There Goes The Neighborhood
We woke up yesterday morning to a huge blue trash can in our driveway with a county logo painted on the side. The papers attached to it informed us that our county is now doing curbside recycling for every single home in the county — even ours! We don’t have lines painted on the road, or street lights and can’t get cable, dsl, fios or public trash service… but now we have curbside recycling. How’s that for screwed up!
I’ve been seriously sick for the last two weeks. It started with a sinus infection that moved into my lungs. I was planning on putting down topsoil and compost for my veggie gardens last week but really wasn’t well enough. I’m not sure I’m well enough for it even now, so unfortunately I’ll be getting a late start this year. I’m hoping to at least get the pool pump running this weekend so I can get a headstart on getting the chemicals set up.
I have a business trip next week… back down to Huntsville. At least the weather should be good. And then Easter. We’re helping at our church’s Easter festival next Saturday and then having April, Shane and the kids over for Easter dinner on Sunday. That should be fun. Hopefully I can get out in the garden the following weekend.
Have you seen my current favorite picture of John? :) We were walking over toward the Finding Nemo ride when John saw Donald, his favorite character, at the Epcot Character Spot. He ran over to the glass to take a peek, and Donald came over to visit while waiting for the next family in line. It was great!
Is that Spring I See?
The cardinals are excitedly calling and I put the first load of laundry out on the line today, so spring must just be around the corner. Time to start planning my garden for this year.
For the most part, last year was a huge success! I had some things that didn’t grow very well, but a lot of things did. This was the last harvest before the season ended:
With so much coming out of my garden, I made my first attempts at hot water bath canning. By the end of the season I had 4 pints of salsa, 2 quarts + 8 pints of bread & butter pickles, 3 quarts of whole tomatoes, 4 pints of chopped tomatoes, and 19 half-pints of sweet pepper & onion relish (like the one from Harry & David’s!).
The tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini grew very well where they were, so they get to stay. I’m going to move the peppers and eggplants to a more shady spot where they won’t get so burned up by the sun, and I’m going to put the leeks where the corn was. I’ve tried to grow corn two years in a row, but my soil just isn’t right for it. I put a rhubarb root down last year, and am now waiting to see if it comes up. John loves rhubarb. I’m thinking about growing some yellow squach in addition to the green squash since we enjoy both.
With spring almost here, hopefully the box elder bugs will go away. We’ve never had them before, but with the warm-cold-warm-cold back and forth this year, they’ve come out in full force. They’re everywhere, and I keep having to deal with them in the house…. and no one near us has box elders. Go figure?
So.. that’s the latest from moooo country. I guess I’d better get my pecan pies out of the oven before they burn!
$5 Dinner: Chicken Piccata
Chicken Piccata for under $5 per serving? Yeah… seriously.
The Chicken Piccata itself is $1.79 per serving. With alfredo pasta, green beans, and a roll, this entire meal is still only $2.60 per serving. For about $.75 more, you could add a salad too (a bag of salad mix and a bottle of dressing — no extra veggies or croutons). Obviously you couldn’t do it this cheap with chicken regularly priced at $6.49/lb as it is here, but the whole point of this exercise is to show you just how cheap you can feed the family if you take the time to cook what’s on sale and avoid the non-sale stuff.
This recipe serves 6 because we take leftovers for lunch at work, but you can easily scale this down to 4. Prices are for the entire quantity used in the recipe.
- 3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half ($2.98) $1.69/lb super sale!!
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour, for dredging
- 9 tablespoons unsalted butter ($.70) I bought this box on sale for $2.50
- 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil ($1.27) $11.99/bottle regular price
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice ($1.29)
- 1 cup chicken stock (FREE) I made it the last time I cooked chicken and froze it
- 3oz jar brined capers, rinsed ($1.49)
- 2/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped ($1.99)
- 4oz can sliced mushrooms ($.99)
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter with 4 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 3 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 3 more tablespoons butter and add another 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 3 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock, mushrooms and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.
Side Dishes:
- 1/2 box pasta ($.50) On sale 10/$10
- 1 jar alfredo sauce ($1.50) On sale 2/$3
- 2 cans green beans ($1.98)
- 6 brown and serve rolls ($.89)
Note: No, I didn’t even try to figure up the costs for the flour, salt and pepper. The quantities used are so small that it would probably be $.05 or less for the entire recipe.
How does my AEROGARDEN grow?
My aunt gave me an Aerogarden for Christmas. Laugh if you want — this thing actually works. The first batch of herbs didn’t go so well. They started off great, but then their growth was very stunted and the leaves turned yellow. Some digging around on the internet turned up the answer: well water doesn’t work.. it’s got too many minerals in it. So, I ordered some lettuce and more herbs and cleaned out the garden for the next batch.
I started three lettuce pods 2 weeks ago and have used only distilled water in the resovoir. I can’t believe the difference! The lettuces are growing really fast, and are very beautiful green hues. They should be ready for harvesting in about another 2 weeks. I can’t wait!
