busy, busy

Who has time to blog, when there's so much work to be done?

I have been harvesting, freezing, processing etc.

I have almost all of my herbs harvested and processed. I wash, dry, chop and then freeze them on a baking sheet. After they have frozen, I transfer them to a freezer safe Mason Jar. It is so wonderful to have fresh herbs in the middle of winter! I also use this process to freeze fruit for our smoothies.

The zucchini has become bread and a main course so far. I have grated and frozen 12- 2 cup portions for later use. We love zucchini bread and cheesy zucchini soup. I will have to share the recipe. It is the yummiest soup! My family loves it! I also like to add some zucchini to goulash or spaghetti sauce. We still have lots of zucchinis growing.

Since the dog food recall last month, I have been cooking our dogs food. {one of our dogs was very sick!} I boil chicken and save the broth. I have been freezing this as well. Lots of my soup recipes call for broth, so I'm super excited that I won't have to buy any for a while!

As you can imagine, we are now in need of a stand alone freezer. It feels so good to be able to stock up on foods for my family. Having it come from my garden is a bonus!

We have four fruit trees ready to start harvesting as well. I expect to be rather busy these next few weeks, but the payoff will be worth the work!

food waste

I have been sending far too much to the compost bin lately! So, I have joined Kristen as well as so many other bloggers, in a quest to reduce waste!

Since this is my first Friday participating, I neglected to take a photo. Just this morning, I put out half of a bag of popcorn and two pieces of toast, into the squirrel feeder. {keeps them out of the bird feeder} I must remind the kiddos to eat the food they prepare!

As for veggie scraps, I have put a full bucket into the compost this week. I think I will reduce this by making some of it into stock or replanting as I just read over at Premeditated Leftovers. Who knew that you could replant veggies? Such an awesome tip!

I love reading other blogs. They not only inspire me, they offer wonderful ways to save money and sanity!