Dishwasher Detailing

Just try to keep your socks on for this super exciting post today.  Today’s post is all about…..(drumroll)……cleaning your dishwasher!  Did you like that suspense?  You might be thinking “who the heck cleans their dishwasher, doesn’t it clean itself?  Has Mrs. C lost her mind”?  The short answer is no, I have not lost my mind.

I started to notice that the glasses were coming out of the dishwasher with food stuck to the bottom of them.  Typically I noticed this when I was halfway done with my water and finally realized there was icky stuff in my glass.  One day I had enough and decided it was time to clean our dishwasher.  Here’s what I did:

1. Check the bottom of the dishwasher to ensure there’s nothing blocking the drain.

2. Pour 1 cup of vinegar in a dishwasher safe measuring cup/bowl and set it on the top rack.  The dishwasher should be empty except for this.

3. Run a full cycle on the hottest setting (I find that it helps to run the sink water until it’s hot – I know, not super eco-friendly- before I start the dishwasher)

4. Once the cycle has finished, wipe down the inside of the dishwasher, including the bottom.  Be careful to avoid burning yourself on the heating element.

That’s it!  I was shocked at how clean my dishes have been since then.  The glasses come out sparkly clean now and it was so simple I wish I had tried it earlier.

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!  One of the reasons I love Earth Day is because Target always gives out free bags!  There are other reasons to enjoy the day though; one being that it’s a great reminder to examine how our living is directly impacting our world.  In the past few years there’s been a huge push to “be green”.  While the slogan is overused and a bit tacky, many companies have been jumping on the bandwagon and upping their recycling efforts.  By now, recycling is pretty thoughtless; most of us have recycle bins at work and home that accept almost anything.  I found out the other day that we can recycle plates at work – plates that have BBQ sauce and coleslaw smeared all over them, as long as you scrape them off.  That’s just plain craziness!

A few years ago I went on a natural/eco-friendly kick but I realized that it’s important to do what works for your lifestyle and time. I’m not suggesting to only do what’s easy, but if you have 10 kids and live in a snowy climate then drying your clothes on a line probably isn’t going to work for you.  Here are a few small, but easy things we’ve continued doing at the Centner house to do our part for the environment.

We ALWAYS take our reusable bags to the grocery store.  It was difficult to remember for the first few weeks but eventually it became a habit and I just grab them when I grab my grocery list.  We bought a few large canvas bags from Whole Foods and what fits in one bag is equal to about 4-7 plastic bags (BTW, what’s up with those baggers only putting 2 items in each plastic bag?).  We’ve had the canvas bags for at least two years and they have held up great.   Most places give you around a 5 cent credit per bag as well so theoretically the bags would pay for themselves in ten years….ok, maybe sooner….

We even went a step farther and bought our own produce bags as well.  I ordered these from a wonderful shop on Etsy, Love for Earth but I’ve seen them popping up in a lot of stores lately.  We get lots of compliments from cashiers on these so if you’re trying to pick up a cashier these might be your meal ticket!

We also use small bags from Whole Foods for our lunches.  Previously I would take plastic grocery bags to work and end up throwing them away when I was finished which  just resulted in a lot of trash.  These do wear out eventually but last a good year if you take care of them and I've seen so many other cute lunch bags.

We purchased reusable ziplock type bags to use for things like veggies, fruit, and sandwiches in our lunches (also from Love for Earth).  I have to admit that I haven’t been using these as much as I used to, but if you pack lunches they are a great investment.  We also use Tupperware type containers for things I used to put in ziplock bags, such as grapes, chips, veggies, etc.  These require a small investment in the beginning but have definitely paid themselves off since I’m not buying ziplock bags like they are going out of style anymore.

Last year I decided to try to cut out as many paper products as possible (I'm never getting rid of toilet paper though...that’s a bit too far for me!).  We started by buying some basic cloth napkins that we use everyday.  I love that they can be bleached and they look much nicer than paper napkins.  I found these on Etsy from Love for Earth (I REALLY like their products if you can't tell) as well.

Lastly, I switched to mostly Norwex products for cleaning.  My friend began selling them last year and I was hooked from the beginning.  The cloths are all antibacterial which means that I can clean my bathroom counter and mirrors (among other things) with just the cloths and water.  I’ve saved so much money on cleaning products and I appreciate that I can avoid using harsh chemicals.  Eventually I purchased the sweeper and mop which work like a swiffer except that I can wash the pads instead of throwing them away.

I’m setting more eco goals for myself this year and hope I've inspired you to set a few for your house this year.  For one, I’m hoping to actually begin using those reusable Target bags. 

The little things really do add up, especially if everyone is doing their part.  When I change the toilet paper roll and think that it would be so much easier to throw it away than to walk to the recycle bin (which isn’t honestly that far away), I just think about how my 20 second laziness will mean that there’s one more item going to the dump.  I find my way to the recycle bin pretty darn quickly.

FYI - I’m not being compensated to endorse any of these products/companies – I just enjoy their products and hope you will too.

Happy Earth Day!

Mushroom Stuffed Shells

I'm back!  I'm sorry for my lack of blogging, I've just had so much going on and to be honest I think I misplaced my motivation for awhile as well.  Sometimes you just need a break and I decided to just let myself take one.  Although I was breaking from blogging, I didn't stop trying out new recipes and I have some wonderful ones to share with you.  I really can't even remember how I ever found anything online before Pinterest.  Did I have to google everything?  That sounds horrible!

Without further ado, I have one of my favorite cool weather recipes to share with you.  For those of you in the states that actually have seasons, this is a great time of year to make this.  For those of you also in AZ, you might want to whip this up soon since we're already hitting the 80's and it's only going downhill from here!

I stumbled upon a stuffed shells recipe and made a few tweeks until I was completely in love with it.  It's one of my favorite dishes to make during the week because it reheats well and we have delicious leftovers for days after.

Stuffed Shells

Slightly adapted from: 101cookbooks.com

8-10 servings

Sauce Ingredients

1/3 c. olive oil

1 ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes

dash of salt

6 garlic cloves (this translates to 2-3 large spoonfuls of minced garlic to me...)

28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

14 oz. can chopped tomatoes

Filling Ingredients

15 oz. container light ricotta cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 c. grated mozzarella

1 bunch chives, chopped

lemon zest (1/3 of lemon)

1 lb. baby bella mushrooms, sliced

butter or oil for cooking

25-30 jumbo dried pasta shells

Put a large pot to boil and prepare shells in well-salted water according to directions (prepare al dente).  DO NOT OVERCOOK shells.  In the meantime, make the sauce and filling.  If noodles are cooked before sauce and filling is ready, I drain them and drizzle a bit of olive oil over them to keep them from sticking together.

To make sauce – combine olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, and garlic in saucepan.  Sauté for about a minute or until fragrant.  Stir in tomatoes and heat to gentle simmer.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  Simmer until ready to assemble shells.

To make filling – Sauté mushrooms in butter or oil until cooked (I start with 1 TB butter or oil and add more as needed).  Mushrooms will release liquid, darken, and will be very tender.  I typically sample quite a few just to make sure they are done :)

Combine all filling ingredients in medium bowl and mix well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and begin assembling shells.

Spread 1/3 of sauce across bottom of 9 x 13 pan.  Fill each shell with filling and arrange in a single layer across pan. (I like to lay out the filled shells on a cutting board so I can adjust the filling as needed).  Ladle remaining sauce over shells, cover with foil, and bake for 30 minutes, removing foil after 15 minutes.  

Enjoy!  I'd love to know what you think if you try these.  They can be very addicting!

January Loves

I love getting recommendations for almost anything; I think that you have to feel strongly about something to recommend it to your best friend or mother.  That's how I've found some of my favorite books, restaurants, stores, products and so many other things.  At the end of every month I'll be posting my "loves of the month", my favorite books, music, movies, food, and anything else I think you just shouldn't live without knowing about.

I spent a lot of January reading and I was trying to get away from the young adult books (since I'm about 10 years out of that age bracket), but I read some great reviews about the book Divergent by Veronica Roth so I decided to give it a try.  I had that book and the sequel, Insurgent, done in less than a week and found myself sad that I'd have to wait months for the third book.  The book has a very Hunger Games feel and similarly has a dystopian setting.  For me, the book was an insightful look into community, finding oneself, and an ultimate choice between right and wrong and it was a nice change from some of the other young adult books that have one main focus.

If you're looking for something a bit more serious, I Couldn't Love You More by Jillian Medoff is also a great read.  I was sucked into this book as well and found myself on the couch reading whenever I had a free minute.  This book ultimately dealt with the impossible choice when a parent must pick which child to save.  Entertwined through the book are stories of family relationships, dealing with the past, and moments that change lives forever.

Lastly I have some amazing music to recommend.  I downloaded The Lumineers album for my flight home over Christmas and I fell in love with it instantly.  The Lumineers are a folk rock band although most people would probably label them alternative.  Once mainstream music picks up alt songs that's usually about the time I become sick of them, but I'm still in love with this album, even the very overplayed song Ho Hey.  This has quickly become the playlist I throw on when I'm cooking and I seem to find a way to play it almost daily even when I'm not cooking.  The songs are catchy but soulful and the album has a very unique feel; going from sweet with the cello playing the background to a rockish feel that always seems to lead to me dancing in the kitchen with Coconut or a spatula (Coconut gets sick of dancing with me sometimes).  

If you have any books, music, unknown movie, amazing website, or anything else you'd like to recommend, I'd love to hear about it!  You can always share your recommendations in the comments section or on my blog facebook page and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the books or album if you give them a shot :)

Happy 2013!

2012 was full of small joys, new experiences, some sad and trying times, some friendships made deeper and some that didn't stand up, the familiar presence of family and friends, and a lot of the everyday routine that comes from working, cooking, cleaning, and sleeping like any normal human being.  As I was reading friends' posts on facebook, I realized that 2012 was a slightly uneventful year for me.  We had some celebrations and milestones, but if I'm being honest, I'd say I was a bit lazy/comfortable in 2012 actually.  

Mr. C and I spent the afternoon of January 1, 2013 being lazy so I certainly hope that's not an indication of the year to come.  I don't really believe in resolutions because they seem to just be set to be broken.  They're overdone and every year it seems that the same resolutions come up, proving that not much came of them the year before.  However, every year around January 1 I get a burst of energy and decide I want to organize everything, eat super healthy, take walks daily, do my devotions, get plenty of sleep, and spend time focusing on the people I love while maybe making some huge changes like moving to China or saving a million dollars (still working on the lottery for that one...).  I follow that up with thinking, "this year (insert year) is going to be the best EVER!"  Then life kicks in and I find myself driving the same way to work, groggy and eating my not-so-amazing breakfast I grabbed on my way out the door as I power-walked faster than I have in months since I haven't been taking daily walks.  I glance at the calendar, and realize holy cow, it's December 31st and I've forgotten all my resolutions.  This is the relationship between resolutions and I.  It's not that I don't love my life; it's pretty great in so many ways, but we all have things we want to change, and resolutions are the hope that in the new year we'll do just that.  Sometimes life becomes too full of things that we forget to stop and take some time to do something that makes our day extraordinary or just appreciate everything we've been blessed with.  So no matter how I try to give up, I can't stop that excitement that hits me when I realize it's a new year.  This year I'm not writing specific resolutions but I have ideas in my head about things I'd like to work on, and this year I'm going to attempt to do just that.  Without setting myself up for failure, I've decided that this year is going to be the best year ever (I used lowercase letters to show how I wasn't letting myself get caught up in this new year's thing).  I hope the new year holds amazing things for you and I'd like to thank you again for caring enough to let me share a part of my life with you through my blog, even when I've had a lazy year and become a bit of a blogger slacker :)  One of my resolutions is to be a better blogger!

Santa's Chef Picks

There's always someone on everyone's list who is impossible to buy for.  They don't really need anything, they either have no hobbies or have ridiculously expensive ones like collecting jets, or they're super picky.  If you can relate to this, I'm sorry to tell you that I have no solution to that problem.  However, I have made a list of some of my favorite things in the kitchen, so if you have any chefs or bakers you're not sure what to get, I can help you with that!  These are things I use constantly and am constantly thankful for or raving about them.  No one has paid me to recommend anything, but I thought I'd share some of my favs with you because I knew you were just dying for my recommendations.  You might even find yourself wrapping one up for yourself.  Everyone does that, right?  Happy shopping!


Flexible Grip Mats from Crate&Barrel

What I love most about these mats is that you get three in different colors so we designate the white one for meat only.  The boards are flexible which makes them easy to throw chopped up veggies into a pot or a bowl.  I like these so much I ended up buying a second set because my first ones were always dirty.


Parker Nesting Bowl Set from Crate&Barrel

I should begin with saying that I also have two sets of these bowls (I broke the big one and was heartbroken so I got another set because I used the biggest bowl so much).  The colors offered change depending on the time of year.  I love having different sizes and there's always at least one coming out of the dishwasher because I really do use them daily.


Cookbook Stand from Crate&Barrel

If you hadn't noticed, I kinda have a thing for Crate and Barrel.  I've found some unique, reasonably priced things there I love and their products seem to hold up really well, so I'm a big fan.  They also have great customer service which is a really big thing for me.  Anyhow, this was a gift from Mr. C and I never thought I'd be so happy to get a kitchen related item for Christmas.  I love cookbooks and this is perfect for using them and keeping the pages clean.  It works much better than the method I used before which involved laying the cookbook on the counter and piling cans on the corners to keep the book open.


Progressive 19-Piece Measuring Cup and Spoon Set

This was also a gift from Mr. C.  When I said I wanted measuring cups I really wanted some pretty ones....you know, the ones that aren't really functional but look good.  Well, he got these instead and they are amazing.  Instead of having to use 2 measuring cups to get 1 1/4 cup I can just grab one of these.  They are BFF's with my bowls and cutting boards since they hang out in the dishwasher together so often.


Spatula set from Target
Awhile back I bought a mini spatula set from Target and I'm in love with the thing.  I couldn't find it online  but I did find this set that has multiple sizes.  I honestly believe a person can never have too many spatulas and I love the silicone ones.  I've also had great luck at finding some at Home Goods and Marshalls pretty cheap.



Lettuce Knife from Target
You might think a knife just for lettuce sounds stupid, but using a regular knife on your lettuce can cause it to turn brown faster.  I couldn't find one available online, but target always seems to have some available in their kitchen section.



Kitchen Scrub Cloth from Norwex
My wonderful friend Kari sells Norwex and after ordering some things I was hooked.  I now only use Norwex towels to clean and love the dishcloths.  They're all anti-bacterial too.  Once you get one thing you'll be sucked in though, because the stuff is so amazing!


Cookbooks are always great gifts too I think.  I have an addiction to cookbooks but the ones I pull out the most are:
Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast
Eva's Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends

Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier

Bride & Groom: First and Forever Cookbook

Good luck with your Christmas shopping!

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh my goodness.  I had half a post written and I really was going to publish it but then I had a surprise party for Mr. C. that sucked up about a month of my time, and then I was in Christmas decorating mode, and then Thanksgiving happened (yes, this is in chronological order and Christmas decorating did occur before Thanksgiving for this year only), and then I geared up for the magicalness of Black Friday, and then I took a weekend to finally clean the house and relax a bit and now here we are and you never got to read the post.  But, I wrote you a new one with Christmasy stuff so you really aren't missing out on anything.

We took advantage of my parents being in town in November and recruited them for some Christmas decorating help.  My dad and Mr. C did the outside of the house with some little lights on the trees and the big ceramic bulbs around the roofline.  it makes me so happy when I get home!  My mom and I did a lot of the inside of the house and it was so nice to decorate with her again.  I was ready to change things up a little bit this year and it was very helpful to have another decorator to try things out I hadn't thought of.  My parents had never been in town when our Christmas stuff was up so it was really nice to be able to enjoy the decorations together for a couple days.

Oh pretty Christmas tree, how we love you!  We have a very large 9 ft. tree which Oreo has claimed as his own.  He also thinks the ornaments are strategically placed toys for him.  He's finally stopped batting at ornaments so much because he's moved onto chewing on my pretty wrapping paper.  Whose idea was it to get a cat anyhow???  Oh that's right....it was mine.  And if you're wondering why we don't put the presents under the tree like normal people, it's because Oreo is training us to do what he wants and apparently it's working.

Above the TV stand is some garland and our nutcracker collection.  We bought our first one when we went to the Nutcracker ballet and it's been a tradition since.  I love how unique they all are and for some reason they don't creep me out the way some nutcrackers do.

I did a little more decorating in our bedroom this year.  I added an extra mistletoe ball over the bed and wove some garland into the headboard.  We switched out our bright pillows and white duvet cover for the thicker, green duvet we use for the winter, and I'm really love looking at the bed all made up now with the decorations.  I also hung the "Merry Christmas" garland I made last year for our photos over the bed.

The tree in our bedroom is much smaller than our main one, but I love it because it holds most of our special ornaments.  Every year I usually get at least one ornament that represents something that happened that year. I love putting the ornaments on this tree because it brings back memories and each one really is so special to me.

I decided to make a new table centerpiece this year and made this for under $15!  

The ornaments in the middle came from Target's $1 section.  I already had the glass containers from our wedding centerpieces.  I found the greenery at Michaels for $1.99 and the snowflake ornaments were .50 each.  I cut off the thin hangers on the snowflakes and used ribbon to make them various heights.  It ties in perfectly with the colors on our tree too which I’m pretty darn excited about.

I hope you have your decorations up and are ready for Christmas!