Pinterest fact or fiction 5: cleaning nasty pans

I know I'm not the only one out there who has a nasty looking pan. You know the one I'm talking about. The one that no matter how hard you scrub, it just won't come clean.

The one that looks something like this:

Eeeeew!

What is that stuff?!  Not even Mrblocko can get that crud off.

You know I was totally amazed when I saw a pin from One Good  Thing by Jillee that claimed you could get a dirty pan like that clean with no scrubbing.  No Scrubbing?  Count me in.

She claims all you need to do is sprinkle on baking soda, then hydrogen peroxide, then some more baking soda.  I did just that and let the mixture sit for three hours. 

This was my end result:

It's not exactly clean, but it is clean-er.

You can even see the start of some silver metallic color peeking out at the bottom.

So it did work...sort of.

In this tip's defense, when I used my fingers to rub off the baking soda/peroxide, it changed from white to brown.  Maybe if I repeat this process a few more times the pan will get even cleaner.

Thankful Thurs #38

Source

1. Basil's second "mole" was actually a pimple...and he let me pop it.

2. Mrblocko teaching Blockette how to grill.

3. The congregation voted yes for the new associate pastor.

4. No one made a scene when the vote was announced. (Mrblocko and I were seriously worried about this.)

5. Having a back up plan when the dessert I made for Church turned out weird.

6. Our pastor, who had a medical scare earlier in the week, seems to be doing fine now.

7.  I slept the whole night in my own bed.  (It's so nice to have more than 3 consecutive hours of sleep.)

8 .I didn't get wet when the city decided it would be fun to flush the hydrants 5 minutes before school started.  (I even asked the guy to wait.  Dude said, "OK." then went ahead and did it anyhow.)

9. I didn't reflexively punch the kid who jumped out and growl-screamed at Blockette and I as we were coming up the stairs at church on Wed.

10. Blockette did not get all dramatic when she discovered she did not like artichokes.

Pinterest Fact or Fiction 4: Hard Water Stains

I saw this trick for cleaning hard water stains on Pins from the blogs: The Thrifty Home and Joyful Homecoming.

The trick is to saturate paper towels and wrap them around your nasty looking faucet.

Here's a picture of my disgusting sink:

This sink IS clean.  

I swear.

We have really hard water, AND water leaks from under the faucet handle.  Ugh.

So not a match made in heaven.

No amount of scrubbing was getting that crud off.  It's like cement.  Not even CLR made that mineral deposit disappear.

But, after a few hours of soaking, and a tiny bit of scrubbing with an old toothbrush, this was my result:

Unbelievable!

Granted the sink doesn't look like new, but it DOES look clean.

I was so excited that I had to summon Mrblocko to the kitchen to witness my handy work.  Even he was impressed.  I also told him to enjoy how nice it looked, because in about a week it would probably be all lime-y again.

One word of warning with this method of cleaning.: apparently, it is quite stinky.  I wouldn't know as I have a massive head cold. Luckily I cant smell a thing!  So when you do this, either be prepared to ventilate your house, or do what I did and catch a cold.

This one is definitely a Pinterest Fact!

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Maple Cinnamon Banana "Ice Cream"

I liked the Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate chip Ice Cream so much, I had to make another batch the next day! This time I decided to switch things up a bit with maple, pecans and cinnamon flavors.

Which one is better?  I can't decide!

If you're a fan of maple or cinnamon, you'll love this version as much as I did.  Wanna know what the best part about this dessert was?  The maple and cinnamon flavors are so strong, I couldn't taste any banana.  Double super bonus!

Maple Cinnamon Banana "Ice Cream"
2 frozen bananas, sliced into coins
2 scoops of peanut butter (I used a tablespoon, not the measuring kind.)
3 regular tablespoons of Maple syrup (I used basic Pancake syrup.  In my opinion, it has a stronger maple flavor than the real stuff.)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (use less if you are not a total cinnamon junkie like me)
small handful of pecan pieces
small handful of Hershey's cinnamon chips

Pulse the frozen bananas in a food processor.  Add the peanut butter, syrup and cinnamon.  Blend until smooth and fluffy.  Pour into shallow container.  Fold in pecans and chips.  Eat now if you like soft serve, freeze for 2-4 hours for firmer consistency.  Serves 2.

Pineapple Crunch Muffin

These Pineapple Crunch Muffin from Little Daisy's World were an odd little muffin.

They were super moist due to the pineapple, but the nuts gave them a bit of a crunch.  The crunch paired with the moist base was a weird sensation.  You don't really expect to have to chew something that moist.

Maybe it was for this reason that Mrblocko didn't like them.  Maybe they weren't sweet enough, or they were just too moist.  Or maybe he didn't like the texture of the bits of fruit.  I have no idea cause he wouldn't tell me why he didn't like them.

That was ok, because I liked them just fine.  I did have to put butter on them, which is not something I would normally do with a muffin.   The muffins were a nice change from the usual toast for breakfast.  Besides, I always consider it a bonus to eat fruit, no matter how small the portion.

Pineapple Crunch Muffin from Little Daisy's World
Makes 12 jumbo muffins or 24 regular sized muffins

2 1/4 c flour
3/4 c brown sugar
3 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 T mayo
1 c water
1/4 c oil
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 c crushed pineapple
Chopped peanuts for topping

Preheat oven at 400 F. In a mixing bowl, combine flour + brown sugar + baking powder + baking soda + salt.   In smaller bowl, mix mayo + water + corn oil + vanilla.  Add liquid into dry mixture and fold until just combined. Add crushed pineapple. Divide batter evenly into 12 large muffin cups, sprinkle crushed peanuts on top.  Bake 18 - 20 min, or until tops are golden brown. It's done when toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 5 min then transfer on cooling rack to cool completely.

Thankful Thurs #37

1. Yet another week of not getting run over by careless drivers.

Source: Painting by Antton Pavlenko

2. My cold isn't so bad that I had to call in sick.

3. Naps.

4. I really like Blockette's teacher.

5. Cool Autumn weather.

6. Standing out in the rain wasn't as horrible as I imagined.

7. Free Chick-Fil-A. (Blockette has been wanting to go there all summer, never mind they hadn't finished building it until recently.)

8. Opting to not help make Dinner at church. (No one wants my sneezy snot nose anywhere near their food.)

9. We ran out of propane at the end of grilling the meal, not the middle.

10. My brain really hasn't been replaced by boogies.