Free sample of new Quaker Cookies

Quaker has finally come out with a cookie. Sign up to get your FREE sample. I choose the chocolate and almond cookie, the banana nut cookie looks yummy too.

Gratituesday: My sister's wreck...God is good

This Gratituesday I'm grateful for my sister. Last Friday my sister was in a car accident. She was stopped behind another vehicle waiting to make a left turn.

She looked in her rear view mirror and say a big suv not stopping. He plowed right into her. Her car was totaled but she walked out. She was taken to the E.R. for observations, were they released her with only wipe lash. We're not sure when she'll be able to go back to work but we are very blessed that she wasn't hurt worse.

The Lord was defiantly with her that day.

Thank you God for keeping my sister safe and with us. God is good!!

Join Heavenly Homemakers every Tuesday for Gratituesdays!

Save Money with Healthy Coupons

HealthESavers.com has some great natural grocery store coupons. Try the "think thin" bars, they are yummy. I use Aura Cacia oils, they are great also :)

Coupons.com also has some healthy coupons. Just click on the side bar to your right.

SmartSource.com is another great site for coupons.

Keeping a Journal of your Garden: Part 1

Spring is definitely in the air here in Virginia. It's a great 80 degrees, the bees are buzzing, the flowers are blooming and the tillers are tilling.

When you go to plant your garden this year, try keeping a journal. It's great way to keep track of the things happening in your garden. Get a little note book, date it March 2012-Garden Journal.

-Write down in your journal when you see signs of insects start attacking your plants. This will help for next years crop. You can attack before they hatch.

-Write down when you planted those row of green beans and how long it took to come up.

-Write in your journal the variety of plants you planted.
Lets say you planted big boy tomatoes, early girls, beef stack and striped. You can keep track of how they grew, which ones produced the best and your favorite ones.


Believe me, you think you'll remember these things next year, you won't.

It's also a good idea to write down where in your garden you planted what plant. You should rotate your vegetables every 2-3 years. Different plants need different nutrients from the soil. Rotating them helps to keep a balanced soil. Just remember not to plant your potatoes where your tomatoes where last year. They are in the same family of plants.

One of my goals this year is to keep track of how much money I spend in plants and seeds, then weigh all my vegetables and see how much money I've saved. I think we'll all be surprised with the savings.

Till next time with our Garden journal. Happy Gardening!!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day: Time to Plant the Potatoes

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. No, I'm not Irish, but I do love my potatoes. And today is the day to plant your potatoes, at least here in Virginia.

I usually have always planted my potatoes in hills. This year I decided to plant them in rows. Not sure if there will be a difference in how they will grow, just the method of planting. Make sure when you cut your seed potatoes that each piece of potato has two eyes. This is where the steams will grow. I use to plant two pieces of cut potato in each hill, but this year I just spaced them about 10- 12 inches apart. We'll see how it goes.


Place potato about 5" below the ground, making sure eyes are facing up. Cover will soil. When the potato start to grow make sure to keep the dirt piled up around the base of the steam. You don't want any light getting to the potato, that's were "green" potatoes come from.

Your potatoes will grow nice big green leaves. Then they will have flowers bloom and then die. When the steams are all dead, it's time to dig up your potatoes. You can dig around the base of the plant earlier if you want tiny potatoes. They are great for pastas or thrown in with green beans.

Happy planting!!

Graham Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

Need an easy fun cupcake recipe? Ming makes cupcakes has 33 different ones. These graham cupcakes with key lime cream cheese frosting are delicious. The recipe made 12 normal sized cupcakes. But I did have a lot of icing left over. I'm sure there are more recipes waiting for me to use it up.

Cupcakes:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter, room temp.
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Mix flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Beat in butter, sugar and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs, vanilla and milk. Pour into lined cupcake pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.

Frosting:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, room temp.
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 Tbsp. key lime juice

Mix together ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Frost cupcakes. Top with crushed graham cracker crumbs. Top with lime slices.

Instead of lime slices, I used lime shavings. This makes your limes go a lot further.

What is your favorite cupcake?

Cooking Collard Greens

Who would think collard greens would taste so yummy?! Well, I'm hear to tell you they are delicious. I always thought of collard greens as a "old person food", you know the food your grandma eats and you say "yuck". I decided to try them last year and was hooked.

My grandma bought me 12 plants last fall to plant in my garden. Collard greens are a winter vegetable. They thrive in the cold. Collard greens are very easy to grow, just watch for the inch worms, they love collards too.

When the leaves get about 8"-10" long it's time for picking. Cut with a sharp knife at the end of leaf near the stalk. You can also buy collard greens at the grocery store. Just remember to wash them well. Cut greens to bite size pieces. Place in crock-pot of large pot. If you have a ham bone, steak bone or piece of bacon you can throw that in as well. The meat really flavors the greens well, I'm just trying to do my best with not eating meat.

Here is my simple recipe for delicious collard greens:

8- 10 cups chopped collard greens
1 cup vegetable broth
1 bouillon cube (I used chicken)
1/2 medium onion, diced
5 cups water
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pepper

I cooked my collard greens in a crock-pot on high for 10 hours. You can cook them on top of the stove in large pot also. When they are tender is when their done. Enjoy!!

Did you know that collard greens are loaded with vitamin K and are a low calorie food?
What is your favorite way to eat collard greens? Or have you never tried collard greens?