Using Kool-Aid to dye your Easter Eggs!

This is a fun way to dye your Easter Eggs & Kool-aid packets are cheaper than egg dyes.  And it's soooo simple!

Dissolve one packet of Kool-aid in 1 cup water.  Hard boil your eggs like you normally would.  Take a dishrag & dip it in vinegar, then wipe the eggs before dying.  This helps clean them for a more even coloring.  Dip eggs in the Kool-aid mixture.  The long you leave it the darker the color will be.  It will dry a little lighter then the color it is when it is wet.

Two colors you needn't bother trying - lemon lime (no color) and grape (came out an ugly brown which you can see in the upper right in the image at the beginning of this post).
Orange, lime, berry and strawberry work great! 
However, although lime makes a lovely green and berry a gorgeous blue, the orange actually turns out a deep rich yellow and strawberry is more orange than red.

Now just so you know...when you peel your egg, it will be spotted (stained from the Kool-aid)...they are safe to eat and the Kool-aid doesn't flavor the eggs.

 
 Have fun with it!  And if you figure out how to make a pretty purple egg, let me know!  Hugs...

5 ingredients & dinner is made!

I love simple meals...mainly because I can't cook...but mostly because I hate cleaning up afterwards...so here is an easy 5 ingredient casserole...

Pizza Bake

2 pouches (7.5 oz each) Bisquick Complete buttermilk biscuit mix
1 cup water
1 jar (14 oz) Pizza sauce
1 package (8 oz) sliced pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

Heat oven to 375'.  Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  In medium bowl, mix Bisquick & water until soft dough forms.  Drop half of the dough by spoonfuls evenly in bottom of baking dish. (dough will not completely cover bottom of dish)

Drizzle about 1 cup of pizza sauce over dough.  Arrange 1/2 the pepperoni slices over sauce.  Tip with 1 cup cheese.  Repeat layers with remaining dough, pizza sauce, pepperoni slices, & cheese.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.  cut into squares & serve.

**Tip:  Put whatever you like on your pizza's in this casserole...if you like onions, put some sliced onions, if you like sausage, put some sausage...make this Pizza Bake to your liking...

6 things you can do with Fabric Softener Sheets

There are so many things you can do with items around your house...so today, we're going to talk about Fabric Softener Sheets and some of the neat little you can do with them...

Pick Up Pet Hair - Don't throw away those used fabric softener sheets...use it to wipe across furniture and wipe up pet hair 

End Car Odors - No more new car smell?  Instead you have old car stale?  Why not put a new dryer sheet under each car seat?  This will counteract musty odors and cigarette smells..

Did you burn last nights dinner?  The next time you have burnt food on a pan and/or casserole dish, don't scrub it..instead put some hot water in the pan/dish and put in 3 or 4 used fabric sheets...Soak over night, wipe the pan/dish clean in the morning.  Then wash pan/dish as normal...

No more dusty electronics - A used dryer sheet will attract dust from your computer/computer screen, t.v. screen, etc.  The dryer sheets reduce static, and they will remove the dust and keep it from resettling for several days....

Need help with Static Cling?  Keep used dryer sheets in your pocket book and the next time you start having static cling, dampen the dryer sheet and wipe it over your pantyhose...no more clinging skirt...

Clean your blinds - Take a used dryer sheet and wipe the plats of your blinds.  It will remove the dust and keep it from coming back longer than usual.

So the next time you do your laundry...save those dryer sheets and use them again...this helps reduce, reuse & recycle...

A new twist on Eggs for Breakfast...

Here's a neat little idea for just you or for when you have company...Baked Eggs in Bread!  Toast and Eggs with Twist!  And it's so simple to do...

Ingredients

• 8  crusty dinner rolls
• 8  large eggs
• 1/4  cup  chopped mixed herbs, such as parsley, chives and tarragon
• 2  tablespoons  heavy cream
• Salt and pepper
• 4  tablespoons  grated Parmesan

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg. Arrange rolls on a rimmed baking sheet. Reserve tops.
2. Crack an egg into each roll, then top with some herbs and a bit of cream. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
3. Bake until eggs are set and bread is toasted, 20 to 25 minutes. After eggs have cooked for 20 minutes, place bread tops on baking sheet and bake until golden brown. Let sit 5 minutes. Place tops on rolls and serve warm.

Container Gardening in Apartments

Just because you live in an apartment doesn't mean you can't have freshly grown vegetables...Container gardening is fast becoming quite popular with people who live in apartments.

There are some vegetables that work better then others, so here's a list of vegetables that are easy apartment growers...

Vegetables for Containers

1. Beets - Fresh beets have a whole different taste than pickled ones. These can be grown in as little space as a cake pan and are better picked small and tender, about the size of a silver dollar.
2. Spinach – Fresh spinach is good both cooked and raw and it is another vegetable that can be grown in a small container. The leaves are best picked young and tender. One of the best things about spinach is that it doesn’t have to grow fruit so it doesn’t need a large container to support it. This is a cool weather plant and does not like hot summer days.
3. Leaf Lettuce - Like spinach, leaf lettuce can be grown in a small container and doesn’t need hot summer days to mature. Pick when leaves are young and tender. Start pots at different times so you have a continuous supply.
4. Patio Tomatoes – They are coming up with more and more types of tomatoes that are suited to container growing. Traditional tomatoes take a huge amount of dirt and grow to be 3 or 4 feet tall and wide if not supported. Patio tomatoes are more compact and were bred to retain a small size and be grown in a pot.
5. Radishes – Like beets, radishes don’t need a huge pot to grow and mature fairly quickly. These are fun to grow and make a great addition to any salad.
6. Green Peppers – These take a fairly good size pot and are definitely warm weather plants but they are not difficult to grow. They can be used in a variety of dishes and freeze well. If you are feeling a bit experimental, there is a new variety of mini peppers that you can buy. They are small and colorful.
7. Green Beans – While I would normally not recommend growing green beans in a container, they have come up with several varieties of dwarf green beans that are recommended and actually as you can plant 16 green bean plants in a square foot I would imagine these would do fairly well in a container.
8. Eggplant – Eggplant is a mainstay in Mediterranean cooking. It’s compact size makes it an ideal choice for container growing.
9. Garlic Chives – This is one of my favorites. It’s a beautiful flower and every part of the plant is edible.
10. Swiss Chard – Fresh Swiss Chard has a sweet buttery flavor that is delicious. The grocery store variety loses SO much of the flavor that it barely resembles the garden variety. Try it fresh and sauted in a bit of olive oil with a hint of garlic.
11. A pot of Herbs - You can mix and match herbs in a container. Basil, thyme, sage, tarragon, rosemary will all grow fine. My choices to put together would be basil, thyme and sage. Basil is an upright annual plant while sage is kind of sprawly. Thyme is a low grower so the three together make an interesting potted arrangement. All but basil are perennial.

So depending on how much space you have and time you have to spend on it, you could grow quite a little vegetable garden in pots...Even if you just want fresh tomatoes, why not try it and see what happens...next year you might find that you want to try tomatoes and lettuce...

Keeping Your Dog Safe this Summer

I know it might not feel like it right now, but summer is on it's way...and with summer, comes heat...now we know how to protect ourselves from the dog day of summer, but do we know how to keep our dogs safe?

Here's a few tips to keep your furbaby happy and safe this summer...

Hot weather is hard on pets as well as people. Try to exercise pets in the early morning or late evening when the weather is cool. Keep pets safely at home versus taking them in the car. The inside of a car can heat up to 110 degrees in 10 minutes on an 80 degree day even with the windows slightly open. Your pet could be in danger even on a moderately hot day.

Think twice before bringing your dog to the park or playing with them outside on very hot days. When there is not enough shade or access to water, they can quickly become dehydrated. When taking pets for walks on hot days, be sure to pack plenty of water for you and them!

Remember your pet’s breed. Breeds with short noses like Pugs and Persians are more susceptible to breathing difficulty in hot weather.

Plan ahead for vacations. If your pet cannot go with you, find a trusted and competent pet sitter. Check references, qualifications and training. When choosing a kennel, make a personal visit to check for cleanliness, staff qualifications, security, safety, health requirements, and veterinary care. Ask your pet’s veterinarian and others for referrals and request references from the business.

Take your pet for a check up. Test dogs for heartworm and groom pets regularly to check for fleas and ticks. Ask your veterinarian about heartworm and flea preventative medication for both dogs and cats.

Always have your pets wear a collar and current ID tag. The summer months are an especially busy time for lost pet calls to shelters. If your pet has no collar or ID tag, the chances of finding him diminishes greatly.

Finally, make sure that your pets and your friends and family’s pets are spayed and neutered.

If your pet exhibits the following signs please contact your veterinarian and animal emergency service as these are signs of heat stroke and can prove fatal: excessive panting, vomiting, tiring easily, diminished appetite, and lethargy.

The Health Benefits of Cinnamon & Honey

It is so easy to get honey and cinnamon into your diet.  Honey is a wonderful sweetener in teas.  Cinnamon can be added to pancake mix for cinnamon pancakes or to oatmeal.  Be healthy! 

For Curing Arthritis

 Make a paste of one part honey, teaspoon cinnamon and two parts warm water.  Massage this mixture on the area that hurts.  You should feel a difference within about 15 minutes.

Hair Loss 

Apply a paste made of hot olive oil, one Tablespoon honey, one teaspoon cinnamon powder.  Rub this into your scalp and leave on for 15 minutes.  Then shower as usual.

Toothache
Mix one teaspoon of cinnamon powder & five teaspoons of honey.  Apply to the aching tooth.  This should reduce the tooth pain with about 15 minutes.  You can do this up to 3 times a day.

Reducing Cholesterol
Mix 2 Tablespoons of honey and 3 teaspoons of cinnamon powder into 16 ounces of tea & drink.  Within 2 hours, this has been known to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10%.

Cure Colds
Suffering from the common cold?  Mix 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon with 1 Tablespoon of warm honey.  Take by the spoonful every day for 3 days.  This will help with most chronic coughs and clear the sinuses.

Stomach Upset
Upset stomach?  Got a little gas?  Mix equal parts of cinnamon and honey and take orally.

Immune System
Honey and cinnamon powder have been found to strengthen the immune system.  So try to get honey and cinnamon into your diet as much as possible.

Weight Loss

Honey and warm water: Normally fat remains as an un-used resource in your body adding bulk and weight. It is believed that honey mobilizes this stored fat. When this fat is burnt to provide energy for your daily activities, you see a gradual decrease in your weight and obesity levels. It is suggested that you drink this honey (about one tablespoon daily), with equal amount of warm water.

Honey and lemon juice: Honey can also help in weight loss when consumed with warm water and lemon juice. Many people drink this formula first thing in the morning to reduce their weight.