Homebaked Goodness

I love to bake! And holidays are another excuse...I mean reason...to bake! Last Saturday was St. Patrick's Day so I searched for the perfect thing to bake that would be appropriate for the day. I decided upon Mint Chocolate Brownies with green details. You can find this wonderful recipe on glorioustreats.blogspot.com
There is something about baking from scratch that brightens the day! I will admit that sometimes I use "boxed" baking items to cook. Whether it's boxed brownie mix or cornbread. And that's ok, but lately I have been trying cook more of the baked stuff from scratch.  It's really very easy and worth the extra time involved. Not to mention, it's way healthier. Less of all those weird sounding, unhealthy ingredients!

If you don't bake very often, don't be afraid! Baking is for everyone! Part of being a Proverbs 31 woman in the making is learning how to cook/bake for your family (or future family). I started my baking adventures with simple recipes like chocolate chip cookies and biscuits. But then as I started getting adventurous I made my first Carrot Cake! (My mom's recipe of course!) And then from there I decided that baking was fun and if I failed, I failed.  My motto is, "Toss it and start over!". j.k. But really, I always tell my husband that I ask Jesus to cook with me and help me. Some of you may think that sounds silly but I'm totally serious. Whenever I ask the Lord's help before I cook or bake, things always turn out awesome. There has literally been a few times I didn't ask Jesus to help me and I burned the biscuits. (not even kidding) So if your a nervous, "I can't do it" type of baker; ask Jesus for help! Before you know it you'll be putting Betty Crocker to shame.  

Vinegar = Sparkling Dishes

Vinegar is usually not something we equate with sparkling dishes, or anything good for that matter. But lo and behold, among many other amazing uses, vinegar makes your dishes sparkle! How you say? By adding it to your dishwasher. I stumbled across this amazing discovery a couple years ago when our dishwasher starting coating all of our dishes with a dingy white film. (gross) I was told by someone that adding vinegar to the dishwasher would help. So, instead of believing what they told me, I "googled" it. And sure enough, it was true! So, needless to say, I added about a cup or two of vinegar to the bottom pan of the dishwasher and put a little in the "jet dry" compartment for good measure. It took two or three times to really start working because our dishwasher had built up such a layer of hard water but after that walaa! The dishes were sparkling! 

(One side note to add is make sure you turn off the heat dry option; that seems to leave spots)

So instead of wasting needless money on "sparkling" dishwasher additives; go to your local store and buy a bottle of White Distilled Vinegar. Costs about $3 or less and lasts for quite a few loads.