Pantry Confidential and Uses for Powdered Drink Mixes

A little area in my pantry is dedicated to drink mixes. You know, Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, those nifty instant coffees from Starbucks that I keep in case zombies stop by for coffee?

I used the Kool-Aid brand for this. You can use any brand of unsweetened  lemonade. You'll find the unsweetened kind in the tiny packets, not in the big packets or tubs.

I finally got around to trying a cool trick using Lemonade powdered drink mix to clean the dishwasher. Don't try grape or any other flavor. It's got to be plain unsweetened lemonade. It's the citric acid that does the trick.


Step #1: Pour powered Lemonade drink mix into door.


Step #2: Start the dishwasher and make sure the drying cycle is engaged.


Important: No dirty dishes or soap. Run this through an empty dish washer. The citric acid neutralizes soap scum and soap in general, so adding washing soap and trying to wash a load of dishes at the same time will just be like washing them in lemony smelling water. No bueno.


I haven't tried this method with a load of already washed plastic storage containers (they sometimes absorb odors) or a load of (washed and clean) soap spotted glasses. I did empty a packet into a load of hot water in my washing machine. It was too diluted and didn't really do anything. Instead of trying it again with even more lemonade I will use it to clean out my coolers. I hate opening a cooler and smelling bleach. Bleh!


I've mentioned before how I have to get my pantry under control for when we move. I'm all about planning for emergencies and having enough food to feed us for a few weeks in case of the zombie apocalypse or (even more unlikely) a snow storm in Atlanta.


I'm all about emergency preparedness. 


Until it's time to move and I have to deal with it all.


Where's a zombie or snow storm when I need one?


In addition to all of the other projects that need to happen, I'm trying to use the stuff in my pantry instead of making a ridiculous donation of capers, artichoke hearts and seven kinds of gourmet vinegar to the local food bank. (They'll get the more practical canned goods if there are any left.)

I have issues...and capers for days.

Big Pimpin' Tuna Salad and Fun with Condiments

I love condiments. (By condiments I mean toppings, marinades, sauces and pickled stuff.)


I don't recall meeting a condiment I didn't like and try to take home. So if condiments were like hookers and the grocery store was like a red light district...Well, you get it. I like them a whole bunch. Condiments, not hookers.

Hey baby, you wanna date?

I am overwhelmed. Almost everywhere I look there is a surplus of something that needs to be consumed or used. While it would be noble to donate the condiments to a local food bank, I'm thinking they won't find the jars of capers, marinated artichokes and hot cherry peppers as useful as other foods. 


I've heard mixed reports of movers either allowing or not allowing you to pack food. While it would be really nice if they'd pack everything, I think glass jars of picked okra and chow chow might make for a big mess once they break in transit. I'd rather eat it than pick it out of everything I own. Military wives are great at blogging their moving adventures (Thank you!) so I'm heeding some of their advice.


What's a pimp to do? 

What's a housewife to do?

I started thinking of dishes that use a lot of condiments. My goal is to use at least something from my awesome collection every meal. 

There's a whole shelf in my pantry devoted to condiments. The door of the fridge is also full.

The first thing that jumped out at me was the five cans of tuna. Helllllooo! Tuna salad may be the finest condiment disbursement meal of all time. I went digging. And ended up with a salad full of condiment-y goodness.


Big Pimpin' Tuna Salad 


1  small can of tuna (I love the kind packed in olive oil found in the highfalutin section of the store. It's not dry and it actually has flavor. Gasp!)
1 tbsp of the Hot Green Tomato Relish (pictured above)
1 tsp of Deli Mustard w/ Horseradish
1 tbsp of Mayo
1 Hot Cherry Pepper (pictured above) seeded and diced
1 hard boiled egg, diced
1/2 scallion, sliced thin
1-2 tbsp of diced bell pepper.
1 tbsp of sun dried tomatoes or 1/2 small tomato, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Best of all, it takes a cutting board, knife and bowl. No kitchen disaster necessary.

Stir and have at it. PS...it's super easy to double. If you only have water packed tuna, add a splash of olive oil. And start buying the good stuff packed in olive oil. It's tuna, not a Whopper with cheese, it will be okay. Trust the pimpness.


There are so many tuna combinations. Tomorrow I may try a Greek version with pepperoncini peppers, kalamata olives and more of those yummy sun dried tomatoes from Trader Joe's that I've been stocking up on like they're some antidote to the zombie apocalypse. 

Spicy Boiled Peanuts

I started eating boiled peanuts as a child. Maybe it's a southern thing. Maybe it's because peanuts are grown locally, they're cheap and easy to find. I buy raw nuts from the farmer's market and only make boiled peanuts with them. I'm sure there are other things, but why mess with perfection. 


I don't care. 


I love them. 


I only started making them on my own since we moved to Atlanta a few years ago. Boiled peanuts are super easy to make but not fast. I like easy. Resist the urge to undercook these. I like to be able to split them with a pinch of the fingers, have minimal fibrous shell and the nuts to have a bean like softness without being mushy. That takes patience. 

Serve them hot or cold. They all have a bit of spicy salt water inside so keep a napkin ready.

Spicy Boiled Peanuts

1-2 lbs of green (That mean raw, green, not roasted) peanuts, well rinsed. 
Pot of water. I use a 6qt soup pot filled 1/2 full.
2 tbsp salt
2-3 tbsp red pepper flakes or to taste


Clean your peanuts by soaking them in cool water and rubbing them together with your hands to remove all bits of sand and dirt. You may need to swap out the water if you get particularly gritty nuts.

• Fill 5 quart soup pot half-full of water
• Add salt and red pepper flakes and bring to boil
• Add in peanuts, close lid, reduce to simmer and walk away
• Really, walk away. Turn on the vent over your stove too. Note: That much pepper steam will make you cough if you hang out too close to the stove. It's a good trick to make this when no one needs to be hanging out in the kitchen. *hack*
• Keep an eye on the water level, add more as needed
• After 2 hours, try a big one. Add more salt and pepper as need and continue cooking until the peanut is easy to break with a good squeeze and the nut has a cooked bean softness, but not mushy

The boiled peanuts in the photo took about 3-3.5 hours. After they're done, remove pot from heat. Let the nuts cool down in the cooking water. Use a slotted spoon to move a serving to a bowl and let them cool down until they're safe to eat. I let the rest hang in the water until I want more. After they're cool I use the slotted spoon to put them in baggies and stick them in the fridge. They're just as good cold out of the fridge as they are still warm from cooking.

These cold boiled peanuts...going with me to the pool on a hot Georgia day.

Serve with napkins (or just eat them over the sink) and a bowl to collect the shells.

Some day I'd like to own a big 5 gallon pot to make bigger batches. I have such fancy housewife dreams. 

Book Swaps and Urban Swap Meets

Two blogs in two days. Dang. I'm practically loitering on the internet.

I'm trying to organize a swap meet for exchanging books with neighbors in my condo community.

While I donate to the Salvation Army and Goodwill frequently, it requires effort and planning. Books are heavy suckers and the thought of hauling them is exhausting.

Living in a dense urban area is great, but taking things to a charity is problematic. I don't know a single person with a pick-up truck so everything needs to fit into my car and that may mean multiple trips. That's after I've hauled everything to the car in the parking garage. With urban living you need to get creative when it comes to getting rid of stuff. Yard sales aren't an option when you're living in a condo or high-rise. In addition to it being against the rules, there's just no parking. Since square footage is a premium we all seem to have stuff to get rid of because there isn't much storage.

I approached the HOA of our condo about reserving the club house and hosting a book swap between residents. This idea is still floating around my head and the details need some fine tuning, but this is what I have so far...

1. Bring your unwanted books to the designated location between 6p and 7pm. The sale starts at 7pm.
2. Exchange your books for paperback or hardback book tickets, one ticket per book.
3. Look through the books and select some based on the tickets available. 
4. Go home with some new books!
5. All remaining books will be donated to charity after the sale

Honestly, I would gladly give five or even ten books to come out with one I've not read. 

If this swap works out between residents I am hopeful we can arrange for future Swap Meets for other categories. I know I need to get a handle on my collection of books, DVD's, home decor, glassware and holiday decorations/ornaments. 

We have too many DVD's too. I think I'll go through and pick out my must
haves and set the rest aside for the next event.

Giving My Condo Bulimia--Pre-Move Purge

Things are a little less unknown on the hub's new job and move front. From what I understand, we won't know where we are moving until November or move until early 2013. There are a thousand things that need to happen between now and then, and any one could alter that plan. Overall, I'm really geeked! Five years ago I was so career driven I wouldn't have tolerated talk about moving to parts unknown. It was all about market size and income. To think of the adventures I would have missed. *sigh*

Adventures like cleaning out all the junk I can't take and still make the weight limits.

Oy!

Yes, the Air Force gives you weight limits based on your rank and dependents. Too bad they don't adjust the weight by numbers of dead relatives giving you furniture...

Or random collections of things you never use but couldn't stand to part with...

Or your level of pack-ratness on a scale of 1-10...

Or the number of states where you rent storage units...

Or just the fact you are 40, have been married for going on ten years and have STUFF. For. Days.

I vow to make sure I am out of a product before buying a new one! These were found in my laundry/utility room. Let me say that again...LAUNDRY ROOM! Not the CDC and not in the camping gear. (I don't camp.) There's also a can of spray in my BBQ basket, another in my beach bag and at least two more in the bathroom. I live in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the US and have to walk a block to see grass. Impressive, no?

I decided to start small with a few self-imposed ideas or tasks.

*Drum roll*

Task #1: Don't buy anything I can't wear or eat.

I'm bad about shopping and convincing myself my life will be a billion times easier...better...more efficient...cooler...thinner...if I just get that whatever item. I've been talking myself out of a food processor and new pots and pans for months. Now I am trying to stick to a bigger purpose. Which brings us to...

Task #2: If something comes in, something else must go out.

This is probably common sense for most folks, not me. Aside from the financial ramifications of buying things I don't need, I really don't need more stuff to sort through come move time. If I absolutely must talk myself into buying something, it needs to replace something and that something needs to go to Mr. Dumpster or Goodwill. I'd like to only replace things that need replacing because it's broken or I'm out of something. I got a pair of hiking boots on sale. I'm about to go into the bedroom and play Pin the Tail on the Shoe Rack and get rid of at least one pair of shoes. I'm also going to use every drop of lotion, conditioner, body spray, etc. before I step foot into Ulta or Bath and Body Works. *sigh*

Task #3: Start now and don't wait until the last minute.

This is harder than it seems. We won't know where we are moving until November and then we won't actually move until 2013. Hubs could be sent to Florida or Alaska or anywhere in between (or possibly some place over seas). Two years after that we could be moving to an entirely different climate. While it would be tempting to wait until we know more, I've decided to start small and purge the unnecessary.

What could possibly be unnecessary you ask?

90% of the contents of my various junk drawers.

The last time I moved I didn't address the junk drawers. On move day everything got tossed in a box and I had to pick unidentified keys out of an impressive collection of ketchup packets, menus from our old city and batteries knocking on death's door. Not pretty.

Other hiding places for unnecessary items seem to be:

Medicine cabinets: toss expired medicines, diet pills (they are so unhealthy),  anything without an expiration date (blister packs can be so mysterious) and toss the pain pills you got when you had your wisdom teeth removed in frickin' 1999. I also tossed some cold medicine that would have expired next month. Maybe I'm tempting the cold and flu gods but I'll risk it so I don't have to toss it this winter. We had a few boxes of bandages with a few band-aids left in each one. I'm not moving 4 boxes of 2 band-aids each. I refuse! I combined those band-aids and I'm sticking them in a plastic travel soap container so I can see them and they don't get squished or just float around in medicine cabinet land.

Laundry Room: You know those little samples of detergent you get in the mail or stuck to a bottle of laundry soap? They were forming their own little colony in my laundry room.

I used them ALL yesterday when I was doing my laundry.

There were some dog treats my dogs never cared for and I'm never going to eat. TRASH!
The cellophane with four clothes pins floating inside. (I saved the clothes pins!) -TRASH! 
They yucky duster wand-TRASH! 
Orphan socks, crusty flip flops, old dog bowls...TRASH! 

Sample packets and trial sizes seem to multiply in my house.  I tried to use every one yesterday 

while I was cleaning and doing laundry. Next week I may try to tackle the supply of toiletries. 

Under the kitchen sink: I got rid of anything that I hadn't used in 365 days and had less than 1/4 of the product left. I'll spare you the details.

When it gets closer to moving day I'll need to be a little more exacting with getting rid of partially used stuff (many professional movers won't take any cleansers, candles or liquids in general.) By purging and going through stuff now I can get a better handle on what's here, what I have extras of and what I need to use up before I buy more.

The housewife arsenal. I found a few boxes of Glad Press n' Seal. While I love the stuff, I had no idea there were multiplying like bunnies in the kitchen cabinet. Who knew?

Now that I've made several trips to Mr. Dumpster, I can't help think of the same thing when I look at boxes full of stuff. I spent money on most of that stuff. It's a box of money that is going down the trash chute.

Tonight I'm going to tackle some shelves in the master closet. I have a bit of a catch-all going on in there too. If I can get past all the junk zones it should make things much easier inside the move-prep window.

Planning for the Unknown

My husband is finishing up his last year of law school and is applying for jobs in the military with JAG. 

I grew up in a military town and met lots of military kids as they started another new school and tried to meet new friends. I wondered what it would be like moving from place to place and meeting friends as an adult. Because I was a teen in a military town my experiences with the military involved me avoiding airmen like the plague. These underdeveloped airmen with overdeveloped egos would move into town and use the sensible local girls for target practice. They looked at all the local girls as if we had bulls eyes on our foreheads and the chase ensued. They wanted a girlfriend, a wife or someone to pass the time. It was a bit of a shock when my 30 something year old husband declared joining the military after law school was what he really wanted to do with his law degree. I couldn't picture him as the 21 year old neanderthal that would swoop in and run off with the sensible southern girl tossed over his shoulder. I admit, I freaked out. Military? Him? Wait...what? 

I did what I do best, I researched and asked questions. I talked to my friends in the military, my friends that were swooped off their feet by 21 year old airmen and are happy military wives today and I spent weeks reading blogs and researching bases. After my initial hesitation I am now completely on board with it. He did his internship with the Air Force and loved it. I could see it cement in his brain and anything that gets him this excited gets my seal of approval. How did I not see the perfect fit before? Ah, that's right, I was biased.

The application and selection process is more competitive than ever and I hear there is about a 5% acceptance rate. Hubs is a smart cookie. He's in the top 11% of his class, an editor of Law Review, on Moot Court and a long list of other things that boggle my brain to keep up with. I can't imagine him ever being an ambulance chaser or just doing something for the income. I really do think he'll make a great judge someday as he's probably the most levelheaded and fair person I know. He's started the interview process and I'm as anxious as he is to get the results. 

Since I'm a planner I've been doing lots of research on what will happen if he does go this route. Don't laugh, may as well do something with the nervous energy (other than the laundry piled up from my trip last week). There may be lots of moves...lots and lots of moves. I've already started a spreadsheet. My sister-in-law, Mary Beth, laughed and said it's my OCD kicking in. I say if there is a chance you may have to stop, drop and move to parts unknown with very little notice, you'd better start running some scenarios in your head (or spreadsheet) or it will be your own fault if you crack and get tossed into a rubber room. We have pets, a full house of furniture and have been married for going on nine years. We're established. We've got lots of stuff that needs to be sorted, donated, packed, moved, transferred to family, etc. It's not like we live in a one bedroom with a milk crate for a coffee table. I'm a very good consumer and the contents of our home are proof. 

I'm a housewife, albeit not a great one, but if I can't do anything to help with school at least I can start worrying about the little things that need consideration. Who knew some moves involving pets need micro-chipping and rabies records for 6 months prior to the move? Seriously. My pets aren't micro-chipped. It's not an enormous hassle to get them micro-chipped the next time they're in for their shots. If I get it done now I won't be wishing for a wormhole later to get those six months of records I'll need to have. No harm and no foul if he ends up doing something else post-law school. I'll just have iron clad vet records and a few spreadsheets to delete.

There are so many amazing blogs out there by military members, military wives and I wondered how they managed to do it before the internet and the sharing of ideas on blogs and message boards. Just reading the blogs has made me more comfortable with the possibilities. 

Sweet Potato Bar (Build-Your-Own Sweet Potato) for Thanksgiving

I've recently started trying different ways to eat sweet potatoes. These have always been on my most hated foods list. After trying them a few different ways I finally discovered that it isn't the sweet potato that I dislike but the too-sweet additions. I just don't care for sweet vegetables and adding marshmallows and syrup just takes it to a new level of nasty. I prefer to add savory flavors to my sweet potatoes and I've found bleu cheese crumbles, butter, salt and pepper to be the winner so far.

Thanksgiving is coming up and I wanted to serve sweet potatoes now that I actually like them. Since my dinner guest probably prefer the traditional gooey casserole to my Bleu Cheese Sweet Potatoes I thought I'd create a Build-Your-Own Sweet Potato Bar. I'm going to bake my sweet potatoes in the crock pot (anything to free more oven and stove space). I'll serve them on a platter and use a condiment server to put a collection of toppings.

These are the toppings I think I'll use:

1. Marshmallows, maybe toss them under a broiler to brown up
2. Maple syrup
3. Bleu Cheese
4. Bacon Crumbles
5. Brown Sugar

The more I think about this plan the bigger fan I become. Leftovers will be easier to manage since I'm only dealing with the baked potatoes. I don't want to waste food and I really don't want to add something like a sweet potato casserole to the menu if I won't touch it or the left overs.