Saved by a Friend & a Recipe

You might remember my post late last year about my cookbook addiction.  I have been really good since then and have not purchased a cookbook.  One of my friends was reading about my love of cookbooks.  She was kind enough to send me a navy cookbook.

I love this type of cookbooks.  They are a collection of recipes from regular home cooks.  These are not just any recipes.  They are the best loved recipes of these cooks.  I can always find at least one new recipe to try.  I also love seeing that someone else's favorite recipe is mine too.  In this book a squash casserole was nearly identical to the one my family has used for three generations. I am sharing my family's recipe with you.

Squash Casserole

(printable recipe)

Ingredients: Salt (to taste) 2 lb squash, cooked and drained (or frozen squash thawed and drained) 1 carrot, grated 1 onion, grated 1 cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) 1 can cream or chicken soup (or homemade equivalent) 1 stick butter, softened Breadcrumbs (panko or homemade) Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x13 casserole dish.  Combine the first seven ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour the squash mixture into the prepared dish.  Top with breadcrumbs.  The amount of breadcrumbs is up to you, but you want to at least lightly cover the squash mixture.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until bubbly.  The squash mixture also freezes very well.  Just thaw it, top with breadcrumbs, and bake.

In the Garden: Part 1

Last week I took you out to the greenhouse.  Today we will be in the garden.  In the area where I live, if pecan trees are starting to bud out, the worst of winter is over.  It does not mean the cold is completely gone - just that we will have no more hard freezes.  It helped that the temperature was in the high 70s, and I have been itching to dig in the dirt.

First up are the red onions I planted in the fall.  They are growing well but need more growing time.

I mentioned in the weekly savings post that I made a bee/butterfly watering area for nothing.  I have no idea where W originally got the shallow metal pan.  It had a hole in the bottom which I plugged with a piece of Styrofoam left from the new house.  I used two big chunks of concrete also from the new house and several rocks from the old fish pond.  I plan to add some plants around it and hope to have an abundance of flying visitors as the year progresses.

I am never at a loss for helpers while working in the garden.  On this day one of the bantam hens and Thea the cat were on hand to supervise.

W and Leo worked on building new raised beds.  I am always expanding my garden area. 

I spent several days working in the garden and will share part 2 on Thursday.

Weekly Savings

W took Monday off work as he had some vacation time that had to be used up.  He needed to pick up a few things for the house, and I needed to go help with the birthday party at the nursing home.  He dropped me off and I caught a ride home with another volunteer.

Also on his day off he built me four new raised beds with boards and scraps leftover from building the new house.  We used compost, rabbit manure (we have an abundant supply), and peat (purchased) to fill the beds.  We planted 4 blueberry bushes which had been purchased on clearance in one bed.  Two of the beds got raspberry canes which we dug up from our raspberry plants.  I wanted to move them to a different area of the garden to give them more sun.  I have not decided what I will plant in the third bed yet.  Most likely it will be herbs and flowers to attract bees.

I also made a bee/butterfly watering area using items from around the yard so my cost was $0.  I will share that in a separate garden post this week.

A neighbor brought over a big box of not so fresh fruits and vegetables.  The farm animals were happy for the extra treats.  W was able to get several avocado seeds to try to root.  He desperately wants an avocado tree or two (or ten).

Someone told me that a local grocery store had marked down a bunch of items.  When W and I went into town to run errands, we stopped by and walked the aisles.  We bought flour, cereal, herbal tea, and tuna.  I also splurged on some Izze sparkling juice drinks.  I love them but rarely buy them due to the price.  At 50% off W encouraged me to splurge.  I am stocked up on flour for the next few months which is a plus with all of the baking I do.

While in the grocery store W asked about lunch, I offered him a big salad with diced ham and cheese once we got home.  It used up some items we already had on hand and stopped us from picking up any extra food or takeout.

Not an exciting week but some are like that.  How did your savings turn out this past week?

Weekend Book Review: Ghostwriter Anonymous

Ghostwriter Anonymous by Noreen Wald introduces readers to Jake O'Hara, a mystery ghostwriter.  Things were fine for Jake until someone starts killing ghostwriters, and she is apparently the next target.  The pace of the book was good, and I was kept guessing until nearly the end.  It was a fun, cozy mystery that did make me wonder just how many ghostwriters are out there.

Ghostwriter Anonymous is due to be released this coming week.  It is the first in the Jake O'Hara Ghostwriter Mystery Series.  Jake's mother and friends are great supporting characters.  I have high hopes for the continuation of this series.

disclosure:  I received this e-book from NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for this review. All opinions are my own!

Weekend Book Review

I am combining a couple of reviews in today's weekend book review post.  I may be doing this more often as I have been reading more lately but not all of the review require a full post.

Wedding Cake Murder by Joanne Fluke
I have been a fan of Joanne Fluke for years.  I enjoy her books as much for the recipes as the story.  I was excited to read her latest book Wedding Cake Murder which was released this week.  It pains me a bit to say that I found the book disappointing.  The conversations between characters were a bit too artificial even for a fictional cozy mystery.  Imagine a B-rated movie and you have an idea of how the dialog went.  I read forever - close to half of the book - before I got to the murder.  I am not sorry that I read this book, but it is definitely not as good as previous books in the series.

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire by Charles Morris
I love historical non-fiction books and The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire did not disappoint.  It was written in the style of the time immediately after the earthquake occurred.  It is not as easy to follow if you have something against non-modern writing.  I found it interesting as Mr. Morris discussed not only the earthquake and fire but other events of the time.  The story does not follow a set timeline but does jump around.  Overall it was a good account of a very tragic event in US history.

disclosure:  I received both e-books from NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!

Feathered Friday

Our yard in fenced in and for the most part our chickens stay in the fence.  Lately some of the bantams have been going through the fence to get to the park beside our house.  They wander around the front yard before coming back into the yard.

Bantams are rarely known for eating plants.  They are mainly interested in bugs.  I am not too worried about them going out past the fence.  Of course the girls have a rooster or two nearby to keep them safe.

In The Greenhouse

It has been some time since I posted what is growing in the greenhouse.  This is just a peek as I do have several pots of herbs that overwintered in there.  My dad dug up and potted a jalapeno pepper plant earlier in the winter, and it is sprouting out well.  He should have some early peppers.

This tomato plant is one that was bitten back before W got the heater in my greenhouse hooked up.  It had a small tomato on it, and the stalk never froze so I kept watering it.  In a few days I will be rewarded with a vine-ripened home grown tomato.

One of my pineapple plants had bloomed in the fall and put on a tiny pineapple.  It has continued to grow in the greenhouse but has a few more months to go.  Homegrown pineapples are a lesson in patience.  The flavor of one picked off the plant when ripe blows away a grocery store pineapple.

I am late with starting my seeds this year due to the new house craziness.  I am planning to purchase some of my pepper plants and maybe a tomato or two from a neighbor who runs a nursery.  I planted seeds for pepper plants that I have trouble finding (baby bell, purple bell, and pepperocini).  I also prefer heirloom tomatoes so I grown those myself and have started some herb seeds too.  I bought the plant labels on clearance last year and am wishing now that I had bought more.

I use saved mushroom containers to hold the peat pellets.  They are the perfect size to hold up to four seed starts.