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Friday Freebies from the Farm

Happy Friday to everyone!
We have had a busy week in the garden as well as running errands. Michaela turns 7 on Sunday, so I did have to do a little shopping for her birthday party.
This week we had more tomatoes which I used for pasta sauce. I am going to share the recipe in another post.
We had lots of okra. Our okra is still growing strong and over eight feet high now!
We had rattlesnake green beans, potatoes, and lots of sweet and hot pepper varieties.
On Tuesday as I was attempting to pick apples, I was stung by several hornets. I immediately chewed some plantain and all is fine now. I hurt for a short while that evening. I still have some light red itchy spots, but nothing severe. I will post more about about plantain in another post soon as well. Anyway, there are lots of apples to be picked, but I am following the advice of my husband and going to wait until dark to pick them. The hornets are still swarming, but we cannot find a nest at this time.
I have also begun my fall garden with spinach, carrots, lettuce, turnips, broccoli, and greens. We may plant some peas too, but I have not decided yet.
Our garden was prolific in weeds this year as we had vast amounts of rain which was nice considering we have been in a drought here for the last two years!
I hope all of your gardens are going well. Let me know.
Have a great weekend!

Menu on the Farm

We are eating well from the farm lately as I have not had to purchase much of anything the past few weeks. Here is a quick run down of what we will be eating this week.
Sunday:
Breakfast: Blue corn grits, eggs, bacon
Lunch: Fruit smoothies
Supper: Roast Beef, fried okra, mashed potatoes, Southwestern Muffins, chocolate cake (baked by my 8 year old son!)
Monday:
Breakfast: Homemade Granola, milk
Lunch: Apple walnut turkey salads
Supper: Roast beef quiche, fried green tomatoes, eggplant, apple cobbler
Tuesday:
Breakfast: Apple oven, Pancakes, fruit
Lunch: Farmhouse BBQ Muffins, carrot sticks, pear sauce
Supper: Chile rellenos, Spanish rice, tamales
Wednesday:
Breakfast: Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins, eggs, fruit salad
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Tacos, carrot and celery sticks, apple slices
Supper: Leftovers
Thursday:
Breakfast: Cereal, milk, apples
Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwiches (on tortillas), pears
Supper: Beef stew in the crock pot, spinach cheese corn muffins
Friday:
Breakfast: Waffles, fruit
Lunch: Hamburgers, potatoes, green beans
Saturday:
Breakfast: Grits, Western Omelet, bacon, fruit salad, muffins
Lunch: Salsa Verde turkey quesadillas, salad
Supper: Pecan Crusted Salmon, green beans, potatoes, anything else from the garden that needs to be eaten!

Freebies from the Farm

My camera has completely bit the dust, so I am saving my swag bucks to buy a new digital camera. I am almost there! In the meantime, I will post with either no pictures or pictures I have already taken! I have a cell phone camera, but it does not take very clear pictures!

Onto the freebies......

We had lots of rain lately which had produced lots of mud and weeds as well as produce!

This week I harvested the following:

Okra

Rattlesnake Beans

Potatoes

Tomatoes

Apples

Anaheim Green Chile Peppers

Green and Red Bell Peppers

Jalapeno Peppers

Butternut Squash

Spaghetti Squash.

I was given pears from my dad and eggplant from my mother in law.

The only things I bought from the store this week were eggs, toilet paper, and butter! I am fairly well stocked and have lots more produce coming; however, this week or next will probably be the last of it as the plants are not producing quite as much.

How is your garden?


Let me know!

Menu from the Farm

Here is a quick version of our menu for the week. We are going to have lots of apples this week from our orchard. My dad also left me lots of pears to use too.
Monday
Breakfast: Eggs, bacon, fruit
Lunch: Apple, walnut, turkey salad sandwiches (on corn tortillas)
Supper: BBQ Short Ribs, green beans, okra, apple crisp
Tuesday
Breakfast: Apple Oven pancake, fruit
Lunch: Farm House BBQ Muffins
Supper: Leftovers Quiche
Wednesday
Breakfast: Apple Walnut Granola
Lunch: Hamburger and Fries
Supper: Beef Vegetable Burritos
Thursday
Breakfast: Oatmeal, apples
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly
Supper: Salmon Fillets, green beans, mashed potatoes
Friday
Breakfast: Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins
Lunch: Spaghetti (using our Spaghetti Squash for the noodles)
Supper: Leftovers
Saturday
Breakfast: Southwestern Savory Muffins, grits, bacon, apple slices
Lunch: Fruit Smoothies
Supper: Homemade Pizza (cornmeal or rice crust)

UGO Deals

Last week I introduced you to United Grocery Outlet. Their deals are basically the same this week. Remember each store varies their merchandise. This past week, I found an awesome deal for Tennessee Cage Free eggs. They were only $1.49 per dozen! I was getting eggs from a neighbor, but all of his chickens have died, so I have to buy them again (unless we can find our guinea nest again!). These eggs were very close in taste to the ones I was getting from my neighbor and very much worth the price! The sad part was I had just bought some Organic Cage Free Eggs at Ingles for $2.38 a dozen! The eggs I bought at UGO are not certified Organic; however, they are locally grown which is sometimes better than paying for organic items which have been shipped across the country!
Check out the other current deals at UGO here.

Free Crayola Color Explosion Mini from MI-DEL Cookies

To receive your FREE Crayola Color Explosion Mini send in your name, address, and one proof of purchase from any MI-DEL cookie package and your original cash register receipt to:

MI-DEL Free Crayola Offer

P.O. Box 7133

Loretto, MN 55599

Go here for more details.

Free Calendar from Annie's Homegrown

Free 2010 Calendar from Annie's Homegrown and Kiwi Magazine when you purchase any one Annie's product. It is filled with creative activities and inspirational thoughts. You can go here and enter all your information online. There is no mail in rebate required!

Blog of the Week

For this week, I want you to check out Organic Deals and Coupons which is a relatively new blog. Her blog is devoted to Organic Deals from freebies to coupon match-ups, etc. I really enjoy her blog. I think you will too!
Currently she is giving away some of her organic coupons. All you have to do is to email her requesting them. She will send them out on a first come first serve basis.
Let me know what you think about her blog!

Deals of the Week

I am going to concentrate less on doing coupon match-ups for various reasons. However, I still want everyone to find great deals and save money. Therefore, I am going to send you to different sites each week who have already done all of the work for you in finding the deals and coupon match-ups. I will still post my finds as well. Happy bargain shopping!
For deals at Kroger, CVS, and Walgreens go here.
For Ingles, Food Lion, Publix, Bi-Lo, and Rite Aid go here.

Gluten Free Coupon Round Up

Here are some links to some coupons for Gluten Free products. Wal-Mart has a lot of these products now in their gluten-free section. Do not forget that Ingles and Kroger will double coupons up to $0.50! Enjoy!

Enjoy Life Foods
Hains Celestial Group
Food for Life

Gluten Free Section at Wal-Mart

Today I found a gluten free section at Wal-Mart! I was thrilled! Now, I can get some products that I normally have to drive 20+ miles to get! Some of the products included Bob's Mill Flours, gluten free pasta, Annie's macaroni and cheese, Midel Cookies, Nut thins, EnviroKids rice bars, rice cereal, and many more items! I was thrilled to say the least!

Deals for the Week

I am going to concentrate less on posting deals for each store. Instead, I am going to send you to blogs which do a better job than I will. However, I will highlight things I see which they may omit.
For this week, I am going to send you to one place for most of the deals which is Jenny at Southern Savers. She has all the deals for Ingles, Kroger, CVS, Walgreens, and many other places.
For Target go to Attention Target Shoppers.
Let me know if you get any good deals!

United Grocery Outlet/Bargain Barn

Do you have a United Grocery Outlet (UGO) AKA Bargain Barn in your area? You can go here to find out. There are locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia. The main office is in Athens, Tennessee.

What is UGO?

Here is a paragraph from their site:

"United Grocery Outlet has found a unique way to pass along exceptional savings to our retail customers, while providing outstanding value to our manufacturers and suppliers. We are a problem solver for companies with inventory imbalance, product imperfection, closeout product, and the like. By shopping the nation for the very best buys, we offer the shopper a unique savings opportunity with every visit.
So check us out. You'll like UGO."

I do enjoy going to UGO. However, I do not always find things I need or want. I usually use UGO when I need something and cannot find a better deal for it anywhere else. There are some things to know about UGO. They do not accept coupons. However, most of the great deals you will not need coupons. Recently, they had a 10 cent sale. There were several brand name items including Dip and Dots ice cream, Jello brand Jello, Snapple Tea, and many other items. I also recently purchased organic blueberries for $1.00 a quart and organic cottage cheese for 50 cents a container! One of the good things and sometimes bad things is that they always have new items. You never know what they are going to have. Also, they will continue to mark down the price until all the items are gone. In addition, if there is something near expiration date, you can ask and most of the time they will mark it down for you. I often get many organic items for little to nothing there. Here is a link to this weeks ad for the East Tennessee area. Not all of the stores have fresh meat and the fresh produce is limited to certain stores as well. You can call ahead to find out if your store has fresh meat and produce.

Here are a few highlights of the ad.

20 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew 3/$1

Peaches $0.79 per pound

Celery $0.79

10 pound Idaho Red Potatoes $2.99

Famous Brand Name (FBN) Beef Franks 16 oz. $1.19 ea

Caripelli Olive Oil 17 oz. $2.99

FBN Paper Towels 8 rolls $5.99

Chicken Thighs $.99 per pound

Blog of the Week

Each week I want to try to highlight one blog which is up and coming. There are several very useful and meaningful blogs out there who do not get much attention. My goal is to help those blogs get more attention and hopefully help my readers along the way. The blog I want to highlight this week is Nettacow. Lenetta is a farm wife and has a toddler. She has many unique and fun posts from gardening to rummage sale finds. One of her recent posts which I want to try soon is a Homemade Doll Sling. She is also having a neat giveaway in honor of her 100th post. The giveaway includes many interesting used or handmade things. there are toddler leg warmers and a bathtub fishing game up for grabs as well as various craft books and a set of colorful tins. You can check out her giveaway here. Check out Nettacow and let me know what you think!

Monday Menu from the Farm

I have not been doing very well at sticking with my menu lately. We have had such an out of the ordinary schedule, I have had to improvise many nights. I hope I will be able to get back to following my menu again!

Monday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit salad
Lunch: Turkey tortillas, fried egg plant
Supper: Pecan Crusted Salmon, Herbed Potato Wedges, Waldorf Salad, Chocolate Shortbread

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Homemade Granola (has dried fruit and nuts), milk
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Tacos
Supper: Bakes Swiss Steak, Mashed Cauliflower, green beans

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Eggs and Fruit
Lunch: Mini Quiches
Supper: Leftovers

Thursday:
Breakfast: Homemade Granola, milk
Lunch: Turkey Salads
Supper: Savory Beef Sandwiches, carrots, greens

Friday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: Farm House BBQ Muffins, fruit
Supper: Leftovers

Saturday:
Breakfast: Bacon, eggs, grits, fruit
Lunch: Boys-Hot dogs (at auction sale) Girls- Special day out for Michaela's birthday
Supper: Leftovers/snacks

Sunday
Breakfast: Bacon, fruit, apple sauce oatmeal muffins
Lunch: Turkey sandwiches, fruit
Supper: Leftovers/snacks

Fried Green Tomatoes

I have been meaning to post my recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes for a while now. I greatly apologize! Hopefully, some of you still have green tomatoes and can make some. This recipe is the best I have ever had. I got the original recipe from a cookbook, but modified it to fit our dietary needs and tastes. I am listing the modified version as I no longer know the original version.



Fried Green Tomatoes

3 medium green tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick

Salt

1/4 cup corn meal

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tbs. all-purpose flour (I use rice flour)

3/4 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil



Place sliced tomatoes on paper towel lined cookie sheets. Sprinkle with salt. Drain on paper towels for 30-60 minutes. Meanwhile, combine cornmeal, cheese, flour, garlic salt, and pepper in a shallow dish. Dip each tomato into egg and then into cornmeal mixture. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Fry tomatoes a few at a time for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towel lined wire rack or plate. Serve Immediately! Serves about 4-6 people.



As I said, these tomatoes are delicious. I have included a picture from when we had them earlier in the season.

ENJOY!

Homeschooling Freebies

Many of you homeschool who read this blog. There are lots of wonderful sources for homeschoolers on the web! I am going to try to begin listing my favorite resources. I would love to hear of sources you use as well! I think it is wonderful to help each other! Today, I am going to list two of my favorite homeschooling resources for free information as well as educational materials.

The first is The Homeschool Freebie of the Day.

As the name suggests, you can download a freebie each day of the week Monday through Friday. If you sign up for their newsletter, they will send you a preview at the beginning of each week which contains all of the freebies available for the upcoming week. Each freebie is only available to download for one day except for the Friday freebie which is left up through the weekend. There are many great resources from this site! I have been using it for about a year and have really built my homeschooling e-book collection with titles such as "Something To Do, Boys!," "The Critter Construction Book," "Easy Steps in Housekeeping," and many, many more.



The second is The Old School House Magazine Homeschool Freebie Friday email newsletter. I get lots of freebie resources from this email each week. You can follow the link here to sign up for their Freebie email newsletter. They have lots of other free newsletters you can sign up for as well. Just scroll down the page and sign up fr the ones which interest you. You can unsubscribe any time. Also, if you become a fan of them on facebook, you can get even more freebies!

Let me know your sources for great homeschooling freebies as well. I will be glad to post them or you can just post them in the comments section with a link to your blog.
ENJOY!

Direction of Blog

I wanted to take the time to give my readers an insight on my plans for the future of the blog. As you know I have had an incredibly busy summer which has put my writing on the back burner. However, writing has always been a therapy for me, and I plan to begin devoting time to it again! I began the blog as a suggestion of several friends who encouraged me to write about the success of our rather large family compared to the typical American family of today. There are many areas in our life which prove to be aids in helping us succeed. I plan on touching on those here in my blog. I hope that these areas will help others out there who read what I write as well. Here is a list of some topics I want to include. I am sure there will be others as most of the ones I am listing are fairly broad categories! If there are others you may be interested in hearing about please let me know!

• God's Blessings
• Children
• Homeschooling
• Conservative Values
• Grocery Saving Tips
• Recipes
• Time Saving Tips
• Devotionals
• Freebies
• Gardening
• Patriotism
• Sweepstakes/Contests
• Alternate forms of Income
• Marriage
• Family
• Farming
• Facebook

Those are the topics for now. The ones I have listed are very broad. There will be many subtopics form each of these main topics. I hope you will continue to enjoy reading my blog! I love to hear from my readers. Feel free to leave a comment or send an email anytime!

Freebies from the Farm

We have had lots of freebies from the farm this summer! It has greatly helped lower the grocery bill as well as give us delicious food to eat. Some of our freebies this past week have included tomatoes (both green and red), potatoes, okra, green beans, apples, and tomatillos. My 5 year old digital camera is on the blitz, so I do not have any recent pictures! I hope to get a new one soon. As soon as I do, I will have more pictures!
Our garden has proved to be a blessing. We hope to have a fall garden as well this year. We are working on planting peas, carrots, broccoli, onions, greens (different types), lettuce, and whatever other cold weather crops we may think of and can still find plants and/or seeds.