Homemade natural window and surface cleaner!

I get excited about little things! It's silly, but also fun. :) My excitement today came in the form of an improvement to my favorite natural window cleaner. It's based on vinegar, so it smells pretty strongly of vinegar... which is not good for my pregnant nose. In an effort to improve the smell, I opened my essential oil cabinet and grabbed some lemon and orange essential oils, and voila! Lovely citrus-y cleaning goodness, with the added benefit of cutting through scum (at least the shaving cream residue at the bottom of my husband's sink) wonderfully! Still streak-free and everything. You'll love it!

Here's what you'll need:
2-3 Tbsp. vinegar (ammonia works too, but you only need one or the other)
1/2 c. Rubbing alcohol
1 squirt dish soap
20 drops lemon e.o. (or more to smell)
20 drops orange e.o. (or more to smell)
water
a 24 oz. (or so) spray bottle

Just pour your liquid ingredients into your spray bottle and give it a good shake. Easy as can be!

And now you may actually enjoy cleaning. :)

All-natural Ear Infection Remedy

This blog is being re-purposed! Up until now, it's been a (mostly ignored) cooking blog. I still love cooking, so there will still be cooking-related posts, but I'm also going to be using this as a place where I can share a lot of the natural remedies that my family and I are coming to love more and more. 

I should say at the start that I am not against modern medicine. I feel like many of our modern medical abilities are true miracles and I am so grateful for many of the doctors and nurses that have helped us when we've needed it. However, I also believe that for thousands of years God has provided His children with the plants and herbs, etc., that we need to heal our bodies. I believe that by being open to both sides, we truly get the best of both worlds. 

And now for the good stuff! How many of you have children who get ear infections? Any time we have a serious cold that runs through our family, at least one of our three children (and often I) will wind up with a secondary ear infection. Usually on a Saturday night, of course. So what to do? Run to the doctor for a standard antibiotic prescription? At $100 for an off-hours office visit (with no co-pay) and another $15 for the prescription, that adds up--especially when I'm taking myself and two kids. No thanks. I've used this natural ear infection remedy on myself and two of our kids (L, the lucky girl, never gets ear infections) and it has worked EVERY TIME. So if you want to cure an ear infection fast, with only ingredients you already have in your kitchen, read on.

All you'll need is fresh garlic, olive oil, and a dropper.

Step 1: Peel a few cloves of garlic. I did 7 cloves this time. 

Step 2: Place your peeled (but still whole) garlic cloves in a small saucepan and add about 1-1/2 cups olive oil. You can do a much smaller batch if you're just using this for medical purposes, but it tastes good too, so I make extra to use in cooking.

Step 3: Turn the heat on medium low until the garlic looks like it's simmering. Then turn the heat as low as it will go and let the garlic infuse for about an hour. After that, turn the heat off and let the garlic and olive oil cool down all the way. The olive oil should smell very strongly of garlic.

And you're done! Wasn't that easy? The last thing you need to do is pour the oil into a bottle with a dropper. I used an old medicine bottle that I cleaned out well. I leave the garlic cloves in the oil so that it gets stronger with time. 

Now, to treat an ear infection.

For an adult, use 5 to 7 drops in the infected ear 3 or 4 times a day. When I treat myself, I grab a book and lie down on my side for about 10 minutes per side (and let's be honest, when I'm sick with an ear infection, it's nice to take a few extra minutes of quiet time). The pain is gone within 2 or 3 treatments, but I do an extra day's worth just to be sure. I have never had an ear infection that lasted more than a day or so when I used this stuff.

For children, it's much the same. I use 3 drops for my 6 yr. old, and whatever I can with my almost-2-yr.-old.  The older kid knows this stuff is amazing and so he happily does everything I ask him to do. My almost-2-yr.-old is definitely not so cooperative. I wind up having to hold her head still while I add the stuff (which of course she hates, but there's nothing else for it), and then I snuggle her up on my lap and either read her stories or sing her songs. She soon forgets the trauma of the strange drops in her ear and enjoys the closeness.

Sure beats a 9-day course of expensive antibiotics!

What have I done with my life?

I saw this on Brittany Rodgers' blog, and I thought it was pretty cool. So I'm going to post it here; the things I've done are bolded. 

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band 

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford

7. Been to Disneyland (& World)

8. Climbed a mountain 

9. Held a praying mantis 

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you are not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language (sign language, but not very fluently)

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michaelangelo's David

41. Sang Karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful in person

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (as long as Burger King counts!)

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported by ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. visited the Great Wall of China

57. Taken a martial arts class

58. Started a business

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

62. Gone Whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London

77. Broken a bone (just a toe though)

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book (I have helped edit several though)

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper 

85. Swam in the ocean

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 

88. Had Chickenpox

89. Saved someone's life (does giving it count? I've done that twice... :))

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Fallen madly in love (I added that one on my own.) :)

Pretty cool list, huh? Life is good.

Earthquake Cake--Natural Disasters Never Tasted So Good!

This recipe is for a really fun cake called "Earthquake Cake." I think it's named that for the super-bumpy texture it has once it's baked. I baked it for a book club meeting and served it again at a church function, and everyone loved it! So without further ado, here's the REALLY SIMPLE recipe. 

Earthquake Cake

1 c. flaked coconut

1 c. chocolate chips

1 c. nuts (I used pecans, the recipe calls for walnuts)

1 box German chocolate cake mix (and whatever the mix calls for)

1 8-oz. package cream

 cheese (room temperature)

2-1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 stick butter or margarine (also room temperature)

1 tsp. vanilla

Sprinkle coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts on the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. Follow direction

s on box of cake mix to prepare batter. Pour batter over the chocolate chipmixture. For cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Add powdered sugar about 1/2 c. at a time and beat until creamy. Add vanilla and mix thoroughly. Drop 

cream cheese mixture by heaping spoonfulls over cake batter. Swirl the cream cheese through the cake using a knife. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until cake is set and cream cheese isn't too gooey. (I actually baked mine f

or more than 40 minutes, but the recipe said 30-40, so maybe my oven is just slow.)

Super Easy Cookie Idea

Hey all! Just so you know, I'm probably the worst blogger ever. I really don't post often enough, and it's never even regular. So sorry! 

Anyhow, today's post is for all of you who love fresh hot cookies, hate premade grocery-store dough, have trouble not eating the whole batch at once when you do make them, have cookies go stale because you don't eat them fast enough, or who don't have enough time to make a batch from scratch every time the craving hits. So: want delicious, oven-fresh cookies any time you want them without all the work of a brand new batch? 

Try this. Make a batch of cookie dough (or two, or however much you want to store). Form the dough into one-inch balls and flatten into circles (on average they're about 1/2 inch thick). Spread the dough discs on a cookie sheet (It doesn't matter how close together they are. You're not cooking them yet.) and place the pan in your freezer. Once the dough is frozen solid, take the

cookies and place them in a resealable freezer bag. 

Now, all you have to do to get those fresh, hot cookies you've been craving is to place them on a cookie sheet and stick 'em in the oven. No thawing, no mixing, no mess. 

I'm including a recipe for some amazing chocolate chip cookies:

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1 c. butter 

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. unbleached flour

2 1/2 c. oat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking powder

12 oz. milk chocolate chips

1-1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and combine well. Add chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes if fresh, about 12 if frozen.

The Plan of Salvation

I think today I'm going to do a personal post. This weekend Mike and I went to a funeral for a little boy only 2 months younger than our darling Lucy, and it was one of those opportunities to think about what it is we truly believe.

I've been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my whole life. From the time I was 3 I've been taught the Plan of Salvation. This is what we call God's plan for us. We believe that before we came to Earth, we existed as spirits with our Father in Heaven. He told us of His plan for us to come to earth, receive bodies, and be tested. He told us that He would send us a Savior, even Jesus Christ, who would pay the price of our sins; thus if we lived righteously and repented of our sins, we could be forgiven and return to our Father's presence to live for eternity with our families. Because there must be opposition in all things, there was another plan brought forth by our brother Lucifer. He had a plan that would ensure that everyone would return, but it required us to forfeit our agency. At that point in our premortal existence, God the Father allowed us to choose: agency with the possibility of not being able to return to our Father's presence, or no agency. We know what happened--those who chose Lucifer's plan were cast out, Lucifer became Satan, and the hosts that followed him became devils to persuade men to be miserable as they are. Those who chose the Father's plan were sent to Earth, to receive bodies and be tested.

We believe that this mortal existence is a time for us to be tested. We believe that there are certain things we must accomplish in this life in order for us to return to God's presence: we must be baptized and make certain covenants (or promises) in the temple. When we die, we are sent to a spirit world, which is divided into two sections: spirit paradise, where dwell those who led righteous lives, and spirit prison, where dwell those who were wicked. We believe that those in the spirit world are continuously striving to teach the true gospel, watch over the living, and rest from mortal cares as we prepare for the next step, which is resurrection and judgment. At this point, following judgment, we believe we are sent to one of four places: the celestial kingdom, which is where God the Father dwells, the terrestial kingdom, which is where good people who have not accepted the true gospel or temple covenants go, and the telestial kingdom, which is where those who refused to repent or lived wicked lives go. The fourth place is called outer darkness, and is reserved for only the vilest of sinners.

I know this is a lot to take in, and it's only a basic summary of this truly glorious plan, but as I've pondered on life and death this week, it's been on my mind a lot. It's tragic when children die. It doesn't seem right that someone so innocent and pure would have to leave this earth so early, and leaving us with broken hearts as we lose so many opportunities and miss the lost person so terribly. What a comfort it is to know, though, that there IS life after this! Not only that, but if we are sealed together as families in the temple, those lost children, mothers, fathers, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. will be ours again! In the Kingdom of God, we WILL be families again. So even though we still have to live out the rest of our mortal lives without the beloved lost member, we have all of eternity to celebrate a joyful reunion. And I KNOW that eternity will be a lot longer than we're here on earth. To me it's comforting to know that death is not the end--merely the beginning of a much grander existence, free from hurt, pain, tiredness, sin... and what could be better than that?

If there were one thing I could tell everyone I know, it would be that our Savior lives. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of everyone who has ever lived on this earth, and that if we will but accept his atonement, live righteously, and repent of the inevitable mistakes, we will be blessed beyond any mortal imagination. I am so thankful that I have been sealed to my family. I know that when we leave this mortal stage, we will still be a family.

And that is good news.

For more information on the LDS (or Mormon) church, visit www.mormon.org, or www.lds.org

Banana Split Cake

Summer finally came to the state of Utah! It seems like Mother Nature is dragging her heels changing seasons around here... Winter lasted until April, and now here we are in the middle of June just drying out from the spring rain.

This year, I feel very blessed to have a real honest-to-goodness air conditioner--it's the first year since 2001 that I've been in control of the temperature in my house. But even still, summer is hot, and it can be a challenge to cook your food without cooking yourself. We wind up firing up the grill quite a bit, and meal salads become a staple. So what do you do when someone in the family has a birthday and wants cake? Slave away in the kitchen with a roasting oven? Never! Try this delicious recipe for banana split cake! It doesn't have ice cream in it, so you don't need to worry about it melting all over the place if you have an outdoor party. As a warning, the recipe calls for raw eggs, but you can use a pasteurized egg product instead if you want. The buttery layer just melts in your mouth... it is so delicious!

Banana Split Cake

The recipe is huge, but it halves easily.

1 stick (½ c.) butter or margarine
2 c. cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
2 sticks (1 c.) butter, softened to room temperature—Must be butter!
2 c. powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 bananas, sliced
1/3 pint strawberries, sliced
1 can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 tub (13 oz.) cool whip
chocolate syrup, chopped maraschino cherries, chopped nuts

1. Melt 1 stick butter in a 9x13 pan. Pat graham cracker crumbs to form a crust. Bake the crust for 6 or so minutes (until it starts to brown) at 350. Be sure to COOL THE CRUST COMPLETELY before you spread the next layer over it, or the butter will melt and you'll have to start over.

2. Combine 2 sticks butter, powdered sugar, and eggs in a mixer. Beat for about 5 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally, until mixture is fluffy. Spread over graham cracker crust. Partially freeze it by placing the pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes. You don't want it completely frozen though or the cake will be too hard to cut and eat. (If you want you could use real ice cream for this layer and bypass the raw eggs, but the buttery stuff is sooo delicious.)

3. Arrange sliced bananas over butter-sugar layer. Arrange sliced strawberries (I've used frozen strawberries before with this recipe. Fresh taste better, but you can use frozen if you either keep them frozen or thaw and partially drain them) over bananas. Spread crushed pineapple over strawberries.

4. Spread Cool Whip over fruit. Drizzle chocolate syrup on top and sprinkle with chopped cherries and nuts.

Enjoy!