Nancy on the Home Front

My Garden: Fall in Vermont

Usually on Wednesdays I talk about my garden. Fall is approaching rapidly in Vermont, the nights are chilly and we’ve even had several touches of frost.

fal, autumn, Vermont, prudent living — Fall On The Home Front

The garden is pretty much finished, although I still have carrots and leeks to pick. The pumpkins and winter squash have all been picked.

harvest, winter squash — On The Home Front Pumpkins

Another sign of fall is the release of Prudent Living Magazine, Fall 2012 issue. This is a free online magazine full of articles relating to living a more prudent life. Included in the magazine is an article I wrote about fall gardening called: Harvest & Preserving.

online magazine, prudent living — Prudent Living Magazine

Also included in the magazine is my favorite Salsa recipe for those of you who still have tomatoes that you’re wondering what to do with! I hope you take the time to check it out. Click here to read the magazine. You must create an account to read it but it’s free!

Let me know how you enjoy it!

On The Home Front, Prudent Living — Happy Fall!

Linked to: TheNYMelroseFamily, GingersnapCrafts, MsGreenthumbJean, ASouthernDaydreamer, AnOregonCottage, Sidewalkshoes, LocalSugarHawaii, TheBrambleberryCottage, TheBlissfulRhythm, BernideensTeaTimeBlog, TootsieTime, DeborahJeansDandelionhouse, LoveBakesGoodCakes, LocalSugarHawaii, TheChickenChick, CraftyGardenMama

Frugal Tip: Saving Money On A New Deck

We built our house in 1999; two years later we added a deck onto the front of the house. The deck is south facing so it gets a lot of sun, and living in Vermont, it also gets a lot of snow during the winter. We do a good job of keeping the deck shoveled, but it still gets a good beating from the elements. The deck had been stained but after 11 years it was in pretty poor shape.

deck, frugal tip — The deck after sanding and scraping.

After the deck was scraped and sanded it really looked pretty bad. We got an estimate to put down an Azec deck, which is a low maintenance decking, engineered to withstand the everyday things that happen on a deck. Nice as that would have been it was just too expensive.

My husband did some more research and found a special paint manufactured by ArmorGarage. They advertised it as a permanent solution for outdoor wood, concrete decks and porches. It’s called “Deck Renew It Coating” and they claimed it would restore the beauty of your decks and never chip or peel off.

After spending quite a bit of time on their website, and talking to their customer service, my husband was sold. He ordered the paint and got the deck refinished. The paint is expensive, but not nearly as expensive as a new deck. It’s not slippery when wet, and it doesn’t get as hot as the stained deck used to. It won’t last forever, but it should give our deck many more years of use before the boards have to be replaced.

decking, paint, prudent living — Deck after painting.

In case your curious what the opening is for on our deck, we have metal grates which are installed so the ice doesn’t build up on the deck in the winter. Here is the before and after shot for comparison.

Linked to: NaturalLivingMamma, FrugallySustainable, TheThriftyHome, WeAreThatFamily

Spinach, Butternut Squash and Leek Lasagna

I was torn between sharing this recipe or the recipe we enjoyed in our home last week, Homemade Noodles with Peas, Asparagus and Pancetta. After much debate and the fact that this post was already written, I decided to share my delicious Spinach, Butternut Squash and Leek Lasagna recipe. I will share the other recipe soon, promise!

I’ve been known to tweak a recipe now and then. When making this lasagna I looked over a few other recipes and decided to completely make my own version. The result was excellent, and after serving it to our company, there was nothing left!

Spinach, Butternut Squash and Leek Lasagna

Made one 9 x 13 pan

Ingredients:

6 lasagna noodles
2 small packages of frozen butternut squash ravioli
2 Tbsp butter
5 medium leeks, thinly sliced and washed thoroughly (about 6 cups)
½ cup flour
4 cups milk
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp salt
3.4 tsp grated nutmeg
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1 cup Asiago cheese, grated
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
Cooking spray
1 tsp olive oil
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves
18 oz fresh baby spinach
¼ tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, cook noodles until not quite done about two minutes less than the package directions. Drain; return the noodles to the pot and cover with cold water. Cook the ravioli until not quite done.

Melt butter in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add leeks; cook, stirring often until softened, about six minutes. Sprinkle flour over the leeks and stir well. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thick and bubbling, 8-10 minutes. Whisk in thyme, salt, nutmeg and pepper. Remove from the heat.

In another non-stick pan combine 1 tsp oil, red pepper, and garlic over medium heat; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add spinach, a little at a time and cook until wilted, stirring frequently. Add ¼ tsp salt and cook until liquid evaporates. Remove from heat.

To assemble lasagna spoon about 1/3 cup of the leek mixture on the bottom of your 9×13 pan. Arrange 3 noodles over the leek mixture; top with some of the spinach, some pine nuts, ¼ cup Asiago cheese and ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Instead of arranging more lasagna noodles over the cheese; arrange half of your butternut squash ravioli over the cheese.

Repeat layering the leek mixture, spinach, cheese and the rest of your ravioli. Repeat layering with the leek mixture, the rest of the spinach, cheese and top with your remaining lasagna noodles.

Pour the remaining leek mixture over the lasagna noodles and top with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes, uncover and bake until bubbling and lightly browned, about 30-45 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Unfortunately in the busyness of company arriving and serving the lasagna, I did not take a picture before serving. You’ll have to use your imagination! By the time dinner was over there was nothing left to take a picture of! Take my word for it, it was delicious!

Prudent Pantry: Honey in Bulk

We used to keep bees but several years ago our hives did not survive the winter and we just have not replaced them.

bees, beekeeping, prudent living — Our beehives.

However we really missed having our pantry well stocked with honey and this year we decided to do something about it.

After asking around we found a local beekeeper willing to sell us a 60 pound bucket of honey. Honey does not go bad so it will store indefinitely. Not a bad thing when stocking your pantry.

We had two cases of bottles left over from our bee keeping days so all we needed to do was strain the honey and start bottling! The hardest thing about bottling honey is resisting tasting as you go along!

sweeteners, prudent pantry — Straining the honey.

In a very short time we had all the bottles filled including three 5-pound jars which my husband will use to make mead. That’s another blog post.

We now have more than a year’s supply of honey to use in our tea, for bread baking and cooking. What a nice feeling.

honey, pantry — Bottles of honey for the pantry.

Linked to: LiveRenewed, FeminineAdventure, Thrifty101, SimpleLivesThursday, LittleHouseInThesSuburbs, LauraWilliamsMusings, Fresh-Eggs-Daily, ThePrudentPantryBlog, HomesteadRevival, TheMorrisTribe, NaturalLivingMamma, SimpleJoyfulLiving

Frugal Tips: Dog Biscuits & Dog-less

Over the years we’ve had several dogs. Our first dog was a beautiful chocolate lab named Gracie. She was a wonderful family dog and our children all grew up with her. We lost Gracie two years ago after a long, wonderful life. When Gracie was six, our oldest daughter went away to college. Our second daughter decided we needed another dog. Purtie was a pug with a delightful personality. We often would say she was a big dog in a small body as she just loved to do whatever Gracie did. Purtie was also a wonderful dog and she passed away this past March.

Two years ago our oldest daughter and her husband moved to England for a two year period. Riley, their Boston Terrier came to live with us.

Recently our daughter and her husband returned to New England. It was only natural that they would take Riley back and Riley is thrilled with our granddaughter. However we are now dog-less!

For the first time in over 18 years our house is void of a dog and it is a strange feeling. Not sure what we’re going to do about it or what kind of dog we’d like to get. Any suggestions?

Riley will be coming to visit this weekend and I decided to make another version of dog biscuits for her. She’d gotten rather spoiled while living with us and had become used to home made dog biscuits! I have made two different versions previously, the recipes are here and here. This time I decided to try a third recipe. I had all the ingredients on hand so it was easy to whip up a batch. Riley will be glad to try these when she visits this weekend!

Everyday Dog Biscuits

2 tsp dry yeast
½ cup lukewarm water
2 Tbsp dry parsley
2 Tbsp minded garlic
1 ½ cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp honey
1 egg
5-6 cups whole-wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in the parsley, garlic, broth, honey and egg.

dog biscuits, frugal tips — Broth, water, egg, garlic, yeast, honey and parsley.

Gradually blend in the flour, adding enough to form a stiff dough.

dog biscuits, homemade — Dog biscuit dough.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 3-4 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to ¼ inch thickness. Using small bone shaped cookie cutters, make biscuits!

dogs, biscuits — Dog biscuits cookies cutters.

Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet, spacing them about ¼ inch apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.

dog treats, frugal tips — Cutting dog biscuits.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or until lightly browned on both sides. Turn off oven and let cool overnight on the baking sheet, in the oven. This will make the treats crispier and crunchier.

homemade treats — Finished Dog Biscuits, ready for Riley!

Makes several dozen small bones that will keep and freeze well. I’ve had the best luck with the recipes I’ve found on Bullwrinkle.com. Riley has enjoyed them in the past and I’m sure she will love this version!

Linked To: LearningTheFrugalLife, RealFoodForager, ItsABlogParty, MyUncommonSliceOfSuburbia, TheNYMelroseFamily, TheThriftyHome, WeAreThatFamily, Earning-My-Cape, HomesteadSimple, HomemakersChallenge

Seven Layer Salad

I remember making a layered salad years ago that was very heavy. This Seven Layer Salad is a makeover of that salad adapted from a recipe I found on EatingWell.com. The best thing about this salad is that you can make it ahead and it will stay fresh underneath the creamy dressing until it’s served and gets even better when it is held overnight.

Seven-Layer Salad

Ingredients:

Salad:
8 cups of lettuce
1 cup of frozen peas, thawed
1 medium yellow pepper, diced
1 cup of halved grape tomatoes, I used a mixture of red and yellow
1 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup sliced scallions

Dressing:
¾ cup nonfat plain yogurt
¾ cup low fat mayonnaise
2 tsp cider vinegar
1-2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
½ cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese
½ cup thinly sliced basil
3 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

Directions:

Place the lettuce in a large bowl.

Layer peas, bell pepper, tomatoes, celery and scallions on top.

Whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar to taste, garlic powder, slat and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. Spread the dressing evenly over the top of the salad. Sprinkle with cheese, basil and bacon. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes about 10, one cup servings.

This salad is perfect for pot lucks and summer parties. You can mix it up ahead of time and enjoy it later. It travels well as long as you can keep it chilled.

Oven Roasted Pizza Sauce

As our gardening season dies down one of the things I like to do with the last of the tomatoes is to make some Oven Roasted Pizza Sauce. It’s easy and a great way to use up the variety of tomatoes still coming in from the garden.

Oven Roasted Pizza Sauce

Directions:

The recipe calls for 4 pounds of tomatoes, and I have to admit I just cut up enough tomatoes to fill my 11×14 pan. Remove the core from the tomato and chop them up. You can use any type from Roma to cherry tomatoes.

To the cut up tomatoes add one coarsely chopped onion, ¼ cup of fresh herbs of choice or a smaller amount of dried herbs. I’ve been adding a mixture of dried Italian herbs to the tomatoes. I also add 3 large garlic cloves, chopped. To the mixture add 1/8 cup of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Stir the whole mixture and place it in a preheated 450 degree oven. Roast for 70 minutes without opening the oven door.

Remove from the oven, let cool and run through a food mill.

Sometimes I cook the sauce down to thicken it.

This recipe I do not can, instead I place 2 cups of sauce in freezer containers and it is ready for our homemade pizza! 2 cups equals 2 pizzas.

pizza, tomato sauce — Homemade Pizza with Oven Roasted Pizza Sauce!

My Garden: Late-Bearing Blueberries

Late season blueberries are a great way to extend your blueberry production. We have a total of ten bushes, most of which we’ve had for four years. When we purchased the bushes we made sure that we had a selection that would produce the entire summer.

fruit, home garden, prudent living — Late Season Blueberries

As a result we have several early bearing bushes, and a couple of mid season bushes.

blueberries, gardening — Mid Season Blueberry Bushes

We also have several bushes that are still producing and will keep producing berries until we get our first frost!

Blueberries, prudent living — Late Bearing Blueberry Bushes

I love blueberries especially on my cereal in the morning and being able to pick them all summer is a wonderful treat. They will be missed once the cold weather sets in!

fruit, gardening — Picking fresh blueberries.

Blueberries are fairly easy to grow; they prefer a low pH in the soil. If your soil is neutral you can adjust it by adding plenty of acidic soil amendments such as pine bark, peat moss or leaf mold. The preferred pH is between 5.5 and 6.0.

Blueberries are packed with more cancer fighting, anti-aging, eyesight saving and disease fighting antioxidants than foods like spinach and salmon. They are wonderful in pies, on top of your cereal and in muffins.

Because blueberries are shallow rooted they like moisture. I have placed a soaker hose around each of my bushes so the plants can have a good watering during the drier summers. For the first couple of years the bushes need some pruning but after that cutting the plant back once a year will increase vigor.

You’ll find you won’t be the only one that likes blueberries; you will need to put some sort of netting over your bushes to protect them from the birds.

See my blog on Protecting Your Blueberries for more information.

Most blueberry bushes will start producing in their third year, but won’t really begin to produce fully until about their 6^thyear. Mature blueberry bushes will produce about 8 quarts of berries per bush. If you want a relatively easy fruit to grow in your garden give blueberries a try. They will provide you with plenty of fresh fruit to enjoy during the growing season.

preserves, blueberries — Blueberry Lime Jam

As well as fruit for making preserves for your pantry, and they can also be a source of fall color in your backyard.

Linked to: MindAndSoulOnline, Frugallysustainable, TheThriftyHome, MsGreenthumbJean, SidewalkShoes, ASouthernDaydreamer, AtHomeTake2, AnOregonCottage, RaisingHomemakers, HomesteadSimple, BlissfulRhythm, TootsieTime

Frugal Tip: Frugal and Famous

Source: http://FrugalDad.com

Linked to: LearningTheFrugalLife

Recipe Box: Hot Feta Artichoke Dip

There are many variations of the hot artichoke dip, but this one is my favorite. It is easy to mix up; you can mix it up ahead of time and then pop it into the oven just before your company arrives. Every time I have made this dip it’s been a big hit. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Hot Feta Artichoke Dip

14oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
8oz Feta cheese
1 cup Mayonnaise
½ cup Parmesan cheese
2 oz diced pimentos, drained (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
Garnish with chopped tomatoes and sliced scallions (optional)

Mix all ingredients, spoon into a 9” pie plate of a three-cup shallow baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and sliced scallions. Serve with assorted crackers or pita triangles. Delicious!