Welcome to My Jungle

Who would have thought 7 weeks ago, that this humble boxed garden with its new soil...


...would become such a jungle.


Or this newly planted herb garden...


would explode into this...


And silly me for worrying that I didn't know how to weave the cantaloupe vines...


...they practically do it themselves.


And my raspberries that I bought at a yard sale last summer...


...love their new location.


Somewhere in this mess are tomato plants, green beans and pepper plants.



Not for one second since May, have I regretted replacing the old soil with the new mix. I think my garden loves me for it...and the record amounts of rain that we have had is certainly helping.

How is your garden doing this summer? Let us know in the comments.

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This post is linked to Tuesday's Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage.

Fresh Basil Walnut Pesto

My basil plant was beginning to get out of hand.


I needed to get cracking on using it up. I knew the pesto would do the trick. It takes a lot of basil leaves to pack into 2 cups.

I mixed this pesto in with some pasta and served with grilled chicken. It was a wonderful summertime meal. The pesto would also go well with a round of homemade artisan bread. Just me, the bread and the pesto, but I think my family would get upset if I didn't share.

Fresh Basil Walnut Pesto

• 2 cups packed fresh basil
• 3 garlic cloves
• ⅓ cup walnuts
• ⅔ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp each of salt and ground pepper, or to your taste
• ½ cup 3 cheese blend of Parmesan, Asiago and Romano. I like to buy the blend that my store offers, but you could also just use any one of these cheeses.

Place basil, garlic, walnuts, salt and pepper in a food processor. Turn on your food processor and start to slowly stream in the olive oil, stopping periodically to scrape the pesto down from the sides of the processor.

Add cheese and pulse a few times to mix well.

I used this entire batch right away by mixing in to pasta. If you want to freeze the pesto for future use, omit the cheese and place in freezer container. When ready to use, thaw the pesto and mix cheese in to the pesto.

Print recipe for Basil Walnut Pesto.

Have you made anything from your herb garden yet this year? Let us know in the comments.


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This post is linked to Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

Merry 6 Months Until Christmas! Start Planning Today.

When the weather outside is...90+ degrees...who wants to think about Christmas?


But in reality, 6 months is not that far away. If your holiday planning went smoothly last year then you might not feel any urgency to think about Christmas 2011, but if you overspent, shopped at the last minute and paid the price well into spring then you might want to rethink this year's strategy.

Here are some questions to ponder:

• How much did you spend last year?
• Are you okay with that number?
• Did you pay cash or use a credit card to buy gifts?
• If you used a credit card, when did you pay it off?

Personally, I'm not doing so well with my planning. We usually use a credit card to buy our Christmas gifts and then pay the balance off in January. We like to earn the points, but that strategy led to some over-spending last year on gifts. We also waited too late to even start shopping, so I'm sure that didn't help with the over-spending.

I intended to set aside cash every month this year for Christmas gifts. This past January, I looked at what we spent on Christmas gifts in 2010 and reduced it by 20%. I divided that number by 12 and decided that was what we would set aside each month. It was a great strategy that first month, but I haven't been diligent enough to transfer the money to our savings account.

Hit the Restart button.

• Make a list of your Christmas gift recipients AND other Christmas expenses, like cards, stamps, hostess gifts, decor.
• Develop a Christmas gift budget for each person or expense on your list.
• Add up your budget and starting today, set aside money each month.
• Think outside the 'gift' box when it comes to gift ideas. Handmade gifts, homemade meals, home baked goods are all gifts from the heart for those hard to buy for people.
• With 6 months to go and a list in hand, you now have time to keep your eye out for sales and clearance bargains.

Have you started planning for Christmas? Did you over spend last Christmas? Let us know in the comments.

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Image: Paul / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It Amazes Me What People Throw Away

Our trash pick-up day is Wednesday. So most of our neighbors put their trash outside on Tuesday afternoons or evenings.

We noticed the neighbor up the street had put a pink and purple tricycle out on the curb with their trash. My 3 year old already has a tricycle, but the girls and I were intrigued to see if this one was functional or broken. And as my 5 year old pointed out, "mommy, I don't have a basket on my bike." If the trike was broken, at least we could save the basket.

So we walked up the street to check out my neighbor's trash. We immediately realized that there was nothing wrong with the bike. I have a feeling my neighbor's granddaughter outgrew it, but why would you put a working trike out in the garbage? Why wouldn't you donate it to Goodwill?

I rang my neighbor's doorbell to ask their permission and they weren't home, so I took it anyway thinking that I will let them know the next time I see that they are home. As we walked away with the trike, my three year old said, "mommy, it's not awrs." I'm so proud of that girl and I explained that I will go back to tell them when they were home. My five year old will hold me to it, not to worry.

As I said, my three year old has a tricycle, but I don't think she is giving this up any time soon. We'll eventually pass it on to another neighbor who is having a baby girl in July.


This is not the first time, my neighbors have hauled perfectly good items to the curb. Last summer, a different neighbor was cleaning out their garage and put a Sears Cargo Carrier for the top of your car to the curb. We have one, but my husband went to another neighbor to tell them about it. He went to check it out and it was in perfect condition. They left for a vacation last weekend with it on top of their van.

I'm not sure what goes through people's minds when they throw things away that still have life in them. Doesn't it amaze you what people throw away?

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Batch Cooking & Freezing: Chicken Breasts for Future Meals

Meal time is starting to get more hectic around here.

As my kids get older, they are participating in more activities and for some reason they happen around our normal dinner time. I am looking for meal prep short cuts that do not sacrifice the quality of our meals, but still save myself time and maybe even some money.

I stock up on chicken breasts when the large 3 lb packages are on sale. $1.99 is my buy and stock up price. The best price I have gotten to date is $1.59/lb, but I doubt I'll see that price again, it was during a store's Grand Re-Opening.

To save myself some time I have been batch cooking the chicken breasts and freezing in 2 cups portions. Chicken in the main component in many of my dishes and eliminating the cooking part of chicken during meal prep should save me some time.

I place all of the chicken breasts from a 3 lb package in a 6-Quart crock-pot. I pour about 32 oz of homemade chicken stock on top and cooked on low for about 6-7 hours, or until it is done. (You could also use store bought chicken broth.) It is important not to over-cook, because the chicken dries out. The stock should be discarded; it will be full of foamy, fatty stuff.

When chicken is cooked all the way through, remove the chicken from the crock-pot and allow to cool slightly to the point where you can handle the chicken. You can then dice or shred into small bite-size pieces. I prefer to shred and honestly, I think it is easier to do with my clean hands than two forks. It is also much easier to shred when the chicken is still slightly warm.



Place in freezer containers and store in the freezer until future use. I like to freeze in 2 cup portions.

Another way to batch cook chicken is to Roast a Whole Chicken.

Easy meal ideas for your cooked chicken:

• Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Muffins
• Chicken Cornbread Potpie
• Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
• Chicken, Black Bean & Sweet Potato Quesadillas
• Chicken Corn Soup
• Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Do you pre-cook chicken for the freezer and future meals? If you have a recipe that includes already cooked chicken, feel free to include the link in the comments.

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