am not and will probably never be on the clean eating kick. I just love tacos and popcorn and Dr. Pepper and nachos and….. you get the point. But, I can make choices that are.. Read More
I am going to share a top secret recipe with you. OK, maybe not so top-secret. It was left laying out at my church’s VBS last year and I swiped it. (And by swiped it, I mean took a photo with my phone–not stealing, of course!) So for this post, purely for my enjoyment, I am going to pretend to be an expert chef. Think Pioneer Woman or Rachael Ray. And.. Read More
We did it! With our 10 cups of blackberries picked yesterday, we made 4 whole jars of blackberry jelly! (We’ll try not to eat it all in one morning!) It took us about 2 hours to make, and that includes picking the blackberries. Main lesson learned: We need LOTS more blackberries!! The secret was the fruit juicer my grandmother had purchased a few years ago. Within 5 minutes, we had washed, drained,.. Read More