Pie Crust Saver Hack

I saw this hack for covering up the edges of your pie crust, and I had to try it out. It worked great and was so much easier than trying to tear off little strips of foil to wrap around the edge of your pie. Here are the steps:

1. Get a piece of tin foil large enough to cover the top of your pie.
2. Place the foil crimped down over an empty pie plate of the same size (or do this before you fill your pie plate). If you are worried your foil might stick to your pie, lightly spray the side of the foil that will be touching the crust with non-stick spray.
3. With a sharp knife, cut your foil just like you would cut and divide up a pie.
4. Remove the foil from the empty pie plate and then place over your actual pie. Fold back the vents to expose the pie's center/filling.

Here is my foil, non-stick pray and empty pie plate.

Foil crimped down over an empty pie plate. (I tried to do this over the frozen pie instead, and the foil would just rip as the knife was drug across... you really need the pie plate to be empty so you can poke the knife down into the empty space for cutting... at least I did!)

Cut and ready to go!

Placed over my frozen apple pie (it has crumb topping that goes on later) with the vents folded/tucked back to keep them from sticking into the filling.

This worked great! My crust was protected for as long as I wanted during the cooking process to keep it from burning and it was so easy to make and remove.

Homemade Dawn Powerwash Refill

I really love using Dawn Powerwash for those things that don't go into my dishwasher. With the touch of rubbing alcohol that's in the spray, things come out so squeaky clean!!! But buying refills can be expensive, especially when you know how easy it is to make your own.

Homemade Dawn Powerwash Refill

Ingredients:

• 1 oz. rubbing alcohol
• 2 oz. Dawn liquid dishsoap
• 13 oz. water

Directions:

1. Gently combine the above ingredients into an empty Dawn Powerwash Spray bottle, replace the sprayer and shake to combine. Adjust amounts to your liking. I sometimes use a bit less rubbing alcohol because it can have a strong smell.
2. To make things even easier, I marked the bottle I use for refills with a permanent marker so I know exactly where to fill the alcohol to, then the liquid soap, and then I just top off the rest of the bottle with water. Easy-peasy!

Homemade Baby Wipes

While not a food recipe, when I was a mom with babies, this was one of my most requested "recipes" that my friends asked for. I no longer have baby bums to wipe, but I wanted to put this here for anyone that still might need it. You can also use these for wiping your hands when camping and such. 

I did a VERY detailed post about it back in 2009 that I am going to copy and paste here. Enjoy! (Don't be intimidated by the length of the post. It only takes a couple minutes to make the wipes... I was just being overly thorough to answer ALL questions as best I could.)

Homemade Baby Wipes

Ingredients: (this recipe makes two containers, see picture above)

If using a regular sized roll of paper towels:

• 2 rolls Bounty Paper Towels, cut in half, cardboard cores removed
• 4 cups hot water
• 4 Tbl. baby wash
• 3 Tbl. baby oil, creamy or regular

If using a Mega roll of Bounty paper towels, or another larger sized roll:

• 1 roll Bounty Paper Towels Mega Roll, cut in half, cardboard core removed
• 3 cups hot water
• 3 Tbl. baby wash
• 2 Tbl. baby oil, creamy or regular

Directions:

1. You will need TWO containers to store your wipes for this recipe. If you only want to make one container, you will need to cut all the ingredients listed above in half (and for the Mega roll, you will have to store 1/2 of a roll somewhere for a future batch).
2. Cut paper towel roll(s) in half with a sharp knife. 
3. Loose final glued sheet from the cardboard roll with your finger (you may have to loosen it from both ends of the roll). 
4. Discard tube(s). 
5. In a large measuring cup, combine the ingredients listed above: hot water, baby wash (your favorite scent), and baby oil. Mix together (may need to use a wire whisk if using creamy baby oil).
1. If using a mega roll: 
1. Put one half of a roll in each Rubbermaid container and divide your mixture between to the two containers. Let stand a few minutes. Cover tightly and store. Pull towels out of middle of the roll.
2. If using regular size rolls:
1. Place both halves of one roll side by side in each container. It's a squish, depending on the size of your  container, but if you buy a container that one Mega roll will fit into, then two regular rolls should squish together enough to fit too, once the cores are removed so the roll can collapse a bit. Divide your mixture between to the two containers. Let stand a few minutes. Cover tightly and store. Pull towels out of middle of the roll.
6. Feel free to adjust the recipe as needed if wipes end up too wet, too dry, too soapy, etc. for your tastes.

Here is my detailed blog post with all my tips and tricks:

*******
October 20th, 2009-
Wow! I have received more comments, questions and compliments on my homemade baby wipes than almost any other post on my blog. Again, I must give all the credit to my friend Valerie who tipped me off on how wonderful, cheap and easy they are. I'm not normally a "do-it-yourself" kind of person, so you can believe me when I say that these wipes are quick, easy, and so worth it.

So, for my friend Elisa who said she needed the recipe, here is a pictorial explanation of how to make your own baby wipes, with all the tips and tricks I could think of.

I must confess though, for my diaper bag, I do keep one small package of Kandoo Wipes because they come in a much more convenient sized container for the diaper bag. I simply can't fit a large Rubbermaid container in my diaper bag.

First thing's first. Why bother to make them yourself? Because, store bought wipes cost ten times as much as homemade (literally). For example, you can buy a package of Huggies Wipes for around $3 for 64 wipes. $3 doesn't sound too bad, right? But!... You can buy a Mega Roll of Bounty paper towels at Sam's Club for around $1.42 a roll. There are 160 sheets on the roll, and you only use half a roll to make a batch of wipes. So for $3 worth of paper towels versus $3 of Huggies Wipes, you can get 640 wipes instead of 64. Sounds good, eh?

I personally hate touching poop, so I can use a whole handful of homemade wipes and not cringe at the cost like I did with store bought wipes.

It is also very easy to do. I can make two containers of wipes in about 5 minutes. It actually took me less than ten minutes to make the wipes this time around while setting up and taking all these pictures. So, very quick.

This is what you do to make your own (I will recap the recipe at the end of the post so you can print/copy and paste just that much of it.)

What you need: Baby wash, baby oil, Bounty paper towels, storage containers.

Next: You need to cut the paper towel roll in half. It can be very dulling on a good knife, so you might want to use a big knife you don't care about. I got mine on a garage sale, so it's perfect. (Isn't that a great Halloween picture, with the butcher knife halfway through the roll? Mwahh haha!!!)

Next: You need to remove the cardboard core from the roll. This is sometimes the hardest part, but just slide your finger down around the cardboard tube to loosen the glue on the last sheet, and then pull out of the middle. If you pull out a few stubborn sheets on the way, that's okay. Just take them off the tube and save them for the next step.

Next: Place one half of the roll in your storage container (and place any extra loose sheets that stuck to the tube on top of the roll). In this picture, I am using a Mega roll, so I can only fit one half in each of my two containers. When I use a normal sized roll of Bounty, I can fit both halves in the same container at the same time, just smashed next to each other.

Next: Mix up your water, baby wash, and baby oil solution and pour over the top of the roll (and any extra sheets).

Last: Cover the container with your lids and let sit for at least 15 minutes so the water can be evenly absorbed by all the paper towels in the container. The water will magically distribute its self evenly, making perfect wipes. Pull wipes out from the middle of the roll.

And that's all there is to it! You can see in the picture that in the container on the right I added what few wipes I had left over from the last batch to the top, just ready and waiting for the next diaper change.

I bought my storage containers at Wal-Mart, and they are 4.5 quart Seal'n Saver Rubbermaid containers. However, all you need to do is grab a single mega/large roll of paper towels while you are at the store... take it over to the food storage container isle... and see what containers they currently offer that will hold your roll once it's cut in half. That's what I did.

People will ask, "Does it have to be Bounty, or can you use cheaper towels?" Bounty towels are the best. Other cheaper brands don't seem to hold up as nicely and fall apart. I tried it and hated it (even Scott noticed, so if a guy notices the difference, it must be real!), but you can experiment yourself if you like. But I figure, since it saves you so much money from the regular wipes, you might as well splurge on the nicer towels.

I also enjoy the "Select-a-Size" Bounty towels because it gives you more flexibility in the size of wipe that you can remove from the roll.

I also didn't notice a big difference between using regular baby oil and creamy baby oil, as far as the end product was concerned. Creamy oil can be a little more difficult to find, and it doesn't mix into the water as easily as regular oil, so I had to use a whisk to really beat it into the mixture. For me, it was just easier to use regular oil.

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Baby Wipes

Ingredients: (this recipe makes two containers, see picture above)

If using a regular sized roll of paper towels:

• 2 rolls Bounty Paper Towels, cut in half, cardboard cores removed
• 4 cups hot water
• 4 Tbl. baby wash
• 3 Tbl. baby oil, creamy or regular

If using a Mega roll of Bounty paper towels, or another larger sized roll:

• 1 roll Bounty Paper Towels Mega Roll, cut in half, cardboard core removed
• 3 cups hot water
• 3 Tbl. baby wash
• 2 Tbl. baby oil, creamy or regular

Directions:

1. You will need TWO containers to store your wipes for this recipe. If you only want to make one container, you will need to cut all the ingredients listed above in half (and for the Mega roll, you will have to store 1/2 of a roll somewhere for a future batch).
2. Cut paper towel roll(s) in half with a sharp knife. 
3. Loose final glued sheet from the cardboard roll with your finger (you may have to loosen it from both ends of the roll). 
4. Discard tube(s). 
5. In a large measuring cup, combine the ingredients listed above: hot water, baby wash (your favorite scent), and baby oil. Mix together (may need to use a wire whisk if using creamy baby oil).
1. If using a mega roll: 
1. Put one half of a roll in each Rubbermaid container and divide your mixture between to the two containers. Let stand a few minutes. Cover tightly and store. Pull towels out of middle of the roll.
2. If using regular size rolls:
1. Place both halves of one roll side by side in each container. It's a squish, depending on the size of your  container, but if you buy a container that one Mega roll will fit into, then two regular rolls should squish together enough to fit too, once the cores are removed so the roll can collapse a bit. Divide your mixture between to the two containers. Let stand a few minutes. Cover tightly and store. Pull towels out of middle of the roll.
6. Feel free to adjust the recipe as needed if wipes end up too wet, too dry, too soapy, etc. for your tastes.

Movie Theater Style Popcorn Update

We still love making popcorn in our house, and with five people, three of which are growing young boys, I love using my popcorn maker for larger batches (as opposed to just a single bag of microwave popcorn). While the microwave stuff still has a place in our house (mom's afternoon snack, or share a bag with my hubby on "grown-up movie night"), I really need to use the popper for the entire family.

When my last jar of the expensive Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil was gone, I got tempted to try something a bit less costly. I never did try the Act II popping oil from Sam's... and living far enough away from my nearest local club that it's not easy to just pop in for oil... ("pop in"... ha, ha! I am so funny.)... I tried something new that I could find on Amazon; Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil, 1 Gallon. With 591 reviews at a 4+ star rating, I thought why not?! A gallon is a bit much, but I read how one person portions theirs out and freezes it, so that was my plan.

And we LOVE it! After portioning it out to freeze, I also discovered that I am getting twice as much for almost exactly the same price as the more expensive stuff. Score! I have pulled one batch of oil out of the freezer, and so far I notice no difference in taste and quality compare to the oil that hadn't previously been frozen, so it's a great way to keep your oil fresher longer. Let's face it... a gallon of oil being used at 3 Tbl. a batch will go rancid before you can use it all if you only use it a couple times a month or less.

I don't know if our taste buds have changed, or this oil is just a touch different, but I had to adjust our recipe slightly. Plus, I have found that I get a much more even coating of salt if I add it to the popper directly, instead of trying to sprinkle it on the popcorn after it's cooked. Because some of the salt stays stuck on the bottom of the popper, we had to up to 1/2 a tablespoon. So, if you want the true "Stokes experience", here is the recipe we follow when using this new Snappy Popcorn Oil.

Marsha's Homemade Movie Theater Style Popcorn

Update: Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 3 Tbl. Snappy Popcorn Colored Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. Gold Medal Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt 

Directions:

1. Place oil, salt, and corn in popper. Pop and enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

Fresh popcorn kernels make such a huge difference, and I get a bigger fluffier batch when I use Orville Redenbacher compared to almost any other brand... but I sometimes go with the cheap stuff too.

How To Make Movie Theater Style Popcorn At Home

Love movie theater popcorn but hate the price? That is totally my feeling. But, feel like you have never been able to quite replicate the popcorn at home? The closest I could ever come was microwave popcorn. That is, until now!

What's the secret? Three things: the popcorn, the oil and the seasoning.

First, use fresh popcorn. It really does make a difference in how much popcorn pops, how big it is, and how good it tastes. Don't believe me? Then take your old container of popcorn, buy a new container of popcorn, pop two batches (one old and one new) and see for yourself.

Secondly, you need to use the right kind of oil if you want the same flavor AND color as movie theater popcorn. Coconut oil is the trick. (Yellow popcorn coconut oil... the white stuff might taste good, but won't give you the color.) The kind I found is a bit expensive, but it really works! If you find something else that works that is cheaper, let me know... but for now, try this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003NCEATE/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This oil is solid at room temperature, which confuses some people. Just scoop it out with your measuring spoon. Also, if you go this route, you really need to buy the 3 pack off Amazon with the free shipping because buying a single container costs almost as much with the shipping costs. Don't let the picture fool you. The containers are SMALL (only 1 pound, so fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand small), so three containers won't last you forever... but should make at least ten+ batches of popcorn per container.

Lastly, super fine grain butter-flavored salt tops it all off perfectly. And, unlike at the movies, you can control how much salt you want on your popcorn. Flavacol comes in a TWO POUND carton (like the half gallon milk container size), but you only need 1/2 a tsp, so this one $6 container is going to last me FOREVER!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W8LT10/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Oh... and I guess you need a good popcorn popper too. I recommend the Stir Crazy popper because it has a rotating bar in the bottom that continuously stirs the popcorn while it cooks to prevent burning and make sure every kernel pops:

http://www.amazon.com/West-Bend-82306-6-Quart-Electric/dp/B00004RC6R/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381786269&sr=8-1&keywords=stir+crazy+popcorn+popper

Marsha's Homemade Movie Theater Style Popcorn 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 3 Tbl. Wabash Valley Farms Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil
• 1/2 tsp. Gold Medal Flavacol Seasoning Popcorn Salt

Directions:

1. Place oil and corn in popper. Pop! 
2. Place popped corn into a large sack (garbage bag) and carefully sprinkle with salt (try not to put the salt all in one place). 
3. Close bag and shake to evenly coat. (You can also try a large bowl, but I found that shaking helped disperse the salt the most evenly.) Enjoy!

Marsha's Notes:

If you want a more even coating of salt and don't mind up-ing the dose to compensate for what gets left in the bottom of the popper, then up the salt to 1 Tbl. and add it directly to the popper with the oil and corn. Everything gets coated nice a even, and the excess stays stuck to the bottom of the popper. It all cleans and wipes up easy with no noticeable damage to my popper after many, many, many batches, so this is our lazy go-to method. It also saves the added step of putting the popped corn in a bag and shaking it; no broken-up bits from shaking!!!

My brother and his wife were recommended Act II popping oil from Sam's Club, which is only $10 for a gallon (so MUCH cheaper) but we haven't tried it yet, so I can't varify if it works as good as the Wasbash Valley Farms Real Theater Popcorn Popping Oil... so I can't personally recommend that... YET... I only saw the oil in the container, and it was semi-soild, so thicker than the runny oil you get at the grocery store but not completely solid like the Wabash Valley Farms stuff. Could be promising... For $10, I think we will risk trying it out. If we do, I will try to update my results here.

 http://www.samsclub.com/sams/act-ii-popping-and-topping-oil-1-gal-jug/163742.ip?navAction=

How to Make a Box Cake Taste Like a Bakery Cake

I saw on Pinterest these posts about how to make a box cake mix taste like a bakery cake. Basically it was all about adding things with more fat for the less fatty options on the cake mix box. So, instead of water, use milk. Instead of oil, use butter. Instead of 2 or 3 eggs, add one or two more eggs.

The result...

Everyone at my house LOVED my yellow cake mix with milk, melted butter and 5 eggs. I think I will do this every time. YAY! You can also add coffee in place of water with a chocolate cake, and I have another friend who puts a box of instant pudding mix and 1 cup sour cream in her cake mix recipes along with the additional egg.

PS- The friend who made my wedding cake said she used box cake mixes. When I tasted our cake, I was like, "Wow! That came from a box?" But now I think she may have done the above trick to make my box wedding cake taste FABULOUS!

Update: 10-23-2024

I just made a 13.25 oz. Betty Crocker boxed cake mix with these substitutions:

• I added one small package of instant chocolate pudding mix to the batter.
• I added 1 cup of sour cream to the batter.
• Instead of using the 3 eggs called for on the box, I used 4 eggs.
• I did use the 1/2 cup oil suggested on the package instead of replacing it with 1/2 cup melted butter, but I would certainly make that swap in the future if I wanted to.
• Instead of 1 cup of water, I used 1 cup of coffee. I simply used my Keurig machine to make a standard cup from a pod, and then added the entire mug to my cake mix instead of water. I was worried that replacing the entire amount of water with straight coffee might be too strong and noticeable in the final product, but it wasn't a problem. I also worried that the hot coffee (I was too impatient to wait for it to cool) would scramble the eggs in the batter, so I added it at the very end, REALLY SLOWLY, just a bit at a time until I had at least half of it incorporated to temper the eggs. Then I dumped the rest in and it was fine.
• Instead of making my own frosting this time, I used TWO cans of Betty Crocker chocolate frosting. Homemade is better, but I had a busy day today. (One can of frosting would certainly cover the top of a 9x13 cake, but I like frosting and wanted to make sure that there was plenty of sweet to go along with that 1 cup of coffee in the mix. You may want less frosting (I originally thought I might only use 1 1/2 cans), but in the end I thought it turned out fantastic using both!)