The Easiest Hard Boiled Eggs
Spring Gardening
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Spring time means the beginning of the gardening season. I know living in an apartment means you don’t have the space to have a full garden. Here is a simple DIY pallet garden to show off your handy work and green thumb in the limited space! What you need: Clean Pallet – in new or as good condition as possible (heat-treated rather than chemical) Sandpaper for any rough edges if needed + a pair of gloves. Hammer and nails. 2-3 extra timber palings from another pallet for shelves (cut to size if needed). Drill (optional and easier for pre-drilling holes if you have one but you can use the hammer instead) and screws if you choose to use the drill. Non-toxic paint in your choice of color or stain and a medium sized paint brush. Check the width of your potential planter boxes on each tier of the pallet – they should be close to 4 inches. Add a timber paling as a shelf for each planter box by securing it to the underside of the interior supports of the pallet when it is standing vertical. I just used a hammer and nails for this but you could use a drill and screws as well. Measure the timber so it is the same length as the pallet, but not as wide so there is a gap along the edge for water to drain. Allow a gap for drainage – You can also drill additional drainage holes in the timber planter box base if you wish. Prepare the timber – if there are rough edges you may want to grab the gloves and use sandpaper to smooth these off and prevent splinters. Next, your pallet is ready for painting or staining depending on your personal taste and budget. Once paint is dry you are ready for the fun part – adding your pots, plants and decorative items.
Events to Check Out in April 4/1 – 4/2 – 18th Annual Gene Harris Jazz Festival BSU Student Union Building www.geneharris.org 4/11-4/12 – Professional Bull Rider Event Idaho Center www.pbr.com/ 4/17-4/19 - Idaho Motorcycle Show Expo Idaho www.Idahomotorcycleshow.com 4/18 – Week of the Young Child Celebration Ann Morrison Park from 12 pm to 3 pm 4/18 – Treasure Valley Kite Festival Kleiner Park from 9 am to 12 pm www.tvkitefestival.com 4/23 – Brian Regan Live Comedy Tour Morrison Center at 7:30 4/25 – MK Nature Center 25th Anniversary Celebration and Native Plant Sale from 10 am to 4 pm Call 208-287-2901 for more info.
It can be a guessing game each time hard boiled eggs are made as to whether they will peel easily or be cooked enough. There are many methods to “hard boiling” eggs, but this trick is one that will save you the guess work and cook the eggs perfectly each time. This is also a great way to hard boil lots of eggs at once without having to boil anything. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Take a muffin tin (regular or mini size) and fill with as many eggs as you want. Bake the eggs in the muffin tin for 30 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and immediately use tongs to put the eggs into a large bowl filled with ice water. Let the eggs cool in the ice water for about 10 minutes. If all the ice melts prior to the 10 minutes, add more. Remove the eggs and dry them off. Peel, eat, dye them or refrigerate – It’s your choice.
Earth Day April 22, 2015 “A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children.” -John James Audubon
Supreme Potato Casserole Looking at cooking a ham this month? This casserole is the perfect complement to a warm glazed or smoked ham. Ingredients: 2 (10.7 oz.) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 1 ½ cups sour cream 2 Tbsp. dried minced onion flakes Ground black pepper to taste 1 (2 lb.) package frozen cubed hash browns 4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded ½ cup crushed corn flakes cereal 2 Tbsp. butter, melted Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13x9 inch baking dish. 2. In a large bowl, mix together the soup, sour cream, dried onion flakes, and pepper. Stir in the hash browns and the cheese. Pour into the prepared baking dish. 3. Mix the melted butter with the crushed corn flakes until they are well coated with the butter. Pour the cornflakes over the top of the potato mixture. 4. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Variations on this include topping it with additional cheese or crispy onion pieces.