Oue Home Will Never Sound the Same...

...and we are okay with that!

My husband and I have been talking about getting a piano for about a year. We went to a piano sale at a local college in the spring. Their music department leases pianos for a school year and then sells them to the public. (It doesn't sound very cost effective to me, but I digress.) The prices ranged from $1500 - $3000...moving along... We checked Craigslist occasionally, but the piano search was put on hold when other things became a priority.

Last weekend, we got a call from my mom that a family friend, who is downsizing, needed to unload the piano and was looking for a taker. We are now the grateful recipients of a FREE piano. The piano is in great condition; it just needs to be tuned. I'm heading to my personal Facebook now to ask my local friends for recommendations for piano teachers.

In the meantime, my husband and I just cringe (and giggle) at the music that our two little monkeys are making. We always wanted a home filled with music and now we have it.

Do you or your family members play the piano? Are music lessons important for you and your family? Let us know in the comments.


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12 Awesome Halloween Ideas

Anticipation is starting to build at my house for all of the upcoming Halloween festivities: costumes, parades, parties, candy, and of course trick-or-treating. Here are some great posts that I have found recently that center around all things Halloween.

Costume Ideas

• DIY Kate Middleton Costume at Modern Mrs. Darcy. ~ So cute!
• 17 Ways to Save on Halloween Costumes for Kids and Adults at Money Crashers.
  
• 35+ Easy Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids at Parenting

Halloween Food Ideas

• Spiderrific Cupcakes at Beurrista.
  
• Sweet and Salty Halloween Bark at Crystal & Co.


• Halloween Cake at Finding Joy in My Kitchen


• Haunting Halloween Recipes at Social Moms.


• 3 Recipes for Leftover Halloween Candy at Formula Mom.


• 5 Spooktacular Halloween Treats at Pizzazzerie


• Halloween Spider Cracker Snacks at La Jolla Mom


• Sugar Free Halloween Party Recipes at Good Food and More


• 20 Ways to Do Halloween Without Candy at 100 Days of Real Food

What will you be munching on this Halloween? Do you have your costume yet? Please share your Halloween recipes and ideas in the comments.

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Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How to Save Money at the Apple Orchard | Kitchen Economics

One of my favorite times of year is apple season. Every fall, we head to a local orchard for a fun-filled day. The orchard offers a corn maze, a pumpkin patch, a children's play area with slides, swings, peddle-powered go-carts, and a corn box, and of course, apple picking. While my husband and the kids are playing, I head to the farm stand to check out the seconds bins. The seconds are the apples that are perfectly edible, but they just aren't pretty enough for retail. They might be ugly apples, but they make delicious applesauce, pies, crumbles, and crisps.

At this particular farm stand, the seconds are $8 for a 1/2 bushel as opposed to $12 for a 1/2 bushel of the pretty apples on display or the u-pick orchard. I always buy the seconds. There are usually several varieties to choose from and I sort through the bins to pick from all the varieties offered. I am convinced the secret to delicious homemade applesauce (or any apple dish) is to use a wide variety of apples: Ginger Gold, Stayman, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, MacIntosh, Jonagold, Granny Smith. The variety of sweet and tart apples balance each other out and little to no sugar is needed for my homemade applesauce.

This weekend, I bought (2) 1/2 bushel bags worth of seconds and I spent all of Sunday night making my sugar-free applesauce for the freezer. I'm a little paranoid of running out of applesauce over the upcoming winter that I might go buy some more apples. We ran out around March this past year and had to settle for store bought and it just isn't the same. When I went to buy a jar at Wegman's last March, I was amazed to find high fructose corn syrup in their store brand version. WHY?? I guess they don't know the secret.

So next time you go apple picking, ask the orchard if they have a seconds bin. If you are buying a large amount of apples and the seconds are in good condition, it will be worth it.

Are you apple picking this season? Check out these 20 apple recipes for some delicious ideas..

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life as MOM and Works for Me Wednesday at We are that Family.

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Sausage, Swiss Chard & Potato Casserole

This is an easy and delicious recipe that I make with the Swiss chard that we get from our CSA. It goes really well with some good bread, a garden salad and homemade applesauce.

Sausage, Swiss Chard and Potatoes Casserole

• 2 Tbsp Olive oil
• 1 lb sausage, removed from casings - I use turkey
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 green or red sweet pepper, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves - minced
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, steams and ribs removed, chopped fine
• about 5 medium potatoes, sliced thin and cooked
• 1 - 2 cups cheddar cheese, depending on your preference

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the sausage, onion, pepper and garlic and break up the sausage into fine pieces while cooking. When sausage and veggies are cooked through, add the chopped Swiss chard and cover the pan and cook about 5 minutes to allow the Swiss chard to wilt. While I am cooking all of this the potatoes are being boiled.



Cover the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan with non-stick spray or butter. Pour the sausage and Swiss chard mixture into the pan.
Layer the cooked, sliced potatoes on top of Swiss chard.



Next, layer the cheese on top of the potatoes. I use about 1 1/2 to 2 cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.



I cringe at this next photo, it turned out so yellow, but this is a delicious casserole and the leftovers taste even better the next day.




This post is linked to $5 Dinner Challenge and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways at Frugally Sustainable and Your Green Resource at the Greenbacks Gal.

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Cranberry Walnut Acorn Squash Bowls

I love the flavors of fall: apples, clementines, pears, pumpkins, and fall squashes. We usually receive a few fall squashes with our CSA share and this is one of our favorite ways to eat acorn squash.

1. You'll need a sharp chef's knife to cut through these little buggers. I cut the stem off first and then cut the squash in half lengthwise. Be very careful.



2. Scoop out the seeds of the squash. In the cavity of each half, place:

• 2-3 teaspoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries
• 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

3. Place in a casserole dish. Add 1/2 C water to the bottom of the casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.


After baking, mix together the flesh and the ingredients within the acorn "bowl" and enjoy.


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This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop and The Mommy Club Solutions and Resources at Crystal and Co and $5 Dinners and the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as MOM.