Just a couple of farm girls shucking corn with Poppie. Atleigh said that was her favorite part. 😍 Atleigh said she asked God to help her not be scared of the bees that were flying around (pollinating). Then I had the best helpers washing and silking. We worked quick together. Now that the work is all done, we get to play the rest of the day. So, painting rocks again it is.
Lunch time:
Lunches of champions. Everything from the lettuce from the Aerogarden. The rest came from our outdoor garden. Except the chicken nuggets.Hey, pick your battles with kids.
After nap time it was cloudy so we didn't get to swim again but we still had smores.
I absolutely love our table top fire pit.
The guys tried to draw blood from the cows to test for pregnancy but to no avail. So got scheduled for someone to come help draw it.
The next day we had corn to do again.
Another productive day. Ag and Poppie picked and shucked corn again, me and Caroline cut zucchini and bagged some and Pickling the rest. Then we washed and bagged the corn cleaned up and mopped the floor all before 9:30 am. Things go faster on Team Dixon.
They played while I finished water bathing the jars of Zucchini pickles.
Then it was much needed nap.
After nap we had a little car wash and let them wash their power wheels and then a dip in the pool.
The next day was a break from the garden, we needed a fun day. We grabbed our granny on the way and took the girls to town to spend their chore money. Then we took them to Chuck E Cheese.
Today is a relaxing day for me and dear hubby and we are going to enjoy it. This ole gal needs a nap.
You can freeze green beans too. You wash, rinse, and string your green beans. Transfer them to a stock pot and cover with water. You just want to blanch them at this point for about 3-4 minutes. You don’t want to bring them to a boil. You still want them a little crisp. Remove from the hot water and immediately put into ice bath to stop the cooking process. Remove from the ice water and put into ziploc bags and seal or you can use a vacuum sealer like we do. They should keep in the freezer for a long time.
Canning Green Beans:
We pick, wash and snap our green beans and raw pack them into jars. I fill with water to the neck, debubble, wipe rims of jars off and tighten lids and rings. I process them in the pressure canners according to my Ball Blue Book directions. It's 25 minutes at 10 lbs pressure for my altitude.
I wanted to try Pickling Zucchini so I finally did it. This is another way to use up some of the Zucchini coming in from your garden. You can utilize a vegetable you already have on hand and save the space you were going to plant those cucumbers and now plant something else. It's all about ingenuity. Here is a written tutorial for you.
First, pick your Zucchini (small ones are the best). Wash them real good especially if you use an insecticide. Next, cut your Zucchini into wedges, rounds or you can do them whole. Then pack your jars tight but not so tight that you can't easily get one out. Wide mouth jars are best in order to get them out without breaking or smooshing them. Next, prepare your brine. I use Ms. Wages Kosher Seasoning packet. And I'll tell you why. I'm doing these pickles for my grandchildren and I want the closest flavor to store bought pickles as possible. You know the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" If I start mixing my own spices together and Yada Yada, I may mess the taste up and you know kids, "I don't like this" So, Ms. Wages is the closest seasonings I can get and Lord knows I am not going to mess this up. I'm trying to get more vegetables in them you know. They love pickled okra. Imagine that.
Following the directions on the back of the packet, bring brine to a boil and boiled it for the required time. Next, laddle brine into jars and leave a one inch head space. Wipe rims of jars with vinegar or water (your preference) to make sure nothing interferes with the seal. Apply lids and bands (rings) finger tip tight. Don't screw on to tight. This causes buckling. Process in the water bath. This is where I tweeked a step just a bit. I have never used pickle crisp so I don't want mushy pickles. I cut the processing time in half. The longer you process pickles the softer they get. Remove from the pot after processing with jar lifters and set aside to let contents cool. If sealed properly, you will start hearing pops. Let sit for several hours. Test the top of the jars later to test for sealing. Then store in your pantry.
It has only been a few days and I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to try one. They already had good flavor.
Here is an idea to get quick pickle anything. Save the pickle juice from store bought pickles. You can add hard boiled eggs, cucumbers, Zucchini, radishes, cauliflower, basically anything you want to pickle. Put in the jar of juice, and store back in the fridge. Let sit for about 7 days. Instant refrigerator pickled anything. I love to make pickled eggs this way.
Here is my video version if you are a visual learner like me. Be sure to like and subscribe to our channel and turn on your notification bell so you can be alerted when ever a new video is uploaded. See you over on YouTube.
I would like for y'all to know, that my dear hubby stepped way out of his comfort zone to do this video. If you know him, you know he's always, "Get that camera out of my face!" "Don't get me in the pic!" "I'm never doing that!" Well, guess what. He did and today he is making his debut.
In this video, he will demonstrate how to save trimmings of fat and pair it with a choice cut of meat that is on sale and grind them all together to make ground beef. We have sometimes found brisket or ground chuck on sale and bring it home and process it this way and by the time we are finished and do a price break down per lb., it turns out cheaper that 1 lb of already store bought packaged ground beef. WOW!!!!!!!!
You can get your fat from things like ribeye steaks, chuck roasts, and briskets.
After he gets all this ground up, we chill it for a few hours, package it into 1lb portions, put in vacuum seal bags and vacuum seal. We then flatten out the packages so they will lay flatter in your freezer and create more space and stay organized.
He takes care of all the meat that comes into our home. From researching, buying, hunting, harvesting, processing all the way to the plate to eat. He searches for those deals at the grocery stores so we can shop the sales, buy in bulk, bring it home, repackage it into meal portions and vacuum seal it to stock our pantry. Then there are times we will search for a farmer raising something we might want to purchase and have butchered and processed for us. Then he does the cooking. Now we are raising our own beef. There are things we don't raise like chickens. That's what grocery store sales are for. He does the grilling, smoking, frying, sous vide, etc.
I hope all you guys find this video helpful and can help you stretch your dollars on the grocery bill for your family.
Check out his video below. Click on the link below:
Now is the time to start your Back To School Shopping. Amazon has some great deals right now. They are running sales and extra discount code coupons at check out. These are not just for kids. HEY COLLEGE KIDS, WHERE YOU AT?
If you pack your kids school lunches, have you ever seen Jennifer Fudge from The Family Fudge? She makes packing kids school lunches look awesome. Check out her YouTube channel:
Well, it's that time again. The dreaded back to school time. Gosh, where did the summer go? ☀️ However, it is coming up and there is nothing we can do to stop it, however, there are some things we can do to get a jump start and already put a plan of action into place and start practicing it before that first school morning.
Now is a good time to establish a plan to get organized and implement ideas to help those busy days go smoothly.
Here is a list of ideas that have always helped us.
Believe it or not, your successful day starts the night before.
1- Establish a night time routine. This includes prepping things for the next day such as laying out your clothes for that day. This helps so much because everyone is not scrambling around in the morning time trying to figure out what they are going to wear. Of course you need to make sure laundry is caught up. 🙃. You can even designate a little area and plan your outfits for the week and prefold them and put them into little bins or in the closet on hangers. Whatever works for you.
2- fix lunches and snacks the night before and put in the refrigerator. You can go one step further and take a day and premake a load of sandwiches and some snacks and put in ziploc bags in the freezer. By the time it's time for them to eat lunch, they are ready to eat. It also helps keep cold lunches cold. Now if you are taking a hot lunch, you will probably need to prepare it right before you leave and put in a thermos. I've known alot of moms to have stations in a pantry for lunches and snacks. If the children are old enough they can grab things for their lunches and fix their own. Jordan Page from Fun Cheap or Free had an excellent lunch system and organization for her children's lunches and how they are to fix their lunches. You should check her out and if you want creative lunch ideas for kids, check out Jennifer Fudge from Bunches of Lunches. I love all her lunch videos. 😋
You can also take a day and just preprep breakfasts. Like breakfast burritos, egg bites, sausage and biscuits, smoothies, granola with yogurt, or granola bars, fruits. Either you can grab something and sit and eat before you go out the door or you might can grab and go and eat on the way. Some people have time to sit down and eat, some don't. Try to find a creative way to get something in the kids tummy before school. Some kids eat breakfast at school and that's awesome. 👌
3- have the kids take baths or showers at night. When they get up the next morning, all they have to do is wash their face, brush their teeth and fix their hair.
4-establish a good bedtime routine and get them to bed so they can get a good night sleep. Start winding them down early and turn off electronics. Electronics stimulates the brain and it can't relax. You have to literally turn off and unplug before your brain can relax and be prepared for sleep. Sleep is very important for children and brain development so they can learn and function through out their day.
5- Parents, you have to go through those back packs and check all those papers and etc. You might want to do this every night or even when they come home from school. So you can be prepared to assist with homework, get ready to buy or make something for class projects or fund raisers or class parties.
Alot of things can be started as soon as they walk through the door when they get home like #5. 👍
When they get home, at least give them a few minutes down time. They have been at school all day where it has been noisey, they are over stimulated, probably starving , etc. They might just want to chill out, unwind, and have a snack before supper. Give them some time to talk about their day if they want to. Younger kids will be more apt to do this than older kids. As your kids get older, they want more privacy and start clamming up. That is a story all in itself. I cover alot of this on our Parenting Page.
Designate a time for homework. Be available to assist when needed. Maybe have them sit at the island or bar or table of the kitchen while you cook. This way you can make sure they are doing it. Lol.
If your kids have sports or extra curricular activities after school that puts you getting home late, you are really going to have to step up your game and come up with a plan.
Moms, if yall work, you might have to incorporate a plan where the whole family can pitch in and help in the house hold and do chores to make the home function smoothly for everyone. Design some chore charts that are age appropriate for each kid. Everyone in the home is going to be busy everyday. This will help the home survive and still function. Put someone on laundry duty or come up with a system where everyone can help. Someone on dish duty after meals, floor duties like sweeping, mopping, vacuuming. Dusting duty. Holding them accountable for cleaning their rooms. I cover alot of these things on our Homemaking page too. I created chore charts for our kids too when they were little and I had a reward system. You can come up with one too. It doesn't always have to be money. Believe it or not, even toddlers and preschoolers can learn things too. They are so eager to do what everyone else is doing. Not only are you helping your home to run smoother, you are teaching accountability, work ethics, and life skills.
If your a stay at home mom, then these things shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure your available for when they all get home and greet them. Make sure you are rested and on top of your game. Busy nights and days is where meal planning comes in handy. On those busy nights due to extra curricula activities, get those crock pots and instant pots out. Meal prepping and baking ahead meals comes in handy too. Check into batch cooking or freezer cooking. Those dishes can be taken out of the freezer that morning to thaw and when you get home, pop it into the oven and bake or if it is prebaked, then just heat it up and serve it. Bam.
School time doesn't have to be hard. It takes planning and organizing. Come up with and implement your own system that works for you and your family to help the day go smoothly and the home to function.
I hope alot of these tips have helped.
You can check out my video version here:
Also, there is a way to still get a healthy, nutritious breakfast in all of you before heading out the door in a flurry. I have a whole playlist on our YouTube channel dedicated to Make Ahead Breakfasts. These breakfasts are made ahead of time and put in the freezer or refrigerator for grab and go or quick sit down breakfasts to enjoy before everyone leaves. They are easy to put together and store.
I will leave this link to the whole playlist for you. After you watch them be sure to save them and visit them frequently. Also book mark this post so that way even before school, you can refer back to it as a refresher especially half way through the school year if you fall off the bandwagon and get lost in all the craziness.
We love cheese in this house and so we process it too. We prefer the block cheese over the already packaged because of the starch that is used for preservation. So when they go on sale we go buy a bunch and bring it home. We take it out of the packages, cut into long cubes so that they will go through the chute of the shredder attachment of my Kitchen Aid. We flash freeze long enough to harden it up so it will shred easier. If cheese is shredded at room temp in this attachment, it mixes with the heat of the shredder and it gums the cheese up and will not shred as well. After it is chilled or flash frozen, I run it through the shredder, portion into 1 cup servings, put in ziploc bags, close up, and put in the freezer. Cheese does not last long in our home. lol
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