day 15 = laundry detergent for "no cheese, no nuts"

i've always been a bit of an allergic kid. i am extremely allergic to nuts and dairy (every restaurant i go to I ask for "no cheese, no nuts") and i've always had trouble with perfumes. lately, i've tried almost every laundry detergent on the market and always seem to wind-up "itching" by the end of the day. so, i did some research and learned it's much better to make your own.

now, i have to admit, i did have another motive. making your own laundry detergent costs all of $8.77 for the ingredients and you probably get 3 years worth of detergent! here's what you need to do:

step 1: buy all the ingredients

• borax (laundry detergent aisle)
• washing soda (laundry detergent aisle)
• ivory soap (soap aisle -- comes in pack of 3)

step 2: make a batch

• measure: 1 cup borax & 1 cup washing soda
• grate: 1 bar of ivory soap on the smallest holes

step 3: mix together, put in your favorite container, and you are all set!

• use 1 tbsp for a light load or 2 tbsp for a heavy load

that's it! we've been using it now for a few months and it works great. well, i can't really comment because charley does the laundry, but he tells me it works great! please let me know what you think :)

enjoy!



day 14 = what am i going to make for 4th of July?

each year i make something cute and fun for the kids on 4th of july. each year i agonize about what to make, finally pick something, scramble to get the ingredients, and stay at the beach a little longer than i should (i need to get a tan!) and then have to rush to put something together.


i'm sure this year will be no different, but this year i'll let you in on my thoughts... we'll just have to wait to find out which one it is!


2011 --- what do you think????

• mmm... strawberries 
• cake pops
• forget-me-not cones
• lollipop flower pots
• chicken pot pie?
• creepy crawly mud cups
• cheeseburger in paradise
• too bad it's not thanksgiving
• up for a sleepover?
• banana split mini-bites
• fried eggs anyone?

past years if you want to drool...

• oreo frogs
• brownies on a stick
• marshmallow cherry kisses
• candy sushi
• dirt cups 
• grandma's 90th birthday cake

enjoy!

day 13 = 5 minute crab legs

this is all it takes:

1) set your oven to broil

2) put crab legs on a broiler pan. broil 2-3 mins 

3) mix together dressing (in place of butter) for your crab

4) eat!

sarah:
i spent too much money, but it was good! we went to costco to pick up more chicken wings that were on coupon (why not save $4), and i got an itchin' for crab legs. as i recall they used to be $10 a pound, but it must be double that now. you can imagine my shock then when i got 1 1/2 pounds for us for dinner and it cost $29!! oh well, charley, i hope you enjoyed it because i won't spend that again :)

this is quite possibly the easiest meal you'll make. when costco has their fresh fishmonger, grab 1-2 legs per person (i bought 3 today for the 2 of us). they are precooked so you just turn your oven to broil and put them in there for 2-3 mins. that's it!

while they were in the oven, i mixed together equal parts olive oil and red wine vinegar and added a few pinches of each of the spices above. this made for a great dipping sauce and i also added it to my salad. the entire meal took all of 5 mins from refrigerator to stomach!

**i got a tip today on how to freeze fish and have it still taste fresh. before you put it in the freezer, stick it in a ziploc bag and add just enough water to cover the fish. when you defrost you won't have any freezer burn and it will retain it's texture. i haven't tried this yet so if you do, please let me know how it works!

charley:
it is Friday, end of the week, and we typically try to do something nice.  i suggested sushi, but sarah wanted to stop at costco and pick up a few things that were on sale.  needless to say we made it to costco and sarah saw the fish stand and made the executive decision for crab legs.  she didn't get any argument out of me as we have been working to clear out the remaining food in the fridge so a light dinner wouldn't be bad.  i think i added the kitchen sink to my salad along with the crab legs, but in the end the crab legs were the star.  being easy to heat up they were a pain to crack open.  the legs from costco actually had a good deal of meat on them so it made it worth it.  sarah likes to dip hers in sauce where i like mine straight up.  tasty tasty!!!

enjoy!

day 12 = using up the fridge

sarah:
i'm trying to eat up the contents of our fridge. the other day i bought these great mini-potatoes from Trader Joe's and hadn't yet used them. so, i turned the oven to 450 degrees, put the potatoes in an 8x8 in pan, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with a little brown sugar and the leftover sixteen-spice rub i made the other day courtesy of bobby flay, and tossed with tongs to coat. i put the pan in the oven (no need to wait for it to preheat) and changed into comfy clothes.

well, i knew we were having potatoes, but what was going to be for the main meal? i opened the freezer to get out some chicken wings ($4 off at costco right now), but charley had eaten the last few earlier today. ok, now what? i still had some leftover "stoup" from a month ago so i stuck it in the microwave for 10 mins to defrost and heat-up.

luckily, they finished up at about the same time and we had a great dinner in under 20 mins!

**anytime i have leftovers (pasta, herbs, wine...) i throw them into a ziploc bag and stick in the freezer. about once a month i cook up the contents of the bags with a little chicken stock and it makes for a few great meals of "stoup".

charley:
first meal of the week that was a little heavy, but still very good.  she did an amazing job with the seasoning and i may regret it later as i ate too many of them.  after a week long of this food i am happy to say i haven't put on any weight, but i have made sure to keep up with my workouts and even push myself a little farther.  i am beginning to believe what they say that it is always better to have a home cooked meal then eat out.  this really has become a great blessing, i love the food.

enjoy!

day 11 = super easy grilled cheese and tomato soup

watch it's progress...

and for the finale...



sarah:

last week i came home to a "present." charley got me a new cookbook and he's been drooling over it ever since. today i got an email from him -- this is the entirety of the email:

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 celery stalks
4 garlic cloves
1 carrot
2 red peppers
1 28oz can plum tomatoes in juice
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf

1 tsp spanish paprika
salt and fresh ground pepper

Grilled Cheese:

Grab bread and whatever cheese you wish! (Typically American)

ok... i think charley wants grilled cheese and tomato soup. so, i picked up the ingredients (but i grabbed cheddar cheese because i don't like american) and thought i am in for a long night. much to my surprise, this took very little time and was super easy to clean. here's what i did:

soup:

1. turn on broiler; put peppers into oven and let broil until skin blackens, turning frequently
2. meanwhile...
3. heat oil in a saucepan over med-low heat
4. chop onion, celery, and garlic; throw in saucepan and stir until softened
5. chop carrot; throw in saucepan for 1 min
6. add tomatoes with their juice, the stock, sugar, and bay leaf
7. add salt and pepper
8. bring to boil at high-heat, then turn to med-low
9. cover soup and simmer for 45 mins
10. good time to check on the peppers :) place in a ziploc or plastic bag to capture the steam and let cool (this will allow for easy peeling of the skin)
11. pull red peppers out of bag and peel off skin; discard seeds
12. add red peppers and spanish paprika to the soup
13. puree in blender
14. adjust seasoning (add lots more salt, pepper, and spanish paprika) and serve!

grilled cheese:

1. heat a saucepan on med
2. butter both sides of bread slices you are using
3. add cheese to cover one side of each sandwich
4. assemble the sandwiches
5. place in the saucepan letting each side grill and the cheese melt
6. repeat making as many sandwiches as you need!

the grilled cheese came out great! the soup is really healthy (it's all vegetables), but i didn't think it had a lot of taste. i'd bump up the vegetables some to give it more than just a tomato taste.

charley:

let me be completely honest as i was the one who requested this and yes it was mainly for the grilled cheese.  you can't go wrong with tomato soup and grilled cheese (we will be having it at our wedding) and this was no exception.  the soup was light and i could taste everything that went into it.  very tasty and was a great addition to the sandwich.  the only problem with the meal was sarah would only allow me to have one grilled cheese (has to do with her wanting me to live forever!)  in the end she did let me have half of her sandwich.

enjoy!

day 10 = last-minute lemon bars

sarah:
alright, two weeks ago we bought bananas at costco. i used a few to make the banana chocolate chip bread on day 8. they were clearly not ripe enough, but i was eager to try the recipe. i left the remaining 4 bananas out for the last few weeks and was so excited last night when i realized i could make round two of banana bread tonight because they were finally the perfect ripened bananas. i got home early tonight, popped out of work clothes and into comfy clothes, washed my hands, and stared at an empty counter. charley "cleaned" and tossed my beautiful bananas in the trash.

i had no clue what to make instead. so, i entered the following ingredients into the search list on allrecipes.com: "butter", "sugar", "eggs", and "flour."

one of the first recipes that came up was for lemon bars. i tailored it a little and this is quite possibly one of the easiest desserts i've ever made. not a lot of cleanup either!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs
3/4 cups white sugar
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 lemons, juiced and zested (you can use 1 for less of a sour punch)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In the bowl of a mixer, blend together softened butter, 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 8x8 inch pan.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until firm and golden. In the same bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cups sugar and 2 tbsp flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for 20 minutes more. Let cool for 1/2 hour. The bars will firm up as they cool. Cut into squares and dust with powdered sugar.

**you can double the recipe and put in a 9x13 in pan it's that good!

charley:
what can i say, it was a great dessert and i will be asking her to bring it to work!  if you like the taste of a little butter and the tang of lemon then this one is for you.  i love tart lemon or should i just say i like sour things and this was up my alley as she added a little more lemon.  if only it was healthy for you i would eat the whole thing!

enjoy!

day 9 = tenderloin two ways

so after the pork tenderloin debacle on day 6, i stopped at costco to pick up a replacement. unfortunately, at costco you have to buy 4 times as much meat as you need for 2 people. hence, i had leftover tenderloin in the fridge. it's fine though because we had a lazy day and neither one of us wanted to go to the store. the tenderloin came with 2 in a package so i thought i'd experiment making each a little different. before i started, i pulled the tenderloins out of the fridge about 2 hrs before cooking, washed them, and salted them. then i stuck it back in the fridge for later.

tenderloin #1 (spice):
i pulled out Bobby Flay's Grill It! cookbook (which was also used on day 2 -- bbq at home) and made just the rub for the meat. i mixed together 2 tbsp oil, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, and 1/2 tbsp salt in a small dish to make a paste. then, i sprinkled pepper on the tenderloins and brushed the paste all over. i let them sit out to come to room temp. charley grilled from there.

tenderloin #2 (herb):
i pulled out Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals Get Togethers. i didn't have garlic so i first sprinkled with pepper, then rubbed balsamic vinegar with my hands all over the tenderloin, then rubbed with olive oil (i use plastic gloves from costco because i don't like touching raw meat). i chopped up one sprig of rosemary with about 4 sprigs of thyme (leftover from the other pork recipe) and mixed with montreal steak seasoning. i spread it all over the pork and let it sit out to come to room temp. charley grilled from there.

sarah:
i liked them both. super easy to make (really) and one had more of an herb flavor while the other had a little more spice. really great if you have varying taste buds to serve to. also good for a little variety :) i still am not a fan of pork, but this was pretty good.

charley:
they both were tender and the taste was not very overpowering. the herb pork was more mild then the spanish paprika, but i am sure you are picking up that i like spice!  as for the overall dish, i would admit i wasn't very impressed.  i like bold flavors and this was just too mild for me.

enjoy!