Kid's Clothes Storage

With the change in season (yay!), it was time to go through Elsie's closet and get all of the too small clothes put away.  When I have clothes that are ready for storage, I like to make sure they are all clean and nicely folded.  Then I put each stack (of like things) in a grocery bag, I squish out as much air as I can and tie it closed with a bow (not a knot).  I write on the outside of the bag what it is (age, gender, item (eg. pants)).  Then the bags go into a box or tote that gets labeled.

With the clothes in bags, it is easier to put away and keep things organized, you can find what you need without ruining all of the other piles.

Egg Salad Sandwiches

The kids dyed eggs, the Easter Bunny hid those eggs, the kids found them and now they're chillin' in the fridge waiting to be eaten!  

Time for some Egg Salad Sandwiches.

This recipe isn't scientific, but you'll get the idea.

Egg Salad Sandwich

Peel eggs--1 egg=1 sandwich.

In small bowl mash egg. 

Add/mix-in: mustard, mayo/miracle whip, salt and pepper; to desired wetness and consistency.

Serve on bread, toast, or leftover dinner rolls.

Done!

Hard "Baked" Eggs

Ditch the pot of boiling water and try baking your eggs.

 We baked 2 dozen eggs for Easter Egg Dying and I will say, I didn't miss the pot, the boiling water, the straining.....

Place eggs in mini-muffin tin.  Bake, without pre-heating, at 325 deg. for 30 min. Let cool for a few minutes, place in large bowl, then add cold water and ice.

How easy is that?

The eggs come out just liked boiled eggs--same texture, peel the same.  

As the eggs bake, moisture from inside seaps out on to the shell.  I dabbed the eggs a few times during baking to limit the number of dropplets.  These wet spots turn brown as the egg cooks, but dissolve off the shells while they sit in the bowl of water.

Beef and Barley Soup

Here is a yummy soup recipe that we had for dinner last night.  We ate it with bread sticks  last time we had it with homemade bread.

1/2-1 lb hamburger, cooked

1 medium onion, chopped

3 carrots, sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1/2 c. barley

4 c. water

2 tsp. beef buillon

1 tsp. oregano (dry), crushed

1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

Put everything in a large saucepan (or soup pot) and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 45 minutes until barley is cooked and vegetables are tender.  

I haven't done it, but I bet you could do this in a crock pot too.

Sugar Cookie Sandwiches

A fun twist on a classic cookie.

Sugar Cookie Sandwiches

Cream:

 3/4 Margarine

1 C Sugar

Add and stir:

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Add and stir:

2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Chill 1 hour.  Roll out to 1/4 thickness.  Use a small--1 inch diameter-ish--cookie cutter.

Bake at 400 deg. for 6-8 min. until light brown around bottom edges.

To make sandwiches frost 1 cookie and place a 2nd one on top.

Bathtub Toy Storage

My cheap, easy solution for bathtub toy storage is a $0.97 laundry bag from walmart by the laundry baskets, etc. (or probably just about any other store too).  It is nice because it lets the toys dry out.  I had a hook with a suction cup laying around so I hang it from that over the tub, no worries about things dripping on the floor.

Ink Stain Removal

Ink stains are quite stubborn and annoying.  Here's what I've found works best: 

Nail Polish Remover, some scrubbing, and a little Fels-Naptha.

Reapply and scrub until clean. Wash.

#1: Stain
#2: Dab of nail polish remover
#3: Clean clothes

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches from Scratch

So a few weeks ago Aunty made Philly Cheese Steak here, which in turn made me want to make it. FYI this is a plan ahead, takes some time recipe, especially if you want to eat it on Homemade French Bread.

Here we go...

Philly Cheese Steak

Marinate 1lb thinly sliced steak, 30-60 min, in:

2 T Steak Sauce

1 T Soy Sauce

1tsp garlic powder

1tsp paprika

Pepper

In a heated and lightly oiled frying pan:

Saute sliced Green Pepper 5min.

Add sliced onion, salt and pepper, and saute until veggies are soft.

Fry steak in a 2nd pan while veggies are cooking.

Serve with a slice of provolone on rolls, hoagies,

or Homemade French Bread.

"Soil" Amendment

We have a few "square foot gardens" at our house .  Our "soil" was starting to get a little low, not sure where it disappeared to.  Our original "soil", per square foot gardening recommendation, was equal parts vermiculite, peat moss and compost.  The vermiculite is kinda pricey, so I didn't want to buy more of that to add to the garden.  I decided that I would add some more peat moss and compost though.  Our "soil" is nice and loose so I just put the peat moss and compost on top and worked it in with the rake.  

All ready to plant!

Homemade French Bread

Our family loves eating French Bread, especially with dinner.  Sometimes it is part of the main dish, like Meatball Sandwiches or Philly Cheese Steak Sandwhiches (recipe here).

 Here's a question: what's the difference between bread and French Bread?

 Bread is made with milk, French Bread uses water.

I found this recipe from Land O Lakes a few years ago.  It is easy and yummy.

French Bread

Prep time: 45 min  Raise time: 2 hrs

Bake time: 25 min

1 pg active dry yeast

2 1/4 C warm water (~110 deg.)

1 T sugar

5-5 1/2 C flour

1 T salt

To brush on tops: 1 egg slightly beaten, 1 T milk

In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water; stir in sugar.  Let stand 45 min (Top pic).  Stir in 3 cups of flour and salt, beat until smooth (middle pic).  Stir in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surfce; knead until smooth and elastic--about 5 min. Place dough in lightly greased bowl and turn over once to coat dough with grease (left pic). Cover and let rise in warm place until double in size--about 1.5 hours--dough is ready when indentation remains when touched (right pic).

Punch dough down.  Dived into thirds to make 15" long baguettes or 5" rounds.  Or divide into 7-8 small loafs for sandwhiches. Hint: when forming loaves, create smooth tops by placing seems and overlaps on the underside (top pic). Place on greased cookie sheet. Cover and let rise until double in size--about 30 min.

Heat oven to 400 deg. Brush tops with egg and milk mixture. Make diagonal slashes across baguette or rounds.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rack.