The Miracle Cure For Mildewed Laundry!

Posted under Thoughts by celvidge

I messed up this week. Big time. I swear sometimes I’m losing my mind… one day at a time. It’s like watching reruns of a TV show you have seen millions of times and finding new parts in it that you have never noticed before. It’s not funny… it’s almost disturbing. You KNOW this show. You’ve MEMORIZED this show. You’ve acted it out with your siblings. How can there be a whole scene that you have no recollection of??? Well I don’t know how but the older I get and the more times I get pregnant lol, somehow I just can’t hold firm to the once brilliant memory that I used to maintain. The victim this week: laundry. Not just any laundry. My baby boy’s ENTIRE wardrobe. That’s right. Everything he owns. I had put off doing his laundry for so long that finally I opened up his closet and there was nothing in it. I pulled open each and every drawer, just to find a toothbrush that Sammy had chosen to hide. No clothing. Then the lightbulb came on and I excitedly remembered a small box on the floor of his closet that contained a few articles of clothing that were one size too big. Those would certainly work until I had cleaned his other clothes.

So, I dressed my son in a long sleeved t-shirt that was enormous and a pair of new jeans that wouldn’t stay up, both had the cuffs rolled several times , while I gave in and finally threw everything he has ever worn, into the washer. This is where we enter the twilight zone. I immediately forgot about the clothes in the washer. Not as in, “I knew they were there but just got side tracked.” I forgot about the clothes in the washer, as in, “I had NO recollection of ever putting them there.” I still don’t. But I had to have. Jared certainly didn’t do it. I’m not even sure that he knows HOW to do laundry. And there they sat for almost a week. 5 days to be exact. I know because 5 new, way-too-big-for-my-body, t-shirts are what Sammy wore through until I finally started wondering, “where the heck is all of his clothing!?” So on day 5, I ventured downstairs to see if I had taken all of his clothes down yet. They weren’t in the laundry bin? Well where on earth are they!? As a reflex, I opened the washer and gasped as I saw a massive load of wet, mildewy, mini-sized clothing sitting there sadly.

The smell was horrible! I panicked. Had I really just ruined every single thing that I dress my son in, in one fail swoop? So I washed the load again in a desperate attempt to save hundreds of dollars worth of clothing. I washed it on HOT. When the buzzer sounded, I optimistically opened the door and all of my enthusiasm went down the drain. The smell would have stunned a horse. So I ran upstairs and grabbed the baking soda. Started the load again, this time added an overflowing cup full of baking soda. No dice. The smell remained. I repeated the load again, this time adding more baking soda. But the wretched smell stubbornly stuck around. Determined, I ran it again. Can we please not pay attention to the gallons of water that I am wasting on this project? Still nothing. So to my computer I ran! With Jared wondering how on earth we solved life’s problems before the it was invented. I searched high and low for laundry cures for “poor housekeeping”.

Most of the articles I found though were simply scolding us lowly housewives for doing such a pitiful job and reminding us to IMMEDIATELY remove clothes from the washer. Information that I already knew. I wasn’t trying to find out how to get your clothes to smell like mildew… I was trying to find out what do do once you’ve already accomplished that step. But finally I found an article that recommended using white vinegar, so I gave it a shot. Did ANOTHER load, this time adding 1 cup of white vinegar. When the buzzer sounded, once again I ran enthusiastically to the washer but only to sink into despair at the lingering scent. In one final ditch attempt. I decided to combine my efforts. I filled the washer for the 7th time and this time poured a cup and a 1/2 of baking soda over top of my load, ALSO filling the liquid bleach dispenser with a cup of white vinegar. When the end-of-the-wash signal was announced, I slowly sulked towards it, not expecting much. But to my gleeful surprise, that horrible, nasty, terrible smell; that for the longest day of my life had served as an awful reminder of my lacking household skills; was completely gone!! The clothes now smelled ever so faintly of vinegar lol, but that is SO MUCH better than mildew! I was so happy that you couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face for a million bucks. Ok maybe a million. So as a standing ovation to my dedication, I ran the load just one more time. This time with normal Dreft baby detergent and 20 minutes later, “Voila!” my baby’s entire wardrobe is back to smelling wonderfully of chamomile and lavender and now is also incredibly soft lol. You would be too if you have just sat through 8 baths.

So the solution if your clothes smell mildewy…. do 2 loads. 1st load- wash with 1/2 cup – 1 1/2 cup (depending on your load size and the seriousness of your stank) baking soda poured over top of them, as if that is the detergent. Also fill your liquid bleach dispenser with 1/4 cup – 1 cup of white vinegar. When the load is finished, run a second regular load with your normal detergent and you should be good! And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone that you are faltering on your household responsibilities.

Borderline healthy, yummiest chicken burritos ever! lol

Posted under Healthy Eating by celvidge

There are several parts to this recipe but I promise it is all worth it! These burritos are a layering process: tortilla, then rice, then beans, then chicken, then dressing. Roll up and then cover in the green burrito sauce and a top with a dollop of sour cream. Want to know how to time-manage this one? Here ya go: Assuming you want to eat dinner at 6pm, pop the chicken in the crockpot at 1pm and forget about it. At 5pm is when dinner prep begins. Shred the meat and then put it back in for another hour. At this point, make the rice. Then while the rice is cooking, make the green burrito sauce (Unless you are going to buy the pre-packaged option I listed below and then you get to skip this step!). Blend up the dressing during the last 5 minutes of chicken cook time, and voila! Everything gets finished at the same time and dinner is on the table at 6pm!

For the chicken:
- 5 lbs chicken breasts
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP cumin
- 1 TBSP chili powder
- 1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian dressing

directions: combine all ingredients in a crockpot on low for 4 hours. Shred meat. Then cook for another hour.

For the rice:
- 3 cups water
- 4 tsp chicken bouillon
- 4 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 of a bunch of cilantro
- 1 can green chilis
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 TBSP butter
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cups rice

directions: blend cilantro, chilis, and onion in a processor. Bring water to a boil. Add rice, cilantro mixture, and remaining ingredients. Cover and reduce heat to low for 30 minutes.

For the dressing:
- 3 large munches of cilantro
- 1 cup oil
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 6 crushed garlic cloves
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 onion
- 2 jalapenos, seeded
- white pepper
- salt
- water

directions: blend vinegar, garlic, egg, onion, salt and pepper (to taste). Add water 1 TBSP at a time until desired consistency is reached.

For the Green Burrito Sauce:
- 3 lbs husked tomatillos
- 1/2 onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 TBSP chicken base (NOT bouillon or stock)
- 1 jalapeno, seeded (optional)
- 1 can green chilies (optional)

Roast tomatillos @ 400 for 20 minutes. Then squeeze each one (like you do a lemon before juicing it). Combine tomatillos, onion, and garlic in a saucepan, covered with water. Boil until soft. Then put all contents in a blender and blend until smooth. Return contents to pot and add chicken base to taste. Simmer until well mixed and warmed through. Add peppers and chilies.

****** NOTE: If you can’t find chicken base or don’t feel like making the Green Burrito Sauce, there is a prepackaged salsa that is delicious in it’s place. It is called “Salsa Verde” by Pace. If you can’t find that, you can use any green burrito salsa that you can find in your grocery store but make sure it is tomatillo based and not chili based.

Other remaining ingredients:
- 1 can of black beans
- tortillas (if you make these yourself they are SO MUCH better!!! But I suck at making tortillas and for some reason they never turn out… so instead I go to Beto’s or Cafe Rio and just buy a couple of their tortillas hot, they are delicious) ENJOY!

Drops of Heaven

Posted under Thoughts by celvidge

Ok, CLEARLY I cannot post this under my “healthy recipes” link. So it has to appear on the main page…. darn it. These incredibly SIMPLE, EASY, and DIVINE little treats are truly heaven on earth. You will not be able to just have one though, so be careful!! You won’t be paying attention and then all of the sudden, “OH MY GOSH!!! THE WHOLE BOWL IS GONE!” Yes, it will be just like that. Along with maybe, “What the heck is the matter with my jeans!? Why won’t they button up anymore?!” LOL, yes I just realized that I used heck and gosh in the same post. Ok, so are you ready for your world to be changed: Here ya go!

Rolo Turtles

- 1 bag of pretzel snaps (the square ones that look like a grid)
- as many rolos as you would like (I usually buy about 10 packages)
- an equal amount of halved pecans

directions: preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Place pretzels on the foiled baking sheet and top with one rolo. Bake for 3 minutes. While baking, quick place pecans on a microwave safe plate. Cook for 30 seconds, stir around with your fingers, cook for another 30 seconds, stir around with your fingers, cook for another 30 seconds… repeat until nuts are toasty. Remove pretzels from oven and immediately press one pecan half onto each rolo. LET COOL for at least a minute or two or you will burn the crap out of your mouth! Once sufficiently cooled, pop one in your mouth and hear angelic voices.