Hand in Hand

Quince   What would you like to see here?  Recipes using certain foods? Specific things about gardening? Or fruits and vegetables? Feel free to chime in and let me know if there is something that maybe I can help with. I'm trying to avoid having a bunch of ads here. It makes it harder to read. But, if you'd like to send a buck or buy me a coffee, my Venmo is on the side bar of the page. Click on my profile, about me, wishlist.  Thanks a bunch.

Dried pinto beans are super cheap to buy and actually really easy to cook. Especially if you have a slow cooker. The first thing you need to do when you open the bag of beans, is to sort through them. It's easiest if you put them on a table or countertop that you can slide them into your bowl from. You're looking for rocks, wrinkled beans, any debris, or beans that just don't look good. Your dried beans should be brown, smooth, and pretty much all look the same.  This is some of what I picked out while cleaning my beans.  Once you have your beans picked through, put them into your pot. This is the full 1 pound bag of beans. For this instance, we'll use a slow cooker. Fill the dish with enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches. They will absorb some water and swell up as they sit.    I get the beans ready the night before and leave them sit overnight. The next morning, I dump the water out and rinse the beans twice. Making sure the water is mostly clear ...

Meat is expensive.  One of the best ways to stretch your shopping budget, is to cut your own meat. Here in the picture is a boneless pork loin. This one weighs 11.12 pounds. Most meats cost less if you buy them as "whole in a bag".  The nicest thing about buying a whole piece of meat, is that you can cut it however you want. Chunks for stew? Thick or thin chops/steaks? Roasts? Want to grind it yourself?  All options you can choose from. From this pork loin, I ended up with 9 meals. I cut 2 roasts, 4 packs of 2 thick cut pork chops, and 3 packs of 4 thin cut pork chops. From the roasts, I'll probably end up with leftovers.  So, the breakdown comes to each meal cost me $2.46 for the meat. The meat for 9 meals cost $22.13. You can watch your local stores for "truck meat sales". My local grocers offer a sale like this twice a year. They also have butchers on hand to cut your purchases however you would like.   You can also shop at places like Costco or US Chef'...