Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Conrad's in love with those Girl Scouts

Cookies, that is. His favorite flavor is the Samoa kind. (you know with coconut, chocolate & caramel) Sadly we won't be seeing the Girl Scouts or their cookies until next year. sigh.

It was Conrad's turn to make the treat for Family Home Evening and so he wanted to make Samoas. We went on the internet and found a copycat recipe that wasn't impossible to follow, tasted fantastic and looked slightly more decadent than those in the box.
Conrad has been wanting to dabble more and more in the culinary arts and this was a perfectly delicious way to get him started.

I found the recipe here


This is Conrad's "Dr. Cinnamon Fruitcake" impression

Friday, April 1, 2011

My Refrigerator, Cleaned with Love

For Christmas, my kids gave me the best gift. No, a shopping spree! Not a 7 day cruise around the Hawaiian Islands! No, not that sparkly blue Mini Cooper with checker top and racer stripe! Oh, it was something even better than that. They gave me the gift of service and washed the refrigerator and of course they used LOVE and Simple Green to make it sparkle.

I also like to use Simple Green all purpose cleaner, for cleaning the refrigerator. It should be diluted 1:30 with hot water in your kitchen sink or bucket.

1. Turn the refrigerator and freezer temperature off

2. Take everything out the refrigerator, including the stuff on the shelves on the door and throw away expired, moldy, spoiled foods.

3. Take out the glass shelves and drawers.

4. With a clean sponge or cloth, wash the shelves and drawers in the sink with the Simple Green. Making sure to get them as see-through as the first day you saw them.

5. Rinse with hot water and dry with a dry clean cloth or paper towel. Set aside.

Now we’re ready for the inside of the refrigerator.

6. Make sure to remove all food, crumbs and all other “leftovers” from the bottom.

7. Take your sponge and the Simple Green and start at the top and scrub until you reach the bottom and don’t forget the doors.

*While doing this, be sure to frequently rewet your sponge and ring it out to keep it clean.

8. Repeat step 7, except use clean hot water to rinse.

9. Repeat step 6-8 when cleaning the freezer and the outside of the refrigerator.

10. Replace the shelves, drawers and food and don’t forget to turn the temperature back on!

Keeping your fridge clean should be done quarterly and the outside should be wiped down monthly. (This should be done more often, depending on the holiday.) And it would a good idea to get rid of the no-longer-edible-leftovers, regularly.