I roasted my first whole chicken today, and I don't think that I will ever be able to eat chicken any other way ever again. It was so tender and juicy - and cheap! I got a 4 pound chicken for just $6.00 and it will provide The Hubs and I with 2-3 meals, plus a big pot of chicken stock for soup. Should I mention that when we grill out for Memorial Day we're going to grill the dogs a special treat? Chicken livers!
When you roast your first chicken you will feel like a domestic goddess (or god), and it is so absolutely easy to make.
Ingredients
3-4 pound whole roasting chicken
Salt
Thyme, or other herbs and seasoning
Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the packet of giblets (neck, gizzard, liver, heart) from the carcass. Optional: Place these in a Ziploc baggie and refrigerate or freeze to make stock or gravy later on. Wash the chicken well, taking care to remove any excess fat or feathers left on the bird. Pat dry with a paper towel and make sure the interior of the carcass is dry.
Place the chicken in a baking dish breast side down - this will let the juices flow into the breast as the chicken cooks. Trussing the bird is optional, but I made sure to bring the wings and thighs as close to the chicken as possible.
Liberally rub salt all over the chicken. This infuses an amazing flavor into the meat, but makes the skin a bit too salty to consume. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. When the chicken is done, let the meat rest for 10 minutes before cutting. While it is resting, sprinkle fresh or dried herbs over the chicken and periodically baste with the pan drippings.
While many people rub butter and other seasonings on their whole chicken, I found that this was unnecessary. Season with whatever flavoring you like prior to serving.
- Maggie White
Monday, May 26, 2014
Saturday, May 24, 2014
[ garden ] :: weekly harvest - may week 3
My sister visited this weekend and she helped me pick some veggies. We realized how totally screwed we would be if we had to grow all of our own food! The temperatures are up in the 80's and 90's now so I had to pull up my spring vegetables - green peas, beets, carrots, and radishes. The few surviving vegetables (that didn't bolt and become bitter) are teeny tiny and completely adorable. We'll be having them with a roasted chicken tonight for dinner. Yum!
Aren't the tiny carrots cute?
Beets: 1.20 oz
Spinach: 1.85 oz
Peas: 8.40 oz
I am really enjoying using up these veggies in the kitchen since I get to explore new recipes! I even picked up a new cookbook at the discount bin at the bookstore - it's a must-have if you enjoy using seasonal produce.
Gardening is a delicious hobby.
- Maggie White
Aren't the tiny carrots cute?
Carrots: 10.00 oz
Radishes: 6.80 ozI am really enjoying using up these veggies in the kitchen since I get to explore new recipes! I even picked up a new cookbook at the discount bin at the bookstore - it's a must-have if you enjoy using seasonal produce.
Gardening is a delicious hobby.
- Maggie White
Thursday, May 22, 2014
busy busy!
I'm super busy today - my "To Do" list is a mile long and I have the lofty ambition of organizing our guest bedroom and both of our offices. We have houseguests coming next week and I am losing my mind!
How nice would it be to be a hound dog on a warm, sunny day like today?
- Maggie White
How nice would it be to be a hound dog on a warm, sunny day like today?
- Maggie White
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
[ budget ] :: fresh food costs on the rise
It's all over the news - grocery prices are rising. Even with all of my frugality, I have noticed a 10-15% increase in my normal grocery budget. Why? The prices of meat and produce have gone up.
On the news yesterday morning, there was a report on the Price of Meat Going Up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of meat has continually risen:
1. Stock up. Whether you clip coupons or follow the store circular ad, stock up on meat and produce when the price is low. Sales usually come about every 6 weeks, so buy at least as much of that product you would use in a month. How do you store it? The freezer! Freeze meat and vegetables to use in cooked dishes, and fruit for pies and smoothies.
2. Buy in bulk. Companies like Zaycon Foods are a wonderful way to get lots of good quality meat for a lower price than you would find in the store. All you do is place an advance order, drive to a set pick-up location on the pick-up date, and they load 30-40 pounds of farm fresh meat into your car.
Farmers markets and "pick your own" farms are great place to get large amounts of produce at a discounted price. Take, for example, my recent trip to a strawberry farm. I got over 5 pounds of strawberries for $12 - far cheaper than grocery store prices. Next time they have a "pick two gallons, get one free" I will be going so I can get berries to freeze and make into jam!
3. Cheat with meat. Whenever I make tacos, whether it is with chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef, I always add a can of diced tomatoes or another veggie. This helps to add nutrition to your dish and it "bulks up" the meat. You can use less meat and stretch your budget a little more. Check out my Stupid Easy Ground Beef recipe for directions!
4. Buy organic! ...sometimes. Is everyone on an organic food kick lately? It sure seems like it! However, there are some foods that you don't need to buy organic to be healthy. Check out this list of The Dirty Dozen - the foods that consistently test for high pesticide levels that you should buy organic when you can. However, there is The Clean Fifteen! These fruits and veggies have very low levels of pesticide residue and are generally safe to buy non-organic. When buying produce on a budget, it is important to remember these lists so you don't spend too much money on organic produce.
I started using Nature's Garden Express through my local Co-Op and love it. For just $31, I get a box loaded with fresh, local, organic produce. Over the past few weeks I have priced out the contents of the box and found that I would be spending over $50 on these items at Whole Foods or Publix. If you sign up, use Promo Code 466f2 to get $10 off your order!
5. Minimize food waste by menu planning. Throwing away meat and produce is like throwing away money - especially when you are paying a premium for it! By planning a weekly menu and only buying what you need, you minimize waste and therefore minimize spending. I love a good menu plan - check out mine here.
6. Eat in season, and eat local. I adore farmer's markets because they only feature locally grown food that is in season. You save money since you aren't paying a mark-up on food that has been transported thousands of miles from other countries to your grocery store because they are out of season in your area. Eating locally and in season ensures that you buy only the freshest ingredients (with the best nutritional profile!) and you save on the travel cost of the produce.
Despite the increase in food cost, I have been making an effort to eat more locally grown food, choosing organic when I can. I thought that it would absolutely break the bank, but as it turns out - it isn't that bad. I am only paying $10-$20 more per week for healthier, better quality, fresh food.
- Maggie White
On the news yesterday morning, there was a report on the Price of Meat Going Up. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of meat has continually risen:
Even though these increases only represent a difference of a few dollars, it will add up! I have noticed an increase in the price of fresh fruits and vegetables as well. Here are a few ways that you can buy your fresh meats and produce without emptying your wallet or having to live off of box mac-n-cheese!Steak: +12.1%
Ground Beef: +9.9%
Sausage: +8.9%
Hot Dogs: +3.7%
Chicken: +1.7%
1. Stock up. Whether you clip coupons or follow the store circular ad, stock up on meat and produce when the price is low. Sales usually come about every 6 weeks, so buy at least as much of that product you would use in a month. How do you store it? The freezer! Freeze meat and vegetables to use in cooked dishes, and fruit for pies and smoothies.
2. Buy in bulk. Companies like Zaycon Foods are a wonderful way to get lots of good quality meat for a lower price than you would find in the store. All you do is place an advance order, drive to a set pick-up location on the pick-up date, and they load 30-40 pounds of farm fresh meat into your car.
Farmers markets and "pick your own" farms are great place to get large amounts of produce at a discounted price. Take, for example, my recent trip to a strawberry farm. I got over 5 pounds of strawberries for $12 - far cheaper than grocery store prices. Next time they have a "pick two gallons, get one free" I will be going so I can get berries to freeze and make into jam!
3. Cheat with meat. Whenever I make tacos, whether it is with chicken, ground turkey, or ground beef, I always add a can of diced tomatoes or another veggie. This helps to add nutrition to your dish and it "bulks up" the meat. You can use less meat and stretch your budget a little more. Check out my Stupid Easy Ground Beef recipe for directions!
4. Buy organic! ...sometimes. Is everyone on an organic food kick lately? It sure seems like it! However, there are some foods that you don't need to buy organic to be healthy. Check out this list of The Dirty Dozen - the foods that consistently test for high pesticide levels that you should buy organic when you can. However, there is The Clean Fifteen! These fruits and veggies have very low levels of pesticide residue and are generally safe to buy non-organic. When buying produce on a budget, it is important to remember these lists so you don't spend too much money on organic produce.
I started using Nature's Garden Express through my local Co-Op and love it. For just $31, I get a box loaded with fresh, local, organic produce. Over the past few weeks I have priced out the contents of the box and found that I would be spending over $50 on these items at Whole Foods or Publix. If you sign up, use Promo Code 466f2 to get $10 off your order!
5. Minimize food waste by menu planning. Throwing away meat and produce is like throwing away money - especially when you are paying a premium for it! By planning a weekly menu and only buying what you need, you minimize waste and therefore minimize spending. I love a good menu plan - check out mine here.
6. Eat in season, and eat local. I adore farmer's markets because they only feature locally grown food that is in season. You save money since you aren't paying a mark-up on food that has been transported thousands of miles from other countries to your grocery store because they are out of season in your area. Eating locally and in season ensures that you buy only the freshest ingredients (with the best nutritional profile!) and you save on the travel cost of the produce.
Despite the increase in food cost, I have been making an effort to eat more locally grown food, choosing organic when I can. I thought that it would absolutely break the bank, but as it turns out - it isn't that bad. I am only paying $10-$20 more per week for healthier, better quality, fresh food.
- Maggie White
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
[ entertainment ] :: washington farms in loganville ga
I woke up bright and early this morning to go to Washington Farms in Loganville to pick strawberries with my neighbor - what a treat! We rolled in as they were opening around 8:00 am and went straight to picking. It was foggy and cool this morning, but the dampness didn't stop us from searching through the dense rows for berries!
With the rain and cold weather over the weekend, it was slim pickins' but we made due!
After 30 or so minutes of picking, we made off like bandits with a gallon of strawberries each. The pick your own berries are just $12 per gallon, and my neighbor was gracious enough to pay for mine! When I got home I went straight to weighing them, and even after eating quite a few I measured out five pounds of fresh berries. And then I ate some more. The smell was absolutely irresistible and the flavor doesn't even compare to grocery store strawberries.
I'm absolutely going back once the farm opens up again - perhaps this weekend! I'm itching to bake a strawberry crisp (or a pie, if I can find some rhubarb). This is a fabulous deal on in-season produce and is really a fun activity. Maybe The Hubs and I will make a date of it and hit up Waffle House before hand. :)
- Maggie White
With the rain and cold weather over the weekend, it was slim pickins' but we made due!
After 30 or so minutes of picking, we made off like bandits with a gallon of strawberries each. The pick your own berries are just $12 per gallon, and my neighbor was gracious enough to pay for mine! When I got home I went straight to weighing them, and even after eating quite a few I measured out five pounds of fresh berries. And then I ate some more. The smell was absolutely irresistible and the flavor doesn't even compare to grocery store strawberries.
I'm absolutely going back once the farm opens up again - perhaps this weekend! I'm itching to bake a strawberry crisp (or a pie, if I can find some rhubarb). This is a fabulous deal on in-season produce and is really a fun activity. Maybe The Hubs and I will make a date of it and hit up Waffle House before hand. :)
- Maggie White
Monday, May 19, 2014
[ home ] :: landscaping gives me gray hairs
Why am I getting so stressed out about landscaping the front yard? Because I want it to be perfect? Because shrubs are freaking expensive and I don't want them all to die?
A few weeks ago I posted about the utter annihilation that occurred in my front yard. The Hubs and I were toying with the idea of planting a tree and installing some foundation shrubs but decided, "not yet," and left it at that. Until Friday.
Pike Nursery (I love them!) was having a 20% off Customer Appreciation event on Saturday for their "Play in the Dirt Club" members. 20% off shrubs? Heck yes! Pike is a little more pricey than say, Home Depot or Lowes, but they carry high-quality plants from Monrovia and other local nurseries and they give a lifetime guarantee on shrubs and trees. That means that you can save your receipt, and in two years when your Hubs runs over part of a bush with the lawnmower (true story!) you can have it replaced. Amazing, right?
Here is what I have picked out for our foundation planting, which is about a 20' x 8' bed that runs along the front of our house's 8' tall foundation wall (seriously - why did the builder have to do that?).
For against the wall - a tall, evergreen shrub: Camellias! We already have four of them in front, so we will add to them. This is a "Bonanza Camellia," a type of Camellia sasanqua that can tolerate some sun. It reaches a maximum height of 5 feet tall, so it's perfect - it should grow right below our windows.
The Camellias will be a nice backdrop for...Limelight Hydrangeas! These plants are gorgeous and I am a total sucker for hydrangeas. They do get taller than the camellias (6-8 feet tall) but I should have no problem pruning them as they bloom in the summer. It's just an excuse to have fresh hydrangea flowers scattered around the house!
Finally, I'm copying my inspiration pictures and planting a low hedge of boxwood in front. I'm dreaming of the day when they hydrangeas try to dramatically spill over the hedge! I may have to suck it up and get the boxwood from Home Depot (where I originally bought some of them) to make sure I get the same species - there are so many to choose from!
Next year (or whenever they go on sale) I may plant some creeping phlox in front of the boxwood as a groundcover. I don't adore phlox like I do other plants, but it does very well in our yard. I think it would look great in the spring with some daffodils sprouting between them!
Boy, do I have my work cut out for me. Why do I do this to myself?
- Maggie White
A few weeks ago I posted about the utter annihilation that occurred in my front yard. The Hubs and I were toying with the idea of planting a tree and installing some foundation shrubs but decided, "not yet," and left it at that. Until Friday.
Pike Nursery (I love them!) was having a 20% off Customer Appreciation event on Saturday for their "Play in the Dirt Club" members. 20% off shrubs? Heck yes! Pike is a little more pricey than say, Home Depot or Lowes, but they carry high-quality plants from Monrovia and other local nurseries and they give a lifetime guarantee on shrubs and trees. That means that you can save your receipt, and in two years when your Hubs runs over part of a bush with the lawnmower (true story!) you can have it replaced. Amazing, right?
Here is what I have picked out for our foundation planting, which is about a 20' x 8' bed that runs along the front of our house's 8' tall foundation wall (seriously - why did the builder have to do that?).
For against the wall - a tall, evergreen shrub: Camellias! We already have four of them in front, so we will add to them. This is a "Bonanza Camellia," a type of Camellia sasanqua that can tolerate some sun. It reaches a maximum height of 5 feet tall, so it's perfect - it should grow right below our windows.
Image c/o Monrovia.com
The Camellias will be a nice backdrop for...Limelight Hydrangeas! These plants are gorgeous and I am a total sucker for hydrangeas. They do get taller than the camellias (6-8 feet tall) but I should have no problem pruning them as they bloom in the summer. It's just an excuse to have fresh hydrangea flowers scattered around the house!
Image c/o Monrovia.com
Finally, I'm copying my inspiration pictures and planting a low hedge of boxwood in front. I'm dreaming of the day when they hydrangeas try to dramatically spill over the hedge! I may have to suck it up and get the boxwood from Home Depot (where I originally bought some of them) to make sure I get the same species - there are so many to choose from!
Next year (or whenever they go on sale) I may plant some creeping phlox in front of the boxwood as a groundcover. I don't adore phlox like I do other plants, but it does very well in our yard. I think it would look great in the spring with some daffodils sprouting between them!
Image c/o Monrovia.com
Boy, do I have my work cut out for me. Why do I do this to myself?
- Maggie White
Saturday, May 17, 2014
[ garden ] :: weekly harvest - may week 2
Whoo! I got a new toy in the mail this week - a TubTrug. This little thing is perfect for toting tools around the yard and for harvesting my veggies. I have a colander on order that should arrive next week. It allows you to fill the TubTrug with water in order to wash the harvest as you pick.
With the spike in temperature over the past two weeks, the sugar snap peas began to thicken up a lot and their production slowed down. I'll probably pick the rest later this week once they mature a little more.
Most of the lacinato kale was harvested (there is one lone survivor in the okra bed) and I picked a few leaves of curly blue kale and swiss chard for omelets this weekend. It just got too hot for the poor lacinato kale, but the other kale isdoing fine! Update: It got snacked on by one of the dogs. The chard is holding on despite the heat (probably because it is so shaded by the mass of peas around it).I did cut some chard for a friend's Guinea pig, but I won't count that in my total. :)
Radishes: 4.50 oz
Sugar Snap Peas: 9.85 oz
Shelling Peas: 3.15 oz
Spring Onions: 1.60 oz
Kale: 3.15 oz
Swiss Chard: 2.25 oz
Oregano: 0.45 oz
Parsley: 0.95 oz
Cilantro: 0.50 oz
Mint: 1.10 oz
Chives: 0.35 oz
Basil: 0.85 oz
I am really enjoying using up these veggies in the kitchen since I get to explore new recipes! Gardening is a delicious hobby.
- Maggie White
TubTrug 3.5 Gallon Storage Bucket - $7.80 Amazon
With the spike in temperature over the past two weeks, the sugar snap peas began to thicken up a lot and their production slowed down. I'll probably pick the rest later this week once they mature a little more.
Most of the lacinato kale was harvested (there is one lone survivor in the okra bed) and I picked a few leaves of curly blue kale and swiss chard for omelets this weekend. It just got too hot for the poor lacinato kale, but the other kale is
Radishes: 4.50 oz
Sugar Snap Peas: 9.85 oz
Shelling Peas: 3.15 oz
Spring Onions: 1.60 oz
Kale: 3.15 oz
Swiss Chard: 2.25 oz
Oregano: 0.45 oz
Parsley: 0.95 oz
Cilantro: 0.50 oz
Mint: 1.10 oz
Chives: 0.35 oz
Basil: 0.85 oz
I am really enjoying using up these veggies in the kitchen since I get to explore new recipes! Gardening is a delicious hobby.
- Maggie White
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