1. Mulching protects your garden topsoil from being blown away. It also provides nutrients as it decomposes and improves the appearance of your gardens. Mulching has other benefits and is one of the most recommended gardening tips by gardeners and farmers alike.

2. Healthy plants are more disease resistant. Plants are like people, a person with a strong immune system can combat diseases. A healthy plant does the same.

3. Pests can be eradicated by cleaning the plant with a watery solution of soap. Just make sure to rinse after. This gardening tip is best heeded for fruit bearing trees or edible plants.

4. Using compost fertilizers are a great way to have healthy plants. It is also a great way to save money on expensive fertilizers. Non -organic fertilizers also tend to leave chemical residues that can accumulate in garden soils and harm not only the plants but the gardeners as well. They cause toxins to go to the water supplies. Another gardening tip recommended not just by farmers and gardeners but also by environmentalists.

5. There are several plants that are only suitable for a specified climate, a certain kind of soil or can only grow with certain plants. You have to know what plant grow in the conditions you have in your area this is for you to avoid unnecessary purchases. This is a money saving gardening tip.

6. Landscaping is a good investment which can double the value of your home. This is one gardening tip that can earn you money.

7. Growing grass on bare ground is an easy way to make your home look better and appreciate in value. This is one gardening tip that promotes earning money while growing grass legally.

8. Aside from looking great in your home, trees also provide some sort of protection from direct sunlight exposure and strong winds.

9. Vines on the walls, fences and overhead structures also would offer some protection and would also look great.

10. Flowers are beautiful, but they are also expensive. Get one that is resistant to many elements. Flowers from your local community already have developed resistance to conditions present in your area.

11. For most gardens plants, their roots go only as deep as 6 inches. Putting fertilizer deeper than that would be a waste of money. Put them shallower as they seep down when the plants are being watered.

12. Earthworms are important to plants. They till and aerate the soil for the roots to breathe. Non-organic fertilizers can kill them. This gardening tip dates back to the old days of gardening.

13. Having several kinds of insects that are beneficial to your garden would be good. These insects can be encouraged to stay by having diverse plants in your garden.

14. Spot spraying weeds with household vinegar, instead of using commercial weed-killers, can eradicate them. This is another environment friendly gardening tip.

15. Avoid putting too much mulch on tree trunks; this would encourage unwanted pests to reside on them.

16. Use plant varieties that are common to your area or have been taken from an area with similar conditions.

17. Be sure to know the plants that are poisonous. If you are intent on growing them, make sure to have the necessary cure available in your household. Take note of this gardening tip, it can save your life.

18. The best time to water plants is during mornings.

19. Before planting a new plant in your garden, you must consider its height and size when it matures. This garden tip can help you save money in the future.

20. Newly transplanted plants may require special attention during its first week. This is to reduce the stress and shock it got during transplantation.

And last but not the least of the gardening tips…

21. Plants are living entities. If you want them to grow in your garden you have to treat them as such. They need to be taken care of. They are like your pets, you look out for them. In return you get that feeling of contentment watching them thrive.

A good way to take care of them is to consider that plants might have some feelings too.

About the Author:
Hege Crowton is an expert copywriter. She is known for doing in-depth research before writing her articles. Many of her articles are posted on www.submitcontent.com and she also does a lot of writing for www.CrowSites.com.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

Have you decided to cut corners anywhere you can in order to pay bills and save money? Do you need to feed your family this week with little or no money, or the ability to go grocery shopping? Don’t panic! You might just have enough on hand to get through.

Here’s how: Grab paper and pen.

Walk through your kitchen, taking inventory of everything you have in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer, organizing your list into categories, such as meats, vegetables, pasta, etc.

Sit down and think creatively. Consider what veggie and/or pasta you can team with which meat to make a meal. Broaden your normal menu; be brave enough to serve some things you maybe wouldn’t normally serve.Think outside the box and serve breakfast for dinner!

Carefully write out your meal plan for the week, and be diligent to stick to it!

Here are a few kitchen budget-savers I’ve learned:

Eggs can really stretch a dollar! Breakfast casseroles, quiches, or just plain scrambled eggs with cheese are always hits. If you’ve got a handful of hash browns or a potato you can shred up, that will stretch them too. You’d be surprised how just a few slices of bacon, or a piece or two of ham that wouldn’t be enough by themselves can work for a dish like this!

If you’ve saved small amounts of burger, sausage, chicken, pork or bacon and frozen them in baggies, you’re really doing good! Even ½ – 1 lb can be stretched in many dishes to feed a family!

Bisquick (or generic baking mix) is a lifesaver – for pancakes, biscuits, potpies, dumplings, and crusts.

If you have staples on hand such as flour, sugar and oats, you can mix up your own muffins or granola bars for breakfast, sack lunches or snacks for after school or in the car when you’re on the run (lots cheaper than stopping off for fast food!)

Use those lonely boxes of Jell-0 and pudding for desert or stretching lunch boxes. A can of fruit or a little sliced up fresh fruit can jazz up the Jell-O. If you find some Cool-Whip in your freezer, the kids will think you’ve gone all out for them!

Make a pot of soup or a potpie with the little bits of vegetables you have left in the frige or freezer.

Use that rice with some carrots, mushrooms and green pepper to make a stir-fry (almost anything goes!) If you don’t have any meat, use a couple eggs instead.

Think you can’t do anything with one small carton of yogurt? You can make smoothies using it plus a handful of frozen berries, or a banana (over-ripe works best) and a shot of juice or milk.

A can of cream of celery, mushroom, or chicken soup can stretch a little meat a long way! Use it in the crock-pot or for a casserole, serve with a vegetable and some noodles, rice or biscuits and you’ve got a delicious meal!

Think you’ve got nothing for desert? Just a few apples dipped in peanut butter, or some oranges scrubbed and quartered on a plate are great. How ’bout that lone cake mix – make it as is, or add a can of crushed pineapple and brown sugar on the bottom for a pineapple upside-down cake.

Odds and ends of bread, or the crusts you’ve saved in the freezer can now be used for French toast, homemade stuffing or croutons, or bread pudding.

Thinking to toss out the last of that potato chip or Doritos bag? Don’t! Use those crumbs on top of a casserole for added crunch and flavor!

You’ve heard the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention”? Being desperate in the kitchen is how I’ve come up with these tips. As you stroll through your own kitchen, you too, will concoct clever ways to put delicious meals on your table without breaking the bank.

About the Author: Sandra Jensen is a dollar stretching mother of four boys. She’s learned a trick or two about feeding a hungry family on a budget. Grab her ebook, Freezing It and Loving It, today!

One of my favorite meals includes pork chops because they are so full of flavor. However, they can be difficult to cook if you have never cooked pork chops before.

Tips for the Best Pork Chops:

1. Prepare Ahead
Decide ahead of time what you’ll be adding to your chops and how you’ll be cooking them. If you plan to fry them in oil or wine, make sure you have enough time to cook them 2 or 3 at a time. The size will also depend on how much time you’ll need. Give yourself at least an hour.

2. Cook Slow
The main thing you’ll want to keep in mind regardless of what you add is they need to be cooked slow. Cooking pork chops too fast will leave them burnt on the outside and pink in the middle. If you are cooking it in a pan, don’t cook higher than medium heat.

3. Add Additional Ingredients Last
When you add ingredients like cream of mushroom soup, be sure to add them last. Since you’ll be cooking slow, you want to make sure the meat is fully cooked before adding ingredients that don’t need to be cooked that well.

Feel free to get creative with your pork chops, and try out different ingredients following the tips above!

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About the Author: Kara Kelso is the mother of two, and owner of several websites. For more pork chop recipes and tips, visit:
http://www.idea-queen.com/pork-chops.html

If you have a tomato garden, you know how quickly those tomatoes start to pile up. The next time you have more tomatoes than you can handle, try using them with some of these recipe ideas.

Tomatoes have more uses than some realize. In addition to being used on sandwiches and BLTs, try using tomatoes in these recipes:

1. Salsa
Who doesn’t love salsa? If you grow peppers with your tomatoes, you can easily make a delicious homemade salsa!

2. Pizza Sauce
One of our favorite uses. In the winter when there are no tomatoes, we used canned tomatoes to make homemade pizza sauce.

3. Tomato Soup
It may not be a favorite to some and not all that great for summer, but when made in the winter using your own canned tomatoes from earlier in the year it’s absolutely perfect! Plan ahead to can some of your tomatoes so you can have this homemade treat later on.

The next time you are stumped as to what to do with all those tomatoes and are sick of BLTs, see what other uses you can come up with!

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About the Author: Kara Kelso is the mother of two, and owner of several websites. For more tomato recipes and ideas, visit: http://www.idea-queen.com/tomato-recipes.html.

Love the smell of a pot roast in the oven? I know most do, and pot roasts make a great meal for the entire family.

The next time you make a roast, here are a few quick tips to make sure you get the most out of your time, and make a delicious roast.

1. Use the Oven
   I know many absolutely love their crockpots, and use it for lots of different dishes. It’s a wonderful idea for slow cooked meals that don’t require a lot of time from you. However, to get the most meals out of your roast I recommend using a large roaster in the oven. This way you’ll have room for more vegetables and can cook additional items along side (like bread).
2. Allow Time
   For the best roast, you’ll want to cook it slow. Allow at least 4-5 hours to cook your roast, checking it often. While a roast requires little attention, you will still need to check on it often.
3. Make Too Much
   Don’t just plan for that night’s meal – make as much as you can! Roasts, potatoes, and other veggies make wonderful leftovers. You’ll save time and energy this was as well, since you can get several meals out of just cooking once. Pick the largest roast you can find at the store to make sure you’ll have plenty of meals.

A simple pot roast is one of the best home cooked meals out there. The next time you have time, make a roast that’s not only healthy, but one the whole family will love!

Homemade chicken strips can make a wonderful meal. Be sure you have a deep fryer handy before checking out these recipe ideas.

1. Plan Ahead
Before you even start, you’ll need to make sure you have the following ingredients:

Boneless Chicken Breast, cut in strips
Milk
Egg
Flour

If you plan to have a different type of strips (like spicy strips, sweet strips, etc), make sure you have the additional ingredients as well.

2. Cook
Preheat your deep fryer to at least 350* before you go any further. You’ll want to be able to immediately drop your chicken in a hot fryer as soon as you bread it.

As soon as it’s hot, place an egg and milk into a bowl to drop the chicken in. Pour your flour into a zip lock bag, and shake to coat the milk/egg chicken. Cook in fryer until chicken floats and is golden brown.

3. Add Sauces
Here you get to choose what type of dipping sauce you want with your chicken strips. Some prefer ranch, others with nothing, and many with just plain ketchup. You can also make a tasty honey mustard by mixing half mustard and half honey.

Variations:

Some variations of chicken strips include adding different spices to your flour. Garlic salt, onion powder, and other spices can make a spicy chicken that’s not too hot. Sesame seeds can also make a great addition to your chicken – just be sure to bake the seeds first so they don’t “explode” and pop.

Another variation is marinating the chicken first before breading. You’ll need to plan ahead at least a day with this option.

The sky is the limit with this easy recipe – see what you can come up with that’s in your own kitchen!

About the Author: Kara Kelso is the mother of two, and owner of many websites. For more fried chicken recipes and ideas, visit: http://www.idea-queen.com/fried-chicken-recipes.html

Kids have to eat. Three meals a day, every day. All moms know how important it is to have an arsenal of quick meals handy. You never know when you’ll have to put healthy food on the table in a hurry, or when you need ideas so dad can help.

Dunk It
Lucky for us, kids love dip. Cut some fresh cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, celery, and bell peppers and serve them with ranch dressing. Even finicky veggie-haters will eat their veggies with dressing on them.

Saved by a Sandwich
Start with two waffles, an English muffin, bagel, croissant, or a hotdog, hoagie or hamburger bun. Simply add jam, peanut butter, fruit slices, meat, hummus, veggies, eggs, or cheese. The possibilities are endless.

Oodles of Noodles
If you’ve got noodles, you can make a meal. Add some salad dressing and some meat, garbanzo beans and veggies and you’ve got pasta salad. Or, start with noodles and add a little butter and parmesan cheese to make buttered noodles. And, there’s always the classic standby – add pasta sauce and a dollop of cottage cheese onto noodles and you just made lasagna.

Wrap it Up
If you’ve got tortillas and leftovers, you’ve got a wonderful meal. Warm up your leftovers and wrap them up in a tortilla with some cheese. Voila! Leftovers Burrito.

Spuds from Heaven
Potatoes are a meal waiting to happen. Microwave a potato, pile on cheese of any sort (cheddar, mozzarella, cottage cheese) and some meat, veggies, or even salsa or sunflower seeds, and you have a delicious dinner.

Soup Warms the Soul
Fill a pan with broth and veggies. Then, just throw in whatever you have in the house, meat or beans, leftovers, a can of diced tomatoes, noodles or rice, and spices. You just made soup in minutes.

Turn the Day Upside Down
You can have breakfast any time. Cereal, eggs & bacon, waffles, or pancakes. Breakfast is always better at night.

Next time you’re in a position to make a meal in a hurry, refer back to this list and presto – you’ll have dinner on the table in minutes.

Free Reprint Article from http://www.ladypens.com – Articles by Women
Visit www.freequickrecipes.com for more food ideas. And, if you’re looking to save money by making frugal meals, visit www.freequickrecipes.com/frugal-cooking.php .
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