Summer :@)

Truly home garden perfection.

Yes folks, they are purple tomatoes...

Eat well and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Sauteed Beet Greens

Ma told me that when she was a kid they would have Sauteed Beet Greens as a side dish. I have to say that really intrigued me... I've added the fresh leaves to salads plenty of times, but if you want to take them to the next level, cook them up quickly with some fresh garlic and olive oil! I gave them a sprinkle of salt and pepper when done. You know how spinach cooks down to mush (for lack of a better word, still love ya spinach:@), well, the beets keep some body. Another positive, the leaves are big enough that we only need a few per serving, so they can be picked while the beets are still growing. I've made these a couple times now, and hope to one day harvest enough to share with the boys for Sunday dinner. 

So, if you're looking to get as much as possible from the garden, and enjoy as much as it has to offer... Don't hesitate to give these a try folks. You may find yourself saying what I did, why didn't I know about this sooner?

Eat well, and

Have a Happy Day:@)

New Raised Bed Garden Layout 2026

As with most things, you live with them for a while and see room for improvement... My wooden raised garden beds from Walmart weren't as sturdy as one would hope and probably have a true shelf life of about 5 years. Especially in the Philly heat, humidity, snow, and freezing winter temperatures. I also decided that smaller raised beds would be sturdier and hold their shape better than long straight ones. The beautiful wooden finish on these SnugNiture 48" metal beds caught my eye right away, and I was smitten:@)

Please note, there is about an hour of assembly time, and quite a bit of patience required, with each bed. They come in a box about the size of a 12" pizza. And each metal piece is covered in plastic that is tedious to peel off. But if I can do it, so can you!

I placed them on the long side of the patio. The shorter beds also opened up space, where the wooden set-up was one long box. I love the airier look of the space between the beds and made a little herb garden there in front of the bench of green beans.

They gave me room on the corner to use some whiskey barrel type planters (hello Aldi $10!), and I tucked in a little novelty blueberry bush to anchor the corner. My goal was color this year, and I did achieve it. Flowers are abundant, and as the summer goes on, overgrowing everything, but in a good way:@)

Planter on left has yellow squash:

The blueberry variety is Pink Icing and the spring foliage was amazing! Pinks and aqua in the leaves, I can't wait to see what fall brings. It's supposed to be a smaller variety intended for growing in containers, 3-4' tall. I did plant it in the ground.

It grew a few berries.

The birdbath garden is to the left of the corner and again, feels open and airy. The little planter of geraniums will be moved for next year, giving the lavender behind it more room to grow. I found an opened pack of Liliput zinnia seeds, so I tossed them in back, and volunteer portulaca popped up everywhere. The idea as of today is lavender, dianthus and portulaca. ~Almost~ cost free going forward.

The layout has changed several times but this is what I started with in early spring. 

The tomato planter against the carport pillar is doing well, this tends to be a happy spot for them. I splurged and tried an exciting new Purple Empress Cherry Tomato plant from QVC. This was again a novelty item, it arrived pretty beaten up, then we had two horrible April frosts. But I cut back what remained and it's growing. After things didn't look too good for purple on the left, I tucked a yellow cherry on the right in the planter as well. So as of June, welcome to the jungle...

What I bought:

While it hasn't been an overly abundant year yet, I am getting some veggies here and there. Dollar store radish seeds grew well...

And now, a couple jars of Garlic Freezer Pickles and some Dilly Beans are canned for the holidays. 

Well folks, that's just a bit of what's going on with the Pig In Mud garden. I hope you've enjoyed the little update. You know I could go on for quite a while talking about the garden, what I'm learning, and what's affecting it. It still remains one of my favorite hobbies, something fun to ponder and plan, and it offers a nice bit of exercise and sunshine too. 

I hope things are growing well for you!

Have a Happy Day:@)

First Ripe Pepper from Garden 2026

Hello, it's been a minute! Popping in to show the first pepper from my garden to ripen this year... Gotta laugh, it's Barbie size:@) 

Philly Barbie asks, 

sausage, pepper and onion sandwich anyone?

I hope summer is treating you well!

Have a Happy Day:@)

Cheesy Devils -aka Mac and Cheese Stuffed Red Bell Peppers

Ok folks, this may just be the scariest Halloween post ever here at Pig In Mud. If you've been around for a while you know I like to keep the 'happy' in Halloween. But I had some red bell peppers in the the garden and did raise two boys... Yep, even as grown men today they got a kick out of these Cheesy Devils:@) Two ingredients, peppers and store bought prepared macaroni and cheese. Kids love mac and cheese and this is an easy way to add a little veggie into dinner. Simply cut some exaggerated tringles for eyes and free hand a wonky circle for the mouth and bake. Done.

Want to add some protein? Maybe use the mac & cheese with burnt ends or serve crescent wrapped mummy hotdogs with them:@)

Cheesy liquid oozing from eyes and mouth...

Oh yea, it is Halloween after all:@)

My Halloween Food Pinterest Board here.

Cheesy Devils -Macaroni & Cheese Stuffed Peppers

1. Use one extra pepper than you plan to bake.
2. Choose any red peppers that will stand up, tops cut off, seeds and membranes removed.
3. Cut eyes and mouth out of pepper.
4. Use store bought prepared mac and cheese from the cold case. Stuff the peppers, pressing down lightly to fill with mac and cheese.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-45 minutes. I used 30 minutes, my peppers were a little thin from the garden and I do like a little bite.
6. While in oven, cut horns out of the red pepper we didn't bake. Push into mac and cheese when done baking.

Make something just for fun and

Have a Happy Halloween Season🎃

Pickled Banana Peppers -Refrigerator Pickle

Here's an easy way to use up however many, or few, peppers you have in the garden. These Pickled Banana Peppers are a nice pungent, vinegary, topper for salads, chili, nachos, or sandwiches, really anything:@) This is a refrigerator pickle that comes together fairly quickly, and only requires about one week of marinating time. I like that it's ready to eat in a shorter amount of time, my other recipe below takes about six weeks in the fridge. I planted sweet peppers this year, this recipe works with both sweet and hot peppers. 

I used 4 peppers, added them to a pint jar and cut the brine recipe to a quarter. There was plenty of room for a few more peppers.

Full disclosure: I served them with my favorite White Chicken Chili after 24 hours in the fridge. We just couldn't wait and they were very good!

I posted another recipe for Marinated Refrigerator Banana Peppers back in 2010, that one uses less sugar, no spices, and calls for garlic:

Easy Pickled Banana Peppers-from here

2 C white vinegar

2 C apple cider vinegar

1 C sugar

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp celery seed

1 lb banana peppers, tops and most of the seeds removed, sliced into 1/4" rings

1. Pack peppers into sterilized jars.
2. Bring vinegars, sugar, mustard and celery seed to a boil. Stirring to dissolve sugar.
3. Pour brine over peppers. Add lids and rings, or a plastic screw on lid, to jar.
4. Allow to cool on counter, then store in refrigerator.
5. Let marinate for about a week (if you can) before serving.

Let's enjoy the last of the harvest and

Have a Happy Day:@)

Raised Bed Garden 2025

This was the year of the butterfly in my yard. Huge yellow, orange and black ones flying around every day. It was hard to get a good picture, but this little guy took his time at the zinnia and allowed me to get pretty close. He's a little beaten up and was a brighter yellow, this pic made everything a little paler.

I was excited to finally get a few beets:@) And learned you need to plant more than you think you do, and expect to let them grow for most of the season to get to any decent size. For some reason I thought they'd be ready to eat in June, not so much. I did enjoy adding the beet greens to salads throughout the summer though. Ma says they would sauté them and eat them like spinach when she was a kid. I hope to try that next year. Note for myself: 3/9/25 planted spinach, beets, and radish seeds.

All of these pics are from throughout the summer, so plants are various sizes. If you look closely, there is a black butterfly on one of the bottom zinnias. 

Tomatoes didn't get as tall this year, and a strong wind bent most of the vines over. As previously mentioned, they were a good three weeks later to ripen than last year. In addition to what you see there were planters of string beans and I had a good spring for radishes. Fall radishes, some turnips and another attempt at beets are growing now.

I've never planted Alyssum before, tried it in the strawberry planter. It grew well and I was amused at the way the white was dominant in spring, and by end of season it was mostly purple. 

Cherry tomatoes on this side, they grew well and I ended up with plenty to share:@) Cucumbers and zucchini were strong for a couple weeks, but made early departures. 

Peppers are starting to turn colors now.

Labor Day Weekend garden... Those crazy tall light purple flowers are Cosmos. The pack of seeds said they'd grow 2' tall-yea x 4. They got so tall I couldn't even dead head the flowers. New cement bird bath, clean and simple look, I love it:@) Coleus on the near end was -very- happy this year. 

Overall, it was another good year for the Pig In Mud garden:@) And as always, it gave me lots to think about for next year. My biggest challenge: The township forced us to use their trash cans now, I can only get so much into it (instead of throwing two bags on the curb as I've done forever). I have a feeling I'll be scaling back quite a bit. Especially the tomatoes. My coworkers are already disappointed... Oh well, we will see. 

I hope you all had a great summer!

Have a Happy Day:@)

Frozen Crushed Tomatoes -Small Batch Preserving The Garden

As the garden winds down and the season comes to an end the tomatoes start to look a little worse for wear. One way to try to use them up is to make some *simple* Frozen Crushed Tomatoes. The key here is it’s just an idea to eliminate waste and nothing too fancy. We can make as few or as many as we'd like or have. The excess liquid can be cooked out on the stove, or if you’d like, in a slow cooker. I used the stove because it goes a lot faster. My son adds some basil. I just made tomatoes, they can be used for spaghetti sauce, chili, soup, or stews. 

As a point of reference, I used four large tomatoes, cooked them for 1 hour and 15 minutes. This gave me about 1/2 C of crushed. Yep, preserving is a labor of love folks:@)

It was another good tomato year from the raised bed garden, although they did ripen almost three weeks later than last year. At this point I’m beginning to pull plants and clean things up.

My Preserving Pinterest Board HERE.

My DIY Barbie Pinterest Board HERE.

Frozen Crushed Tomatoes

• Wash and core tomatoes. Cut into quarters. Pushing the seeds out is always a nice idea, I didn't. Same with the skins, I left them on, just used the whole tomato. *Next time I'll run my thumbs through them to remove most of the seeds.
• Pulse about 6-8 times in food processor or chop with a knife. 
• Add a pinch of salt, bring to boil. Reduce to medium low, stir occasionally so they don't scorch or burn, and cook until reduced and liquid has evaporated. This will take time, plan this project for when you are home for a few hours.
• Cool, place in freezer bags or cups, label, and freeze.

🍅Let's use up what the garden gifts us,

and Have a Happy Day:@)

Fall Planter & Seasonal Dollar Tree Fall Finds

I've been pulling plants out of the raised beds, only the jalapeno, parsley and one large marigold remain at this time. But I have still been watering the large planter, and it has some great fall color:@) This pic doesn't show just how huge the purple plant got... All I did was pick up a broken piece of stem that had about 4 leaves on it at the garden center. The poor thing had been stepped on and run over with carts. I rooted it in water then planted it outside. I am still tickled by the dollar store metal sunflowers, they add a little height, and the pumpkin is cute. This works for early fall until I add the Halloween Jack-O-Lantern:@)

Limited edition Pillsbury Perfectly Pumpkin Cookie Mix. These are flying off the DT shelves folks, don't hesitate or you'll miss them...

Werther's caramels in fall flavors:

And I'll be honest, not really sure of the connection between Barbie and these socks,  but... They are at Dollar Tree. They also have a ton of other name brand characters too, Halloween theme'd and for every day.

🎃Grab it when you see it, and

Have a Great Weekend:@)

Fresh Green Beans with Parmesan & Lemon Zest -Instant Pot or Steamed

The string beans are winding down in the garden, but I did get a couple meals from them over Labor Day Weekend:@) If you'd like to elevate a side dish and make it just a little more special, these Fresh Green Beans with Parmesan and Lemon Zest are very good. Cook the beans your favorite way, I like them in the Instant Pot, toss with a little butter, top them with parm, some freshly zested lemon peel, and salt and pepper. Super easy, very pretty, and mighty tasty! Don't hesitate to give this a try folks, I think you'll be pleased. 

Instant Pot fresh string beans: Beans in steamer basket, 1 C water, set to 2 minutes, automatic release.

Fresh Green Beans with Parmesan & Lemon Zest

Cooked hot beans.

Toss with a little butter-optional.

Sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese.

Zest some lemon peel over top.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Eat Well and Have a Happy Day:@)

Volunteer Sunflower, Basil Salt, Eagles Platter and $1.25 K-Cups...

I didn't plant any sunflowers this year, but I was tickled to find one growing in the box I had zucchini:@) I'm guessing a critter dropped a seed, but as soon as I recognized the leaves I was curious to see what the flower looked like. The plant is about 24" tall, and a very pretty hint of early fall:@)

As the garden winds down for the season... How about preserving a little taste of summer by making some Basil Salt. Use it like any seasoned salt, and it's especially good with tomatoes.:@)

Here is this year's plastic serving plate Eagles design at Dollar Tree. Still has the fluted edge, it's thin plastic, but would certainly serve us well for a few football parties or tailgating trips.

$1.25 Eagles ceramic coasters:

Fan cave anyone???

They also have name brand hot cocoa k-cups... Great stocking stuffers or gifts to put on the desk of coworkers folks:@) They won't be around for long, I'm sure it was just a buyout. 

Grab it when you see it, and

Have a Great Weekend:@)

Garden Winding Down, Fall Revving Up, and Getting Ready...

Well folks, another pretty successful gardening year is beginning to come to a close. One of the most amazing plants, my grape tomato in the large planter, was pulled. Oh how I wish I could get a picture that showed just how spectacular this plant was. The vines grew about 12-15 feet long, went up over the trellis, and bent back down. 

And right up to the day I pulled it out, 

it was making beautiful yellow flowers and itty tomatoes.

But it was getting messy, and it was time.

A shocking difference...

But now I have room for a big pumpkin:@)

And speaking of pumpkins,

these little guys are from my son's garden:@)

I'm hoping he shares, because I think I see a couple Barbie size ones😂 We will see...

And since retail waits for no one... I did treat myself to a new Bethlehem Lights Christmas wreath during QVC's Christmas in July finale. Just testing it with cheap batteries to make sure it worked before I put it away for a couple months. Super bright lights, many functions, and I look forward to setting the timer and having it greet me every day after work. Fluffing and shaping will wait until Thanksgiving:@)

🌻Have a Great Weekend,

and Grab it When You See It😊