Shamrock Shakes

This picture came from http://backtoherroots.com/2011/03/17/thirsty-thursday-shamrock-shake/

It is tradition in my home to make (or buy) :) Shamrock Shakes for St. Patrick's Day. The above is not my picture as I haven't made them yet (since it's not St. Patty's Day yet) this year, and I never took pictures in past years. They are so easy to make and SOOOOO yummy. All you need is:

Vanilla Ice Cream
Milk
Mint Flavoring
Green Food Coloring

That's it! I don't measure out my ingredients. I just put enough ice cream in for our whole family and add enough milk to make it the consistency I like for shakes. Then put a TINY bit of mint flavoring. And I mean a TINY unless you want to clear your sinuses cause it is STRONG. Put 3 or 4 drops of green food coloring and you're done. They are so worth the very little effort it takes to make. And of course they're fun for St. Patricks Day. Oh yes, and you can add a dollop of whip cream on top like the girl from Back to Her Roots did in her picture. I think that will be added to our yearly tradition this year. Yum!

Clean Your Microwave in 90 Seconds

Okay, I just happened to discover a SUPER easy way to clean my microwave, by accident. So here's what you do. Get a microwave-safe dish/bowl and fill it with about an inch of water. Stick it in the microwave, close the door, and turn the microwave on high for about 3-5 minutes (or more if you added more water).

(Taken with my phone for quick upload & this picture was taken AFTER I cleaned it... clearly)

When it's done, CAREFULLY take out the hot dish with water and wipe down the walls, floor, and ceiling of the microwave with a damp cloth. The combination of the steam and heat soften the splatters and make for EASY removal of all the "junk".  The now dreaded task of cleaning my microwave is not so dreaded anymore. No more scrubbing or using chemicals to remove all the food spots. It took me about 90 seconds to wipe down my microwave sparkling clean after microwaving the water. I happened to discover this after I microwaved something with a high water content. After noticing that my microwave had steam all over it I decided to wipe it down to dry it. When I did, the food splatters just wiped off like it was a commercial or something. So there's your survival tip of the day. A super easy, and time-saver way to clean that microwave!

I'm Baaaaaack! :)

After a long needed break I am back to blogging. Just too much going on over the holidays. Now I'm ready to start blogging again. So here we go, bring it on 2012! :)