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DIY Chalk Paint

I would have never even tried chalk paint but a friend of mine gave me some Annie Slone to try.  I'm cheap and it's expensive! $36.95 a quart not including shipping or the trip to go get it from select dealers.  But it's nothing short of fantastic!  It dries in minutes.  It doesn't show streaks.  It doesn't require sanding.  It almost paints itself.  So when I saw DIY chalk paint popping up all over the Internet, I had to try it.  I picked up this little table at a garage sale and you can tell from the pictures, he's seen better days.

Here's the ingredients:

  Here's the recipe:

2 1/2 tbsp. Plaster of Paris

1 1/2 tbsp. of water

1 cup of paint

I used a red solo cup and a plastic spoon to mix the Plaster of Paris and water.  The goal with the plaster is a smooth texture and I ended up using about 2 tbsp. of water to get there.
Earlier I measured 1 cup of water into an old spaghetti jar and marked it with a sharpie at a little over the 1 cup mark to make measuring the paint easier.  Mix the plaster into the paint well.  I didn't bother sanding this little table


The first coat went on a little streakier than I expected but that could be due to my dollar store brushes.  It's all I had on hand so I had to go with it, but I will be throwing them all in the trash soon.  

Coat #1

I added another coat of paint and distressed him a little.  I'm new to this and think I could do a better job at distressing, but it turned out pretty good.  I also added a coat of wax.

He ended up back in the bathroom, where he started.

I wish I had a better camera than my phone.  He's a very pretty color.  I might be addicted.  I'm looking around the house for more things to paint.
This project cost me $9.50!  I got the Plaster of Paris at the thrift store (no kidding) for $3.50, the brushes at the dollar store (which I don't advise) and the table for $5.  Score!
I've read that this paint can last months so I put the lid on it and I plan on painting a window with it later.  I will definitely be using this recipe again!

Skinny Taste Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I respect other peoples' creativity.  http://www.skinnytaste.com/ is a fantastic website with a boatload of good food that is healthy with less calories and junk!  I was asked not to use the recipe on my blog but was told I could use pictures and post a link so here goes!

This soup is insanely easy and good!  I used a pint of chicken breast I had canned earlier to make it even easier!  This will be a short post because I'm not posting the recipe.  Head over to Skinnytaste to check out this recipe and tons more!  http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/chicken-pot-pie-soup.html

Freezing Cubed Potatoes

This seems almost silly to blog about.  I'm cheap.  I'm busy.  I'm kind of lazy.  

Whatever I can do to make meals easier for us I try to do so we can spend more time doing the things we enjoy.  Believe it or not, I do not enjoy cooking for the most part.  So, I bought a big bag of potatoes from Aldi (the cheap part) and I cubed, blanched and froze them for later (the busy/lazy part).

Really, just peel and cube potatoes.

 Put the potatoes in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes.  

Dump them in a strainer and rinse with cold water until they are
cool to stop the cooking process.  

Spread them out on a cookie sheet and put them in the
freezer for a few hours or overnight.

Take them out of the freezer and transfer to freezer bags.

Pull them out, season and fry them up when the mood strikes.  

Best thing about these are when Matt saw me making them he said, "breakfast in bed!"  

I hope that happens soon.... :)

Scrambled Egg Muffins

I need quick breakfasts during the work week.  Lately that has been Casey's gas station garbage.  High calorie junk, too much money.  To get ahead for the week I made a batch of scrambled egg muffins.  So easy and you can use whatever you have on hand.  First I chopped up and cooked half a package of turkey bacon.

Then I whisked together 12 eggs.  I added 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, some broccoli and the turkey bacon.

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray and add the egg mixture.

Yes, I have a problem with making things uniform.....

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.  Since mine varied in size

 I took the smaller ones out at 20 minutes and let the bigger ones cook a little longer.  

Stick a toothpick in the middle to make sure the eggs are done.

Let them cool on a baking rack.  You could make these with whatever veggies, meat and/or cheese you have in the house!

They'll keep in the fridge for about a week.  Microwave for a quick and healthy breakfast.

Oh Yum.

I wrapped a couple in saran wrap and put in a freezer bag to see how they hold up when frozen.  

Homemade Powdered Laundry Soap

Here's what you need for powdered laundry soap.

I decided to make the bare bones version of the homemade laundry soap.  It's the easiest and the cheapest, two things I like!

1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

Grate the soap.

I pulsed it in the food processor to get it as close to "powder" consistency as I could.

Mix in the Washing Soda and Borax.  This is a double batch.  It didn't mix as nicely as I thought it would.

There's a little over 5 1/2 cups in this jar

and I have a lot of Borax and Washing Soda left.

Use 1 tbsp. per load.  Increase to 2 tbsp. for dirty/soiled clothing.  Give the jar a good shake before each load.  I washed a load of towels right away and they turned out clean and smelled good.  They really didn't have a strong smell, but they didn't smell bad.

There are a lot of variations of this recipe online.  I've seen different recipes with Ivory soap, baking soda, scent boosters, tea tree oil, essential oils and/or OxyClean added.  

There were a lot of comments online regarding the safe use of this soap in HE washers.  Also there were alot of comments on how this soap should be used with warm/hot water and may not disolve fully in cold water.  I haven't tried it in cold water yet.  It was also mentioned that this soap does not suds.  

There are liquid recipes for homemade laundry soap but after I read about it molding and geling, I wan't interested in trying that.

Cost breakdown:  Fels Naptha $.97, Borax $3.38, Washing Soda $3.24.  All of these items were in the laundry isle at Wal-Mart.  All I need is a few more bars of the soap and  I could make tons more.

Since I have no desire to do math, here is a cost comparison someone did online.

Tide per load cost .23

Homemade Detergent cost per load .07

                     OR

40 loads of Tide $9.24 at Walmart

40 loads of Homemade Detergent $2.80

Have you tried a homemade laundry soap?  How did it turn out?

Frozen Lunches and Brown Rice

I'm at a loss for lunch right now.  I'm always pressed for time, there are no leftovers at our house, and I'm over salads for now.  I don't mind an occasional Lien Cuisine but I don't want them everyday for lunch.  So, I did some research on freezing meals and gave it a shot.  I also froze just some brown rice since it takes about 45 minutes to make.  I like being able to control exactly what is in these meals and the portions.

I made a ton of rice in my new awesome Rachel Ray cookware.

I just winged it.  I made one dish with crushed tomatoes and chilies, rice, canned pinto beans and chicken.

Another one has canned black beans, broccoli, rice, chicken and homemade broth.  Get the recipe for my canned beans here:  http://thisthatandtheotherthingbynisan.blogspot.com/search/label/beans.

I did some internet research on freezing rice.  I spread it out on a cookie sheet so most of the moisture got absorbed.

Let everything cool completely before bagging.

I pushed all the air out and tried to flatten them out for stacking in the freezer.  Not real pretty but off to the freezer they go.  I read some people just microwave the bag frozen and opened a little bit, but I won't do it that way.  I'll probably thaw the bag in the fridge overnight.  I will update this blog when I try one to see how they turn out!

*Update:  I have had the crushed tomatoes with chilis and rice a few times for lunch.  The first time I microwaved it I added a little water.  You don't need to do this!!  It's a little soupy when you microwave it even without adding water, but that doesn't bother me.  It's very tasty!