Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard 3/29/12

It seems this time of year is always hectic so I have been a bit MIA.  Have been taking some pictures of some of the meals we have been having so will share a few of those.  I think some are repeats that you have seen when I have cooked them before.

This week was breakfast food for the freezer so did pancakes and waffles.

Got a great buy at the managers special yesterday.  OM 12 oz. bologna for $.99 a package so in the freezer they went.  Not the greatest food in the world but does give DB the protein he needs for lunch and that is hard to do as there are so many things he doesn't eat.

 Fresh made pizza.  Green peppers were from the freezer stash

 Filet in red wine and mushroom sauce, fresh asparagus on sale and baked potato and hot Brown and Serve Rolls

 Butter and corn flake crusted baked chicken, mashed potato and canned green beans from the garden

 First attempt at corning my own beef.  Before cooking

 After cooking

 Corned beef, Cabbage, Carrots and potatoes

 Left Over Rubens

 Homemade rye bread with Thousand Island dressing made with Pepper Hash made from garden sweet peppers

 Left over Corned beef

 More dressing

 Sauerkraut made and canned from the garden

 Lots of Swiss Cheese

 Ready to eat

 Soup time, onion, carrot and celery

 Don't forget to chop and dry the leaves of the celery

 Chicken that I had canned after making chicken stock with whole chickens

 Made some mighty fine chicken salad

 And creamy chicken rice soup using Condensed Soup Mix and crock dill pickles made from garden cucumbers.  Confession I bought bread last weekend

Baked pork chops with onions and peppers from the freezer and tomato sauce, mashed potatoes and buttered corn.

Be sure to visit Robin, our host of Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard at,  The Gardener of Eden , to see how others are using their stash from the garden.

Harvest Monday 03/26/12

I guess I have MIA for couple of weeks blogging.  It just seems this time of year is so busy and the weather has been so great there hasn't been a lot of time for the computer.

I did get 2 greenhouse up a week ago and everything moved in including the heaters.  So much for nice weather.  We are to be down in the teens this coming week and very little sun for 10 days.  I started the last of my seed this week all of  the brassica.  Everything else will be direct planted.

I bought some onion sets since I am not real happy with my onion plants so far and was able to get them planted in the plot at the Community Garden.

Have all the lumber to build a 4x12 raised asparagus bed and 50 roots are on order.  Also lumber to build another 4x8 raised bed.  Now to figure how the top soil for these beds is going to fit into the gardening budget.

I do have my first harvest of 2012 however.  I was out working what was my potato box last year getting it ready for the 40 strawberry plants that are sitting in the shop waiting to be planted. (bought a little premature but the late spring weather we had made me do it) and what did I discover but this.  Maybe the best potato that came out of that box.

Don't forget to visit our host, Daphne's Dandelions , and see what others have harvested this week.

Harvest Monday 03/12/12

Not much happening here.  Gardens are still all buried under snow.  Still working on the layout of the big garden.  That may take until the time I start planting.  Weather is suppose to be great all week with way above normal temperatures.  Would love to get a greenhouse up but I just know there will be another cold snap and heavy wet snow storm.

Did get some transplanting done however.  Same plants I showed last week but in their new homes.

I have updated my garden profit and loss sheet and looks like I should make out real good by fall.  I do hope to buy a load of topsoil for the new raised beds I am building and need to buy manure yet so that will I am sure increase the expense quite a bit.

Don't forget to visit Daphne at,Daphne's Dandelions , and see what others are harvesting and planning for their spring planting.

Harvest Monday 02/05/12

Certainly didn't harvest anything this week but did get more snow.  Another set back to Spring.  Thought I would share what seedlings I have going at this time.

Buds on the tomato.  Sure hope they are going their thing in there are are getting pollinated.  Have been giving them a good shake every day.  It seems like for ever and they should be opening but it has only been a week.  No sign of anymore buds however.

King of the North green peppers on the left and Paprika peppers on the right.  Hoping for more germination on the KON.

Bush beefsteak tomatoes and one King of the North Pepper.

I help do the Garden for our Local ARC every year so grow their plants for them.  The residents help to plant the seed.  I think they have a magic touch as they get much better germination than I do with the same seed.  They have 3 flats like this.  Next week we will be doing their tomatoes.

OK, I have never done celery before so planted in cell packs rather than an open flat.  Didn't know if they can be transplanted before they go in the garden.  Put 3 seeds in each cell and I think almost all germinated and I have 6 of these 6 packs.  Think I will have enough celery?

And last Asile Onions.  This is the second attempt.  Still not good germination.  Most of the first planting didn't make it.  May still start a few more.  Also restarted the Stuttgarter.  May end up buying sets but am determined to make these things grow.

Please visit our host at,Daphne's Dandelions, and see what other vegetable gardeners are planting in anticipation of Spring and what some are harvesting now.

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard 03/01/12

I can't believe it is March.  The stocks in the freezer and the pantry are holding out well.  This past week the grocery bill under $8 for the week.  I don't really have cost on our menus since I am using a lot of stuff that I bought months ago but do know they were all bought on sale at good prices so am accomplishing my mission of no impulsive buying and buying in quantity things that we eat when they are on sale.

The menu for the week went out the window again this week.  Have been under the weather for almost 2 weeks with this cold which is fine now but didn't always feel like fixing what I had planned.  Did make a dent in getting some of the food out of the refrigerator freezer however but still more to go but most is not protein so isn't happening real fast.  Plus I have been restocking it with breakfast food this week.

Thursday night dinner was Chicken Cordon Bleu with mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus.  The chicken was made after I had a weekend garden retreat here and had made baked ham for sandwiches with swiss cheese which were both left over and the group here gave me money for the 16 of them to eat here all weekend so was really free.  The chicken was on sale for $1.99 a pound right after the left so I made up 9 meals and froze them.  Just have to pull them out of the freezer, bread them and into the deep fryer.  Asparagus was on sale here also for $1.99 a pound.

Friday night was crock pot beef stew with fresh homemade bread.  The stew had canned tomatoes from the pantry.

Saturday night Kielbasa with sauerkraut from the pantry on hot dog rolls

Sunday DB had left over beef stew and I opted for poached egg and toast earlier in the day.

Monday night Son-in-law had given us some fresh perch filet that he had caught ice fishing so we had it with mashed potatoes and what else more asparagus.

Tuesday night  pepper steak over egg noodles.

Wednesday Tacos.

Last week I showed a big pot of sauce cooking.  Ended up with 8 pints which cost less than $1 a jar.

Some of the week was spent replenishing the freezer with breakfast food and trying some new things.
Made pancakes and waffles.

Got to try the homemade Canadian Bacon yesterday and it is great.  After slicing it have enough of 13 breakfasts for my brother.

Also made a chocolate bread pudding for his breakfast using the a cup of Sugar Free hot chocolate mix that I made, an egg, a slice of stale homemade bread, 1 T of raisins and a little vanilla.  It makes just one breakfast in an individual oven crock.

I am on to a new adventure with St. Patrick's Day coming it is time to learn how to make my own corned beef.

Don't forget to visit our host Robin,The Gardener of Eden at and see how others are using their stash and what recipes they have to share.