A delicious way to utilize your plants!

Hi there! I have been super excited to update y’all on my garden life! I really want to talk about how there is much more to gardening than growing pretty flowers. Although, I started this hobby because I love love love pretty flowers. Anyways, how cool would it be to actually eat something that you grew instead of buying it from the store? This week I made some delicious basil pesto. Whether you have tried this or not, it’s definitely worth giving it a shot!  As stated in the name, the recipe needs basil. Basil is super easy to grow and I bought a packet of seeds for about $3. I’ll begin the growing process next time, but you can use basil for many things! This herb has a strong, sweet smell and is used often in Italian food. This recipe only takes about 10 minutes total.

Fresh Basil, olive oil, parmesan, garlic cloves, salt and pepper.

Fresh Basil Pesto:

• 3 cups of fresh basil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup + 2 TBSP of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan
• salt and pepper to your liking

First, you’ll want to make sure you water your basil plant the night before harvesting. The next morning is the best time to pick basil from your plant because the plant will be hydrated. Next, except for the olive oil, gather all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender (I used a chopper). Process for a few minutes and add the olive oil as you blend. Blend until you have a smooth pesto. BOOM! You now have fresh basil pesto!

Blend all ingredients for a few minutes until smooth.

Fresh Basil Pesto

An example and delicious dish you can incorporate your fresh basil pesto into is what I call Baked Basil Pesto Chicken. This is a really simple dish and takes about an hour to cook. You will need the following items: 6 chicken breasts (or as many as you’d like), sliced Roma tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, and basil pesto. Again, really simple and really easy. First, spray glassware with non-stick cooking spray and pre-heat oven to 400˚. The chicken breasts I used were pretty thick, so I cooked the chicken with only the basil pesto rubbed on top for 40 minutes. Then, top with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. You can use as much parmesan and tomatoes to your liking. I really like cheese, so I used about 2-3 cups. Place back into oven for about 15 minutes. Though, keep an eye on it because oven temperatures differ.

Baked Basil Pesto Chicken

I would like to include postings like this one to show you how you can utilize your garden to the fullest. It is really cool when you can use products from your garden rather than buying it in the grocery store. Basil can be pretty pricy at your local grocery store for such a small amount of product. Depending on the upkeep of your basil plant, the plant can yield about 20 cups of fresh basil. All for the price of $3!

I hope you all find use in this post and if you have any questions, suggestions, or if you just want to leave a nice comment, then do so below!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! & stay tuned for the fun gardening in the next post.

Best wishes,

Danielle

Don’t Stop Believin’

Why hello there, friends! I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend. Well, I’d like for you all to first understand my growing garden. As I have never grown plants by myself, I must say that it is truly rewarding growing and keeping plants alive and well. As I mentioned in my first post, I’m fairly new to the gardening world. While I was getting advice before starting my garden I was told many times to not be discouraged if I was not successful the first couple of times. This advice remains as great advice on this journey, but I would love to show what I have accomplished so far!

Organic Cilantro, Sweet Basil and Zinnia planted seedlings.

I started out with Sweet Basil, Organic Cilantro, and Zinnia planted seedlings. I kept these containers outside, so that they could receive direct sunlight. I could not contain my excitement so I checked on my plants daily. In San Marcos, we have had a really hot summer, so I had to make sure my seedlings stayed hydrated.

Fast forward 10 weeks to now, I have 6 beautiful, growing plants! I learned quickly that this weather is not an ideal environment for Cilantro. Cilantro plants can be a little needy, but most importantly if it is too hot for them, then they don’t grow happily. While I have 3 Zinnia plants and 3 Basil plants, I also have an aloe vera succulent as well as a box full of different succulents. On this adventure I truly hope to expand my garden, so that I can provide you all with my experience. Take a look at some of my beautiful plants that I have today!

Best wishes,

Danielle

Howdy, Y’all!

Hi friends! Welcome to my very first blog. My name is Danielle Martinez, and I am pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Public Relations at the best university, Texas State University. I’d really love to get to know you all, so I’ll start first by sharing a little bit about myself. I was born and raised in College Station, Texas. I lived there for 22 years of my life and finally moved out of my hometown in May 2014 to San Marcos. I am a first generation student, which is more motivation to pursue my dream of having my own event planning business.  As a Gemini, I’m very open-minded and love a little bit of everything.

Growing up I’ve always wanted to have my own garden. However, I was always hesitant because I thought the hobby was expensive and required a set of skills. Fortunately, I learned that I was wrong. As a student, I do not know many other students that garden. I find it to be a truly calming, therapeutic hobby. It is not stressful and the results can be very satisfying. So, my plan is to blog about gardening on a college student budget. My audience is not solely for college students, but rather anyone that thinks gardening is expensive and time-consuming.

Because I live in an apartment, I am going to focus on container gardening. I’ve only been gardening for a few months now, but I have been quite successful. I hope to explore an array of techniques that allows the growth of different types of plants. I also hope to incorporate websites and places I trust. My goal is to give my readers options. Not everyone wants to grow the same flower or vegetable and everyone has different preferences. If I can do it, then so can you!

I am happily open to suggestions, advice, and feedback.

Best wishes,

Danielle