Make It Monday / Dishwasher Detergent

Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

I know that there are some people out there who love doing dishes by hand.  My family is not in that group.  Really, I'd much rather fill up the dishwasher and let it do it's job, while I am wiping down counters and putting things away.  Then, when I'm done, I'm done.  Off to other things I'd rather be doing, and then just come back later and put them away.  It takes me 5 minutes to put them away.  Yes, I love a machine that does the work for me. 

Also, because I get these funny little red dots on my hands that itch and spread, I prefer to only wash by hand what I have to.  Like things that I don't want broken because their too vintage and aren't dishwasher proof.

I've been looking for a recipe that worked for me, and my hardwater, that would clean my dishes.  I make most of my own soaps, and since I have a lot of ingredients already, I knew I could make this, too, if I had a good recipe.

This is the one I chose and I've been using it for quite awhile now and I really like it!  It's so simple to make, and my dishes are clean. 

Here are the 4 ingredients:

Here is the recipe I use:

1 C. Borax

1 C. Washing Soda

1/2 C. citric acid

1/2 C. table salt

You can find Borax and Washing Soda in the cleaning aisle at your grocery store.  You can buy citric acid by the canning section at the store also. 

Put the Borax and Washing Soda in the bowl (or bucket).  Add the citric acid and salt.  Mix well.

I keep my soap in a bucket and keep it under my sink.  Nothing fancy, just an empty ice-cream bucket!

See that bag of rice in there?  I keep that in there because the citric acid in the mixture will clump up.  The rice will absorb any moisture and then the citric acid won't clump.  I put the rice in a baggie....

and I poke some holes in it.  Not huge, and not a ton of them, just enough to let the air get in (and the moisture):

  I keep an odd kitchen Tablespoon in there.  To use this soap, I only use one Tablespoon.  That's it. 

Besides using this homemade dishsoap, I only use vinegar for my rinse.  I fill up the dispenser, and it leaves no smell on my dishes.  For the price of a gallon of vinegar, it's a lot cheaper than the blue stuff.  It rinses well and helps take care of the spots.  I will still have some spots, but I have even more when I use the blue stuff. 

Try it, and let me know what you think!

Tons of Stamps

I've been going through a small portion of my stamps to make room for more new ones I got.  I have already put some for sale in my Supplies Shop.  I have a ton more to list, as I get time to go through them, but I can assure you, I have TONS of stamps I plan on destashing!

What does this mean for you?  Great deals on some fun stamps!  You know...to add to YOUR stash! Ü

Not only am I going through my stamps, but I have too much paper and embellishments also!  After having hoarded collected for many, many years, I really have so much that I'd like to pass on to someone else that will use it.  Not to worry, I'm not getting rid of it all, (silly thought), just about half.  Why?  Because I have 2 craft rooms.  Full.  No kidding.  All I need is time to do this.  One area at a time.  Breathe....

I'd like to get down to one craft room.  All in one place.  Ahhhh....that will be nice!  And then, the other room can be turned into something else.  I already have plans for it, and I can't wait to get to the point where I can start to change it!

So, go on and check out my Supply Shop and maybe you'll find something you need to have!  I combine shipping also...just throwin' that out there Ü

What's For Dinner Wednesday

Canned Chicken -or- Turkey Potpie

This recipe is so incredibly easy, it's one I've been making for over 20 years and it's also a quick go-to dinner for a fast, yummy meal!

The reason it's called Canned Potpie?  Because most of the ingredients come from a can!!!  That's right, a can!

Today, instead of using 2 cans (tubes) of biscuits, I used my own bisquick - type of mix and made a top.  Super easy and quick to do, and I'll show you how to make this also.  But, I usually use the cans of biscuits.

This is one of those meals where you can literally open up some cans, put them in the pan, and walk away for 30 minutes...then, come back to a meal that's done!  Who doesn't love that!?

Here is what you need:

2 cans of mixed vegetables

1 can of potatoes - cut up (or buy diced)

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of chicken broth

1-2 cups of cooked chicken

poultry seasoning (optional)

2 tubes of canned biscuits

Open, drain and pour your mixed vegetables in the bottom of a cake pan.

Open and pour in can of soup.  Mix well.

Now, open the broth, and mix 1/2 - 3/4 of the can in the mixture.  You don't want to make this a soup in the pan, just a moist mixture that isn't a runny mess.

I sprinkle a bit of poultry seasoning on top, and mix well.  This is totally optional.

I take my pre-cooked chicken (you can use turkey also), cut-up, and add this to the pan.  Mix well.

Here is where I would open up the 2 cans of biscuits.  Open them up, seperate the biscuits, flatten them out with your hands, and lay them on top of the ingredients in the pan....overlapping slightly.  I use 2 cans, because that's what it takes to cover the whole cake pan.

I don't have a picture of this, because I used my own homemade mix to make a topping tonight

.

For the topping I made, you can use Bisquick, it's the same as what I used only I make my own mixes.

What you need for the topping I made in the picture:

2 Cups Bisquick

1 1/2 C. milk

Mix well.

Here is the best part of using this mixture!  Pour this over the potpie filling in the pan.  Yes...just pour it right over.  As it cooks, it will make it's own top.

It doesn't need to look pretty.  It will be when it's done, trust me.  And be delicious, too!

I like to sprinkle on some parsley from the garden, to give it some color. 

Now, cook at 350* for 1/2 hour - 3/4 hour. 

Just until the biscuit top (or the Bisquick top) is golden brown.

Look at that topping!  Mmmmm....

Here is a closer look at the potpie broth bubbling out under an edge...

Here is a picture after some pieces were taken out of the pan.  I just wanted to show you what the broth looks like after it's cooked, and the inside of the pie.  Notice that I don't make mine too runny, but you can totally make yours more runny (or juicy rather), by adding the whole can of broth when making this!

All dished up and ready to eat!

How do you make your chicken pot pie?  If you try this, let me know how you liked it!

Enjoy Ü



-3 and -8

Today, we are having a freezing day!  This morning it was -3* (without wind chill factor) and tonight it will be -8* (again, without the wind chill factored in!).  This makes for a pretty cold day!

Let's just say that it's so cold, that the dogs don't dilly dally outside!

It's so cold that the school kids aren't allowed outside during the day to play. 

It's so cold, that the Amish aren't even hanging their laundry outside today.  And for THAT to happen, you know it's cold.

So, today is my day for laundry...love the smell (one day I'll post my recipes for my homemade soaps I make!).  Also, today is a good day for cuddling with a blanket and catching up on some taped shows, and while I'm doing that, I'll be cutting out tags all day.

Tonight, it's supper out and a movie! Sounds like a great day to me!

Here is the gallery where I got the snowflake image up top.  They say no 2 snowflakes are the same, and this photographer has taken beautiful pictures of some of them! 

Check them out HERE.

Fresh Assorted Fried / Roasted Vegetables

In my last post, I showed you how to make my Salsa Meatloaf, and on the plate I had my favorite fresh roasted vegetables.  My family loves these, with any meal, and they taste so different from any other vegetable serving, that they are gone right away!

In this vegetable dish, I have many vegetables!  Keep in  mind, these are all FRESH veggies, nothing from a can!  Zucchini, carrots, yellow pepper, red pepper, onions and some spices, that's it! 

If I had had other fresh veggies on hand, I would have used them, too!  These are just what I had on hand at the moment.  Sometimes I use tomatoes, or broccoli, or celery.  Anything will work, as long as you like them!  What I find, is that when I use all these different veggies together, my kids will try them and find that they really do like them.  So, they'll eat more, and that's great!

To begin with, I chopped my carrots, and cooked them in water briefly, just to soften them up a bit.  I knew everything else I was using would cook quickly, and the carrots would take longer, so I wanted to cook them up and soften them a bit.

Not long, just a few minutes!

Next, I chopped the rest of the vegetables I would be using.

Make them into big chunks, not small.  You want something to bite into!

 I took out some chunked zucchini from my freezer and let it thaw (this just took a few minutes)

Pour some olive oil in your frying pan.  About 2 Tbsp. I had some minced garlic and I put that in the oil.  To this I added the onions and peppers in the pan, on a med/high heat and gave them a quick fry...stirring as they fried, until they were nice and browned on one side. 

The carrots were added next, and I kept stirring until they also were browning nicely.  Last, I added the zucchini.  This was because they were the softest vegetable (remember I took them out of the freezer), so they would take the shortest amount of time to cook.

I shook on some Lemon Pepper Seasoning, and some pepper (because I love pepper!).  Then I served on the dinner plates:

This is so easy, and quick, and it's a great way to use up your vegetables!  Serve it over rice, and you don't even need to have a meat (we love it this way, too!).

Let me know if you try this, and how you like it and  if you add anything to yours!

Enjoy!!

Salsa Meatloaf

This is one of the easiest, yummies ways I have to make meatloaf!  Because the salsa has so many good, tasty foods in it already, there isn't much else to add!

Seriously, when I make this, it's GONE, every bite! 

I make 2 loaves. 

 One to eat now, and one to freeze for later!  I love making freezer meals -  that means a delicious, easy meal on a day that I'm too busy to be in the kitchen for hours!

This recipe will be for 2 loaves:

3 lbs. lean hamburger (you can substitute ground turkey also)

2 C. salsa (mild, medium, hot, whatever you like)

1 medium onion

2 eggs

1 tube crackers

2 tsp. minced garlic (you can omit this if you don't like it)

Put thawed hamburger in bowl.  Add all the other ingredients on top.  Mix together well.
 

Place mixture into 2 loaf pans.

Now, here you can put some more salsa on top of the loaves....right there in that little alley down the center of the loaf.  I forgot in my haste to get them in the oven, but normally this is what I do.

Bake at 350* for 1 1/2 hours.

See all the lovely little pieces of tomatoe, pepper and onion inside?

I served this with rice and fresh veggies!

Yummy!! 

How do you make your meatloaf?

See the vegetables here?  I will tell  you how to make them soon!  My family eats them right up, too!

Happy Birthday to 2 of our children today!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!! Ü

Teeth, the Flu and Illusions

I don't know what it is with teeth lately, but lets say that the Tooth Fairy has had to dip into her Fairy Bank quite a few times this last month. 

 Like, 5. 

Not only these 5, but there has also been one child who had a baby tooth that never fell out and it had to be pulled.  Did you even KNOW that a baby tooth can last beyond the age of teens?  I didn't.  Then there was the bridge system/crown that had to be replaced, and a root canal done on the same system.  All in the last month.  So, when I say we have had a tooth situation going on here, I really mean it! 

 Ü  <----- and that, folks, is a toothless grin lol!

Lately, we've also had the flu here.  It has gone from one person to the next, taking turns at least and not two at a time!  Still, it's enough to keep busy with cleaning and disinfecting and making lots of soups. 

While checking out some things on the internet I found this really fun Illusionist's paintings, check them out:

     A bird made of leaves, so fun!

Van Gogh...or a field of grasses

A musician being watched over...

A young man playing flute for his lady friend.

These are all hidden images by the painter/illusionist Oleg Shuplyak, from the gallery here.

For those of you wondering when I'll be reopening my shops, the answer is soon.  Very soon.  I have some things I'm working on yet...some new products I'm working with, and some new designs.  For me...a different system of doing things to finish getting in place.  All good things, and I can't wait to share them with you!  I'll let yu know as soon as I am open again!



Clear Stamp Tip

Clear Stamp Tip

I love the versatility of clear stamps, don't you? The best thing about them is that you can see exactly where you are stamping on your project, no guessing about where the image is going to land once you lift your rubber off the paper. The one thing I don't like about clear stamps is the image, it isn't as crisp as rubber. Or so I thought. Here is a tip on helping you get the best image you can from your clear stamps! Let me show you how!

Here is the set I used....

 I love the little birds inside the tree...do you see them?

To begin with, first I attached the image to the clear block that best fit the stamp, like so.....

then got my stamp inked up....
and stamped it on my paper...

See how the image is not completely filled in? How the right side is more faded and there are a lot of blotchy spots when the ink balled up on the image and didn't cover it smoothly to give a nice impression? That's what I'm talkin' about!

Here is a tip on how to have a clearer image:

First stamp your image in Versamark. I know, it is a watermark pad....just go with me on this...

Now....stamp your image onto your ink pad (the Versamark won't hurt your inkpad)....

Okay, now stamp your image on your paper: (I did it twice because I needed two)

Notice the difference? A much better image for your time!

Here is the card I made with these images:

And for those of you who get the catalogs from stamping companies, you may just recognize this card! This is the card Iwas totally inspired by for this project:

I hope you are inspired by this, happy card making!!