Hi, I'm in NC too! Red clay can be a big issue here in NC; its very fertile once you can get a plant into it!! Be ready to add organic material (compost, "nature's helper" ground bark fines, etc). Choose your garden site carefully, you'll need 6-8 hours of sun AFTER the leaves have all come out on the trees. You don't want your plot too far from the house or from a water source. If you know where you want your garden located already, I'd suggest sending hubby out now with a bunch of cardboard to cover over the area. (Weight down the cardboard with bricks, boards, or mulch.) That will start killing back the sod in your garden plot and will make life much easier. Depending on your location, you will also need to consider fencing to keep out rabbits or (heaven help you) deer. Usually rabbits only terrorize pea plants for me, but with last year's drought they ate everything off and I had to put a 2.5' fence around the garden to save anything. I agree with the earlier posters about starting small but have one suggestion. If you know, for example, that you eventually want a 25' x 75' garden but don't feel like you can swing that this year with the pregnancy I'd recommend using the "future garden" site as a place to stack your cardboard, newspapers, leaves, grass clippings, etc this year. It will kill off the grass in the garden addition area for next year and keep all of your garden amendments close at hand this year. I don't recommend the garden cloth/weed barriers for your garden paths UNLESS you are lucky and somehow managed to get the only yard in NC without couch grass/bermuda grass. I'd suggest either setting up your garden with paths that are at least 3' wide this year, to allow you to use a stool or rolling garden bench when tending your plants. Mulching the paths with pine needles or ground up wood will keep it relatively weed free (I use several layers of newspaper under the mulch when first setting this up) and conserve water as well. Most city landfills have days or times of the day when you can pull in with a truck and a tarp and they'll load free mulch into your truck for little or no cost. They will require that you tie a tarp over it before leaving. Check with your local landfill site. As to what types of vegetables you plant, that's all in what you like to eat. Some things are more work to get going (example: asparagus, artichokes) but you should plant what you are interested in having fresh. I personally don't plant potatoes or carrots because clay soil makes both of these more work and less chance of a great outcome AND they're cheap and plentiful at the store. Tomatoes, lettuce, cukes, beans, and squash are another story. What you grow tastes much better than the store and its relatively easy to have a nice haul. I don't grow corn because we typically get several high wind storms every summer and that cancels out the crop. I love growing flowers and herbs alongside of my veggies for the beauty and benefit. Nothing like weeding with a crowd of butterflies and hummingbirds! Let me know if you are near the mountains of NC, I'd be happy to meet you and give you starts of herbs for your yard. Grow well and prosper neighbor!

Just wanted to thank everyone for your great ideas. I liked the idea of calzone but don't have any yeast or pizza dough. Then I considered making ravioli or lasagna noodles, but I didn't have any time to "play with my food" today--maybe next time. Glad to know it can be frozen or used "nude," too. DH would like that! :) For tonight, I think I'm going to have to go with the quickest option: baking it with pasta and sauce. Thanks again, everybody, for all your suggestions! p.s. The eggplant rolantini was a hit! I'll definitely be making it again. Sue

We don't have a large family (yet), but we recently catered our own wedding, with 70 people, so I learned a few things! The smartest thing we did, was to shop at a wholesale, discount place. We went to Costco's (others: "BJ's" and "Sam's"). I noticed a lot of people with large families there. Not only is it cheaper, but the large sizes really inspire you to do batch-cooking. Here was one recipe we loved, which freezes well, is easy to reheat, and was well tailored to the portions at Costco...Quesadillas (similar to fajitas): 1 large bag of grated cheese (about 5 lbs for $11!) 20-30 tortillas any combo of pre-cooked veggies or meat We went vegetarian, using onions, mushrooms and peppers--but try spinach, zucchini, chicken, anything that's on sale! Even just plain cheese works. Fill the tortillas with the stuff. Fold them in half (omelette-style). Then, stack them and put them in a bag and freeze (I put saran wrap between each one to keep them from sticking together, but it may not have been necessary). To cook, just grill, fry, or toaster-oven them (I like to thaw them, then toaster-oven for 10-15 minutes). Microwave probably works too. We bought a big-sized container of salsa to go with it, and some sour cream. These are soooooo yummy, I promise your kids will love them. Total servings: 20-30 Total cost (at Costco's): $20-$30, including veggies & salsa

I always make planned-overs, and they are usually different from the first meal. Easter's left-over roast lamb was eaten the second night just as the first, because it really was just that darned good, LOL. But now the rest is divided up into freezer dishes - one for lamb curry with couscous and vegetables, one for shepherd's pie, and one small one for pita sandwiches. That one is for tomorrow's lunch. It will probably be 2 or 3 weeks before we have the other lamb dishes. I think it's silly to heat up the oven for any kind of a meal without making enough for more than one. It just requires a bit of creativity and planning. I absolutely hate when I hear someone saying "Oh, we NEVER eat leftovers!" More stupid they!