DIY Leave-In Conditioner & Detangler

I think I've mentioned before that I have little brothers that wrestle. They will soon be going to the Jaycees State Tournament and that means a hotel stay along with a pool. It got me thinking about my hair and the condition it will be in after soaking up all the chlorine. I have one little sister, too, that has super long, thick hair that gets tangled very easily when the chlorine strips it of it's moisture.

I recently bought Joico Moisture Recovery conditioner (I used it for my Deep Conditioning Treatment at Home and loved it!) and thought that since it's such a nice conditioner, it would be probably be good as a leave-in conditioner & detangler, too. I was right. :)

I got up to work out this morning, but by the time I finished my shower, I was running late for work. I remembered my cousin told me recently that she never uses mousse or gel for her wavy hair, just conditioner. I thought it was odd and figured my hair would get really greasy doing that. Since I was short on time, I decided today would be a good day to test it out, as well as see how my homemade leave-in conditioner worked. I was worried that my hair would get really flat on top and frizzy every where else, but figured I could just throw it up once it was dry if it did.

I loved it! Once I was out of the shower, I towel dried my hair and whipped it up and down a couple times. (You don't want to comb it out if your hair is wavy or curly as it will make it go flat.) Once my wet hair wasn't plastered to my head, I generously spritzed my homemade leave-in conditioner in (not too much at the roots though so it wouldn't get greasy) and lightly scrunched it together with my fingers. Then I left it alone.

By the time it was dry, it was probably the best "beachy waves" my hair has ever done. I was shocked that my hair would do that without any gel or mousse! (Thanks for the idea, Joanie!)

Anyway, back to my point of this post...make this. :)

You can use it as a styling aid like I did, or spritz it in after a shower, then gently comb your hair. As long as you don't get too much at the roots, your hair won't get greasy, but it will be easier to comb and help smooth your frizzies at the same time. You won't regret it. Plus, it's cheap!

I highly recommend the Joico Moisture Recovery because I know how awesome it is, but if you have a favorite conditioner, feel free to use that. :)

All you need is water, your favorite conditioner, and a spray bottle. 

(I used an old leave-in conditioner bottle that I had on hand, but you can buy cheap spray bottles pretty much anywhere if you don't have any.)

Figure out how much liquid your bottle holds.

Put about 2/3 that amount of water in a mixing bowl.

Squeeze enough conditioner in to equal the remaining 1/3.

Gently stir until it is completely mixed.

Pour mixture into your bottle.

Can you believe this is what my hair did with NO product other than conditioner?!

I realize it's not as pretty as it probably would be using heat styling, but this is air dried.

My hair is never this "well behaved" when it's air dried, even with product!

Obviously, I'm kind of happy about this. :) I hope it works for you, too!

Easier Bacon Grease Disposal

My husband loves bacon. At one point, I actually considered buying him Tactical Bacon as a joke, but figured it probably wasn't very frugal to spend over $20 on 9 ounces of precooked bacon that probably doesn't even taste like bacon.

Unfortunately for him, he doesn't get it that often. I think I would probably cook it more if I didn't think it was such a pain to clean up. I'm the type of person that if I don't clean up my mess right away, it sits all day and I never get back to it. Since you're not supposed to pour bacon grease down the drain, I always have to wait for it to harden before I can scrape it into the trash. Therefore, the bacon pan usually sits there until I can get back to it. And let me tell you, the smell of stale bacon grease does not smell as enticing as freshly cooked bacon.

Now that I realized how much easier it can be to clean up the grease, Tony may just get more bacon than he's accustomed to. :)

All you need is a bowl and some aluminum foil.

Line the bowl with your foil.

Pour your hot grease in the center and set aside.

While the grease it resting, you can just forget about it. 

Go ahead and clean your kitchen...even that greasy pan that you usually have to wait for!

By the time you're done eating and cleaning, your grease will probably be solidified.

Now you just have to ball up the foil and toss it in the trash! :)

Can't get any easier than that!

Storing Cupcake Liners

I had to stop at the dollar store to pick up some snack bags yesterday and saw that they had some super cute cupcake liners come in recently. They almost always have plain white ones, but occasionally they will have a cute selection and it's way cheaper than buying them from the grocery store. Since they don't always have them, I picked up a couple packages to have on hand, but when I got home, I wondered where to put them.

Cupcake liners always seem to come in oddly shaped packages that take up a lot of room, then tend to come tumbling down on your head when you're trying to get at your other baking supplies. I don't like taking them out of their packages unless I have to because I always think they are going to get dusty and squished.

When looking at my new liners, I figured there had to be an easier way to store these. I found a clean, wide mouth jar (it's actually an old salsa jar) and dropped the liners in. It worked out perfectly! They are easy to get at, they're all in one place, the jar stores nicely, and they won't get crushed. :)

Don't they have cute prints?

I now have sports, pirates, princesses, and gingham. :)

 Even the mini liners fit nicely! :)

Homemade Chinese Meal

Do you ever wonder how the food is made at your favorite Chinese restaurant? Awhile back, my sister and her husband were getting ready to drive back home (out of state) and decided to take the whole family out to the Chinese buffet. I sat across from my 17 year old brother and realized he had very little on his plate. What he did have on there was nothing you needed to go to a Chinese restaurant for...like fried chicken and jello.

I asked him why he was only eating that and he replied that he actually knew what was in the food on his plate. He was scared that the "Chinese food" contained cat or horse or some other weird ingredients.

I laughed at him then continued to eat my meal because I love Chinese! If there is cat in there, they do a good job frying it up and covering it in breading and sauces to make many people crave it. Maybe it's the MSG that makes it taste so good.

Tony also loves Chinese and was really craving it yesterday. With how busy he has been lately with school and work, who am I to tell him no? (It had nothing to do with the fact that it sounded good to me, too. Honestly.)  I've made Chinese at home before and I think we finally have it down to which dishes we like homemade. We decided to do a little "date night" out of it. We opened a bottle of wine and cooked this meal together. It may look a little intimidating since there is so much to it, but it's actually very easy to make. It's just time consuming. Expect to spend about 1 1/2-2 hours in the kitchen. That's why it really was nice to do it as a date. You could also get some friends together and make it together for a dinner party.

Make it fun instead of stressful. :)

I will post all the recipes for this meal on the bottom of this post, but I will explain the steps we did with the pictures as best as I can. Feel free to maybe just try one or two recipes if you don't want the whole meal.
Don't these dished look yummy though!? :)

(I forgot to put the Sweet & Sour Sauce in the picture strip though.)

Starting with the Won tons:

Combine cream cheese, garlic and scallions. 

 Place cream cheese mixture into the center of each wrap. (I used the small Pampered Chef scoop.)

Brush the edges of wrap with water and fold into triangles.

Press the edges to seal. 

Place the filled won tons inside the cup of a mini muffin tin (or 2 in each  if using a regular sized tin). 

Spray lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. 

These will need to bake for about 30 minutes at 325 degrees. 

I usually get them ready and set them aside until the sweet and sour chicken has 30 minutes left on the timer, then I put them in the oven to bake so they are fresh out of the oven when it's time to serve.

Next is your Sweet and Sour Chicken:

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. 

Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  

Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. 

 Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish.  

Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk.

 Pour evenly over the chicken. 

Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

Now moving on to the General Tso's Chicken:

In a large mixing bowl combine cornstarch and beaten eggs. Mix well to create a batter. 

Add chicken bits and coat thoroughly.

In a different small bowl combine rice vinegar, wine, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch. 

Mix well and set aside.

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Fry chicken until cooked. Drain on paper towels.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a separate skillet. 

Add dried chili peppers to your wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. 

Add chicken to the skillet and stir fry for a couple minutes.

Add sauce mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring until the sauce becomes thickened and bubbly.

While the General Tso's chicken is frying, 

go ahead and get your Sweet and Sour dipping sauce ready:

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. (Use a whisk if cornstarch clumps.)

Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly.

Once thickened, take off heat and set aside to start the fried rice.

(Doesn't it look yummy?! Dip your won tons in there. It's amazing!)

Last is your Fried Rice:

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet.  

Add the peas and carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. 
(Adding some ham is really good, too.) 

Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side. 

Pour your eggs on the other side of the skillet.

Stir fry until scrambled.

Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. 

 Stir fry until thoroughly heated.

I hope you have a wonderful meal! :)

Cream Cheese Won tons (Adapted from Better than Burgers)

8 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, diced

won ton wrappers (store bought or homemade)

Combine cream cheese, garlic and scallions. 

Place cream cheese mixture into the center of each wrap. (I used the small Pampered Chef scoop.)

Brush the edges of wrap with water and fold into triangles. Press the edges to seal. 

Place the filled won tons inside the cup of a mini muffin tin (or 2 in each  if using a regular sized tin). 

Spray lightly with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray and bake at 325 for about 30 minutes.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken (Adapted from Life as a Lofthouse)

Chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 Tbsp ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. 

Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. 

Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  

Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. 

Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. 

Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. 

Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  

General Tso's Chicken (Adapted from Blog Chef)

Chicken Coating:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks

5 dried red chili peppers

3 green onions, sliced

3 eggs, beaten

½ cup cornstarch

vegetable oil, for frying

Sauce:

1 ½ Tbsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp white wine

3 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

In a large mixing bowl combine cornstarch and beaten eggs. Mix well to create a batter. Add chicken bits and coat thoroughly.

In a different small bowl combine rice vinegar, wine, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch. Mix well and set aside.

Heat some oil in a large skillet. Fry chicken until cooked. Drain on paper towels.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a separate skillet. Add dried chili peppers to your wok and stir fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken to the skillet and stir fry for a couple minutes.

Add sauce mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring until the sauce becomes thickened and bubbly. 

Sweet & Sour Sauce (Adapted from Food.com)

1 cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup water

3 Tbsp white vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. (Use a whisk if cornstarch clumps.)

Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.

Fried Rice (Adapted from Life as a Lofthouse)                                                                                         

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best)

3 Tbsp sesame oil

1 cup peas and carrots, frozen or thawed

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet.  

Add the peas and carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. 

Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side. 

Pour your eggs on the other side of the skillet and stir fry until scrambled. 

Add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. 

Stir fry until thoroughly heated.

Shrimp & Leek Linguine

When I was purchasing leeks this week, I was standing at the checkout for about 15 minutes. The cashier didn't know what they were, and when I told her they were leeks, she scowled and started telling me about how she had never heard of anyone using them and how strange they looked. After telling me her opinion, she realized that she didn't know the code to put in the computer and called over a coworker. She then proceeded to tell the coworker the same thing she told me. After standing there listening to her opinions all over again, the coworker went off to find the code. While waiting, the cashier saw a spill in a different aisle and walked away without a word. I was left there with my "weird", codeless leeks awkwardly waiting for the coworker to return. Eventually she did come back and the coworker actually finished checking me out as my original cashier was still lingering in the other aisle.

 Maybe I enjoyed this dish more knowing what a process it was to get the right ingredients, but either way, the testing of patience was well worth it! I made this a couple nights ago and my husband loved it.

If leeks aren't available to you, you could also use a mild onion. That's basically what leeks taste like. Just seems a little fancier than a regular old onion. :)

And since this recipe is from Rachael Ray's website, it's a meal you can whip together in only 30 minutes!

In a bowl, combine shrimp, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, lemon peel, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. 

Toss to coat well.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Add pasta and cook until done. Drain.

While you're waiting for the pasta, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over med-high heat.

Add leeks and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.

 Push leeks to side of pan and add shrimp.

Cook until pink and firm.

 Pour in wine and stir, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add cooked pasta to the skillet.

Season again with salt and pepper and toss.

Add parsley and enjoy!

Ingredients

1 pound fresh linguine

1 pound shrimp, shelled and cleaned

1/4 c. olive oil, divided

1 Tbsp. grated lemon peel

2 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (less if you don't like spicy foods)

salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup thinly sliced leeks

1/2 c. dry white wine or vermouth

1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

In a bowl, combine shrimp, 2 tbsp of the olive oil, lemon peel, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Toss to coat well.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt. Add pasta and cook until done. Drain.

While you're waiting for the pasta, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over med-high heat.

Add leeks and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.

Push leeks to side of pan and add shrimp. Cook until pink and firm.

Pour in wine and stir, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add cooked pasta to the skillet.

Season again with salt and pepper.

Add parsley and enjoy!