Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad

Our usual way of eating a cucumber is to smother it in Ranch dressing.  That's okay, but pretty boring.  I decided to make a sweet and spicy dressing out of ingredients I already had on hand.  I'm surprised at how delicious these come out.  My husband is not a fan of cucumbers normally, but even he loved these.  This is a salad that takes a little time due to salting and then marinating, but it is well worth it, trust me.

SWEET AND SPICY CUCUMBER SALAD

1-1/2 lbs cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, & thinly sliced
2 tsp salt
1/2 c rice vinegar
1/2 c water
3 Tbs sugar
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbs minced sweet yellow onion

Place cucumber slices in a colander, sprinkle with salt and toss well.  Let sit for 1 hour in the sink.  Also, toss the cucumbers a few times while they drain.  While cucumber slices are draining, prepare marinade below.

Combine vinegar, water, sugar and crushed red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes).  Remove reduction from heat and add onion.  Let mixture cool to room temp.

When cucumbers are done resting, pat them dry with a few paper towels and then combine with the vinegar reduction.

This can be served immediately, but for best results refrigerate until well chilled.

The Great Potato Experiment

We were late in getting our garden in this year but things are still growing pretty well.  I'm hoping for a nice fall as that will let me harvest later than typical. 

My husband helped me rig up a contraption in what I hope will help them produce more.  I'd seen potato towers on Pinterest and other sites and decided to make a frugal version.

I have five potato plants that came up, which surprised me as it seemed to take so long I'd given up on them.  I kept mounding the soil up on the plants but they were starting to get pretty big and the soil kept rolling off the mound.  I stopped at my local dollar store and purchased five laundry baskets for $1 each.  I also purchased 14 qts. of potting soil.

My husband used a shop knife to cut the bottom out of each basket.  I put the basket over an individual plant, maneuvering them so that each plant was able to get a basket.

Since laundry baskets have holes along the sides, I layered hay up against the sides on the inside to hold the soil in.

Then I layered the baskets with the potting soil and garden soil. I also had my husband zip-tie them all together as the first two were leaning a bit so I could get all the baskets in there and I was afraid the addition of the heavy soil would wind up toppling them.  I watered them well and the hay also helped to hold in the water.

Here's hoping my experiment works!

Frugal Steak Hoagies

I enjoy making leftovers into totally different dishes from what they were originally.  I also like to make a lot of one thing so that I can do just this.  Here is how I make frugal steak hoagies from left over grilled hamburger patties.

 Other than the pre-cooked patties, I also used hamburger buns, canned peppers in tomato sauce and cheddar cheese.  The peppers in sauce that I used is some that my dad cans himself, but there are a few local brands that might be pretty close.  Demus and Oliverio's are two that come to mind.  I also puree the peppers and sauce with a hand blender so nobody gets a big chuck of pepper.

 First, slice all the burgers into thin strips, around 1/8" thick and warm in a skillet with a little butter or spray oil.  Add the peppers and heat through.

 Each sandwich/hoagie will be wrapped in a sheet of foil.  On each sheet, spray with some oil, then begin assembling until you have them all done.

To assemble just lay the bottom bun on the oiled foil, add the meat and pepper mixture, top with cheese and then top bun.  Wrap foil completely sealing each hoagie and place a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven preheated to 350 degrees F, for 15-20 minutes  This will heat it through and make the bread a little crispy.  Delicious! 

What are some ways you like to use leftover hamburgers?

Super Frugal Pole Bean Trellis

This is my first time growing pole beans and I was a little concerned on how I could give them something to climb without having to buy something made specifically for that purpose.  I remembered seeing a tip on how to do it a good while ago, but I can't remember where now.  It said to use some sort of string (or twine, or yarn) and tie one end to a rock and put the rock beside the plants as they are emerging and tie the other end onto something higher.  It so happened that I decided to plant them in a very neglected flower bed that my husband had built years ago in front of our porch, so that gave me the banisters above the bed to use for the string.  Instead of tying the string to a banister I wrapped the string around two of them and tied a rock to both ends.  I did that all along the bed and I can't wait to see if it works! 

The beans in the back are Dragon's Tongue and the ones in the front of the bed are bush beans and they are Greasy Grits.  All the seeds I'm using this year are from Baker Creek Seeds, and I've had excellent luck with them for the last several years that I've used them.  I don't get paid to say that, either, they are just that good.

This Blog's New Direction

When I originally started this blog, I was only planning to use it to record recipes I come up with for use in an ebook eventually, and I'll still do that, as well.  However, as I'm decluttering and organizing things around here I started going through a mountain of papers and came across several with lists of books and websites that I want to explore, and projects I want to tackle, and thought this would be a good place to keep track of them.  So I will continue to have recipes, but I will also be including book reviews, website reviews, frugal and free activities, gardening hints and tips, pet care, and homeschooling.  I have no choice but to operate on a very tight budget, so everything I list will be as cheap as possible or even free, if I'm lucky. 

Thanks for joining me on this journey and if there are any ideas or tips you are looking for, let me know in the comments and I'll see what I can come up with.

I found this image on Pinterest, but couldn't find out who designed it.  If you know, please let me know so I can give proper credit.