My New Project ..... Gardening!

So I have a new project to obsess over ....... a vegetable garden.  I'm planning on using the Square Foot Gardening method.  My father-in-law gave me some scrap wood to build most of my boxes.  He even cut it to the size I needed!!!


I decided to use Heirloom seeds.  They aren't genetically altered and you can save the seeds and plant them the following year.  I just placed an order for seeds. A friend recommended Heirloom Acre Seeds.  Here is what I ordered:


Carrots - Tendersweet Carrot and Scarlet Nantes Carrot


Onions - Texas Grano 1015Y Onion and Yellow Sweet Spanish Onion


Cucumbers - Straight Eight Slicing Cucumber and National Pickling Cucumber


Squash - Golden Summer Crookneck Squash


Zucchini - Zucchini, Black


Lettuce - Salad Bowl Green Lettuce and Green Ice Leaf Lettuce


Tomatoes - Ace 55 Tomato and Grape Tomatoes


Okra - Clemson Spineless Okra


Jack-Be-Little Pumpkin - I thought these would be fun for the kids this fall


Cumin


Zinnia, Dahlia Series Mixture

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I still have to get everything else ..... a few more pieces of wood, herb plants (Basil and Parsley, maybe Cilantro), soil, weed cloth, some sort of cage to keep the rabbits out.


I really hope I'm not being too optimistic on this project.  I have a tendency to get excited about something and get in over my head.  I really want this to work ...... so we'll see!  I'll be sure to post before and after pics .... maybe even in progress pics, too!

Granola Bars

I put mini chocolate chips in these, but feel free to substitute raisins or other dried fruit.  You could even add nuts.

These are pretty sweet.  Next time, I might cut the brown sugar in half.

Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats (not instant)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup honey
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix together the oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, chocolate chips and salt.

Make a well in the center, and pour in the honey, egg, oil and vanilla.  Mix well.

Using your hands, pat the mixture evenly into the pan.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the edges get golden brown.

Cool for a few minutes, then cut into bars or squares.  Don't let them cool completely, or they'll be too hard to cut.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

Oh.My.  I have issues with casseroles .... they rarely turn out the way I think they should.  Finally, I achieved success!!!!!!!  I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, and I modified it a bit to fit our family.  I've made it twice now and both times, everyone gobbles it up.  Last night, hubby actually said, "This is a really good meal."  He rarely says that, so I knew it was good!!!!!  (He usually says, "It's fine."  To him, that means he likes it.  It took me a while to figure out that It's fine really means It's good.  So for him to say It's good .... that must mean it's great!)

The original recipe is HERE.  I'll put it here the way I made it and I'll put some notes and thoughts at the bottom.

Southwestern Chicken and Rice Casserole

• 1 (15 Oz.) Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 (10.75 Oz.) Can Cream Of Chicken Soup
• 1 C. Water
• 1 C. Picante Sauce
• 3/4 C. Uncooked Long Grain White Rice
• 1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 (11 Oz.) Whole Kernel Corn Drained
• 4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast Halves
• Taco Seasoning
• Cheddar Cheese

Spray a 13×9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread drained black beans over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.

Combine soup, water, salsa, rice, onion powder and corn in a bowl; pour over black beans.

Lay chicken on top and generously sprinkle taco seasoning on top of the chicken.

Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken and rice are done.  Uncover and bake another 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven until cheese is melted.

My Notes

- Instead of the 1 cup of water, next time I might try adding a can of petite diced tomatoes.  Maybe even the ones with green chilies.

- You can use whatever kind of salsa or picante sauce you like.

- I think this would be easy to put together ahead of time and just pop in the oven an hour before dinner.

- If you use brown rice, I'd probably add a bit more water.

- Cheese ..... again, use whatever you like.  Last night, I used a combination of mild and sharp cheddar cheese, only because that's what I already had.  Mexican cheese would be good, too.

- I think this casserole has a lot of possibilities to change it up a bit and to adjust the spiciness to what your family likes.