My First Canning Experiences

I've secretly always wanted to live on a farm with lots of land for vegetable gardens, an orchard, chickens, and fields of wildflowers.  Maybe I'm living in the wrong era, but going out everyday with my basket and apron to collect eggs and pick the latest produce from the vine, sounds wonderful!  My older sister used to tease me about this saying I would end up 'making my own baby food, having a garden, homeschooling my kids, and wearing Keds and jean jumpers'.  Well, I do make my own baby food and I have a garden,  we're still debating about homeschooling our children one day (I think this same sister is contemplating the same!) but the Keds and jean jumpers have not and will not enter my wardrobe!

When we planted our garden this spring I was so excited thinking about all of the tomatoes, beans and other items I could can.  Well, our beans were attacked by bugs and all died; the tomatoes are growing like crazy with tons of flowers, but only a handful of tomatoes, and our cucumbers were mostly bitter.  So much for my great ideas of learning how to can!

I did have just enough cucumbers to make one batch of Bread and Butter Pickles.  My Grandmother always had pickles and relish at her house, from my Grandfather's garden, and to this day these are the only ones I like!  She graciously gave me her recipe (sorry I'm not sharing it here) and I've already eaten a whole jar!

Because our garden isn't producing enough this year, I decided against purchasing canning equipment right now.  But, I have learned that it's possible to can some things with just a stockpot.  My freezer is running out of space for freezer jam (check out the strawberry freezer jam recipe), so I decided to buy some peaches and make some cooked peach jam.

In order to set the stage here, I have to explain that our windows were open on this particular day of canning. The morning temperatures had gotten down to the 60's, so we decided to open up and save a little money on our electric bill.  This is a big mistake on the day when you plan to can something!  Our house was almost 90F when I started the process and it didn't cool down one bit!  We closed our windows the next day.

Everything went pretty smoothly until the jam that I was cooking spilled over the pot onto my cooktop.  Now, there is sugary jam caked onto my favorite burner.  Any suggestions for how to get it off?  I've tried warm soapy water and baking soda.  

Next time, I'll be sure to use a bigger pot.

We now have six jars of homemade peach jam in the pantry and I can't wait to try it!  

I used the recipe inside of a box of Sure Jell fruit pectin for cooked peach jam.

My first experiences canning went fairly well and I'm looking forward to maybe finding some tomatoes somewhere to work on trying spaghetti sauce and salsa.  

Have you canned anything this year?  

The Look of Linen for Less

Linen is my absolute favorite textile, both in home decor and fashion.  Linen pants are super comfortable and somehow I always feel thinner when I wear them.  And, regardless of what fabric store I'm shopping in, I always pick up linen fabrics first, whether I plan on it or not.  Although linen is classic and beautiful, it also comes with a high price tag.  Most linen fabrics, even linen blend fabrics, are over $20 a yard, if not much more.  I decided to find an alternative to spending this much money but still have something that looked similar to linen.

Look at this fabric:

Now, look at this one:

Which one is real linen?  It's hard to tell, isn't it?  The second is the non-linen, which I used for drapery panels in the Family Room.  My original plan was to go with burlap drapes, which I had seen in a Ballard Designs catalog, something like these

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But, my daughter broke out with a rash when she touched it, so that was a no go.  I searched the internet for alternatives, because I really just wanted a plain, neutral colored fabric, with no pattern on it.  Muslin was recommended for drapes, but it was a bit too lightweight for me.

I browsed through the utility fabric section at Joann's one day and discovered Osnaburg (I think that's what it's called).  It's a Roc Ion fabric, and it only costs $3.99/yard.  This was perfect!  It had the textured look of linen, the neutral color I was looking for, and with my coupon that week I only had to pay (wait a minute while I get out my calculator...) $2.40/yard.  When you need to purchase 15 yards, this is a great deal!

These panels were easy to make.  Because I hate cutting fabric, as mentioned in my Easy Drapery Panels post, I made each panel as wide as the fabric so I only had to cut it the length that I needed.  I sewed a small hem down the side of each panel, made a rod pocket at the top, and then used stitch witchery (actually my mom did this part for me) to make the hem.

I love that the sunlight comes in through the fabric, they hang nicely, the wind blows them just right when the windows are open, and they are the simple drapes I wanted.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on fabric.  Be creative and utilize other fabrics to get what you want while being a frugal, yet tasteful, decorator.

Linking to:

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Brown Sugar Glazed Grilled Salmon

Last night was a monumental occasion for me:  I cooked and ate salmon.  It's been about 9 years since I tried my first salmon, and nearly gagged it down.  Since that dinner, I've refused to eat it but always secretly hoped that I would like it.  I'm happy to report that I like it!  Surprisingly, so did my toddlers.  I couldn't believe it when they started eating it without questioning what it was, gagging, or putting up a fuss.  Since it is a more expensive dish, it probably won't end up on our weekly menu, but we will enjoy it from time to time.

This recipe is so easy and the glaze is quite delicious!  It does contain sugar and butter, so it's probably not the most healthy way to eat salmon, but certainly yummy!


What's your favorite way to cook salmon?

Recipe:
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard (I used honey Dijon)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 whole salmon fillet, skin on, 3/4 to 1-inch thick

In a small saute' pan over medium heat, melt brown sugar with honey and butter.  Remove from heat and whisk in mustard, soy sauce, olive oil and ginger.  Cool (oops!  I didn't see the cool portion when I made this last night, which is probably why it was pretty runny when I spread it on).

Place salmon, skin side down, on a large sheet of aluminum foil.  Trim foil to leave a border of 1/4 to 1/2 inch around the edge of the salmon.  Coat the flesh of the salmon with the brown sugar mixture.

Grill salmon indirectly over medium heat until the edges begin to brown and inside is opaque, 25 to 30 minutes.  The internal temperature should be about 125F.  Carefully transfer salmon with the foil to a cutting board.  Cut the salmon crosswise into 6-8 pieces, but do not cut through the skin.  Slide a spatula between the skin and flesh and remove salmon pieces to a serving platter.  Serve immediately.

source: Weber's Art of the Grill Deck

All Natural Air Freshener

An easy way to freshen up the scents in your home is to cook a little something on top of the stove.  This is what you need:

-Plums, or other fruit that is too mushy to eat, but not rotten
-Water
-Small saucepan
-Fresh Mint (if you have it)
-Cinnamon

Place plums in a small saucepan and cover with water.  Throw in a few mint leaves and a dash of cinnamon.  Place saucepan on the stove over low heat.  In a few minutes you'll have a wonderful fragrance filling your home.

I've never done this with mint before, but it added a nice touch for the summer.  Every so often I would get a whiff just of the mint and it smelled so refreshing!  I even left it in the pot overnight and turned it on first thing this morning and my house smells just as nice as it did yesterday.

Linking this to Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z

Easy Drapery Panels

The window treatments for every room in the downstairs of our home are now hanging and I am thrilled!  Two adjustments need to be made, but I'm happy to say that it's coming together.  And, now that we have neighbors, I have to add some mini-blinds to the kitchen, so hopefully we'll be getting those this week.

Drapes are my absolute favorite window treatments, so with the exception of faux roman shades in the kitchen, every room downstairs has some form of drapery panels.  (I'll be sharing the others with you soon).  The Dining Room, as you probably know, has been my big project, of late, and Friday night, literally 10 minutes before our dinner guests arrived, my husband hung the drapes.  I went back and forth on the fabric choice, but ended up with a Waverly pattern that I love.  Our fabric outlet in town had one remnant piece that was a little less than 3 yards, so I did have to order another cut, but I still saved a ton of money (I even found some blackout lining--pre-hemmed--for $1/yard, so I snatched up everything they had) and I'm really pleased with how they turned out.

I like to be able to fit the vacuum cleaner under my drapes without having to push them to the side.

Because drapery panels are my favorite, I thought I would do a semi-tutorial on how to make them.  I guess you could call these 'lazy girl' drapery panels.  There are more sophisticated ways to make drapes, but these are just your plain old simple ones that require minimal cutting and simple hardware.  You see, no matter how hard I try, cutting a straight line is just really complicated for me, so the less cutting involved, the better!  Plus, having two little ones running around demands sewing projects that take up as little brain power as possible (I'm a novice with the sewing machine).

First, measure your windows and determine the finished length of your drapes (i.e. distance from where it will hang on the hardware to where you want it to fall on or near the ground).  To that finished length, add 8 inches for a 2-inch bottom hem, or 10 inches for a 3-inch bottom hem.   Cut the fabric to this length.

Next, determine the finished width of your panel, and add 3 inches to that measurement.  Cut the fabric to this size.

*My dining room window is actually two windows that are separated by a 4-inch strip of dry-wall.  I'm not really sure why they did it this way, but I decided to treat it as if it was one window.  Since I absolutely hate cutting fabric, I made my panels each the width of the fabric (54"), and I didn't even cut off the selvage!*

Once your fabric panels have been cut, cut the drapery lining (lining protects the fabric from becoming faded and provides a more sophisticated look from the outside.  No one wants to see what color your drapes are from the outside of your home).   The lining should be 3 inches narrower than the fabric panel width, and 2 inches shorter.

Next, make the hem on the fabric panel.  This is done by folding fabric to the wrong side 6 inches (for a 3-inch hem) or 4 inches (for a 2-inch hem).

Iron the fold so you have a nice crisp edge.

Then, bring the raw end of this fold and tuck it against the pressed edge.  Press again.

Pin in place.

Stitch close to the folded edge of the seam, creating the bottom hem for your panel.

Repeat this process for the lining fabric, creating the hem on the lining.

Lay the fabric panel and lining panel right sides together, lining the top edges together, and centering the lining on the fabric.

Pin the fabric to the lining on each side of the panel (do not sew the tops or bottoms together), being careful to keep the fabric from shifting.  If you're worried about the fabric shifting you can always pin the top edges together while you work, to ensure that the lining will be pinned straight to the fabric. Sew sides using a 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch seam allowance.  Since I left the selvage on mine, I just used the selvage line as my stitching line which made it pretty easy.

(Sorry I don't have a picture of this one, but I think you get the idea).

Turn the panel right side out, making sure that an equal amount of fabric is on each side of the lining and press.

To finish the top and create a rod pocket, fold the top over 4 inches to the wrong side.  Press, then bring the raw end in to the pressed edge, press again and pin. (This is the same process as used for the bottom hem).

*I was working with less fabric than I should have had on my remnant piece, so I had to make the rod pocket a bit skimpier than I wanted, which is why you see in the picture below that I only folded 2 1/2-inches to the wrong side.  If you're skimping like I did, follow these next few bits, otherwise skip to the part where it says, "stitch rod pocket in place, stitching close to the top folded edge".

Turn the raw edge under 1/2-inch, press and pin in place. 

This hole will become the rod pocket

If you're going to 'cheat' like I did, you can take that raw edge that you turned in, and simply fold the end at an angle so it looks a bit cleaner from the outside.

Stitch rod pocket in place, stitching close to the top folded edge.

Now, you can either hang using the rod pocket, or you can clip on some rings and slide those onto your rod.  It's nice to have an option.  Just be sure that you measured correctly from the beginning because the length will be different depending on how you hang your drapes.

You can be done here, but if you left the selvage on like I did, you may want to do this next little step. 


The bottom of my panels looked like this:

You can see here how the lining is shorter than the fabric.

I didn't want this much of the selvage to show on the inside of my panel, so I decided to do one small stitch and hide it a bit.

Starting at the bottom corner of that selvage, fold in to the side edge, at a 45 degree angle.

Stitch at an angle, close to folded edge.

It will look like this when you're done:

Be sure to clip your threads!

It's not necessary, but if you hate cutting fabric as much as I do and want to leave the selvages on, this is a way to make it look a bit better.

There you have it, some simple drapery panels!

Here are some other links for ways people sew their drapes.  Enjoy!
No Sew Panels  by In My Own Style 

Drapery Panels Lining made Kind of Easy by Isabella & Max Rooms (there is a series on this blog, which you'll find if you go to this link).

How I Sew Drapes by Scissors and Spatulas

I'll be linking this to:
Making the World Cuter Monday
Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou
Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at Home Stories A to Z
Strictly Homemade Tuesday at Strictly Homemade
Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST a Housewife
Tuesday's Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Laugh, Love, and Craft

Meal Planning Part 2: Grocery Shopping

This is the second post of a 3-part series in which I will attempt to share some insights on how to plan meals.  Planning for meals is a way to be more frugal, efficient and organized about something that takes place every day in your home.  When I started thinking about doing a post on meal planning, I realized that there are some background topics that go into my meal planning, so I wanted to be sure to include those.  Hope you enjoy this series and maybe even learn something along the way.

If you missed my first post in this series, go ahead and click here for how to stock your pantry.

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First off, I have to say that I LOVE grocery shopping!  I know some people don't, but it's a necessity for most of us, so here are a few tips for you that will hopefully help in making your shopping experience more budget-friendly and maybe even a bit more enjoyable. 

1. Read the Weekly Store Ads

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Call me old-fashioned, a dork, or whatever you will, but I love to read all of the grocery store fliers that come in the mail.  Whether or not that truly is an oddity, it is one of the first steps to being a frugal shopper.  The deals at the grocery store are generally how I determine what to buy that week. Unless it's an absolute necessity, I won't buy something unless it's on sale.  Comparing each store's deals is also helpful in knowing where to buy what that week.  It might mean driving around town a bit, but if something is less expensive at Kroger one week, I will go there instead of Publix.  Yes, this does take some time, but in the end it's worth saving quite a bit of money and getting the biggest 'bang for your buck'.

2. Take Stock of your Kitchen

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After browsing the ads and taking note of what's on sale, look through your pantry, fridge, and freezer to determine what is needed.  Undoubtedly there are certain items that you will buy each week, but there are also staple items that may need restocking.  I haven't ever done this, but it's a great idea to keep a running list on your fridge, or maybe make a chalkboard sign to hang inside of your pantry (this is my plan) so that when you run out of something, you can write it down.  This would save time and help you know exactly what is lacking.

3. Make a List

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We've all done it before, wandering around the grocery store with our mouths watering, sweeping the shelves of everything that looks appealing.  This really is fun, but when you go to pay, you'll be forking over a lot more green than if you had made a list and purchased those items.  A little bit of planning will go a long way in helping your budget.

4. Gather Your Coupons

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You don't have to be an 'extreme' coupon expert to save some money by using coupons.  It's as easy as buying a Sunday paper to have coupons to utilize each week.  There are TONS of websites out there to help match the coupons with the deals in the stores.  I will not even attempt to come close to the experts on this, so instead here are some great websites for help in being a savvy couponer.

The one I use is The Grocery Game.  I like this because the deals are matched up with a specific store, and it tells me what percentage I'll be saving on each item.  It's not a free service, but I just add the price (charge per store, on an 8 week cycle) to my grocery budget.  On several occasions I have saved more than I spent using this system, so that works for me!  There is a free 8-week trial, so try it out for awhile, and if you're satisfied you can join.

*I will say when I lived in CA, this didn't always work for me; often the list didn't match my actual stores.  Since moving to GA, though, I've had more success than failure.*

Southern Savers is another excellent resource to use, although, just like the name, it's specific to the South.  This is a free site.

Grocery Smarts covers primarily the West, so if you're in that area, this would be a great one for you, and this is also free.  There are even workshops that you can attend to learn how to make the most of the information offered.

There are MANY more sites like this; just google coupon sites and you'll find a ton!

5. Look for Manager's Specials
Generally, sticking to your list is a good rule of thumb.  However, there are many 'manager's specials' in most stores.  I always browse the meat department and usually come out with some awesome meat deals to stick in the freezer.  Sometimes I'll find a cut of meat that I don't normally buy, and I have no idea how I'm going to cook it!  But, if it is marked down really well, I'll stick it in the freezer and google a way to make it later on.  This has helped to save money AND to learn how to cook some new things!  Stores also have specials on other items, so as long as you can use it within in the "Use By" date, you're golden!

I hope these few tips are helpful to you as you try to be a better grocery shopper!  


Do you enjoy or endure grocery shopping?
Do you have a favorite coupon website?

Blueberry Chicken Salad with Sage Butter Biscuits

This chicken salad came about as some other of my recipes do, simply because I'm trying to use what I have on hand, instead of going to the store and spending more money.  Does anyone else do this?  We were going to small group and everyone was supposed to bring an appetizer.  My mind was drawing a blank, though, so a friend inspired me by suggesting chicken salad in cream puffs (which, by the way, would be awesome--I just didn't want to spend the time to make the cream puffs, but someone really should tackle this!), which made me decide on chicken salad.

I found a great recipe tucked away in my collection that I had saved from a Better Homes & Gardens magazine in 2008.  I altered the chicken salad recipe a bit, but kept the original biscuit recipe.  There weren't any sandwiches left after our dinner, so I guess you could say that everyone liked them.

Chicken salad recipes are wonderful, but everyone has a different opinion on the proportions of dressing to chicken and other ingredients.  The recipe below is what I used, so you may need to adjust it to fit your own chicken salad preference.

These would be great for a shower, luncheon, or just make the chicken salad and serve it on a bed of lettuce. Hope you all enjoy!

Blueberry Chicken Salad:
2 cooked chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons sour cream
Blueberries
Craisins
Slivered Almonds
chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine chicken, mayonnaise and sour cream.  Gently stir in as many blueberries, craisins, almonds and chives as you desire.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Chill for at least an hour before using.  Spoon onto Sage Butter Biscuits (recipe below).

recipe adapted from Better Homes &Gardens, April, 2008

Sage Butter Biscuits:
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup chilled, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a small bowl, whisk together milk and egg until blended; set aside.  Blend flour, baking powder, salt, sage and pepper with a pastry knife, or in a food processor.  Add cold butter and pulse or quickly blend with pastry knife until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Do not overmix.  Add milk mixture and process just until moist clumps begin to form.  Transfer dough to a floured surface.

Knead dough until it holds together (this part was tricky for me because my dough was super moist.  I probably added about 1/2 cup of flour to the dough by the time I was done kneading it) about 6 turns.  Roll out dough to 1/2-inch thickness.  Using a floured biscuit cutter, or the rim of a small drinking glass, cut out biscuits.  Reroll scraps and cut remaining biscuits.  Transfer to a large nonstick or lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.  Slice in half and spoon in Blueberry Chicken Salad.

recipe slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, April, 2008


Linking to: Strictly Homemade Tuesday at Strictly Homemade

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