ShE's NoT yOuR aVeRaGe MoM: TiP fOr TuEsDaY

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

TiP fOr TuEsDaY

Tip-a-palooza!!

I've spent a good deal of my morning this morning trying to think of a blog-worthy tip for my segment. I've got a bunch of smaller tips and I'm going to smash them all into this post...so watch out! =0)

Baby-wipes. Everyone is familiar with these, especially if you have babies/toddlers in your house. Did you know you can do a lot more with these than wipe butts? They are great for wiping noses and sticky fingers, for wiping unidentified crust from your little one's hair. You can wipe spills and puke from the carpet as well. Got a smelly dog who hates baths or who is smelly in between baths? That's right, wipe him down with a few baby-wipes, he'll be powder fresh in no time!

Stained counters. Have a laminate counter top? Does it have few stains? Now do you own a dishwasher? If your answer was yes to all of these you are in luck! Dry dishwasher detergent is awesome for getting out counter stains! No lie! Get the spot a little wet with some water and add some detergent, enough to form a paste. Give it a light scrub and voila! Stain's gone!

Puking kids. I have one child who tends to throw up, no matter what he is sick with...yep, your jealous, I can tell! Ha! First of all find out the source of the puking, ie; stomach flu, too much junk, food poisoning, just because... If you suspect stomach flu, immediately strip all beds of the offenders, Lysol all door knobs, mattresses, head boards, hard surfaces. Launder all the bedding. Bleach the bathroom. Why, you ask? Stomach flu is easily spreadable and can be stopped fairly quickly in this manner. If you suspect it's food poisoning, clean all dishes left in the kitchen and Lysol/bleach all other surfaces. Be sure to follow the steps above as well. It's also a good idea to keep some activated charcoal on hand (available at health food/ vitamin stores), this helps to absorb whatever is left in the stomach and is what is used for poisoning in the hospital. If you suspect it's too much junk/just because (I'm kidding of course!) be sure to clean and launder anywhere that got puked on and give your child clear liquids and yogurt when he is feeling a little better. My chronic puker can usually be stopped cold by an offering of yogurt. Acidophilus can help as well, if you can get them to swallow pills that is!

Use Oxyclean to clean! Scrub your grout, scrub stained concrete, scrub your carpet, scrub your porcelain sink. I add this versatile stuff to all my loads of laundry, it helps catch stains I miss and freshens/whitens all my laundry too. It is also great for preventing bleeding colors.

So here's your TiP(s) fOr TuEsDaY! all these things make my life a little easier and I'll bet they can work for you too! =0)

1 comment:

Cara said...: I do all those things too... except the dishwasher detergent. I'll have to keep that one in mind!; June 22, 2010 at 4:26 PM

qUiCk ReCiPe GuIdE

Being Gluten-free rocks!

Honey Lemon Barbecue Sauce (gluten-free)

3 tablespoons clover honey
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons brown mustard
1 tablespoon garlic powder

Recycled Chicken Enchiladas (gluten-free)

2 to 3 pieces of leftover cooked chicken
small can of diced green chilies
1 lrg green onion (chopped)
1 can black olives (halved)
1 can black beans
1 can authentic red chile enchilada sauce (Las Palmas)
1 package corn tortillas or Frito's corn chips or 5 minute rice
2 to 3 cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese
sour cream

Heat chicken, green chilies, and onion in skillet over medium heat...stirring occasionally. Add black olives and black beans and red chile sauce, simmer for 10-12 minutes on medium/low heat. Wrap in corn tortillas and cover with cheese and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Serve with sour cream. OR serve over bowls of Frito's corn chips, cover with cheese and sour cream. (kid friendly) OR serve over instant rice with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Ham and Potato Soup (gluten-free)

1/2 large onion (chopped)
1/4 margarine or butter (soy butter works as well)
2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour (gluten-free)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill
2 cups water
4 to 5 medium red potatoes
1 lb cubed ham (or turkey ham)
2 cups milk (dairy or soy)

In the bottom of your large soup pot combine margarine and onion and saute till onion is translucent. Remove from heat and stir in flour, salt, pepper. Add water and potatoes and return to medium heat. Stir in milk and bring to a boil letting simmer about 5 minutes or until sauce starts to thicken. Add cubed ham and garlic and dill and reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer 25 to 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Serve when potatoes are no longer firm.

Pumpkin Bread (Gluten-free)

(I actually converted this recipe from a traditional pumpkin bread recipe, if you don’t need gluten-free just use regular all-purpose flour and enjoy)

1 can (15 oz) of pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons pure vanilla (not imitation)

4 large eggs

3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-free All purpose Flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ raisins or chocolate chips if desired

Move oven rack to lower position to ensure tops of loaves will be in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of (2) 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ loaf pans or (1) 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan, (Pam spray works)

Mix Pumpkin, sugar, oil, vanilla, and eggs in large bowl till blended. Stir in the remaining ingredients (minus raisins, or chocolate chips) until blended. Stir in raisins or chocolate chips. Divide batter evenly between pans.

Bake 8 inch loaves 50 to 60 minutes, 9 inch loaf 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes on wire rack.

Loosen sides of loaves from pans. Remove from pans and place topside up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to 10 days.

The best vegetable soup ever, no kidding (courtesy of the Today Show) *this recipe is naturally gluten-free as well!

Mark Bittman, New York Times columnist and author of "The Food Matters Cookbook"

Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil, more or less
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bunch parsley, washed and chopped, thick stems discarded
2 or 3 cabbage leaves, chopped
1 bunch chard, preferably white, washed and chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cans white beans (such as cannelloni) with their liquid if possible

Preparation

Put about a third of the olive oil in the bottom of a deep pot and turn the heat to medium.

Add half the onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until they soften, which takes about 10 minutes.

Add about half of the remaining oil and repeat the process, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.

Add the remaining oil with the parsley, cabbage and chard and cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is softened but not browned.

Add the tomato paste and stir.

Mash the beans so that they're about half mashed and half more-or-less whole. Add this mixture to the pot, along with any bean cooking liquid and enough water to make the whole mixture stewy but not watery.

Continue cooking, tasting and adjusting the seasoning as necessary, until all the vegetables are very tender and the soup is hot. Serve hot or warm.

Serving Size

Makes about 10 servings

Impossible Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup gluten free baking mix ( I like Pamela's)
2 table spoons margarine
1 13 oz can evaporated milk (or 1 1/4 cups Coffee Rich)
2 tea spoons gluten free vanilla
2 eggs
1 16 oz can pumpkin
2 1/2 tea spoons pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350. Beat all ingredients until smooth-1 minute in blender. Pour into a lightly greased 9 or 10 inch pie pan. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, checking at 45 minutes.
Optional: add 3/4 cup chopped pecans in mixture before pouring into pan. Garnish with whipped cream.

ShE's NoT yOuR aVeRaGe MoM

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

TiP fOr TuEsDaY

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