One Hundred Dollars a Month - Page 1964 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.

Recipe: How to Make Banana Pudding

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 12, 2012 · 7 Comments

Warning: This recipe may cause you to lock yourself in the closet with a very large spoon. It is totally possible you could eat the entire pan of pudding if you do not take precautions.

I’m telling you, if the Pilgrims had bananas they would have made this everyday of the week! If you need a special recipe to bring to a potluck, a sick friend, or just something nice to bring to your Mother’s house on Mother’s Day… This is it.

How to Make Banana Pudding

Author Mavis Butterfield

Ingredients

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
Pinch of salt
3 cups milk
8 eggs , separated
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups vanilla wafers
4 ripe bananas , thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch and salt and stir until blended. Mix in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and boiling. Boil 1 minute, then remove from heat.
In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks, then whisk in about 1/2 cup of hot custard until blended. Pour yolk mixture back into saucepan of custard; cook over medium heat, stirring, 2 minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla until blended.
Place vanilla wafers on bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish. Top with layers of banana slices and custard. Repeat layering, ending with custard.
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar at low speed until frothy. Add cream of tartar; increase speed to medium and gradually beat in remaining sugar. Beat until egg whites hold stiff peaks.
Spoon meringue over hot custard immediately, making sure that meringue touches baking dish on all sides (this prevents it from shrinking). Transfer to oven and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove pudding from oven and cool 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.

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Recipe: Quiche with Kale, Bacon, Mushroom and Cheese

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 11, 2012 · 3 Comments

As much as I wanted to make the Tuscan Kale Soup everyone was talking about, I decided to make a quiche for tomorrow’s breakfast instead. The weather is supposed to be gorgeous here tomorrow and I don’t want to spend anymore time than necessary in the kitchen. So I think I’ll go ahead and pick the rest of the kale tonight before it grows anymore, and make a batch of soup in a few days when it cools down. I’m sure it will keep just fine in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

1 Pie crust {pre-cooked}
8 Eggs + 1 for egg wash
3 cups Spinach
4 slices Bacon, cooked & chopped
1 cup Mushrooms, chopped {or 1/2 re-hydrated mushrooms}
1/2cup Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup fresh Parmesean cheese
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dried Parmesean cheese
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Fresh Chives, chopped
1 medium Onion, diced
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Fill your favorite pie plate with a prepared crust and crimp the edges. Brush edges of pie crust with egg wash and bake 10 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together 8 eggs and set aside. To a skillet add olive oil and onion and cook until browned over medium heat. Add kale and saute, until wilted, add bacon, garlic and chives and combined. Set aside and let kale mixture cool for 2 minutes. Combine eggs, cheese, kale mixture, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and stir together. Pour mixture into the prepared pie crust and bake for 35 minutes or until the eggs are set in the center. Let cool for about 20 minutes and serve.

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to eat your veggies!

♥ Mavis

P.S. Did you know that if you are an Amazon Prime member you can watch The French Chef with Julia Child Volume 1, Ep. 6 “The French Chef: Quiche Lorraine” for free? I don’t know who Lorranie is, but anything with Julia Child in it has got to be good.

Bon appetite!

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Recycled Wood Pallet Garden: First Harvest

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 11, 2012 · 7 Comments

Sometimes I think people are turned off by gardening because they don’t think they have they space. This morning I went out and harvested a large bowl full of salad greens. Salad greens I had started in a recycled wood pallet about 6 weeks ago.

Tonight will be enjoying our very first “wood pallet salad.” Yep, these gorgeous salad greens {and more} came from one tiny 4′ x 4′ wood pallet garden.

Anyone can do this. No matter how small their growing space is.

You just have to channel your inner pilgrim and tell your self “I can grow anything,” and then get out there and do it.

If you you’d like to give wood pallet gardening a try, here are a few more posts about gardening with wood pallets:

How to Plant a Flower Garden Using a Recycled Wood Pallet
How to Make a Recycled Pallet Vertical Garden
How to Plant a Garden Using Recycled Wood Pallets

Looking for some healthy dinner recipes? Check out Salad for Dinner: Complete Meals for All SeasonsBy Jeanne Kelley on Amazon.com. It looks divine.

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How to Grow Your Own Food: Is It To Early To Plant Tomatoes and Cucumbers?

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By Mavis Butterfield on May 11, 2012 · 8 Comments

Yesterday, reader Gwen left me this comment:

“My dad (you know, the one you are always supposed to listen to when he gives advice) said I should keep my tomato plants inside until June but I noticed yours are already planted outside. By the looks of your garden I should be following your lead. Do you always put your tomato plants out in May?”

Gwen, your comment made me smile.

Yes, here in Western Washington it is too early to plant to plant tomatoes outside. It is also too early to plant cucumbers and beans as well.

But does that stop me? Nope.

When I first started gardening I would see tomato, squash and other plants for sale at the hardware store and assume it was time to plant them outside. I mean it makes sense right? If tomato plants are sitting outside for sale at the local hardware store in mid April, it must be time to plant them in my garden as well. Right?

Wrong.

Most likely, the plants you see at the hardware store in early spring will sell out in 2-3 days. People will bring them home, plant the tomato plants in their garden, and then they will die a slow, miserable death. At least here in Seattle anyway.

The unknowing newbie gardener will think, “Darn, I can’t do this. I must have black thumb.” and give up.

Unfortunate, the only way the tomato plants have a shot, is if they are coddled indoors in a sunny window ledge or placed in a greenhouse until late May when it is safe to plant them outside.

The bottom line is, the local hardware store knows people are itching to get their garden started. So they sell the desired plants. Even if they are selling them a month earlier than they should be planted in the ground.

So, if it is too early to plant tomatoes outside, why did I go ahead and plant 20 {out of 110} tomato plants outside the other day? For the exact same reason I planted a packet of cucumber seeds in the garden last night.

What if I get lucky. What if this is the year, like in 2009, when we get blessed with a rip-roaring hot summer? What if this is the year {out of every 7?} that I would look back on and say, “Man, I wish I would have set out my plants/started seeds a little earlier?”

So Gwen,

I’m a gambler. And I am taking a {big} risk.

Only time will tell if the odds are in my favor.

Looking for a great gardening book? Amazon currently has Vegetable Gardening: From Planting to Picking–The Complete Guide to Creating a Bountiful Garden By Fern Marshall Bradley on sale for $13.59.

*Amazon prices can change at anytime and are accurate at of time of posting.

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.