Food Family Finds | Illinois Mom Blogger and Foodie
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This week I was walking around my vegetable garden, thinking about all of the big, beautiful tomatoes I'll have in a few short weeks and dreaming about BLT sandwiches. Then I ventured over to the herb section and decided it was time to stop dreaming and start consuming. I have all of these beautiful herbs and haven't been using them to their full potential. So I bent over and start plucking some of the sage leaves, a few sprigs of rosemary and a … [Read more...]
I first started the home farming challenge with grand ideas of growing an entirely organic farm from soil to seed. Unfortunately, to keep costs as low as possible we had to forgo a few organic choices in our product selections. One thing I am doing to keep our garden healthy and our produce pesticide free is using natural pest deterrents. Using the Triscuit Home Farming Community Q&A as a resource, I found a few suggestions on how to keep … [Read more...]
For nearly two months now I've been growing a pretty amazing garden that includes my own personal little herb garden. This being my first time growing herbs I discovered two things. One, a fresh herb garden is incredible to have just outside of your kitchen when you need some flavor for a dish in a pinch. Two, most herbs are so easy to grow with the exception of cilantro. Two weeks ago the cilantro that started out as this tiny little plant … [Read more...]
Over the past month my vegetable garden has become almost unrecognizable to me. One day it looks just as it should and then I wake up to find all of my plants have done something insane .... they grew! Can you believe that? Mrs. Brown Thumb herself is actually growing vegetables and they're surviving! Now while I typically update our garden progress every 3 weeks, I just couldn't wait. The vegetables are just too beautiful not to share. { … [Read more...]
If you’ve been following along with my home farming journey, you may remember that just a few weeks ago we began planting our cool weather vegetables. Fortunately, our spring weather has been a nice mix of cooler than average temperatures with plenty of rain to give our vegetables a nice start. In fact, they’ve grown so tremendously the raised bed farm is almost unrecognizable since my last home farming update. Watch as I give you a … [Read more...]
The other day I was driving past a Taco Bell and got the usual craving for the Chicken Club Chalupa that they make about once a year. Don't ask me why but I am head over heels in love with it and crave it all year long. Rather than wait I decided to make something similar at home. I have no idea how to make the bread Taco Bell uses for their chalupa's so I just went with a regular store bought flour tortilla. Although, I really wish I had the … [Read more...]
Of all the meals I've prepared for my family, chicken and dumplings continues to be an all time favorite. It's a dish that is always easy to prepare, using a few simple ingredients and leaves me feeling full and cozy. While I do like to cheat and use cut up refrigerated biscuits sometimes, I always prefer Bisquick dumplings because they cook up light and fluffy. We did change up our recipe a little bit this time by incorporating some fresh … [Read more...]
The season of grilling, backyard barbecues and park picnics reminds me of one family favorite side dish, deviled eggs. Although they are not personally my favorite, my family goes a little gaga for them. Not only are they extremely easy to make but the flavor combinations are endless and allows you to be creative in the kitchen. Now that I'm growing my very own herb garden, I'm excited about putting these tasty green growths to use in my … [Read more...]
Having spent the majority of my life living in Illinois, I know how unpredictable spring weather can be. As eager as I was to begin planting all of my vegetables after constructing our raised bed farm, I quickly learned that our drastic weather changes in the past few weeks were not going to cooperate with my tomato planting plans. Instead, I used the Home Farming Vegetable & Herb Guide to learn about which vegetables would grow best during … [Read more...]
I just love my kids, especially when they are old enough to attend school. While I spend the hours missing my son and daughter, I just love when they bring me special handmade, or in this case hand-planted gifts for the holidays. Today, my little Kaydence came home from pre-school with a special plant for me ... my sweet little Mother's Day plant. The problem ... I don't know what it is and neither does she. Before it crumples into a pile … [Read more...]
