Rice bag for aches and pains

So after much searching (not really, found it on the www.instructables.com) I decided to make a rice bag. Mostly I think will use this for my neck and back. As you may be able to guess, I'm not the best at this kind of thing so it took a few tries and some help videos but I was able to make this in about an hour.

Rice bag (10"x10")

Rice bag and nifty pillow case made from an old t-shirt

rice bag in pillow case

Biscuits

My first attempt at biscuits turned out pretty good. I think I will look around a bit more for another recipe or maybe just change up the one I used today (buttermilk instead of regular milk).

not too much of a mess ~ notice the mason jar ring

made 5 1/2 biscuits

Maybe should have baked a couple more minutes to brown up the tops but I was afraid to burn them.

super sexy me cooking

and my super sex hubby, Paul

Bread done right

So I took another shot at the one hour bread recipe I goofed up last week and it turned out perfectly.

Bread

I made sure not to add too much yeast this time and I also used bread pans this go round. Directions only said to let it rise for 25 minutes but I think next time I'll do around 35-45min. At least now we can make a sandwich that will fit in our lunch boxes. I also made some homemade butter this morning - soooo good on the fresh bread.

Jalapeno Jelly

So today I decided to try my hand with jalapeno jelly and it turned out amazing! This was also the first time I have canned by myself and I think I much prefer a helper being around.

Jalapeno Jelly = yummy

So this isn't the kind of jelly that you just put on a PB&J but it is great over cream cheese that is slathered on crackers. Even Paul likes it, and he doesn't like anything sweet.

Something Special...

So we save a lot of money by not eating out very often (took me a while to get used to that). So to make up for not going out we have become creative.

Sushi Roll - wrapper, rice, zucchini, red bell pepper, jalapeno, cream cheese, and... taco meat

same as above just minus the taco meat

I will be honest and say that while both were good, the taco meat one was way better! :)

Baking!

So one way to conserve/reduce what we spend money on is to learn to make stuff ourselves (me more so in this case). So I've taken up baking, so far, so good.

NY Times: No Knead Bread ~ first attempt, way to crusty - bread should not hurt when you eat it!

Round two: way, way, way better :) even looks better

Yummy, this has got to be the best white bread that I can remember eating. Notice how I had to try it before I took the picture.

Recipe makes two loaves, next time I think I will use bread pans to get a more "sandwich" shape bread.

Fresh homemade tortilla, don't think we will be buying any store bought ones any time soon.

Baked taco patty pan

In the beginning...

Here is where we started. We constructed a couple of 4' x 8' raised beds and some buckets and flower pots.

Two raised beds

All the left over seedlings

Potatoes

And here is where we were about a month, month and a half ago

Tomatoe plants that did not get nearly enough trellis to grow on (and look at Paul running away from the camera :)

The best zucchini plant ever!
Zucchini plants make anyone into a gardener.

Jalapeno peppers, Serrano peppers, banana peppers, habanero peppers, and Cayenne peppers (and one little artichoke that refused to grow bigger than that)

And this is where we are today ~ notice the greenhouse in progress

Peppers and three late green bean plants

peppers

more peppers

the basil is all that is left from what use to be the tomatoe bed

Don't worry, the tomatoes went on to become...

hot sauce

and more hot sauce! 2 & 1/4 gallons to be exact.

Some of the more ripe tomatoes from earlier in the season went on to make some great tomatoe sauce (turned out more like pizza sauce, but hey, I'm not complaining)

Note to self: do not only plant small tomatoes, big ones would be nice too...

Pickled zucchini, pickled green tomatos, and pickled peppers (lots of pickled peppers!)

Living better

Living better, one step at a time, is what we are doing. Here is what we have done so far, and I hope to keep this up updates as we go along.