ice cream without an ice cream maker!

I've actually tried this, and it really works!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup salt (The bigger the granules, the better. Kosher or rock salt works best, but table salt is fine.)

• Ice cubes (enough to fill each gallon-size bag about half full)
• 1 pint-size ziplock bag
• 1 gallon-size ziplock bag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Instructions

1. Combine the sugar, half and half, and vanilla extract in the pint-size bag and seal it tightly.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. 
   Place the salt and ice in the gallon-size bag, then place the sealed smaller bag inside as well. Seal the larger bag. Now shake the bags until the mixture hardens (about 5 minutes). Feel the small bag to determine when it's done.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Take the smaller bag out of the larger one, add mix-ins, and eat the ice cream right out of the bag. Easy cleanup too! Serves 1.
   
   
   
   
   Yummy treat for a hot day, and it takes less time than going to an ice cream shop!
   
   
   
   

Recycled desk... kitchen island

Since moving into our house in Aug of 2010, my husband and I have wanted to get an island for our kitchen. 

We hadn't been able to find one we liked within our price range.

We also have a pot rack that we wanted to hang, but needed an island to hang it over!

So... we bought a desk and in 1 day converted it, with a few changes, to a kitchen island. Then we were able to hang the pot rack over it. Changed the whole look of the kitchen!

I LOVE IT!!

Kitchen before

Isabelle in the kitchen before :-)

Desk purchased from Craigslist

After

After

Pot rack!!

Still a few minor tweaks and adjustments to make, but I am in love with our "new" kitchen.

I have such an awesome husband!

Gluten Free Pancakes

Since deciding to go gluten free, I have had a hard time finding recipes that didn't require xanthan gum. Tonight, I wanted to make pancakes.


I searched the internet and found a recipe that didn't require xanthan gum! However, the recipe asked for flours that I do NOT have. 


http://www.celiac.com/articles/823/1/Easy-Pancakes-Gluten-Free/Page1.html

Here is how I modified the recipe:


Mix in bowl:
1 cup Sweet White Rice flour
1/2 cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
1/4 cup corn starch
1 Tablespoon gluten free baking powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt


Mix in second bowl:
1 1/2 cup almond milk
3 eggs
4 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Stir the two mixtures together. Heat a non-stick pan on medium, add butter or margarine.  When pan is hot, pour batter to form pancakes. You can sprinkle with blueberries if you want. Wait until the bubbles that form in the pancake start turning into holes, then flip over.

When the other side is cooked, transfer to a plate and serve with real maple syrup.

I made 1 pancake, tasted it, and made appropriate adjustments to my taste.  I, personally, added some organic gluten free vanilla extract.


They taste close enough to traditional pancakes to make me happy, and Isabelle ate 4 of them (sans syrup)!

p.s.
I forgot to mention how AMAZING the coconut flour smelled. I really want to make something else with it.  Gluten free macaroons maybe?!  hmmm.... hubby would LOVE those!

Easy peasy bird feeder aka: re-purposed water bottle

This is a quick and easy craft to do with your child.
If your house is like ours and you get a lot of birds, this could be something fun to do.
 
Take an empty water or soda bottle, cut off the top and leave a little "cup" in the bottom and enough on the back to be able to hang it on a fence.
 

 
I used ribbon to attach mine to the fence, because let's face it... birds could care less what it looks like, as long as it holds birdseed. (Although, we DO live in Valencia, so.. you never know)

 We filled it with birdseed and now we are waiting for birds!!

t-shirt to re-usable tote - aka (another) re-purposed t-shirt

My husband used to be in a construction-like business and used to thrash his t-shirts.  

Now that he is no longer in that industry, he is getting rid of his old stained t-shirts.  I am using them to make re-usable, washable totes! It really doesn't matter if they are stained, and if it bothers you a lot, just dye them.

 
Start out with your old/stained/holey t-shirt, cut off the sleeves and neck to make your handles.

 Then I turn it inside out and sew the bottom to the depth I want, double stitch for security. I fold over the corners and double stitch again.

And that's it!  You now have your very own, one of a kind, re-usable, washable tote!  

(thank you to my lovely assistant for holding up the shirt) :-)

I suggest getting all the t-shirts you want to use and doing them all at the same time.  


You can also use smaller shirts to make smaller totes.

cellphone holder - aka re-purposed bubble bath bottle

I am one of those people who plugs their cellphone in the outlet over the kitchen counter.  Every now and then I'd come in and see that my husband had moved my phone (and cord) out of his way.  So, this project is perfect for me!

We go through a lot of bubble bath in this house, so being able to re-purpose the bottles is a VERY good thing! First thing's first... cut or peel the label off, if possible.


I drew lines on the front and back of where I wanted to cut to make my holder. (higher in the back)

I cut where I drew my lines and then drew in a square to put the plug through, and cut that out too.

I had some extra fabric that I really liked, so I sanded the bottle, then glued the fabric on.

Now, you are ready to USE your cellphone holder.  To be honest, I made the back of this one a little too short.  So, when I made one for my husband, I made the back taller and it worked MUCH better/easier.  

The problem isn't making the holder, it's getting people to actually use the holder! You can also take it with you when you travel, that way, you ALWAYS have a place to put/hang your phone.

t-shirt to tank (aka: re-purposed t-shirt)

Another contribution from Pinterest!


I started with a trip to "The GW" and bought a shirt that was too big, and had something I liked on the front.

I cut the neck and arms off.

Then, I turned the shirt inside out, pinned and sewed the top, straight across.  (you can do this by hand or with a sewing machine.)

Now, I need to make my "straps". For this one, I used material from a different t-shirt because it would have made this one TOO short! You don't want to use the bottom hemmed part of the t-shirt, so cut that off, then cut a strip just above it.

If your hem is wide enough, you can use a pen with a cap to thread your 'strap' through the hem. If not, use a safety pin.


Then, bunch up the material in the front and back.  Try the shirt on, you can adjust the scrunching after you tie it to the desired strap length.

You can also do this for your beautiful baby girl!! I tried it with ribbon, but the scrunching didn't stay scrunched. :-) So, I switched to t-shirt scraps.

Have fun!  And don't say I didn't tell you this was an addicting project!