Doesn't Get More Fresh Than This!

For about a month I have been growing lettuce in my garden window.  After reading previous posts, you may have noticed that I am starting to take an interest in the whole green initiative.  I love eating salads, they are fesh and healthy.  But I hate buying lettuce.  Most of the time it goes bad before I finish it all.  It only made sense to try to grow my own lettuce.  



Here is my little lettuce bed (right after I clipped some lettuce for lunch).  

I grew the lettuce I ate for lunch along with the green onions!  I don't think I have room to do tomatoes indoors, so we'll just wait until spring comes so I can get my tomatoe garden going!

Delicious, fresh, and healthy!  It doesn't get any better that that!  Just wanted to share this with you!



Recycling Green Onions

I have expressed my interest in being a green mom over the past year.  So when I found out I could regrow green onions from the bottoms....you could only imagine how intrigued I was!  After watching a few videos posted by MyInspiredCreation by Jane, I quickly jumped into this project. 

I have a nice big garden window that I was wanting to put to good use.  I started growing herbs and lettuce already.  Now, it's time for the green onions to take over!  I bought one bunch of green onions for $.69.  I used the tops in my recipe for Crock Pot Tacos, and I saved the white bottoms just for this little project.

Day 1:  After cutting off the tops, I planted most of my onion bottoms into a container.  I put three of them into water.  (I was told they would regrow either way)  Here is the three I put into water.

Day 2: As you can see, overnight my green onions quickly started to regrow!  (you can see my planted onions and arugula in the background!)

Day 4:  I am on day 4 of my regrowing process.  My planted onions are growing slightly slower than the water ones, but still growing nice and healthy!

Here are my water onions on day 4.  Nice and healthy!  I plan to post pictures to my Motherhood and Money on Facebook next week so you can see the progress. 

*I am a beginner when it comes to gardening.  This regrowing project is super simple and almost carefree!

 

 

Yahoo post on regrowing green onion.

Crock Pot Tacos

If you follow me on Facebook, then you have most likely heard about my freezer meals I have been preparing lately.  (What's a freezer meal...I'll give it to you in a nutshell....)  I buy my fresh ingredients (I buy large quantities of ingredients that will go into almost any dish) and gallon size freezer bags.  I mix my sauce/wet ingredients and spices up in the bags, then I add the meat, then the veggies (or fruit).  I push all of the air out, label and date, then freeze them flat (as you can see, I'm down to my last two meals, eeek!).  When you're ready to enjoy, defrost a bit, then toss into your slow cooker.  That's it!

Just by using chicken, onions, and peppers, you can mix and match any spices, herbs, or sauces you have on hand to make multiple freezer meals!

Now....the real reason for the post.....the Mexican chicken (this is what I labeled it when I prepped it).  I used it this time for Crock Pot Tacos!  (Yum!)  Before I get into the recipe and prep, I want to share, that if I would have added a can of chicken broth/stock and 1/8 cup of lime juice to my crock pot.....I would of been enjoying some delicious Tortilla Soup!  You could use this for tacos, soup, enchiladas, you name it!  The leftovers are also great when making homemade pizza!  Just toss on top like you would pepperoni! 

Ok, now for the recipe:

Prepared in a gallon size freezer bag:

one can of corn, one can of diced tomatoes, one small can of green chiles, and a pack of taco (or fajita) seasoning.  Mix well. 

Add the chicken (I used 3 chicken breasts per bag).  Slice onions and add on top of the chicken. 

If you played your cards right, you should have a full bag now!  Press, seal, label, and freeze!  It's that simple!

To cook:

Defrost.  Empty contents of bag into crock pot.  Cook for 8 hours on low (you want the chicken to fall apart and shred).  After your food is cooked, serve as you like!  For the tacos, I served on flour tortillas and garnished with cilantro, green onions, and lime!

One bag fed our family of four and left us with leftovers for my lunch!

ENJOY!

(Crock Pot Tacos)

 

 

Yahoo post on Crock Pot Tacos

Living Green

I wouldn't say I live my life completely green, that's far from the case.  However, slowly over the past few years, I have been changing small things in my life in an attempt to do good for our planet (you know, turning lights off, shortening my showers, keeping our ac one degree warmer and our furnace one degree cooler, recycling,....the basics).  I know I could be doing more, but then I remind myself, every little thing matters.  Last year we attempted a garden in a small area of a large backyard.  This year, we are going to try to expand it!  We have also decided to plant 3 additional trees in our yard.  We have 3 reasons for this: 1. To help cool down our home and yard during the hot summer months with the shade they will provide, 2. Trees create oxygen, and 3. Food...yep, food.  My kid talked us into doing an apple tree.  I have also taking up the art of canning.  This practice will ensure that almost nothing is wasted from my kitchen and garden.  We have also started reusing some of what we would have thrown away (like bottles, old shirts, and paper).  Sometimes, it's the small things that matter most, and the little things, they can start to add up into something big!  What do you do to help our planet? 

 

PS...make sure you join me, as well as some other awesome blogs, March 21-30 for the Green Spring Clean Giveaway Hop!

The Promise Walk St. Louis, MO

When I was pregnant with my daughter Sophie, I was diagnosed with Preeclampsia. I was immediately induced 3 weeks early so that neither Soph or myself were seriously harmed.

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening disorder of pregnancy that affects both the mother and the unborn baby. As many as 1 in 12 woman are diagnosed with it during pregnancy.

On May 12th Sophie and I will be walking in The Promise Walk to help raise awareness and to raise money to help find a cure.

I'm excited to support the Preeclampsia Foundation's mission to reduce infant and maternal illness and death due to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Together we are Making Strides, Delivering Hope! If you can find it in your heart, please make a pledge to help me meet my goal!  A $1 donation makes all the difference.

 

Mini Purse Coupon Organizer Giveaway

Baby Coupon Pack Giveaway

Til Death Do Us Part.....?

The sacred unity of marriage just isn't what it use to be.  In 1980, the average marriage lasted 40 years, today, it only lasts 20 years.  Before then....there wasn't an "average lifespan" of a marriage.  Marriage was forever.  I read a story yesterday about a couple who has been married 82 years.  He's 100, and she's 99.  They said they love each other more than they did 82 years ago.  Society today views short marriages and divorce as the norm.  Both my husband and I come from divorced households.  If our path follows this trend, our marriage would only last another 10 years, if that.  We started dating 17 days after my 16th birthday.  Gave birth to our daughter when I was only 17 years old.  We got married when I was 20.  Next year will mark a decade of us being together, and statistically, we have been set up for failure.  However, we seem to have overcome every obstacle that has been set before us.  They say once you get married, your feelings begin to change, and you long to feel the way you did when you first met....you long for that love and attraction you felt.  I think it has been backwards for my husband and I.  Don't get me wrong, I loved him with all my heart in the beginning, but as time goes on, I feel more and more in love with this man.  He annoys the crap out of me, he farts, bites his nails, plays video games, asks me to clip his toe nails......but I wouldn't have him any other way.  I've come to love every annoying thing about him.  In fact, I can't sleep unless I can hear him snoring!  Is it possible I found my soul mate?  The one person on this entire planet I was meant to end up with?  A love that is not worth fighting for, is a love not worth your heart an soul.  No matter how tough things get, keep fighting for love, because the day you stop fighting is the day you no longer love. 

Sleepy Time Cocktail

As you may of read a few posts back, my 17 month old still isn't sleeping through the night.  When I had asked his doctor about it, he told me the only thing I could really do is try to make sure he's full before bed.  He told me the two best nighttime snacks are bananas and oatmeal.  So I decided last night to give my son what I am now referring to as the "Sleepy Time Cocktail".  And you know what.....it worked!  My son slept the night through!  Now let's see if this will work again!  Here's how I made it:

Half of a banana

1 tbs. cooked oatmeal

7 ounces of warm milk

Blend it together and serve!

**WARNING**  Adding anything to an infant's bottle can be a choking hazard.  This is intended for toddlers only.

 

The Diaper Challenge

Diapers are one of the biggest expenses you will endure when you have a baby.  There are different brands, each with different prices.  For almost all of us.....we want our baby to have the best, even if that means buying the most expensive diapers.  However, there are those of us that would rather save money buy buying the generic brands.  I'm not knocking generic/store brands at all.  In fact, I fed my son on store brand formula (if you want to know why I chose store brand formula to save a ton of money, check out my blog post about baby food).  I was 17 when I gave birth to my daughter.  So the cheapest diaper option is what I chose.  I quickly learned that this wasn't gonna happen  Between two babies, I have used Huggies, Pampers, Luvs, and store brands from Walmart, Target, and my local grocery stores.  After much trial and error, I quickly learned that while a popular choice, Pampers didn't work for either baby.  They are also the priciest out of the brands I listed.  Huggies worked very well, but being on a budget meant I couldn't afford to keep my babies in them.  I found out that Luv's worked just as well as Huggies for me, for a fraction of the cost.  But this wasn't good enough for me.  How else could I save money?  My son can't handle the generic diapers at night because he pees a lot and they leak everywhere!  I have found that by using the generic diapers during the day at home, and saving the Luv's for nighttime or when we are out, I have cut my diaper budget in half!  It's amazing what a little patience and planning can do! 

What brand of diapers do you use?