Search Results for: blog all about asparagus

Are You Wasting Money on “I Really Should” Things?

Do you want to save some money this month? Eliminate some of those “I really should” things. Make your money work for you and get practical purpose or pleasure out of every dollar that you spend. By eliminating the “I should” things, you eliminate the waste, allowing you to use that money on the thing that are really important. What are the “I really should” things? These are items that you think you should have or do, but when it comes down to it, you don’t. What do I mean by this? Take a look at some of the more … Continue reading →

Budget Recipes – Rib Eye Steak and Asparagus

Not every meal has to be for the entire family to enjoy. Do you and your spouse have a “date night”? Sometimes, expensive restaurants are just not in your budget. Instead, you could make a tasty dinner at home, using foods that are on sale at the grocery store. Next “date night”, try the Budget Recipe for Rib Eye Steak with Vegetables. There are many couples who take the time to do a regularly scheduled “date night” together. While this is a nice idea, it can sometimes be too expensive to fit into your budget. Between the cost of hiring … Continue reading →

No Carrot Halloween for My Kid

I’m all for healthy lifestyles, exercise, eating right, eliminating childhood obesity, yada, yada, yada, but when it comes to consuming candy on Halloween, I don’t mess with tradition. Moderation. Everything in moderation. I wonder if the folks at Bolthouse Farms understand this concept and its relation to Halloween candy. I’m thinking not, considering the intense nature of its massive ad campaign and cult-like obsession with replacing traditional Halloween candy with its new SCARROTS treats. For those of you who don’t watch TV, read newspapers, flip through magazines, surf the web, listen to the radio or look up at billboards while … Continue reading →

Incorporating Asparagus into Everyday Dishes

In a previous guest blog I excitedly told you about the notice I received from our local farm announcing that the asparagus season had begun and that my share of the crop was ready to be picked up. Well, I just got back from the farm and I am now the proud owner of six pounds of fresh asparagus. (At $2 a pound how can you go wrong?) My mom was flabbergasted that I bought six pounds given that I am the only one in my family who really enjoys eating asparagus. “You’ll have to eat asparagus morning, noon and … Continue reading →

All About Asparagus

I just got an email from a local farm that we frequent informing me, “It’s that time of year again… Asparagus season.” I love fresh asparagus and this particular farm grows some of the best asparagus I have ever happily devoured. Each year a few weeks prior to the start of strawberry picking season the owner notifies his best customers that his asparagus crop is ready for harvest and we pre-order our supply. For those of you who don’t purchase produce directly from a farm you will soon notice that the price of fresh asparagus will be decreasing at the … Continue reading →

My Family’s Favorite All-in-One Meal

Yesterday I told you about a rare event in my home—having extra ground beef in the refrigerator. It came in very handy in preparing a number of easy and affordable all-in-one meals. Not only did I have enough meat to make the Beef and Asparagus Pasta Toss and the Sloppy Joes on Wheels I also had a pound leftover to make one of my family’s favorite Sunday night dinners—-Easy Meatballs, Vegetables and Pasta. (Don’t let the name fool you—-they are more like meat squares than balls.) Only this week our favorite Sunday meal will be served on Monday, as we … Continue reading →

Gardening Tips: Asparagus and More

I mentioned previously that growing asparagus requires more time and effort than many other plantings. I just learned this from the helpful folks at the ranch and farm supply center. You don’t just plant asparagus and then start picking the delicious, healthy, green vegetables soon thereafter. It actually requires over a year to get them going and about three years before you’ll have anything to pick. You begin as you would with other starter plants, but the seeds will become “crowns.” These crowns must be nurtured for about a year before they can be transplanted into the ground. Once transplanted, … Continue reading →

The Garden of all Gardens

This is it. This is going to be our best and biggest garden yet. It’s huge! It is at least twice the size of the biggest garden we’ve had so far. My husband and I have been working hard for the past several days and we’re not done yet. We do have a good start though, nice and early, so our plantings can take advantage of those soon to be upon us April showers. So, what are we going to have in our garden this year? Well, there is plenty to tell you about! We started off with three kinds … Continue reading →

Two Great Asparagus Casseroles

Casserole #1 For this recipe, you will need a pound of fresh asparagus, eggs, diced ham, onion, green bell pepper, shredded cheddar cheese, tapioca, fresh parsley, lemon juice, one can of condensed cream of mushroom soup, and evaporated milk. To prep for this recipe, boil 5 eggs then when they are done, peel and chop them. Chop enough onion and green bell pepper to make 1/4 cup each. Chop enough fresh parsley to make 2 tablespoons. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Trim the pound of asparagus and cut stems into 3/4 inch pieces. In a dish filled with a … Continue reading →

What is the Dirty Dozen List?

One of my little frugal dreams is to one day walk into a store and see plump juice organic strawberries for very little cost. That dream may have a hard time being actualized, since organic strawberries, even when in season, can get expensive. Conventional strawberries, on the other hand, may be on sale or even available as a “loss leader,” an item that the store loses money on in the hopes of getting shoppers in the door. Still, it is a rare day when I buy conventional strawberries. They are just too high on the list of produce with the … Continue reading →