DIY Kitchen Sink Cleaner

I wanted to share this recipe with y'all because it works SO good!  Comet does a great job making sinks shiny but I honestly cannot stand to use Comet.  It just grosses me out for whatever reason.  I'm strange I know. ;) I think this works just as good but better because it is so much better to use than comet with all of its chemicals. That's my opinion.

Here is what you will need:

1 cup of baking soda

glass jar of some sort with a lid (must use glass when using lemon oil)

lemon essential oil 

Add baking soda to the jar and add 2-3 drops of lemon essential oil. Mix with a fork and that is it!!

I like to use this in the evenings after the kitchen is cleaned from our dinner mess.  First you start off by sprinkling some of the baking soda mixture in your sink and let sit for about 5 minutes or so.  I really don't know how long mine sits so that is just a guess.  It doesn't really matter.  Next, drizzle a bit of  Castile soap to the sink.  Take a sponge or rag and scrub the sink.  Rinse with water and finish off by drying with a rag.  Let me know if you try this and how you like it!! 

I wanted to note that in the picture above I used Doterra lemon oil. I have had this oil for awhile and I have nothing against Doterra but I have been using Rocky Mountain Oils for quite sometime now and I have been VERY pleased with their oils, quality, as well as price.  I hope to do a post about oils soon! 

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

INGREDIENTS//

2 Cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
2 Cups Old Fashioned Oats
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
1 Cup Softened (or melted) butter
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS//
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
Mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, oats and brown sugar.
Once the dry ingredients are mixed together well, add in your butter, eggs and vanilla.
Mix until incorporated.
Then mix in your chocolate chips (or any other “extras” you are wanting).
Press the batter into the bottom of your 9×13.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until completely done.

{source}

Turkey and white bean chili

I've been craving fall meals like crazy. And this is my favorite chili!!! 

What you will need:

1 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 Anaheim chilies

2 poblano peppers

1 quart of chicken broth

2 cups of water

1 pound of navy beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed.

Cumin (sorry but I never measure spices so just eye ball it) 

Oregano

Salt

Pepper

First brown your turkey with onion and garlic over medium heat until cooked .

While that is cooking place your chilies under broiler for 10 minutes turning every few minutes until all sides are blackened. 

Remove chilies from oven and place in a covered dish and let steam for 10 minutes or so. 

Remove chilies and carefully remove skin. Remove seeds and stems and chop into small pieces. (Make sure to wash hands thoroughly after this so you aren't rubbing your eyes and having them feel like fire. That may have happened to me. Ouch!) 

Place turkey mixtures, chilies, broth, water and beans in large pot. Add spices and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook 2 hours or until beans are tender. 

Enjoy!! 

{original recipe can be found  here}

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

I've posted recipes on here a good bit in the past but none of them are really healthy. I want to start posting some healthy recipes hopefully once a week or so. 

We have really changed our eating lifestyle over the last 6+ months and my recipes should probably reflect that. ;) 

Carry on... 

Southwest Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

For the dressing: 

1 C cilantro, stems removed

1/2 C plain Greek yogurt

2 cloves of garlic

Juice of 1 lime

Salt

1/4 C olive oil

2 TBS of apple cider vinegar

- Add ingredients to blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Set aside.

Salad: 

(I didn't measure any of these ingredients, I just added how much I wanted of each according to my preference) 

Organic romaine lettuce, chopped

Cherry tomatoes, halved

Canned corn kernels, drained 

Canned black beans, drained

Fresh cilantro 

1 avocado (I actually used a couple TBS of the spicy wholly guacamole dip) 

Enjoy! 

Original recipe found here.

Tortellini Soup

This soup is really good. 

I can see making this a lot this fall.

(original recipe can be found here)

• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 carrots, chopped thin
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• minced garlic
• 2 boxes of chicken broth
• half bag of fresh spinach (or more depending on preference)
• 1 large bag of cheese tortellini
• 1 can diced tomatoes 
• 1 tbs balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs honey
• s & p

Saute onion, carrots, and celery in olive oil until tender.

Add garlic and saute a few minutes.

Add chicken broth, tomatoes (with juice), spinach, honey, balsamic vinegar, and tortellini. 

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender.

And serve!

This is great with Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top! 

Crockpot Recipe: Corn and Crab Chowder

Corn and Crab Chowder

A crockpot recipe

what you'll need:

1 8oz cream cheese, softened (use 2 for large)

1/2 pkg imitation crab (whole pack for large)

1 can crab meat

1 can whole kernel corn

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (3-4 for large)

1 can of cream of potato soup

Butter (several tablespoons)

salt and pepper

Combine everything in crockpot and cook on high for 1-2 hours or until warm. 

You may need to add milk if your chowder is too thick. Really depends of your preference. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Pumpkin Muffins

It's almost fall y'all and that means it's time for pumpkin muffins.

Pumpkin anything really.:)

But this is my favorite. The recipe is from my SIL Emily. 

She makes the BEST PUMPKIN MUFFINS EVER!!!!!  

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What you'll need for the muffins:

Pillsbury Quick Bread- Pumpkin (plus the ingredients listed on the box)

2 blocks of cream cheese (softened)

1/3 cup sour cream

1 tbs milk

confectioners sugar 

Follow the recipe on the Pillsbury box, adding what it asks for.

Add to that batter, a half block of cream cheese and 1/3 cup sour cream.

Mix until everything is blended.

Cook according to box. About 15 minutes.

While those are making your house smell heavenly you can start on the cream cheese icing.

Mix your softened block of cream cheese with 1 tbs of milk, and add just a pinch of confectioners sugar to taste. You can add more depending on how sweet you want it.

Now you can either just frost your muffins or you can fill them.

Trust me filling is the way to go! ;)

I put my icing in a Ziploc bag and cut one of the bottom corner tips off. Place that tip in the center of the muffin and press down. Slowly squeeze the Ziploc filling the muffin. The muffins top will start to expand a bit which is totally fine. Just stop when the icing starts coming out of the center.

And last but not least, enjoy!

>>Side note<<

You may want to make 2 batches of these bad boys because you will eat 12 all by yourself and you will need to share the other batch with you hubby and kiddos! ;)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So let me start off by saying we are on a budget.
That being said, I try to save money wherever I can.
Laundry detergent is so expensive for so little, so I started making my own.

Let me break it down for you.

Washing Soda- $3.24(55oz)
Borax- $3.38(4lbs)
Fels-Naptha- $.97/each
Downy Unstoppables-$6.97(13.2 oz) 
Oxi-Clean-$3.86(1.3 lbs)

Total: $18.42 (at walmart)
*all of this is found on the detergent aisle*
 

I'm not sure exactly how many loads of laundry I can wash with the 4 batches I make but I can tell you that the last time I made 4 batches was in January. And I ran out yesterday, making more today. So Jan-middle of June. You do the math! ;)

What you will need for 1 batch:
1 cup borax
1 cup arm & hammer washing soda (NOT baking soda!)
1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap
1/4 cup of Oxi-clean
1 cap ful of Downy Unstoppables (Aubrey says they smell like rainbows)

(really the last 2 are optional, but why not)
*I make 4 batches at a time, needing 4 bars of soap.

I bought a large glass canister with a lid from Walmart. It cost less than $10. It has worked really well for holding the detergent.

  

First, using a cheese grater, you are going to shred your bar of soap. Be prepared to get an arm workout in here! Who knew you could multi-task! And just a warning, it WILL look like shredded cheese. :)

 

Add this to your canister or whatever you'll be using to store your detergent.

Next add your borax, washing soda, oxi-clean, and downy.



 

Mix everything together. And that's it! Super easy.

You can use 1 tbs per load of laundry. 2 tbs for heavy loads.

 

 

 

 

 



Crockpot Italian Chicken with Zucchini Noodles

What you'll need for the crockpot:

4 chicken breast
1/4 cup of italian dressing
8 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 can cream of chicken soup

**I should mention that I actually use 2 large chicken breast and slice them thru the middle to make 4 total

What you'll need for noodles:

2 large zucchini or 1/person
olive oil
salt
pepper


Place your chicken in the crockpot and add the italian dressing to it. Cook on low for 2 hours.

After that has been cooking, in a bowl, mix together your softened cream cheese and can of soup. Add this to the crockpot and continue cooking on low for another 1-1.5.

Now for the noodles. Using a potato peeler, peel the zucchini including the skin. Stop when you get to the seeds.

Saute the noodles in some olive oil until they are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and enjoy!

Venison Honey Steak

 

 

 

What you will need:

 

1 pound of your choice of venison steaks, chops, or back strap. Cut to 1/2-3/8 in thick

{we use back strap}

3/4 cup of veg oil

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of honey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger

 

 



        

(soy sauce not shown. oops!)

 



 

Mix the vegetable oil, soy, honey, onion, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl.

 



 

Also make sure you have a pretty little helper. If not your food just won't taste as good! ;)

 



I suggest tenderizing your meat just a little so it won't be as tough. Unless you just like to chew. Alot.

 

 

 



Pour a small amount in a shallow dish. Arrange venison in a single layer and then pour remaining marinade on top.

 

Cover and refrigerate. You're suppose to refrigerate 24-48 hrs, but I only do ours for 6ish hours and

it taste fine.

 

Preheat grill. Cook until done. I'm thinking maybe 20 minutes on low?

 

We serve ours with fresh steamed broccoli.

{And I forgot to take a picture of it once it was done :( See it was too good to wait!!}
 

Enjoy!

 

 



A Healthy Twist on Pancakes

 

 

My kids LOVE pancakes. And since Trey and I are on a pretty strict low carb diet, I figured this may be something we can splurge on too every now and then. I think 1 banana has 31 carbs in it, so it's not very low carb, but a lot healthier than regular pancakes with flour, sugar, etc.

 

 

What you will need:

1 banana

2 eggs

{optional: pecans and cinnamon}

 

 



 

Mash/mix your banana and eggs in bowl. If you are using cinnamon and pecans you can add these now too.

 

 

Spray your skillet with non-stick spray and turn heat on medium. Drop a spoon full of the mixture onto the hot skillet.

 

I don't put syrup on these, just a little bit of Earth Balance Butter Spread, cause you know, its 0 carb ;)

 

 

 Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Casserole

 

What you will need:

 

3-4 chicken breast or 1 fryer chicken

1 lb spaghetti noodles {I only had egg noodles on hand}

1 onion

1/4 cup green bell pepper {I only had red}

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar {You could also use Velveeta}

Lawry's seasoned salt

black pepper

cayenne pepper {optional}

 

**you can find the original recipe here.

 

 

(chicken not shown. also i chop and freeze my bell peppers)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

Bring chicken to a boil.

 

After the chicken has boiled, remove 2 cups of the broth

and set aside.

 

Bring the remaining broth back to a boil and add your noodles.

 

While your noodles boil, shred your chicken.

 

if you're smart youll wait for your chicken to cool first before shredding.

Im impatient and I like to shred it as soon as it comes out of boiling water. yea, my fingers love me ;)

 

 

 

Drain noodles, set aside.

 

Chop your onion and bell pepper.

 

 

 

 

Place your cooked noodles in a large bowl.

Add you cream of mushroom soups, and 2 cups of cheese.

 

 

 

 

Then, add your onion, bell pepper, and seasonings.

 

 

Add your chicken last. Stir together.

 

Pour your mixture into a large casserole dish and top with cheese.

Bake for 35-45 minutes.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 



 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Bring chicken to a boil. 

After the chicken has boiled, remove 2 cups of the broth and set aside.

Bring the remaining broth back to a boil and add your noodles.

While your noodles boil, shred your chicken.

Drain noodles, set aside.

Chop your onion and bell pepper.

Place your cooked noodles in a large bowl.

Add you cream of mushroom soups, and 2 cups of cheese.

Then, add your onion, bell pepper, and seasonings.

Add your chicken last. Stir together.

Pour your mixture into a large casserole dish and top with cheese.

Bake for 35-45 minutes.

 

 



Corn and Crawfish Soup

 

 

We had lots of crawfish, corn, and garlic, left from our crawfish boil over the weekend

so we made this delicious soup!! 

 

 

 

What you will need:
1 pound crawfish {you could also use crabmeat}
1/4 cup butter
2 cups of chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 cup fresh yellow corn {or frozen}
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups half and half cream
garlic powder

Cut fresh corn from cob and set aside.
Melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and blend well.
Add chicken stock, stirring constantly
Cook until thick and smooth.
Stir in cream, crawfish, corn and seasonings.
Cook over low until corn is tender.



 

 



Chicken and Broccoli Braid

What you'll need:

 

2 cups diced cooked chicken

1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1 clove crushed garlic

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup of mayo

2tsp dill weed

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbs almonds (I use more because I love the crunch it gives it)

1/4 cup diced onion

2 cans of crescent rolls

1 egg white, beaten

 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

 

Toss together chicken, broccoli, red pepper, garlic, cheese,

mayo, dill, salt, onion, and garlic in large bowl.

Should look something like this....

(I could eat this by the spoonfuls)

 

 

 

 

Unroll crescent rolls and arrange flat on a baking sheet. 

Pinch together perforations to form a single layer of dough.

 

 

 

 



 

 

Cut 1 inch wide strips in towards the center starting on the long sides.

There should be a solid strip about 3-4 inches wide down the center,

with the cut strips forming a fringe down each side.

 

 

 

Spread mixture along the center.

 

 

 

Fold the side strips over the mixture, alternating strips from each side.

 

 

 

Pinch to seal.

 

 

 

Spread the egg white over the braid.

And bake for 25-30 minutes.

 

 

 

 

TA DA!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Potato Soup

 

 

Ok, so I dont cook like Bobby Flay or Giada, but I do love to cook easy meals! Who doesn't when you have a 5 year old and 2 year old running around like wild animals?!

 

  This is probably one of my favorite things to cook! Especially when its raining and cold outside. :)

 

 

What you will need:

 

8-10 medium potatoes

1 lb of Velveeta

1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix

1-2 pieces of bacon

4 Tbs of flour

1 stick of butter

1 cup of milk or heavy whipping cream

1 cup of water

 

 

Wash and peel your potatoes.

Cut your potatoes into bit size cubes.

 

 

 

Throw your potatoes into a large pot.  Add just enough water to cover potatoes by about an inch and bring to a boil.  Boil till tender.

 

 

 

While your potatoes are boiling, fry your bacon.

 

Let cool.  Chop and set aside.

 

 

After the potatoes are done boiling and are tender, do NOT drain them.

 

Add your velveeta, ranch mix, cream, and butter to the potatoes.

 

In a seperate bowl, add your flour to your cup of water and mix together. Add this to the soup.  This is going to thicken the soup.

 

Add your chopped bacon now.

 

Simmer until all of the cheese and butter have melted.

 

Serve and enjoy! :)

 

 

 

 

 



Veggie Shred

In an attempt to lose a few lbs, this has pretty much been my go to lunch for the last week or so.  It is super easy and taste delicious! You can also find this recipe here.

 

What you will need:

 

olive oil

minced garlic(you decide amount)

chopped onion(you decide amount)

shredded veggies of choice

(I buy the bag of broccoli slaw at Wal-Mart which is shredded broccoli, carrots, and red cabbage, and I add my own shredded zucchini)

black beans

cumin

salt

pepper

chili powder

 

 

Heat oil in skillet and saute your onion and garlic until translucent.

 

 

Next add your shredded veggies to the skillet. Let cook down a little before adding your beans.

 

 

 

Add beans, cumin, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Continue cooking till tender. (excuse the poor photo quality)

 

 

Serve up and enjoy! :)