Make It From Scratch - Spring Has Sprung Edition!

(The most beautiful garden in the world! My sister's backyard in Maryland.)

Spring has sprung in my environs. I know it’s nigh on summer where Funny About Money is and some of you are probably still in the grip of winter but it's Spring here! Spring makes me happy and productive and that’s a good state to be in for this week’s wonderful batch of recipes and DIY projects.

Recipes - we all certainly were in a cooking mood this week, weren’t we?!

Who doesn’t love pizza? Jim at Bargaineering, one of my favorite personal finance blogs, shares the best way to enjoy a good pizza – make it yourself! Making Your Own Pizza Dough takes the mystery out of this handy “bread”. Give it a try, it’s easy! Homemade pizza is a great way to stretch whatever’s in your fridge.

Recession Depression Therapy has the best therapy of all with a fantastic recipe for Homemade Bread: Easy with a Few Hints and Tips. Is there anything more welcoming than the smell of baking bread? I don’t think so!

I love a little tart and Homesteader Belle has some lovely Pecan Tarts to try. Your own personal tiny pecan pie!



A Coffee Cake Made Healthier? Oh my, Local Nourishment knows the way to my heart! I’ll take any excuse to eat a good coffee cake

I’ve Got A Little Space to Fill is dieting (who isn’t?) and shares what looks like delicious recipes for Pasta Primavera and Meatless Chili Pots. These look way too good to be diet food!

A new-to-me blog, The Austerity Kitchen, has a new-to-me recipe with Clostridium Capers: The Wonders of Salt Rising Bread. Clostridium, in case you didn’t know (I didn’t) is the bacteria that leavens bread. I can’t wait to give this one a go! I tried and tried to leave her a gushingly complimentary comment but Blogger was determined to keep me out! So AK, great job!

Wondering how to stretch your grocery dollars this week? Back to Basics has some great ideas for Discount Dinners.



Here’s an interesting bargain dinner idea from last week’s host, Christ’s Bridge. Potato and Corn Flake Casserole sounds surprisingly yummy!

It’s Frugal Being Green presents a perennial favorite, Pasta with Easy Italian Meat Sauce. Still cold where you are? This might be just the thing for your dinner table.

Family Balance Sheet links us to a good recipe for homemade granola. She’s right, granola is delicious and multi-purpose. Not sure I could eat it three times a day but her article makes me want to whip up a batch!

Coincidentally, our queen of the carnival Stephanie is also thinking about homemade granola this week. Maybe I’ll have to make a batch of each!

For the finest in college student cooking, Craft Stew presents 1-2-3 Bean Burrito. My goodness, it couldn’t get any simpler than this!

Here’s another back-to-basics, gussied up by making it yourself! Mac ‘n Cheese doesn’t have to come in a blue box! It’s quick and easy to make from scratch and How To Tips and Tricks tells us how. Give it a try!

Lighter Side has one clever idea for a quick and easy fruit turnover. Do you have kids at home? I’ll bet they’ll love these!


(Another shot from my sister's garden. The rest are from mine!)

Projects

That incredibly versatile crocheter Recycle Cindy doesn’t disappoint with yet another clever project. This one is a Cassette Tape Clam Shell Clutch. Now that’s what I call recycling! (She calls it upcycling!)

We can never have too many shopping bags! Cockatoo Dreaming has instructions for how to make your own Tote for a Teenager. Use different fabrics and you’ve got totes for everyone!

A lot of us are dabbling in homemade laundry detergent these days. Condo Blues is trying out a Powdered High Efficiency Laundry Detergent to go with her new HE washing machine. She was pretty happy with the result. Give her recipe a try and see if it works for you!

I’m a pretty crafty girl but I’ve never heard of Needle Felting. A House Called Nut explains how this fun project is done.



Other

Funny About Money, another of my favorite personnel finance blogs, says her post is a little cooking and a little other. We had so many recipes this week that I thought I’d let her shine here in “other”. Garden as Income Stream is a great update on her garden, which I love to read about because she always includes some tasty ways to enjoy the bounty!

Tales From My Tiny Kingdom knows the way to get my attention with an article on…be still my heart…vermicomposting! Her article on The Slimy Way My Garden Grows talks about her experience with an indoor worm bin. I love my worms too! You worm-less people don’t know what you’re missing!

Thank you everyone for your submissions. It's great to see so many newcomers to this fun carnival!

Don’t forget to link to the carnival from your site. Please promote the carnival through the various social media avenues you enjoy. Also, why not show a few of your fellow participants some of the attention you are hoping to achieve by visiting, reading their articles and promoting their sites?

Next week's carnival will be hosted by I've Got A Little Space to Fill. Submit your recipes and projects here!