The Frugal Farm Living life deliberately

I recently bought 20 pounds of ground beef and part of it was made into a meatloaf for the freezer. Last night as I cooked biscuits and sausage gravy, the youngest Frugalgirl, who is quite opinionated, especially since she turned 3, insisted that we also have "mashed 'tatoes." Since mashed potatoes don't really go with biscuits and gravy, I told her I'd make them tonight, so I pulled the meatloaf out of the freezer as well.

Since the dishwasher's death two weeks ago, I find myself having second thoughts when it comes to cooking and baking, because I know that I will be handwashing everything that gets used in the process (I know, I should get my kids to do dishes, but when the three older ones are in school, it's not like I am going to wait around for them to come home before the dishes get done.) To keep the kitchen in tip-top shape, I've been washing three times a day. Having all the dinner prep dishes washed before dinner comes in really handy after dinner, when the get-ready-for-bed rush hits. I'm often drop-dead-exhausted and want to ignore the dishes, but waiting till the next morning is not such a great idea. Having fewer dishes to wash makes the evening clean-up manageable.  read more »

Frugalboy pointed out to me as we ate, that if the chicken had been one of the ones we had raised ourselves, and we'd grown the potatoes, that our meal would have been entirely homegrown. What a cool thing!

We had Garlic Lime Chicken, (I am not a Flybaby but this Flylady recipe is fantastic!) potatoes and homegrown peas in the cheese sauce leftover from the macaroni and cheese, and a medley of sauteed veggies straight from the garden--the first of the zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and onions.

I am stuffed from the veggies--they are my favorite!

In an attempt to keep my kitchen cooler (today's high is supposed to be 105) I put the crock pot in the garage with a pork roast, potatoes, and onions. That will go nicely with some steamed broccoli.

This homemade version of Mac and Cheese doesn't go over as well with my kids as the blue-box version, but the grown-ups love it and I'm sure it is healthier.

I cook some pasta, usually about 8 oz in a fun shape. While it is cooking, I made a cheese sauce. There are a lot of ways to make a white sauce, but my favorite proportions for a cheese sauce came from a book called First Meals (I don't have the new version in the link but the old one still has a lot of great recipes in it. Time intensive, but delicious).  read more »