Friday, February 22, 2013

Dairy-Free (and gf) Ranch Dressing

                   
 I've been wanting to find a dairy-free ranch dressing  
for a while now.
It helps that it's also gluten-free.
It can be made with rice, soy or cow's milk. 
This dressing works great on fish, salads, baked potatoes, 
steamed veggies or even oven-baked steak fries.
  You can find the original recipe here.


      



Recipes with fewer ingredients are always welcome here.
Why complicate things?




A homemade spice mix makes this 
just the way you like it!



The dressing can be as thick or thin as you want it to be,
just adjust the amount of milk you use.
It does firm up a bit after refrigeration.

Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing

1 C mayo
1 1/2 t lemon juice
7 1/2 T plain rice milk
1 t spice mix (recipe follows)

Mix lemon juice and milk
(Pour 1 1/2 t lemon juice into measuring cup,
then fill with milk to 1/2 C.)
Let sit 10 minutes.
Whisk mayo, milk mixture and spice mix.
Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!




Spice Mix
6 t chili powder
5 t paprika
4 1/2 t cumin
2 1/2 t garlic powder
3 t onion powder
1/4 t cayenne powder (optional)
Place all ingredients right into 
a recycled glass spice jar and shake.
Enjoy!


realfoodallergyfree


Gluten Free Fridays @vegetarianmamma.com Sharing glutenfree recipes for all


 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Thrifty Thursday-Weatherization Inspection

 
We applied with the  
a couple of years ago to see if we could save more 
on our energy bills.

 "Weatherization programs deal with an assortment of different repairs and upgrades, including replacing seals, weatherstripping, doors, air conditioners, heaters and windows. Windows may be updated, repaired or replaced during weatherization, depending on the condition of the window and the needs of the resident. "

It took some time for our names 
to get to the top of the list,
but we finally made it.
Our home is newer, 
so we weren't sure what we could do
 to improve things.
Sometimes I wonder if newer homes are built 
as well as older ones.
I was curious to know their findings.


 A technician came to our house 
to do an inspection this week.
She measured all of our windows and doors 
from the outside.
Then she checked out the water heater
and asked me what our concerns were 
regarding the use of energy.
Our electric bills range from $85 in the winter,
to close to $200 in the summer,
when the A/C is running 'round the clock. 



This vinyl covering was placed over our front door.
All the windows and doors throughout the house
had to be closed and the A/C turned off.



 This fan was placed in the hole 
at the bottom of the door.



 The idea is to decompress the air inside the home
so that any leaks can be detected.
Looks kinda sci-fi, no?


 Our reading was pretty good.
A manual inspection of the windows 
and doors was completed.
There were several areas where weather stripping
or caulking could be helpful.



After inspecting the attic for adequate insulation,
the ducts were checked for leaks.
This one in Lil' Guy's room was fine.





The one in the laundry room was not.

Several suggestions were made 
to improve our energy conservation.
After funding comes in for the program,
a contractor is assigned to come and 
complete the suggested work.

We hope it will help our electric bill to decrease
and conserve energy overall.
If you qualify, I highly recommend 
having this kind of audit done on your home,
especially if you are a new owner.
The savings could really add up in the end.

 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Tuesday Tidings-Kid's Menu


One of the many blessings of being a homeschooling family,
is getting to each lunch at home together daily.
Not only does it allow us to enjoy each other's company,
it fosters a feeling of independence.
My son is learning how to make real food
and becoming more responsible for his own choices.
I found a way to make it easier for both of us
so that we can enjoy our family noontime meal.








A simple menu was printed up
with most of the dishes he enjoys on a regular basis.
Taking into consideration his multiple allergies,
the selections are all safe for him to eat.
He just has to pick one.  
It's posted right next to his seat at the table.








I had to add my own twist to the menu.
I'm like that...




What a blessing to be able to spend so much time
with my favorite person in the world.
 The menu gives me one less thing to have to decide
and gives him a feeling of control
about his own health and well-being.
It's a win-win! 


A Bowl Full of Lemons
Organize It! link party


The Chicken Chick




Simple Saturdays Blog Hop



Monday, February 18, 2013

Boy's Room Redo


Lil' Guy's room has not exactly been my favorite place lately.
The occupant is a real treasure,
but the contents have been getting out of hand.
We did a family project
to help make his room easier for him to manage
(and keep his Momma sane at the same time).


The place really needed a little TLC.
We wanted to tidy up and rearrange,
using what we already have.
As we are planning on moving this year,
it didn't make sense to purchase a lot of stuff.
What we had was enough,
it just needed to be reorganized.




I really have a hard time with books on the floor.
It seems so disrespectful.
Especially when there are perfectly good bins
to contain it all.
We had a little talk about that...


The majority of his Lego sets are kept in this large
cabinet.  He'd gotten pretty lax about keeping
the sets together.
We're hoping that we have come up with a more manageable solution.


This is a box where he places his 
electronic components.
It was the first thing you saw when entering the room.
Not the best impression.


This cabinet held his rather large 
diecast car collection.
These were things he played with at a younger age,
so he felt able to part with many of them.
The remainders were placed into a sealed plastic bag
and placed in his closet bin.
The cabinet was given away
to allow for more floor space.




Some of the clothes were never worn,
so out they went.
Making room is one of the first considerations
when reclaiming a space.


The placement of furniture wasn't quite right.


Clothes, toys and other items
were donated to our local
Meals on Wheels thrift store.
The income from the shop helps to support
this very worthwhile program for seniors 
right in our community.
I'm so proud of him for his willingness
to part with things that someone
else may be able to use and enjoy.




Everything was moved away from the walls
so the entire area could be vacuumed.



It's easiest to start with a clean slate.
The closet shelves were emptied.

 

We posted about this easy construction project here.
Some bins and a repurposed door make it
one of the most functional spaces in his room.



His Lego books are now kept with his Lego magazines
inside the closet.

His electronics are now kept in the corner.  
The bag on top is for those 
he enjoys taking with him on road trips.


The room seems to flow better now.
Everything is contained and has a place.
We hope it will suit him,
but are open to changing things again if need be.
Sometimes you have to keep tweaking
until you find just the right set-up.






It's so nice to see everything off of the carpet.
He has plenty of floor space should he need it.



His Lego sets were sorted and labeled so 
that he knows where all the pieces are
when he wants to use them.


We purged only a handful of books.
Those are one of the hardest things 
for him to let go of.
We all love reading in this family.




We can fit whole collections of books in these spacious bins.
They slide out for browsing.





I've worked on his closet before.
It does my heart good to see 
some empty spots on the shelves.





He uses the drawers for most of his clothes,
so the rods aren't much used.
We're not that into clothes around here.




We're trying something new with the t-shirts 
by rolling them instead of stacking.
We'll see how it goes.

It feels good to have tackled this assignment.

I really believe that creativity can't flow
if it's blocked with too much stuff
or disorganization.
Let's see what Lil' Guy comes up with now!

monday's homestead barn hop