Learn With Me: How To Clean Coffee and Tea Stained Mugs

This year I am challenging myself to learn new techniques and tricks that will help me be a more efficient cook, mom, housewife and person.  As I try these things and become successful at them, I will share them here. 

Therefore, I welcome you to my second installment of Learn With Me! 





Recently I noticed how awful all of my coffee and tea mugs have been looking.  They are full of stains and marks that cover their insides.


Every single one of my mugs looks just like this (pictured below):




Gross, huh?  The above picture doesn't even do it justice as to how filfthy they all look!   But hopefully you gain a glimpse of the ring around the rim and more.  They don't look clean at all even though I wash them and scrub them.


I couldn't take it anymore!!!  It drove me crazy each time I pulled one out from my cabinet to offer it to a friend.  So I searched for a few ways that I could clean them deeper than what my crappy dishwasher does. 

I found this helpful site called Tip Nuts.  Their first suggestion was to simply rub a few pinches of baking soda into the stained mug with a damp cloth.  I never dreamed it would work on the first try but sure enough!  Just a few rubs of baking soda with a wet paper towel and my awful stains were gone! 

A second tip was soaking and rubbing your mugs in vinegar.  However, the baking soda worked just fine for me.  I'm glad too because although I like vinegar in foods, I don't particularly like its lingering smell on items.


Now all of my mugs look like this on the inside:





WOW!  Talk about a makeover, don't you think?  Just a little bit of elbow grease and hand scrubbing combined with the power of baking soda (just 1/2 teaspoon per cup should do it!) and I've got brand-new looking mugs to drink from.  Woo-hoo! 


Okay, just to get the full effect, let's look again at some before and after photos of my tea mugs:


Before:



Rubbed with a bit of baking soda and a damp cloth, then VOILA'!


After:



They Are Now Clean and Bright!


Amazing, right!  I'm so glad I found a way to brighten up my drinking cups for when guests come over.  I never realized how mighty and powerful that powdery substance called baking soda could be!   It's great mixed in with your favorite-smelling extract (such as vanilla or peppermint) to clean your carpets and freshen up the scent of your whole house too!


I just wanted to tell you about this tip.   After all, I'm learning and I want to share the things I learn here with you! 


Do you have any easy cleaning tips such as this one?  I'd love to learn more!  I'm finding that decluttering and reorganizing things in my life makes me feel more productive and happier.

Corn Bread "Cake"

My husband has to have bread with every meal we eat.  I have been making my own corn bread for awhile now.  Until a few years ago, I never realized how easy it was to throw this quick-bread together.   Blending the ingredients, plus the baking time, requires less than a half-hour.  So it's a perfect last-minute bread to accompany your dinner. 


Recently I varied up my typical corn bread recipe after reviewing a few different recipes in several of my cookbooks.  The end result was very good.  My husband Kirk dubbed it as "corn bread cake" because he thought it was so moist and had a cake-like consistency.    So that's what I titled it here for this post.  I know he'll be requesting for me to make this one again.  Here is the recipe:







Corn bread cake

(Makes 15 squares)

1 and 1/4 cup of natural flour (I used white wheat flour by King Arthur)
1 and 1/4 cup of corn meal
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp light butter, broken up into pieces
1 egg, beaten
1 can (15 oz) of corn, drained
1/4 cup of reduced fat shredded cheese, any variety
1/8 cup of water


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Generously grease an 8x8 square baking pan or use a small rectangular  (11x7 or 2.2 qt/2 L) pan, like I did, with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, sift the first four ingredients together: flour, corn meal, baking powder and baking soda.  Blend well.  Add the light butter that has been broken up into pieces.  Mix it in so the butter can be absorbed into the crumbs.  Toss in the beaten egg, drained corn, cheese and water.  Stir well with a wooden spoon.  Pour into the greased baking dish, like this: 






Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.   Remove from oven and let it cool for about five minutes before slicing.  Cut into squares.  Eat it up!






Here are some of my past recipes that you might enjoy serving this corn bread cake with:

- Mix it up Meat and Veggie Chili

- Mexican Tortilla Lasagna

- Fiesta Style Sheperd's Pie

- Big Easy Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

- Shrimp and Grits


Enjoy! 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

One of my New Year's resolutions for 2011 is to try cooking and eating more vegetarian meals.  I want to do this for both the health benefits and also the cost savings.  I don't think I could ever give up meat completely but I want to view it more as a treat or additive, not an everyday necessity.


This sweet potato and black bean enchiladas dish was the first vegetarian meal I found that I really wanted to try.  Thankfully it came out great-tasting.  My family ate on it for two nights in a row.  Even my (often difficult) toddler gobbled this up.   So now I'm excited to incorporate more vegetarian (and hopefully some vegan) meals into my family's diet. 


I hope you'll be brave enough to try the recipe and serve it to your family as well! 





Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas(Makes 6)

Adpated from Dani Spies

(Note: I cut her recipe in half and changed a few of the ingredients and measurements.  I also mixed up everything all together since that's just the kind of gal I am! )

1 - 2 medium size sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces (I actually used 1.5 potatoes.  I had three in my fridge and used half for this recipe and the other half to make sweet potato fries a few days later!)
1 tsp curry powder
1 jar of mild salsa
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup of lime juice
3/4 tsp of cumin
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup of vegetable broth
2 cups of reduced fat shredded cheese, any variety (I used a combination of cheddar and gouda)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  Set it aside.

Peel and slice your sweet potatoes into small pieces.  That way they will steam and soften quicker!  Use your favorite method to steam veggies - microwave or place them in a collander with boiling water underneath on the stove.  It should only take about fifteen minutes to soften the potatoes.  Remove them from heat and place them in a large mixing bowl.  Mash them with a fork.  I didn't leave any chunks in mine.  I made it more like a puree.   Add 1/4 cup of the salsa from the jar and the tsp of curry powder to the sweet potatoes.  Mix well.  Make a hole in the center of the sweet potato mixture.  Place your rinsed black beans in the center spot.  Over the beans, pour your lime juice.  Then add the minced garlic and cumin.  Stir them together.  Let them soak for just a minute.  Then mix the beans with the sweet potatoes, combining them well.  Add 1 cup  of the shredded cheese to the mixtures, blending it in gently. 


Grab your greased baking pan.  Pour salsa from the jar onto the bottom, covering it with a thin layer all over.   Now you're ready to start making your enchiladas.


In a shallow square baking pan, pour the vegetable broth.  You will dip each whole wheat flour tortilla into the broth for a few seconds then assemble the enchilada.  I placed about 1/3 cup of sweet potato-black bean mixture in the center of each tortilla then rolled them within the baking pan so the salsa would coat it as well, like this:






I repeated this step five more times until I made six enchiladas.  I had a little bit of the veggie broth left so I carefully poured it over the tops of the enchiladas in the baking dish.  Then I sprinkled each enchilada with the rest of the salsa from the jar and the remaining shredded cheese too (about 1 cup).  My meal looked like this:





Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.   Remove and let it cool about ten minutes before digging into.   I served mine with a ranch-flavored sour cream for dipping.  Yummy! 


Do you have any vegetarian or vegan meals that you make and your family enjoys?  I'm looking for new ideas and recipes to try!

What's Cookin' This Week (Jan 17-23, 2011)?

My friend Jess from Pennsylvania is coming to visit me this week.  I'm so excited to see her!  I sure hope the weather warms up here.  After all she's coming down south to partly escape the snow, cold temperatures, her husband  and her twin three-year old boys!!!  LOL!


Jess helped me plan some of the menu for the coming days.   She asked me to make a bunch of things from my cookbook.  I am happy to oblige her.  After all, I like to give my guests what they want.  That's how I won the title "hostess with the mostess!"  :-)    Also by choosing meals that I've already made a half-dozen times, I know they will turn out good and (hopefully) no cooking diasters will occur! 


Here's what I have lined up for this week for Jess, my family and me:


Monday, Jan. 17 - Turkey Burgers (recipe is from my cookbook) with butternut squash rice casserole


Tuesday, Jan. 18 - Chicken Spaghetti, homemade bread and side salad


Wednesday, Jan. 19 - Slim Sloppy Joes ( recipe is from my cookbook) with fruit as a side 



Thursday, Jan. 20 - Leftovers


Friday, Jan. 21 - Man's Italian Meat Pie  and green beans


Saturday, Jan. 22 - For Breakfast I will make hashbrown casserole and eggwhite casserole from my cookbook.  For Dinner, we are going to eat out Hibachi at a local Japanese restaurant for my friend's visit!! 


Sunday, Jan. 23 - We will either eat out breakfast or I will make my baked french toast (recipe is from my cookbook).    For late lunch/early dinner, we will have balsamic chicken sandwiches from Jessica Seinfeld's Double Delicious! cookbook. 


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Here are the snacks and desserts I will make for the week as well.  Again my friend Jess helped me choose these based on her favorite flavors (banana, chocolate, apple and chai):

Chai-spiced snickerdoodle cookies


Banana chocolate squares, recipe is adapted from my cookbook, using chocolate chips in place of toffee bits


Apple Crumble, recipe is from my cookbook



What's on your meal plan this week?  Stay tuned for some great recipes that I'll be sharing - dishes I made last week.  Also, I'll have a new "Learn with me" tip in the coming days!  Have a great start to your week!

No-Bake Granola Bars

My friend Briony has gotten me hooked on eating granola bars as snacks and even for my lunch last year.  She makes her own from scratch.  That is something I never thought to do until I met her.  They really are very easy to make and less expensive if you can put them together yourself.  She has a great recipe but she's saving it for her own personal cookbook.  Her granola bars have a lot of peanuts and peanut-flavor in them. 


I decided to change up her recipe skipping the peanuts and therefore cutting back on the fat.  I was really pleased with how these turned out.  I will try mixing it up again in the future to see what else I can come up with as well.





No-Bake Granola Bars
(Makes 12 to 18 bars, depending on how you cut them)

Adapted from Southern Living
2 and 1/2 cups of rice or puff cereal (I used Kashi)
2 cups of old fashioned oats
1 cup of raisins
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of peanut butter, creamy style
1/2 cup of chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract


*Note: You could add 1/2 cup of peanuts or sunflower seeds if you like.  I chose not to so I could keep the fat content and the nutty flavor down to a minimum. 


Generously grease a 13x9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, combine the rice cereal, oats and raisins.  In a medium size sauce pan, place the honey and brown sugar.  Sautee on medium heat until dissolved and smooth, stirring for about five minutes.  Wait until the liquid just begins to bubble then remove pan from heat. Add in the peanut butter and vanilla extract.  Stir until smooth, like this: 






Pour the peanut butter liquid over the rice cereal and oats mixture.  I like to mix it all together using my hands that have been coated with cooking spray.  I find that my hands work better than just a spoon for stirring. 






Let the granola sit for about ten minutes and harden before adding the chocolate chips.  If you add the chips too soon, they will melt.


After mix has cooled and you've added the chips, press the granola into the greased 13x9 inch pan.  Place in the refridgerator for about an hour to harden.  Remove from fridge and cut into squares.  I cut mine into 12 wide bars.  You can make smaller ones if you like. 






I place them in press and seal wrap and then inside freezer-safe plastic bags for strorage purposes.  I keep mine in the fridge or in the freezer until I'm ready to eat them. 





I don't like to keep them out at room temperature because the highs and lows vary so much here in Florida.  So my stash is always in the fridge or freezer.

Enjoy!


There are so many variations of granola bars out there so it's fun to try a new one.  I personally prefer not to have flour or oil in mine.  Do you have a great granola recipe worth sharing?  If so, leave it in the comments section.  What are some of your favorite, healthy and on-the-go snacks?

Cheezy Grits and Eggs Casserole

Yesterday's funny food poem was inspired by the recipe in this post.  Actually it started even before that....  I attended a brunch a few months ago where a friend made a dish with eggs, grits and cheese.  It was so simple yet so amazingly scrumptious.  I wanted to recreate that meal but lighten it up where I could. 


So here is my version of Cheezy Grits and Eggs Casserole.  My husband and I loved this one.  I wish my daughter Vivian would have liked it too but she wasn't real impressed.  However, she did eat the turkey-bacon "chips" that I made to accompany it (which was just cooked, crispy bacon broken into bits - hahaha!).  Oh well, maybe when she becomes older, she'll gain better taste buds and be more appreciative of mommy's cooking..... Here's hoping!  :-)









Cheezy Grits and Eggs Casserole
(Serves 6)

3 cups of water
3/4 cup of quick cooking grits
4 tbsp light butter (half a stick)
2 cups of reduced fat shredded cheese, any variety
2 extra large eggs
1/4 cup of milk
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp green onions
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
dash of Cajun seasoning
dash of Paprika


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a 2 Qt (about 8 x 12 inch) baking pan with cooking spray.  In a medium sauce pan, cook your grits according to the package directions - It should be three cups of water to 3/4 cup of grits.  Boil and stir until creamy, about seven minutes.  Reduce to low heat.  Add in the light butter and 1 cup of the reduced fat cheese. Stir and mix well. 



In a small, separate bowl combine the two extra large eggs with 1/4 cup of the milk.  Stir well.  Then pour into the sauce pan with the cooked grits.  Add in the seasonings - garlic and onion powders, green onions, salt, pepper, cajun spices and paprika.  Stir several times.  Then pour entire mixture into the greased baking pan.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.  Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes at 400 degrees.  If you're lucky, your cheese will harden and form a nice crust on top, just like mine did! 







Ooooh, this is good stuff folks!   When the edges are slightly browned, the casserole is done.  Remove from the oven.  Let it cool for about ten minutes before cutting and serving.  Enjoy! 


(Variations: I've also added 1/3 cup of bacon bits to this and it tasted even better!  Experiment with your own favorite veggies and meats in this breakfast recipe.)


Have you ever been to a brunch?  What food(s) stood out during your brunch experience?

Funny Food Poetry: Eggs

Food is funny.  Cooking is funny.  I just don't see how others can't see it that way.  The craziest things happen to me while I'm in the kitchen.  So I like to write about my quirky thoughts on this culinary journey of mine.  Here's a poem I came up with a few days ago.... my ode to eggs.... Enjoy!

Mandy's Ode to Eggs

I crack you up
For breakfast, dinner and lunch

I start to panic

If I don't have a bunch

Mixed in for cakes
Or scrambled with bacon and cheese

I'll take two dozen

And jumbo-size please

I wonder...do you come first

Or last after the chicken?

You are loved and adored by many

Just like a classic by Charles Dickens.

Although you do smell bad

If you've been out or in heat for awhile

And you're very nasty in an upchuck

Which I've experienced all over the tile.

Still I love your variety

And how you lend yourself to all

Just be careful the next time

You go to sit on a wall.

Please know that I will always need you

And want to keep you around

So that I can boil you and beat you

Before you can ever utter a sound. 

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Here are several recipes with eggs that I hope to make in the coming months:

Simple Overnight Egg Casserole

Egg Drop Soup

Spinach Quiche

Healthier Creme Brulee

Low fat Pumpkin Flan

Do you have an egg recipe that I can add to my list above? Do you have a favorite egg dish?  Tomorrow I will share with you the egg (and grits) casserole that inspired this poem for me. 


How often do you cook or bake with eggs?  I like to keep two dozen on hand in my house at all times because of how often I use them!  

Mardi Gras Mini King Cakes

Can we pretend it's "Fat Tuesday"?  That's Mardi Gras for those of you who might not know that.  Carnival season is almost here!  It's time to get into the spirit by baking your own version of the king cake. 

This is a festive, fun recipe that you can make and have your kids help you with.  They will love it.  Everyone loves these because they are basically cinnamon rolls with colorful icing.  I opted to place fruit filling in mine but you can leave that out if you like.  Below I will place step by step photos of how I put it together!

The funny thing is that I didn't set out to make these mini king (cup) cakes....it just kind of happened that way.   I looked up a ton of king cake recipes online since I've never made one on my own but always wanted to do so.  I grew up near New Orleans after all and Mardi Gras is just part of my culture and history.  However when I read about using five cups of flour and all the kneading involved in making the traditional king cakes, I just couldn't do it.  Plus I didn't have time to spend hours in the kitchen like that over the weekend.  So I came up with my own, easy recipe instead.  I think you'll enjoy this one!

And if you have no idea what a King Cake or Mardi Gras are, then here is a great site that covers it all!  Mardi Gras is definitely something to experience once in your lifetime! 






Mandy's Mardi Gras Mini King Cakes
(Makes 16 mini cakes)

3 cinnamon roll packages  (I used reduced fat cinnabon flavored by Pillsbury, 8 in each pkg)
*keep the icing that comes in the cinnamon roll packages too!
1 container  (8 oz) reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 can (15 oz) apple pie filling or other fruit filling (optional)
food coloring - purple, yellow and green  (or use a combo of red and green to make purple like I did!)
3 tbsp sugar
brown sugar and powdered sugar for dusting (about 1/4 cup each)


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Generously grease two muffin tins with cooking spray.  Note: This makes 16 cakes so I used my 12-muffin tin and my 6-muffin tin pans.  Open up two packages of cinnamon rolls and set the icing aside. 

Place each individual cinnamon roll in a muffin spot, just like this picture below.  This will be 16 cinnamon rolls.  Save the third package for later:




Shape them as best as you can to be round within the muffin tin.  Open your fruit pie filling can, if you use it.  The apple pie filling was excellent!  Scoop out one teaspoon on top of each cinnamon roll, just like this photo below:






Once you have spooned out the fruit filling, open up your third and final package of 8 cinnamon rolls.  Tear each roll in half and place 1/2 of it on top of each fruit filled roll in the muffin tin pan.  Spread it out to cover the rolls as best as you can where you can't see the center.  It will look similar to this:






Now bake your cinnamon rolls in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.  While the rolls are baking, make your icing to cover them. 


Place three, separate bowls out on your table.  Scoop out the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls packages.  Take your 8 oz container of reduced fat cream cheese and divide it evenly into each bowl.  Then add 1 tbsp of sugar to each bowl as well  (equal to 3 tbsp all together).  Now place the food coloring in each bowl.  Place a few drops of yellow in one bowl, a few drops of green in a second bowl and then use purple food coloring for the final bowl.  If you don't have purple food dye, like I didn't, then make your own by using about two drops of blue and four drops of red.  Mix until you have the right color you desire.  You may need to melt the added cream cheese a little in the microwave if it has not been softened.


Aren't these pretty?






Once the cinnamon rolls are done baking and lightly browned on tops and edges, remove them from the oven.  Let them cool for about five minutes before topping them.   At the last minute, I decided it would be fun to place a small scoop of the "icing" in the center of the cinnamon rolls too.  That way, when you bite into them, they'd have the fruit filling PLUS a bit of the icing too.  Double the goodness!


So if you want to do that as well, then you'll just need to gently pull up the top of the cinnamon rolls and scoop out a bit of icing into the center.  Like this:






But this is an optional step and it requires a bit more work.  Still it's fun and the cinnamon roll "top" can easily be put back together.  The icing helps it stick and your kids can help you too!


Continue spreading the colored icing all over each cinnamon roll, covering the tops and down the sides.  Sprinkle each one with brown sugar and powdered sugar.  Then amaze your friends and family with how good these are!  Almost too pretty to eat!  :-)  I said....almost!






Have you ever been to a Mardi Gras Parade?  If you ever get a chance to visit New Orleans but you cannot go during Carnival Season, you can still see the large, beautiful floats and taste king cake by visiting Mardi Gras World.  It's a great place to see artists in action making the floats and experience a bit of the fun if you cannot do the real thing!