Mrs. C Does Stuff

I planted this garden a little over a month ago.  Since planting, I've been tracking the progress of my plants.  The picture above shows how all the plants look now.  We are experiencing a little growth here, folks. I try to keep the plants watered well.  It has been raining fairly regularly here, so I haven't had to water everyday to keep the soil moist.  Lately, I have started to notice that some of the leaves are yellowing.  This happened before with my tomato plant a few years ago.  Either the sun is burning the leaves or my plant is having water issues.  I'm still trying to figure this one out. My first attempt at a solution will be to address the water issues.  Although we have had almost daily rain, I will try keeping it more watered and see if that helps.  I've also been considering installing a drip irrigation system to assist with keeping the soil moist enough.  We will see how this works out.  Of course, if I ...

Let me start by saying, I do not have a green thumb.  My main problem is my lack of attention to plants once I have planted them.  However, it is a personal goal of mine to improve my gardening skills.  I love plants and flowers.  And, I have always wanted a garden.  The idea of growing my own food seems so rewarding. This is a great activity that can be done with a toddler.  My plan is to learn while I teach my two year old how to garden.  Together, I think we can do this and have some fun too. We wanted to create a raised bed garden using cinder blocks.  We leveled out the ground as best we could and created a rectangle with the cinder blocks.  We placed cinder block caps on each of the blocks to finish off the look.  Doing this will also help block light from getting through in the holes of the cinder blocks and keep grass from growing within the holes. We actually built and prepped the garden bed a few weeks prior to plantin...

Fall is upon us, the weather is finally starting to get a little bit cooler.  It is time to usher in the warm broths.  One of my favorites is shrimp and corn soup.  There are a few local restaurants that make great versions.  I have tried to replicate those.  I prefer a creamier broth, as opposed to a tomato based broth, although recipes for both are out there.  Here, I will show you how I made mine. Ingredients: 1 onion, finely chopped 1 bell pepper, finely chopped 2 tablespoons minced garlic 3 bunches of green onions 1 stick of butter Salt and pepper to taste 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 1/2 cups dry sherry 2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp (can be frozen) 1 pint of heavy whipping cream 1 16 ounce package of Velveeta cheese In a large stock pot, cook down the onion, bell pepper, garlic, green onions, butter and dry seasonings.  Cook the seasoning mixtures until translucent, stirring occasionally.   While the se...

I firmly believe vegetables are better roasted.  I only discovered this technique a couple of years ago.  Ever since I learned this worked, I have tried it with every vegetable.  This recipe is quite similar to the roasted green beans .  Also, I did not invent this recipe, I am pretty sure similar versions can be found all over the internet.  This is the way I do it, so I thought I would share it with you. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Then cut up the broccoli into forets. Lay them in a baking pan.  Drizzle the broccoli with olive oil and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste. Cook for 20 minutes.  In less than thirty minutes, you have a delicious and healthy side.

I love potatoes cooked this way!  They are so flavorful.  You can make them as spicy or mild as you wish.  This recipe is for the mild version and it does not contain cayenne pepper.  For a spicier version, sprinkle about an eighth of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper when seasoning the potatoes.  First, quarter B size potatoes.  Those are the little small round white potatoes with red skin. Sprinkle some paprika, salt, black pepper, thyme and oregano over the potatoes.  I do not usually measure, I just kind of eyeball the seasoning for this recipe. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of the pot.  Stir the potatoes to incorporate the seasonings throughout. Cover the pot, with the lid tilted a bit to let the steam escape.  Cook the potatoes on a medium high fire until soft, stirring often to ensure they do not stick to the bottom of the pot.  This will take about 10 - 15 minutes.  When the water is almost com...

Considering my Early Girl tomatoes were doing so well at the beginning of the season , they have now died.  Well, I think they would have still been thriving had we not gone on vacation.  We went out of town for about six days earlier this summer.  It seems when we returned, they were goners.  I tried to think of what could have gone wrong.  Here are a few ideas that could have been factors: It was at least 100 degrees everyday while we were out of town.  The plant most likely needed additional watering to accommodate for the dryness of the soil. I never got around to purchasing a cage, which might have helped support the vines as they grew.  I am not sure if this was truly a factor in my failure to keep the plant alive as the plant never got really tall.  I also, never put any additional plant food after the initial soil.  I should have provided more nutrients for the plant.  I'm pretty sure this was a big contributing fac...

I love roasted green beans!  They are quite possibly my most favorite vegetable.  The best part about making them is that the recipe is extremely simple.  I realized I say that a lot when I am posting recipes.  However, I think everyone is capable of doing what I do.  People should believe in trying something out, if it does not work out well or they do not like it, they can always decide not to try it again. Now, I did not create this recipe myself.  I actually found it on the Food Network's website by Emeril Lagasse, found here .  Someone had told me about roasting vegetables, so I Googled the topic and the first one that came up seemed really tasty. Ingredients: Green beans Olive oil (I always use extra virgin, but you could probably use any kind) Kosher salt Black pepper You may notice from the list of ingredients that I did not include measurements.  The original recipe did, however, I choose to eyeball everything.  You ...

This is my favorite way to cook asparagus, and I have been doing this for years.  In case you don't already know of the magic of lemon zest, I will let you in on a little secret.  Lemon zest, shavings of the outer skin of the lemon, strengthens the lemon taste in anything you use it in.  It is fine to use lemon juice and all, but lemon zest even better. When I make asparagus, I first clip the stems of the asparagus and wash the bunch.  Then put it in a skillet or shallow pan and cover the asparagus completely with water.  Let boil gently.  The asparagus will turn bright green.  This is how you will know it is done.  Then, drain the water out of the skillet, leaving the asparagus in the pan.  Add two tablespoons of butter to the pan.  Using a grater, shave some lemon zest over the asparagus.  Allow butter to melt, moving the asparagus around the pan to coat evenly with the butter and lemon zest combination.  ...