Growing Peas in Flower Boxes

This is my experiment for back yard gardening this year.  I have wooden flower boxes in the railings of my back deck.  I have grown herbs, lettuce and cherry tomatoes in them before.  This year I thought "Why not peas?".  Normally they would need something to climb up on, but I thought it might work to just left them hang down instead.  So far, everything is growing beautifully and and the flowers are starting to appear on the pea plants!

 Here is looking from the deck.

 And the same box looking from below.

 Another box, peas and a cherry tomato sharing space.

And the same box from down below.

Buying and Baking in Bulk

I love it when I can get bananas from the 1/2 price rack and when I see them, I pick up a lot!  Yesterday I picked up about 18 pounds of bananas which cost me $7.10.  So, what to do with so may bananas?  

1. We eat a lot of bananas and many of them are in perfect condition.  
2. First thing this morning I mixed up enough batter for four loaves of banana bread.  Three will go in the freezer and we will work on one for breakfast.  One of my favourite things to do is have loaves of banana bread, applesauce bread, zucchini bread, etc. in the freezer.  That way if we are going out for the day to the splash park or other outing, I just grab a loaf from the freezer and the kids snack on it through the day.
3. I make my own baby food, but it is also stage that is nearly finished for me.  I like to puree bananas and freeze them in ice cube trays to use as baby food when I don't have any fresh bananas on hand.
4. Here's a recipe I would like to try from Pioneer Woman's new cook book.  Bananas Foster looks like a delicious treat!
5. Store extra bananas in the freezer to bake more banana bread on another day.

 Some of the bananas I brought home yesterday.

 Four loaves of banana bread ready to go in the oven.  Baby girl woke up at 5:30 this morning (yawn), so I had these in the oven by 7:00.

Mmmmmmm warm fresh banana bread for breakfast!!!

A Splurge on Vintage Tupperware Toys

Hi, it's me....I haven't been around lately, but I would like to be!!  :)

I had to share my little purchase from yesterday.  We had this Tupperware Amphibio toy when I was little.  I would never have remembered it until I saw a picture on a local Buy and Sell site.  This was a couple of weeks ago and I tried to ignore it.  I really don't need more toys in the house!!  But.... I kept thinking about it....  So now I am the owner of a double set of Amphibio toys for $25.00.  Vintage, durable, and the kids love it!

How to Regrow a Green Onion

I saw this idea on Pinterest and since I had some green onions in the house, (a rare occurrence) I decided to give it a try.

So here's what you do:

1.  Put it in a glass of water.

2. Watch it grow!

Some of the roots will grow...

If you look at the short piece at about the 4 inch mark, that's how far down I had originally cut the onion.    A few days later it had grown 2 inches!

This is exactly one week later.  One of the "leaves" had grown 4 inches and the other had grown 6 inches!!!!

Now there's a frugal way to keep green onions if you tend to use a lot of them.  Now I have to find out how many times this one stalk will regrow!

The Mess of Homeschooling

So, trying to homeschool with a house full of little kids sure makes a BIG mess.  It completely overwhelms me and causes anxiety!  There's stuff everywhere!

 The kitchen table.

 It's hard to see, but the floor desperately needs to be swept or vacuumed.

Chairs out of place, books everywhere.

BUT, I've learned not to stress about it too much.  If everyone helps, it only takes a few minutes to put everything back together.  That's the hard part for me...remembering that the problem is quickly taken care of.  :)

Bread Maker Cinnamon Rolls

Using the bread maker to make dough has been so handy!  Use it to make these yummy cinnamon buns.


1 1/4 cups water
1 egg
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
2 tbsp butter
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast (or 1 1/2 tsp regular yeast)

For the filling:
1/2 cup melted butter
sugar
cinnamon

Measure ingredients into baking pan in the order that is recommended by the manufacturer of  your bread maker.  (I just put the liquids in first, then the dry ingredients.  Finally I make a little hole in the flour and put the yeast in there.)   Insert the pan into the oven chamber.  Select the dough cycle.

When the dough cycle is complete, remove the dough and cut in half.  Roll out one half using a rolling pin into an approximate rectangle about 18 inches long and 10 inches wide.  (Doesn't have to be exact).  Spread some melted butter over the dough.  Sprinkle liberally with either white sugar or brown sugar.  Then sprinkle with cinnamon.  Roll the dough lengthwise, jelly-roll style.  Pinch the ends to keep it together.  Cut the roll into 12 slices.  Place the slices in a greased baking pan.  Repeat with the other half or the dough.

Let the buns rise until doubled in size.  My tip for getting breads to rise nicely:  Place the pans in the oven, but don't turn the oven on.  Then put in another pan or bowl and pour some boiling water into that pan.  Close the oven door and let dough rise for approx 1/2 an hour.  The warmth and moisture from the boiled water along with the enclosed space of the oven acts like a little proofer and causes the yeast to work its magic.  When the dough has risen, remove from the oven.  Turn your oven on to 350 degrees and let it heat up. Once the oven has reached that temperature, put the dough back in.  Bake the cinnamon buns for 20 minutes or until nicely golden brown.

If you want to add frosting:
1 pkg cream cheese (8oz) at room temperature
1/3 cup butter at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth.  Beat in sugar until light and fluffy.  Enjoy!

Meaningful Quote - Corrie Ten Boom