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Roasted Vegetables and Kielbasa
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you’re anything like me, you probably have a bit of a mess in your refrigerator with bits of this and that leftover from holiday gatherings and meals. This month’s recipe is the perfect way to use what is left in your vegetable drawer to make a tasty meal.
Rooting for Turnips! Embracing a New Favorite in Our Kitchen
When my husband and I were newly married, I was working late one evening and asked him to prepare the Sloppy Joes recipe on Spend Smart. Eat Smart. The recipe calls for an onion and my husband, thinking he was grabbing an onion from the produce drawer in the fridge, chopped up a turnip and added it to the meat and vegetable mixture. To both of our surprise, it was actually really good! We had a good laugh that he couldn’t distinguish a turnip from an onion, and I realized that I could become more adventurous with turnips than simply roasting them.
Canned and Frozen Produce Over Fresh? Give it a Try!
Last month Jody wrote a blog highlighting tips to help us save money at the grocery store. Recently I have found that some of the fresh produce I used to buy on a regular basis has started to increase my family’s grocery bill. To lower my grocery bill but still get the same nutritional benefits, I have found that swapping in canned and frozen produce options has worked out well for many recipes that my family enjoys. Below are a few tips for purchasing these options.
Storing Fruits and Vegetables to Reduce Food Waste
Last week Katy shared about how she uses canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, along with fresh, in her meals, to help stretch her grocery budget. Today I want to share a few tips and resources on storing produce. Storing fruits and vegetables properly will help them last longer and taste better. The longer produce lasts, the longer you have to use it before it goes bad and it has to be thrown out. Food wasted is money wasted and we want to limit both of those!
Moldy Veggies – Yucky and Disappointing
Guess what my son found in our refrigerator last week? Moldy celery. It was yucky and disappointing at the same time. We were working together to make chicken noodle soup for supper that night. He was disappointed because he wanted to chop the celery. His brother was disappointed because we ended up using frozen peas instead of the celery.
Chopped!
Last July I wrote a blog about challenging myself to eat vegetables at breakfast to help me get more veggies in my day. I have to admit, I’ve not done very well at keeping up with that challenge. However, I’m still being mindful of how I can eat more vegetables throughout the day and during meal time. One item I have started buying at the grocery store is chopped salad kits that seem to be the current trend. Even though there have been salad kits around for quite a while, I have never gotten into the habit of buying them. I gave the chopped salad kits a try and it turns out I really like them! Here are a few reasons why:
Roasted Broccoli
Our June recipe of the month is Roasted Broccoli. Broccoli is in season right now, so that means it may be ready to eat from your garden, available at your local farmers market, and less expensive at the grocery store. If you are interested in learning more about seasonal vegetables, check out this Fresh Vegetable Guide. An important thing to remember when buying broccoli is that it is less expensive to buy broccoli in a bunch rather than pre-cut.
Green Beans Three Ways
This week our blog is in video form. We have amazing produce right now in Iowa and I am making the most of it at my house. Green beans are one of my favorite summer vegetables. My dad grows them in his garden and I love to pick them up at the farmers market and grocery store. You do not need a recipe to prepare green beans. If you get familiar with a few different methods for cooking them, then you can get creative with the seasonings you like best. Check out the video below to see three different methods for preparing fresh green beans by steaming in the microwave, roasting in the oven and boiling on the stove.
Versatile Veggie
Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables because of how versatile it is. You can use this inexpensive summer squash in several ways when cooking and baking. I didn’t appreciate zucchini as much as a child, but now that I do most of the cooking at my house, I love how easy it is to transform this veggie to meet everyone’s needs! Below are a few of my favorite ways to use this tasty green veggie.
Vegetable Quesadillas
Would you like to know what my family’s favorite recipe is to make when we are short on time? It is our September recipe of the month, Vegetable Quesadillas. I can get this recipe on the table in 15 minutes or less, and I think you can too.
Cooking for Fewer During the Holidays
I love to cook, especially around the holidays! There is something nostalgic about bringing out the box of old recipe cards that are covered in stains and mark-ups from family members altering recipes throughout the years. Cooking holiday meals is a way that I show those around me that I love them, and this has been something that I have had to get more creative with during the past year.
Growing Vegetables in Pots
This week in our gardening series, I’m going to share the plans my son and I have for doing some container gardening at our house.
