Eating from the Garden: Butternut Squash Medley

Hey guys! It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve sat down to write a post and so much has happened… the most exciting thing is that I’m a GRANDMA! I was able to spend a bit of time with the new parents and I got quite a few snuggles in with the little one before I had to come home. Mr. Awesome and the kids did a great job holding down the fort although the goats did get out and they ate my blackberry bushes. When I asked my husband about it he looked to where I was pointing and said ‘What blackberries?’… they have had quite a hard pruning but I’m hoping they’ll come back better than ever.

We’ve been busy before and after this little ‘vacation’ trying to get our winter gardens in place… the chickens had eaten some of our plants and then someone forgot to water them for a few days so we had a little bit of triage to do and we did have to replace s few things. While planting we are also harvesting what we can from what plants are remaining. I know we really enjoyed the Rosella greens last year so we definitely wanted to give them a go again. I also wanted to try to use some sweet potato leaves as a spinach alternative. I had read something the other day about how it wasn’t always hard to grow different foods but we need to learn to eat what we grow… I really want everything we put our time and energy into to provide us with something whether it’s just nice to look at, to smell, or to eat.

Continue reading “Eating from the Garden: Butternut Squash Medley”

Eclipse Gardening 2024 – Picture Overload!!!

We had a great time watching the Solar Eclipse even though we didn’t experience totality. The kiddos did their Morning Circle Routine and then watched a couple of lessons about the eclipse. Then they had a quick lunch as they were so excited to get out and watch for the eclipse.

Continue reading “Eclipse Gardening 2024 – Picture Overload!!!”

Strawberry Spinach Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

I had this salad many years ago at a special dinner I attended and I have LOVED it ever since. Some of my family doesn’t really care for some of the ingredients but that doesn’t stop me as I could eat as much as I make by myself and not feel bad at all.

This is so good and it’s the perfect side for a Grilled Steak with Gorgonzola pasta on Valentine’s Day or a special meal! It would probably be amazing if you topped it with some grilled chicken as well!

Continue reading “Strawberry Spinach Salad w/Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing”

Homemade Croutons

Forget the days when croutons were just for salad toppings. We love to eat croutons on our salads, our soups, stews, and we have even been known to eat them as a snack every now and then as well.

I know I have a recipe for homemade croutons somewhere around here but I’m not sure where it is but I’ll update this one if there is anything different about the way I made them the other day.  It just happened that my sister sent home some of the Quick & Easy Garlic Bread and it got pretty hard even though we had it in a Ziploc baggie.

Well, I really didn’t want to throw it out because it was really good and then I had an idea. When we did our last grocery pickup they were out of oyster crackers. I had planned to make Loaded Potato Soup that night as Mr. Awesome had requested it but we really like to eat it with oyster crackers. I had some regular saltines but decided to give it a try with some garlic croutons and they were a HIT!

I skipped a couple of the steps as our bread already had the garlic and butter so I simply had to cut it up and bake it for the most delicious croutons ever. I also keep a baggie in the freezer with scrap bread for making croutons and/or bread crumbs. Continue reading “Homemade Croutons”

Tuna Salad

This can be a quick and easy lunch or snack. You can eat it on bread, toast, crackers, or even plain. You can also serve it with a salad, hard-boiled egg, and some sliced peaches w/cottage cheese for a cold dinner plate. Continue reading “Tuna Salad”