If I haven’t mentioned it recently, our family moved to Northern California in September 2011. After living in Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, China, and Minnesota, I was unprepared for the availability of fresh fruit on the West Coast! It is not unusual to see fresh citrus fruit falling off the trees in our neighbor’s […]
Archive for the ‘Food’ Category
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Pinterest Inspired: Crockpot Barbecue Chicken
May 25th, 2013 
Jessica One of the ways that I save money is by “shopping from my pantry.” Recently I noted that I had all the ingredients on hand for Barbecue Chicken. I remembered an easy recipe that I’d spotted on Pinterest. Crockpot Barbecue Chicken 4-6 Pieces Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts 1 Bottle BBQ Sauce 1/4 c Vinegar 1 […]
Freezer Cooking: Burritos
May 23rd, 2013 Jessica Before Evelyn was born, I filled our freezer with a lot of meals so that I could rest as much as possible. As you can see, I prepared about 3 burrito meals in advance. If you’re looking to save yourself time, freezer cooking is the way to go! If you’re looking for some tips and […]
Our Compost Garden: The Harvest
December 5th, 2012 Jessica I know it’s been awhile since we discovered our thriving Compost Garden, and later harvested its produce, but I just couldn’t resist showing you these photographs! The first two photographs are from our fall harvest. Finally, while making Tomato Soup, I sliced up our fresh Compost Garden tomatoes alongside some Store-Bought Tomatoes. Brad and I […]
Make-Ahead Sausage & Egg Casserole (Only 7 Ingredients!)
November 17th, 2012 Jessica When I was growing up, one of our many Christmas traditions was eating Sausage & Egg Casserole on Christmas morning. My parents would prepare it the night before, and then they would let it cook while we opened our Christmas presents. This dish is a delicious and filling breakfast option for any day when you […]
Acorn Squash Soup with Kale (Only 7 Ingredients!)
November 9th, 2012 Jessica After our very popular Acorn Squash with Sausage Stuffing last year, our Compost Garden produced a bumper crop of Acorn Squash (16 Cups Frozen!). I decided that I wanted to try something new this year, so I found this recipe for Martha Stewart’s Acorn Squash Soup with Kale on Pinterest. My first attempt was a […]
Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo (Only 8 Ingredients!)
October 24th, 2012 Jessica I was looking through my (FREE) October 2012 Better Homes & Gardens magazine when I stumbled on this recipe in a Campbell’s Soup advertisement. It looked easy and yummy, so I tried it a few weeks ago. It was an instant success, and we’ve had it at least 3 times since then. I actually don’t […]
Simplifying Dish-Washing
October 19th, 2012 Jessica I am the oldest of six children, which means I grew up in a household of eight people. Eight people translates into piles and piles of dirty dishes at the end of every day, and who likes to do dishes? 1. One of the ways that Brad and I have found to cut down on […]
Meal-Planning on a Budget: Part 2
October 17th, 2012 Jessica On Monday I described how I meal-plan and grocery shop once a week. Meal-Planning on a budget also requires making inexpensive choices for your meals. Here are some examples of what I have been cooking recently: Breakfast Oatmeal: I make oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins almost every day of the week. I haven’t found anything […]
Meal-Planning on a Budget
October 15th, 2012 Jessica One of the largest expenses for most families is their grocery bill. There are lots of ways to cut back on your grocery expenses, and one of those methods is meal-planning. Once a week I gather my grocery list, calendar, and a pen. Then I take stock of the contents of my pantry, refrigerator, freezer, […]
