Skip to Content

Chinese Five Spice Powder is often called for in Chinese recipes but can sometimes be hard to find at the store or you may have run out of it. No problem!  Make your own recipe at home. The popular spice uses a mixture of popular winter spices and is super easy to prepare. Keep reading to …

Read More about Chinese Five Spice Recipe – Easily Make Your Own Seasoning

Learning how to devein shrimp is a necessary cooking tip for those who love to cook with shrimp. It’s the final step to make sure that your finished dish looks clean and restaurant quality. Sometimes, this task may have been done for you by the retailer where you purchased the shrimp. Other times, you will …

Read More about How to Devein Shrimp – Tips for Cleaning Shrimp

These basics will help you learn how to grill like a pro. Included are my top 25 grilling tips to make sure that your next barbecue is something your friends will rave about. It’s that time of the year again. One only has to be outside around 6 pm to smell the aroma of someone …

Read More about How to Grill Like a Pro – 25 Grilling Tips for Summer Barbecues

A few months back, I starting seeing a Florida avocado – a  larger green skin avocado in my local supermarket called a “Slimcado.” It was marketed as having 35% fewer calories and 50% less fat than a Hass avocado. For those people who count calories or are concerned with fat intake, this Florida light green …

Read More about Florida Avocado – with Light Green Skin – Slimcado Facts and Nutrition

Do you have plants in your garden that love to climb? English cottage gardens often do, and a wooden garden obelisk (or tuteur) is a structure that gives them room to roam. You can buy these structures, but the cost is prohibitive. $70 is the cheapest one that I have seen and they can run …

Read More about Wooden Garden Obelisk – Building a Garden Tuteur Climbing Trellis

These 20 creative uses for extra large silicone ice cube trays show that they are not just for making ice! If you eat and drink out much, you may have noticed a new trend that has taken over the food and drink industry. The ice cubes are getting larger and larger. Large ice cubes are …

Read More about 20 Creative Uses for Silicone Ice Cube Trays – How to Use Ice Cube Trays

This recipe shows how to make a tamarind paste substitute at home with just four common ingredients. Tamarind paste is a product that is often called for in Thai cooking. It is also something that the average cook does not normally stock. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links …

Read More about Tamarind Paste Substitute – Make a Copycat Recipe at Home

How are your fudge-making skills?  Do you end up with foolproof fudge that forms nice little parcels, or do you find it a challenge?  These cooking tips for making perfect fudge,F will give you wonderful results every time from now on. It’s hard to believe, after a summer of gardening, that the beginning of the …

Read More about Foolproof Fudge Tips – Secrets for Making Perfect Fudge, Every Time

If you love to cook, you know that cooking oil stains on clothing are a common place occurrence. Fortunately, oil stains on clothes are easy to remove if you follow a few simple tips. Removing cooking oil stains from clothes can sometimes be quite hard to do, and it can be especially hard if the …

Read More about Removing cooking Oil Stains from Clothing – How to Get Rid of Oil Stains on Clothes

Thanksgiving will soon be here and for many of us, that means pies will be featured on the dessert menu. These pie crust decorating ideas will take your Thanksgiving pies to a whole new level. Homemade pies have never looked as appealing as these beautiful and easy pie crust designs. With stenciled pie crust tops, …

Read More about Pie Crust Decorating Ideas – Awesome Pie Crust Designs to Wow a Crowd

These top 10 ways to protect the environment at home take very little time to do. It’s just a matter of making a commitment to doing something good for the planet and sticking to that plan. I call this “my environmental to-do list.” Earth Day happens in April, and lots of people talk about how …

Read More about Top 10 Ways to Protect The Environment – Save Our Environment at Home

These pumpkin carving tips will bring out the artist in any budding Halloween decorator and give you a fun decor item to share in your home. If you have tried your hand at pumpkin carving, you will know that an easy Jack o Lantern design is not too difficult. But attempting more elaborate designs may …

Read More about Pumpkin Carving Tips and Tricks – Carve a Pumpkin Easily

An antipasto platter is a delicious combination of cheeses, vegetables and meats, usually served with good wines. It’s a great way to start an evening with friends and is very easy to put together. The holidays are filled with opportunities to gather with friends. What better way to start a party than with an antipasto …

Read More about Antipasto Platter Tips – 14 Ideas for the Perfect Antipasti Platter

Are you looking for a natural and easy-to-care-for fall arrangement?  Try making these DIY Pumpkin Succulent Planters. They look great and can be put together in almost no time at all. This arrangement would be perfect as part of a Thanksgiving centerpiece. All your guests will wonder where you got it. Pumpkins are one of …

Read More about DIY Pumpkin Succulent Planters – Easy Fall Pumpkin Centerpiece

Breakfast just got more fun with this playful idea for making eggs.  If you are like me, you will have a whole host of cookie cutters that you rarely use.  Put them to a creative use by making cookie cutter eggs. Breakfast is considered by many to be the most important meal of the day. …

Read More about Cookie Cutter Eggs – How to Make Egg Molds in Fun Shapes

Do you wonder what to do with that large lump of hard brown sugar? These easy tips for softening brown sugar will have it soft and usable in no time at all. Here are 6 of my best tips to make brown sugar soft again, and suggestions for how to store it for a longer …

Read More about Softening Brown Sugar – 6 Easy Ways to Soften Hard Brown Sugar

From making eggs with cookie cutters to whipping cream with a whisk and storing ginger in vodka, these 11 genius food hacks will make life in the kitchen more fun and cooking easier, too. Getting great food on the table doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Just take advantage of these simple DIY food …

Read More about Food Hacks That Really Work – 11 Kitchen Shortcuts – Cooking Tips

Plants need nourishment to perform in the best way.  Flowers and vegetables love potato starch and using potato water in the garden is a good way to give it to them.  To add starch in a “green way”, save the water you boil your potatoes in.   Starchy water will spur the release of plant nutrients …

Read More about Using Potato Water in the Garden to Nourish Plants with Potato Starch

This homemade fly repellent formula uses the common household cleaner Pine-Sol. It’s a great way to transform a household item for other uses. We all know how bothersome flies can be in any outdoor gathering. Keeping them away often means using harsh chemicals. What if I told you that a common household cleaner, Pine-Sol, could …

Read More about Homemade Fly Repellent – Keep Flies Away with Pine sol

Preparing a homemade mosquito repellent with a lovely aroma and natural ingredients is easy with this tutorial. This DIY essential oil mosquito repellent spray is made with a few common household ingredients, and works well to keep the mosquitoes away. Summer is here. The days are longer and it’s so nice to sit outside in …

Read More about Homemade Mosquito Repellent – Essential Oil DIY Mosquito Repellent Spray

If ants are invading your home and you don’t want to use retail products, home made Borax Ant Killers may be the answer, but how effective are they? I decided to test five of them to find out! Using more organic ant killer remedies is something that many environmentally conscious homemakers have an interest in. …

Read More about Borax Ant Killers – Testing 5 Different Natural Ant Killers Against Terro

Make your own home made Miracle Grow as well as several other plant foods easily with epsom salt, baking soda and household ammonia. It’s time for another fun vegetable garden hack. This DIY Miracle Grow fertilizer is a more organic way to feed your plants. The homemade plant food recipe is easy to make and …

Read More about Home Made Miracle Grow – Make your Own Homemade Plant Fertilizer

Many beginning vegetable gardeners make the common gardening mistake of starting too large. If you don’t have a big yard with room for a large vegetable garden, try growing a vegetable garden on a deck.  Vegetable gardening is one of the great pleasures of the summer months for many gardeners. But for many of us, …

Read More about Vegetable Garden on a Deck – 11 Tips for Growing Vegetables on a Patio

When the new year comes to an end, I like to focus on my goals for the year.   I find that I have the most success when I keep health and wellness goals at the forefront of my mind all year round. If you have been reading my blog lately, you will know that …

Read More about Aids for Health and Wellness Goals for 2020 – Fish Oil, Magnesium and Multi Vitamins

It’s that time of the year.  Pumpkins, Indian Corn and autumn plants all help to make this front porch decor for fall a hit with visitors! Each year, I use supplies from the previous porch but mix them up a bit to make my fall front porch decor a little extra special. This year, I …

Read More about Front Porch Decor for Fall – Autumn Entry Decorating Ideas

One of my favorite vegetables is fresh corn on the cob.  And one of my least favorite vegetables is corn on the cob with a lot of silk remnants sticking to it. Cooking corn in the microwave is the easy way to get silk-free corn every time! These easy tips show how easy it is …

Read More about Cooking Corn in the Microwave – Silk Free Corn on The Cob – No Shucking