Quick, Easy and Ahhh-Mazing Stovetop Potpourri for Fall

So it's not quite fall yet...but 'round these parts eager beavers always start sipping the PSLs from Starbucks, putting pumpkins and scarecrows out on their front porches and posting happy fall weather thoughts on Facebook right around the first of September. 

Here in Central Florida the weather is still hot and humid like a sauna and without fail every summer by late August we're all so fed up with it, we start eagerly anticipating the morning when we leave our house and are met with a cooler temperature and a breeze. That morning actually happened last week, as the hubs and I left at 7:15am to bring our offspring to school and we were met with a beautiful temperature of 64!!! It was like all of us here in the middle of this hot state sighed a collective breath of relief together. I counted 13 statuses about it, many of them (raises hand) including home screen snapshots of the temperature for emphasis. It was like a choir singing "HALLELUJAH!" in unison. 

So even though we all know there will still be plenty of hot and humid days ahead of us before our state fully gives up its firm grip on summer and allows the cooler temperatures of fall to take over, we love to get ahead of ourselves and break out the autumn everything. 

So in honor of that beautiful morning last week and the promise of more to come, I gleefully started my favorite stovetop potpourri this morning and it's happily simmering away on my stove right now. And it smells AMAZING! Give it a try--super duper easy stuff here and much better than all the chemicals you'll find in most of the plug-in type things.

Stovetop Autumn Potpourri

Skins of 2 apples

4 cinnamon sticks (you can substitute 2 teaspoons of ground if you don't have the sticks)

2-3 whole cloves (1/8 teaspoon ground)

2-3 drops vanilla

Water

Directions:

Fill a small saucepan with water--about 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and add in the apple skins, cinnamon sticks, cloves and vanilla. Boil for 1-2 minutes, then lower the temperature and simmer all day long, adding water as needed. 

**[Disclaimer: Do not leave unattended or allow to boil dry!]**

I let mine go all day long. I turn the heat completely off if I need to leave my house for school pick-ups or grocery store runs or what have you, but if I'm home this baby is happily simmering away. You can cover the pot and store on the countertop overnight or put it in the fridge, either way works. I usually get 2-3 days of use out of the same potpourri before I toss it and start fresh. Now go forth and make your houses smell delectable! :) 

Snapshots from around my home...

I love peeking into other people's houses. I am addicted to HGTV and DIY network and of course Pinterest and blog land. So I thought others may like to see a few peeks into the place I (and my hubs and our four kids and many pets) call home. I'll try to do more posts like this with snapshots of things, rooms, decor, etc., around the house. But for today, this President's Day, as we take a day of laziness--doesn't everyone need one from time to time?--I listen to my hubs and kids playing video games, I sit in my PJs still at 1:00 in the afternoon, and I take a few little shots around my house, including some adorable ones of my family eating brunch earlier, but since my teen and tween daughters begged me not to post those, I won't. :) 


This is what I see when I'm blogging. :) A super cute mug from my mom that I used to put a splash of color in…yeah, fake flowers. I accidentally kill real ones every time. Oops.

The view into our dining room from the kitchen. The light at this time of day is so bright coming in from the windows--I love it!

Our brick fireplace that is waiting to be whitewashed and the mantel will be stained a deeper color. Also I need to frame out the discarded bathroom mirror that is now finding a new home on the mantel.

My gallery wall. This thing is forever changing and I love it. It's probably my most favorite thing in the house. Those shelves are Ribba picture ledges from Ikea.

The view into the kitchen from my desk. It's so bright and cheerful! And all the pops of my beloved teal make me smile. (Keepin' it real--fingerprints on the fridge, yup!)

View into the living room from the gallery wall. My husband says this photo makes the couch look maroon. -__- It's brown. Again, the light coming in from the windows is super intense this time of the day. I LOVE it, but it does make it difficult to capture good photos of everything else. The pillows have already been squished by my kiddos and there's a cat toy and a video game cord all making appearances in the photo, but I don't care because this is my real life! :) 

Hope you enjoyed the little peeks into my home. I hope you have a great day! :)

Restaurant-Style Queso Blanco

(many thanks to my hand model bro for this photo. :))

I can't tell you how many dollars we have spent on queso at the Mexican restaurants. One of our favorite local ones is La Fiesta and the last time we went there, we were celebrating the kids' school awards and we spent more than half our bill on queso. That's how good their queso is and that's how badly we are addicted! In fact, our addiction is so bad, that by the time our entrees arrive, we are always so stuffed full of queso and chips that we have to pack up our meals and eat them at home the next day for lunch. So....to save our wallets...I knew I needed to find a way to make it at home. So on Tuesday, after spending the day at Epcot and riding the boat ride in Mexico and smelling the amazing aromas wafting our way from the restaurant, we knew we had to have Mexican food that night. So we went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants there in Orlando and my husband was brave enough to ask the waiter for the recipe. And he GAVE it to us! I couldn't believe it. I think I could've hugged him then and there--hubs and the waiter both, actually! And imagine my shock when our waiter said "It's American cheese!" Suddenly, everything clicked. All my queso attempts prior had been with Monterey Jack, cheddar and pepper jack. Now it all made sense why I never got that creamy, melty, perfect texture that all the restaurants have perfected: I was using the wrong cheese all along! So, last night, on our way back home from Orlando, I made my hubs stop at Publix so I could run in and get a big block of white american cheese from their deli counter. And today, first chance I got, I whipped up a batch. And. It's. AMAZING! Happy Dance!!! No more wasting way too much money at the Mexican restuarant when I can make it just as delicious at home. Next time we go to Sam's Club I'm going to buy my white american there because I know it will be cheaper. At $6/lb, I still spent $13 just on the cheese, so it really wasn't that much cheaper, but now that I know it works, I'll be finding a way to make it as cheap as possible. So, without further ado!

Makes 6-8 Servings

1 lb. block white american cheese, shredded or cubed

2-3 poblano peppers

3/4-1 cup half & half

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Wash your peppers and dry them completely. Place them on a baking sheet and in your preheated oven for 10 minutes. Flip them over and bake another 10 minutes. Pull them out and let them rest 5-10 minutes. Remove the skin and seeds and dice finely. In a double boiler, combine cheese, peppers and 3/4 cup half & half. Cook over medium-low heat until melted, whisking constantly, about 15 minutes. If it's too thick, add remaining 1/4 cup of half & half and whisk well. Serve with tortilla chips.

This was so easy and tastes so good. The poblano peppers are really perfect, but if you prefer you can use a can of diced green chiles and a half a can of diced jalapeño peppers instead. You can also microwave it in 30 second increments until fully melted, just don't let it boil over! If it comes to a boil fully it could separate and then you'll have a lumpy mess. As the cheese melts, it will appear lumpy, don't let that scare you! Just keep whisking and cooking until you get the texture you want. You can always thin it out even more if you prefer. We found that these three simple ingredients were perfect for us, especially when paired with salty tortilla chips, but if you want, you can always add a little salt, pepper and/or cumin. You can also make this directly on the stovetop rather than a double boiler, but again, keep it on low and whisk it constantly. You don't want to risk it burning and/or boiling over. We're hooked on this queso! We're already coming up with several ideas for it including breakfast burritos, huevos rancheros, sandwiches, burgers, and yes...even a Mexican sushi roll. I promise when we do these, I'll keep you posted! Hope you're having a fantastic week. The weekend is nearly here! Have a great evening!

Homemade Au Jus Mix

Okay, since I'm really on this kick lately of making homemade what I would usually buy pre-packaged in the store, here's a simple recipe for au jus that is delicious and easy. Just like the other seasonings I've posted, this one will last 2-3 months on the shelf in an airtight container. I keep mine in one of these adorable little glass jars from IKEA--they come in a set of 4 for like $3 and are perfect for holding small amounts of seasonings or yummy baking goodies like mini M&Ms or chocolate sprinkles! Just like all my other seasonings, I break out the ole P-Touch and whip out what it is and handy-dandy measurements onto labels and slap them on. Cute and efficient=happy Sunshine. :)

Makes 12-14 Cups

12 beef bouillon cubes (or 4 tablespoons granules)
4 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons parsley
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender 30 seconds until completely ground and combined. Store in an airtight container or ziploc bag. To make au jus, measure out 4 1/2 teaspoons into a small saucepan and whisk with 2 cups of water over medium-high heat 15 minutes until bubbly and thickened. To use as seasoning, measure out 4 1/2 teaspoons at a time to equal one package of au jus seasoning mix.

Another quick and easy homemade fix that is way cheaper than buying the individual seasoning packets. To avoid MSG, always check the labels when buying bouillon. Organic beef bouillon without MSG can be found! The recipe I use this for most often is my Mississippi Roast in the crockpot, but every once in awhile I'll mix it up to make sandwiches for a party or dinner. Yum! I do have a weakness for au jus sandwiches. :)

Ranch Dressing & Seasoning Mix

If your family is anything like mine, you use those little ranch seasoning packets pretty regularly. I have a pile of recipes that call for that tasty little seasoning. But the problems with those seasoning packets are a) MSG b) expensive & c) you're always out when you need it. So I've taken to making my own. I mix everything together in a medium mason jar, shake it all together, and voila, I've got homemade ranch seasoning mix! It lasts for 2-3 months on the shelf theoretically, however, we use ours pretty quickly, so we've never had to test that theory! We use it in dips, snacks, dinners, or we mix it up with some mayo/yogurt and milk to make a quick ranch dressing when (not if) we run out. 

Today I've got it in my crockpot along with a roast that is happily simmering along and smells delicious. Already looking forward to dinner! That recipe will be making an appearance here on the blog tomorrow. :)

Okay you delicious little seasoning, your time to shine!

Makes 6 "Packets"

1/2 cup parsley

2 tablespoons dill weed

2 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 1/2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons minced dried onion flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons dried chives
1 1/2 tablespoons black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

Directions:

Whisk everything together in a large bowl (or shake it up in a mason jar!) and store in a ziploc bag or airtight container for up to 2-3 months. Use 1 tablespoon for 1 packet of ranch seasoning. Mix 1 tablespoon with 1/3 cup of milk and 1/3 cup of mayo or Greek yogurt to make dressing.

I've got mine in a mason jar in my spice cabinet. I used my trusty little P-touch labeler to make a label for it with the measurements on there so I'll never forget what I need if hubby is the one needing it, he'll know exactly how much to use. ;) I have a beautiful Mississippi Pot Roast going in my crockpot right now, which calls for this seasoning along with a few other things. It's so much easier to make your own "convenience" foods and mixes! Use your freezer, use your cabinets and pantry space to save money and time as well as making healthier options for your family. It's seriously a great feeling for me when I have a "Mom" accomplishment like this! And to be honest, I actually like the taste of the homemade one even better than the stuff I can run down to Publix and buy ready-made. Yay Wednesday, the weekend is in sight! And my hubs actually has the weekend off...a rare occurrence indeed! Happy Hump Day!

Spicy Mayo

Around here we do sushi night pretty regularly. Whether it's homemade or takeout, we love sushi! Even my kids will tear up some sushi. They love California rolls, sweet potato rolls and of course, chicken rolls. We let them try anything that doesn't have raw in it. And if the idea of eating raw fish wigs you out, there's plenty out there that's cooked! In fact, I think the scales may even tip in favor of more cooked vs raw sushi here in the States. If you're not a seafood person, you'd be surprised to know that raw fish actually doesn't taste "fishy" at all. It's the cooking process that brings out the oils in the seafood that give it that "fishy" flavor. 

This is one of the kiddos' favorite rolls that we make here at home: imitation crab meat, chicken tenders, scallions, cucumbers and cream cheese, all rolled up in sushi rice and nori and then battered and fried before slicing it up...mmm.

Personally, I love seafood...comes from being raised on it from the time I could eat solid food. My grandparents used to live right on the St. John's River here in Florida, and we would catch fresh seafood every single day to eat...crabs, shrimp, fish....mmmm, it was delicious. Nana S. would put it all in a big pot with salt, garlic powder and some seasoning like Old Bay or Lawry's seasoned salt and serve it up with melted butter and we'd devour it all. Anyway, as usual, I'm going off on a rabbit trail. My point today is to share with you my recipe for Spicy Mayo...a necessity when eating sushi, in my opinion, but it's also delicious on salads, with grilled fish or chicken, steak, baked potatoes...well practically anything other than dessert, really. Love me some Spicy Mayo!

Makes About 1 Cup

1 cup mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoons sriracha sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions:

Whisk everything together briskly until well combined. Taste and add extra sriracha if you want it spicier. 

     I usually taste and add a dash of this or that from the ingredient list until I get it exactly how I want it...we like to put ours in a squeeze bottle like you see above so we can squeeze it directly onto each bite of sushi. A mouthful of heaven! :)

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup Mix

Makes 3 "Cans"

1 cup nonfat instant dry milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup chicken bouillon (or finely ground bouillon cubes)

4 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon pepper

Directions: 

For the equivalent of one can of condensed cream of chicken soup: Whisk 1/3 cup dry mix with 1 1/4 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until boiling and thickened.

You know those recipes that call for "cream of something" soup? Here's a healthier, cheaper version and you can make sure to always keep a canister of the dry mix in your cabinet so you never run out. It's so convenient and tastes SO much better than the canned stuff. I never buy canned soups anymore for cooking, I just make my own. I use cream of chicken the most, so that's what I always have on hand, however I've also used different seasonings to create different creamed soups. You can use chopped dehydrated mushrooms to make cream of mushroom, celery seasoning to make cream of celery, mix in some shredded cheese while cooking to make cheddar cheese soup, etc. There are a number of varieties you can make and all of them are very inexpensive to make--even cheaper than the canned stuff! And it tastes better and is so much better for you, so why not do it? It's a tiny bit more of a hassle than it is to open up a can of something to dump in the crockpot, but it literally takes 5 minutes to cook up in my tiny little saucepan on the stovetop and the flavor is so much better so it's completely worth the extra time and effort. I used my Brother label maker to put the measurements on the lid so I always know how much to measure out to make a can and can easily double or triple it if need be. If you're a couponer, you know you can get coupons on the dry milk, bouillon and cornstarch pretty regularly and these items frequently go on sale also. If you combine the coupons with the sale, you're only spending about .06 a can as opposed to 1.00 a can on average and again, it tastes so much better! Give it a try, I'm sure you'll be persuaded--I was! :)

Awesome Homemade Playdough

We're back! I intended to get one post in before we went out of town last week, but in the chaos of packing and realizing we needed a hotel since the A/C in the house in Orlando is broken, that didn't happen. I apologize! But we had a great week at Disney and the kids and I feel very refreshed and cured of our massive cabin fever that we were suffering from before.

So today is quite a rainy day; hubs is at work and my girls are away on a church youth group beach trip so it's just me and my boys at home. We've already snuggled on the couch in our jammies and watched Dumbo and The Aristocats, and by the time Veggie Tales was loaded, the boys had had enough! They started the routine of tackling, wrestling, tickling, running in circles and yelling and screaming. Our great room consists of our living room, study, kitchen and dining room and all of these are laid out around a central brick fireplace so we have this wonderful circular pattern in our house that kids just LOVE to run laps around like it's the Olympics and a Gold Medal is at stake. I knew that it was time to find a better activity and fast! Yesterday we made Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookies (our number one favorite by far!) so I knew this time we needed to make something fun to play with instead of fun to eat. One thing about living in Florida, it rains pretty much every single day during the summer, so I always have quite a list of fun indoor activities to keep the minions busy and their minds active. Today, we decided to whip up a few batches of our favorite homemade playdough. Easy, cheap and it provides hours of fun after it cools. Can't beat it!

In honor of one of our most anticipated sequels of the summer (second only to Despicable Me 2!!), Monsters University, we chose to make blue and green. We made two batches and used berry blue jello and lemon lime jello to make these colors. Each batch makes one big ball--enough to split into halves for my two boys so they each got one of each color. 

Awesome Homemade Playdough

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons cream of tartar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 3oz package of dry jello mix

Directions:

Gently mix flour, salt, cream of tarter, water and oil in a large nonstick skillet pan with a stiff rubber scraper. Slowly stir in jello mix and stir until smooth. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes, until dough forms and begins to pull away from the sides. Once all the wet spots are gone and a thick dough is formed and can stand in the middle of the pan, tilt out onto a folded piece of wax paper at least two layers thick that has been sprinkled with a half cup of flour. Let dough cool to the touch, at least 10 minutes, then knead all the flour in until well incorporated. If it's still too sticky, you can knead in another half cup of flour. Let cool completely before play. It will further solidify upon standing.

This recipe makes a really fragrant, smooth dough perfect for playing. Since it uses so little salt, it leaves hands nice and smooth instead of crusty and dry. If you've never made playdough before, don't freak out when it starts separating and looking like a giant mess of liquid and sticky lumps. It won't be a FAIL, I promise! Just keep stirring, just keep stirring! Let the tune of our friend Dory keep reminding you to just keep cooking and stirring until it comes together and gets nice and smooth. If it turns out too sticky, cook another few minutes before kneading in the flour. The cook time combined with cooling off helps give it that nice smooth texture we're looking for. 

And as you can see, it was a huge hit in our household today! It saved an otherwise super boring, rainy Saturday. Yay!

Perfect Grilled Chicken Marinade & Macaroni Salad

A few days ago I posted about summertime food and promised to post my favorite recipes for chicken marinade as well as basic macaroni salad. 

My preferred way to prepare the marinated chicken is grilled, but it would also be good pan-seared, blackened or baked. Really, this is such a good, basic marinade that it's delicious with pork chops, steak, just about any kind of meat. Hubs grilled up some chicken on the grill last night that I had marinated all day and then I made macaroni salad and Pioneer Woman's Fresh Corn Casserole to go along with it. That meal fed 8 hungry people and we were all stuffed and still had leftovers too. 

Man, I just love summer food!

My Favorite Chicken Marinade

Marinates 3-4lbs of meat

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup dark balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons worcestershire

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1-2 teaspoons sriracha sauce

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Pour over raw chicken in a ziploc bag or container. Seal; shake and toss well and let marinate 4-6 hours, flipping every couple hours to ensure even marinating. 

Basic Macaroni Salad

16oz pasta

1 cup mayonnaise

2 large tomatoes, chopped

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and diced

1/2 medium onion, finely minced

1 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions: 

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinsed for several minutes with cold water until cooled. Mix with mayo, tomatoes, eggs, onion, salt and pepper. If pasta is too dry, add more mayo 2 tablespoons at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Taste and add more seasonings if needed. Chill until ready to serve.

Two of my favorite things! This basic macaroni salad is so good just as written, but it also makes a great jumping off point to create other variations. I've added chopped green onion, crumbled cooked bacon and cheddar cheese cubes. I've also added diced green pepper, shredded Monterey Jack and a few shakes of cumin. There are so many ways that you can make this and it's really a perfect side dish for summer since it's cold and filling. It goes perfectly with grilled meats, as a side dish for cold cut sandwiches or to bring along for a BBQ.

Italian Vinaigrette Salad Dressing & Marinade

Makes 1 Cup

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon parmesan
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced


Directions:

Mix all ingredients in container with lid. Cover and shake well.



This vinaigrette is super easy and fast and is designed to use items that you have on hand already. It can be made using balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar, but most people have white vinegar already in their pantries, and it tastes very good in this recipe. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it!