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