Potato Harvest from Fall 2011

Here is the fruits of our Summer 2011 potato bucket!! We harvested them at the end of October.


Not too bad, ha ha, but at least we got something!! I rather doubt they got enough water and were totally shaded by the tomatoes.


We didn't do anything with them after I dropped in the starts other than toss some grass, garden dirt over the tops of the growing plant.

So I guess the turnout isn't too bad. LOL......

Next year............. well not sure yet...........

Perfect Changeable Present

This was a quick but darling present.

1 Thrifted metal frame with glass- a wonderful find.
some dry erase markers or pens.
1 make up applicator wedge.
optional- beaded dragonfly.
patterned paper of choice for background.

This project cost only '1 current out of pocket dollar' for the frame, everything else was on hand at home.

All we did was to cut the paper to fit in the frame. Affix the dragonfly on the frame and proceed to write our first message.  Now every time I visit my parents, I change the message. I am having fun doing this and I hope they are enjoying it too.

Chicken Tetrazini

Chicken Tetrazini - really yummy at least my family believes it is.

We make this using fettuccine, spaghetti or even egg noodles- usually we use whatever we have on hand, even macaroni.

12-16 oz pasta or noodles- pre-cooked according to package to al-dente.

3 cups or so cheese, grated- we usually use a mixture of cheddar and montery jack, or whatever we have on hand.

2 Tbsp cornstarch     MIXED INTO

2 cups liquid = Mushroom juice plus chicken broth to equal 2 cups

1/2 cup diced onion, sauted.

1- 4 oz can mushroom pieces

2 cups milk

3 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey

optional- sliced almonds or cashew pieces

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Prepare a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Don't worry if mixture seems runny, it will thicken up during the baking time.

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I use the following version when I have MSG Free cans of soup on hand-

Chicken Tetrazini - 


12-16 oz pasta or noodles- pre-cooked according to package to al-dente.
3 cups or so cheese- we usually use a mixture of cheddar and montery jack, or whatever we have on hand.
1/2 cup diced onion, sauted.
1 can cream of mushroom soup- we use homemade*
1 can cream of chicken soup- we use homemade**
10 oz milk
3 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
optional- sliced almonds or cashew pieces


Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Prepare a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray. Pour mixture into pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. 


*Cream of Mushroom Soup Homemade-
1 - 4 oz can of mushrooms, juice drained into a measuring cup
1 cup total broth and mushroom juice (just add broth to mushroom juice to equal 1 cup liquid)
1/2 cup fine diced onion ( I use some pulverized dried onions, but only about a Tablespoon)
1/2 cup milk
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Salt & Pepper to taste


Mix cornstarch into milk or broth. Put all other ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until combined. Add cornstarch mixture, cook and stir until thickened. Season to your taste. Use in place of one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup.


**Cream of Chicken Soup - Homemade
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup fine diced onions
1/2 cup milk
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
Salt & Pepper to taste.


Mix cornstarch into milk or broth. Put all other ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat and stir until combined. Add cornstarch mixture, cook and stir until thickened. Season to your taste. Use in place of one can of Cream of Chicken Soup.
1- 4 oz can sliced mushrooms

OK- don't mind the glare or whatever in the mirror. I just need to document my new hair color and cut. I love it! A perm would make it all non-fuss, but it is quite easily done via rollers or flat iron.

October 12, 2011

for some reason I can't get this to remain rotated!

Gardening in 2011

I had an experimental garden this year. 

I planted my squash and green peppers from nursery starts on
July 9th. 

The strawberry starts, onions, radishes, spinach, carrots and lettuce went in on the 19th of July. (The 19th is my very special friends birthday! Happy Birthday WLS!!)

The following photos were taken on 7-25-11:

Baby strawberry plant taking root.

A squash in an old ice cream maker bucket.
This guy didn't do too well, he didn't get sufficient water.

Here is our new front yard Cranapple Tree.  

Ryan pretty well picked out all these flowers and we planted them together.
It was fun and I believe they are really pretty.

Here is our new east side forest. Ryan's Long Needle Pine.
A plumb, a peach, a 2nd cran-apple and a golden willow.
Will they get in the ground? not sure....

Here is squash buckets on my new rain gutter system.
In the front is the strawberry starts and onions,
both bulb and starts from mom & dad's green onions.

Green pepper buckets. Behind you see the black planter that was
from our new cran-apple tree. I planted potatoes in there and
we need to see if any grew- soon, I need to check this out soon!

Here are more squash buckets. In the front planter- top left is spinach,
barely growing here. Then are the radishes. Then the sparse place
in the middle has mini carrots, just starting out. The next green patch is leaf
lettuce and the dirt at the bottom right has more onion bulbs.

The 'rain-gutter' garden was planted on July 9th. 

The tomatoes went in well before May- in wall-of-waters.

8-28-11

The tomatoes (in front below the porch), the toms have done great this year, only they don't have any special taste to them. Not that wonderful home grown taste that we all love. But Ryan who doesn't like store bought tomatoes has really enjoyed these. He really loves tomato sandwiches. Go figure..........

The cherry tomatoes are sweet and delish. The more Roma style are not
flavorful. But have been great to cook with and make sandwiches out of.

Green tomatoes are great for dicing and adding to scrambled eggs, stewed vegies, soups, stews, casseroles, well just anywhere you can use veggies. I use green ones all the time- I love them!

These guys are just happy on the vine.

Can't wait for tacos, sandwiches or just slice and eat!

Carrots picked 9-24-11 - two month worth of growing.
Right during the hottest days of the summer!

Yep. That's a penny and those carrots are tiny, but cute and they taste fine!

The following photos were taken on 8-28-11:

The full view of my 4 - 5foot gutter planters/systems.

This photo loaded upside down. Don't know why, I've tried everything
I can think of without doing research. So we'll just look at it as it for now.
Just showing squash blossoms and the carrot tops on the top left, radish tops on the top right.

How about these nice green peppers?!! They have sure tasted great.

Onions planted from bulblets and the shorter ones in
the middle are bushing/wild onions from my mom & dad. They might have been
brought from the Holladay property.

A yellow summer squash. He was yummy.

The one strawberry transplant is doing well.

I'm leaving this guy for seed? Well it is my excuse. I wanted to see him get
really big and see how the plant would handle him hanging. But maybe this variety doesn't grow big?

I am sure this photo has my potato plant in it's pot amongst the tomatoes.
But I'm not going to search it out tonight.
(spell check says that amongst is not a word, but I'm using it anyway!)

It is October 8th today and the plants are going strong.  I hope we have several more weeks, but we will just wait and see. The carrots still need some grow time. The kids keep pulling them and eating them, but all they are getting is a tiny pea size bulb! it is so funny. But they do taste like carrots!! There are a couple that are getting to be the size of a small radish now. I hope they stay there and keep growing.

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