Simply Me Sandi

  How to Clean Your Washing Machine Oh my grossness. Have you ever cleaned your washing machine? Like really take it all apart and deep clean it? And then we took it apart. And the grossness only got worse. It was nasty and coated with black stuff. I had been reading tutorials on how to clean washing machines and decided I didn’t want to use bleach. I wanted to do it using more natural products. So I chose to use white vinegar and baking soda. Super simple. First I (well my husband) took the agitator out of the machine and took it apart. Then I soaked it in the sink and used a toothbrush with baking soda on it to scrub the gunk off. Yuck! It took a lot of scrubbing. Disclaimer – I’m not sure if the agitator can be taken out of all washing machines so make sure to confirm this before yanking it out. Once I had cleaned the agitator and put it all back together, I filled the basin with hot water and added 3 cups of white vinegar and ½ cup of baking soda. Then let the machine run throu...

  Calico Beans (Baked Beans) Calico Beans (Baked Beans) are one of my mom’s recipes that she made for church potlucks when I was growing up. It’s a great addition to summer BBQs and potlucks. Every time I make it, I get so many compliments and requests for the recipe. I asked her why “Calico Beans” and she said because of the multicolored beans. So play with it and add the types of beans that you like. I’ve used Kidney, Black, Pinto, and Great Northern. I love making it in a crockpot (rather than baking) since I’m usually taking it somewhere. Link to my crockpot (it has a lid that locks). Calico Beans (Baked Beans) Ingredients 1/4 lb bacon 1 lb ground beef 1/2 C onion, chopped (I use onion salt) 1/2 C brown sugar 1/2 C ketchup 2 T vinegar 1 t salt 1 can kidney beans 1 can black beans 1 large can pork and beans (I like Bush Baked Beans) Instructions Brown bacon, ground beef, and onions. Put all ingredients in crockpot and cook for 3-4 hours on low. Or bake at 350 for 1 hour. Ca...

S’mores Mix Have you tried the S’mores Mix from Costco? It’s good, but for $10, I want amazing. It reminded me of the S’mores Mix that I make. And IT IS AMAZING! Super easy, only 4 ingredients, and quick to make. Tastes SO MUCH better than the store bought stuff. My daughter and I whipped some up last night to deliver to some friends for Halloween treats. And we still had a bit left over for breakfast this morning. S’mores Mix Ingredients 1/4 C butter 1 (10 oz) bag regular marshmallows 1 box of Golden Graham cereal 1 bag chocolate chips Instructions Grease a jelly roll pan. Pour Golden Grahams and 1/3 bag of chocolate chips onto jelly roll pan. In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add marshmallows and keep stirring until the marshmallows are completely melted. Add 2/3 bag of chocolate chips and stir until melted. Remove from heat. Pour marshmallow mix over over cereal and chocolate chips. Mix together (I mix with my hands). Let cool and enjoy. Note – You can use frozen c...

  Fat Head Pizza Holy cow! We found a new pizza crust recipe! If you haven’t tried Fat Head Pizza Dough you are missing out. Even if you aren’t doing Keto, it’s a great switch from regular pizza dough. I like to double the batch and make a pizza for dinner and calzones to save for lunches. I’ve made regular pizza (yum), calzones (yum), and crackers (bleh). Next I’m going to try bagels. Fat Head Pizza Ingredients 1 3/4 C shredded mozzarella cheese (I’ve also used cheddar jack and it turned out great, so feel free to experiment) 3/4 C almond flour 2 T cream cheese 1 egg pinch salt 1/2 t garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning Pizza toppings – sauce, cheese, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, pineapple, tomatoes, olives, ground beef, mushrooms, herbs, etc Instructions Mix shredded cheese and almond flour in a microwaveable bowl. Add the cream cheese. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir. Microwave on high for another 30 seconds. Stir. Add egg, salt, and spices, mix gently. Place in bet...

  Tangy Pickle Relish Here’s the recipe for the Tangy Pickle Relish. This is my favorite of the two, but both are really good!  Link for regular Pickle Relish . Tangy Pickle Relish Ingredients 3 lbs cucumbers (8-9 pickling cucumbers) 2 yellow onions 1 red bell pepper 5 jalapenos ¼ C pickling salt 3 C white vinegar ½ C sugar 5 cloves garlic, minced 2 t dill seed 2 t mustard seed 2 t celery seed ½ t turmeric Instructions Finely chop cucumbers and onions in food processor. Be careful not to over process or the relish can end up mushy. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt, stir well. Let stand for 1 hour. Drain mixture in a colander, rinse under cold water and drain again, pressing out any excess moisture. This takes awhile and a lot of squeezing to get all the juice out. Chop bell and jalapeno peppers in food processor and add to cucumber onion mixture. In a large pot, bring vinegar, sugar, garlic, dill seed, mustard seed, celery seed, and turmeric to a boil over medium h...