I had every intention of serving this over brown rice. But I got a little distracted by the Balloon Boy story this afternoon (so glad he was found…but boy I wasted a bunch of “what if that was my kid” emotional energy because of the whole ordeal). By the time I realized that the dinner hour was fast approaching, it was too late to get the brown rice going! So white rice it is.

I also had good intentions of doubling it to freeze, but since we are still without a deep freezer, I opted to not double this meal up.

Tonight’s meal comes from Carrie over at Carrie’s Cooking.  I also made her Pumpkin Soft Pretzels this afternoon…perfect after school snack!

Ingredients
1.38 lb chicken breast, diced ($2.06) On sale this week at Dots for $1.49/lb!
2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil ($.10)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (free from the garden…this was the last of my peppers from the garden!)
1 clove garlic, minced ($.05)
1 tablespoon corn starch ($.05)
1/4 cup soy sauce ($.25) (GF meal if soy sauce is GF!)
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, with juice ($.79)
1 Tbsp vinegar ($.05)
1 Tbsp brown sugar ($.05)
1/2 tsp ground ginger ($.05)
1 cup rice ($.20)
1 12 oz. bag frozen corn ($.49) On sale this week, plus promotion and used $1 coupon!

**Buy generic/store brand soy sauce since there are rarely soy sauce coupons!

Directions
1. In large skillet over medium high heat, brown the diced chicken pieces in oil.
2. Add diced green bell pepper and garlic and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. In small bowl, whisk together corn starch and soy sauce, then pour the mixture into skillet along with the pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and ginger. Stir together and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired consistency/thickness.
4. In medium saucepan, cook 1 cup of rice with 2 1/2 cups of water.  Bring water to a boil.  Add rice, stir and return to boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium.  Cook for 20 minutes.  Fluff the rice with fork before serving.
5. Cook frozen corn as directed on package instructions.
6. Serve Sweet and Sour Chicken over Rice with Corn.

Cost $4.14

The last several weeks there hasn’t been too much to report on the garden front. Time is running out. The sun has shifted enough that its not getting the same sun it had all summer. And I found myself in a fight for the last tomatoes!

I got into a fight with a chipmunk.  Not really a fight, per se.  But a battle.  The “see who can get to the ripe red tomatoes first” battle. 

It wasn’t pretty.

I declare myself the victor because I was able to get to more of the ripe tomaotes than he chewed up!  Plus, I decided to grab some of the green tomatoes and diced and froze them for a soup, or something.

The green beans are still producing, but not near as frequently as they had been.  Another batch of onions sprouted.  And of course, I picked all the carrots this last week.

I thought it would be fun to take a walk down memory lane…

May 2 – Sprouts

May 18

May 30 – Spinach Harvest

June 12 – Tomatoes showing signs of life!

June 20 – Post-spinach harvest (I did replant, but it got too hot for them!)

July 4 – Eggplant Bud

July 11 – Picking the first tomato

July 18 – Tomato plants starting to take over

August 1 – Herbs and Tomatoes

August 15 – Tomatoes just about knocked down the trellises!

September 5 – Round 2 of the Green Peppers

Why did I choose Square Foot Gardening?

We have 48 trees on our property, which means very limited “full sun” space for us!  I love the shade it provides in the summer (think lower A/C bill in the summer!), but it’s quite problematic for gardening!

I choose Square Foot Gardening because I could make planters that could go on our patio (the only space with enough sun to grow a garden) and I could grow quite a bit in the small space.  I used 2 4′ x 4′ wooden planters, for a total of 32 squares of garden space.

This was my first year attempting any sort of gardening, other than herbs in pots on the picnic table!

What did we harvest this year?

I wish I had written things down.  I detailed some of the harvests, but not every single thing I took from the garden!

Here’s my best guess:

• Spinach – Several meals worth plus big batch of Rice with Garden Greens
• Yellow Summer Squash – at least 15
• Lettuce – Several salads and sandwiches worth
• Onions – About 16 small onions and 16 itty bitty onions
• Eggplants - 2 medium
• Snap peas – Quite a few…most of them never made it inside, as I would snack while I worked on the garden
• Carrots – However many you see here
• Cubanelle (Italian frying) peppers – at least 20
• Spicy hot peppers – About 6 (I planted this later in the season!)
• Green Peppers – 7
• Cherry Tomatoes – Oodles
• Heirloom Tomatoes – Oodles
• Roma Tomatoes – Oodles
• Green Beans (bush variety) – Many meals worth!
• Basil – Oodles
• Rosemary – Oodles…with still more to pick
• Parsley – Oodles
• Mint – Oodles

How much was the initial investment/cost?

You can read all about the cost and startup of the garden here.

What’s the plan for next year?

Do it again!  I dream up all sorts of “scenarios” for my planters.  We shall see come end of April 2010 what ends up in the beds!

The Concept and The Book

I learned and followed the plan outlined in the book All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholemew.

I’ve waited as long as I can.

I just had to go and pull the carrots!!!

Here’s what I pulled from 3 squares in the garden.  There were some itty-bittys (that I ended up munching on), and some larger ones that I threw into the slow cooker with tonight’s dinner.  (Final garden update coming this weekend)

Sweet, crisp and simply delicious!

Tonight’s dinner is a simple beef roast with carrots from the garden, celery and some spices.  I plan to strain and save the juices for beef stock.

I bought a 2.4 lb. top round roast when it was on sale for $1.99/lb (reg. $3.99/lb) a few weeks ago.  I let it thaw in the fridge and then added it to the slow cooker after breakfast.  Easy as that! 

And since we can’t/won’t eat 2.4 lbs of beef in one meal, I plan to use half for this meal and the other half soon!

Ingredients
1 2.4 lb. beef roast ($4.77/2=$2.38)
Carrots from the garden (free) Substitute 2-3 carrots sticks
2 celery stalks ($.20)
Garlic salt
Pepper
Handful green beans (free from the garden)
2 potatoes (for the Hubs and I) ($.30)
1 large sweet potato (for the boys…oldest is allergic to potatoes!) ($.45)
Butter/margarine for potatoes ($.20)
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Place 1/2 cup of water in the base of the slow cooker. (I like to do this to dilute out the juices for saving them as beef stock.) Place beef roast into the slow cooker. Add carrots and chopped celery around the beef. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Set slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.
2. Wash and snap off ends of green beans. Steam in stovetop steamer or saucepan with 1/2 cup of water for 4-5 minutes.
3. Bake (or microwave) potatoes and sweet potatoes. Vent with fork or cut slits with knife. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until soft. Cooking time will depend on thickness of potatoes. To microwave, vent in same way and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until soft all the way through.
4. Serve sliced Beef Roast with Garden Carrots, Green Beans and Baked Potatoes.

Cost $3.54

I ran across this recipe in Real Simple. I don’t make many of the recipes in the magazine because they often have more expensive ingredients and they would cost more than $5 for the meal…but when I ran across this recipe…I knew it could be done for under $5…

And YUMMM-EEEEE!!!

…and I think there is just enough leftover that the Hubs and I don’t have to fight over it for tomorrow’s lunch! Yes, I would fight him for this one…it was that good!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil ($.10)
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced ($.15)
4 cups homemade chicken broth (free)
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes ($.59)
1 hot chili pepper, thinly sliced (free from the garden)
2 cups shredded chicken meat ($1.50) Use shredded chicken from $.88/lb whole chicken
1 15-ounce can hominy, rinsed ($.99)
2 tsp lime juice ($.10)
Salt/Pepper, to taste
2 mini French loaves ($.20) Bought 8 mini loaves for $.79 on Manager’s Special…omit if GF.
Butter and jam ($.25)
2 broccoli heads ($.40) Bought a ton when on sale for $.79, blanched and froze!

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, add olive oil and sliced onion and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until turns opaque.
2. Add the broth, tomatoes, and chili and bring to a boil. Stir in the chicken, hominy and lime juice and simmer until heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Slice and toast French bread. Serve with butter and jam.
4. Reheat broccoli in saucepan with 1/2 cup of water for 5-7 minutes.
5. Serve Chicken Posole with Broccoli and French Bread.

Cost $4.28

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Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp olive oil ($.03)
1 cup whole wheat flour ($.20)
2 cups white flour ($.28)
1 packet or 1 Tbsp yeast ($.25)
1 tsp sugar ($.02)
1 tsp Italian seasonings ($.05)
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing ($.10) If I had to do this meal again, I’d have used a Greek vinaigrette instead!
3 Roma and 1 Heirloom tomato (from the garden)
1/2 cup diced green olives ($.50) Manager’s Special!!!
2 cups mozzarella cheese ($1.25) My store regularly has shredded cheese on sale for $1.25/2 cups.
2 Gala apples, cut into slices ($.50) On sale for $.50/lb. this week!

Directions
1. Prepare dough in bread machine, by adding the water, olive oil, flours, yeast, sugar and seasonings in that order to the bread machine. Set cycle to dough.
2. Slice tomatoes and olives.
3. Knead and roll dough out and place onto pizza baking stone or pizza baking sheet. Top with Italian (or Greek vinaigrette) salad dressing. Place tomatoes and olives around the pizza. Top with mozzarella cheese. (Note: I left a small portion of the pizza cheeseless and the boys at the crust and tomatoes.)
4. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes, or until dough has cooked through and cheese begins to golden on top.
5. Serve Tomato and Olive Pizza with Sliced Apples.

Cost $3.18

This dish sorta turned into an experiment.  I started with a plan in mind.  And it kept changing as I found new things in the fridge to add to the dish! 

I needed to use the eggplant and Cubanelle peppers I picked from the garden this week.  And I had 2 green tomatoes in the fridge (more on the green tomato situation in the next garden update!).  Why not throw those in too?

So this is what we got! 

Ingredients
12 oz. spaghetti noodles ($.65)
2 tsp olive oil ($.06)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped ($.30)
2 green tomatoes, diced (from the garden)
1 Cubanelle (aka Italian frying) pepper, seeded and diced (from the garden)
1 small eggplant, diced (from the garden)
1 tsp garlic powder ($.05)
1 tsp Italian seasonings ($.05)
Salt and pepper
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained ($.65)
2 small chicken breasts, diced ($1.79) About 1 lb.
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese ($.62-$1.25)
About 1/2 lb. green beans (from the garden)

Directions
1. In medium saucepan, cook spaghetti noodles as indicated on the package. Drain and place into greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. In large skillet, add olive oil, onion, pepper, eggplant, garlic powder, Italian seasonings, salt and pepper.

3. Saute over medium-high heat for 4-6 minutes, or until green tomatoes soften and onions become opaque.

4. Stir in diced tomatoes and diced chicken breasts.  Cover and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken pieces have cooked through.

5. Combine the spaghetti noodles and the chicken and veggie sauce in the baking dish.

6. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  As you can see below, I only used cheese on half the dish so the boys have have a dairy-free version of the meal!  Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese has melted and begun to golden.

7. Steam green beans in stovetop steamer for 4-5 minutes.
8. Serve Baked Chicken Spaghetti with Green Beans. 

Cost $4.80

Tonight’s meal is based on this recipe from Amy at Mom Advice. 

To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about pasta on lettuce.  I was quite pleasantly surprised!  We both really enjoyed it.  And there’s plenty leftover for my “Chicken Caesar Pasta” lunch tomorrow!

Because the Caesar dressing has milk in it, I separated out this dish for the boys and gave them Italian dressing on their salad!!!

(And please ignore the fact that I used a simple garden lettuce mix and not Romaine.  I do realize this breaks all the “Caesar Salad” rules!)

Ingredients
About 1 lb. (2 large or 3 small) of boneless, skinless chicken breast ($1.79)
1 tsp olive oil ($.03)
Salt and pepper
2 cups penne or ziti noodles ($.30) Remember my $.50 boxes of pasta!
3 small tomatoes (from the garden)
1/2 cup light Caesar Salad dressing ($.40) (Substitute Italian or other favorite salad dressing if dairy free!)
1 bag of garden salad lettuce ($.98) What I used
OR 1 head Romaine lettuce ($1.50)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese ($.50) Omit if dairy free!
Some Italian dressing for the boys ($.05)
Fresh baked bread, garlic toast, or muffins (We had Cinnamon Butternut Squash Muffins) ($.50)

Directions
1. Cut chicken breast into 1/2 inch cubes. Place in skillet with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Saute over high heat for 6-8 minutes, or until chicken has cooked through. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. In small saucepan, cook pasta noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Chop lettuce, if necessary, and seed and dice tomatoes.
4. In mixing bowl, toss cooked chicken, pasta and tomatoes with Caesar salad dressing. Serve on a bed of lettuce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top.
5. Serve Caesar Chicken Pasta Salad with a side of bread or muffins.

Cost $4.55

This uses the sauce in  this recipe from All Recipes that I originally found here at Once a Month Mom. 

Basically, I just made the sauce and poured it over a beef roast, instead of chicken, in the slow cooker.  Time to prep: 2 minutes. 

Served with some baked sweet potatoes. Time to prep: 2 minutes.

And some steamed green beans from the garden (they keep coming and coming and coming…) Time to prep: 5 minutes.

Seriously, a very hands off meal to prepare!  Just needs time in the slow cooker and in the oven!

(Oh, and the other half of the beef roast went into the freezer!)

Ingredients
2.2 lb. beef roast ($5.15 divided by 2 = $2.60)
1 cup BBQ sauce (free) This was the last of my free BBQ sauce! Bought with $1 coupon when on sale for $1.
1/2 cup Italian dressing ($.10) Bought the bottle for $.49 this week!
2 Tbsp brown sugar ($.02)
2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce ($.05)
3 large sweet potatoes (about 1.5 lbs.) ($1.32) Bought for $.88/lb…these will be MUCH cheaper in the coming months.
1-2 tsp cinnamon ($.05)
Butter or margarine, if you prefer! We don’t.
Green Beans (from the garden)

Directions
1. Place beef roast in the slow cooker.
2. In small bowl, whisk together BBQ sauce, Italian dressing, brown sugar and worcestershire sauce. Pour over the beef roast. Set slow cooker on low and cook for 8 hours.
3. Cut slits into sweet potatoes. Place in glass baking dish with 1/4 inch of water and cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are soft and cooked through. Cooking time can vary depending on thickness of the sweet potatoes. Serve with some sprinkles of cinnamon and butter/margarine if you prefer.
4. Wash and cut stems from green beans. Steam in stovetop steamer, or in microwavable dish with water, covered in plastic.
5. Serve Zesty BBQ Beef Roast with Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans.

Cost $4.14

I love chicken salad on the sweeter side. Perhaps with some fruit like grapes, apples or my favorite, pineapple.  I’ve had a small can of mandarin oranges glaring at my from the cupboard…as if it says, what are you going to do with me?

Put you into an asian chicken salad, of course!

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts, or 2 cups of shredded chicken ($1.78)
1/2 cup mayonaisse ($.20)
1 Tbsp soy sauce ($.05)
1 Tbsp juice from mandarin oranges
1/2 tsp garlic powder ($.02)
1/2 tsp ground ginger ($.02)
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped ($.50)
1/2 cup celery, chopped ($.10)
1 8 oz. can of mandarin oranges ($.59) Bought on sale from Walgreens!
Salt and pepper
1 loaf sweet Italian bread ($.60) Bought for reduced price…retrieved it from the freezer this afternoon!
1 bag Ruby Red lettuce ($.59) Bought on clearance this week
Cherry tomatoes (from the garden)
Store bought salad dressing ($.25)

Directions
1. Boil chicken breasts for 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through. Shred.
2. Make asian dressing by whisking together mayonaisse, soy sauce, juice from mandarin oranges, garlic powder and ground ginger.

3. In large mixing bowl, toss shredded chicken, mandarin oranges, chopped peanuts, chopped celery with the asian dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate if necessary!
4. Prepare salad.
5. Serve Sweet Asian Chicken Salad on Bread with Garden Salad.

Cost $4.70

P.S. Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker Giveaway Winner has been announced! Congrats Joann!

When I got my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker, I also got a few recipes to try out…and this is one of them. I made a few slight modifications…mainly, I used tomatoes from the garden and added in some chopped mini-onions from the garden as well.

Ingredients
About 2/3 cup chopped onion (from the garden)
4 garlic cloves, chopped ($.10)
6-8 small tomatoes (from the garden)
2 chicken breasts, diced ($2.11)
3 cups of rigatoni pasta ($.40) I used less than a box of my $.50 Barilla pasta from the past 2 weeks!
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken broth (free!)
Handful fresh basil and parsley (from the garden)
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese to garnish ($.25)
1 bag Ruby Red salad mix ($.59) Marked down…more on my salad ordeal…err, deal tomorrow!
2 tomatoes (from the garden)
Italian dressing ($.05) Bought today with sale, store promo and coupon! Details tomorrow!

Note: Original Recipe called for penne pasta and pre-grilled diced chicken pieces.

Directions

1. Spray deep covered baker with cooking spray. Place chopped onion, garlic and tomatoes into base of cooker. Cover and microwave for 5 minutes.

2. Add uncooked diced chicken breast, pasta, chicken broth, parsley, basil, plus salt and pepper. Mix together.

3. Cover and microwave for 10 minutes. Stir through. Microwave another 6-8 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and liquid has absorbed. (Note: when opening the lid, open away from you, as the steam rises quickly and is HOT!) Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, optional. Omit if dairy-free!
4. Prepare salad.
5. Serve Chicken Rigatoni al Fresco with Parmesan Cheese and Side Salad.

Cost $3.50

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