One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1612 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.

Planting a New Raised Garden Bed – Cabbage and Cauliflower

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 28, 2013 · 6 Comments

Pretty much all of yesterday was spent in the garden {big surprise I know}.

I had the Handsome Husband pick up a truckload of garden soil so I could finally fill the giant empty space next to the greenhouse.

Lucy loved playing in the dirt. She was having so much fun digging that I had to bring her in the house until I could get it all leveled out and planted.

At first I was going to plant green beans in the space, but then I figured I’s need to wait 2 more weeks before planting bean seeds {it’s still a bit too chilly at night} so I went ahead and planted some red cabbage and cauliflower starts I had in the greenhouse instead.

According to my companion chart, Swiss chard looks like a candidate to plant in the center rows. I’m sure the chickens will be thrilled when I tell them. Ha!

How has YOUR weekend going so far? Please tell me you don’t still have snow on the ground.

~Mavis

If I could only have one gardening book on my bookshelf this would be the one. The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food By Tanya L.K. Denckla. This book is loaded with growing methods of practically every vegetable the backyard gardener is going to grow in their garden. I received this book several years ago and it’s still the one I use when I have questions.

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Easy Slow Cooker Meals – Ham and Cheese Casserole

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 28, 2013 · 5 Comments

I’m sure you know by now, I am totally in love with my crock pot and the cookbook Fix-It and Forget-It. If you are an early riser this ham and cheese casserole is the perfect make ahead breakfast dish. We had this for breakfast the other morning and it was delicious.

Ingredients

8 slices French bread, cubed
4 eggs
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup cooked ham, chopped
2 cups milk {I used 2%}
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
dash of paprika
butter to coat your crock pot

Directions

Generously butter the sides and bottom of your crock pot. Place the bread, cheese and ham in the bottom of the crock pot and give it a little stir. Combine the milk, eggs and spices in a bowl and whisk together. Pour egg mixture over bread mixture and cook on low for 4 hours until golden brown.

Serve warm!

My favorite Crock Pot – Crock-Pot Cook’ N Carry 6-Quart Portable Slow Cooker
My Favorite Slow Cooker Cookbook – Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook: 1400 Best Slow Cooker Recipes!

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Container Herb Garden – Growing Basil, Sage, Parsley, Rosemary and Thyme

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 27, 2013 · 24 Comments

This morning I headed out the the garden to snap a few pictures of our herb garden. I decided to grow the majority of our herbs in pots this year so I could save the space in the raised garden beds for growing vegetables.

We do have basil growing in the greenhouse, chives alongside the greenhouse and mint in a container next to the fence as well.

If there is one herb that always grows well for me, it’s oregano. I love that it comes back every year and it’s so easy to maintain. Over the winter I dug up the raised bed herb garden and when I moved the oregano to a pot I also included a few strawberry plants as well.

We also moved the sage to a container as well. At first I was worried it would not survive the move but it seems to be thriving.

I started parsley from seeds this year. So far so good.

Thyme. Another herb we started from seed. This is my first year growing thyme from seed and I transplanted 3 plants to a outdoor pot a few weeks ago. We use a lot of dried thyme in our cooking so hopefully we will get a good crop and I won’t have to buy it anymore.

And then there is the rosemary. It’s not looking too hot and I am totally blaming the guy who’s looking after it.

Do YOU grow your own herbs?

If so, what are your favorite ones to grow?

~Mavis

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Mavis Mail – Garden Photos From Western New York

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By Mavis Butterfield on April 27, 2013 · 2 Comments

Liz’s new raised garden bed.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in their photographs and stories. I hope by sharing other peoples pictures and stories here on One Hundred Dollars a Month we can all have a rock star garden this summer. Keep them coming!

Check out these potato towers Liz put together. I think these are great! Liz’s potato towers look totally different than the potato towers I made. And if you ask me, that is one of the best parts about gardening. Everyone has a different method, but the end result is pretty much the same.

Liz also made a small greenhouse to house the cantaloupe she is trying to grow. She started them in January because her area does not have enough gardening days of nice weather to grow them in a regular plot.

And check out the seedlings she is growing in natural sunlight. I’d say Liz is off to a great start. No matter where you live or what supplies you have access to, anyone can have a garden. The possibilities are endless. You’ve just got to get out there and grow!

Way to go Liz. Keep us posted, I would love to update this post with some more of your pictures throughout the gardening season.

~Mavis

Garden and Beehive Photos From Connecticut

If you would like to have your garden, chicken coop or something you’ve made featured on One Hundred Dollars a Month, here’s what I’m looking for:

Your Garden Pictures and Tips – I’d especially like to see your garden set ups, growing areas, and know if you are starting seeds indoors this year. If so, show me some picture of how you are going about it.
Your Chicken and Chicken Related Stories – Coops, Chicks, Hen’s, Roosters, Eggs, you name it. If it clucks, send us some pictures to share with the world.
Cool Arts & Crafts – Made from your very own hands with detailed {and well photographed} pictures and instructions.
Your pictures and stories about your pets. The more pictures and details the better.

If I feature your pictures and the stories behind them on One Hundred Dollars a Month, I will send you a $20.00 gift card to the greatest store in the world: Amazon.com.

Go HERE for the official rules.

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.