Use Oatmeal to Keep Cast Iron Skillets Clean - PROVEN

Cooking on cast iron is pretty awesome, except when you are left with a mess that is hard to clean up.  And since cast iron is a special material that you aren't supposed to clean with soap it becomes a hassle to keep the pans clean and maintain the "seasoning" you have done so far.

Well my sister found this awesome idea and it's just too good not to share.

Because of this, I will probably uncover and dust off my old cast iron cookware and start using it a lot more often.  Takes a lot of the hassle out of the clean-up and it works amazingly well.

Click the link above to get a detailed list of directions.   She used oatmeal (which I have a ton of in my cupboards)

Can't wait to do this and to be able to use my cast iron more often!

Thanks for sharing the story and pictures, Ann!

Cleaning the Inside of an Oven Door - PROVEN

I am so excited about this one, people!

I have been searching for an easy way to clean inside the glass of my oven door.  There is a double pane and things, nasty, terrible things get trapped there and I needed to get them out.....especially because we have an Open House this weekend!

Beth was here today watching Maddy and I roped her into helping me with this project.

We found this pin on how to clean inside, between the glass and got moving! 

This is my oven before....like all my other 'before' photos, please don't judge!

First we tried it with a wire hanger, because I thought that was a better idea than the stick the pin suggested...plus it was raining.  Also, I didn't have any duct tape handy so I used scotch tape and it worked perfectly (the tape, not the hanger)

Unfortunately, that idea was a bust, I should have put trust in the pin.  The wire hanger was too thin and I couldn't create enough friction with it to clean the inside of the glass, so we went in search of the perfect stick.

I am so happy I did this.  Who thinks about how to clean the inside glass of the oven door?  This girl...she does! And she did it!

Do this one, it is amazing and I couldn't be happier with the results.

(I also cleaned the rust stains from inside our dishwasher but that's a separate issue...I just want you to know I have been busy today! Haha)

Homemade Edible Fingerpaint - Proven

I love when kids get to explore new things and especially when their little creative minds start to work. When I came across this pin for Homemade Edible Fingerpaint I couldn't wait to try it with Madison.

I followed the directions exactly and it was a pretty simple and fast process.

Madison loved to play in the goo that was created and she did take a taste of it but it was not to her liking haha. She enjoyed smearing it around the paper and feeling the paint for a few minutes. The project was rather short lived but it was a lot of fun. She seemed to enjoy everything about it.

I put her in the bath immediately and there are no stains left over, even faintly, on her hands. We will do this again soon....the recipe made a lot and we barely made a dent. The pin suggests that the paint will last a month or more in the proper container.

Can't wait to do this again!

Cleaning Microfiber with Rubbing Alcohol - PROVEN

My couch is long overdue for a good cleaning.  I have used other products before that weren't effective.  At the time a stain occured I would use carpet cleaner, which removed the stain only to leave a large water mark on the couch.

With a one year old and 5 animals inside the couch has always been a bit of a tough piece of furniture to keep clean, even when we don't let the animals on the couch.  (now we only have 4 animals and all the cats are "outside" cats now...makes it a little easier)  but still, babies and microfiber are NO match!

Don't judge my before pictures...they are terrible, but it shows even more how effective this process is.

The pin says to use Rubbing Alcohol in a spray bottle, a sponge of similar color to the couch and a bristle brush.  Well, I used a blue sponge (the white one shown started to crumble as I was using it!) and a blue bristle brush and there was no color transfer.

DURING PROCESS:

The results speak for themselves, but even the overall appearance of the couch it better, it appears "fluffy" and like new, not to mention that ALL the stains and water spots are GONE!  With a little help from the products I purchased and some elbow grease my couch looks awesome!

I am so pleased with these results that I will continue to use this process on anything and everything I ever own that is microfiber.  I believe they sell microfiber cleaner, but it's not worth the money.  I got the rubbing alcohol, spray bottle, sponge (assortment pack of 6) and brush from Dollar General for a total of $4, and I can use it more than once.

I am sure you will be just as surprised and pleased with the results on your microfiber furniture!  Enjoy!

Homemade Febreze - PROVEN

I recently wrote a status on Facebook saying how I really wish someone would create a candle, oil warmer or spray that smelled as good as my fabric softener.

I got a lot of responses and most of them included making my own Homemade Febreze!

I have had this pinned on my Pinterest DIY board for a while now and I had completely forgotten about it! 

I have used Febreze before, all the different types and scents and I like them, especially the "seasonal" ones, but not so much that it's worth spending the $4 a can/bottle on, even at the dollar store.  So, when I found out that I could make my own and I could determine the scent, I was sold.

I happened to have an empty spray bottle in the basement (which I just happened to find when we deep cleaned down there...yuck.)

Beth helped me and we had to use a make-shift funnel...but hey, whatever works!

 

I doubled the recipe because I use a cheap-o fabric softener (I had a coupon) and I wanted the scent to be more concentrated.  It smells amazing!!!!

The one and only complaint I have, is that the scent doesn't seem to stick around long enough for my liking, but I believe that has to do with the Purex I was using.  If I would spring for Downy I am sure it would last a lot longer, but I don't see that happening in my near future.

Get on this one people, saves a lot of money and smells SO good....it really does work!

Wish you could give this a whiff! Haha!

Quick Egg Salad - PROVEN

This is a tip my sister, Ann found.  She was kind enough to share her photos and results with me.

She found this great idea on Pinterest to make a Quick and Easy Egg Salad using a cooling rack to "cut" the eggs.

It's easy to say that this was a winner in her book and it was a fun activity for one of her boys to help her with.

Josiah is 3 and loves helping in the kitchen!  Have I mentioned before that I have the cutest and smartest nephews in the world?

Ann said: It's really easy for an adult to do, but [Josiah's] hands got kind of tired of pushing (I make egg salad with a dozen eggs). So, I did the pushing and then he did the "pounding," which is pounding on the rack to get the bits to fall that didn't get pushed through the first time.

Below are the photos she shared with me, makes me hungry!

Oxygen Bleach to Clean Grout - PROVEN

My husband came up with this idea actually, and I later found it on Pinterest.

He used AJAX Oxygen Bleach, Vinegar and Water to clean our bathroom grout.

The online version I found did not include white vinegar, but he used it anyway and the results were amazing.  He decided on the Oxygen Bleach because it is safe for kids and pets and we have both :)

I am embarrassed about the condition of our grout in the before photos, so please don't judge.

I knew this item needed to be crossed off our to-do list, we just never seemed to get around to it.  I came home to my husband on his hands and knees in the bathroom with a scrub brush and the stinky smell of vinegar.  The results were beyond what I could have imagined and I am so happy that this is done.

Our tiles look brand new and the vinegar smell only lingered while he was scrubbing, airing it out was a breeze ;)

Can you tell which area has been scrubbed??

Chicken Quesadillas - PROVEN

Nick and I bought a lot of chicken breasts and we wanted to try a new recipe for Chicken Quesadillas I found on Pinterest.

http://pinterest.com/pin/43839796344518481/

Of course, I changed it up some to make it our own but I followed the basic principles outlined in the recipe.

Here are some changes I made:

We used boiled and shredded chicken instead of a rotisserie chicken.
We sautéed the chicken with taco seasoning
I used minced garlic from a jar instead of fresh garlic
I added sour cream mixed with hot sauce to the bottom shell before adding the cheese
I added more cheese to the quesadilla once the chicken was added
We used a quesadilla maker instead of a pan as they did in the recipe

They turned out great! They were filling and delicious and not all that unhealthy.....

Enjoy!