Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Detergent

A little while back I got really excited at the prospect of being able to make my own laundry detergent. It's DIY + money saving! What is not to love about the idea? Well I haven't been able to try it yet because we still have commercial detergent to use up that I don't want to waste.

Sooo when I noticed at the beginning of the week we were running low on Dishwasher detergent, lightbulbs! If people can make their own laundry soap there has to be recipes for dishwashers too!

Well not so much as the laundry recipes, it took a little more digging to find ones for dishwashers (not dish washing soap but ones for use in a dishwasher). Then almost all of the recipes were powdered... and it may just be me but with our city's hard water powder just does not seem to work well in the older dishwashers. I almost always buy liquid/gel detergents for that reason.

I finally found a few that were liquid versions and compared and contrasted and came up with my own variation.

Homemade LIQUID Dishwasher Detergent

You will need:
1 cup Distilled White Vinegar
3/4 cup Water
3/4 cup Dr. Bronner Sal Suds
2 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
4-6 drops Grapefruit Oil
A sealable container (I used a mason jar cause I am currently obsessed with them)

Simply mix all ingredients together in your container. (Mixing quickly will cause it to suds up some, no big deal)

The mixture is VERY watery.

I use a half tablespoon in my pre-wash dispenser and then one full tablespoon in the regular detergent dispenser.

I also add white vinegar by itself as the rinse aid. I keep it in a condiment squirt bottle for ease of use.

So far I am loving it, my dishes look as clean as when I used Finish, Palmolive, or Cascade. Oh and cost per load? Roughly $0.07-$0.04 !

Oh My Lemons!

It has been a minute! My little life has been thrown upside down through hoops around the corner and back again! Long story short  I had to move in a hurry and then I met Mr. Man and fell up into the clouds :) now I am moving to his bacholer pad/three bedroom house. I'm  super excited but also apprehensive, this is seriously a man's house in need of a clean over haul. Its a project :> he said I could blog about it but no pictures booo. ;p

Any who, I plan to get back into the swing of things... Starting with more cupcake goodness! For my moms 50th birthday party I made lemon cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream. They were a huge hit! This was the first flavored cupcake I've made. (I've tried a filled cupcake but it was a vanilla cake with strawberry filling).  I searched the interwebs for hours trying to find the perfect lemon cupcake recipe and finally found one that sounded perfect!

Extra Moist Lemon Cupcakes

by grandma2969 on food.com

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon ground lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup yogurt

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/extra-moist-lemon-cupcakes-124660#ixzz1NHPcArxT

I followed the directions pretty much the same however I did not use the lemon glaze.  Also because of how soft the cakes are I let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then moved them to a cooling rack to cool for another 20 before messing with them. 

I then added my new favorite buttercream recipe; Wedding Cupcake Buttercream from recipegirl.com, and a little lemon zest to the top! 

Now my next project... cleaning Mr. Man's kitchen whilst he is away on business.... if you don't hear from me in awhile I have fallen deathly ill from some monster I've found in there ;) 

How to fail at making burgers

It's the effort that counts right? That fact that I tried? At least they looked pretty normal... even if they tasted like crumbly rocks.

First off let me preface this with the fact I have never made a burger at home in my life.
So I was a little clueless where to start to make a home burger. I knew first I needed meat...which was a small problem.

You see I have a horrible aversion to raw meats of any kind. I hate touching raw meat, beef, chicken, turkey, anything. Its icky. I also can not stomach to eat anything off the bone. My friends tell me I am a freak. Oh well thats not the only freaky thing about me! ;)

So to avoid my raw meat conundrum I normally buy frozen boneless chicken strips to cook and eat a lot of meatless dishes. That wasn't going to work for this, I wanted a burger damnit!

I found these raw burger patties, to avoid having to touch ground beef. That was probably mistake number one. 

Having never made a burger and being without a grill, I proceeded to ask everyone I know how to cook a burger stovetop. This lead me to get a lot of conflicting advice everything from "just throw it in a pan" to "butter the pan, add X seasonings, x ingredients, then add burger"

I decided to take the simplest advice and go with just throw it in the pan. Added a little salt and pepper. I was anxious about the greasing popping and afraid of them being undercooked and burned all at the same time... so I constantly was checking them. Probably, mistake number two.

They started to look hideous and crumbly but were still all bleedy in places... where were my pretty burgers? 

photo from stock.xchng

I also don't like to eat anything with pink. I let them cook a little longer to try to avoid any pinkness in the center. Pulled them from the pan to cut them open and be sure they were not pink. 

Satisfied I was not going to die from having to eat anything still pink. I forgot I needed to melt the cheese on them. Because cheese makes everything better. So I stuck them back on the pan for a minute. Mistake number three. 

..... and well I slathered them in ketchup, put them on a nice whole wheat bun next to some very delicious cajun seasoned sweet potato fries and hoped for the best. 

Well sometimes hope just ain't enough. My poor burgers were very tough, crumbly and tasted like cheesy, ketchuped rocks. 

Oh well, you can't win them all right? I learned a lot from this experience and will be re-attempting the home burger in the near future.  

Dishes Done!

Oh blog! I have not forgotten you, I just keep getting sidetracked! Drat!  Lots of updates coming however. :D

In the meantime, a tip for a daily chore...
A helpful tip that seems so simple and yet I know of so many who do not do it.  Including myself and my roommates until recently. None of us really mind doing the dishes, all of us are somewhat lazy though and our kitchen could rival this...

Seriously, why didn't I think of this foil contraption? Would have helped at some points! 

But now no more! For the past two and a half weeks we have successfully kept no more than 4 dishes in our sink at any given time. 

Doing the dishes as you go. My mom always preached it to my siblings and I as kids, but I never listened until now.

It literally takes only a minute to rinse the dish immediately and place it in the dishwasher. Not a lot of scrubbing or elbow grease because it hasn't sat getting crusty for a week (or five).  Once the dishwasher is full switch it on. Whenever you have a few minutes, empty dishwasher, begin process again. OMG THIS IS SO SIMPLE,  I am on my way to being all tidy and neat!  

Now I enjoy the serenity of a clear sink....and it really makes me want to be in the kitchen more! 

This is not my actual sink. I am not that cool yet.... 

Alright that is all I have for now. More food adventures in the future (including a fail at burger making D: ) and lots more about cleaning coming up. Me and my one roommate have jump started spring cleaning and have cleaned everything!  Well almost...

Valentines Waffles! (not really but they are cute!)

Happy belated Valentines Day internet peoples! :)

So for the past two weeks my roommates and I have been each trying different waffle recipes since I bought this super awesome heart-shaped waffle iron from Wal-Mart.

There was a lot of trial...and a lot of error (aka not so tasty waffles) but I finally figured out my favorite for that perfect mmmmmm factor!

Basic Waffles 
by Southern Recipes

This recipe is so simple!  Basically you mix everything together except for the eggs.

You then separate the eggs, add the yolks first....and then you gotta beat the whites until "stiff peaks" forms

I wasn't so very good at that and I gave up trying after like 10 minutes of whisking... but adding my non stiff peaked (hehe) egg whites didn't effect how delicious these came out!

The heart shaped waffles are just the right size too! I made extra and froze them. The next two days I simply grabbed some from the freezer, popped into the toaster, and yum! Almost as good as the first day!

(Who needs eggos?!)

Salsafied Cheesy Chicken & Rice

Mmmm, this dish was sooo yummy. I think it will become a regular meal in my life because it was easy and SOOO yummy! hehe. This took about 15 minutes total.

Salsafied Cheesy Chicken & Rice
recipe from AllRecipes.com (with minor adjustments)

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
• 1 (15.5 ounce) jar salsa (I used Tostitos Restaurant Style Salsa Medium)
• 4 cups instant rice (I used Boil-in-The Bag Rice)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

In a large skillet over medium high heat brown the cubed chicken in oil, salt and pepper until cooked through and juices run clear. Add the broth and salsa and bring to a boil.

Once the liquids are boiling, turn off the heat and stir in the instant rice.  Let simmer for 5 minutes. Sprinkle all of the cheese on top. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes, then serve.

So its been a bit a challenge

I haven't been making much food... >.< I was hoping being stuck at home was going to be like "Oh I need to cook more! and I have time"...well I have just been lazy and eating out :(  I have been keeping to my once a week meal though so I am still keeping up with my goals.

They have finally determined what is wrong with my knee for sure and while I do not need surgery, I have a month of physical therapy 3 times a week.  I also get to walk with a cane, cause I am a cool old lady like that! >.<

Right now I am working on making meal plans to help me organize and get under control my eating out habits.  I've looked at a couple of online meal planning tools...but really I think phyiscally writing things down will help me better.

Today is my first day of work in two weeks! and then grocery shopping after.... woot!

10 Minute Leftovers Fried Rice

This is so quick and easy! I didn't even look up a recipe to use for it :)  Quick fulfilling meal.

10 Minute Leftovers Fried Rice 

This really isn't a recipe...more guidelines.

White Rice (leftovers) 

Olive Oil

Soy Sauce

Eggs

Random veggies (leftovers if you have them, I used a green giant frozen corn and canned carrots cause its what I had!) 

Put enough oil (about 2 tablespoons ish) to coat the bottom of your pan, let warm up. Add in rice, stir-fry on med-high/high heat until it starts to look "golden".  *WARNING - rice will pop! 

Add in veggies, stir-fry for a few minutes (or until your frozen corn melts :P ).  

Push everything to one side of the pan, crack egg into pan and quickly scramble. Let set for one minute and then mix all together. I did two eggs because I like them :) 

Splash in some soy sauce for flavor, really just how ever much you like soy sauce!

Cook until looks done :P and eat!

Very easy and you can add whatever you like and it tastes yummy! 

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl

So no real news on my knee yet. It still hurts, I am still stuck at home, and I still don't know what is wrong for sure yet. 

Lately I have been craving a Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl. Its probably one of my favorites, I just love the tangy sauce with the rice. It was one of the first things I cooked on my own and it is so easy to add/modify as needed. I wanted to take more/better pictures but after standing for a little bit I was sore and very hungry! lol. MMMMmmm I want more just writing about it! 

Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl

adapted from the Kikkoman recipe!

1/2 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade & Sauce  
2 tablespoons sugar 
1/4 cup water 
1 pound (more or less) of chicken breast cut into strips
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil 
White rice cooked
Medley of veggies (I used red/green peppers, mushrooms, and broccoli this time)

Mix together Teriyaki sauce and sugar until sugar dissolves. Place thawed (or mostly thawed) chicken strips into a ZipLoc bag and add a few spoonfuls of the Teriyaki sugar mix to coat chicken. Let marinade for 15 or so minutes. 

Add water to remaining Teriyaki sugar mix, stir in flour until dissolved. 

Heat oil in large pan, add chicken strips and sauté for 5 or so minutes. Add in Teriyaki sauce mixture. Let cook for 5 minutes.

Add in veggie medley, cook for another 5 minutes. Turn heat to low and let simmer for 5 or until sauce thickens to a nice consistency.

Spoon over white rice and delve into Teriyaki gooey goodness!

This recipe makes quite a bit depending on how many veggies you put in it and how much rice you make. I tend to put a lot so mine ends up serving 6 or so. But thats okay I love this so much I go back for seconds....and thirds!  I ended up with left over rice but no left over teriyaki. 

A series of unfortunate events...

I feel like a lot has happened since I last posted...when really only a few things have.

So I started to organize my room...it was going well. Taking a little longer then I expected...after 3 days of working on it between going to work it was shaping up nice. The closet was all cleared and I just needed to organize the vanity and my drawers. Look I have a floor!

 Well it was looking all nice...and then I had a unexpected guest about to arrive at the house and the downstairs looked DISASTROUS! So a very quick clean up entailed taking all of my belongs (including laundry basket, giant burlesque props, and here and there bits) and shoving them in my bedroom so they were out of sight. My living room now looks fabulous...my room however...kinda in shambles again.  -.-; I now have plenty of time to clean but the reason I have time is also the reason I can not clean. Which I will explain in a minute...

So the room isn't done. Which was my big project last week, which also took away time from me grocery shopping and planning meals. So for my "cook once a week" resolution I cheated! >.<
It was yummy though.  Sauteed pieorgies with peppers.

I don't really count this as 'cooking' though, at least not the way I wanted. Because all I did was heat butter in a pan. 

On this note I wanted to explain my "cook once a week" resolution a little better. I live with roommates, one whom cooks very tasty meals, so it is not necessary for me to cook all the time. I eat a lot of plain sandwiches too...  I am also addicted...yes ADDICTED to eating out. It is always so good and fun way to get out of the house... It is an evil addiction. I am trying desperately to cure myself.  It is only rivaled by my addiction to Cheese and Chocolate. They are the answer to all the worlds problems I swear, they taste so good with everything! 

But yes, I love eating out, fancy restaurants, pubs, fast food, food stands, everyone has got something I like! However I am going to be forced into making my food for a little while because I can't go out as easy as I would like now...which is also the reason I can not clean.

The reason?

Last year I fell on my left knee, pretty hard, had to be off my feet for a week and wear a huge leg brace for a month. They said I 'strained some ligaments'  and well it never fully got better. It actually aches a lot day-to-day. Well being the graceful being I am I fell on my outdoor concrete/metal stairs Monday night, putting all of my weight onto that already screwed up knee. It hurt. No it hurts.

So to the doctor I went Tuesday. He thinks I probably tore my meniscus last year and made it worse with my fall. I am now off of work until further notice...its hard to be a hairstylist when you can't stand up... I have an MRI scheduled for Friday afternoon to confirm and to determine if surgery is needed.  I also get to wear a spiffy brace, walk with a cane, and am supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible. 

It's scary, painful, and I don't like being stuck! Hopefully it will all turn out well...

SO while I am stuck at home I am going to cook and work on little projects (not cleaning! :( ) to share with you guys to bide my time. 

Hmm teriyaki chicken rice bowl anyone? I think thats next ^.^

Resolutions

Everyone has them...even if they don't admit or mock others for theirs but I know that somewhere in the back of your mind you have resolved to do something different in your life. Even if its something little.

This year I made a list, which I normally do, last year I did not because I was being pessimistic.
I love list making if you didn't know, it seems to organize everything so perfectly.

New Years Goals:

• Cook once a week if not more.
• Take better care of my body
• Keep a tidy house and car
• Be positive and smile more often

I like four, its my favorite number. So we will keep my list short and sweet and I think perfectly attainable. None of this "lose 50 pounds by March" type nonsense resolutions I see nearly everywhere. Thats why people fail, they set nearly impossible goals. At least that is my little opinion.

Alright that is all for now darlings, stay tuned! This week I tackle my bedroom...