Jalapeño Popper Dip

[Photo will be added when I make this again! It is DELICIOUS!!]

DIP:

Mix the following until smooth:

• 2 - 8oz Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1/2 cup  Mayonnaise  (or 1 cup if you really like Mayo)

Then add and stir:

• 6-8 slices Bacon (cooked, cooled, drained, chopped or crumbled)
• 1 cup Cheddar Cheese (shredded)
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)
• 1/4 cup Green Onions (chopped)
• 1/2 cup Canned Jalapeño Peppers (chopped)

Pour into baking pan and smooth out evenly (use a 9x9, pie pan, or tart pan... whatever)

TOPPING:

Mix together then sprinkle over dip and smooth out evenly:

• 1/4 cup Butter (melted)
• 1 cup Crackers (crushed) -- I used Ritz
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

BAKE & SERVE:

Bake at 350 F for 20-30 minutes.
Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Skunk Odor Remover (The ONE and ONLY)

This is how to successfully remove skunk odor from your pet. (We've used it. It works!)
(Recipe from Wisconsin Trappers as well as tested and recommended on MythBusters)

Skunk Odor Remover 

• 1 quart hydrogen peroxide (3%)
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 2 tsp Dawn dish soap (Dawn cuts the oil better than any other dish soap.)

Instructions:

• Put rubber gloves on (or you will smell like a skunk, too).
• Place all ingredients together in a small bucket, mix together.
• Apply to dry pet immediately after mixing. * 
• Wait 5 minutes.
• Rinse dog.
• Repeat if needed.

* If your pet was sprayed at close range and you can see the skunk spray (looks like a thick, yellow, powdery paint), put rubber gloves on, and wipe off as much of the spray as you can with paper towel before giving the dog a bath. This will help prevent spreading the concentrated oils to fur that was not sprayed.

TIPS & WARNINGS:

DO NOT get into eyes. To apply to the face of the animal, carefully use a sponge or hands. If this happens rinse eyes repeatedly with clean water.

DO NOT store this mixture in a container. Pressure will build up and it will explode.

Brenda's Easy Biscotti

My late friend, Brenda, and I would always include a recipe in cards and notes that we sent to each other. What a fun way to remember our friendship... each time we make her recipes! This is one of my favorites.

Prep & baking time: 1 hour from start-to-finish
Serves: Approximately 16

Main Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix (Butter Pecan is the best!)
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Decoration Ingredients:

• course sugar (decoration)
• bag of chocolate/white chips or almond bark (optional decoration)

Instructions:

Part 1 - Dough prep + 1st round of baking

• Preheat oven to 350
• Mix Main Ingredients together (set aside Decoration Ingredients for later use)
• Separate dough into 2 globs and place on a jelly roll pan or large cookie sheet
• Form each dough glob into a rectangle shape (about 6" x 7") and flatten to approximately 3/4 - 1" thick
• Sprinkle with course sugar
• Bake 25-30 minutes 




Add all ingredients together.



Mix until ingredients turn into a nice dough.

Form into a blob and cut equally in half.



For large biscotti, form into two rectangles  6" wide by 7" long by 3/4" thick (shown above)
For small biscotti, form into two rectangles 4" wide by 14" long by about 1/4" thick. (shown below)

Don't forget to sprinkle decorative sugar on top before baking.

Part 2 - Cool, cut, rollover, and toast 

• Remove from oven
• Let cool to the touch (this is important to firm it up so its easier to cut)
• Cut into 1" wide slices (a thin serrated fruit knife works best - or other thin serrated blade -  less breakage. It is literally like sawing through dry crust. Be careful at the edges.)
• Gently tip-over slices on their cut side and arrange in pan so they are not touching (this will help them toast evenly)
• Bake slices 8-10 minutes

 

Let Biscotti cool to the touch before slicing or it will crumble.
Use a ruler or tape measure to mark off lines at 1 inch on each side. Use a ruler or straight edge for a cutting guide.

 

After you 'saw' through the Biscotti, use a small metal spatula to loosen each piece from the pan.

 

Gently lay them on their side. You will get some breakage near the ends especially if you have included pecans.

And yes, you will have a lot of crumbs, don't worry about them, they won't burn.

Part 3 - Rollover and toast (again)

• Remove from oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes (This is important! If you flip them right away, they are flimsy hot out of the oven. Letting them cool will firm them up so they flip easier - again, less breakage)
• Turn each slice over to toast the opposite side
• Return to oven
• Bake slices 8-10 minutes

Part 4 - The grand finale

• Remove from oven
• Let cool 1-2 minutes
• Remove from pan to finish cooling
• Decorate -- or just share and eat!

Decorating tips

• Melt a bag of chocolate chips / or white chocolate chips / or almond bark / etc according to directions on bag
• Dip the biscotti 1/2 way (either the cut edge or the long way)
• Or, put melted chocolate in piping bag (or ziploc w/ corner cut off) and drizzle designs over the top 
• Set on wax paper to set up

Other tips

• Any cake batter works well, but we found chocolate to be a little more dry. Use a little less flour to remedy this.

 

Keep Flies Off Veggies

I despise the flies!

There are many harvest days with a garden... and you can't do all the canning in one day. If veggies are left on the counter, even draped in a towel, the fruit flies WILL find them.... and multiply. Here is a quick solution for keeping your veggies FLY FREE. Tested. Works great!

Veggies in the Closet!

Purchase or find an inexpensive plastic shelf (36"wide). The one we have can be disassembled and stored when not in use... AND has shelves with a lip. (This comes in handy! I'll explain later.)

Purchase or find a portable/temporary Clothes Closet and use the COVER only. This one is 36"w x19.5"d x 63"h.  Find another use for the clothes hanger contraption. (BONUS: It is very handy next to the dryer in the laundry room.)

 

Assemble the shelf. Insert shelf inside the clothes closet cover (remember, we are just using the cover, not the clothes hanger contraption). 

 

Make sure veggies are dirt/bug free (wash veggies & allow to dry if necessary). Place them on the shelves inside the 'closet' and zip it shut. This keeps the flies OUT.

 

 

This closet has a 'window' on the top. VERY handy! You don't have to unzip it to see if the veggies are ripening.

 

 

If you find a shelf with a lip, this is excellent! Why? Because if you have some veggies go bad, sometimes they leak.... the lip will keep any liquid from running off the shelf.

 



The Pro's

• Very useful to store veggies that have to ripen more
• Keeps your kitchen counter a workspace vs veggie storage area
• Great waiting room for veggies during the canning season when you can't get to all of them on the same day/week
• Keeps flies off the veggies
• Closet and shelf can be disassembled after harvest season and stored in a small area

The Con's

• The closet material doesn't fit the shelf exactly - so I tucked the excess material behind the shelf. It is frumpy. A minor thing. That's it.

 [Extra notes: I was going to enclose the shelf using bulk replacement window screen and use Velcro around the top & bottom of the shelf to attach it  - that option was too expensive. The Velcro alone was over $20. The shelf was older and not in use, and the closet was about $14-$16.]

Grilled Pizza - YUM!

Grilled Chicken Pesto Artichoke and Roasted Red Pepper Pizza 

Ingredients are approximate. Add as much sauce, veggies, and cheese as you like.

Prepare the pizza for grilling greatness!

• 1 package quick pizza dough (or home made/frozen dough)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup prepared pesto
• 1 can medium artichoke hearts (or asparagus) - rinsed*
• 1 small bottle roasted red peppers - rinsed*
• 1 chicken breast (boneless, cooked, diced)
• 1/4 cup onion - diced
• 1-2 TBS olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups cheese (shredded)
• salt/pepper to taste

Yes, our grill is very 'seasoned' :)

Directions:

Preheat gas grill to medium heat.

Saute boneless chicken, onions in olive oil.
Cool and dice chicken into bite-size pieces.
Prepare crust according to directions.
Press into a disposable pizza pan (if grilling, the bottom will get sooty).
Spread pesto on dough.
Sprinkle diced chicken evenly.
Rinse, pat dry, and slice 2 or 3 artichoke hearts and place evenly around pizza.
Rinse, pat dry, 2 or 3 roasted red peppers and place evenly around pizza.
Sprinkle cheese
Salt & Pepper

Place on center rack of grill.
Cook for 15 minutes and check (all grills heat differently). I cooked our pizza 30 minutes on medium until the cheese was melted and the crust started turning brown.
 

Rotate 1/3 turn once every 10 minutes if your grill heat is uneven.
ENJOY!

* Rinse canned artichoke hearts, asparagus, and roasted red peppers, or the pizza gets to be too salty tasting.
 

Spare Tumblers and PVC

Q: What do you get when you have spare plastic tumblers and PVC connectors?
A: A great place to put your hair dryer and flat irons!

Large plastic tumbler (left) PVC connector (right)
Pre-drill and attach to inside cabinet door with wood screws.

Perfect fit with a convenient place for the cord.

Mini flat iron also fits nicely inside large tumblers.
Easy to organize inside cabinet or a great place to cool
without the cord laying all over the counter.

"Quick Organization"

"Quick Organization" might sound like an oxy-moron, but sometimes this method of organization tides us over until we find a better solution.

The Good:
We recycle plastic shopping bags and use them in our small garbage cans, mainly in the bathrooms.

The Bad:
Storing them... we crammed multiple bags into one bag and put them under the sink.

The Ugly:
This ended up being a bulky object crammed under the sink. Hard to move around. Hard to find anything that was under it.

QUICK ORGANIZATION SOLUTION 

Use an empty tissue box and smush the bags inside. It stacks easily inside the cabinet. When it is full, recycle the remaining bags -- back to the store.