Jalapeno Poppers!

Okay so when me and my husband first started to date I never once in my life made a Jalapeno popper, I honestly thought it was a lot more to the process since it just seemed complicated but its not, its super easy! Though I have to say after a few times of making it noticed that they were greasy from all the bacon fat and it wasn't that appealing after a while. So I made some adjustments and started to cook them on a baking rack. And voila no more nasty left over grease stuck to the yummy popper. 

Things you will need:

Jalapeno's [remember you will be cutting them in half so one Jalapeno is 2 poppers.]

Sliced bacon [one strip of bacon usually can be cut in half and cover one popper, so one strip is once again 2 poppers]

Cream cheese [I would 1-3 of the 8 oz packages]

Baking sheet covered in aluminum foil

Baking rack 

[Warning: Please do not touch any part of your face while working with these, the juice off the jalapeno's is very strong, and will hurt if in nose, or eyes, or in cuts...]

Step one:

Take off the stem, and slice all the jalapeno's length wise. I usually de-stem, and slice all the jalapeno's before step two. 

Step Two:

De-seed all the halves. I usually take small spoon to do so. Remember the heat is in the veins so take those out if you don't want them spicy and make sure all the seeds are out. 

Step three:

Fill all the Jalapeno halves with cream cheese. I use a butter knife to get it in there, I like to either level it off or make it a little higher then the jalapeno itself. 

[Note: it will not 'melt' like normal cheese, so don't worry about it melting and running everywhere]

Step four:

 

Take the strip bacon, cut in half, take a piece and wrap it around the jalapeno and place on the rack that is on the cookie sheet. 

Step Five:

Bake on 375 -400 for about 20-30 minutes, maybe a little longer if you want your cream cheese to be a little 'toasted'. 

Last but not least, let it sit for about five minutes before you dig in, otherwise you will have hot hot hot bacon, and hot hot hot cream cheese in your mouth. 

Tip in case you got Jalapeno juice anywhere it shouldn't be. Use milk, you can soak your hand in milk, your nose [just don't inhale], though for your eyes, wash them out with water! Also if its too spicy to eat, try eating with honey! Helps cool the spice. 

Home-made Laundry Soap!

Okay everyone, so I was searching Pintrest for a while and found some different things to try and help save money. One of the things that caught my eye was make your own laundry detergent.  Well I can say I was willing to try but I had my doubts because well it said that you only need one tablespoon per load. If that was true I was going to jump for joy (which I ended up doing) so I had  to try it because its annoying having to buy laundry soap all the time, plus its also costly. So having spent less then 20 dollars to get all the items needed, I went to work. 

I made one batch and it looks like I won't be running out any time soon. I'll let you all know how long it lasts, but I can say I've already been using it about two weeks, and lots of loads of laundry later I haven't even made a dent in it. 

These are the things you need to make it:

This was optional I just had it so I used it

•   1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle    
•  1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle, or the detergent isle.     
•  1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle     
• 3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap, found in the detergent isle (if you use Zote bars use 2 bars instead, Zote can be found at Home Depot or sometimes Walmart)     
• 2 small containers of Oxy Clean or store brand Oxy Clean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.  I used the Dirty Jobs version. I have a baby, and a husband who is a mechanic, so there are messy clothes. 
• And I added in some washing crystals from scentsy because we had them and it make it smell that much better.
• Plus you will need a grater, as well as some trash bags and a place to store your detergent when its made. 
• 
  

Step by Step Process:

Step One ~ Your gonna have to use some strength and grate those bars of soap. {Warning: Do not let children play with it, it does look like grated cheese when its done} 

Step Two ~ Pour everything into a bag, and then get ready for mixing. I suggest double bagging it, because it is rather heavy. If you have a five gallon bucket you can mix it in there too, but I didn't have one. 

Step Three ~ Once its all mixed find a place to store it. I bought a little chip holder thing from walmart. Holds a good amount, just make sure to store whatever left over you might have in a place where it will not get wet.

Last but not least, Like I said before it only needs a table spoon, maybe two if its a really dirty load. And it works wonders, stains that where old and in clothes that had been washed before, are not stainless and clean, I can't believe it, and you only have to use so little. Below is a picture of how much I use per load and like I said it works wonders. 

I do encouarage anyone trying to save money to try this. Plus if you have kids its a great thing to make, takes out all those nasty stains that may happen. 

Hello World

Hello one and all and welcome to my Blog. I decided to make a blog having been inspired to well try and better myself, as well as my family wanting to get better together. So this blog will be a mish-mash of random things, from crafting, to food, to some inspirational things. 

A little about me and my family. Me and my hubby got married in December 2012, we have a baby girl is a red head like he and I. We are trying to get in the habit of Saving money, and the more things that we can make by and the better! Plus it also helps because then we know where all the ingredients come from. 

Anyway I hope you all find something that will help, or inspire you!

Thank you,
Sandra Gibbs