A Garden Update, 6/26/2017

A Garden Update, 6/26/2017

Two weeks have flown by since the last garden update! Not only has our family been busy working and playing, our garden has been super busy growing, developing, and producing!

Keeping Busy

This is the first year that we have not had a baseball player since R started T-Ball about 10-12 years ago!  I thought we would have several weeks with downtime and room to relax, but that hasn’t been the case.  We are doing a large construction job on weekends and evenings with my dad.  In addition to that we’ve built a new deck at our own house this summer and are still working on that!  It’s all good though!  Lots of quality bonding time!  😉

Fruits & Vegetables

Our vegetable garden is finally growing rapidly and getting close to producing!  Our green beans are blooming, which means green beans come next!  Our red onions are getting bigger each week along with the carrots.  We’ve also officially picked a small handful of strawberries which has been the most exciting thing in the last two weeks!  They are so sweet and it’s exciting to know that in the next couple years I won’t have to buy strawberries anymore!

 

Carrot tops growing!
update
Green beans in bloom! Next comes the bean itself!
Yummy, ripe strawberries

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Garden Update, 6/12/17

Garden Update, 6/12/17

Two weeks has passed since the last garden update! We’ve had lots of sun, a little rain, and are now in what seems like a drought!  Even with the lack of rain (thanks to my watering) the flowers are growing like crazy!  I love taking a “tour” of my gardens almost every day to see what is blooming as it changes almost daily!  Come along with me on a tour!

flower boxes

My flower boxes beneath my windows are filling in slowly, but surely!  I love the coral color of these Fuschias and how they pop against the boxes and the siding!

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Blender Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Blender Cottage Cheese Pancakes

I’ll be the first to admit it, there are lots of cottage cheese pancake recipes out there, but I’ll also admit, that this one is my favorite!  It’s my favorite for a couple different reasons!  The first is that it is all made in a blender!  One “bowl” makes for easy clean-up!  The other thing that makes it my favorite is flavor!  The ease of mix-up and flavor make it simply the best!

cottage cheese pancakes
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Instant Pot Chicken Tacos with Fresh Pico de Gallo

Instant Pot Chicken Tacos with Fresh Pico de Gallo

I’ve been in serious meal planning mode recently and these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos with Fresh Pico de Gallo have been at the top of my list!  Thank goodness for the Instant Pot which makes meal planning and prep so easy!  During the few weeks of track season, I seemed to have really got off the path of clean or whole eating and have been working to get back on track!

I also noticed that when I don’t meal plan, there is a lot more waste of food and even money!  Meal planning helps me save a $!  For some reason, when I don’t have meals easy to grab and portioned off sitting in the fridge, I have a greater tendency to run to a convenience store or restaurant for lunch and we even do it for supper! So, now that track is over I am making the dedication to meal plan and meal prep to save our family money!

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Celebrating Memorial Day Family Style: A Round-Up

This is the first year since T and I have been married that we aren’t camping over Memorial Day weekend! Can you believe it?!  This also means that I’m on the hunt for something for us all to do!  The boys will be spending the weekend with us, but R will be working, so it’ll be T, M, & I!  I decided since I was on the hunt, I’d put together a round-up of family friendly things to do in Iowa over the weekend!

So, let’s get started!

Iowa Veterans Cemetery – The Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, Iowa is breathtaking.  Pack up the family and take a visit to talk about Memorial Day and it’s original purpose!  What better place to do this than in the Iowa Veterans Cemetery?!  Check out what Jeni of Sincerely Iowa thought when she visited.

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