Friday, December 23, 2011

My Secret to curing a cold in 2-3 days

Drink lots of water. Yes, I know they always say this, but try taking a glass of water wherever you go.  Fill it to the top as soon as it's empty.

Vitamin C with Zinc like Pedzinc (I use my daughter's). A dose of 5ml in the morning, and one at night.  I also take a dose when my throat feels itchy.

Salinase nasal spray. Not the drops, but the spray bottle-the kind that you spray up your nose.  Don't worry, first-timers, you will get used to it. 

Tissues. A big box.

Sleeping sitting up (so you can breathe at night), and mucous flows out instead of blocking your nose.

Centrum multi-vitamins.  One a day.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Brownies

My two favorite brownie recipes so far:

1 is a cheat because I use Maya brownie mix, but it's good and quick. My only problem with it is it is sticky so it's hard to put into my brownie edge pan. Also, the batter is thick and a bit hard to mix by hand. I like to stick to simple recipes now. These brownies are cake like.

The other one is the joy of baking Brownie recipe. It calls for chocolate chips, cocoa powder and 3 eggs - more than what I use with Maya, but the batter is easier to pour and it's not a pain to mix by hand. This recipe turns out a mix of cakey and fudgey brownies. Perfect!

The yield is a little too little for my brownie edge pan.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Finally fruit salad the kids will eat

It's not really a "salad" but the kids will eat it, and it will last for a week.

1 can canned peaches, chopped
1 green apple chopped
2 fuji apples chopped

Mix everything including the syrup of the canned peaches together. The syrup will keep the apples from becoming brown.

Enjoy. :)

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Gotta try - Chips ahoy recipe


Chips Ahoy

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 level teaspoon baking soda
2 level teaspoons salt
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg white
2 to 4 tablespoons warm water
12 ounces mini semisweet chocolate chips

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Use an electric mixer to mix the two sugars and shortening. When creamy add the vanilla extract, salt and egg white. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, adding a tablespoon of warm water as necessary to mix the flour - don't exceed 4 tablespoons of water - this will make a firm dough. Mix in chocolate chips. As the dough gets thicker you may want to mix by hand. Roll into 2-inch balls and press down with the palm of the hand to flatten. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

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Here is another version

Chips Ahoy

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 level teaspoon baking soda
2 level teaspoons salt
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening (Crisco)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg white
2 to 4 tablespoons warm water
12 ounces mini semisweet chocolate chips

Bring all ingredients to room temperature. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

Use an electric mixer to mix the two sugars and shortening. When creamy add the vanilla extract, salt and egg white. Add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, adding a tablespoon of warm water as necessary to mix the flour - don't exceed 4 tablespoons of water - this will make a firm dough. Mix in chocolate chips. As the dough gets thicker you may want to mix by hand. Roll into 2-inch balls and press down with the palm of the hand to flatten. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Growing up

When do you know that you are officially a grown up? Is it when you get your first job? Get married? Have a kid? Turn 30?

I think it's when you start taking charge of your life. Start being responsible for you and others around you. It's when you finally see the big picture and understand it. Or most of it at least.

Inspiration

Where do you get your inspiration?

Living the same schedule day to day for years can be dull. Some days I feel ok and others like I haven't lived. I know one thing though. I feel alive when I travel. Maybe it's seeing all those new places or maybe because it makes me appreciate home more.

Now that I've got a plan to start some real savings and get rid of debt over the next year, I'm really looking forward to what I can do with that money. One thing is for sure, I need to travel.