As the May long weekend is fast approaching, people often associate this weekend with the start of BBQ season.  So, I thought why not give you a few good tips to help you create the perfect steak for friends and family.

1. Heat up and oil your grill before you start cooking.  This will provide even temperature as well as prevent less sticking.
2. Before you start cooking, make sure you have everything you will need from start to finish beside you.  Nothing is worse than having charred food because you have run inside to grab something you forgot!
3. A squirt bottle will help keep flames at bay, make sure you have one beside the BBQ!
4. You can add extra flavour to your meat by adding items such as hardwood chips, herb stems or grapevine trimmings to your fire.  Be sure to soak them in water first to prevent them from catching fire, and to help provide the aromatic smoke that will flavor the meat.
5. Although a good quality steak can stand on it’s own, adding marinades definitely won’t hurt them.  If you are going to baste with the marinade, make sure that you set aside extra marinade before adding to the meat to avoid cross-contamination.  Be sure that if your basting mixture contains sugar, to not baste until the last bit of cooking.  This will prevent any excess charring.

To extinguish the usual dinner table argument of cooking the steak either too much or too little,  follow this simple guideline to get you that much closer to world peace. 

There is also the technique that chef’s depend on, because not all grills are created equal!  You will see them pressing on the steak a lot of the time to check where the steak is at.

• Rare will be very soft to the touch
• Medium will feel firm, but have some give in the center
• Well done will feel very firm

You can also equate this to pressing the fleshy part of your palm (right below the thumb) to compare firmness.  With your hand partially open, this would be considered rare.  With your fingers touching your palm, this would be considered medium.  With your hand clenched shut, this would be considered well done.

Please feel free to leave any tips you have that have gotten you closer to that great steak!

Happy Grilling!

Charlie Bit My Finger!!!! I have watched this video over and over and I laugh every time i see it. Charlie is a real jerk!

Another funny video that I have watched many times is Kassie Kicks Montsters Ass. This video is really cute. I especially love her facial expressions when she is explaining her reasoning as to why she is going to “kick it’s ask”.

So…I was shown these videos by my husband and I have to admit…they are pretty funny.  The second one is my favorite! There is quite a bit of swearing, but they have a really catchy tune to them!  The artist actually looks a LOT like a friend of ours, which makes it even funnier for us.  He even quotes working at the same place that our friend does. He has quite a few videos, but these have my vote for the funniest!

Hope you like!

***Warning…Explicit Lyrics…might not be safe for work!!***

Does anyone know how to fix a Burnham Series 2 Gas Boiler Furnace??

I turned the heat off last week due to the warm weather and once it got cold again I went to turn the heat back on and of course, no such luck.  My furnace has decided to go on strike.  My husband has been trying to fix it himself for the last couple of days and of course, does not want to call anyone in because he feels that he can fix it himself!  Ha, ya right!!  So…please , if you have any tips, let me know…cuz it’s damn cold in here!

When it’s time to get dirty in the garden I find myself feeling totally overwhelmed as to where to start.  I came across this Early Spring Checklist from Canadian Gardening and I think that it will be a great tool to get started out in that jungle!

Early Spring Checklist

Hopefully it will help you too!

Need some help around the house with your cleaning?  Who doesn’t!  I found a list that will help you choose age-appropriate chores for your children.  Not only will this help you with the housework, it will help your children be successful and develop a sense of pride in their accomplishments.  You’ll also be that much closer to getting the spa treatment you’ve been putting off!

Toddlers Ages 2-3 Can:

• Pick up toys and return then to the toy box
• Put books back on the shelves
• Take dirty clothes to the laundry
• Put socks on their hands and dust their furniture

Preschoolers Ages 4-5 Can:

• Dust furniture
• Set the dinner table
• Clear the dinner table
• Help put away groceries

Kids Ages 6-8 Can:

• Vacuum
• Take out the trash
• Take care of the family pet
• Fold laundry
• Put away laundry

Kids ages 9-12 Can:

• Load dishes in the dishwasher
• Wash and dry dishes by hand
• Help make easy meals
• Clean the bathroom
• Do yard work such as raking leaves and pruning small bushes

Teens Ages 13-17 Can:

• Help with the laundry
• Clean windows
• Clean appliances in the kitchen
• Vacuum all of the house
• Prepare meals
• Shop for groceries

Well…I guess I’m officially on a cleaning kick since Monday!  Sick…I know.  Hahah.  We have had some really nice weather in the past couple of days which I guess is where I’ve gotten my inspiration to clean the house.  The sun shows all the dust!  Anyway, I’ve listed a few tips below to help make your cleaning a bit easier and hopefully you will be less encouraged to pull your hair out!

• Put a dish of hot water in the microwave for easy clean up.  Add a slice of lemon and boil the water for about 2 minutes until steam is produced.  Keep the door closed another 5 minutes and then wipe the interior with a damp cloth.
• Use a soft toothbrush to clean corners and crevices.
• Pour salt on a fresh liquid spill and let it set for an hour.  Vacuum or blot the salt with a paper towel.  Change towels as they become saturated.
• Remove finger marks on stainless steel by buffing them out with a small amount of baby oil on a clean cloth.  Then rinse off with a cloth dampened with club soda.
• Remove rust stains on sinks, toilets, tubs, and tile by using a fresh lemon dipped in salt.  The citric acid oxidizes and eats away the rust.
• Clean toilets overnight with denture-cleaning tablets.
• Steam it clean by running a hot shower for about 10 minutes before you’re ready to clean.  The steam from the hot water will penetrate mold, mildew and hairspray deposits for quicker cleanup in the bathroom.
• Remove musty odors in any room by applying fragrance to a few cotton balls and placing them strategically out of sight around the room.

Enjoy!

I’ve started my spring cleaning today by dusting some of my window blinds.  We have 2 inch faux wood blinds everywhere in our house and some of our windows are quite large.  So, after 4 of the window and several of the Swiffer dusters later I thought to myself…there must be a better way of doing this!!  So I started to look online for better ways to clean your blinds and i honestly didn’t find much out there.  There was one idea of using a sock on your hand and another idea of using the vacuum cleaning and I found that the Swiffer duster worked better for me.  The downfall of this method is the amount of those dusters you go through is insane!  Anyway…I gave up after 2 more windows only because I ran out of the refills!  I will continue the blinds when I get more of them in the next couple of days.

While I was looking online I came across a handy Spring Cleaning checklist, which of course was done up by none other than the “Queen of Clean” Martha Stewart. It is a fairly thorough list and I am going to do most of what she has on this list plus a couple of other things that aren’t on here that I like to have done at my house.  Below is a condensed version of her list as well as the link to the full version.  Enjoy with a dose of lithium and a full glass of wine!

Throughout the house

• Wipe walls and ceilings
• Reseal grout lines (using a grout sealer)
• Vacuum and shampoo rugs
• Dust books and shelves
• Clean upholstered furnishings
• Polish metal door and window hardware
• Dust your home thoroughly
• Wax wooden furniture
• Ensure fire safety
• Wash window screens
• Clean window treatments
• Wax non-wood floors

Room by room

Kitchen

• Dust refrigerator coils
• Defrost the freezer

Living room

• Swap heavy curtains, rugs and throws for lightweight ones (um…do people really do this??)

Bedrooms

• Rotate bed and change blankets
• Clean pillows

Bathrooms

• Discard expired cosmetics and beauty products
• Update first-aid kit

Home Office

• Organize files
• Clean computers (and she doesn’t mean erasing the hard drives…LOL)

Closets

• Replace cool-weather clothing with warm-weather clothing
• Donate apparel you no longer use

Utility Spaces

• Clean attic and basement, giving away or discarding unwanted items

Outdoor Spaces

• Clean porch ceilings and walls
• Scrub decks, patios, driveways and walkways
• Wash outdoor furniture
• Inspect light fixtures

Martha Stewart Spring Cleaning List

So…I am not sure if it’s just me, but I always find spiders in the weirdest places!  It’s like they are hiding there waiting for me to find them!  Spiders and I have a very interesting history…we go back a long way!

When I was younger, I would find huge spiders in my room on a regular basis.  I’m not talking about your average sized spider here…but the BIG ones!  They would be on the wall, under my pillow, in my clothes and I have even woken up to them being on my neck in the middle of the night!!! I would even dream about spiders!!  There was no getting away from them!

When my husband and I moved to our first house they seemed to stay away for a few years…guess it took them a while to find me…haha.  I think mainly it was because we had bought a new house and they just hadn’t settled in yet.  Let me tell you, those years were very blissful without those pesky spiders!  But alas, they eventually returned.  It seemed they had a new favorite spot to hide this time.  They seemed to like to hide in the folded towels in the linen closet.  Picture this: you are getting out of the shower and you grab the towel to wrap your hair up in.  Your head is upside down and as you are wrapping the towel around your head you happen to glance up into the towel…and behold!!!! A HUGE spider is sitting there to greet you! After the 3rd or 4th time of that happening to me, I now shake out every towel as I take it out of the linen closet.

The current house we are in is an older house on acreage…yes, I know, I’m really setting myself up here, aren’t I?  Well, let’s just say it has been an interesting couple of years so far.  They still love the towels, but they have evolved into hiding inside the lampshades and they really like dropping down from the ceiling in front of me.  I am convinced that they get a real kick out of seeing me jump up out of my chair kicking and screaming.  My husband is trained to know that when he hears my screams, he comes upstairs with the broom or vacuum cleaning asking, “OK…where is it?”.

Yesterday marked the beginning of spider season in my house.  As I was grabbing the towels to put them in the washing machine, out popped the first spider of the season to greet me.  My husband tried to catch him with the vacuum, but he escaped.  I’m sure Mr. Spider will find a new and exciting way to surprise me before he meets his demise!  I will keep you posted!

One of the most requested dishes that people ask me to bring to their party is this Spinach Dip recipe.  I always agree to bring it as it is very easy to make and tastes so good!  Like the artichoke dip from a previous post, everyone loves this dip.

• 1 package frozen chopped spinach - drained well
• 1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix
• 2 cups of sour cream
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 baguettes - cut into small pieces
• 1 sourdough loaf (optional)

In a bowl mix the sour cream, mayo, cheese and the soup mix together.  Add the spinach, ensuring that it has been drained and most of the moisture has been taken out.  Mix until the spinach is well combined with the other ingredients.  Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.  This will allow all the ingredients to blend together.  Cut the baguettes into bite size pieces and put into a container/Ziploc bag until ready to use.  I will either serve the dip in a bowl or I will take a sourdough loaf and hollow it out and put the dip inside.  The latter version is a more traditional way to serve this dish, but either way is fine.

If I am doubling this recipe (and I always do if I take this to a party), I will double every ingredient except the spinach.  I find that 2 packages is too much spinach, so I usually use 1 and a half packages.  This is because the spinach tends to soak up the other ingredients over time, leaving the dip much too thick.  By all means, if you prefer the extra spinach, add it as it will not ruin the recipe.

Enjoy!