Six kids and 60 cups!

It was the end of the first day of spring break and I was headed to the sink to wash dishes when I realized that every single cup and glass in the house was dirty! There must have been sixty of them! I knew that this was going to get old quick. It was the first day and I was already fed up with it. Dishes are after all my least favorite chore.

I got out some hooks and hung them under the cabinets and hung up six cups. Each child knows which cups is theirs and is totally responsible for it. That includes washing it after each use and hanging it back up.

It has saved me lots of time doing dishes. I am glad that we started it early so that they are used to it before summer gets here.

Oil Bottles - Make your own flavored oils.

Why pay the expensive retail price for flavored and infused oils when you can make them at home at a fraction of the cost?

*Select your container

You should only use glass jars or bottles that are free of cracks or nicks and can be sealed with a screw-band lid, cap or cork.

* Prepare containers

Wash jars thoroughly with dish soap and rinse in scalding water. Put jars and lids in a kettle and cover completely with hot water. Bring water to a boil, covered, and boil jars and lids 15 minutes from time that steam emerges from kettle. Turn off the heat and let jars and lids stand in hot water. Put jars and lids onto kitchen towels to dry.

*Prepare Ingredients
Thoroughly wash your herbs, fruits, vegetables.

*Fill Jars and Seal

Some Flavored Oil Recipes you can try-

Hot Chili Oil
2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
7 fresh red hot chili peppers
15 peppercorns
2 bay leafs
Heat oil gently in a double boiler. High heat discolors the oil and it becomes rancid very quickly. When oil is hot, add your chili peppers, peppercorns and bay leafs.
Pour into the bottle and seal. Allow to stand for 2 weeks before using to allow the flavors to combine with the oil.

Garlic Oil

25 cloves of fresh garlic cloves

31/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Peel the garlic . Then heat the olive oil until it comes to a gentle simmer, and add the peeled garlic cloves. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the garlic is tender. Remove from the heat and let it cool completely. Strain the garlic from the oil, and pour oil into a clean bottle and seal with a cork top.

Rosemary Oil

21/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Put the sprigs of rosemary in a clean bottle. Pour the olive oil in. Make sure they are all covered with oil. Put a tight cork on it and let it steep at room temperature for a week. Strain and discard the rosemary, and recap the bottle tightly. Great brushed on chicken and fish. Use within ten days.

I recommend that all home-prepared flavored oils be stored at refrigerated temperatures. If the product was flavored with a fresh herb or vegetable, the shelf life of the product is about three weeks in the refrigerator. The shelf life is longer for oils made with dried flavorings.

Baked Chicken in the George Foreman Contact Roaster

I was at an auction about 6 months ago and came across a brand new GF Contact Roaster. I got it for only $5. It does not get much better than that.

It makes some of the best baked chicken.It only takes about 60 minutes to bake a whole chicken. It comes out juicy and tender with a very crisp crust on the top and bottom. One of the best things about it that it does not heat up the whole house.

Recycle your Formula Containers

Jenni aka Just a Mommy has a great idea for Similac containers. On a recent visit to her house I was amazed at how handy these little things are. They would work great in any kitchen.

For more on this and more ideas from Just a Mommy Here check out-

http://justamommyhere.blogspot.com/2009/03/recycled-containers.html

The Suzie Challenge

Are you ready to take the Suzie Homemaker Challenge?

I will post several task for you to undertake. The task will be anything from seasonal cleaning to organizing your home. They will take less than 15 minutes for each and help you be more organized and help you keep your house spiffy.

So are you ready?

Challenge #1

Clean your fridge and yes this includes the top.

Here are some quick refrigerator cleaning tips.

• 
  
  Take everything out of the refrigerator. Yes, I said everything.


• 
  
  Throw away anything that is outdated.


• 
  
  Take out the vegetable bins and wash and dry using dish soap


• 
  
  Use a sponge or wet cloth to clean the shelving and the inside of the door.


• 
  
  Put back the items you are keeping.


• 
  
  Put new box of open baking soda in your refrigerator.


• 
  
  Clean the outside and top of the refrigerator.


• 
  
  You are done. Doesn't it feel great!!!

Here are some tips to help it stay clean

• Use good ziplock bags to store your leftovers. You will not feel guilty about tossing the bag and it will save you time doing dishes.

• Change the box of baking soda every three months. Write the date on it with a marker before you stick it in.

• Before you go shopping do a quick clean. You will have more room for the new stuff when you get home and you will know what you have in there before you go shopping.

• Keep the temperature at the manufacturer’s recommendation.

• Try not to accumulate more than two of each item.

• Keep your vegetables in zip lock bags to maintain their freshness.

• Defrost your freezer once a month and keep a box of baking soda in there too.

Don't Throw it Away!

Is your rubber spatula getting rough on the edges? Does it no longer scrape like it used to? You can add life to it by trimming off 1/4 of an inch of it with scissors.

Kitchen Tip #1 - No more ugly dish soap bottles

Do you keep your dish soap under the cabinet because you hate the way it looks? That problem can be fixed for about 4.00. Purchase a glass oil bottle from your local department store. The one I purchased came from Wal*Mart for 3.98.

Now I leave my soap out all the times and get many compliments on the bottle. Many people have seen this at my home and went home to do it at their house.