Family Finances
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
Lunch Box Goodies
School lunch box goodies for the kiddos! Today the girls picked out some delicious items for their lunch. After they went to bed I made them a homemade chicken salad sandwich and put it in a pretty princess bag for them. Here’s what they packed:
- Homemade Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Fresh Banana
- Fresh Cauliflower
- BBQ Chips
- Yogurt
- Shared a Honey-bun
- Juice Bag
Always something fun to eat in the lunch box.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week we celebrated the girls 7th birthday (a wonderful highlight to our week)! The upcoming week it full of extra activities, but hoping to make a lot of progress with my goals as well.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekGo on our Date Night with JakeCelebrate Valentine’s DayCelebrate Brina & Karlie’s BirthdaySpend time together as a family
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – with the extra activities this didn’t get done
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley – haven’t even started it yet….
Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).- Packing “To Do” List – working on it
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – had a couple later nights with appointments
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the downstairs Bookshelves / Desk / Dressers – started but not finished
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my deskWrite a Guest Blog Post- Finish 2011 Business Taxes – items at Accountant so waiting for them to wrap up their piece
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests – didn’t get this done with all the other activities this week
Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – almost done, waiting for our business taxes to be completed before finishing
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – was able to do some
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes – put some aside
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with Jake
- Spend time together as a family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Travel “To Do” List
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Spend 30 hour a day de-cluttering the house
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Recipe: Swedish Baked Potatoes
I had the family’s Valentine’s Day Dinner celebration pretty much planned out based off the items that I had in the refrigerator and pantry (steak, baked potatoes, fresh stir fry vegetables, fresh fruit salad, cherry limeade fruit punch from the girls birthday party, poppy seed french bread, and cheesecake). Since I had gotten potatoes on clearance at the grocery store earlier I wanted to do baked potatoes to go with the steak but was hoping to try a different recipe. I adapted this recipe from SeasaltwithFood and it turned out really well! Everyone in our family LOVED these potatoes (including the kids)! The girls even wanted to know if they could take the leftover potatoes to school for their lunches the next day they like them so much. The best part is they were pretty easy to do. They had much more flavor than regular baked potatoes plus we didn’t add any additional butter or toppings because they were so tender and tasty (which means they were probably healthier for us too). This one has become family favorite already!
Swedish Baked Potatoes:
- 4 large Potatoes
- Garlic Seasoning
- Olive Oil
- Sea Salt
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the potato on a cutting board and make thin slices down the whole length of the potato (each slice should go almost all the way through the potato). Put potatoes on a baking tray or in a baking dish. Sprinkle Garlic seasoning over each potato. Make sure some garlic seasoning gets down in between a few of the potato slices on each potato for extra flavoring. Spread butter over the tops of each potato with a butter knife. Brush olive oil on over the butter. Sprinkle the sea salt on top of the potatoes. Bake for 20 minutes on convection oven or 40 minutes if baking regularly (bake until potatoes are tender). When done the potatoes will be soft on the inside and the skin will be crispy.
You can put butter, sour cream, bacon pieces, and cracked pepper out as additional toppings for those wanting more flavor.
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
We had a birthday party celebration for the girls and Valentine’s Day this week but in between the fun I was able to make a quick trip to the grocery store. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles, Dollar Tree, and Save A Lot | RiteAid
Ingles Groceries:
- $10.16 at Ingles for 2 bags Laura Lynn Bread, 1 container Portabella Mushrooms, 1 container whole fresh Mushrooms, 1 container fresh Strawberries, 1 loaf Poppy Seed French Bread, 1 bag fresh Bananas, 1 bag Romaine Lettuce, and 1 box Jimmy Dean’s Sausage & Biscuts. (All the items were on clearance, marked down or on sale. The produce was marked down on clearance.)
Dollar Tree Groceries:
- $14.00 at Dollar Tree for 2 jars Strawberry Jam, 3 boxes Applesause, 2 boxes Toast’ems, 1 Chocolate Frosting, 1 Vanilla Frosting, 2 containers Sprinkles, 1 can Canola Cooking Spray, 1 jar Vanilla Extract, and 1 bag Marshmallows.
Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:
- $7.76 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 2 gallons Milk and 1 box Dannon Yogurts (yogurt was on sale).
We were able to stock up on some great items this week. Although we had the girls birthday party celebration and Valentine’s Day we were able to keep it within reason! 🙂
This week I spent $31.92 on groceries. I was over on my budgeted amount for the week because of the busy week with traveling, appointments, and upcoming celebrations so thankfully I have a little extra to cover the groceries this week. I was happy to find fresh eggs and great produce on sale that we can use for several meals. I hope that next week is better week, back to normal, and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of February 15 – 21, 2012
The Save A Lot weekly ad deals are listed below for your convenience. It is a great time to stock up on some Save A Lot deals. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Family Pack Rib Eye Steaks – $6.99 lbs
Assorted Pork Chops – $1. 79 lbs
Family Pack Cube Pork – $1.89 lbs
Port Side Tilapia (16 oz) – $3.99
Cooked Cocktail Shrimp (40 to 60 oz) – $4.99
Butterball Turkey Bacon (6 oz) – $1.00
Use $0.55/1 coupon insert from 1/15 Smart Source (Expires 2/16/12)
$0.45 each after couponCarolina Ground Turkey (12 oz) – $1.00
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Banquet Breaded Chicken, Patties, Tenders, or Nuggets (25 to 26 oz) – $2.99
Hot Pocket Singles, Pepperoni, Ham & Cheese, Breakfast (3 oz) – $0.88
Marie Calendar’s Chicken Pot Pie – $2.29
Oscar Mayer Wieners (16 oz) – $1.00
Oscar Mayer Bolagna (12 oz) – $1.00
Oscar Mayer Lunchables – $1.00
Save A Lot Today Chicken Strips or Meatballs (7 – 8 oz) – $1.00
Banquet Brown ‘n Serve Sausage Links, Maple or Original (6.4 oz) – $1.00
Gwaltney Pork Sausage (12 oz) – $1.00
Budding Deli Cuts, Ham, Turkey, Chicken, and Roast Beef (3 – 4 oz) – $1.00
Hormel Sliced Pepperoni or Hard Salami (3.5 oz) – $1.00
Use $1.00/2 coupon insert from 1/15 Smart Source (Expires 3/15/12)
$0.50 each after couponHinsdale Corn Dogs (3 count) – $1.00
Fisher Boy Fish Sticks (6 oz) – $1.00
Fisher Boy Shrimp Poppers (4 oz) – $1.00
Tortino Pizza Roll, Pepperoni or Cheese (15 count) – $1.00
Tony’s Crispy Crust Pizza, Pepperoni or Supreme (9 – 10 oz) – $1.00
Banquet Dinners (4 – 9 oz) – $1.00
Buyers Best Crinkle Cut French Fries (32 oz) – $1.00
Pillsbury Grand Biscuits (16 oz) – $1.00
Use $0.30/2 coupon insert from 12/4 Smart Source (Expires 2/25/12)
Use $0.30/2 coupon insert from 12/11 Smart Source (Expires 3/3/12)
Use $0.30/2 coupon insert from 1/8 General Mills (Expires 3/31/12)
Use $0.30/2 coupon insert from 2/5 Smart Source (Expires 4/28/12)
Use $0.35/3 coupon insert from 1/8 General Mills (Expires 3/31/12)
As low as $0.85 each after couponSunny D Orange Mango or Orange Strawberry (48 oz) – $1.00
Produce
Roma Tomatoes – $0.99 lb
Seedless Grapes, Red or White – $1.49 lb
Mini Carrots – $1.00
Dole Salad Mix (12 oz) – $1.00
Celery – $1.00
Yellow or Red Peppers – $1.00
Jumbo Navel Oranges or Red Grapefruit – $1.00
Klondike Rose Potatoes – $1.00
Household
Angel Soft Bath Tissue (4 pack) – $0.99
Sparkle Paper Towels – $0.99
Grocery
Crystal Bottled Water (24 pack) – $2.99
Hargis House Chili with Beans (15 oz) – $1.39
Kaskey’s Chicken or Beef Bouillon Cubes (3.25 oz) – $1.89
Marcum Gravy Mixes – $0.57
Mantia’s Wide Egg Noodles (12 oz) – $1.39
Shelby”s Grove Sliced Peaches or Fruit – $0.99
Mantia’s Garlic Toast – $2.29
Save A Lot Today Sandwich Cremes (12 oz) – $1.19
Libby’s Tropical Fruit Salad (15 oz) – $1.29
Sundia Fruit Cup – $1.00
Chef Boyardee Canned Pasta – (14.5 – 15 oz) $1.00
Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper or Chicken Helper – $1.00
Progresso Vegetable Classic Soup (19 oz) – $1.00
Nissan Souper Meals (4.3 oz) – $1.00
Hormet Micro Cups (7.5 oz) – $1.00
Chicken of the Sea Chunk White Tuna (5 oz) – $1.00
Knorr Sides (4 – 7 oz) – $1.00
Use $1.00/3 coupon insert from 1/29 Red Plum (Expires 2/26/12)
Use $0.50/2 coupon insert from 1/29 Red Plum (Expires 2/26/12)
$0.77 each after couponBetty Crocker Flavored Mashed Potatoes (4 – 6 oz) – $1.00
Kraft Mac & Cheese Cups or Boxes (2 – 7 oz) – $1.00
Malt O Meal Cereal (10 – 12 oz) – $1.00
Use $1.00/3 printable coupon from Malt ‘O Meal
$0.77 each after couponKool-Aid Bursts (40 oz) – $1.00
Hawaiian Punch, Assorted Varieties (32 oz) – $1.00
Mrs Freshley’s Buddy Bars, Oatmeal Cream Cookies, Swiss Rolls & Honey Buns – $1.00
Nestle Candy Bars (2 – 3 oz) – $1.00
Wylwood Cut Green Beans or Whole Kernel Corn (28 – 29 oz) – $1.00
Diane’s Garden Tomatoes (28 oz) – $1.00
Red Gold Ketchup (36 oz) – $1.00
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Fresh & Healthy: Lunch Box Meals
School Lunch!
The girls are good at helping put together their lunches. They know that we get a protein, fruit, vegetable, dairy, drink and snack. Here’s what they had today:
- Peanut Butter & Homemade Strawberry Jam
- Fresh Tomatoes
- Pita Chips
- Yogurt
- Applesauce or Yogurt Raisin
- Cheesestick
- Bottled Water and Reduced Sugar Juice
- Sugar Free Cherry Jello
- Protein Bar or SoyJoy Apple Granola Bar
Lunch Box Goodies
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week Jake was traveling the majority of the week for work and we had the girls 7th Birthday Party. It was neat celebrating, it’s still hard for me to believe that my babies are 7 years old.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday- Read a book to the girls everyday – we had a couple later nights this week
Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this weekGo on our Date Night with the GirlsCelebrate with family and friends at the Girls Birthday PartyPick up the girls new glassesSchedule Appointment with Chiropractor
Personal Goals
Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday – need to work on this one
Finish reading Everything Romance by Todd HaferRead and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).- Finalize Upcoming Travel Plans – got most of the travel itinerary done, just a couple minor details to be worked out
Home Management Goals
All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayWeekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday) – with several doctor appointments after school dinner was delayed
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the Master Bedroom & Bathroom – this didn’t get done this week
Business Goals
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog postsSpend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk- Write a Guest Blog Post – working on it
Schedule Meeting with Accountant for Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or LunchEmail Alms & Legs Ministry Team with the Meeting Notes
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – went over a little this week with the girls birthday party, Valentine’s Day & Date Night
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – working on it
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes – getting closer
- Put money aside for upcoming trips – have some of it set aside
- Pay for Jake’s College Classes – cash set aside for the first 6 months
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have each girl read 1 book to myself or Jake 5 days this week
- Go on our Date Night with Jake
- Celebrate Valentine’s Day
- Celebrate Brina & Karlie’s Birthday
- Spend time together as a family
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 pm or earlier Monday to Thursday
- Finish reading When Work and Family Collide by Andy Stanley
- Read and listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (our church Community Group is going through this book together).
- Packing “To Do” List
Home Management Goals
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner ready by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- Spend time re-organizing and de-cluttering the downstairs Bookshelves / Desk / Dressers
Business Goals
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Write a Guest Blog Post
- Finish 2011 Business Taxes
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
- Complete our personal 2011 taxes
- Put money aside for upcoming trips
- Put cash aside for 1 year of Jake’s College Classes
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
Jake was traveling for work most of the week and I had a lot of appointments for myself and the girls but I was able to squeeze in a quick trip to the grocery store. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles, Walgreens, and Save A Lot | RiteAid
Ingles Groceries:
- $37.14 at Ingles for 6 containers Fresh Strawberries (marked down to $0.99 on clearance), 3 bags Fresh Oranges (4 pounds each marked down to $0.99 each), 3 limes, 1 box Roarin Twirling Berry Drinks (10 count), 1 box Roarin Twirling Fruit Punch (10 count), 1 box Laura Lynn Oatmeal, 5 packs Kool Aide, 2 packs Wylers, 4 cartons Minute Maid Cherry Limeades, 2 boxes Go-Gurt Strawberry and Blueberry (10 count each), 1 pack Laura Lynn Sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 1 pack English Muffins, 1 large bag Pepperoni, 1 pack Potatoes, 1 small pack Pepperoni and 1 fresh Pineapple. (All the items were on clearance, marked down or on sale. I was able to use a couple coupons as well.)
Walgreen Groceries:
- $0.00 at Walgreens for 2 cartons of Eggs, a dozen each. (Used Register Rewards to pay for the eggs).
Save A Lot | RiteAid Groceries:
- 20.49 at Save A Lot | RiteAid for 1 bag Granny Smith Apples (3 pounds), 1 bag Red Delicious Apples (3 pounds), 2 bags Carrots, 2 packs KoolAid Drinks (6 count each), 2 bags Cheddar Chex Mix, 1 bag Fresh Spinach (marked down on clearance), 1 fresh Green Pepper, 1 box Frosted Flakes, 1 stalk fresh Celery, 1 can Cinnamon Rolls, 1 box Little Hugs Reduced Sugar Drinks (20 count), and 1 fresh Cucumber
Groceries from Walgreens
Walgreens Groceries:
- $0.00 at Walgreens for 1 gallon Milk and 2 cartons of Eggs (They had their eggs marked down to $0.99 each this week and they are still the best price I can find on milk in our area. I used Register Rewards to pay for the milk and eggs today. We should be stocked up on eggs for a few days.)
We were able to stock up on some great items this week. Although we were a little over we have two celebrations going on this weekend. The girls Birthday party and Valentine’s Day!
This week I spent $57.63 on groceries. I was over on my budgeted amount for the week because of the busy week with traveling, appointments, and upcoming celebrations so thankfully I have a little extra to cover the groceries this week. I was happy to find fresh eggs and great produce on sale that we can use for several meals. I hope that next week is better week, back to normal, and we can come under budget!
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Recipe: Fresh Garden Salsa
Fresh yellow and red tomatoes from our garden
As I was thinking about the upcoming Spring season I realized that it is almost time to start planning for the 2012 garden. Yikes! There are so many big events going on with our family between now and garden season, however, I don’t want to wait until the last minute to start planning either.
I absolutely LOVED having a garden last year. It was fun to grow, eat, and giveaway the food we had planted in the garden. Recently, I took a few minutes to go back over my notes, photos, and information from last year’s garden to see which produce did well and what our family ate. During that time I came across my Fresh Garden Salsa recipe and pictures from when I made it in the Fall. Just looking at the fresh vegetables got me excited about this upcoming year. I hope the garden does well again because it was a blast giving away produce to family and friends!
This recipe was created out of the items we had in the fridge and pantry at the time so feel free to alter it to match what you have in your kitchen as well. My family enjoyed this recipe and ate it but cutting up the fresh vegetables did take a little more time than I originally planned. The girls pitched in and helped so it made it a fun family event.
Fresh Garden Salsa:
- 4 cups fresh Tomatoes (used yellow & red tomatoes)
- 2 cups fresh Peppers (used red & green peppers)
- 1/2 cup Banana Peppers
- 1 small Sweet Yellow Onion
- 2 cloves of Garlic
- 2 Jalapeno Peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 freshly squeezed Lemon (or Lime)
- 1 can Corn
- 1 can Black Beans
Wash and dice up all the fresh vegetables. Mix all the ingredients together and blend lightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more (to allow the flavor to blend together) and serve with any type of corn chip. If you would like a spicier salsa you can add additional jalapeno peppers or hot sauce to the salsa.
Fresh Green and Red Peppers from our garden
Fresh Banana Peppers from our garden
Mixing up some fresh salsa
Salsa is ready….now do we have any chips!?
Recipe: Quick Orange Julius Smoothie
Orange Julius Smoothie
As a kid I used to LOVE it when my parents made Orange Julius for an extra special breakfast or Holiday treat. I still use the recipe we did as kids occasionally but this a little quicker and healthier version of one of my favorite childhood drinks.
Orange Julius Smoothie:
- 1 peeled Orange (or 1 cup freshly squeezed Orange Juice)
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Ice
Blend all the ingredients together and enjoy.
This is a great breakfast smoothie to get you started in the morning. The orange provides great vitamin C and the milk is wonderful in calcium and protein. If you want a creamier smoothie add more milk or yogurt and less ice. My preference is to use a fresh orange but in a pinch you can use Orange Juice.
