Wordless Wednesday May 30

Happy Wednesday!

#wordlesswednesday

Preserving Fresh Lettuce - Salad from a jar

I'm a salad-lover!

I could eat a salad every day,

and I usually do.

Yet I'm always throwing away

lettuce that has turned brown or wilted.

note: I don't actually throw it in

the trash bin, it goes to the chickens/compost.

Well, no more!!

(cue dramatic "ta-da"music here)

I now preserve my lettuce in canning jars

with my handy dandy FoodSaver vacuum sealer.

We purchased jar sealers for both regular

and wide-mouth. These use the accessory 

hose that comes with most FoodSaver models.

Here's how we do it!

We use a mix of lettuce, whatever

we're growing along with store-

bought.

1. Chop it into bite-size pieces.

2. Wash and DRY it really well

     in your salad spinner or with

     paper towels.

3. Pack your mix of lettuce into 

    mason jars. Push in as much

    as you can!

4. Place a lid* on the jar.

5. Place the jar sealer over the lid.

6. Attach the hose to both the jar

    sealer and your machine, hit

    the vacuum button.

7. When it is finished, DETACH 

    the HOSE from the jar sealer 

    first. You should hear a ping.

8. Then remove the jar sealer from

    your mason jar. Test the lid to make

    sure its sealed!

9. Keep your jars in the refrigerator

    for up to seven days. 

That's it.

* you can use new lids (and still use them for canning later) or

you can reuse old lids as long as they aren't too banged up.

Also, this works for quart or pint jars. 

I use a pint because that is a perfect serving size for me.

We have been doing this for well over a year now. 

You can experiment with different lettuce. More delicate leaves/spinach, I know just starts to turn by the seventh day. However, more sturdy leaves such as romaine will last longer.

This is a huge time saver during the week. For lunch, I simply 

grab a jar, empty it onto my plate throw on a few toppings and 

I'm good to go!

I have a friend that takes a jar with her to work each day, she puts

her toppings in another container; grabs both on her way out the 

door. 

I'm all about prepping for one day,

so I can eat for a week.

Do you have any prepping shortcuts

to share??

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Happy Labor Day 2016

Happy Monday!

and 

Happy Labor Day 

to those celebrating today!

If you have the day off,

I hope you're enjoying it.

September is going to be a busy month,

I'm hoping to stay on top of things and 

take pictures to share here on the blog.

Have a blessed day!

(:

Easy Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Printable Recipe

Last week I talked about my 
stockpiles of shredded zucchini!

So, this week, I wanted to share one

of my favorite recipes to make with

that shredded goodness!  

Easy Zucchini Cake

with Cream Cheese Frosting

(printable recipe)

2½ cups  all purpose flour

2    cups  sugar

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1    teaspoon  salt

½   teaspoon  baking powder

½   teaspoon  baking soda

1    cup     vegetable oil

4    eggs

2    cups   zucchini, shredded

½   cup    walnuts, chopped (optional)

directions:

1. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder & baking soda in mixing      bowl

2. Combine oil & eggs; add to dry ingredients, mix well

3. Add zucchini; stir until thoroughly combined.

4. Fold in walnuts, if desired.

5. Pour batter into 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking pan.

Bake @ 350° for 35-40 minutes.

~Maria Matter http://asimplefive.blogspot.com/

Frosting

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla extract. 

note:

If you're using your frozen shredded zucchini,

there may be quite a bit of liquid in the freezer bag

after thawing.

DO NOT DRAIN! The zucchini "juice" helps keep

this cake super moist!

Check out some of my other

 Zucchini recipes and ideas.

How to preserve your summer squash-zucchini.

Zucchini Bread Gift Set idea

Super Moist Zucchini Bread

My pickiest eater actually requests 

this recipe for his official birthday cake!

Yea, it's that good!!

I hope you'll give it a try (:

Have a blessed day!

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Preserving Your Summer Squash - Zucchini

If you're someone who likes 

to share, grow summer squash. 

It's a very prolific plant!

We grew green & golden 

zucchini summer squash 

this season. 

Unfortunately, we started

our garden a bit late due

to our May/June vacation

this year and it was just

when the squash "moths"

were laying their eggs.

We didn't notice in time,

and their larvae feasted

on our plants!

#sadface  :(

We were able to pick a few before

the vines started dying off.

Most of my zucchini is shredded,

preserved in FoodSaver bags and

stacked in the freezer for later use.

Although you can add shredded

zucchini to a number of recipes

to increase your veggie intake,

our main uses are...

*Zucchini Cake with Easy Cream Cheese Icing,

*Super Moist Zucchini Bread and

*Zesty Zucchini Relish.

I'll provide links above as I share my recipes here on the

blog in the coming days.

We use a food processor with

a shredder blade.

If you have a shredder for your

Kitchen-Aid mixer great, if not

a hand grater would work too!

Then we bag it up in 2 or 3 cup portions.

3 cups for the bread, 2 cups for the cake

and relish. Freeze it flat then stack it to

save space. No blanching required.

You could also slice your zucchini in

rounds and dehydrate it for use in soups

and casseroles.

Sprinkle on some seasonings before 

drying them for variety.

Whether you shred it, freeze it or 

dehydrate it, Zucchini is easy to 

preserve and a great veggie to keep 

on hand.

Now, I'm off to bake a zucchini cake!

Do you grow squash 

in your garden?

What is your favorite

way to use it?

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DIY Notepad Cover - Recycle, Reduce, Repurpose

I am definitely a "SHE" - 

Sidetracked Home Executive (via Flylady)!

Stationery supplies make my heart happy; 

notebooks, journals, papers, pens, markers, 

file folders, planners, etc.

So when hubby & I went to some local 

yard sales this past weekend and I saw 

a fellow "SHE" selling a portion of her 

stash, I was like...

Then during a little crafty time, 

I created a pretty cover for one

of the notepads I had picked up.

These lovely papers are from Echo Park,

For the Record, they were in my scrap

box along with their stickers & trim.

However, the scraps weren't quite wide

enough to cover my pad so I pieced some

together. It worked out perfectly with a

little washi tape to hide things inside! (:

I even found a little 

resin flower to match!

I now have a pretty covered 

notepad for my purse...

I like when everything coordinates!!

check out the one

I created for my

Christmas list...

Are you a SHE?

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Easy Melt & Pour Seashell Soaps

Ah, summertime...

sun, sand, beach, seashells...seashell soap! 

Why not!

It's a fun activity to do with the kids!

You'll need a melt & pour glycerin bar

and some seashell candy or soap molds
from your favorite craft store.

Then cut a few cubes from the bar and place

them in a glass bowl for melting.

Pop it in the microwave and heat it

for 30 seconds, stir. Continue heating

it at 30 sec. intervals until melted and

its easy to stir.

Separate the melted soap into different

glass bowls if you want to add color to

your soaps.

Once colored, you'll simply pour it into

your molds and let it sit overnight until

firm.

Then pop them out of the molds to use

or give as gifts.

Simple, huh?!

We used food to color our soaps;

brown sugar, paprika, dark cocoa and 

blue "Jello" powder.

Think of the possibilities...

depending on the molds and colors

you use; you can coordinate seasons,

holidays, sports, special events, etc.

side notes:

if you notice bubbles in your melted

glycerin soap-and they bother you-

you can put a little rubbing alcohol

in a spray bottle and lightly spray the

surface of the soap, the bubbles will

dissipate. 

Also, if you have older kids, this could be

a great fundraiser project. I've given

you the basic instructions, but you 

could get a little more involved by

purchasing soap fragrance and color

gels (a little goes a LONG way!) It can become 

rather addictive, be warned!

Have you ever made

your own soap?

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Simple, Sparkly and Recycled - Birthday Card

A few months ago, my son

received this cute birthday 

card below.

It was bright, fun and sparkly.

And honestly, it was the sparkly

parts that saved this card from

the bin when he was finished with it.

So, with a piece of white cardstock

and a trimmer, a new birthday card

was born. Simple, huh?!

Can you see the sparkly glittery parts???  

Oh my heart be still! (: 

white cardstock, personal trimmer, foam dots

"So that which is old becomes new."

Works great for Christmas cards too!
Enjoy your day!

What do you do with

your old birthday cards?

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