DIY Windshield Washer - Winter Car Hack

 

Winter means slushy roads, snow and dirt on your car windshield and you can easily get thru jugs of the bought stuff.  

If you run out of supply and you don't want to head to the store in that "cold icky stuff, or with the current pandemic issues" then here is how you can create your own windshield washer in a pinch that doesn't freeze and is cheap to make!

What you Will Need:

1/2 cup Rubbing alcohol

4 x cups Water

1 teaspoon dish soap

Jug

Method:

In a bowl mix the 4 cups of water with the 1/2 cup of rubbing alcohol (this prevents freezing) and then add the 1 x teaspoon of dish soap (this gives the mixture some cleaning power).

Pour into a empty jug or anything that is easy to pour from while under the hood of your car.

Handy Car Hack Recipe for these Trying Times

In my area, stores are closed and roadside pickup only, which works if you are ordering ahead of time, but I was running out and didn't want to be caught with none, so I found this recipe online and it works.  You can even add a bit of blue food coloring to it, so it looks just like the real thing and you know what is in the jug!

If you would prefer to have the real stuff on hand during this pandemic, you can also order cases of it online with Amazon below:

Which ever way you decide to go, keep a bottle of rubbing alcohol on hand for these car emergencies!  It won't be a waste as it is also a good disinfectant. 

Stay safe on the roads out there!  Keep your windshield washer topped up.  Keep a spare jug in the car.

How to Make Awesome Vanilla Cupcakes From Scratch

 With the pandemic still around us, snuggling at home can be the perfect time to bake.  Put on your chef hat and instead of a mix, try these vanilla cupcakes from scratch using actual vanilla beans which you can get online believe it or not!

Supplies for cupcakes:

3/4 cup of softened butter

1-1/4 cups of regular white sugar

2 large eggs (best if at room temperature)

2 vanilla beans (you must use real vanilla beans not extract for this to be super awesome!)

2 cups of flour (cake flour is best)

2 teaspoons baking powder

dash of salt

2/3 cup of milk

cupcake pan

Method:

Step 1 - Cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy. Then beat in the eggs, do this one egg at a time for best results.  Remember you are not in a hurry, enjoy the process as well as the eating!

Step 2 - Spend a bit of time with the vanilla beans!  Take a sharp knife and slit the bean casing down the center, and then scrape out the seeds etc from the center.  The center is the stuff you want, and place right into your batter mixture.

Step 3 - Dry Ingredients.  In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Step 4 - Add this flour mixture to the batter you have, a bit at a time as well as the milk a bit at a time and stirring in between until your batter is nice and smooth.

Step 5 - Fill Your Muffin Tins! - Fill them about 2/3 full with a spoon or a scoop.  Lining the muffing tins is the best way, so no greasing needed.

Step 6 - Bake for approximately 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on them as they can burn easily.  Use the toothpick method or a knife to insert in center and see if done.  Nothing should come out on the toothpick or knife other than a few dry crumbs.  Let Cool.

Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing - What You Will Need:

1 pkg of plain cream cheese (not the low fat for this one, full fat is best)

6 tablespoons of softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups icing sugar

Method:

Step 1 - Blend the cream cheese and the softened butter and vanilla and then slowly add the icing sugar.

Use a pasty bag to ice the cupcakes if you have it, but if you don't you can simply spread it on with a butter knife, you fill a sandwich baggie with icing and cut the bottom corner so you can now pipe it onto the cooled cupcakes.

NOTE:  Make sure the cupcakes are totally cooled or the icing will simply melt.

I also find these cupcakes taste awesome without the icing, but that is me!

Freezing

You can freeze these cupcakes NOT iced, so you can pull some out on a rainy day for some fun.

Vanilla Bean Shells

Don't throw away those vanilla bean casings, boil them on the stove to make your house smell wonderful!

Using a cooking scoop can make filling the cupcake pans consistent and quick.

DIY Lazy Susan to Organize Your Refrigerator

 In my refrigerator, there are tons of bottled sauces, that I still want to keep.  They stay fresh for a long time, but they are taking up a lot of shelf room and I have to drag them all out when I am looking for a particular one.

DIY LAZY SUSAN to the rescue.

If you have one of these, then use it in your refrigerator.  If you don't... you can make you own simple one with a few supplies you may have on hand.

What you will need:

2 x sturdy pie plates the same size..  I used the glass ones I had in my cabinets.. not much of a pie baker so this puts them to good use!

1x bag of standard sized marbles (dollar store) all the same size.

That is it!

Method:

Take the one pie plate, and fill with the marbles in one even layer.

Place the other pie plate on top

The top one will now spin.  The marbles act like ball bearings.

Now clean your refrigerator out and get rid of unused and past the sell by date bottles and sauces.

Place the ones you use the most often on your lazy Susan and now you simply have to spin it around to find what you need.

You could use this set up for anything in your refrigerator.  The goal is to not have things work their way to the back of the fridge and become science projects!

This keeps your fridge organized and you don't repeat purchase things you don't need.  I am loving this!

If you are not into DIY, then you can purchase a lazy Susan online with Amazon below:

These easy to use storage ideas, are not only for your kitchen cabinets but work perfectly in the refrigerator too!