Bumgardner Farm

What's New at Bumgardner Farm?

2013-02-07T09:03:00.001-05:00

I've been incredibly slack about blogging over the past year. I decided it's time for another update about what is going on around the farm. Wow, so what's happened since April 8, 2012? Here's a quick summary:

May 4: I officially became a Bumgardner...we tied the knot!

During the spring I planted like a mad woman - we grew corn, beans, squash, zucchini, potatoes, tomatoes, and gorgeous sunflowers. I believe I canned over 70 quarts of green beans! Our freezer is still full of corn, squash, and zucchini. Our tater box is still plentiful and we have seeds saved for next year from the good stuff! In a not so great attempt we tried peppers, watermelons, cantaloupes, pumpkins, hanovers, and okra. Definitely an attempt and not a very good one. We did get quite a few Hungarian Hot Wax peppers from the only plant that made it. We also ended up with about 4 Sugar Baby watermelons, 1 gorgeous pumpkin, and 2 okra. Maybe next year!

During the spring we also purchased 8 chicks. I absolutely love raising them! We are now up to 11 great laying hens. Our eggs range from a beautiful light brown, to dark brown, even teal!

Here lately we've been discussing where we want to see the farm go this year and beyond. It looks like we're going to be raising more chicks this spring with hopes to start selling eggs in the fall. Plus, we're working on a more productive garden plan so we'll have produce to sell. We will only be using organic methods plus we're doing our best to avoid any seeds produced by the corporate giant. Most of our seeds are being ordered from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Their website is www.rareseeds.com and they have a HUGE selection of open-pollinated, heirloom seeds.

Be sure to check back to keep up with what's going on here at the farm. I promise I won't go so long between updates in the future!

Meet Our New Hens!

2012-04-08T19:43:00.000-04:00

Our new ladies:) Five Black Sex-Link hens who lay beautiful brown eggs!


Breuster didn't know what to think of all these new girls!

Our new girls have settled in very well. We're getting 3-4 eggs per day from the 6 hens we have but expect that to increase once they've been here for a while. I love having fresh eggs anytime we need them! They lay such wonderful eggs too. Huge brown eggs with rich yellow/orange yolks. If you haven't had a farm fresh egg, go find your local farmer asap! You are missing out!

Another Meal Worth Sharing: Black Bean Salad and Spinach Turkey Burgers

2012-04-02T05:59:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite things about changing the way we eat is all the new recipes! After a while, it seems like we get stuck in a food rut. Same meals over and over. And of course it's usually the simple ones like chili, spaghetti, tacos, etc. While those are all good, we get tired of them. Lately, thanks to Pinterest, I've been trying to throw in a new meal each week. So far, I've hit a homerun each time! Last night was no exception. I have seen several versions of this Black Bean Salad but didn't have all the ingredients or some of the things in the original recipe wouldn't sound good. So, here is my version:

1 can Black Beans (rinsed)

1 avocado

1 1/2 cups frozen corn (I'm guessing that's how much I used)

1 large tomato

1 tsp olive oil

2-3 tbsp lime juice

2-3 garlic cloves, finely minced

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Cook corn as directed. Once done, rinse in cold water or place in refrigerator until ready to use. Cut up the avocado and tomato into bite size pieces. Mix beans, avocado, corn, and tomato together. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pour over the bean mix and blend well.

This recipe can be modified in so many ways too. Bell peppers and onions would be delicious additions! I can't wait until this summer when the corn, tomatoes, and garlic are all fresh from our garden!

We had Spinach Turkey Burgers also which are always a hit, even for my 7 year old, until he noticed the green in them. These are super simple. Mix 1 pound of lean ground turkey with 1 package of thawed frozen chopped spinach, 1 egg, and 1 packet of taco seasoning. Throw them on the grill and you are in for a treat!

Hope you now have a few new ideas to get you and your family out of the dinner rut!

Supper Idea: Chipotle Pork Salads

2012-03-25T19:54:00.000-04:00

I had to share this recipe. It's spicy, filling, and has a little bit of everything! I'll call it Chipotle Pork Salads. The meat is prepared in the crockpot which is a huge added bonus for our family.

Chipotle Pork Salads

Boston butt pork roast

Can of chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, chopped

6-7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/2 of a fresh lime, juice only

About 1 cup of beef broth

Trim and cut pork into 1-2 inch pieces. Combine everything in the crockpot and cook on High for 5-6 hours or on Low 8-10 hours.

For the rest of the salad:

Lettuce

Tomato

Refried Beans (fat-free with a little lime and Mexican cheese on top)

Corn

Salsa

Mix the salad fixin's together and top with a few pieces of pork. Spicy and delicious!!

My, How Life Changes

2012-03-23T06:44:00.002-04:00

Last night, I was talking with my Love about our farm and it hit me. One year ago, if someone would have said "this time next year, you'll be working on your farm" I would have told them they were insane. I really would have thought they were crazy if someone had of told me that 5 years ago! "No, I'm going to have a nice little office job where I don't have to do manual labor" would have been my reply. After working our land, I can't imagine it any other way. Who knew I would go to college to get a business degree and later realize that I couldn't handle one more day of doing that? Sure, there are stresses on a farm...like spending an entire day planting seeds and hoping most of it will come up, wondering if it will ever rain again when you're entire garden is looking brown, or having a stray dog find it's way onto your property while your goats and chickens are loose. And of course, life always throws you curve balls when you have a family but that doesn't even compare to the work stresses I used to face on a daily basis. Now, we just need to get this thing productive so my Love can join me in working this land each day.

The Day I've Been Waiting For

2012-03-22T06:59:00.002-04:00

It's here! Finally here! I can finally get lot's of seeds going today and I'm so excited! With the early onset of spring this year, I've felt behind on my gardening even though the chance for frost will be around until mid-May for our area. It's been way too early to seriously start anything but today I'm going to start tomatoes and peppers! I plant according to the good ole Farmer's Almanac. The 2012 Best Planting Dates for Seeds for your area is tailored to your specific region. Type in your zip code and it will tell you the moon-favorable dates to start seeds indoors and outdoors! I'm sure everyone has their own little tricks about what dates are best to plant certain things. What do you go by? Do you plant by the moon or some other signs?

Our tomatoes from last year. Mountain Pride I believe.

Now, for what you've all been dying to know...here are the varieties I'll be planting today! They are all organic and heirloom or open-pollenated varieties.

Tomatoes

German Johnson

Cherokee Purple

Amish Paste

Brandywine

Hot Peppers

Hungarian Hot Wax

Purple Jalepeno

Sweet Peppers

Lipstick

California Wonder

I'll also be starting Ground Cherries also known as Husk Cherry or Garden Berry. I'm so excited about these! We have had several folks give us ground cherry preserves and they are amazing. Happy planting!

Spring is Here!

2012-03-20T08:04:00.000-04:00


Marigold's started in newspaper pots

Take a look around! Spring is here at Bumgardner Farm and there is plenty going on. We're starting lot's of seeds each week, working on gardens, building a goat fence, and more!

Carrots: Just a few being grown indoors.

Cheap way to warm your soil to help seeds germinate: plastic wrap! It makes a mini indoor greenhouse.

Working on preparing our tomato planters. These grew the best tomatoes last year. Having them off the ground seems to help with drainage.


Red Romaine Lettuce


Small garden on left: Future Amish Paste tomato garden. Large garden on right: garlic, potatoes, onions

This one will be corn, beans, peas, squash, hanovers, and cucumbers

Our new farm toy:) It cleared a patch of multi-flora rose bushes that would have taken at least a full day by hand, in only 30 minutes.

Sunny at 2 months old

2007 Subaru Legacy for Sale

2012-02-20T17:57:00.001-05:00

A Second Round of Snow Scenes!

2012-02-19T18:58:00.000-05:00

I had to take my camera with me on my evening walk to feed the goats. This is one of those breathtaking snows that pictures just don't do it justice. The air is still and the snow is piling up fast. It's beautiful!

Even the brush pile looks pretty!

Snow Scenes

2012-02-19T17:19:00.001-05:00

Finally, a snow day!!

Preparing for a Fence

2012-02-18T06:31:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of first's for me now that we're farming. Putting up a fence is one of those things that in my mind didn't seem too difficult. I figured the worst part would be digging holes since we have an abundance of rocks around here. Nope, that may still end up being it, but so far it has been the rose bushes. Not the pretty little roses retirees grow in front of their homes. These are the multiflora rose bushes. Here is a great description of them. My favorite line: "Do not plant multiflora rose." Back in the day, they thought it would be a good animal barrier. Maybe so but when you remove animals from the land, the roses take over. In order to get a fence line cleared out, I've been beating and cutting these bushes for almost 2 weeks now. Finally, the fence line is clear! It's such a relief. My body is scratched, my hands ache, and my feet are really starting to feel the pain of standing and climbing up and down the side of a mountain. It is so worth it though. The goats love rose bushes so they get to take care of the rest of them!

It's so refreshing to work outside that I actually enjoy the aches and pains at the end of the day. Here are some of the views from the top of the future fence line.

Looking behind me at the path that has been cleared. We're lucky enough that the deer keep this part of the property trampled down.

Another view from the top

Looking over towards the rock quarry. You can almost escape the noise of the dump trucks from this high up.

I'm slightly jealous of our neighbors property. Somehow, he doesn't have a single rose bush!!


Marcell looks pretty amazed at how big that tree is

Looking up into the big tree. I love trees. They're all so unique and beautiful.

Marcell, our cat, was my hiking buddy yesterday. He didn't know what to think about all the noises and things going on around him. His eyes were huge the entire walk. Maybe he was waiting to pounce on something or perhaps he was terrified of all the new surroundings. He was a great hiking partner until we got back down to the goats. He's familiar with Sunny, the baby, but he's never met Daisy before. Her size and spastic ways seemed to frighten Marcell. Mama carried him out of the woods and back to the house while earning a few more scratches.

Sunny, The Baby Goat and Other Farming Adventures

2012-01-31T06:18:00.001-05:00

After finalizing garden plans, I was itching to get out and do what I could on our unusually spring-like day yesterday. It was perfect weather to pull rocks from the garden. If we could sell rocks and multi-flora rose bushes, we'd be millionaires.

While I was at the garden near the goats, I let Sunny, the baby goat, run around with me. I've never seen a goat so confused. He totally thinks I'm his mom. Sunny followed me back and forth from the garden to the trailer until he finally wore his little legs out and fell asleep under the four wheeler. Later, he got a ride on the four-wheeler up to the house for his lunch time bottle. There was a crew cutting trees on my neighbors place and one of the men came over to compliment my cute little billy. And to say how he'd never seen a goat follow someone around like that or get a ride on a four-wheeler.

Of course, I had to snap some pictures of Sunny:

Already learning to eat grass and weeds. That's something only his mama can teach him.

He's taller than Breuster now! I believe Sunny is the only animal on the farm who can "play" with Breuster and not get flogged.

Have you ever seen a goat smile? Sunny, the smiling goat.

Once I finished in the large garden, I put Sunny up with his mama and adventured down to our smaller garden. This one has so many rocks I didn't hardly know where to start. I'd decided I'd remove the ones larger than a baseball since there is no way I'm going to get this soil rock free...ever. That is until I crushed my thumb between a couple of the largest ones. Now, I'm after those rocks. I don't care how sore my back gets or how many black thumbs they cause. I'm going to get them. All of them. As soon as I gain movement in my thumb again...

Garden Planning

2012-01-30T07:51:00.000-05:00

It's almost time to order seeds! In just a few weeks, my home will be full of new life. Our last frost is so late that a lot of what we're planting needs to be started indoors. Our living room and kitchen will be packed full with small plants of tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupes, and so much more! We decided open-pollinated and heirloom seeds are the only way to go. There are so many different hybrid options out there but I want something sustainable. I want to be able to save the seeds from everything I plant and be able to use them again next year. I'm sure you're dying to know exactly what we're going to plant...so here it is:

Garden #1 (Pictured Above)

Fortex Pole Beans

Penelope Peas

Yellow Crookneck Squash

Edens Gem Cantaloupe

Marketmore Cucumbers

Northern Pickling Cucumbers

Double Standard and Silver Queen Corn (I still have a little research left on these. Some corn varieties do not grow well together)

AllStar Lettuce Mix - includes Green and Red Oakleaf, Green and Red Romaine, Lollo Rossa, and Redleaf lettuces

Garden #2

Ailsa Craig Exhibition Onion

Kennebec Potatoes - we planted these and Yukon Gold's last year. Kennebec's win!

Adirondack Blue Potatoes - They're blue all the way through!

American Purpletop Hanovers aka Rutabagas

Planters

Hot Pepper Lantern Peppers

Yankee Bell Peppers

Lipstick Peppers

Hungarian Hotwax Peppers

Cherokee Purple Tomatoes

Brandywine Tomatoes

Amish Paste Roma Tomatoes

German Johnson Tomatoes

Atomic Red Carrots

After researching seed companies, I really like what Johnny Seeds has to offer. Plus, I called to ask a few questions the other day and they were super friendly and helpful. They are online at johnnyseeds.com and you can also request a catalog from their site. I know it's more earth friendly to just shop online but I am so much more organized with the paper catalog in my hands. I can mark what I want and flip back through it over and over plus they have lots of tips in their catalog. Please leave a comment if you have a suggestion of a great heirloom or open-pollinated seed.

We Have a Kid

2012-01-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

We are pleased to announce the birth of Sunflower (Sunny) born Tuesday, January 17, 2012. He's a beautiful little billy goat born to Daisy.

Sunny is being bottle fed due to his mother being hurt on a barbed wire fence last year. She was given to us to remove her before she got pregnant again but we got her a little too late. Or perhaps right on time looking at that sweet face of Sunny.

Sunny is going to be spoiled. He is staying inside at night so he doesn't attempt to nurse Daisy and to keep out of these cold nights we have here. I never imagined I would have a goat sleeping in my laundry room!

Cooking Venison for the First Time

2011-12-04T09:26:00.001-05:00

Recently, we acquired some venison (deer meat) and I had to share this recipe. It was the best stew I've ever had. Here is the original recipe from the "I'm Hooked, I'm Game" cookbook:

Hunter's Venison Stew

2 lbs. cubed venison

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

Salt and Pepper

********

6 carrots

2 large potatoes

3 medium onions

3 stalks celery

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

In a large deep saucepan over medium-high heat, brown the venison in butter. Season the venison with salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 cups of water and continue to heat until the venison is tender, about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the carrots and potatoes. Cut the carrots, potatoes, onions and celery into small chunks. Add the vegetables and crushed tomatoes with juice to the venison in the saucepan. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

The way I actually fixed it was a little different. I browned the venison as instructed then placed it in the crockpot with the water, 3 carrots, 5-6 potatoes (my men are meat and potato guys!), 1 large onion, 1-2 stalks of celery, and 2 cans of diced tomatoes. It still turned out GREAT! I cooked it on low for about 8 hours until everything was tender.

Feel free to post your favorite venison recipes in the comments! I'd love to know how other folks enjoy their game!

30 Days of Thankfulness all Rolled Into One

2011-11-17T12:53:00.001-05:00

Many of my friends are posting on their Facebook wall daily what they're thankful for. Great idea but I missed the band wagon. So I decided to put my 30 days of Thankfulness in one blog post. Plus, I'm scatter brained so I'm sure it'd end up being more like 28 days of Thankfulness since I'd probably repeat one or two without realizing it. Here we go!

Day 1: God. Wouldn't have any of the following without Him.

Day 2: Ryan. Next year, I get to marry best friend and the most amazing man a girl could ask for.

Day 3: Jeremy. The most wonderful son a mother could ask for. The sweet boy who can't let you walk down to the mailbox without getting a hug.

Day 4: My Mother. She has been the biggest help to me and the best friend I could ever imagine.

Day 5: My brothers. It really is true that they become your friends when you get older! I would have totally disagreed with that statement when I was a kid but now I enjoy being around them!

Day 6: My Pop. I don't see him nearly enough and I hope he knows truly how much I care for him. Think I'll go call him.

Day 7: My precious nephew and niece, Joseph and Addie. A joy to be around and lot's of fun!

Day 8: A warm home especially with the snow last week!

Day 9: A vehicle. It may not be the nicest but it gets me where I need to be.

Day 10: Health. Even when we're sick with a cold or allergies, overall, we're still healthy. Those are just minor compared to what other folks have to deal with.

Day 11: My Mom-mom. I'm so blessed to still have my grandmother. She's a wonderful lady! Think I need to go make another phone call.

Day 12: Our sweet hen. And that she is still with us today after laying a double-yoker last week! Check this thing out!

Day 13: Jeremy's teacher. I'm thankful for all teachers, but especially Jeremy's teacher this year. He's connected with her and loves school now plus he's learning so much!

Day 14: People who enjoy my jewelry. It'd be awfully hard to sell anything if they didn't!

Day 15: Our gardens. We are still enjoying the abundance of potatoes, green beans, and corn from our garden this past summer.

Day 16: Daisy, the nanny goat. Our little weed eater who is full of personality.

Day 17: Max, the German Shepherd. Our fearless watch dog who will lick you to death if you get near! Unless you're a ground hog...then you better HIDE!

Day 18: A tractor. I can't imagine being able to farm without one. Unless we had a horse of course.

Day 19: Knowledge. Lot's of it useful, some of it not so much.

Day 20: Google. Yes, Google. Ever been in the middle of something and realize you have no clue what you're doing? Happens to me more than I'd like to admit. So for the knowledge that I lack, Google assists me in gaining it.

Day 21: Our roosters. They have given me a whole new appreciation for meat. There's something wonderful about knowing exactly where your food comes from.

Day 22: Coffee. The world would like me much less without it.

Day 23: The Blue Ridge Mountains. In my opinion, one of the most beautiful places in the US and I am fortunate enough to have grown up here.

Day 24: Appliances. I imagine my life would be much tougher without a washer and dryer, microwave, stove, or a toaster.

Day 25: Camera. So many memories and beautiful moments would be lost without one.

Day 26: Shoes. Without them, the rose bushes we battle on our property would be 100 times worse than they already are.

Day 27: Trees. Shade, warmth, and most important, air.

Day 28: Family. Not just immediate but all my awesome cousins, aunts, uncles, and soon-to-be in-laws.

Day 29: Military. I may not always agree with where our government sends them but I will ALWAYS support the men and women who serve our country. Thank you!

Day 30: My Life. My life in general. Everything I have is a blessing and I'm thankful for the way my life is.

Have a very blessed Thanksgiving!

A Productive Year

2011-10-20T05:50:00.000-04:00

You may be wondering how our little farm turned out this year and if your not, I'm going to tell you anyway.

Animals:

We started out with the opportunity to get one free chicken from my kid's school. When we went to buy feed for it, we got 6 free chicks with our purchase. Turns out only one out the seven was a hen. We wanted multi-purpose chickens (meat and laying hens) anyway but we were hoping for at least half of them to be hens. Looks like we won't have to buy chicken for a few months now. In case you haven't been around chickens, having 6 roosters is a BAD thing. They will brutally kill your hen...not on purpose of course but they all want in on the action and it is a constant battle. All of them were getting along fine until a few weeks ago when the roosters must have sensed it was about time for little miss hen to start laying eggs. She is now comfortably in the garage until we can thin out our roosters. Not pleasant but a must unless you like to watch your flock hurt one another.

A few weeks ago, we acquired a goat. Sweet Ms. Daisy joined our farm. We are looking forward to the future when we can add in a few more goats. My parent's used to have some as pets which always seemed kind of strange to me. Now I understand.

Gardening:

This was my first year raising a garden and I think we did pretty good! We definitely learned a lot but had a considerably productive year. There was a fierce battle with tater bugs, then some major destruction from the crows, and finally whatever bug it was that likes beans. Even with these issues, we still managed to freeze almost 20 quarts of corn and 5-6 quarts of green beans. We should have enough potatoes to get us and our family through the winter. I'm already missing the fresh squash and cucumbers but we'll have more of that next year. The tomatoes did the best of any I've ever grown, not enough to can but we had just the right amount for sandwiches and salads throughout the summer. We still have a few green ones that are slowly ripening as we speak! I'm going to miss the fresh tomatoes this winter.

Future:

Next year, we're doubling the size of both of our gardens which will make it a total of around 9000 square feet of garden! Whew, that's going to be a lot of work but it's the best work I've ever done. Nothing feels better than to come in and be tired from working your land. We're also hoping to start fencing in our property so we can add animals to the herd at any time. This is a daunting task that may or may not happen next year. Maybe 3 years from now we will have it complete. Also, in the spring, we are ordering hens instead of playing Russian Roulette at the feed store.

Thanks for keeping up with our little farm this year! I'll leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from the year...

Our Goat Has a Name!

2011-10-19T05:47:00.002-04:00

So actually she's had a name, I've just been slack. Meet Ms. Daisy, the briar eating, loves to be petted sweet goat.

Her head's really not that big

And, her bodies really not that big. Hmm. Let's see if we can get something a little more accurate.


Still makes my head look big. At least that's my good side.

Much better!

Photos: Fall Views From the Farm

2011-10-10T06:02:00.000-04:00

Our Sunday afternoon project. Time for a fire!

The mountain across the road...either Paddy Mountain or part of Phoenix Mountain

Hawk circling

Beautiful red tree on Paddy Mountain

My favorite Maple

Looking up from under my favorite Maple


Same Maple.

Our New Addition! Welcome Nameless Goat

2011-09-27T08:25:00.001-04:00

We have a new addition to our farm! A super sweet goat named...still to be decided.

We introduced her to Max and our chickens last night. Max isn't too fond of her yet and she seems to feel the same way. A few more headbutts and I think he'll keep his distance.

The chickens are getting to share their home with her. This seems to be her comfort zone as she had several chicken pen mates at her previous home.

She's a very sweet girl. Just look at that sweet face!

The chickens don't seem to mind sharing their home. They actually didn't seem to notice she was even their.

Investing in All Kennebec's Next Year!

2011-08-29T15:29:00.001-04:00

I was absolutely amazed when I dug of some of our Kennebec potatoes today! We're not quite ready to plow them all up but I walk through every few days as some of them over grow their space in the ground, some the rain washes the dirt off, and our chickens have dug around and revealed a few. Recently, we've been digging up the Yukon Gold's since the plants died off well over a month ago, thanks in part to those nasty Colorado Potato Bugs (see a previous post about those little night mares). The Yukon Gold's died out a good 3 weeks before the Kennebec's even showed signs of distress. Being our first year of gardening, I started digging a few of the Yukon Gold's up every few days not knowing how long they could be left after the plant died. Most of them have been smaller than a child's fist. Even now, when I dig some up, they haven't grown anymore. Well, not those Kennebec's. Let me show you what I dug up today!

Left: Yukon Gold Right: Kennebecs!

Those were all dug up today. That Tweetsie card is the same size as a credit card! I was so impressed! That's bigger than most baking potatoes you buy at the store...which are probably sprayed with who knows what! Am I impressed with the way our garden's have turned out? Absolutely!

Frugal Living: Monthly Grocery Planning

2011-08-08T07:45:00.001-04:00

Grocery shopping is one of my least favorite tasks. It stresses me out trying to stay on budget while finding healthy food options. In the past, I would follow coupon blogs weekly and hit up several stores each week. At the bottom of my receipt, I was saving half of what I spent! Exciting, huh? Well, there was a problem: matching up coupons and store sales was great but I was purchasing items that weren’t absolute necessities. Most of the coupons are for foods we don’t normally eat so how was that helping us? We were using what I was buying but I still had to purchase some of our regular products as well. I ended up spending about $40-$50 per store which would push us well over $500 per month in groceries (with coupons and store sales!). I decided that HAD to change, especially since we have reduced our income this year. I thought if I could stay out of the stores except for when we actually NEEDED groceries, I was bound to save money. That’s when my friend told me about Save-a-lot and how she shops once per month plus trips as needed only for milk, bread and fresh fruits. Is it name brand? Most of it is not, however, we typically were purchasing store brand products anyway but the store brand products at Save-a-lot are, for the most part, substantially cheaper. Plug for Save-a-lot? Yes, because I’m hooked. Be sure to sign up at their website for a $5 off $25 coupon!

I now shop once per month. It takes me a few mornings to get all of my meals planned out plus a few extra quick ones in case the week ends up hectic. I found some amazing planners at http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads where you can also find some great household organization planners. Even if you decide to shop on a weekly basis, there are planners for that. There are 2 that I typically use: the monthly planner and the weekly planner. I scratch out my suppers on the monthly planner plus fill in events such as parent nights at school, birthdays, meetings, etc. so I’ll know how detailed of a meal I can fit in. Then add specifics for each day onto the weekly planner.

Once I have my monthly meals planned, I go to Excel and type in every ingredient I need, unless I’m positive I’m fully stocked on the item, and the amount needed. This was a lot of work the first month but now it goes much faster! The first time is a little overwhelming since you’re planning an entire month. It’s hard to know exactly how much flour or cereal you go through until you actually put this plan into action. The second month is much easier so don’t get discouraged.

Don’t forget to list your paper products, pet foods, hygiene items, and other miscellaneous things you’ll need. Once you have your list together (I sort mine into alphabetical order since I’m a nerd) it’s time to hit the store! I always take a pen and write in the price next to the item as I shop. This will help you keep track of what you’re spending and help if the register doesn’t ring the item up correctly. Also, it’s a great idea to use cash since you CANNOT go over your budget.

My final nerd tip, is to fill in the prices into you database when you get home. Next month, revise the quantity needed and you’ll be able to see if the price has changed from the previous month. Plus most of what you need to restock on is already on your list so planning is much easier.

Here is a small part of my database:

The “W” means I had to go to Wal-Mart to purchase these items. This past month, it was “LF” for Lowes Foods. If I purchased a different quantity, I made a note of that in parentheses. The list on the right is foods that I was fully stocked with already. I left them in my database so I could see everything that was on the planner and could quickly add them to my list for the next month. If you do have certain foods that you only like one particular brand, then you may have to make a separate trip for those items. For example, we only eat Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter which is by far the cheapest at Wal-Mart.

Bottom line, we're around $250 per month now!

I hope this helps you save your family money! Feel free to ask me any questions about my system and also, if you have suggestions, PLEASE share!

Cooking: Whole-wheat Pancakes: And They Liked Them!

2011-07-14T08:23:00.000-04:00

Every mom tries to find wholesome foods that their kids like. It can be a struggle. My mom used to serve us orange mashed potatoes, us kid's not knowing that they were orange from carrots! We just thought they were fun!

My youngest boy loves pancakes. I think he could eat them for every meal. However, a traditional pancake recipe just doesn't stack up to what I think he should be having for breakfast. So, I used trusty Allrecipes.com and found a wonderful whole-wheat pancake recipe! It is still a pancake that they cover in syrup and it has quite a bit of butter, so it's not winning any nutrition awards but it does replace most of the white flour with whole-wheat flour and it adds in some wheat germ.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup wheat germ

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

In a food processor or in a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, white flour, wheat germ or oats, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt.
Cut the butter into small pieces with a knife, and add the butter to the flour-mixture. Mix until the mixture has a sand-like consistency. (I used a pastry cutter for this step)
Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture, and add the buttermilk and eggs. Stir until the liquids are fully incorporated.
Heat a frying pan over medium heat and grease the surface with 1 tablespoon of butter or oil. Ladle the batter onto the surface to form 4 inch pancakes. Once bubbles form on the top of the pancakes, flip them over, and cook them on the other side for about 2 minutes.

Cooking spray is a good option instead of butter to grease your pan. Obviously, butter tastes better.

The batter will be fairly lumpy but don't over mix, you won't like the results! Unless you like rubber pancakes.

Golden! And yes, that is butter in the pan.

You can find this recipe at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/whole-wheat-pancakes/detail.aspx

Photos: See How Our Garden Grows

2011-07-12T20:27:00.000-04:00

We have a tiny squash!

Surprised it's already producing squash! Thought the plant was usually much larger before it flowered.

Lot's of corn!

Our small garden

The corn in our large garden is as tall as Jeremy!

Potato plants: These look like they have survived the Colorado Potato Bug (look for an entire blog post on those little monsters)

Photos: Tomatoes!

2011-07-12T20:06:00.000-04:00

Want to know what excites me the most about gardening? These little beauties. We are just weeks (maybe days) away from fresh mater sandwiches! You can guarantee that I'll be making homemade bread when the first ones fully ripe!!

My ideal mater sandwich has mayonnaise, fresh tomato (lots of it), salt, pepper, and preferably, homemade bread. YUM!

Yellow Roma Tomatoes

Mountain Pride Tomatoes

What do you put on your tomato sandwich?