WFMW

Updated:  I thought soon after I posted this that I should have included a recipe, and then one of y’all even asked for it (great minds…) so here it is:

-one cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves

-1/2 cup firmly packed parsley sprigs

-1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan

-1/4 cup pine nuts

-1 large clove garlic, smashed

-1/4 cup olive oil

In food processor combine basil leaves, parsley, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt.  Pulse in food processor until paste forms.  Stream in olive oil until you reach desired consistency.  One little note here…I generally leave out the pine nuts, and have often used only basil, no parsley.  It is lovely just the same.  You may need to adjust the amount of olive oil you add if you do this.  Play around with it and make it how you like–you won’t be sorry! 

 

Summer is wonderful with all its tastes and smells, and then cometh Autumn.  Now, I LOVE Autumn–it’s my fave.  however, the fresh herbs tend to whither away pretty quickly once the weather turns.  And there is nothing like fresh basil to transport you back into summer, even on the coldest of wintry days.  I generally have so much basil I don’t know what to do with it all.  So what I do periodically throughout the summer is make pesto.  Pesto freezes very well–Just put it in ice cube trays for the perfect sized serving, freeze it, and then you have “summer” all year round!  And folks, it’s not just for pasta…you can use it as a dipper for grilled chicken, a marinade or rub, you can flavor soups with it.  I even plop a dollop of it in the middle of the kids’ spaghetti plates.  They LOVE it!  Give it a try!

Go to Rocks In My Dryer for more things that work!

WFMW

Lunchtime for kids can be boring and mundane, or it can be fun, fresh and exciting.  I first came across this idea a couple years ago when summer vacation started for the kiddos.  I admit, I have not kept up with the menu, which I’ll just go ahead and blame on Ella.  A 10 month old baby girl that is into everything (including pulling out all the sandwich baggies from their box as I type this) makes everything a little more challenging…  But the idea is this:  I make out a weekly lunch menu, enlisting the kids for help with ideas.  We make fun things for lunch, like pbj sushi, veggies and crackers with pb dip, cheese quesadillas with salsa and cucumbers on the side, smoothies and muffins, chicken nuggets with veggie dippers, and cheese sampler plates with fresh fruit, etc.  They are always excited to see what is for lunch that day, and they always eat a good meal!  Plus, they love to help prepare the meals, so it becomes an activity and learning experience as well.  What could be better!  Check out more Works For Me Wednesday ideas at www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com.

 

 

   

WFMW

Yeehaw it’s Wednesday!  That means another addition of Works For Me Wednesday.  Here goes…  This is that most beautiful time of year when all the lilies are beginning to pop through the earth.  I get SO excited when I walk outside and see what is new each morning.  Until it happens…the beautiful green shoots are nibbled to the ground by the deer, or the bunnies, or whatever other wildlife munches greens.  I have found the most wonderful product–invisible fence.  It has made my gardens deer, etc.,  resistant-no kidding.  And not only that, it is all natural!  The other night around midnight I awoke to find the deer, three of them, in my neighbors front yard munching his new grass.  The next morning, I went outside to see whether or not my plants had been touched, and not one little tender leaf had been touched!  So while I was highly skeptical that it would work, I am now highly recommending it to anyone who will listen–that’s YOU folks!  Good luck, and happy gardening!  Please visit Shannon at www.Rocksinmydryer.typepad.com for more awesome tips!!!

 

WFMW

No big intro today…still suffering the effects of the Johnson Family Plague of 2008…  My big secret for you is a little product called Nature’s Miracle.  I have to date only been able to find it at pet stores.  This, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles for a mama with four kids and a large, messy dog (although we don’t have a dog anymore I still consider it a miracle).  This product with remove odors, and stains, of any natural element I have come across.  I have used it to remove coffee stains in carpet, blood, red wine, chocolate, mustard, catsup, vomit, poop, urine, mud, etc, etc, etc.  About 2 months ago, my daughter vomited in the car, and it was EVERYWHERE!  The smell was awful, and I feared we would never get it all out, but my dear husband set to the task of scrubbing it down with Nature’s miracle and lo and behold, after about 3 days, the smell had vanished.  I have not yet come across a stain I cannot get out with this stuff.  Sometimes it takes a while, (as in the coffee stain in the carpet–it took about a month for the stain to fade completely), but eventually it works.  If you’ve got a stubborn stain or odor, give it a try.  Head over to Shannon’s at www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com for more useful tips and tidbits!

WFMW

Today is a backwards edition of Works For Me Wednesday(visit Rocks in my Dryer for more questions!), so I thought I would ask anyone out there in the blogosphere if it is possible to get that black mildew out of latex shower caulk (thank you for the suggestion Shannon!)  No amount of bleach is working for me, no amount of scrubbing, no amount of mildew remover–to this point–has worked.  Do I just have to remove and recaulk the entire shower?  HELP! 

Works for me Wednesday

Forgive me if the wfmw artwork does not show up…I’m new to this blogging world and I’ve yet to figure out for sure how to get that up with my post. Anyway, here is a little tip for you… I have found that my kitchen cloths and drying towels are always stinky! I could not figure out how to get the smell out of them for the life of me, until I tried Borax. So each week, I take all of my dirtied kitchen towels (plus anything else that may need a good soak-wish I could throw myself in there) and throw them in the wash together on the soak cycle with 1/2 cup of borax. After a good long soak (like an 8 hour soak or overnight), I add another 1/2 cup of borax, plus the regular detergent and run a heavy duty wash cycle and they come out smelling fresh and clean as a whistle! If your towels get stinky, give it a try!!!

WFMW

Works for me Wednesday…This week’s theme is online shopping.  My favorite place to shop online is Janie and Jack.  Yes, it is a bit pricey, but I can usually find some deals when their new styles come out.  And for holidays, I have rarely found anything more beautiful than the girls’ dresses and darling boys’ pants and sweaters.  Like I said, it’s a little pricey, but for special occasions, it is the first place I go.  Another fun place is Chasing-Fireflies.com.  Beautiful things here.  The clothes is gorgeous, but outrageously priced for kids’ clothes.  But they do have quite a few boutique-type items that are just precious.  If nothing else, it is fun to look!