Recipes
Finding great recipes to use up your garden harvests is not always easy. We love to garden and we love to cook. Follow us to be the first to find out about some great ways to use your Arizona desert garden harvests.
Growing Armenian Cucumbers in the Phoenix Arizona Desert
Living in Arizona means gardening all year long. The trick to growing veggies here is knowing the best times to plant for each season. Growing vegetables in the summer heat is possible if you plant heat-loving veggies. The Armenian Cucumber is one heat-loving vine that does not disappoint. Follow along and learn how all about growing Armenian cucumbers aka Cucumis melo var. flexuosus. Plant Heat-Loving Veggies In order to grow veggies here, you need to know the best times to plant for each season. You can find a variety of herbs and vegetables that just love the HOT HOT HOT summer heat. Knowing which ones they are is the…
Dehydrated Tomatoes: A Beginner’s Guide
Tomatoes have soooo many uses in the kitchen. You can slice them, chop them, blend them into a sauce… this versatile vegetable is used to make some of our favorite dishes. But, did you know, you can use dehydrated tomatoes to add to your favorite meals? These days, conserving food is more important than ever. Americans waste over 72 billion pounds of food EACH year! That number is crazy. Recently people have been raiding the stores to get whatever food and produce they can get their hands on. The problem is, the fresh vegetables, like tomatoes, do not have a long shelf life. However, there is a solution! Learn how…
Dehydrated Strawberries – A Yummy Healthy Treat
Strawberries are a sweet healthy treat that even the pickiest eater can enjoy. Certain times of the year, these scrumptious little morsels go on sale. It is easy to stock up on these bright colored berries by freezing or dehydrating. Today I am going to walk you through the process of how to make dehydrated strawberries. Strawberries Health Benefits Strawberries are a low sugar fruit full of vitamin C, folate, potassium and manganese. They are great for controlling blood sugar and heart health. These high fiber berries can be added to many recipes. Unfortunately, they do not have a long shelf life when fresh. Below, I will show you how…
How To Harvest, Wash & Store Lettuce
This is a great tip that I learned from my mother-in-law on how to store washed lettuce. She told me that she learned the best way to wash & store lettuce in her Home Ec. class in High School. For this example, I used Romain from my garden, but this works for just about any of your favorite greens. Step 1: Wash Lettuce As soon as you have harvested or purchased your lettuce, separate leaves and wash under cold water. There are a few proven ways to wash your lettuce. Some will soak it in a bowl of water, you can add some salt if you are afraid of any…
How to Harvest & Prepare Moringa Pods
Moringa trees also referred to as Drumstick Trees. They are easy to grow in the Southwest and provide a good source of protein and vitamins. These trees are drought tolerant and can grow 1-2 ft per month from seed. Follow the steps below to learn how to Harvest & Prepare Moringa Pods. A superfood tree has been quietly making its way into many American backyards. This tree will provide you with food (all parts are edible), water (it can purify it), more protein and calcium than milk, four times the iron of spinach and… a LOT more: The Tree That Every Gardener Should Grow in their Backyard I planted one…
Super Healthy Veggie Turkey Burger
Looking for a healthy meal for your family? I have become an expert at adding healthy ingredients to meals that the family doesn’t know about. This super healthy Veggie Turkey Burger recipe is no exception. I packed these full of healthy veggies and herbs. They are practically a whole meal on their own. These delicious healthy veggie turkey burgers are a family favorite to take along on camping trips. They are easy to make ahead of time and simple to freeze and pack for almost any outdoor adventure meal. What is my secret to a Super Healthy Veggie Turkey Burger? Dehydrated Veggies Dehydrating your own fruits, veggies, and herbs is…
Drying Basil From the Garden in a Dehydrator
One staple in our garden every summer is Sweet Basil. I have gotten to the point where my basil self seeds every year and is little work to maintain. We usually have 5-10 large basil plants growing at any one time. This creates an abundance of basil that needs to be preserved for winter use. To make preserving quick and easy, I like drying basil from the garden in one of my two dehydrators. Basil is such a versatile herb. I use it almost daily in recipes from Pizza to Roasted Potatoes. Purchasing dried herbs at the grocery store can be expensive, which I find odd since growing most of…
Homemade Bone Broth Recipe
Follow along with me and learn how to make the best homemade bone broth. We love homemade broth. It has so many uses and is super easy and cheap to make. So next time you get a rotisserie chicken or smoke your own turkey, freeze the bones until you are ready to use them. Don’t forget to save the giblets as well. More on that in a bit. Consuming homemade bone broth will provide you and your family with vital nutrients, vitamins and amino acids. Every batch is different depending on the types of bones you use and other ingredients. A basic bone broth will contain calcium, magnesium and phosphorus.…
Easy Homemade Instant Pot Recipes
When I first started out using our Instant Pot I was on the search for a collection of easy homemade instant pot recipes. After a lot of trial and error, I decided to share our favorite recipes with you. Make sure to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it when you need some great dinner ideas. We will continue adding great links to this page, so be sure to keep checking back. Recipe Collections First up is this fabulous collection of recipes for beginners. You can find 101 Instant Pot recipes all in one place. It is a downloadable PDF with lots of great recipes to help…
Best Instant Pot Refried Beans
We just love making Mexican food at least once or twice a week. I also love saving money. Making the best instant pot refried beans is a great way to make tasty homemade food and save some cash.