Spanish Rice

I absolutely LOVE Spanish rice, but I'm the only person in the house who does. I rarely make it due to this fact! But tonight I made some Enchiladas from http://mamaandbabylove.blogspot.com/2011/01/recent-freezer-meals.html and I wanted Spanish Rice to go along with them... so I started looking and didn't find exactly what I wanted, so I created this....which is quite possibly the best Damn Spanish Rice I have ever had!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 Cup chopped onion
• 1/4 Cup Green Pepper chopped
  
• 2 Tbsp Jalapeno diced
  
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup chunky salsa ( I used Medium, not too hot, just right!)
  
• 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
• 1 handful of frozen corm (or fresh... or canned... I dont discriminate! )
  

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in onion, & peppers, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Mix rice into skillet, stirring often. When rice turns translucent (dont over brown), stir in chicken broth, tomato paste, corn and salsa. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes,remove from heat and let stand another 5 minutes or until liquid has been absorbed mostly, but not all, you dont want dry Spanish Rice! YUCK!!!!

Hibachi Steak

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 zucchini, sliced into spears
  
• 1 medium onion, sliced into chunks
  
• 1 (8-ounce) package sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak

Sauce Mix

• 1/2 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions

Use large skillet and heat to around 350 degrees add 1 Tablespoon of oil, When the oil is hot, add the vegetables and cook, stirring continuously until the vegetables are cooked, but still crisp, about 5 minutes. While the vegetables are finished, transfer them to a bowl and put off to the side, now heat the other tablespoon of oil.

Cut the steak into thin slices, and cook until browned on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and cornstarch and set aside.

Add the steak, along with any accumulated juices, to the pan with the vegetables. Stir the soy mixture into the vegetables and steak and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes. Serve over Fried Rice or Noodles

Ranch Dressing

My hubby ran out of Ranch Dressing last night, and I dont know about your house, but Ranch Dressing is used to dip EVERYTHING in at my house, so running out, is a huge deal! Money is tight this week, and I really didn't want to run to the store for more Ranch (because as we all know, when you run to the store for one thing, you end up $70 later with crap you didn't really need) So, I had some fresh chives, and sour cream on hand... I began my search for a Ranch Dressing Recipe!! And I found one!!!

Here we go! Its so easy, you will never buy it again!

1 Cup Mayo
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
a few chives finely chopped
a clove of garlic mashed into a paste (I'll talk about this in a minute)
1-2 teaspoons of dill (I added more, I LOVE dill)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
Milk to thin it to desired consistency
Salt and pepper to taste

First, lets combine the sour cream and mayo (not miracle whip!!!) Put aside, prepare your garlic clove by removing the skin, now, take a little bit of sea salt, and sprinkle over the clove of garlic, now use a fork and begin to smash the clove. This will take a minute or two, just be patient, its worth it! ;-) Chop your chives and add your fresh ingredients to your bowl. Add vinegar and mix. Now add milk to thin it all out. At this point you could add onion powder or salt and pepper... I used white pepper so it wouldn't show in the white of the dressing, it just depends on what you are looking for in your dressing.

Remember this is your dressing, you can do whatever you wish! If you like it spicey, you can add some Cheyenne Pepper, you can use 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 buttermilk!

You can use ALL dried spices if you dont have fresh, thats ok too!!!


The most important thing to remember, is that it doesn't reach full flavor for a few hours!! It will taste pretty bland at first... dont keep adding things! Let it sit... if after 2 hours its still bland, go ahead and add!

Like Oxi-Clean? Do it homemade!

Ok, I LOVE OxiClean, but I'm not a fan of the price... and if your like me, you know that Oxi-Clean can be used for EVERYTHING from carpets, to furniture, to laundry, which means it goes fast! :-) SO why not make it at home, and save a ton of money while your helping out the earth by "going green" (for those that know me, this isn't my biggest concern, but the saving money is!!! lol).

Here is all you need:

1 cup of hydrogen peroxide
2 TBS of WASHING SODA (not baking soda)
a spray bottle
4 oz of white vinegar (optional, but is great for removing smells)

Mix together in your spray bottle and clean away!!! So easy and so effective...if anyone would like to share the science behind it, go right ahead... I just know that it safely removes stains without bleaching out most fabrics (please color fast check in a small area first).

How to make Stock

Ok, so I have had some people question how to make their own stock. Its so easy... first of all, I keep a stock bag in my freezer at all times... what this is, is a gallon sized freezer bag with STOCK written on it that I put all of my ends of celery, my bits of carrots, skins of onions, left over garlic, green pepper stems...pretty much anything veggie related that I was going to pitch!!! I just pop it in the freezer bag and save it for stock! Now, when I have a chicken or turkey...or anything like that, I take the meat off the bone and KEEP the carcass!

I roast the contents of my "stock bag" to bring out the flavors ( I heat my oven to 350, put everything on a baking sheet drizzle with EVOO, season with salt and pepper and bake for 10 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, I put my carcass in a large stock pot and cover with water. Once the veggies are done, I add them to my stock pot. Add seasonings and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat and simmer for many many hours (over night is good, I like to give it a good 24hours though for the best flavor) The goal is to get the bone marrow out of the bones.

Once it has simmered and all of the flavors are combined and wonderful, you should be left with a nice dark stock. Strain through a cheesecloth or very fine strainer. Let sit so the fat can rise and it can be easily separated.

Now Beef Stock is a little trickier...
You need to start out with some good sized beef BONES. Bake them at 450 for 30 minutes uncovered... then add your veggies and bake another 30 minutes... remove from the baking dish and be sure to scrap up all of the goodies on the bottom of the pan... now transfer all of that into a stock pot, fill with water, season and bring to a boil, once it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for many many hours. Once again, I recommend overnight, but I would go as far as all day and all night! And why not, your house will smell WONDERFUL the whole time!!! Once it has simmered and all of the flavors are combined and wonderful, you should be left with a nice dark stock. Strain through a cheesecloth or very fine strainer. Let sit so the fat can rise and it can be easily separated.

All Stocks can be stored in the fridge for around a week, or can be frozen. I recommend freezing in ice cube trays to control portions!

Potato Soup

A medium Onion
a few stalks of celery
a couple good sized potatoes
6 tbls butter
6 tbls flour
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or you could just use a good chicken stock in leu of water and chicken bouillon)
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked ham
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream (I totally used more than this)

In a dutch oven or stock pot, sweat the diced onion and celery, season with salt and pepper. Add chopped potatoes, and ham, cover with water. Boil for 10 minutes until potatoes start to get tender. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan or skillet, melt butter and wisk in flour, stir for 1 min, then begin to add milk. once incorporated, add the heavy cream stir for 3-5 minutes until thickened.

Once you have boiled the potatoes with the water and blah blah, reduce heat and add bouillion cubes stir, once they are dissolved add the milk mixture. Cook another few minutes so all of the flavors blend, season with salt and pepper to taste!

It is soooo good!!

Homemade Doggie Treats

Here is a fun recipe that the kids love to help with! The dogs love them and I feel good about giving it to them because I KNOW what has gone into them.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup powdered dry milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. honey
6 tbs. homemade turkey, chicken or beef stock (I use the fatty filmy layer that I scrap off the top of the pot. The dogs LOVE it!!)
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Combine flour, dry milk, garlic powder and honey. Cut in meat drippings until mixture resembles corn meal. Mix in egg. Add enough water so that mixture forms a ball. Using your fingers, pat out dough onto cookie sheet to 1/2" thick. Cut dough into squares or if you have a cool doggie biscuit cutter, that would work too, whatever is most appropriate for your dog size. Prick each cookie with fork. Bake 25-30 minutes. Remove from tray and cool on rack. Store in airtight container.

I made these for all of the neighborhood doggies as Christmas Treats!!!

Dishwasher detergent

Once in a while, there is a little more month at the end of my money...and I need to do dishes, but really dont want to spend a ton of money on dish detergent. So I needed to play around with some homemade options, when this one came up...

2 1/2 cups washing soda (crystals)
2 1/2 cups borax
5 -7 drops essential oil (optional but I use lemon oil)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and make into a finer powder... put in a ziplock bag or airtight container... use 1 1/2-2 tablespoons per load. You can use white vinegar in the rinse aid dispenser for sparkling dishes!!

Chewy Granola Bar

We are having a fundraiser for the Point Place Lions (my competition squad) and we are serving lunch to the customers at the UCC Church Craft Show tomorrow from 9am-3pm. Well, as you can imagine, people dont eat lunch at 9am, so I had to think, do we do nothing and not lose money, or do I improvise! I of course chose to improvise, and made breakfast oatmeal bars to sell from 9-10:30am. I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but man were they good! You can pretty much put whatever you want in them, but this is what I did.

Breakfast Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

• 4 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup Wheat all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
  
• 2 cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Pre-heat your oven to 325 and grease a 9x13 pan. Mix EVERYTHING in your mixer then press firmly into pan. Bake for 18 mins, let cool.

Hint- Line your pan with Foil or parchment, then when its done baking, just lift it out and let it cool on a baking rack. If you don't line your pan, do not remove the bars from the pan until they are cool.

You can substitute raisins, or dried fruit of any kind, you can mix and match any of your favorite flavors to make this recipe your own!

My family really enjoys these, I think yours will too!

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http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Dance-Studio-at-Sylvania-Sports-World.html?soid=1103726990081&aid=MzrqlxzP-qc

Apple Cake- Perfect for this awesome time of the year!

6 apples, Any kind of baking apple or all-purpose
1 tablespoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons sugar ( I use organic, but refined is ok too)

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted (I use cake flour, but you can use all-purpose if you want)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan, Peel, core and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to ensure all ingredients are incorporated.

Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Spread half of apples over it. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours, or until a tester comes out clean.

Coffee House Coffee Drink

I love nothing more than to sit at a coffee shop and enjoy a nice quiet cup of creamy mocha, however, at $3 or more per cup this price really adds up. And to be honest, I am home sick today and I am missing my coffee date with friends, so I needed something in its place.

1/4 cup coffee grounds
2 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp almond extract or vanilla extract, which ever flavor you prefer
2 tablespoons sugar ( I use organic sugar)

1 bar of dark chocolate
1 cup of skim milk (if you are all about flavor and not calories, you can go for half and half)

First, get your coffee going, but before you do, put sugar and extract in the empty pot!

Now, put your chocolate and milk in a mircowave safe bowl and heat on med until chocolate is incorporated. Stir every 45 secs.

Once your coffee is brewed and your chocolate is melted and incorporated, add your milk mixture to the coffee. Stir and enjoy! You can add a dollop of whipped cream if you'd like to make it fancy! :-)

Enjoy!

Uncrustable Like Sandwiches!

These are great! My daughter is in LOVE with Uncrustables, and I have purchased them for a long time. I have even bought the Sam's Club brand to save money. However, recently I started to experiment and ended up with the PERFECT substitutes for these handy lunch favorites!

2 pieces of your favorite sandwich bread!
Peanut Butter
Your fav jelly or jam
a small circle food storage container or 3 inch biscuit cutter if you have one. ( I didn't, so I used a storage container, it worked great!)
Butter knife for spreading
Fork for crimping

Put a good amount of peanut butter in a 2 3/4 inch circle in the center of the bread (dont measure, just guess, hold up your cutter and do just smaller than that), do that to both pieces, place the jelly or jam in the center of the peanut butter, dont use too much, you dont want it to leak out! Place your pieces of bread together and use your food storage container or biscuit cutter to cut out your circle! Now that you have a crustless sandwich, take your fork and go around the edges to seal, now place your sandwich in a baggy and place in the freezer, take out 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, or place in your kids lunch box for a much healthier version of the old lunch favorite!

Eczema Cream- Shaelyn's Special

This is so simple to make. My 3 yr old loves it and it doesn't burn or sting like many others. It helps with inflammation, itch and all over discomfort, it also promotes healing of the skin and moisture retention!

2 oz of Olive Oil
14 drops of Tea Tree Oil
15-17 drops of Lavender Oil
1 T of melted Cocoa Butter

Mix all together and allow the Cocoa butter to set up. When it does it will form a cream. When applied it will become oil like again. This is very soothing and calming for the skin, and works wonders on my little ones eczema!

Facial Toner

Making your own facial toner is not only simple and affordable, but most importantly EFFECTIVE!!!! Here are some ideas on how to make your own!!

Ingredients:

4oz Witch Hazel

10 to 20 drops of your Essential oil. Amount of drops may depend on which oil you are using, their strength and how many different oils you are using. Read the label to see the recommenced amount.

Directions:

Mix ingredients well in bottle. Shake before each Use. Apply to face with cotton ball after cleansing.

• Sandalwood Essential Oil has an astringent effect on oily skin and helps soothe irritated skin. Use sandalwood in facial blends to help balance the skin. Also helpful for removing wrinkles and scars.
  

• Tea Tree Essential Oil is helpful within acne products and can help fight cold sores and heal wounds and is an effective acne fighter.
  

• Carrot seed essential oil is used primarily for its healing properties and effects on the skin. It stimulates circulation, repairs and tones the skin, increases elasticity, reduces the formation of wrinkles, and scars.
  

• Patchouli essential oil is an effective anti-inflammatory. Patchouli helps to tighten the pores of the skin and is used to combat wrinkles.
  

• Rose Otto Essential Oil, Bulgaria is also useful in facial formulations as it helps with dry, maturing skin and wrinkles.
  

Helichrysum Essential Oil unrivaled skin toning benefits. Helichrysum oil is great for mature and dry skin. A wonderful healing oil that's gentle yet effective on acne, wrinkles, burns, eczema, scars, sunburns and stretch marks.

Easy Facial Cleansers

At home Easy Face Cleansers

Rejuvenating Cleanser Recipe

Ingredients

6 tablespoon Flax Seed Oil

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil

12 tablespoons castor oil

30 drop essential oils of your choice (Tea Tree or Lavender are excellent)

Instructions:

Add carrier oils to a clean, dark glass bottle. Add essential oils. Gently shake to blend before each use. Store in a dark, glass bottle in a cool place or fridge. Apply a small amount to face and massage to cleanse. Rinse with warm water and a wash cloth. Skin will feel super smooth and silky! Perfect anti-aging cleanser!

Sensitive skin Cleanser

Ingredients:

3 tbs. liquid Castile soap

3 tbs. Jojoba oil

1 tbs. Avocado oil

6 drops German-chamomile essential oil

6 drops helichrysum essential oil

10 drops Neroli essential oil

Instructions:

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Transfer to glass jar, then shake for 2 minutes. To use: Apply to skin in a circular motion for a minute or 2. Rinse with a warm cloth and water.

Cornstarch & Glycerin Facial Cleanser

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. cornstarch

2 Tbs. glycerin

1/2 c. water

Instructions:

Mix ingredients until smooth. Heat in a small double boiler pan Heat until thick and clear; it will have the consistency of pudding. Do not boil. Cool completely, Use in place of soap to cleanse your skin.

Exfoliating Oily skin Facial Wash

Ingredients:

1 tsp powdered skim milk

1 tsp honey

few drops of apple vinegar

Instructions:

Mix ingredients in a bowl. Apply to skin in a circular motion for a minute or 2. Rinse with a warm cloth and water.

http://hmbeautyrecipes.homestead.com/SKINcleansers.html

Fabric Refresher

I have 2 dogs... 3 children...and a husband. I have more than one use for fabric refreshers! Needless to say, I could go through a boat load of this stuff, however at $4-$5 a bottle, it gets really pricey...Even when using generic brands your are looking at $3 a bottle...Now you can make it at home for pennies a bottle. If you use 1 bottle a month (which I use more than that), you could save over $55 a yr JUST on this!!!!!

Ok...super simple...

All you need is:

a cap full of your favorite fabric softener

an old fabric refresher bottle (it sprays a finer mist than the average spray bottle)

Water

Put one cap full of fabric softener into your empty spray bottle, then fill with water. Shake up and your ready to use!

Now your curtains, couches, rugs, bedding and more can smell fresh and clean at a fraction of the cost!

Chocolate Endulgance Facial

Anti-aging Chocolate Facial Recipe! Smells so yummy you want to eat it!!!!! I like this recipe because it will store. Every other recipe I found was made with heavy cream or sour cream and this being made with Cold Cream will store and keep for a while!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
4 Tb Cold Cream
1/4 C Honey
3 tsp Oatmeal Powder ( this can be accomplished by putting old fashioned oats in the blender or food processor)

Mix all ingredients together until completely incorporated. Place in a jar until ready to use.

Directions for use:
Smooth onto face. Relax and Enjoy for 10- 15 minutes. Wash off using warm water and pat face dry.

Side Note: This also makes a great gift!

Quick and Easy Bath Salt Gifts

When we are faced with the pinch of our holiday budget we start to struggle with affording gifts to give to those around us to let them know we care. Here is a simple, easy and very inexpensive recipe to give when money is less than abundant! :-)

Ingredients:
1. a quart size Ziplock or zip up baggy
2. 3/4 C Epsom Salt
3. Your favorite Fragrance Oil
4. Color of your choice (food or soap coloring will work)
5. A pretty jar to put your finished product in.

Place your Salts in a zip top bag. Add 7-9 drops of your favorite fragrance oil and 5-6 drops of your favorite coloring. Close bag (this is the fun part) Mix up well!!!!! You can add more color or fragrance as you see fit!

Now empty contents into the jar of your choice. Decorate with a pretty ribbon!

I always include directions with my gifts! They are simple to do. I make them on card stock and print them off. This one would look similar to this:

Relaxing Spa Salts
Directions: Place a few tablespoons under running warm bath water. Allow salts to dissolve and enjoy!

Chocolate Moisturizing Body Scrub

Chocolate Moisturizing Body Scrub

Ingredients
• 1 cup sugar (now, I used 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup Epsom salt for better exfoliation and detox properties)
• 2 tablespoons unscented liquid soap (you can use soft soap if you want, I used Liquid Glycerin)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (You can use a little more if you really like the cocoa scent!)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (same here)
• olive oil (just enough to form it all into a paste)
Directions
1 Combine sugar, body wash, cocoa powder, and vanilla in a plastic container.
2 Add olive oil until a paste forms.
3 Wet area to exfoliate.
4 Rub with scrub.
5 Rinse.
6 keep in a covered air tight container.
7 Enjoy!
Super cool, when it gets wet, it smells just like hot cocoa!!!

You can put this is a pretty jar with a nice tight lid, tie it with a pretty brown and pink ribbon (or whatever color you would like, I just thought the brown and pink looked cute with the dark color of the scrub) and give it as a gift from the heart!!!!