How-To Tuesday: Remove "Hard Water" Stains

Listen up everyone...I think this is the best advice I've learned yet and the fact that I figured it out several months ago and am still excited means it's absolutely amazing. (for those of you that already knew this information..please don't burst my bubble). Since moving to our newest place of residence almost two years ago, I began to notice that my dishes (mainly my glass cups) started to look a bit cloudy, as if there was some sort of residue on them. I became even embarrassed when people would come over, and would promise them while bringing over what looked to be a milky cup of water, that the glass was clean. Well, one of my dearest friends from CA was at home when her mom began to notice the same thing. She told her to get in contact with me to figure out how to get rid of it. Between the two of us we search the internet to figure out how to rid this filthy film! Want to know the solution?????



VINEGAR! When in doubt, vinegar is always the answer....hah...well maybe not always, but it sure does amazing things.

To solve our filmy residue, we poured about a cup of vinegar into the base of the dishwasher and ran on a normal cycle. To my surprise, the dishes came out sparkling clean! I now pour vinegar in the bottom about every 2-3 washes.  I have been raving about this for months now, which I'm sure my friends and family are sick of, but seriously...isn't that amazing?

And here's the kicker - I had thought it was from our hard water out here in Arizona, but really, some companies are putting in additional *yucky* ingredients in to the washing detergent (mainly the cheapy kinds that I buy) that tends to leave this residue.....MEANING --- WE'VE BEEN DRINKING/EATING IT TOO! Ugh. But not any more..thanks to my good ol pal Vinegar. 

Here are a few additional *miracles* vinegar can do. (found on the side of the vinegar box that I bought from Sam's Club)

*Ants: Ant invasions can be deterred by washing counter tops, cabinets and floors with distilled vinegar
*Grease: Filmy dirt and greasy residue can be removed from stove and refrigerator by wiping with vinegar
*Grass or Weeds: Kill unwanted grass on sidewalks and driveways by pouring on vinegar
*Chrome: To polish chrome and stainless steel, moisten a cloth with white vinegar and wipe clean
*Shower Curtain: Rub a cloth dampened with vinegar to remove soapy, steamed-in film and mildew from your plastic shower curtain. Then rinse clean.
*Irons: Remove burn stains from your electric iron by mixing one part salt with one part vinegar in a heated small aluminum pan. Use this mix to polish the iron as you would silver.
*Vegetables: Liven up slightly wilted vegetables by soaking them in cold water and vinegar
*Flowers: Add two tbsp. of vinegar plus three tbsp. of sugar to a quart of warm water to keep fresh cut flowers blooming longer
*Cabbage: Add vinegar to the cooking water of boiling cabbage to prevent the odor from permeating the house
*Rice: A tsp of vinegar added to the water of boiling rice makes it white and fluffy
*Cheese: Keep cheese moist and fresh by wrapping it in a cloth that has been dampened with vinegar and sealed in an air-tight wrap or container

There were many more helpful facts about vinegar, but these were my favorite!
You're totally amazed aren't you?

I just couldn't help myself

I just couldn't help myself....but I baked a few more shortcakes this morning!!! So delicious. My excuse was that we were out of milk (1%) and THAT'S WHY I had to make something else for breakfast, rather than sipping down the usual Carnation Instant Breakfast.....But really I was craving the deliciousness of fruit accompanied by sweet biscuits and fluffy whipped cream.

We didn't have any strawberries this morning, so I opened up some peaches and vwa-la! Breakfast.....................................................and afternoon snack...............and possibly even before bed.


I think next time I want to heat up some berries to put over top; blueberries, raspberries, boysenberries....I think I'm salivating as I type..my goodness

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry Shortcake ---

Strawberry Shortcake --- wow

Strawberry Shortcake --- so simple, so delicious.

I often forget just how amazing strawberry shortcake really is. It's one of those desserts that is so ridiculously easy to make, yet I often overlook it when planning a complete meal for guests or even just ourselves.



Well, we were having family over to meet our son for the first time and what started out as just 3 people along with our family, quickly turned into dinner for 14. After planning the meal, I then moved on to dessert and strawberry shortcake seemed the obvious answer. I grabbed my Bisquick and whipped up two batches of shortcake biscuits and started to slice up my strawberries. (there is a yummy strawberry shortcake recipe on the side of every Bisquick box.) Unfortunately that afternoon, my daughter got sick and the three of us ended up playing it low key in my bedroom, while my husband entertained his family with dinner in our back yard. To my surprise though, the next morning I realized that my dessert had not been served. Not sure if I really thought that was a good thing or a bad thing, because I then got to enjoy strawberry shortcake as my breakfast for the next week, oh and for my afternoon snack and dessert each day too! With each bite of strawberries, whipped cream and sweet biscuit I was reminded just how much I LOVE strawberry shortcake.

Grab yourself a box of Bisquick ASAP -- strawberries are in season! :)

Thankful Thursday: Pan Scraper

Today I sorted through my utensil drawer searching for my pan scraper. I had received it along with my favorite Pampered Chef Pizza Stone as a wedding gift, but this little nylon scraper has helped me more than just with cleaning crumbs off my stone.




I really should have a special spot for my scraper, as I am continuously searching for it, like I do with my orange peeler and as always, when I'm about to give up, there it is!

For the longest time, I only used the scraper when using my pizza stone for breads, pizzas and cookies, but one afternoon I had rolled out dough for homemade cinnamon rolls, when I became frustrated that I could not clean the dough off my counter top. I remembered my pan scraper and with a little water the counter was sparkling clean.

At only $2.75 these are a must buy if you ask me.

Seating Arrangements

Last spring we had the honor of attending my husbands closest friends wedding in California. It was at a gorgeous outdoor venue in Northern CA and the bride and her friends did most of the decor and arrangements. I found that the seating arrangements were set in a very unique manner that I had never seen before.



She printed each of our names and table numbers on assorted colored paper. Then decorated an old window with ribbons and the printed paper. They then placed each of the windows in the bush area as we entered the venue. It was so neat and beautifully arranged. I thought this same idea could easily be used for an intimate bridal or baby shower as well. Very clever!

What unique ways have you seen or done seating arrangements? Leave your comments below.

How-To Tuesday : Roll Out Dough

My family is a strong believer in making our own crusts for pies, so I learned to roll dough at a young age. I think there is only one pre-made, store-bought crust that my aunt will ever consider buying and that's if she is running behind or wants to have a back-up dessert prepared for an unexpected visitor. (I believe it's from Trader Joes)

Rolling dough really isn't that difficult, but it does take some practice to be successful. I remember my husband helping me once with dough that I had prepared and he tried to force it flat all at once with the rolling pin....sometimes I forget the things I learned growing up are alien to those who never baked...

First, you want to ensure that your dough is chilled. It will be easier to roll out. Also, make sure you have your pie dish near you so you can easily transfer the dough to your dish. You will want to lightly dust your counter or surface with flour to keep the dough from sticking, as well as your rolling pin. Try not to leave too much flour on your surface, as it will stick to your dough and dry it out when baking. Next, pat the dough with your hands to shape it into a thin patty shape. Place the rolling pin in the center of the dough and start rolling. You will want to apply pressure in the center of the dough and then less pressure toward the outer edge. Once the dough is pretty flat, you will want to apply even amounts of pressure across the whole piece. You always want to roll from the center of the dough outward.

Don't try to make the dough flat in your first roll. You want to work the dough into the desired thickness. If the dough begins to stick to your rolling pin, feel free to add more flour to the pin and even to the top of the dough. You want to roll the dough while it is still chilled. Once rolled out, place dough in your pie dish and remove the extra dough that overflows.

Seems simple enough, right?

**Quick tip for transferring the dough from your counter to the pie dish...Fold your rolled out dough in half, and then again in half so you have what looks like a quarter of the dough. Next, take your folded dough and place the *point* in the center of your dish. Begin to unfold until completely covering the dish. This process will ensure a successful transfer without any tears or rips in the dough.

Macaroni and Cheese

I'm sitting here sipping my coffee, before both the kids are up and hubby's still snuggled in bed. I honestly cannot remember the last time that this has happened, between sleep deprivation, our daughter teething or our newborn waking up *ahead of schedule* I'm usually taking as much sleep as I can get. But today, my brother, sister and nephew are driving in for our son's dedication, so they should be arriving any minute now. So up I got, made my coffee and sat down for a little peace and quiet.

You may think it's odd that I'm thinking of Mac & Cheese so early in the morning, but since I've found a few noodles here in the couch from my daughters lunch yesterday I figured it's fitting to make this my Weekend Wrap topic for today.

My husband and I love macaroni and cheese. Whether it's Kraft out of the box, Velveeta with shells, or someones family recipe we usually devour as much as we possibly can. Well, I've never actually made my own macaroni and cheese, other than from the box of Kraft, but since my husband was really begging for it I decided to create my own.



I picked up some Velveeta cheese, plus had some feta cheese and cheddar cheese at home I planned to use as well. The secret to having creamy macaroni and cheese, no matter what other cheeses you add, is to use condensed milk in the recipe. It keeps everything from drying out. If you are backing your mac & cheese though and it begins to dry out, (after adding the condensed milk) you can pour a little bit of regular milk in while its in the oven.



The mac and cheese came out delicious and I look forward to experimenting a bit with other cheeses as well as some sort of topping....I'm thinking Ritz crackers...or something mixed with Italian herbs. Yum.

In case you'd like to take a whack at the mac & cheese, I did a huge no-no in my book and didn't write down my recipe (which is pretty much the whole motivation behind why I wrote my cookbook) but anyways. I cooked the noodles as directed. Then put in to a 9x13 inch casserole dish. Cut up a little less than a half a block of Velveeta, about a cup of feta cheese, probably a cup or so cheddar cheese, sprinkled in some Parmesan, added salt, pepper and garlic, and one can of condensed milk. Threw it in the oven at 350 until the cheese melted...about 30-45 minutes.

Next time I'll write down the recipe :)   

What are your guy's secrets to making creamy mac & cheese?