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A woman stands at the kitchen sink.

Handwashing can help prevent you and others from getting sick, but be sure you are washing the right way!


Clear glass parfait cups with lemon pudding layered with graham cracker crumbs topped with manadarin orange slices

The Food Factor: Lemon Velvet Supreme

May 26, 2020

Lemon Velvet Supreme is very low in fat and relies on fruit as a primary ingredient. Be sure to choose fresh fruit, such as blueberries, or canned fruit packed in natural juices, not in heavy syrup! To keep the graham crackers crispy, put this together right before you’re going to serve it. The original recipe serves six and calls for assembling the ingredients in a serving dish. If you go this route, I’d use an 8”x8” square pan.

For fun, we decided to make individual servings in pretty dishes! Note: we used 8 whole graham crackers, and that was quite a bit for our individual dishes, but would make a good bottom layer in a serving dish. Also, the graham crackers do not form a crust, so this is not a dessert you cut into squares. You just spoon it into small bowls and enjoy!

Liquid drench is poured from a watering can on a fire ant bed.

How to Manage Fire Ants in Your Yard

May 22, 2020

This is the time of year to start a good fire ant management plan that can reduce the number of beds in your yard by 80 to 90 percent.

Spicy tuna on top of mixed greens, in a bowl as a dip, and in a wrap on a plate.

The Food Factor: Spicy Tuna Three Ways

May 19, 2020

Do you ever get tired of eating the same old healthy salad? I do! That’s why I was excited to find this recipe for Spicy Tuna that can be used three different ways: as a dip with baked tortilla chips, as a wrap with lettuce leaves or tortillas, or as a topping for a green salad made with lettuce, mixed greens or fresh spinach.

Closeup of someone spraying mosquito repellent on their arm.

How to Manage Mosquitoes Around Your Home

May 14, 2020

With all the rain we’ve had this year, mosquitoes have plenty of places to breed. But you can take some easy steps to keep their numbers down.

Bright green sedums displayed in a gold picture frame.

How to Make a Sedum Wall Hanging

May 12, 2020

If you’re looking for an easy garden project this summer, look no further! Sedums, commonly referred to as succulents, are popular because they are relatively easy to care for. 

An Asian hornet on a rock.

Is That a Murder Hornet?

May 8, 2020

No, that’s not a murder hornet. But you may have seen one of these four look-alikes that do live in Mississippi.

Baked boneless porkchops on sliced sweet potatoes topped with orange slices in a glass baking dish

The Food Factor: Orange Sweet Potato Pork Chops

May 8, 2020

If you are cooking for just one or two, this recipe is for you! It features one of our favorite ingredients – Mississippi-grown sweet potatoes. You can expand this recipe as needed for a larger crowd.

You’ll want to save this recipe for a weeknight when you have a little extra time or cook it on the weekend, as it requires browning the pork chops first, then baking them.

I love the combination of tangy, sweet, and savory flavors! While the recipe doesn’t specify an order, The Food Factor crew put the sweet potatoes on the bottom of the baking dish with a sprinkle of cinnamon, then we topped the potatoes with the chops. Sprinkle the meat with a bit of salt and pepper before the orange slices.

A bowl of blueberry baked oatmeal.

Breakfast Recipe Roundup

May 5, 2020

My husband and I cook dinner at home 99 percent of the time. Now that we are practicing social distancing under the governor’s safer-at-home order, our kitchen is really getting a workout.

Hands typing on laptop keyboard

5 Tips to Help Manage Personal Finances During COVID-19

May 1, 2020

If social distancing measures and the shelter-in-place order have left you with reduced income or without a paycheck, we have some tips to help you take control of your finances.

A group of purple, yellow, and red petunias.

Gardening Tasks for May

April 28, 2020

With so many Mississippians staying at home more than usual, it’s the perfect time to start planning your summer landscape. 

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About Extension for Real Life

Extension for Real Life is a product of the MSU Extension Service’s Office of Agricultural Communications.

That’s a long way of saying we are professional communicators who get to talk about food, families, 4-H, flowers, and farming for a living.

Blog content is created by a core team of communicators, including Susan Collins-Smith, Ellen Graves, Natasha Haynes, Qula Madkin, Michaela Parker, and Jonathan Parrish. But we get by with a lot of help from our friends in Ag Comm and Extension!

You can reach us at 662-325-2262 or extreallife@msstate.edu