Wednesday, February 10, 2021

Recipes from the Heart of the Home

 "No one shall appear with his hands empty before the Lord; but everyone shall offer according to what he has, according to the blessing of the Lord his God shall give him." Deut. 16:16-17


If you have followed my blog before, you know I find happy faces in the oddest places. 

Hello Ladies~

I hope you are well. I chose the verse above because it reminds me each week to bring an offering (in my heart) to the Lord when I go to church. My offering is what I have made by hand through the week. It gives me a sense of doing for Him.


Today I am writing to you from the Heart of the Home - the Kitchen. I am often in here, either cooking or making something for the house. 

In all the years I have posted blog posts, I have never shared my homemade All-Purpose Cleaner. Now, I know there are many lovely ladies who post all kinds of variations. Truth be told, I have tried many and always come back to this one. 

It sanitizes, it cleans and it smells good.  Since I cook so much from scratch my counters are wiped down daily and I trust this version. Some are too complicated. Some leave me wondering if my counters are really sanitized. 

I always seem to come back to my old faithful. You know that saying, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Well, there is nothing wrong with it, I just try other variations. But always end up with a giggle when I am getting out my 20 year old trusty plastic squirt bottle that the recipe is taped to the front! I am not always THAT creative with those fancy labels I see today.


Ingredients for my All-Purpose Cleaner


All-Purpose Cleaner

1 Qt warm water
1 tsp Borax
1 tsp dish soap (or 13 squirts from a dispenser)
1/4 c. vinegar
20 drops lemon oil
10 drops tea tree oil

Mix in spray bottle. Great at cutting grease!


I am truly not aware of where I got the basics of this, but as with all recipes. I take the basics and add what I want or take away something that doesn't appeal to me. Since this has been with me for almost 20 years, I have no idea where I may have seen it. But it works!


Now for my other recipe this week. 

From my little nook, an herb crust for chicken.

This one is a rub I use for cooking chicken. It gives a lovely crust and tastes delicious when reheated. The original recipe, called Rub for meats -AIP, has variations that I don't use. I don't think I ever follow a recipe exactly.

Herb Crust for Chicken

1 1/2     tsp sea salt
2 T     powdered garlic
1 T     dried oregano
2 tsp     thyme
1/2 tsp     cinnamon
1 tsp     dried minced onion
1/4 tsp     ground ginger
1/4 tsp     dried dill

I blend them in a small coffee grinder that I use only for herbs. Store in a glass jar.

When I am cooking chicken, I use a bit of oil on it then I use a teaspoon to scoop a bit from the jar and tap it gently to "sprinkle" the crust mix on the chicken. If I use the spoon alone and sprinkle it tends to use way too much for each piece. My goal is a bit for flavor not completely covered.


Well, that's all for this week. We are preparing for Lent next week. In the mean time, please fix yourself a little cup of tea and sit down to gaze out the window at the beauty God has made right where you live.

May God's peace be with you,

Mrs. Peterson


I will close with a bit of humor for you from a little book we have called Holy Humor by Cal & Rose Samra:

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face." Victor Hugo





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Peterson, I discovered your blog through Lady Lydia's sidebar and am enjoying it very much. Thank you for posting your recipe for homemade cleaner. I will make it as soon as I can locate borax; is it available in grocery stores? Your directions are to put the cleaner in a spray bottle, but can it be used in a sinkful of hot water to clean bathrooms and kitchens? Or should it not be diluted that much? Also, since I currently don't have tea tree oil, do you think that Thieves essential oil could be substituted since that would also offer valuable properties? Thank you for your lovely blog. Nancy

Lady Amy said...

I do love using non-toxic cleaners. Thank you for sharing your recipe.

I used the quote by Victor Hugo in one of my early newsletter. 😃 Such a nice reminder.