Baking Soda Love

It's been a while since I've talked about how amazing baking soda is. Today I have two of my kitchen favorite- in the dishwasher and cleaning veggies.

Those dual action tabs that you can buy are nice, but usually expensive. I got some powdered detergent through freecycle and on its own it wasn't that good. Dishes were spotty, sometimes with food stuck on. I decided to add a little baking soda to the pre-wash cup and the results have been amazing. Everything comes out super clean for just a few cents a load.

Cleaning fruits and vegetables has always been one of those things I hate to do. When I use soap it's hard to get all of it off but water doesn't usually seem like enough. Now, for things like apples, pears, zucchini, and cucumber I use a dash of wet baking soda. I wet the item, put a dash of baking soda in my hand and rub away. The gentle abrasiveness of baking soda strips away the dirt and wax, making me a happy girl.

Baking soda uses- drain cleaner and making baking powder.

When you run out of the essentials

One day last week I really wanted some biscuits. I measured out the flour and salt, mixed in the cheddar, chopped up the onion (I was making cheddar/spring onion biscuits), and realized I didn't have any baking powder.

In general I'm not a big fan of making lot's of random trips to the grocery store. It tends to send the budget through the roof, wastes gas, and more importantly, I wanted the biscuits 10 minutes ago. Instead I turned to our friend Google. I'll spare you the science, but in a pinch the recipe below will work. I haven't looked at prices recently to know if this is more/less expensive than the regular stuff, but I will next time I visit the grocery store.

For 1 teaspoon (tsp) of baking powder:
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 tsp of cornstarch

UPDATE: This doesn't really fit the WFMW theme, but with kids I babysit/younger family I love baking on a rainy day. Who wants to go in search of baking powder in the rain with kids? My second favorite rainy summer day activity- running around in the rain.

A quick $10

A week ago I went through a stack of papers on our couch that were impeding my ability to lounge appropriately. 80% of it was Gameboy's mail which I sorted into things to look at, envelopes, and things for the recycle bin. Hidden in the pile was a $10 gift card offer from Target for switching a prescription, which I took advantage of in asap. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of our grocery budget is spent there, so it will be used quickly!

Frozen Shredded Cheese

Of late I've developed an obsession with my freezer. Saving lots of money at the grocery store doesn't make sense if the food goes to waste. And when you find amazing deals at the grocery store it's hard to say no.

I remembered reading a blog where the author mentioned in passing that they freeze cheese. Intrigued, and needing to try it for myself, I threw an 8 oz bag of shredded cheddar in the freezer. A week later I pulled it out. The cheese worked wonderfully in my most popular applications- quesadillas, on beans, with eggs.

At the moment there are 4 bags of super sale ($1.50) cheese hanging out in the freezer. That's what works for me (and the grocery budget)!