Tag Archives: frugal?

Party in Your Plants Plant Food V.3

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  • 1 gallon warm water (the stuff you drain out of your fish tank/bowl is great for this purpose)
  • 1/4 teaspoon unsweetened instant tea granules
  • 1/2 teaspoon Knox gelatin
  • 1/2 teaspoon household ammonia (omit if you’re using ‘fishy’ water)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Dr. Bronner’s 18-in-1 Hemp Peppermint Pure-Castile Soap
  • 1 capful of whiskey
  • 10 percent of the recommended dosage of plant food
  • Once a month in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and once in the Winter add: 4 One-a-Day With Iron or similar type vitamin with iron tablets or capsules

Fill a one gallon jug with about one inch of very hot water. Add the gelatin and shake really well to dissolve. Add the rest of the water and remaining ingredients.

When adding the vitamins, it’s best to do so the day before you need to use this, thus allowing the pills plenty of time to dissolve.

Use it every time you water your plants. No need to add anything.

This is recipe based on one I found in a book called “Plants are Still Like People” by Jerry Baker. I”ve been playing with it for a couple of years and you may have seen one of the earlier versions here.

I decided to omit the ammonia when using my tank water this year, when I started my container vegetable garden. The ammonia provides nitrogen and too much is not a good thing. In fact, you might even consider using a flowering plant food if you want to grow such goodies as melons, tomatoes, and other fruiting plants in your garden, as Baker suggests in his book. He also recommends changing your fertilizer regularly since each plant reacts differently to each kind of fertilizer.

Instant Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal

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  • 3 cups quick oats
  • salt
  • sugar or Splenda
  • cinnamon
  • dried apples, chopped
  • 8 quart size zipper freezer bags

Put 1/2 cup oats in a blender and whirl at high speed until powdery; reserve in a small bowl and repeat with another 1/2 cup of oats. If you are using a food processor you can process the 1cup of oats in one motion.

Into each bag put 1/4 cup unpowdered oats, 2 tablespoons powdered oats, a scant 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sugar or Splenda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons chopped dried apples.

To serve, empty bag into a bowl (don’t forget to rinse and reuse!). add 3/4 cup boiling water; stir and let stand for two minutes. Use less or more water according to taste.

Makes 8 packets (for maximum nutrition, I keep my packets in my freezer)

Some may argue that it’s just as easy to make quick oats and add the fruit and flavoring to it. Yeah, I suppose, but I’m not a morning person, nor am I always around when the kids demand oatmeal, so making it up ahead and storing it makes life easier in this household.

Beer Pot Roast

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  • 4 – 6 lbs beef roast of choice (usually whatever’s on sale)
  • 4 large carrots, sliced
  • 4 large potatoes, quartered
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 vegetable bouillon cubes (or equivilent)
  • 1 cup water
  • 12 ounce can of beer (also your choice)

Cut excess fat from roast. Place in a large (6+ quart) slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours (if your slow coooker is one of the newer, post 1990, models, then you may want to check it at 4 hours). Serve with broth spooned over meat and vegetables. You can use any extra broth from thiis roast as a base for soups, gravies, or any recipe calling for beef broth.

Serves approximately 8