From everyone’s response to the free seeds we have a lot of new time gardeners. I am not the gardening expert Tawra is and I mean she really  is. She has a degree in Horticulture and in years past has worked for county extensions and the Botanical gardens here in Wichita so gardening is her thing.

I on the other hand I know nothing but that has not stopped me from trying for many years to have a garden and flowers but most years I failed. Tawra said the other day that she was going to water her plants and I said “you are suppose to water them?” Maybe that has been my problem. I just wait for it to rain. HA!HA! Needless to say I drive my poor daughter crazy with my gardening habits.

I just thought I would tell you what I did wrong so you could learn from my mistakes.

First it takes commitment. No matter how bad she feels or how hot it is Tawra goes out every day and waters her plants and takes care of them. Me, well if I don’t feel good I think “It won’t hurt them to go without water one more day even if it is 100 degrees out and then the next day I just plain forget to water them. By then I know they are a little brown and crisp but maybe if I drown them they might come back. NOT!

Whether you feel like it or not you have to water them, feed them, deadhead them, pick the bugs off of them and do it all in horribly hot weather. You’ll even have to sweat while you are doing it. It takes commitment.

Second you can get a lot of crop from one little plant I learned. Most beginners set out 10 tomato plants for a family of 4 not realizing  2 or 3 could supply them easily. The first year I planted flowers a neighbor gave me a large 3 lb. coffee can of zinnia seeds. I didn’t know any better and poured the whole can on a 10 ft x 1ft area.  For you beginners that was enough seeds to supply all of Texas with flowers. But not knowing any better I planted them where there was no sun and got about four 6″ flowers. I guess some flowers need sun too. But then some don’t. It’s very confusing.

Now my one cherry tomato plant I planted was a different story. It wouldn’t stop producing tomatoes. To this day (35 years later) I could pass on the cherry tomatoes. We had them coming out of our ears. Think small and few when you start. Plant just 1 zucchini until you understand the full potential of what one zucchini plant can do. Some of them could produce enough to feed a third world country for a year.

Third you won’t be able to have a manicure until Oct. No matter what gloves I wore I still broke a fingernail and had dirt under my nails. Yes I even did the scraping them on a bar of soap. All that did was give me dirt and soap under my nails. Now if you are a true gardener like Tawra she doesn’t bother to wear gloves.

Fourth, well that first year I in visioned my table spread with luscious home grown veggies and opening my cabinets with rows and rows of my own canned fruits and veggies saving us tons of money. The reality of it was I spent 4 times as much on seeds, fertilizer, mulch and water then if I had bought the beans, peas etc at a gourmet grocery store.

Not to mention after hours of back breaking work I was about to harvest the fruits of my labor and we had a flood which destroyed half of my crop. Two days later our new large puppy ran through it and managed to wipe out the other half.

I didn’t give up though and year after year kept trying and year after year kept failing. One year I did have success. I had cleaned my garden up in the fall and threw everything into the compost. That next spring I decided I would give up. Would you believe I had the most beautiful tomato plants growing in my compost pile. Go figure.

Of course I wrote most of this with my tongue in cheek even if it was all true. There really are some upsides to gardening (so I have heard:) and it was fun (?) trying. As bad as I make it sound it does get easier if you keep at it and once you get you beds made and figure out what you are doing.

Tawra will give you some tips this week of the the ins and outs and the more successful way to start and do a garden and yard. Hopefully her advice will help you not to have the garden nightmares that I did.

Jill

I wrote a lot about portion control in our grocery savings e course but there was one tip I left out (I try to think of everything but once in awhile I slip up) :). If you are really try to stretch your food or have more control over your family’s portions then fill their plates at the stove or in the kitchen. Don’t serve your food family style with large platters and bowls on the table to pass around.

It is a proven fact that most people will eat more with large piles of food sitting in front of them plus if someone is really full but it sure did taste good and they want seconds, they will probably think twice about it if they have to get up and walk into the kitchen or to the stove to get more.

Jill

A long timer reader Christy has graciously allowed us to use her article on working at home. It is a great place to start if you are considering working at home. Tawra

The Home Based business option for frugality

by Christy McElroy

Phrases that cover working at home generally include “self employed” “working for myself” “independent contractor” and “consultant.” Women particularly have been adept at home based businesses. Think of farm women with their egg and butter making, or urbane widows running boarding houses. Home based women run businesses are mentioned in the Bible, as Lydia was a seller of purple (i.e., expensive clothing) and ran a household, and the idealized woman of Proverbs 31 invested in real estate and manufactured textiles.

Modern home based businesses include just about every service and product imaginable. Direct sales such as kitchen products and household items, tutoring, music lessons and contract work for medical/legal offices seem to constitute the majority of home based businesses in the United States today, although nearly any product or service can be adapted to this type of workplace. Each type has its advantages and disadvantages. This author is a medical transcriptionist, having been exclusively home based for nearly 19 years, and having been NOT a success story at direct sales. Therefore, much of this is personal opinion and observation and I realize that we are all individuals. I am not intending to start a home based version of the infamous “mommy wars”.

The advantages of home based businesses seem obvious at first glance. Who wouldn’t like to eliminate child care hassles and expense, not worry about take out lunches and new work clothes, and have the freedom to set her own hours? There are tax advantages as well as long as careful records are kept. These advantages are generally well documented elsewhere, so we will not discuss them much here.

It seems a key to being successful as a self employed individual running a sole proprietorship is being realistic about your own abilities, and being realistic about the amount of money you can make at any given type of business. Personally, I am not very good at sales and have moderate but not excellent math skills. Therefore, I was not a candidate for a direct sales opportunity. Nor should I have considered doing bookkeeping at home.

Yes, some folks make a decent living at various party plan and other direct sales deals, but many do not. For example, in selling a certain line of kitchen products, if enjoy the product, enjoy the opportunity to get out a couple of evenings a week, have a fairly large circle of friends to establish your initial contacts, and do not necessarily have to clear a certain monetary figure each week or month, then indeed, direct sales may work for you. However, if you have someone who needs care at home and you will need to pay another person to care for them, you may not clear very much at the end of the show.

Some people investigate selling handcrafted items as a means of income. Again, if you have the skill to produce many items quickly, if you do not become bored with making 50,000 of the item for sale, and can secure a good venue without a lot of initial outlay or an exorbitant percentage take of the gross, it can be a good option. This can be especially successful for those who are willing to work very hard for part of the year and then get a chance to relax in the off season. Obviously if you will need to travel to bazaars, if you will need to arrange care for someone else, or if the cost of your materials suddenly goes up, it can put a big dent in the money in your pocket.

I have pointed out these pitfalls not to discourage someone from trying, but to encourage looking at all options before committing a lot of time and/or money to the venture. I went into medical transcription because it played upon my skills and strengths as I grew up around medical terminology and am an extremely detail oriented person. The flip side is that any type of job with a lot of deadlines is constant pressure, whether I am in an office or not.

Besides the direct job related expenses that change when working at home, there are other advantages. For example, having a few extra minutes in the morning can help with getting a meal into a slow cooker or putting together a casserole for later. The advantages of having dinner “ready” when there are small children or a chronically ill person involved are huge. Also, such routine chores as laundry and yard work can be spread out over several days instead of trying to cram all the housework into a day or two on the weekend. If your hours are flexible, you can take a walk when it fits into your day, eliminating the need for a gym membership in order to exercise in the evenings or during bad weather. If the schedule allows, shopping can be done during off peak times, which generally results in fewer impulse buys for most of us.

A big disadvantage for many home based workers is the lack of socialization. This can be offset by getting involved in outside organizations. These can include but are not limited to, church activities, volunteering to be a Scout leader, joining a community theater/music group, any kind of interest society, etc. I have found that maintaining some outside activities over all these years has given me new friends and new perspectives.

To determine if home based work is right for you, consider your own skills and strengths, how you enjoy spending your time, how you “recharge” from a stressful day, and how self disciplined and motivated you are. It is OK to admit that your personality, health or other concerns make being self employed not a good choice for you right now. Perhaps there are other options that would allow more flexibility in your schedule while maintaining your current job.

From: Sue
Regarding your cinnamon roll recipe made with the
“Ninety Minute Rolls” dough - here’s a tip to make
the cinnamon rolls taste even better, plus more
nutritious: Use peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
instead of margarine to spread over the dough. Be
generous! It makes a wonderful nutty flavor. If
you make an icing from powdered sugar to drizzle
over the top, use a drop of vanilla flavoring and
a drop of almond flavoring in the icing. You will
think these came from the gourmet bakery. Yum yum!

Ok, I’m not so sure about this one but it just sounded to interesting for me not to post it. What can I say I’m pregnant! hehehe Tawra

Hash brown Bake

2 lb. frozen hash browns (slightly thawed)
1/2 C. melted butter
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 C. chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken or celery soup
8 oz. sour cream
2 C. shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 C. crushed potato chips

Combine all except 1/2 C. cheese and potato chips. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. Cover with remaining cheese and potato chips. Bake 1 1/4 hours at 350.

You can add fried sausage, crumbled bacon or diced ham and use this for breakfast. If you have leftover hamburger toss it or some veggies in for dinner. Years ago one of the main stays of peoples diets was hash which is all the leftovers from the day before thrown together with some finely diced or grated potato and fried in a pan. I wonder if that is why they are called “hash” browns because it was what everyone used at one point for hash?

Jill

From: Christy L.
I wanted to submit a frugal, but filling recipe.
I happened upon it yesterday.  We are in “crisis
mode” as another reader put it and I’m really
having to stretch things.  I don’t know what to
name the recipe, but here goes…

1 box stuffing mix
1 can mixed veggies/leftover veggies
8oz. cooked, shredded chicken
1 can condensed chicken noodle soup

Grease small baking dish.  Place shredded chicken
in covering bottom of dish. Pour condensed
chicken noodle soup on top of chicken.  Rinse
canned vegetables, but don’t pour out
vegetables.  Fill back up with water.  Pour
vegetables next.  Take a fork and lightly mix the
condensed soup with the vegetables and liquid.
Add any leftover vegetables you need to use
up…up to a cup. Prepare the stuffing mix…
(save time and energy…do it in the microwave.)
Spread cooked stuffing over the top and Voila!
Instant casserole.  Serves 4. Heat again in
microwave covered if necessary.

I was going to bake this, but was unable to b/c
of time.  I put in the microwave and heated it up
for my husband’s supper.  He really liked it. I
also ended up adding a half a can of green beans
after we had eaten on it just to use them.  It
was really good also and extended it well.

Find out How To Cut Your Grocery Budget In Half with this new FREE report from our friend Susanne at Hillbilly Housewife.

Did you ever try SWEDISH MEATBALL the Easy way?  Takes about 3 minutes to make……..

1. Turn on the crock pot early in morning before you leave for work.
2. Dump in 5 pound bag of frozen meatballs from supermarket or wholesale grocery.
3. Add a 16 ounce container of CHIP DIP — Sour Cream & Onion is good, Veggie or Dill also good.
4. Cut up an onion, optional — and add on top of the Sour Cream.
5. Salt & Pepper, optional.  Some people may like seasoning salt.
6. Put lid on crock pot and head off to work.  When you get home the house smells great, dinner is ready!

Doug M.

This would be a great use for leftover meatballs too. Just make double batch and freeze half also! Tawra

A school cafeteria served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. A second grader walking out the door complimented the cafeteria manager saying,”Finally you gave us a home cooked meal!”

I love it. We sometimes worry over and make our meal planning too complicated. If we could just look at food (or life?) through the eyes of a child how less stressful our meals and lives would be. Of course if we made menus according to a child it would be candy bars and ice cream for every meal. Oh yum. Like I say kids aren’t to dumb I would love that for every meal too. HA!HA!

Jill

Photo by:rex roof

From: Dena
I just wanted to give a tip regarding getting
kids to eat the crusts on sandwiches. When I
was about 6 years old I “overheard” one adult
telling another that children could learn how to
whistle if they eat the bread crusts. I was
gullible enough to believe it and never wasted
another crust.

This may not work for everybody’s kids but now
that I’m older I think it’s funny.

HA! That is a good one. I need to try that with my 5 year old and riding his bike. hehehe Here’s a yummy recipe for Croutons in case they don’t fall for it. Tawra