Heather Solos's Blog, page 30

Grilled Cheese – A Basic Cooking Lesson from Home-Ec 101

Disclaimer: If you’re teaching  a young child to cook, these are intended to be a good starting point, but children will still need supervision as knives are sharp and stoves are hot. Capiche?

Heather says:


♫ Let’s start at the very beginning


A very good place to start


When you read you begin with A-B-C


When you sing you begin with do-re-mi ♪

Whether you’re looking to teach your child the very basics of cooking or you barely know your way around a kitchen and are looking to change that, learning to make a grilled cheese sandwich is an excellent first step.

The secret to a good grilled cheese sandwich is to keep the heat medium low (3-ish on many electric stoves, but stoves vary and you’ll have to experiment with your setup. If your bread is dark brown after two minutes, you’ll want to lower the heat for your next one). The lower heat allows the outside of the sandwich to cook slow enough that the cheese has time to melt before the outside of the bread burns.

Make sense? Let’s go.

You’ll need the following:

Ingredients

Bread (cheap is fine, but not so cheap that it’s full of holes that will let the cheese escape)
Butter
Cheese that melts (American, Havarti, Meunster, or Pepper Jack are all good starting points)

Tools

Stove or hot plate
Skillet or Frying Pan (anything with a flat bottom can be used in a pinch, your pan does not have to be fancy. I’ve taken to using restaurant grade aluminum that I get from a restaurant supply store. There’s no stress with these pans)
Spatula
Butter knife
Plate or paper towels / napkins
Knife – if you want to be all fancy and cut your sandwich.

Allow your butter to come to room temperature. Slice off about what you’ll need, in thin slices or pats, and set those on a plate rather than softening the whole stick. Surface to volume ratio is your friend. 

Put your pan on the burner or stove and set the heat to medium low and allow the pan to heat while you assemble your sandwich. 

Butter one side each of two pieces of bread. Pro-Tip: stick the butter sides together if you’re making more than one sandwiches so that you can lay out your cheese before cooking.

Add two slices of cheese to the unbuttered side of one slice of bread. Place the butter side down in your frying pan and let it cook for two – three minutes based on your preferences. During this time, add the second slice of bread with the butter side up.

Slide your spatula under the sandwich and use the side of the pan to help. Gently flip the sandwich so the uncooked side is now on the heat. Wait another two – three minutes and remove from the heat. 

If you want to see the photos larger, click the image below. 

Enjoy.

IMPORTANT: This is the first in a new series of Cooking Lessons on Home-Ec101.com. Mastering these simple recipes and techniques will help a cook feel confident in their abilities and get them ready to tackle more complicated endeavors.

 

                

Laundry Supplies: A Home-Ec 101 Guide

Clothes can get clean with just the basic soap and water, but good laundry supplies make doing the wash much easier. There are many detergents, softeners, and accessories and we’d like to help you figure out which ones work the best for you. Following are articles answering reader’s questions and sharing tips that we have learned; just click on the title of the article you want to read more of.

Ask the Audience: Where to Find a Fine Mesh Lingerie Bag

I was hoping you could help me find some lingerie bags. I’ve been looking for the kind with a very fine mesh so the bra hooks don’t snag my other clothing. I have been looking in the usual stores and all I can find are the bags with the large holes.

Borax and washing soda and where to find it all, oh my! (updated)

I have long wished to use washing soda and borax–suggested in all sorts of green home guides for everything from dishwashers to washing


machines–but I cannot find them locally. Internet searches have been to no avail either. Do you know where I can buy them online?

Can I Use Dish Soap in the Clothes Washer?

So, uh, how bad is it if I add a little liquid dish detergent when I’m running out of laundry detergent? I swear my momma didn’t raise me this way.

How to Use Bleach Safely

Over the past few years, I have gotten the impression that many people are using chlorine bleach in an unsafe manner. Chlorine bleach aka sodium hypochlorite is a powerful disinfectant and is one of only a few widely available, inexpensive sanitizing agents.

How to Use Vinegar and Borax in the Laundry

You mentioned using vinegar or borax to remove detergent build-up from towels.  We have hard water in our area and I believe this could be a problem for us, even though I haven’t had a problem with odor.  I have a few questions.

Just Say No to Jugs with Method

There’s no measuring. There’s no sticky laundry cap. There’s no guessing and there’s no need to buy the ginormous jugs of laundry detergent to prevent extra trips to the store

Make your laundry detergent stretch farther

I wish I could remember where I read this tip, so I could properly credit it.

More Laundry Soap Is Not Always Better

If I have a particularly dirty load of laundry (say, woke up to find the cat had puked on the bed), does it do any good to add extra laundry detergent? In other words, does more detergent=cleaner laundry?

Quick frugal tip

about laundry sheets

Sodium percarbonate? What is it again?

Where can I get sodium percarbonate?

Sunlight as a Disinfectant for Laundry

I’ve seen a couple of posts where you’ve mentioned that sunlight is a disinfectant… I wondered if you had any idea how effective it actually is, and whether the temperature outside influences its effectiveness?

What About Soap Nuts?

Are soap nuts ok to use in my high efficiency washing machine? Since HE washers don’t agitate like standard top loading washers, I was curious if the soap nuts would be effective.

Click the picture for more tips!

Who Needs Dryer Sheets?

Method has a new line of dryer sprays and as you would expect I’m a happy person. Those of you begging me to give you an alternative to vinegar as a softener, HERE YOU GO. You can have your non-headache causing scented towels and eat it, too. As with the scented laundry detergent, I’m happy to report that I can use Method’s products headache free.

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

                

Menu Monday 2016 Week 2

Heather says:

Before I get started on this week’s menu plan, I want to know:

What simple or “basic” recipe do you wish you’d been taught. 

I’m planning out a tutorial calendar for the year and this will help me deal with that whole paradox of choice thing that I let turn into mental paralysis. 

As always here is a printable to help you plan your meals and grocery shopping this week. 

Monday – Sweet Potato Skillet with Kale, Bacon, and Blue Cheese
Tuesday – Pasta e Fagioli (with the wrong shape pasta, but it’s gluten free, so there’s really only so many choices)
Wednesday – Chopped Salad with Grilled Chicken and Pineapple Vinaigrette 
Thursday – Chorizo Tacos, Cabbage Slaw, Refried Beans
Friday – Tuna Cakes (kids request), Cheese Grits, Wilted Spinach
Saturday – Clean Out Refrigerator Night (CORN)
Sunday – Roast Chicken, Gravy, Balsamic Carrots, Rice and Peas


               
CommentsSunday – tacos Monday – beef and broccoli stir-fry with ... by Karen LRelated StoriesMenu Monday Kicking Off 2016Menu Monday, The Last one of 2015Menu Monday: Football Season in Full Swing 

Organzational Sunday Week #2

Heather says

If Home-Ec 101 were a magazine, there would be a photo gallery of entryway tables and adorable mail sorters with chalkboards to write your inspirational quotes on.

I’m not that person, if you are, I probably drool over your inspirational Pinterest pictures. 

 I’ve also lived in apartments with no foyer, just hello, welcome to the living room.

Home-Ec 101 isn’t a magazine, it’s a site written by a person who has a track record of being scattered and generally disorganized.

I have been getting better by setting myself up for success. 

When I walk in the door I hang my keys and put my purse in a specific spot. This prevents the frazzled, hectic, where is my [x] that is on top of the usual mess that is getting four kids out the door. If I’m being honest, it was hectic getting out of the door even before I had kids to blame it on.

Your mission this week:

Identify what can you do when you walk into your home that will simplify your life when you leave.

If you have an entry table or mail sorter filled with bills, keys, and other things, clear it.

Wipe your slate clean.

Simply paying attention each time you walk in the door will reduce the stress the next time you walk out.

                

How Can I Make My Towels Smell Better Without Scented Detergents?

Dear Home Ec 101,


My husband and daughter have allergies and I am sensitive to certain scents, so when our beloved Tide began to irritate my daughter’s skin and their perfume seemed to get stronger with every bottle, we switched to a Free and Clear detergent with no dyes or scents. This has helped with the skin irritations immensely. However, now that we’ve been using it for a while, I’ve noticed our towels never smell “fresh”, even when they are straight from the dryer. It isn’t the typical musty or moldy smell you might get when leaving them in the washer too long and not truly stinky but just not nice. How can I make my towels smell better without resorting to perfumey detergents or dryer sheets?


Signed,


Breathless in Bel-Air

Heather says:

You are in luck, what you seem to be experiencing is a simple case of detergent build up.

Some of the molecules in detergent have an interesting property, part of the molecule loves water and part of it loves oil. This allows the molecules to surround tiny particles of dirt and oil and bring it into the wash water. The problem is, there has to be enough water in the washing machine to have all off these molecules in the water and not clinging to fabric. If these molecules are clinging to the towels, they aren’t getting washed down the drain. These molecules tend to trap odors.  The solution? Get rid of the excess detergent.

Gather a few of your towels at a time wash in the hottest water available with either Borax or vinegar. Vinegar lowers the pH of water, making it slightly more acidic, which can make it easier for the detergent molecules to go into solution. Borax works on the same principle, but on the basic or high pH side of things. If you use both at the same time, they tend to balance each other out and you just make some salt and waste a little money and time. Look for suds. If the water is sudsing and you didn’t add any detergent, you may have to repeat the process.

It’s very easy to get detergent build up in areas with hard water, you need to have enough detergent in the washer to surround all of the minerals in the water and enough to remove the soil, but too much and you’re back to not having fresh towels.

Make sure your towels are completely dry before they are folded and put away.

In the future use the least amount of laundry detergent possible and make sure the clothes washer is not overloaded, so the clothing can be fully rinsed. It will help reduce the chance of detergent redepositing on your towels.

Click the picture for more tips!

*Note* Apparel should not be over-dried, this causes premature wear.

Finally, pay attention to where you store your towels. If it’s under a sink or in a a small closet, dampness may be an issue. Consider a product like Damp Rid to control the humidity and use an old fashioned sachet with your favorite, non-irritating scents to add a pleasant odor. I have pretty severe allergies, myself, and I’ve found that orange peels, cloves, vanilla, or real cinnamon tend not to bother me. It’s their synthetic counterparts that set off the sneeze machine.

Send your questions to helpme@home-ec101.com

               
CommentsDo you have hard water? by Heather SolosThis sounds weird, but I notice a smell when detergents with ... by KymI have used vinegar for years in my wash.  Either my ... by MelWe have allergies in our home, but I love to line dry. My ... by Groovy Mom[…] You can use either vinegar or Borax to strip away ... by Save money on laundryPlus 10 more...  

Menu Monday Kicking Off 2016

Heather says

It has finally cooled off! We ran the air conditioning through Christmas, so it’s a pleasant change of pace. I hope you and yours had a lovely holiday season. We’re excited to begin working toward our goals for 2016. A big part of that is sticking to a budget and not justifying splurges every time we turn around. A menu plan helps us achieve that goal. If you’ve never tried menu planning we’ve got a great series to help you get started.  

And just for fun here’s a printable to make your weekly menu plan and grocery shopping a little easier. 

Monday – Smoked Sausage, Collard Greens, and Northern Beans – it’s a riff on a recipe seen here.
Tuesday – Red Curry with Shrimp
Wednesday – Bean with Bacon Soup, Corn Bread 
Thursday – C. O. R. N. 
Friday – Nachos (I’ll be in Las Vegas for work, so I’m keeping it easy for everyone at home)
Saturday – Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes
Sunday – Leftovers from the Pozole (An adventure in which I learned an important lesson about carefully reading labels, especially if they are in Spanish. The meal became a rice dish to dilute the heat from the wrong kind of much more potent dried pepper).

What will you be making this week?

                

Organizational Sunday Week #1

Heather says:

This week you’ll need to repurpose or buy two containers, the type of containers will depend on two things, your budget and space. Personally I like Rubbermaid style totes, if you have the room they will work for most of our projects and you can find them at any big box store. One will hold items for donation and the other to take to your county’s waste disposal. Most of the time the items you’ll be getting rid of will be clean and dry, but there may be a few weeks where this isn’t the case. 

If you are short on space heavy duty trash bags or reusable shopping bags will work. The goal is to have containers that are easily accessible.

Put the containers somewhere that makes sense for you. If you have room in the garage, great. Otherwise it may be the bottom of a rarely used closet or in a corner of the laundry room. Whatever works for your household.

Now here’s the catch, finding the two containers isn’t this week’s challenge. Since you had to get the containers ready, we’ll keep the challenge simple.

Organization Challenge #1

Take a look at your coat closet (or entry way or mudroom, if that’s where you keep your winter coats and shoes). Donate any coats that no longer fit (whether it’s due to kids getting bigger or your own changing taste). If you don’t love it and you already have a replacement, it’s time to  ♬ let it go. 

Easy enough, right? 

That’s the plan, most weeks we’ll tackle a section of the house and by this time next year, those little changes will have turned into a big one. 

Click the picture for the list of challenges

*Want to earn a little extra credit?* If you’ve got a pile of shoes in the bottom of that closet, consider some cubes to divide and conquer.  The problem with this solution is you need to make sure the other people involved actually use it. This may take coaching and guidance. Good luck!

Send your domestic questions to helpme@home-ec101.com.

                

Organize It

This year we’re going to focus on getting our house in order. This concept applies to the literal and the figurative. Yes, we’re going to find a place for everyone’s things, but we’re also going to work on creating and sticking to a family budget, we’re going to work hard to give back to our community, and we’re going to have fun along the way.

In this new series, Organizational Sunday, we’re going to build on the Sunday chore concept of getting ready for the coming week. A new easy organization challenge will be posted on the site every Sunday, but it won’t be in the regular newsletter. You’ll need to sign up for it below.  At the end of each month, as a reward for sticking through it, I’ll be randomly selecting one email address from the list and sending a gift.

Click the picture for the list of challenges

Every Sunday we’ll post a challenge for that day or week. Some of the challenges will be focused on physically organizing your home and some will be less tangible, focusing on finances, schedules, and technology.

January

This month’s giveaway will be The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-Up and will be awarded via Kindle or paperback.

The Coat Closet

Let’s make it a great year together!

                

It’s a New Year at Home-Ec 101

Heather says:


Last year was a year of big changes and uncertainty. Ray and I knew our feelings for each other, but as people with children and co-parents who will always be actively involved, there’s more to life changing decisions than our own feelings. We began navigating the uncertain waters of “Can we make this work for everyone?”  We can and we will. 

Last night, before ringing in the New Year with a Settlers of Catan and Just Dance marathon and more bacon than common sense allows, we had our first family meeting.

*To fully understand the effort involved, please insert the groans and eye-rolls of four sugar-addled kids*

I used to think the idea of a family meeting was silly and hokey. I was wrong. For all of 2015, Ray has been referring to the six of us as a team. I’m not used to being a team player, but he’s opened my eyes. Life is more than a struggle for self-preservation and settling for good enough, we have to give back, too. To be able to do that, we have to know who we are, our goals, and how to achieve them.

We are a team of six, smart, capable people who can contribute to making this world better. We also have many allies on our side, in our friends, colleagues, and community. In 2016 we’re going to focus on getting our house in order. This concept applies to the literal and the figurative. Yes, we’re going to find a place for everyone’s things, but we’re also going to work on creating and sticking to a family budget, we’re going to make sure this site is more than an afterthought squeezed into late nights and early mornings, we’re going to work hard to give back to our community, and we’re going to have fun along the way.

Home-Ec101 will always focus on teaching life skills and in 2016 we’re going to add organization to that set. Ever since the chore chart was first posted on Home Ec in 2009, I’ve mentioned that Sunday’s chore is getting ready for the week ahead. We’re going to build on that concept and release a new series, Organizational Sunday. While it will be posted on the site every Sunday it won’t be in the regular newsletter. You’ll need to sign up for it here.  At the end of each month, as a reward for sticking through it, I’ll be randomly selecting one email address from the list and sending a gift.

January’s will be The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-Up and will awarded via Kindle or paperback. (But Heather, you say, that book is a completely different take on organization, why would you give that away? Because there’s more than one correct approach to the same problem.)

Every Sunday we’ll be posting a challenge for that day or week. Some of the challenges will be focused on physically organizing your home and some will be less tangible, focusing on finances, schedules, and technology.

We’re excited about 2016 and all that is to come! 

               
CommentsYou 'give back' on a regular basis with your web site. Your ... by sarah jane  

Menu Monday, The Last one of 2015

Heather says


I’ve always found the week between Christmas and New Years to be a strange one. It’s not a holiday, I have to work, but still it’s a bit more festive and laid back than every day. 

Yet, there’s still work to do, people to feed, and another holiday to get ready for…

To make that easier we make a plan. Last plan I mentioned wanting to switch to planning from the circular. I didn’t get that far, but this week is almost all either pulled from the freezer or using up things in the refrigerator.

Thank you for sticking with us through another year. We’ve got a lot planned, and more than meals, for 2016.

Stay tuned.

Monday – Leftover soup (I made mussels in a butter wine sauce for Christmas Eve, then remade the leftovers into a soup. Now we need to finish that off)
Tuesday – Tacos, Refried Beans, Cabbage Slaw 
Wednesday – Penne Bake (Meat Sauce with Ricotta and Mozzarella, baked ’til bubbly) 
Thursday Appetizers and Snacks as we let the kids ring in the New Year


Bacon wrapped jalapenos, sausage balls, chicken wings, blue cheese dressing and a vegetable platter
Friday – Hoppin’ John, Cornbread, and Collard Greens
Saturday – Kale and Cabbage Chopped Salad with Pulled Chicken – Chipotle Ranch Dressing 
Sunday – Sausage, Bell Peppers,  Onions and Kale over Roasted Potatoes