Squeaky Clean Ovens

Ok.  To preface, I had no idea if this would work or not, and was really hoping I wasn't wasting my time.  My oven is N-A-S-T-Y.  You should know that we bought our 50 year old house, about 5 years ago.  And for 5 years I've been looking at 50 years of someone else's baked on mess in my oven.  You should also know I am TERRIFIED to try to run the "clean" cycle on this oven...or any oven.  I'm also not a fan of oven cleaners because of the smell and harsh chemicals.  I'm sure you're starting to see my dilemma.  So, I decided to try and tackle it the old fashioned way.  Basic things from my kitchen, and a lot of elbow grease. 

Here's pic of how disgusting the oven door was...just so you know I'm not joshing you.

Gross, I know.

First I heated up my oven for a bit, to warm up and soften the goo on the oven door.  Makes sense, right?  Then, I gathered some baking soda, vinegar and a scrub brush.  This is where it gets a little McGuyver-y.  Remember those volcanoes you made in middle school, by combining vinegar and baking soda.  Yup.  You're going to do that.  Alllll over the oven door. 

Then I let it sit.  And sit.  And sit.  I took a couple calls from work, ate a burrito, etc.  Then the little bit of hard work starts.  With your scrub brush, get to work.  It comes off pretty easily, but you do have to put your back into it a bit. 

The result???

A cleaner oven door!  It worked!  Huzzah!

If you're cleaning along with me, congratulations on successfully cleaning your oven without the use of harsh chemicals or the scary oven clean setting.

Why didn't I clean the entire oven?  Baby steps, my friend, baby steps.

WFD? Pot Roast!!!

My online mom's group is always asking "WFD?" (what's for dinner) because we're constantly looking for easy, delicious meal ideas.  One of my personal favorites?  Pot Roast.  It's beyond easy and so delicious.  It's one of those meals you prep, throw in the oven, and forget about for a few hours.  When you're ready to come back...shazam!  Flavorful, pull apart goodness.

Here's what I use.

Beef (this is also delicious with pork)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Carrots
Onion
Celery
Olive Oil
Beef Stock

Season your beef with the salt and pepper and put it aside while you make your veggies.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cut your celery and carrots into same size pieces and half your onion.  Pour a little olive oil in your pan to coat it and saute your veggies until soft, while browning your onion.

 

Be careful with the oil!!  I had a run in a few weeks ago while frying up some chicken.  Now my wrist looks diseased :(

 

 

After everything is soft/browned, add it into your baking dish.  Cover this with the beef stock, cover it, and put it in the oven for THREE TO FIVE HOURS.

 

Now we wait.

And wait.

And wait.

Man...the house smells amaaaaaazing!

 

After a few hours you can take it out of the oven and it should look close to this.

 

Shred and devour.

 

Your welcome.

(and yes, I did add mushrooms last minute)

 

Fun With Rice - A Colorfun Sensory Activity

It's been snowing on and off here on the East Coast and we're all going CrAzY from cabin fever.  To break the monotony, some of my girlfriends have been making colored rice as a sensory activity for their little ones.  I couldn't wait to jump on that wagon!  It was so easy to do!  Here is what you need:

2 Rice
A few tablespoons of vinegar
Food coloring in your favorite colors

 

I took about two cups of rice (per color) and put it in a zip close baggie with a few tablespoons of vinegar, and enough drops of food coloring to get nice, bright colors.  After squishing the rice mixture around in the baggies, I laid it out on a baking sheet and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  You basically want the rice to dry in the oven.  When it comes out, it looks like this:

 

 

I combined green and blue rice, after it had cooled, in a container to hide small, wooden objects for Declan to find.  The verdict:

 

 

He loved it!  We have lots of fun feeling the rice, letting it run through our fingers, digging in it and finding & burying the wooden toys.  We've tried tasting it a few times, but it tastes like vinegar...so he wasn't too thrilled.  Is it messy?  Yes.  But we've found that if you can put the container on a pan with a lip, it helps to keep the rice in one place.  If not, it's super easy to vacuum up.  Nice!