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Thoughtful Thursday: How-to Edition

October 13, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

For this edition of Thoughtful Thursday, I am going to show how to make another “homemade” version of a household product that I usually buy.  If you read the last TT post, you will see that I am trying to reduce C & my exposure to chemicals and fragrances at home. 

I like using liquid hand soap instead of a bar for just hand-washing because the bars always seem to get gooey and nasty.  Even when I buy the plainest liquid soap I can find, it always has a long list of ingredients that don’t really seem necessary.  Guess what?  They are not!!  This recipe has all of three ingredients and that is all it takes.  The basis for this is from the website Tipnut, and the only thing I changed was to leave out the honey, but I may add some next time to try it.

1 bar of soap (I used Dove Unscented for Sensitive Skin, but I need to find an all natural organic soap to use.)

1 tsp. vegetable glycerin

water

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Grate the bar of soap into small flakes.  Pour into a blender.  Add 1 cup of boiling water and blend until smooth.  Add the glycerin and stir to combine.

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Allow the mix to cool for about 15 minutes and whip again.  Add about 3 cups of water to this and pour into a container.  Allow this to cool with the top off of the container.  The soap should thicken when it cools.  I really like this recipe, but I used a too much water in mine so it was little thin.

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I will definitely try this again!

Posted in Home, My Thoughts | Tagged , |

Almost Wordless Wednesday

October 12, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

October in Kentucky…

 

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Posted in Home, Photography | Tagged , , , |

Menu Plan Monday

October 10, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Good morning!  Hasn’t this just been a beautiful weekend?  I know it has here in Kentucky and I hope everyone was able to get out and enjoy.  I finally started refinishing a metal bed that belonged to my mother-in-law to use in the upstairs purple bedroom.  Yes, I know I started these projects over a year ago and they are not finished yet.  Life sometimes has a way of getting in the way of the fun projects, but at least I am able to work on them now.  I can’t wait to show you the result.  Can anyone else see a Thoughtless Thursday: How To post in there somewhere?

This week is a meal or two short.  We have court at work on Friday (of all days) this week, so that will probably be a take-out night.  Also, C & I have a wedding to attend next weekend in a near-by town so I think that will be an O’Charley’s night for us.  Woo hoo!  In case you can’t tell, O’Charley’s is my all-time favorite place to eat out.  Can’t wait!

Deep Dish Pizza Casserole

Basic Buttermilk Pancakes with Bacon (This didn’t get made last week because I had leftovers.)
Grilled Pork Chops with Oven Fries

Pizza Night

Hamburger Steaks (new) with Butter Roasted Potatoes

Cinnamon Roll Cake (new)

Posted in Menu Planning | Tagged |

Dairy Free Marshmallow Ice Cream

October 8, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

This will probably be my last ice cream post for a while since cold weather is just right around the corner.  I have so enjoyed trying all of these recipes for the first time.  My little ice cream maker has gotten quite a work out since July and I have figured out how to make most ice cream recipes dairy free.  A few of the treats I have posted about came from a vegan cookbook that are dairy free to begin with.  This recipe was not.  I found it on the blog That Skinny Chick Can Bake and make it dairy free myself.  Go here for the original recipe.

I was afraid that the marshmallow flavor would not be strong enough to mask the coconut milk, but it was. Also, this was the first ice cream recipe that used a cooked custard base and the texture was amazing.  So creamy! I served this with a hot fudge pie.  The pie did not turn out quite like I wanted, but at least the ice cream made up for it!

2 cups dairy free milk (I used soy.)

10 oz. marshmallows

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tbsp. vanilla

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In a large pot, melt the marshmallows with the soy milk over medium heat, stirring frequently until smooth.  Cool at room temperature.

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Heat the coconut milk in a sauce pan over low-medium heat until almost boiling.  In a bowl, preferably one with a pour spout if possible, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together.  Slowly drizzle a little hot coconut milk into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly so the egg yolks don’t scramble.  Repeat the process until all of the coconut milk is added.  Add the vanilla.

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When the marshmallow mixture has cooled, add to the egg mixture.  Whisk to combine.  Refrigerate over night then process in your ice cream maker according to instructions.  Enjoy!!!

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Please join me over at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday.

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments »

Book Beginnings

October 7, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

This is my second time participating in the Books Beginnings link party over at A Few More Pages.  I hope to be able to do this every couple of weeks, but I guess it will depend on how much time I have to read and how big a book I am reading at the time.  Reading time can be scarce with a full-time job, a full-time house, and a full-time husband.  Ha ha!!

A few days ago I started a book called “Girl With A Pearl Earring” by Tracy Chevalier and I think I am really going to like it. I first heard about this book when the movie came out a couple of years ago, but I haven’t seen it yet.  The book is almost always better any way.   Here is the first paragraph:

“My mother did not tell me they were coming.  Afterwards she said she did not want me to appear nervous.  I was surprised, for I thought she knew me well.  Strangers would think I was calm.  I did not cry as a baby.  Only my mother would note the tightness along my jaw, the widening of my already wide eyes.”

I have only read a few pages so far and so far, so good.  The story is set in 1660s Holland and is told through the eyes of 16 year old Griest.  I am excited to delve deeper into the story just from the first paragraph.  Who is coming and why does her mother think Griest will be nervous?  Are they good people or bad?  I guess I will just have to wait and see.

Posted in Books | Tagged , | 7 Comments »

Wordless Wednesday

October 5, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

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Posted in Home | Tagged |

Menu Plan Monday

October 3, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

Whew, what a weekend!  It has been a busy at-home weekend, but C & I can now say that the pressure washing is done for the year!  Can I hear an amen?!?  C got to try out a piece of equipment that he has never used-a powered lift.  Our house has one side that is really tall because of the walk-out basement so we can’t get to the very top with just a ladder.  Of course, this is also the north side so mildew and mold grow like crazy there.  The powered lift solved this problem perfectly.  Here are a few shots of the process:

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This is as high as I would go.  I hate heights.

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It worked like a charm and now we have a clean house all the way around.  While C & his dad were working with this, I spray-painted our metal outdoor furniture.  There were a few rust spots starting to show and I wanted to cover them before they got worse.  Wouldn’t you know, I was down to two chairs and I ran out of spray paint.  Ughh!  Oh, well, I will get some more this week and finish that little job.  We also managed to mow and trim our yard, C’s parent’s yard, finish the laundry, cook a little food and blog some, too.  All in all, it was a very productive weekend.

Here is this week’s menu:

Taco Biscuit Bake (new)

Country ham/Biscuits with oven baked fries

Cheesy Corn Chip Skillet

Buttermilk Pancakes with bacon

Pizza night

Pepsi Pork Chops (new) with butter roasted potatoes

Cookies & Cream Cake (new)

Posted in Menu Planning | Tagged |

Dairy Free Pralines & Cream Ice Cream

October 1, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

This recipe was made specially for my dad.  This is his favorite all-time ice cream from a certain chain store and he asked me to try to duplicate it at home.  I think it turned out to be a huge success!  The praline pecans are wonderful by themselves and I had to mentally smack my hand to keep from eating too many.  The recipe for them (which is a Paula Deen recipe) makes enough for two batches of ice cream.

I started with my basic dairy-free vanilla ice cream recipe and added in the praline pecans while it was processing.  After that, it is so easy to layer the ice cream with caramel ice cream topping to make the final product.  Yes, it would probably be even better with homemade caramel sauce, but I went the easier route and it was still yummy.

For the praline pecans:

2 cups whole pecans

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tablespoons heavy cream

For the dairy free vanilla ice cream:

1 14oz. can full-fat coconut milk

1 1/4 cups soymilk or other nondairy milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar (or agave syrup-I just bought some and will try this, too.  The agave syrup lowers the glycemic index which makes it better for diabetics.)

2 tbsp. real vanilla extract

1 jar of caramel ice cream topping

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For the praline pecans:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine pecans, brown sugar and heavy cream. Spread into a square baking pan, sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for about 18 minutes, or until coating is dry, and slightly crystallized, stirring every 5-6 minutes. Remove from oven to cool and stir once more.

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For the ice cream:

Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the vanilla base into it.  Process for 20 minutes and add the praline pecans in the last 5 minutes. In a lidded freezer safe container, spread a layer of the ice cream.  Next, pour a thin layer of the caramel topping over the ice cream and repeat, starting and ending with the ice cream.  Freeze until hard, 2-3 hours.  Enjoy!!!

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Please join over at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday to see this and other delicious recipes.

Posted in Cooking | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments »

Thoughtful Thursday: How-to Edition

September 29, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

C and I are both sensitive to fragrances and chemicals so in an effort to reduce our exposure to these, I have been researching non-toxic and natural cleaning methods for our home and clothing.  Also, I switched our bathroom cleaners to non-toxic brands and started using a steam mop on the hardwood floors (which is an awesome piece of equipment).  If you have hardwood floors, go get yourself a steam mop.  You won’t be disappointed.

Tide has always been my favorite clothes detergent, but it is expensive even with coupons.  I used to use the powder, but since we have really hard water that does not dissolve the powder very well, I switched to liquid.  In reading about alternative cleaning methods, I found that there were many people making their own laundry detergent, either to save money or to lessen chemical exposure to I decided to give it a try. 

Since I didn’t know if C would be allergic to one of the three ingredients, I only used it to wash towels this week to test it.  So far so good!  The towels were also pretty clean, but I did notice that it did not remove some tomato sauce stains from one dishtowel, but I left out the bleach I usually use for that, also.  This “recipe” came from the website Our Greener Acres, which is full of ideas on healthier and more natural living.

(Note: This recipe is for a full batch of detergent, but I just made a half a batch to test it so the pictures won’t quite correspond with the text.)

1 bar laundry soap (I used Fels Naptha)

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

Water

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Start by bringing 4 cups of water to a simmer on the stove.  While the water is warming, grate the bar of soap.

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Once the water is simmering, add the soap in small batches.  Don’t put it in all at once or it will take a very long time to melt.  Once the soap is melted and the mixture is smooth, add the washing soda and borax.  Cook until dissolved.

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I saved an old Tide jug to use.  Pour this mixture into the jug and fill it up the rest of the way with warm water.  Leave a little room because you will have to shake it up to use it.  Let is set for several hours with the top off to cool.

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When I washed the towels with it, I almost couldn’t get it to pour out of the container because it was so thick but I may not have let it cool long enough before I tried it.  This detergent smelled nice but it wasn’t overpowering so I hope that it gets our clothes nice and clean because it was easy and cheap to make.  I will keep you updated on the results.

Posted in Home, My Thoughts | Tagged , | 5 Comments »

Wordless Wednesday

September 28, 2011 by pictureperfectcooking

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Posted in Fun, Home, Pets/Animals, Photography | Tagged , , , , , |

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