Cleaning Pet Stains from the Carpet

Patti Luper Brown

Pet potty spots on the carpet. I use good old vinegar and baking soda. The steps are the important part. Pour enough vinegar to soak the stain and THEN add a small amount of baking soda. If you do the reverse, you will have a noisy, bubbly mess. Do it the right way, and you can hear the recipe cackling away, telling you how it is cleaning and deodorizing without leaving any residue. You need to let the spot dry for a day or two before sweeping up and then vacuuming. We cover the spot with a bowl or plate so that we don’t have baking soda kicked from heck to breakfast. You can actually see the yellow color being absorbed up into your little mountain of baking soda. Works on old stains too!

Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Bendi Cowan

Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting -

•2 eggs, slightly beaten
•3/4 cup packed brown sugar
•1/2 cup canola oil
•1/4 cup honey
•1 tsp vanilla
•1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
•1 cup shredded zucchini
•1/2 cup chopped walnuts
•1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 tsp baking powder
•1/2 tsp ground ginger
•1/4 tsp baking soda

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

•1 (8 oz) pkg reduced fat cream cheese
•1 cup powdered sugar
•1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
1.Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla. Don’t worry about clumps of the brown sugar, those will dissolve as it sits while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Then fold in the carrot, zucchini, and walnuts
2.In another bowl combine add the flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda. Whisk to blend together.
3.Add to flour mixture to the wet mixture. Stir just until combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
4.Bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
5.Once the cake is cooled prepare the frosting. In a medium mixing bowl, beat the fosting ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled bars. Makes 36 bars.

Homemade Jewelry Cleaner

Robyn Markham

Homemade Jewelry Cleaner

1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon dish detergent
1 cup water
1 piece aluminum foil

Directions:
1. Heat water in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes.
2. Cut a piece of aluminum foil that roughly covers the bottom of a small bowl (like a cereal bowl).
3. Pour hot water into bowl. Place salt, soda, and dishwashing liquid into bowl. Place jewelry on top of foil and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Rinse jewelry in cool water and dry jewelry completely with soft cloth. Discard solution after use and make a new batch next time.
4. According to wire-sculpture.com, "this works well for gold-filled, brass, german (nickel) silver, and sterling silver. I have even cleaned jewelry with freshwater pearls, shell cameos and mother of pearl with no problem.".

The Ultimate Stain Remover

Betty Taylor Jones

The ultimate stain remover that actually works on a seriously set in stain! Never buy oxy clean again!

The mixture is
1 tsp. Dawn dishwashing detergent
3-4 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide
couple tablespoons of baking soda.
Scrub on with a scrubbing brush 

Baking Soda and Peroxide Cleaning Scrub

Spring Cleaning Recipe for the Grout

Wesley Jueckstock

Spring Cleaning Recipe for the Grout

Always "SHARE" with friends and family ;-)

7 cups water,
1/2 cup baking soda, 
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup vinegar

throw in a spray bottle and spray your floor, let it sit for a minute or two... then scrub :)

Apple Praline Bread

Carl Barbaro

Nothing like bread...especially Apple bread...baking in the oven on a winters day. The house smells wonderful! And this bread is to die for!

It is a KEEPER!!!! So tasty!

Apple Praline Bread

Ingredients:
1 cup sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely chopped
1 cup nuts (walnut or pecan or a combo), divided

For the praline sauce:
¼ cup brown sugar and ¼ cup butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. Set aside. (I used stoneware loaf pan for perfect cooking)

Using an electric mixer, beat together the sour cream, sugar, eggs and vanilla on low speed for a couple of minutes until well blended. Stop the mixer and then add in the flour, leavening agents and salt. Continue to beat on low until well combined.

Fold in the apples and half the nuts into the batter. Transfer the batter into the greased loaf pan.
Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on top and then press them lightly into the batter. Bake for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool in the loaf pan for about 20-30 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. So it doesn't get too dark, I suggest using a light colored loaf pan.

For the praline sauce:

In a small sauce pan, place the butter and brown sugar. Using medium heat, bring to a boil. Lower the heat and then simmer lightly for about one minute, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and then drizzle over the bread. Cool completely.