Vancouver's Best Salad and Jiffy Pizza Sticks

I was so excited when I tried this recipe because it reminded me so much of the wonderful salad and bread sticks my young children and I would get at a little restaurant in Vancouver, Washington.  We lived walking distance to the downtown area and would window-shop and stop in at our favorite restaurant.  One reason it was our favorite was that for five dollars, I could get a whole tray of bread sticks for the children and a small salad for myself.  Back then we only had $50 per week to spend on groceries so this was a real treat once in a while.

Vancouver's Best Salad Print Recipe
12 cups mixed salad greens (I like the spring or herb mix)
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large cucumber, chopped
1 c. mayonnaise
Dressing:
1 c. Thousand Island salad dressing (any will do)
2 T. milk
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped, optional (dressing pictured above is without eggs but it's really good with eggs!)
In a large bowl, toss salad greens, tomatoes and cucumber; set aside.  In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, Thousand Island dressing and milk; mix well.  If desired, gently stir in chopped eggs.  Serve over salad.  Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.  Yield:  8 servings or 2 cups dressing.

These are just like the bread sticks we got in Vancouver--only better because there's chopped pepperoni baked inside.
Jiffy Pizza Sticks Print Recipe
1 pkg. JIFFY Pizza Crust Mix
1/4 tsp. garlic and herb seasoning (I use pizza seasoning)
1/2 cup hot tap water (not scalding)
1-1/2 pkg. pepperoni slices, chopped (or less if desired)
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
14 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Butter Topping:
2 T. margarine or butter, melted
1/4 tsp. garlic and herb seasoning
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease one baking sheet.  Mix Pizza Crust, seasoning, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese.  Add hot water (1 tablespoon at a time) and mix well with a fork.  Spread Parmesan cheese onto flat surface; drop dough onto Parmesan cheese and knead cheese into dough (I like to do this on a wooden cutting board cause it won't stick).  Roll to 1/2 inch thick, cut into 1 inch bread sticks.  Place about 1 inch apart on baking sheet.  Bake 18-20 minutes.  Mix together butter topping ingredients.  After removing sticks from the oven, brush tops of sticks with butter topping.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

"...Almonzo loved light, fluffy, buckwheat pancakes with plenty of molasses...The three pancakes on the griddle were holding their bubbles in tiny holes near their crisping edges.  He flipped them over neatly and watched their brown-patterned sides rise in the middle.  The good smell of them mixed with the good smells of fried salt pork and boiling coffee..."  (The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, ISBN # 0590488198)

Just like Almonzo Wilder, homemade pancakes are one of my favorite comfort foods.  I grew up thinking you had to buy store-brand mixes to make pancakes.  For years I tried to make good pancakes without success.  Then I grew brave enough to try pancake recipes in my cookbooks.  Making pancakes from scratch was sooo much better than store bought mixes, even if it took just a little more trouble.

The key to making pancakes is to have a consistency of a cake batter when you're ready to pour out the mixture.  They can't be too thin or too thick--it should pour easily but not too fast.  As the tops get plenty of bubbles and the edges firm up a bit, you can turn the pancakes over.

My husband is a better fry cook than I am and flips pancakes perfectly.  I have forced myself to practice until my pancakes turned out just as good.  So practice does make perfect.

Also, it really helps to invest in a nice, long electric griddle because the pancakes turn out better (cooks more evenly) and you can make a bunch at once and get done faster.  (I would even consider bringing one to camp outs!)

This recipe comes from my Southern Living Cookbook (ISBN # 084871816X).  It mentions you can keep the batter in the fridge for up to a week.  It also includes a homemade syrup recipe.  The recipe calls for buttermilk but I mix up powdered buttermilk instead because it's easier for me to keep on hand than buttermilk.  You can add 1cup of blueberries (like the pancakes shown above) or chopped pecans to the batter.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Homemade Maple Syrup 
Print Recipe
2 cups all purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 to 2 cups buttermilk (2 cups is always too much for my batter; start with 1-1/2 cups and add more 1 T. at a time if needed)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Homemade Maple Syrup
Combine first 5 ingredients; stir well (be careful not to stir too much or the pancakes will not be fluffy).  Combine eggs, buttermilk, and oil in a bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.  For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto a hot, lightly greased griddle.  Cook pancakes until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked; turn and cook other side.  (Store unused batter in a tightly covered container in refrigerator up to 1 week.  If refrigerated batter is too thick, add milk or water to reach desired consistency.)  Serve pancakes warm with Homemade Maple Syrup.  Yield:  18 (4-inch pancakes).

Homemade Maple Syrup Print Recipe
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring
Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan; add sugar and flavoring.  Boil 2 minutes, stirring constantly; remove from heat.  Serve warm, chilled, or at room temperature.  (Store leftover syrup in a tightly covered container in refrigerator.)  Yield:  about 2 cups.  (Per 3 pancakes and 1/3 cup syrup:  Calories 566; Fat 11.9g; Cholesterol 77mg; Sodium 612mg)

Freezing Blueberries

I love fresh-picked blueberries (as long as someone else picks them--ha, ha!)  Picking berries is something you should do with your children or grandchildren or friends at least once.  The great thing about blueberries is how well they freeze and how good they taste whenever you pull some out of the freezer to bake (or pop in your mouth!)

Blueberries should not be washed prior to freezing.  

They have a natural waxy coating that protects them when freezing, then rinse the berries before using in a recipe.  I rinse my blueberries after defrosting them in the fridge so I don't wash before freezing.

Spread them out evenly on wax paper on a cookie sheet in the freezer.  It doesn't take but about 15 minutes for them to be firm enough to put in quart-sized freezer containers.  Containers rather than bags will prevent the berries from getting squashed.  Whenever you need a handful, the berries are nice and loose and ready to use, or pre-measure blueberries for your favorite recipes before freezing.  In airtight containers, blueberries will keep up to a year in the freezer.

I place the amount I'll need in the refrigerator to defrost.  Then I rinse them gently in a strainer or colander under cold water.  This prevents your batter from becoming stained blue.  I use my frozen blueberries in pancakes, smoothies, and muffins.  Gently toss blueberries with a little flour before stirring them into batter to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.  The blueberries taste so fresh and delicious all winter long.

Here's some helpful tips:

To make a hands-free berry bucket, punch holes in a plastic ice cream container and thread a long piece of string through each hole.  Then tie the string ends and slip the whole thing over the head.  The container hangs down in front, allowing both hands to pick berries.

Blueberries should be picked when they are dry.  If there is dew or rain on them, they will get soft and not last as long after picking.

Be sure to pick deep-blue blueberries for the best flavor.

When purchasing already picked berries 

Look for fresh berries that are firm, dry, plump and smooth-skinned and relatively free from leaves and stems.

Berries should be deep purple-blue to blue-black; reddish berries aren't ripe, but may be used in cooking.

Stay away from containers with juice stains, which may be a sign the berries are crushed and possibly moldy; soft, watery fruit means berries are overripe.

Fresh berries should be stored covered in your refrigerator and washed just before using.  Use them within 10 days of purchase.

Luau Party

If you wear a flower on the left side of your head you are single.  If you wear it on the right, you are taken or married.

Games to Play:  
limbo
hula hoop contest

Ambiance:
paper sack lights (weighed down with sand and can use tea light candles with battery operated tea lights)
Hawaiian CDs for background music (found several at the Dollar Tree for a buck each)

Fun Activities (depending on the crowd):

• Sew simple bathing suit sarongs (find a good pattern and try it out)
• Make a candy lei:  Materials - small candies of any kind, plastic wrap (colored preferred) and curly ribbon.  Spread the wrap out on a table about 3 ft. long and lay the candies down the middle of the wrap.  Carefully close the wrap around the candy and in between the candy, tie a curly ribbon to close and to create the candy lei.  Knot and tie at the ends with more ribbon.
• Watch "Johnny Lingo" or "The Other Side of Heaven"

The Spread:
Make Hawaiian Haystacks or Pearly Shell Chicken Salad served with Hawaiian rolls and Hawaiian Punch, (or pork and teriyaki chicken on rice).

Jello Popsicles and Kool-aid Playdo

For yummy popsicles you can't buy from the store:
Jello Popsicles Print Recipe
1 pkg. Kool-Aid
1 pkg. Jello (same flavor as Kool-Aid)
1 c. sugar
2 c. boiling water
2 c. cold water
Pour into popsicle forms and place in freezer.  (Or pour into ice trays and when partially frozen, put plastic wrap over tray and insert wooden tooth picks into each cube-plastic keeps toothpicks straight).

For play-dough with a vibrant color and wonderful smell:
Koolaid Playdo Print Recipe
2-1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
2 pkg. dry unsweetened Kool-Aid
2 c. boiling water
3 T. oil
Mix dry ingredients together in bowl.  Mix liquids together and pour into dry ingredients.  Stir until it forms a ball.  This may take a while.  As mixture cools and becomes less sticky, take out of bowl and knead until smooth.

Pinterest Show and Tell :0)

I've been looking for inspiration to refurbish this old shelf that my daughter uses on the back of her dormitory student desk.  It's great for books, knick-knacks, etc.  As usual, I don't have a before-shot :p  Trust me it was so red that "for another nickel" we could have had a red shelf.  I got this fabulous "Tiffany Blue" idea from Pinterest.  It's original source is from ClassyClutter.blogspot.com.

Tiffany Blue

The Lady's Chicken Nuggets

Originally a Paula Dean recipe, this has become a family favorite!  These nuggets make a great appetizer, family meal or a filling snack.  This would also work well in a sack lunch.  They are best served warm.  If you make Paula's dip, do it first so it can be chilling and thickening up while you fix the nuggets.

Paula D's Chicken Nuggets (print recipe)

6 chicken breast fillets

2 c. crushed sour cream & onion chips (I use more than I probably should)

1-2 eggs

2-4 T. milk

1/2 c. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spread the crushed potato chips in a shallow dish.  Beat together the egg and milk in a shallow bowl.  Dip the chicken, (cut into 1-1/2 in. cubes), into the egg mixture and then dredge them in the chips.  Place the chicken nuggets on a greased baking sheet and DRIZZLE WITH MELTED BUTTER, (sometimes I forget).  Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden brown.  The chicken nuggets can be frozen after baking.  Serve with your favorite sauce, such as ranch dressing or honey mustard. 
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce (print recipe)
3/4 c. mayonnaise
3 T. honey
2 T. yellow mustard
1 T. lemon juice
creamy style horseradish to taste
1 T. orange juice, more or less
Combine mayonnaise, honey, mustard, lemon juice, and horseradish; stir well.  This with enough orange juice to make a pouring consistency for dressing, or dipping consistency for dip.

How To Make A Compost Heap

Illus. by Marc Brown

Super Soil, from Marc Brown's Your First Garden Book (ISBN 9780316112178) (the author of Arthur series which is also PBS kids' show), is how I plan to do my compost heap from now on:
"Compost is rich organic matter.  When you add it to the soil it helps plants grow.  Use it for your gardens indoors and out as an extra boost.
1. To recycle waste and make compost, or super soil.
2. Dig a hole about 3 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet deep.
3. In the hole make layers of plant matter (vegetable scraps, grass clippings, and leaves) and soil.  It will become rich compost as the plant matter decays.
4. Check the hole now and then.  When the leaves and grass clippings have completely disappeared, dig in with your shovel and mix up the layers.  Your compost is now ready to use!

photo from Southern Living

You can get fancy with compost heaps, but it shouldn't keep you from composting.  I've had no problems just heaping my compost in a pile out of the way but not too far from the kitchen.  Living in the country, I take advantage of being able to burn trash such as boxes food comes in, I take plastics and metals to a recycling center, and I compost all my kitchen scraps.  This leaves very little for the trash man to carry away.  My daughter recently informed me that her carbon imprint at home was practically nothing, but is pretty bad at the dorms.  I'm not into "carbon footprints" but I like the way they recycled everything during World War II, had victory gardens and composted to enrich their gardens.  In fact, you can actually just place your scraps in empty garden beds over the winter and till over with a hoe.  It's pretty well decomposed by spring.

from Southern Living

Compost heaps should be placed somewhere out of the way and shady.  Mark a 6 x6 foot area.  I pile kitchen scraps, especially egg shells (not meat or grease), raked-up leaves (even better if you chomp them up first with a mower), grass clippings, wood ashes from the fireplace, and garden refuge.  Cover with an inch of soil and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of lime to keep odors down if necessary, but I don't have a problem with odors.  Add 2 cups of garden fertilizer and keep layering up to several feet.  Water often in dry weather conditions.  It helps to leave an impression on top to catch rain water or snow.  Turn pile with a pitch fork occasionally.  Add more soil to keep the heap from looking unsightly.  I read in article in Southern Living magazine where a man grew cucumbers in his compost heap, (it was surrounded by a circle of chicken wire that the cumbers trellised up).  Now that's something I've got to try!

Deep Cleaning Kitchens and Bathrooms

Kitchens
Kitchen should be completely cleaned every six months because cooking spreads greasy dirt on everything.
Lemon juice will clean laminate counter top stains: soak stain with lemon juice for 1/2 hour, then sprinkle with baking soda and scrub with a piece of terry cloth and wipe dry.
Club soda in a spray bottle will make dingy chrome or stainless steel surfaces sparkling clean.
Clean sink with baking soda to scrub it clean.  This is a good use for boxes of soda you're discarding from the fridge.
Clean under the refrigerator using a yardstick with an old stocking secured on it with a rubber band and swish underneath.  Now's the time to dust off the top of the fridge too using the following formula.
For appliance exteriors keep a sprayer filled with this mixture to clean smudges on walls and appliances:  2 tablespoons non-sudsy ammonia, 1 teaspoon. liquid dish washing soap, 1 pint rubbing alcohol, and 1 gallon of water.   Just spray and wipe clean.
Vacuum the condenser coils on the back or the bottom of the refrigerator often.  This will add years to its life and help it run efficiently.
Check expiration dates on condiments and toss the ones that are past their prime.  Also, get rid of any outdated food in the freezer.  Clean the interior with 1 tablespoon baking soda in water.  To remove unpleasant odors, add 1 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract to the water.  This is a good way to clean the inside of microwaves as well.
I use Murphy's Oil Soap to deep clean the outside of my wood cabinets (kitchen and bath).  Working on one cabinet or drawer at a time, I remove everything, vacuum out corners, wipe out all inside cabinet surfaces with Murphy's in warm water.  Let it air dry (use a fan to dry faster).  Then replace everything in an organized manner.  This is a good time to decide if you have too much stuff and to give away the extra--especially pantry nonperishable items that haven't been used within a year.
Disinfect the trash can.

Ovens and Stoves
Most ovens can be cleaned with baking soda on a damp cloth and scrub the interior.  If there is a spill, pour salt on it immediately.  When the oven cools, brush off the burned food.
If the oven is seriously dirty, put lemon ammonia in a spray bottle and spray the cool oven (avoid the heating elements, or if gas--the holes).  Close the door and let the fumes work for two or three hours (make sure the room is well-ventilated).  Using terrycloth, wipe the interior of the oven, including the door.  Scrub the oven with a scouring pad or stainless steel pad or Mr. Clean sponge.  Then rinse and wipe dry.
Clean the racks in a bath tub.  Put down a towel, then fill with tub with enough hot water to cover racks and add 1/4 cup ammonia (open a window).  Let them soak for 2-3 hours and scrub with a scouring pad or stainless steel pad or Mr. Clean sponge.
I like to put extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil under the heating element at the bottom of my electric oven to catch spills and drips, and replace when necessary.
I've found using a Mr. Clean sponge doused with a little lemon ammonia will clean the reflector pans and under the stove.  For stubborn stains I use baking soda.  Sometimes it has to sit a while.  Wipe clean with a dry cloth.
Aluminum foil can be placed under many stovetops to protect it from boil overs.  Wet this area and place the aluminum foil over it so it stays in place.  Throw-away pie pans can also be placed under the eyes to catch spills.  They can be washed and used again.
Don't forget to clean the hood (ammonia diluted in water) or use baking soda to scrub off tough spots.  Rinse well and dry with a clean cloth.  Be sure to clean the floor under the oven, the sides and back, and the drawer underneath.

Bathrooms
These need to be completely deep-cleaned every six months if there is a problem with mold and mildew.
Mildewed sheet rock- to prevent mildew, remove source of dampness and thoroughly air out the affected area.  Open all windows and doors to provide ventilation and to remove musty odors.  Wash areas with a household detergent and rinse with clear water.  Rinse all surfaces with chlorine solution.  If odors persist, sprinkle bleaching powder over the floor, then sweep.  Place several lumps of dry charcoal in tin cans in room away from sources of heat or fire, (this is great for clearing the smell of paint from a room that's just been painted).
Use rubbing alcohol to clean bathroom fixtures: pour on with a cloth, scrub, and wipe dry.
 Never spray the mirror itself with cleaner; instead, spray a clean, lintless cloth, wipe down the mirror.  To avoid streaks, dry immediately with another clean, lintless cloth--an old T-shirt will do.
Remove shower curtains and launder according to instructions.  Wash or replace plastic liner with a new one.
Clean walls and using a solution of Murphy's Oil Soap, wipe down crown molding and baseboards.
Clean out medicine cabinets.  Do not keep leftover prescription medicine or give it to someone else--throw it safely away.  Do not keep medicines that are past their expiration dates.
Wash bath mats each time the bathroom is cleaned.
Clean the bath exhaust fan at least once a month.

Scrapbook Layout: The Balance Game

I really struggled so much when I began creating layout pages for my Creative Memory albums.  This was before Idea Books, before the internet, before scrapbooking really caught on.  I can't tell you how many pages have been disassembled and put back together again--sometimes over and over!  That is when I learned you really have to have a plan (or copy someone else's idea!).  I'm sharing information from a handout I received when I first started scrapbooking with Creative Memories in the early 1990's.  It has helped me so much in planning my layout pages so that I get it right the first time.

"When you are laying out your photo's for your page, remember that it is your balancing game and you balance according to your visual likes.  Some people like a symmetrical look--same sizes, same spacing.  Other people like a more abstract design with flowing patterns and color."

Put your visually heavy picture down first, then start balancing.

...it's just like hanging pictures on the wall.

You can balance with stickers or colors...You can balance with words.

Work with your page in 1/2's or 1/3's.

(Layouts by Homemaker's Journal.  "The Balance Game" source unknown--circa early 1990's)