One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1610 of 2143 - I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

Growing Vegetables in the Greenhouse

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 30, 2013 · 11 Comments

Things are seriously picking up in the greenhouse. In just a matter of a few more weeks I have a feeling the whole place will be filled with pots and we’ll have tomatoes and peppers all over the place.

Check out the chives! These babies are getting ready to flower. I planted a bunch more seeds over the winter and they are about 2 inches tall right now. It will be cool to get a fall crop this year.

Got gutters? Holy cow, they vegetables are growing like crazy. Click HERE to see what the gutters looked like one month ago. It’s nuts!

A spinach salad is on the menu tonight.

Swiss chard. We will be thinning this soon. We will keep a few in the greenhouse and move the rest to the garden beds.

The mesclun lettuce also needs to be harvested. I’ll have to call Francisco and see if he wants to do a barter with me.

Cesar salad anyone? Yes please!

Last week I cut the lettuce, and now the lettuce is growing back. Pretty cool!

My neighbor will be over today to help me pot up the rest of the tomato seedlings and hopefully some peppers too {if we have time}. I’m excited to get all the seedlings out of the trays and into pots.

The tomatoes will be planted outside in another 2 weeks or so. I think it’s still too chilly to set them out right now.

I think there must be about 75 – 100 tomato plants in this flat.

And last but not least. Basil. Basil. Basil. Who knew you could growfresh basil in April?

No matter how you do it, gardening is awesome!

Peace Out Girl Scouts, have a great day, I’m off to go play in the dirt.

~Mavis

See More Greenhouse Pictures and Stories

Looking for a great gardening book? Check out Carrots Love Tomatoes. I own it and use it all the time.

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Food Waste in America – This Little Piggy Saved None

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 30, 2013 · 6 Comments

Mr. Produce Guy had 2 boxes of reclaimed produce waiting for us when we stopped by the local market this week. There was more lettuce than you could imagine along with grapes, pears and corn.

Inspector Lucy learned she likes celery.

As for the rest of the produce, well, we decided to sit this one out. If would have had the extra time, I could have cut out the good parts out of the corn and froze it. But I didn’t.

I also didn’t bother with the pears {too mushy} or the grapes.

It’s kind of weird in a way how we’ve become accustomed to getting so much great produce over the past year. If we were truly needy, or this were the depression era or even if I was living in The Glass Castle, I would have saved every ounce of the produce.

And now after looking at these pictures again, I feel bad The Girl and I didn’t pick through the boxes and save any of the fruits and vegetables.

It’s pretty rare around here that all the free produce goes to the chickens, but this week, they got it all.

~Mavis

Would you like to see what else we have brought home over the past year?

Head on over HERE to read all the past stories and to see all the pictures.

If you have just stumbled upon this series and are wondering how I got all this food for free, you’ll want to read this story first.

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Freezer Meal Recipe – Chicken Cacciatore

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 29, 2013 · 10 Comments

After I picked up my Zaycon Chicken order a few weeks ago I put together a few freezer meals and stashed them away for a busy night when I

Ingredients

3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts {I used Zaycon chicken}
1 {26 oz} jar of spaghetti sauce
1 zucchini, chopped
1 sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped

Directions

There are 2 different ways you can make this. You can load all the ingredients into a gallon sized Ziplock bag, lay it flat, freeze, and cook it in the crock pot at a later date or layer the ingredients in a foil pan, seal and pop in the freezer.

Crock Pot Cooking Method: Cook from frozen on high for 8 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked, or thaw overnight in the refrigerator overnight and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Oven Cooking Method: Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Cook at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles if desired.

Looking for more easy freezer meal ideas? See the full list of freezer meal ideas HERE!

Links to freezer pans I commonly use:

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Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea – Chalkboard Painted Herb Pots

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 29, 2013 · 3 Comments

If you’re trying to come up with a craft project for your kids to make for Teacher Appreciation Day next week, these chalkboard painted pots should do the trick. Not only are chalkboard painted pots easy to make, but your kids will love making them for their favorite teacher as well. Plus, the teacher will be THRILLED it’s not an another apple. Ha!

Supplies

4 Terra Cotta Pots
Fresh Herbs {I chose Basil, Chives, Rosemary and Oregano}
1 Quart Chalkboard Paint
1 Paint Brush
Potting Soil
1 Piece White Chalk or Chalk Pens

Instructions

Paint dry pots and let them dry for 2 -3 hours
Add moistened soil to the bottom of the pot, add herb, add additional soil
Label each pot with chalk and water

Personally I think these pots look great outside sitting on a potting bench. If you would like to give them as indoor gifts, I would suggest purchasing little terra cotta saucers to place underneath the pots to allow for drainage.

I’ve tried several different brands of chalkboard paint over the years and Rust-Oleum Chalkboard Brush-On is my favorite. You might be able to find it in your local hardware store, but if not, Amazon has it too.

Another great thing to have on hand are Chalk Ink Markers. Amazon has these, but you can probably find them for less at the craft store with a coupon.

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site. For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting One Hundred Dollars a Month.