Becoming a Locavore

There's a new word in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary this year- "locavore." A locavore is "one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible." Even though I'm not as much of a locavore as I'd like to be, during the summer time it's easy to take advantage of what may be growing around you!

One way you can be a locavore is to visit orchards and farms where you pick your own produce. Pick Your Own is a great website that helps you find places you can pick from local farms, and also is a resource if you can or freeze what you pick. Last year we were able to pick cherries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, apples and pumpkins.

In addition to picking your own crops, you can buy from local farmers markets, family farms, and co-op farms. Local Harvest is another resource for finding these locations. We take advantage of all the corn and green beans we can get at local growers. If we weren't growing our own tomatoes and green peppers this year, we would buy those too!

Try to get out soon and see what is available to you locally! And if someone calls you a locavore, consider it a compliment!

This Week: Getting Out

This week we're talking about fun things we are doing outside of the house this summer! I know for some of you, it's so hot you don't want to even think about leaving the house. Hopefully we can give you some ideas for even the hottest days!

Next week we're talking about veggin' out- our top five favorites movies! If we get 200 fans on Facebook by Monday, we'll give one of our favorite movies to one of our fans! It only takes a second to become a fan. Then you will receive updates about our new posts in your time line (once a day). It's a great way to get to know Today's Housewife readers and interact with the topic of the week!

Budget Friendly Picnic Ideas

I love summer picnics and I really enjoy hosting them, but they can get expensive. I’m a budget person and I like to try to stay within my food budget of $50 a week regardless of whether I am having additional mouths to feed. It’s a challenge. That’s why I find planning ahead to be most important when it comes to saving money.

If you know you are going to host a summer BBQ every year, you can start preparing months ahead of time! Start by planning a basic menu for your event and make a list of the ingredients and other items you’ll need to purchase before the big day. Watch for sales and coupons for paper products, pasta noodles, drink mixes, condiments such as ketchup and mustard, dessert mixes and Jell-O’s, even jars of pickles and olives will last a long time if no one pops them open ahead of time.

Buy your meats in bulk when they are on sale and store them in your freezer (don’t forget to get them out and in the fridge to thaw before the party-oops!).

The week of the party, you can start shopping for your perishables like fruits and veggies. I like to check out local farm markers to get the best quality produce for the best prices.

Not only will you be saving money this way, but you can also save time and stress. You won’t be running around to stores, the day before, and spending more money because you don’t have time to compare prices!

Remember, even if you get a late start on your planning, you can still save money by planning a menu and watching for sales. Try looking at two or three store circulars before you shop so you know where to find the best deals. If all else fails, try some of these yummy, yet frugal recipes for your big day.

Grilled Cowboy Burgers
2lbs ground beef (makes 8 burgers)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
8 slices cheddar cheese
8 buns (or make your own for less!)
½ cup BBQ sauce
Nature’s Seasoning
Mold the ground beef into patties and season with Nature’s Seasoning. Meanwhile, sauté the mushrooms with the BBQ sauce. Grill the burgers. Just before the burgers are done, add a slice of cheese to each. Serve cheeseburgers with a spoonful of sautéed mushrooms.

Broccoli and Red Pepper Pasta Salad
Head of fresh broccoli, washed and chopped
2 Red Peppers, washed and chopped
1 lb Rotini Pasta, cooked and drained
1 small bottle Italian dressing
Combine and Chill.

Chocolate Cherry Pie
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Crust :
(note: the “crust” recipe is not mine, but I cannot remember where I found it!)
1-1/2 cups flour
½ teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cocoa
4 teaspoons sugar
1 stick cold butter
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon water
Combine the dry ingredients, then add the butter (cut into smaller pieces). Add the water a little at a time and work at mixing the dough with your hands. It’s just easier that way! Roll out half of the dough to make the bottom crust and press into a 9-inch pie plate.
Filling:
1 lb fresh cherries, washed, pitted and halved
2 squares of a large dark chocolate Dove bar, chopped
½ cup sugar

Combine all the ingredients and pour into the pie crust. Roll out the second half of the crust and place over top of the pie. Pinch the edges of the bottom and top crust together. Then, with a knife, cut a few small slits into the top crust. You can get creative here and make them pretty! Turn oven down to 375 degrees after the pie is inside. Bake 30-45 minutes.
Enjoy!

Rachel is a wife and SAHM who enjoys shopping and cooking as much as eating. She shares lots of tasty and frugal recipes and ideas in her Small Red Kitchen.

Non-Grill-Out House

We just acquired my brother's grill when he moved into a house that already had a grill. This is the first time we've had a grill other than our Foreman (which we love). So I am lacking in recipes since we have yet to fire it up!
Here is a helpful hint I recently heard (but have yet to try) when grilling hamburgers. The lady said to poke your finger through the middle of the patty and it would keep them from shrinking. Granted, you've got a hamburger you're serving your guests with a hole the size of your finger in each one, but maybe they won't notice.
If we go to a cook-out with a friend, I will usually offer to take a dessert. I like to make brownies or peach cobbler. Peach cobbler is really easy because you just use canned peaches and cake mix.

Easy Peach Cobbler
1 (16 oz.) can of peaches in lightsyrup
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cube of butter
Use half of the cake mix and press into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan (you can also brown this by pouring butter on top and baking for a few minutes if you'd like a harder crust on bottom before adding peaches). Pour peaches and syrup on top. Sprinkle cake mix over peaches to cover. Top with melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Serve with Cool Whip or ice cream.

Meal on the Grill

Note: Make sure you use your best southern accent as you read that title. It should rhyme.

Over the past several years we have come across some good recipes to try on the grill. I posted about an awesome cook book I got from Taste of Home here.

Sometimes I enjoy cooking the entire meal on the grill (be sure and use your accent again). I am not the 'griller' in our family. My number one reason for cooking it all on the grill is I do not have to cook! Plus, no pans dirtied (other than containers used for marinating).

Hopefully you will enjoy this meal (or bits and pieces) at your house this summer as well.

Teriyaki Shish Kabobs
½ cup ketchup
½ cup sugar
½ cup soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
2 lbs boneless beef sirloin steak (cut into 1 ½ inch cubes)
½ fresh pineapple, cut into 1 inch cubes
2-3 small zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
½ lb whole fresh mushrooms
½ lb pearl onions, peeled
1 large green or sweet red pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces

Combine first five ingredients; toss with beef. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain beef, reserving marinade. Thread meat, pineapple, and vegetables alternately on long skewers. Grill over hot heat for 15-20 minutes (maybe less), turning often, or until meat reaches desired doneness and vegetables are tender. Simmer the marinade in a small saucepan over low heat for 15 minutes. Remove meat and vegetables from skewers; serve with marinade.
**we omitted the veggies this night from the shish kabob and cooked them as stated below.

Fresh Squash and Zucchini
1 squash (from the garden)
1 zucchini (from the garden)
1 onion
Soy sauce

Slice up the veggies and place in disposable pan. Sprinkle some soy sauce to your desired flavor. Place on top rack of grill and cook until done (approx 20 minutes).

Grilled Cheese Loaf
3 oz cream cheese, softened
2 TBSP butter, softened
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup chopped green onions with tops
½ tsp garlic salt
1 loaf French bread, sliced

In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter. Add cheese, onions, and garlic salt; mix well. Spread on both sides of each slice of bread. Wrap loaf in a large piece of heavy-duty foil. Seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, turning once. Unwrap foil; grill 5 minutes longer.

Banana Boats
In my blog reading I have come across this recipe twice. Personally, I did not care for the warm bananas.















LilE taking a peek before it was time to eat!

Not Really My Job...

Tim and I love to eat outside. We haven't done it much since moving to Georgia because it's ridiculously hot and there are these insane biting gnats in our yard, but we used to do it almost every night when we lived in Virginia. The only thing better than eating outside though - is eating outside when you haven't even heated up your kitchen! Tim's the grill guy in our house so I the only "expert" experience I have in "Grillin' Out" is eating! But I do have a few favorites that we enjoy.

For the Main Dish: Ribs
Tim uses a dry rub like this one and then slow cooks the ribs all day until they fall apart. It takes some planning ahead, but it's definitely worth it.

For the Side Dish: Oriental Cole Slaw
1 head Napa Cabbage
1 pkg. Ramen (oriental flavor)
1/4 c. almonds, sliced

dressing:
1/2 c. oil (not olive)
1/2 c. vinegar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. sugar

Break ramen noodles and saute in 3 T. butter with almonds and seasoning packet. Chop cabbage. Mix dressing. Toss "crunchies" with cabbage and dressing when you are ready to serve. (This dish is great because it doesn't need to stay cool to be safe to eat.)

For Dessert: ????
This is, of course, my favorite part of any meal. You could try a recipe of homemade ice cream. (Butterfinger is my favorite!) Or a fruit cobbler. I enjoy mixed fruit, but my very favorite summer dessert is this Individual Peach Upside-Down Cake. It's easier than it looks at first glance - and it's even delicious left-over for breakfast!

If You Come over...

If you come over to our house for a cook-out, here are a few things you're guaranteed to eat!

1. McCormick Grill Mates Hamburger seasoning. I know there are as many ways to make hamburgers as there are backyards to grill them in, but since we found this seasoning mix last summer, it has become our favorite.
   
2. Paula Deen's lemonade (sorry sweet tea lovers!).
   
3. Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding from Paula Deen. I use Nilla Wafers instead of Chessmen cookies. If you make this recipe, be sure you're feeding a crowd! You don't want this left over too long, the bananas get brown. But it's so good, you may not have much left over.
4. Pickles (and more pickles). I love a good relish plate! On any given day, you'll find at least three kinds of pickles in our fridge. When I was pregnant with our first son we cleaned out the fridge and found over a dozen jars of pickles (that was mostly thanks to every woman in our church who thought she made the best pickles and we had to try them all)!
   
5. Potato salad. KLee and I have mentioned before, we think the best recipes come from church cookbooks! This recipe is from the cookbook of First Christan Church in Duncan, Oklahoma.

Potato Salad:
6 to 7 red potatoes, boiled with skins on
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and chopped
4 hard-boiled eggs (I don't add eggs)
10 green onions, chopped
2 dill pickles, chopped
1 small can chopped black olives
3 stalks celery, chopped

Mix together, then mix together dressing (below) and pour over potato mixture. Chill until time to eat, stir before serving.

Dressing:
1 C. mayo
2 T. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. white wine vinegar (I use just white and it works fine)
dash salt
dash pepper
dash seasoning salt
1/2 tsp sugar