Homemade Cleaners and Tidbits

I wouldn't say that we are a "green" family, but we do our part and recycle.  We buy organic when it's on sale.  But, this goes beyond that.  Bleach, Comet, and most all-purpose cleaners make me wheeze.  My lungs fight it. I wear protective gloves.  This can't be good for us! So, I've decided to try homemade cleaners.  And, if they don't work, I'll go back to my wheezy store brands.  And a mask. I really, really want them to work though!

I found some other neat tidbits while digging through the internet.  Use fume-free oven cleaner to cut through soap scum on your bathtub.  Spray it on, let it soak for a few hours, then come back and wipe it down. Instead of buying expensive fabric softener (and for people with sensitive skin, like Jason and Ella), put one cup of undiluted white vinegar in the rinse cycle.  I can't wait to test both of these out! Go ahead. Call me names. Then come check out my tub.

Of course, mix all of these in a sprayer bottle. But I didn't have to tell you that, did I? :-)

Homemade Spray Cleaner

1 cup of white vinegar
1 cup of water

Use on countertops and backsplash.  Use it on tile in the bathroom and exterior surfaces of the toilet.

Homemade Glass Cleaner

1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 cup water
1 tablespoon of white vinegar

Strong All-Purpose Cleaner

1 tablespoon non-sudsing ammonia (regular ammonia foams and makes it hard to rinse completely)
1 tablespoon clear laundry detergent
2 cups of water

Furniture Polish

1 cup of olive oil
1/2 cup of lemon juice

And the best web jewel of all: http://web.extension.illinois.edu/stain/ This has helped me through orange crayon on clothes and Play Doh on carpet. Pure genius.

Ground Beef & Rice Casserole

I tried this recipe from our church's cookbook last night for the first time. I had to alter a few things, but it turned out very yummy.  For instance, I didn't have a can of Cheez Whiz, but I did have half a block of Velveeta.  And right in the middle of cooking, I read "add the melted butter", only to look up in the list and see no mention of butter. It was a guess again (but a good one, fortunately!).  Anyways, here's my version:

The Ingredients:
1 pound of ground beef (or turkey, in our house)
1 onion, chopped
1 can of cream of chicken
1/4 block of Velveeta, cubed
1/4 cup melted butter
1 bag of boil-in-a-bag rice (~ 2 cups?)

What to do:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook the rice. While that's cooking, brown the ground turkey (or beef) and onion in a skillet.  Drain.  Stir in the melted butter into the turkey mix and cook for about a minute (I wouldn't skimp on the butter here if you're using turkey since it tends to be very dry).  Add the cream of chicken and Velveeta.  Cook until melted.  Stir in the rice.

Transfer to a casserole dish and bake for 20-30 minutes. 

I served it with green beans it was really yummy and filling.

Where's the Pause Button?

Last night was the first night Ella slept in her big girl bed.  My Ella.  No longer in a crib.  No longer unable to get out of the bed (haha).  She's 2 years and almost 7 months old, so we put it off long enough.  It's hard being a parent. It's tough to ride the emotion rollercoaster of seeing your beloved child grow and grow with excitement and yet, a twinge of sadness.  Her Daddy told her she had a surprise waiting for her at home. She came in the door curious.  We followed her to her room where she immediately hopped up on the bed, gave it a few jumps (to see if it "passed"), layed down and said "I yike it".  So precious.  She went straight to it last night and I don't think she moved at all in the night because she was in the same position this morning.  If she knew what it was, she'd say, "Thank you for memory foam."

(pics coming...)

On The Menu: French Dip Sammies (crockpot)

*UPDATE* The sandwiches were great! And they make for good leftovers too. I used french bread and mozzarella.  I'll be adding this to my recipe book.

I'm making this tomorrow night for dinner with Jason's grandparents. It's gotten great reviews online so I'm hoping it turns out well. If not, Taco Bell it is!


I "borrowed" this one from Our Best Bites


The ingredients:


1 2.5-3 pound beef roast (chuck is best)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2, 1-ounce packages of dry onion soup mix
2 cups of water
2 cans of beef broth
6-8 large buns (6 would be VERY generous servings)
your choice of cheese (swiss, provolone or mozzarella--I'm going mozzarella)


What to do:


Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub the roast with salt and pepper.


When very hot, put the roast in the pot and sear on all sides (you're just browning the outside, NOT cooking it completely--it seals in the juices).


Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mix. Pour in the water and beef broth.


Cook 8-10 hours on low (I bet it'll smell wonderful when you've come home after a day at work!) or 4-5 on high (if you just can't wait).  It's done when you insert a fork and it falls apart. Behold, the power of the crockpot. :)


Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil both sides open-faced in the oven for a few minutes until the bread is golden and cheese has melted.


Ladle leftover juices into cups for dipping.


Sounds YUMMY! I'll let you know the verdict after tomorrow.