Tasty Tuesday: Lemon Chicken

You'll have to excuse the tardiness of this post; I fell asleep before I could post it. One of my favorite dishes is the lemon chicken you get at a Chinese restaurant. When I started searching for a recipe, I wanted something I didn't have to fry but still had a lemony flavor. I think I found a decent recipe. It turned out to be a little sweeter than I was expecting, however still lemony goodness!

Tasty Tuesday: Deconstructed Shepherd's Pie

After a jam-packed weekend at a Jewelers' Conference in California (more on this to come), I have to admit to being l-a-z-y the last two days. So, when dinner time arrived tonight, I changed what I had planned to cook. That's life and flexibility for you!

This recipe is based on a favorite family recipe that I love, love, love! However, this is different enough to taste like a separate yummy dish.

Tasty Tuesday: Easy Spaghetti Sauce

My challenge for myself this week was to find a recipe for spaghetti sauce that didn't require an hour of stirring. When I stumbled upon this recipe, I was really excited. It was so simple! I didn't follow the exact recipe, but I based what I did on it.

Tasty Tuesday: Hearty Tuna Noodle Casserole

Welcome to the first edition of Tasty Tuesday! 

I am so excited about this post! You have no idea! I am a Mom-in-training. One of my goals this year is to have an arsenal of recipes under my belt, so to speak. Each week, I will share a recipe that I have cooked and probably tweaked a little.


This week's recipe is a comfort food favorite of mine.

Fashion-forward Scriptures

Today, I started and finished a project! Back in October, I made a tote for my church things. I now have a coordinating scripture case! Take a look!

I used the same fabric as my tote but chose to use the other side instead. I'm pretty happy with how my scripture case turned out. It took me about two hours from start to finish, not including the bobbin situation I had. The best thing about sewing is learning new techniques. I had never made a buttonhole before, so I was quite apprehensive about that part. I found the Instruction Manual for my sewing machine online and read how to make buttonholes. After doing three test runs, I decided to make the buttonhole on my case.

I am quite impressed with my little machine's abilities. I hope to explore this summer more of what this baby can do.

So, what do you think?
Pretty good for not using a pattern on either one, huh?

Landlord to the Rescue

Our landlord arrived in all his shining glory to fix the bathtub Monday! The drain was clogged with a ton of hair. I could have made a small critter with all that hair. (I saved you the gory sight!) My landlord was going to pour Drano down the drain after removing the hair, but I insisted on using the homemade remedy found in the amazing cleaning guide I received for Christmas! All it takes is baking soda and vinegar. My landlord was quite impressed and commented that vinegar smells better than Drano. Personally, I love the smell of vinegar, so I'll use that over another cleaner any day. Plus, it is inexpensive and usually on hand when you need it!

Instead of taking a shower while our feet take a bath, we now have a drain that drains! Ah, it's the little things in life!

Sweets for the Sweet

This week has been wonderful! I am finished with school until January, and I picked up my second pay check. The house is now decorated for Christmas. I'd say life is grand right now.

One of my roommates is moving to Idaho tomorrow. We are all sad to see her go, but what can you do? I'll tell you what! You throw a party to say good-bye, that's what! I was glad to have an excuse to bake while in my baking mood. I think I might have gotten a little carried away, but everyone enjoyed the results.

M&M Dream Bars, at the request of Hungry a few weeks ago.

Non-frosted Cupcakes because some people don't like frosting.

Frosted Cupcakes for those who do like frosting.

My famous Snickerdoodles.
If you haven't had one yet, contact me. I'll hook you up!
I'm serious about that.

Actually, I want to pause for a moment. Almost every time I have made my Snickerdoodles, I have read the recipe wrong during the process. One time, I was making once the recipe, which calls for two eggs, and I unthinkingly cracked four eggs. I ended up having to double the recipe that time. This time, I was mixing the cinnamon and sugar to coat the dough, and I somehow read 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cinnamon. Let me tell you, that is a lot of cinnamon! I had to add a ton of sugar to even out that mistake. On the bright side, now I have plenty of cinnamon and sugar mixture to put on toast in the morning. Also, I probably won't have to mix any more for the next time I make Snickerdoodles. I suppose it is my tribute to my mom's salt cookies! Fortunately, each mistake has been fixable (knock on wood).

The party was grand. I had invited several people from our ward to come. Most of the people I invited didn't come, but I am so grateful to gals who aren't afraid to make a ton of phone calls to get people over to a party! We played Apples to Apples and enjoyed the great treats and all the laughter. It was a great party! Here is a picture of all the people there minus two who had to leave early.

One more thought before I close. I don't believe in coincidences, not with big happenings anyway. My roommate had been looking for a bike rack since she knew she was moving. She asked if any of the girls who were the first to arrive had one. Lo and behold, one of the girls did have one! It was one of those moments when you realize that Heavenly Father is always looking out for what you stand in need of most. The girl ran home and brought back the bike rack for my roommate to borrow. After the party, two guys stuck around to help us put it on the car. It was freezing cold outside, but we finally managed to get the bike securely in place. I love how things like that just work out. You pray and seek and do all you can do. Suddenly, the Lord provides! I guess I believe in miracles instead of coincidences.

I love being a young single adult!! Life truly is grand!

Decorations of Red

It's Christmas time!!! That means decorations come out of storage and dusted off for another Christmas Season! Or it means decorations need to be purchased at the store so that next year they can be pulled out of storage! :)

This is my first Christmas away from home, and I noticed my apartment drastically needed some Christmas Cheer. So, I went to ShopKo (a fabulous store by the way) and purchased decorations for our fireplace.




I am quite pleased with how things turned out. What do you think?

What's next on my list? There's finish studying for my finals, see the Lights on Temple Square, obtain a stocking for Santa to fill, buy a few presents, make a few cards, listen to Cinnamon Bear, practice my flute solo for the Ward Christmas program, and enjoy the Christmas Season!

22 days till Christmas!

P.S. I'd like your opinion about the new background. Please answer in the poll to the right. Thanks ever so much!

Preventing Fire Hazards

You know it has been too long since the lint was cleaned out of the dryer when you pull this much out.

Such a fire hazard!!!

That is what I took out of our dryer yesterday when I finally succumbed to the urge to clean out the place that the lint trap resides. I'll be cleaning out the vent tomorrow.

*This experience will always be a reminder of why I clean out the lint trap after each load!*

Adventures in Homemaking

I feel that I have grown in my homemaking skills over the last few weeks.

When I learned two of my friends were coming to visit, I decided to try my hand at making refried beans to use for nachos to feed the three of us. I started with some ingredients.


Then, I put the majority of them in a crockpot to cook for a LONG time. (I have learned that I am an impatient cook- even with a crockpot.)


Next, I drained off the water and implored my friend, Smalls, to help me turn soft beans into what is known as Refried Beans. We decided to use a blender, which wasn't the best idea. There wasn't enough liquid with the beans to move them around inside the blender. The beans at the very bottom were quite mushy while the beans on the top were still in tact. The wooden spoon helped, though!


Here is the finished product! Smalls and I couldn't get the taste just right. We had to add a bunch of salt, salsa and ketchup to get it to taste good.


To make our nachos, we needed a few additional items before we could eat. So, The Quiet One was enlisted as "Cheese Grater" and did a fantastic job.



We also added tomatoes, green onions, chips and sour cream before we ate our delicious nachos!

*Food photography by Smalls*

In addition to increasing my food preparation abilities, I learned how to fill a need I found myself with. I have been called as the Ward Sacrament Meeting Pianist in my ward. I love this opportunity to serve and immerse myself in the hymns again. However, this calling comes with a "price". I get to cart around my big orange hymnal every Sunday. It isn't anything new, yet I have grown tired of carrying my scripture bag, my purse, my Joseph Smith Manual and my large hymnal! It gets bothersome to try to keep everything corralled each Sunday.

I finally decided enough was enough! I determined that I needed a tote to carry it all each week. So, I drove to JoAnn Fabrics in search of a tote pattern. I spent at least two hours in the store deciding between different fabrics and patterns and ideas, made numerous phone calls to my mom and even one of my sisters-in-law for help. Eventually, I was headed home with purchases in hand. I broke open the box my sewing machine is stored in and went to work.

It took me about three hours from the time I got home to the time I sewed the last stitch on my tote. I have learned so much from making this tote. I figured out (after the fact) that sewing handles is easier before the side seams are put in. I learned that it looks better if you fold the top twice before sewing, creating a more finished seam. (I should have known this from all the hems I have made.) I even honed my button sewing abilities.

Ta-da! The finished tote.

My tote is rather beautiful and amazing, if I do say so myself. It will have its debut at church on Sunday!

Cheap Laundry

Today, I finally did it! I made laundry detergent! Okay, okay. Hagmoth really made my laundry detergent, but I was making cookies at the same time. So, I feel that I had a part in it. It was relatively easy and inexpensive, thus I'll probably make my own laundry detergent for the rest of my life. I've also heard that it works better than a lot of the brands sold in the stores.

Here's what I did. I bought these three items for $8.27:


Then, we followed this recipe:

Liquid Laundry Detergent

1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda

* Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
* Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
* Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
* Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).

And this is what I ended up with:

This was only half the recipe!

Once I use all of the six jars, I will probably switch to another recipe I found using the same ingredients to make powder laundry detergent instead of liquid. It seems like less work, even though the liquid detergent wasn't labor intensive to begin with. Soon, I'll also look into making reusable fabric softener dryer sheets. Until then, I'm using the $1.50 box from Macey's. (I just love, love, love Macey's!)

Powder Laundry Detergent
2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

* Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
* Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

My Next Adventure? Finding the counter under all the dishes!

The Super Supermarket

I want grocery shopping with my friend, Hagmoth this afternoon. Now, while I spent almost every dollar in my checking account, I was really excited for today's purchases. So excited, in fact, that I decided to share them with you!

This may look like an ordinary gallon of milk, but it isn't. It's my first gallon of milk. Let me tell you, I am so ecstatic about eating cold cereal for breakfast tomorrow! No more burnt toast. Milk has been the one drink I have been wanting since last Saturday. Why did I not go get milk before today? Because Wednesday is my grocery day.

This is a picture of my cupboard. Each roommate will have their own cupboard to store food in. It looks a little bare, but that's because this food isn't all from today's grocery trip. I've eaten some since I first moved in. Also, I'm just starting out with stocking my cupboard. I can't buy everything at once, unfortunately. The last time I went grocery shopping, I bought a flat of Top Ramen. It's not the healthiest, but it works. However, it has helped me discover one of my favorite low-budget meals. I'm still working on improving this meal by a long shot, but I'll share its humble beginnings. You make the ramen, drain and put in a bowl. Then you take a spoonful of peanut butter and stir in the hot noodles to create a wonderfully tasting meal. Ah, it's so good that I have to remind myself to have some variety in my foods!


This is my food in the fridge. Isn't it just awesome?! I have things for sandwiches in there. But my most exciting purchase today were my fresh fruits and vegetables! I bought broccoli, a cucumber, a zucchini, some grapefruit, and some bananas. I think I'm set for the next two weeks! I also bought a few freezer items, but the freezer is too cold to have its picture taken. Can you tell that I am enjoying having my own kitchen?

Bon appetit!

My next adventure? Laundry