Dealing with Bug Bites

Two posts in one day??? Crazy, isn't it?

Here's another tip that I learned about recently. I'm very allergic to spider bites and swell up really bad. So, one day, I had about 8 bites and they were all itching badly. I went to my handy, dandy search engine and started reading away about home remedies.

What works for me is to make a paste of baking soda and water. Spread the paste onto the bites (works for mosquito or spider bites) and let it stay on for at least 15 minutes. I do this at night after the kids are in bed. After the 15 minutes, wipe it off. In the morning, the swelling has gone away and so has the itching.

Mint tea and I'm back:D

So, I've been off the blogging thing for awhile. I now have a 16 month old who keeps me too busy. But, school will be starting soon for my 6 year old and my soon to be 5 year old, so I *should* have a bit more time.:D At least, I hope so. LOL

I have mint growing in my garden and didn't know what to do with it. So, I got on a trusty old search engine and looked up mint tea. I tried a batch or two and came up with my favorite recipe.

Mint Tea

5 sprigs mint (stems and all - cleaned very well)

1 cup water

Boil the above for 5 minutes or until the leaves start turning brown.

Strain into a pitcher and add 3/4 cup sugar (or to your taste). Stir to dissolve and add water to fill the pitcher.

I've noticed that since I've started drinking this, I have much more energy....and, I think I'm losing some weight too.

Anyone have any other uses for mint?

MYO taco seasoning mix

This morning I was wracking (maybe banging - LOL) my head trying to figure out what to feed us for dinner using hamburger meat. Finally, I decided I wanted tacos but I knew I didn't have any taco seasoning mixes. So, I went and found a recipe for taco seasoning mix. I have to say that the recipe is very good. I followed it exactly and then used it on the hamburger tonight. I did have to use more then what the recipe said, but I think that it was a typo. I used 1 tablespoon for 1 pound of hamburger meat and also added about 1/3 cup of water to the meat to help mix the seasonings in.

Taco Seasoning

6 tsps. chili powder
4 1/2 tsps. cumin
5 tsps. paprika
3 tsps. onion powder
2 1/2 tsps. garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix all seasonings together and store in an airtight container. I used a clean strawberry jam glass jar that I had saved. The recipe says to use 1 tsp, but I think it needs 1 tbspn.

I served this with my homecanned pinto beans and homemade spanish rice (not canned) and tortillas.

Frugal dinner tonight

Tonight's dinner is another frugal dinner that's in rotation a lot. Its baked beans with hot dogs tonight. Usually I use sausage, but don't have any right now.

2 cans pork and beans (15 oz) or 1 quart homecanned pork and beans
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 tbspn ketchup
4 tbspn mustard
1 tbspn lemon juice
1 onion, diced
6 hot dogs sliced into "coins"

Mix all ingredients together and bake in oven at 375° for 1 hour. I'm going to try it in the crockpot today instead.

Tonight is parent teacher night at Angela's school, so I wanted something easy to clean up.

Does anyone have a favorite frugal meal?

Spaghetti and breadcrumbs

I made this for dinner the other night! Both hubby and I liked it. The kids were both sick and didn't eat anyfood (they had the flu).

Spaghetti and breadcrumbs

1 pound spaghetti (or any pasta shape)
4 tbspns olive oil
3 tsps minced garlic (I used the already minced garlic in the jar and used heaping spoons)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup fresh parsley (I used dry because I didn't have enough fresh about 1 tbsp)
4 tbsn parmesan cheese
5 slices cooked bacon crumbled.
1/2 tsp pepper or to your taste
3 tbsn lemon juice

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until done; drain. In a separate skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add garlic and cooked bacon and cook for about 2 minutes; stir constantly. Stir in breadcrumbs and turn off heat. Add parsley, parmesan cheese and black ground pepper; mix together. Mix this mixture with hot pasta and add lemon juice.

I added more lemon juice and crushed red pepper flakes at the table on mine (hubby doesn't like the crushed pepper flakes).

Composting

I started composting this past spring to add to my garden soil. This is what I have been adding to my compost container:

coffee grounds
vegetable peelings
shredded paper
mowed grass
lint
leaves
tea bags
eggshells
crusts from bread (children won't eat them)

What does everyone else add to their compost piles?

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I promised Judy that I would post this chocolate zucchini cake recipe that I've made that is really good. So here it is.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I didn't add this and the cake was great!)

Preheat oven to 350° (175°C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly mixed. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely and frost with your favorite frosting.