3.30.2013

Tip of the Week– Hard “Baked” Eggs

Yes, I know, another Tip of the Week in one week? Only because it's Easter and there's still time to use this for your egg dying extravaganza!!!

I’ve bee patiently waiting for my oven to be fixed for about a month now. I need one little part and of course it was on back order. Ugh. I never realized how much I depend on my oven!! It’s so hard to convert your cooking methods from the oven to the stovetop!!

Anyway…it’s FINALLY fixed, and just in time for Easter, so I decided to try out the baking method for hard boiling eggs!

I found this great article on just how to do it at Greeting’s From the Asylum, so stop by and check it out for details.

I only had 6 eggs left so I adjusted my cook time to 25 minutes.


Eggs baking framed



Patiently Waiting framed


As my children patiently waited for the eggs to bake and cool, I wondered to myself, will the eggs be overcooked since the recipe calls for a dozen to two? Hmmm.

After baking, as instructed, I placed the eggs in an ice water bath. Since my goal was to dye them, I didn’t peel them right away.





Eggs cooling framed


Here are the pretty dyes eggs, courtesy of those two cute kids you saw a bit earlier!!! And the one in the back is another blown egg that I decided to draw on as opposed to decoupage, but that didn't turn out so well!!


Dyed eggs framed


And now for the burning question we all want to know…did baking eggs produce quality hard boiled-ness???


Baked egg and shell framed


Perfection! This tip is a success! Peeled super easy, and tasted just as delicious! I will make mention, however, that if you like your yolk less crumbly, you could could tweak the time baked. Again, as I only have 6 eggs to deal with, I believe that I could have taken another 5-10 minutes off the cook time.

Enjoy just in time for your Easter celebration!







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3.27.2013

Pin it to Win it with Consumer Crafts

Happy Wednesday blog land! Here's a great outlook for you on this lovely hump day! Want a chance to win up to $500 in your top 10 choice of crafts??

I stumbled upon a great little contest this morning, thanks to Ginger Snap Crafts!! Please visit  her page it you’d like step-by-step instructions on how to enter, or you can visit Consumer Crafts directly to enter!



Here’s a snapshot of the crafts I’m looking forward to!! How about you?

Craft Wish List

Make sure you follow Consumer Crafts on Pinterest! And follow me too…you’ll get tons of inspiration!!!

3.25.2013

Blog of the Week Feature

I'm so excited to learn that I've been selected as the Blog of the Week over at Tough Cookie Mommy's Monday Mingle!!!


Woo hoo!! How awesome is that for a brand new blogger!! What an honor! Everyone needs to scoot on over there and check out her amazing blog!!

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Coffee & Conversations - Week 4

Coffee & Conversation

Good morning everyone!! Week four of Coffee & Conversation! I love this little round up!!!!! This week's question...What would you regret not fully doing, being, or having in your life?

I cringe every time I have to think about what I regret not doing, which leads into what I'd regret not fully doing again!

My biggest regret is not following through with my one true dream of becoming a physician. As long as I could remember, I always wanted to be a doctor. Medicine is my passion, and for a lay person, I've managed to teach myself a lot.

I started out my college career as a biology major. I even even went to one of the "biggest" biology campuses in New Jersey, thinking that I was well on my way to obtaining my dream. I struggled with what practice of medicine to follow - veterinary medicine, orthodontics, general practice - but at least I started the foundation. And then...it all changed.

I had a bad experience with my roommates and by the time I transferred to this "biology" college, I was in my last two years of study, with all of the really challenging classes (biochem, organic, genetics, etc.) and it was just too much to take on at once. I lacked the discipline needed to focus on my school work, and ended up grabbing a new major out of the air, transferring schools, tacking on an additional year of undergraduate work, and realizing a degree in a major that I NEVER used. Now, I sit here, unemployed, struggling financially, and raising my two beautiful kids, with no hope of ever becoming a doctor.

I toyed with going back to school for nursing, and even Physician Assistant, however, some roadblock always reared it's ugly head, pushing me that much farther back. Now, as I desire to pursue that dream again, I've hit an even bigger wall. I'm about 15 years out of taking my sciences classes, which means that if I wanted to go back to school for any field in medicine, I'd have to literally start all over. At 35, this isn't the best choice!! By the time I'd be done, I'd be well into my 40's!!

I know that I should just do it. Period. But, financially, I'm not at liberty to just be so eager. And, the daycare issue - who's going to watch the kids while mommy goes to school full time!!! I do have classes for my masters on my transcripts, and I'm only about 9 courses away, however, it's not a great degree for me at this point, as it's such a saturated field. Anyone and everyone has their MBA's.

What to do. What to do. This, forever and ever, will by my biggest regret in life, and I will have to grapple with that for as long as I live. So, if I would regret never fully going after my dreams, then heck...I'm going to school and become a PA or a nurse, or whatever!!! Starting NOW!!

What's been your biggest regret(s) in life? What would you regret never doing?

Join me and the others next week when we answer the question of: What are you currently struggling or grappling with in your life? This should be a good one!! lol


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3.24.2013

Tip of the Week – Lemon juice & rust

 I saw a pin on Pinterest showing how lemon juice gets rid of rust spots on knives. Almost all of my knives are rusty and it drives me CRAZY!! So, why not give it a try! Does it work? People claim it works and it’s all over Pinterest, so I put it to the test. Did it work for me?

Here’s my knives with their rust spots. The Pampered Chef Santuko knife I use all the time, and it’s starting to show some rust.  My other Farberware knives are completely rusty. Ugh.

Knife before 1                                         Soaking


Well, after 10 minutes of soaking (I didn’t have a lot of lemon juice on hand, so only the tips really got a good soak) and a light scrub with the abrasive side of the sponge…

10 minutes
NOT IMPRESSED. At all. What-so-ever.

So, I dumped them back in again and let them soak for another 15 minutes, and viola…BOGUS!

30 min soak


Obviously lemon juice doesn’t work. I’d sure love to know how others who’ve tried this - and had it work -  did it. Maybe my lemon juice was bad? Is there a secret trick I’m missing? Share with me your success.
Here’s a comparison…do you see a difference? Maybe I need glasses!

Comparison


All I can say is that my experiment with lemon juice and rust is a failure!! I wasted what was left of my lemon juice and a half hour of my life! Just kidding. A good ‘ol fashioned Brillo or S.O.S. pad is far easier, saving time, effort, and money!! Look! Fabulous results!! (sorry it’s a bit blurry…so much for iPhone camera!)

Scour pad after


Have any of you tried this before? If so, did it work? If not, did you try any other methods?

Keep on keeping on!






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