This list contains some recipes, information on raising chickens, and how to go gluten free!! I know it’s not Thursday, but I’m sure some many of these won’t be free anymore then. So I’m sharing them now! Here are the books I think look interesting!

40 Fabulous Chicken Recipes For Dinner For Your Slow Cooker (Easy Dinner Recipes – The Chicken Slow Cooker Recipes Collection)

Paleo for Kids

Juice Love: Guide to Detox, Lose Weight and Feel Great with Juicing – Plus Recipes!

Backyard Chickens Crash Course – Raising Backyard Chickens For Fun & Food

33 Ingredient Substitutions To Help You Cook Amazing Foods Even When Your Cupboards Are Bare

Reckless Rudy and the Green Vase

Jack Cleans Up His Mess (Jack’s Picture Books for Children)

How to Be Gluten Free

If you don’t have a kindle, but have a computer, ipad, or smart phone, you can download Free Kindle Apps here.

A disclaimer about free Amazon kindle Ebooks – if you see anything here that you want, you might want to click right away and get it, because the prices change really fast on Amazon and they probably won’t be free for long {so my apologies if you click on any of these books and find out they are no longer free}! You can click on the picture of the book to be directed right to the appropriate page.

And I’m proud that a lot of what I’ve planted so far is doing great! I counted over 120 potato plants so far. I love potatoes, but I’m not sure what we will do with all of these. At least they’ll keep in the cellar for a while and maybe I’ll have seed potatoes for next year out of them, too. We’ll see!

I’ve only lost one tomato seedling so far. They’ve been in the garden for a week now, and are doing ok. I kept them watered for the first part of last week because it was hot, windy, and dry. This weekend, we finally got a good, solid rain and they look stronger now.
My pepper seedlings are also looking pretty good! I’ve lost only one of them as well. So far, I’ve had much better success with my seedling starts than last year. Perhaps I did a better job hardening them? Or I planted them better? Or I am doing a better job of keeping them mulched and watered? I don’t know, but I hope they all grow big and strong.

Speaking of mulch, I am making a much better effort this year to profit from its many benefits!  Mulch helps keep the weeds down and the moisture in. It can also be helpful in deterring pests from what I’ve read. I’ve been on the lookout for free mulch for my garden and have found a lot of great, free mulch!

If you’re looking for FREE mulch, here are potential sources:

1. Freecycle.org – If you haven’t jumped on the Freecycle bandwagon, you might be missing out! It’s a great place to find and get rid of stuff. Send out an email asking for mulch, and you might be surprised by what you find!

2. Landscapers or lawnmowers - grass clippings can make great mulch! We saw a lawn mower the other day dumping grass clippings into the back of a truck and asked if we could have them. He was only too happy to oblige as he needs a place to dump them. You might want to think about chemicals that may be in the grass, but it is possible to get clippings that haven’t been sprayed.

3. Transfer Stations - Our local city collects branches and downed trees all year and has a huge pile of wood chip mulch, free for the taking! I’m using the wood chips on my garden paths and it’s just perfect. I love all the free mulch we’ve collected so far this year.

And here are some more pictures I’ve been sharing on Instagram. If you’re on instagram, pop over and follow me. I share lots of goodies there and love to see what everyone is up to. I just love these purple flowers. I’m not sure what they are, but they are gorgeous. Too bad that bumble bee wouldn’t cooperate and pose pretty!Ha! My husband was not amused by the muddy kids, but I thought it was pretty fun. My van now needs a bath, and it was a good reminder to pack extra clothes and towels in my van!This is my baby! She turns 3 on Friday, already. I can’t believe it. For the first time in 10 years, I am not pregnant, nursing, or changing diapers. It’s an awesome feeling. Some baby robins my son found! And a nest with robin eggs! We are excited to see them hatch.

Here are more posts related to our homesteading efforts:

Do you believe in ghosts? Barn Renovation Part 5

The return of the tomato horn worm

How to plant potatoes using the do-dig method

Tips for transplanting seedlings

How’s your garden growing? Have you found any creative sources of free mulch? I’d love to hear!

Linking up: Tuesday Garden Party; Tuesday Greens; Backyard Farming Connection; 

Without further ado, here’s a Frugal Friday Tip ~ Prolong the Life of Fresh Herbs!

This tip came to me via my super smart sister in Seattle. I learn a lot from her!

I have posted a lot about saving money by reducing food waste. The monetary cost of food waste can be quite staggering and I know that throwing food in the trash pretty much equals throwing money in the garbage.  I hate when I buy a little package of herbs, use a bit, and toss the rest because they didn’t last that long. They never seem to last very long when I leave them in the plastic packaging they come in. So, here’s an easy way to prolong the life of fresh herbs!

Just cut the ends off {like you would flowers}, and put them in a jar of water. Store them in the fridge and be amazed by how long your herbs will stay fresh!

Got a frugal tip to share with me? I’d love to hear what small things save you money!

Linking up: Mostly Homemade Mondays; Homestead Barn Hop;

Here are the free books I found that interest me this week! {Please note: I have not actually read these yet, so I can’t say for sure whether or not they are good…}

If you don’t have a kindle, but have a computer, ipad, or smart phone, you can download Free Kindle Apps here.

A disclaimer about free Amazon kindle Ebooks – if you see anything here that you want, you might want to click right away and get it, because the prices change really fast on Amazon and they probably won’t be free for long {so my apologies if you click on any of these books and find out they are no longer free}! You can click on the picture of the book to be directed right to the appropriate page.

I’ve been giving my crockpot a workout the last couple of weeks. It’s helping me a lot to get dinner on the table at an earlier time. Honestly, we usually eat kind of late – around 7 pm. But with 3 kids in spring ball and an assortment of games and practices, it’s really important that I feed my family earlier right now. I’ve tried out a lot of different recipes recently, and this one, Scalloped Potatoes & Bacon for the Crockpot, is a winner!

I won this Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base from a blog giveaway! I was really excited to try it out and I highly recommend it. It makes homemade cream of mushroom soup a snap!

Do you have a favorite crockpot recipe? I’d love to hear! We have many more weeks of spring ball.

Linking up: Mostly Homemade Mondays;

Top 5 Tips for Planting Seedlings

1. Watch the weather! If at all possible, a good time to plant your seedlings is right before a gentle rain when the low temperatures are acceptable for your plants! It’s no fun to plant too early and watch the poor little things shrivel up because of a late frost.

2. Keep your seedlings well watered. To give your seedlings the best possible start, make sure they are well watered. Water them immediately after planting, and check them every day and continue to water as needed to keep them looking strong.

3. Space seedlings correctly. They might look pretty small when you plant them, but if all goes to plan, these tiny seedlings are going to get quite big. Make sure you know what the proper spacing is and plant them accordingly. Plants need room to develop properly. I use a ruler to get it right. {And I still mess up sometimes!}

4. Plant your seedlings in the late afternoon. Planting seedlings in the late afternoon can protect them from the harsh sun. If you can, plant them after the sun has gone down a little. This will help reduce transplant shock.

 5. Cover with mulch. Applying much around your seedlings helps keep moisture in and weeds at bay. Grass clippings, straw, or wood chips can help your seedlings really take off. We used grass clippings and placed it around the plants and also on the path. I’d rather weed as little as possible.

Those are my tips! I’d love to hear your tried and true tips for planting seedlings, too.

In addition to planting a lot of seedlings, we also did a lot more work in my garden on Mother’s Day! Check it out…

We picked up a lot more straw and covered up the potatoes again as they have really surprised me and are growing strong! If my 5 rows of potatoes produce, we will be sick to death of eating potatoes this fall. I can’t wait!!
We also picked up free wood mulch from our little city and used it to mulch the paths between the potatoes as well as form a border all the way around my garden. Last year I had a hard time with weeds around the edge of my garden and my smart husband suggested a mulch barrier this year! Smart man. He was a little miffed that my post last week on the Top 5 Garden Must Haves didn’t mention a husband with a strong work ethic, a tractor, and a dump trailer. Sorry, honey. He is definitely at the top of my Must Have list! I highly recommend a helpful husband for successful gardening.

By the way, if you missed that post about the Top 5 Garden Must Haves, pop over and check it out. I’ve got a great giveaway for a $50 Duluth Trading Company Gift Card that ends 5/24. I’d love for you to enter!

My helpful hubby also drove all the support stakes for my tomatoes. I’m glad that delightful task is done, and I think my stake garden looks pretty funny. Hopefully my tomatoes will survive.

Some of them are looking pretty sad. Clearly, I need more water and more mulch!

We also mulched all of my fruit trees with a HUGE mound of mulch, being careful to pull the mulch away from the tree trunk. This is the pear tree my husband clipped with the tractor earlier in the spring. It’s still alive. We’ll see how it fares this year. It did flower, surprise of surprises!

My gutter salad garden is growing nicely back at our house! It won’t be too much longer before I have lettuce to pick and eat. Yummy!

Check out my gorgeous spinach!

And this is my mesclun mix. I’m thrilled with my gutter salad garden. If you’re curious about it, you can read more about the gutter garden here.

Back at the barn, we also planted a herb garden next to the garden shed we moved out to our property last year. I transplanted a huge sage plant from the middle of my garden last fall and it is beautiful! We also added lavender, cilantro, oregano, rosemary, and parsley. I’m planting basil in my main garden area next to the tomatoes.

In other news, my kids found this nest with robin eggs underneath the bridge that leads up to our barn mow! Two of the eggs have hatched and you can just see the little baby bird fluff there! I didn’t have the right lens with me to photograph this nest, but we’ll take it out later today and see what we see. Luckily for the baby birds, the nest is hard to get to which means they may be safe from my curious and well meaning, but awfully hard on baby birds, kids.

I also DID manage to get the strawberry and asparagus beds cleaned out last week. All in all, it was a very good week for us.

Goals for this week include:

• Mowing our property
• Mulching the strawberries and asparagus
• Planting seeds as the ground warms up
• Continuing to weed
• Applying more mulch around my garden paths to discourage weeds

How’s your garden growing this week?  I’d love to hear what’s going on in your area!

Linking up: TGP; Tuesday Greens; Backyard Farming Connection; Creative Homemaker Hop; Garden Tuesday; Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways; Mostly Homemade Mondays; Homestead Barn Hop;

I’m excited to share Chunks O’ Fruti Fruit Bars with you today – a healthy dessert alternative that my entire family enjoys!

If you are picky about the food you serve your family, you may have realized that it’s hard to find treats that taste good and have healthy ingredients. I’ve found great frozen treats in the past that everyone loved, only to turn the box over and realize that they include artificial food colors or artificial sweeteners. I’m always dismayed when I find artificial ingredients in treats and I’ve started reading ingredients much more carefully, and before I agree to put a treat in my cart. I make a lot of things from scratch, but it’s really nice to have access to healthy, pre-made treats too.

When we found these Chunks O’ Fruti Fruit Bars last week, I was thrilled that the ingredient list is really 100% natural. There aren’t any artificial ingredients in it, and they are verified Non-GMO as well! As part of my quest to lead a healthier lifestyle, I really try to limit artificial ingredients like sweeteners, colors, and High Fructose Corn Syrup.  Last week, I bought a 16 pack sampler box with 4 of each flavor: Strawberry, Pina Colada, Strawberry Cream, and Caribbean Mix. You can see pictures from my shopping trip here. I was a little worried about how to fit the ginormous box in my little freezer, but I shouldn’t have worried. The big box included 4 smaller boxes that could have been stuffed individually as needed, but I actually had room right inside my freezer for the big box! No need to stuff.

My personal favorite Fruti flavors are the Caribbean Mix {first ingredients – strawberries, pineapple, mango, passion fruit, coconut flakes}, and Pina Colada {first ingredients – pineapple, coconut cream, water}. My kids preferred the other two flavors. Strawberry Cream was their favorite {first ingredients – strawberries, cream, skim milk}, followed closely by the plain ole Strawberry {first ingredients – strawberries, water, cane sugar}.I love that you can see real fruit chunks in these bars! According to Fruti’s “Fruit First Formulation,” their fruit bars contain more fruit than any other ingredient and this is reflected on the ingredient list. So much fruit means there’s no need for added “fake” flavors or color or high fructose corn syrup. And that makes this Mama really happy.And the pictures of my kids enjoying their new found Fruti bars really crack me up! Some days, they really love my job!

We give Fruti 100% Natural Fruit Bars 8 thumbs up!

If you’d like to learn more about Fruti 100% Natural Fruit Bars, head over to the Fruti website, check them out on Facebook and twitter.

What sorts of frozen snacks do you give your kids? Do you make them all from scratch or do you have a favorite pre-made variety? I’d love to hear what you have been able to incorporate into a healthier lifestyle.

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

Breakfasts ~

• Chocolate Chip Scones
• German Pancakes
• Egg Sandwiches
• Eggs & Bacon
• Yogurt, berries & granola

My breakfast recipes can be found very easily on my Favorite Breakfasts Pinterest Board.

Lunches ~

• Bean burritos
• Eggs Salad Sandwiches
• Left overs
• Lunch out

Dinners ~

• Chicken fajitas
• Scalloped Potatoes & Ham for the Crock Pot
• Crockpot Italian Style Meatloaf
• Slow Cooker Vegetarian Minestrone with Crusty Bread and Rhubarb Pie {or my family will likely throw a fit…}
• Pecan Crusted Trout
• Bastard Beef with Potatoes {from my Thermador Test Kitchen experience}

What are you eating this week?

Linking up: MPM;

Take Mother’s Day for instance. If I were on top of things, I would have had a great post up weeks ago with some cute ideas for things you could make for Mother’s Day. But I didn’t get to it because planning ahead has never been my strong suit. I have always been a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal. And quite honestly, I’m pretty darn lucky some days just to get things done on time.

In the past, I simply have not shared what I feel are decent ideas, just because I thought it would too late. But I’m I’m not the only person out there who waits until the last minute, right??? So, I decided to share this post with you anyway {you can always pin it for later, right?}. If you are looking for a quick, {cheap,} and cute homemade idea for Mother’s Day, here ya go!

Have your kids paint a pot, add a nice flower, and viola. Cute, {cheap,} last minute handmade Mother’s Day Gift. Check.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Acrylic Paint {I recently decided that I would ONLY buy my kids the primary colors. They should be able to make any color they want out of those three colors, right? Okay…I’ll also buy black and white. But that’s it.} I like this Apple Barrel Acrylic Paint
• Acrylic Coating Varnish Spray ~ Essential to protect the paint on the pot so it doesn’t wear off. We use one like this, Krylon Clear Acrylic Coating Spray.
• Paint Brushes ~ we like the foam brushes like this, Value-Pack 10-Pc Foam Paint Brush Set – Wood Handles
• Terra Cotta Pot & Plate ~ This costs around $5 at the local hardware store.
• Plant ~ For this post, I bought really cute violets. They also cost just over $5 at the local hardware store.
• Potting Soil ~ A bag of potting soil is also very cheap at your local hardware store.
• Sharpie ~ to write Happy Mother’s Day on the pot, if you don’t want to paint it on.

To make the pot:

Give your kids some paint and set them loose!

I put paint on a paper plate and let them go crazy.

We tried to get a rainbow from swiping all 3 of the primary colors at once. It didn’t quite work out. But it did make a pretty pot!

Not quite a rainbow.

My almost 3 year old spent the longest time out of all the kids painting her pot! She stayed at it for almost an hour and painted the entire pot – inside and out!

They all got messy and had a lot of fun.

Your kids can get as creative as they like! I think hand prints would be very cute on these pots, but we didn’t do it. We actually painted these for Easter baskets…but they served double duty and became a mother’s day gift for grandma!

After the pots are finished, let them dry for as long as you can, ideally overnight, but they dry in several hours in a pinch. Write or paint Happy Mother’s Day 2013 and add your kids’ names, if you’d like.  They spray with a protective coat of acrylic spray paint and let it dry too. It dries enough to handle in about 2 hours. Plant your flower, and voila ~ {cheap,} easy, cute homemade Mother’s Day gift that will be fun to look at for many years!

Do you have any ideas for easy {and cheap} yet meaningful Mother’s Day gifts? I’d love to hear!

If you’ve been following my blog, you might know that I’ve been griping {a lot} about the weather we’ve had out here in Eastern Iowa this spring. We had snow and frozen grounds until after Easter – which is a little unusual. Since Easter, it has been raining and cold a lot and we even had snow flurries again on MAY 3TH!!! The farmers are freaking out because they haven’t been able to get the crops in the ground yet and my own garden is behind where it was last year. But I am thrilled that the weather has finally turned warmer and I have been spending a  lot of time out in my garden: planning, weeding, planting, fixing, and dreaming. Duluth Trading Company recently sent me some wonderful gardening attire to try out.  I spend a good deal of my summer outdoors in my garden and I’ve learned over the last few years that having the proper equipment makes my life a whole lot easier.

Here is a list of my Top 5 Gardening Must Haves:

1. Comfortable Pants ~ Duluth Trading Company sent me a pair of these Heirloom Gardening Capri Pants from their #SummerSolved collection and I have to tell you I am in love! They are so comfortable and easy to move in. I can lunge and squat easily and everything stays in place. They are loaded with pockets and I’m not worried about my cell phone falling out. I take a lot of pictures on Instagram and really like having my phone safe and accessible. And, they are UPF 50+ so I’m protected from the sun, but they’re also lightweight so they will definitely protect me and keep me cool at the same time.

2. Long Sleeved Shirt ~ Another awesome article of clothing that Duluth Trading Company sent me is this Plaid Armachillo Work Shirt. I’m not normally concerned with how I look when I’m gardening, but I tell ya, wearing this tough shirt {and feeling pretty in it} is really nice! But better than just being pretty, it’s super functional with built in antimicrobial to fight my nasty BO, baked in UPF 40 sun protection, underarm gussets and mesh bi-swing for freedom of movement. One of my favorite features of this shirt is its double collar – perfect for protecting the back of my neck which is usually exposed because I wear my hair up. I had a really hard time choosing the color for this shirt, but I finally settled on blue. I had each of the three colors in my cart at least once, though, and might have to get another color one of these days! I love them all.  

3. High Quality Hat  I don’t actually have this exact hat, but a good hat is really important to me. This Crusher Hat from Duluth Trading Company is on sale right now for $19.99 and that’s a really good price for a high quality hat with built in UPF protection. I am a freckled red head and my mom and grandpa have both have cancerous spots removed from their faces. My mom sent me a different hat last year, but it looks a lot like this one. In my windy garden, a strap to hold the hat on is imperative, as is a wide brim. I burned really badly as a teenager and keeping sun burns at bay is pretty important to me now. I insist that all of my kids wear hats all summer long too.  

4. Mud Boots ~

Now I love the pretty patterned rain boots that are all the rage right now, but truth be told, I don’t think they hold up that well. Rain boots are essential for me when my garden is muddy and dirty as it is right now. My favorite time to weed in my garden is after a good rain and rain boots are essential for those purposes. I have a pair of Servus Rain Boots that I love. I slip them on, muddy them up, hose them off. And bonus, they offer a little protection from sharp gardening implements. If you ever saw me wield a hoe, you would understand!

5. High Quality Work Gloves ~

Last year was the first year that I really started using work gloves, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why it took me so long to use them. Gloves are essential for me now – they protect my hands from prickly weeds and keep me from getting blisters! I really recommend you get yourself a nice pair of gloves to use in your garden.

6. And one bonus Must Have ~ A Versatile Bag  A good quality bag is essential for me because I have to schlep so many things with me out to my garden since it’s not at our house: water bottles {because our well water isn’t currently drinkable}, snacks for the kids, hats, sunscreen, camera, cell phone. I love this Oil Cloth Day Tote that Duluth Trading Company sent me. It has room for everything! It is expandable and has lots of pockets and organizing slots. It even has magnetic closures. I used this tote at my blogging conference last week and was delighted that the handles are comfortable and the tote is even big enough to safely hold my over-sized computer. I love bags and this one has quickly become one of my favorites.

These are 6 of my must haves for cool and safe gardening! If you head out to Eastern Iowa you’ll probably see me sporting my new super comfy capris and my cute armachillo shirt! Thank you Duluth Trading Company!! I’m really excited to see how the pants and shirt perform once our weather gets hot, and lucky me! Next week we have highs in the 80s and low 90s.

But the best part about this post is the $50 Duluth Trading Company Gift Card

I have in my possession to send to one lucky reader!

To enter my giveaway for your chance to try out one of Duluth Trading Company’s fabulous products, head over to Duluth Trading Company, take a look at their products, and then come back here and comment about something exciting you saw! Use the Rafflecopter Form below to enter! Giveaway ends at midnight on May 18th and is open to all US residents 18 years of age or older.

If you can’t wait to get your own products, I’m excited to tell you that Duluth Trading Company is offering free shipping now through June 30, 2013, for my readers. Just enter code “T13PRCG” (Note: $50 minimum order. Minimum order applies to total before tax, shipping or gift card purchases. Valid for US shipping only, on standard delivery.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.