Extension for Real Life
Description
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
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Gardening Tasks for June
It’s starting to get hot out there, y’all! Don’t let the Mississippi heat deter you from taking good care of your garden and landscape.
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The Food Factor: Lemon Velvet Supreme
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!
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How to Manage Fire Ants in Your Yard
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.
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The Food Factor: Spicy Tuna Three Ways
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.
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How to Manage Mosquitoes Around Your Home
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.
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How to Make a Sedum Wall Hanging
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.
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Is That a Murder Hornet?
No, that’s not a murder hornet. But you may have seen one of these four look-alikes that do live in Mississippi.
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The Food Factor: Orange Sweet Potato Pork Chops
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.
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Breakfast Recipe Roundup
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.