How to Start a Vegetable Garden With Your Children

First lady Michelle Obama planted a vegetable garden this Spring on the White House yard. This has not been done in a very long time but it is something she wanted to do with her two young daughters, Sasha and Malia. She thought it would be great to have such close access to fresh vegetables to eat but she also thought it was important for her girls to learn how to take care of something. Creating a garden for children to enjoy and work on is a great gift and one that they will never forget. There are different types of gardens that you can do with your children and in a variety of sizes and locations. If you have a nice flat piece of land, you may want to do a large vegetable garden like the Obamas. If you live in an urban setting and just have a small outdoor area, planting flowers and vegetables in pots may be the best way. If you live in a harsher climate you may have minimal plants to work on and decorate your garden more with saint statues or Virgin Mary statues. Whatever type of garden you do, the following steps can get you started.

Once you have decided what type of garden you want to do with your kids, you need to pick the best location. It needs to get plenty of sunlight and not too shaded by trees or a building. The more open the area, the better. If you do not own a power tiller you can rent one from any home improvement store. This will help get the earth all turned up and ready. After you till the ground, use a rake to gently flatten the area. A chicken wire fence should be installed around the area if you are doing a vegetable garden to keep little critters from eating your veggies. Based on the size of the garden area, decide how many plants will fit and what types you would like to have. Involve the children in this decision making process. If you are doing flowers, have them tell you what their favorite colors are and if you are doing a vegetable garden, get their input of what type of veggies they would like to grow. It is proven that if involved the a vegetable garden, kids are more likely to eat vegetables that they grew themselves. If they want to buy decorations like saint statues or Virgin Mary statues for the garden that is fine too. Once you have purchased all of the plants, get the kids some work gloves and little shovels and have them start digging small holes to plant the seeds and/or plants. Be sure to saturate the garden with water thoroughly and water it every day. Another good project for the kids to do , especially in a vegetable garden is to make marker signs for the plants.

\"Chicken Wire Fence\"

Growing a garden benefits kids in teaching them responsibility of taking care of a living thing and a sense of pride in being successful at it.

How to Start a Vegetable Garden With Your Children

How to Start a Vegetable Garden With Your Children

Chuck R. Stewart recently looked into purchasing a few saint statues [http://www.saint-statues.com/servlet/the-template/saintstatues/Page] and Virgin Mary statues [http://www.saint-statues.com/servlet/the-template/ourladystatues/Page] especially nice for the girls who had just celebrated their First Communion.

Simple But Healthy Chicken And Vegetable Recipes

Chicken and vegetables combine together to create delicious meals that are inexpensive as well as easy to prepare. Chicken is also one of the healthiest meats of all but, if you want it to be even better for you, remove the skin before eating to eliminate a whopping two-thirds of the fat content in the meat.

However, you can leave the skin on while cooking as this will not affect the final fat content but will allow the meat to stay juicy and tender.

\"chicken Recipes\"

Another simple tip for making chicken even healthier is if you are making chicken and vegetable soup, allow the broth to cool before adding the vegetables then skim off the fat that forms on the top of the chicken broth. Again, the taste will not be affected but the chicken soup will have considerably less fat.

A variety of vitamin packed vegetables can be used in chicken recipes such as carrots and potatoes; two rather popular vegetables that can be prepared in many different ways but any style complement chicken perfectly. Boiled potatoes are ideal for chicken soups and stews while raw potatoes can be cut into slices or strips and fried in the skillet with the meat.

Mashed potatoes and gravy with chicken and another vegetable such as corn or green beans are a favorite dish of many. Use slices or chunks of carrots in your chicken noodle soups or chicken stews and steam carrots to serve with baked chicken dishes.

Although definitely a fruit and not a vegetable, tomatoes are, yet another great choice if you want to add a bit of a Mediterranean taste to some of your chicken recipes. Use diced, pureed, or stewed tomatoes to create sauces for baking with chicken.

Use broccoli and cauliflower for baked chicken with plenty of cheese, butter, or margarine, and some of your favorite seasonings for a delicious and filling meal. Also, do not forget about eggplant, squash, and zucchini as well as lettuce, spinach, and other greens that can be used to make a tasty salad with cooked pieces of shredded, diced, or chopped chicken.

Quick and Easy Chicken and Veggies in the Skillet Recipe

What You Need

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 16 ounce bag of frozen vegetables, your choice

How to Make It

In a large skillet, add the vegetable oil, water, onion soup mix, lime juice, and seasonings and stir together. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium to high heat.

Cut the chicken into 1/2 inch thick strips. Add the strips of chicken to the mixture in the skillet and cook for 5 minutes.

Add in the vegetables and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink and the vegetables are all tender.

Serves 4.

Simple But Healthy Chicken And Vegetable Recipes

Have more than one baked chicken rice recipe that you rely on for lunches and dinners and vary the ingredients you use to create new and interesting meals. A classic chicken parmesan recipe with Italian seasonings, sauce, and of course, delicious parmesan cheese, is always a great choice for dinner.

BonelessChickenRecipe.com - Chicken so delightfully moist, you can almost smell it through your monitor.