Rice Krispie Treats Recipe

Ivy says: I expect the entire world knows how to make Rice Krispie treats, but in case you don’t, here’s a recipe. Rice Krispie treats are probably the highest reward for the least amount of work that I know of. If I were on Death Row, I would want my last meal to be homemade …

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More Laundry Soap Is Not Always Better

does more detergent equal cleaner laundry

Dear Home-Ec 101, I have what is probably a stupid question, but I’d really love an answer. If I have a particularly dirty load of laundry (say, woke up to find the cat had puked on the bed), does it do any good to add extra laundry detergent? In other words, does more detergent=cleaner laundry? …

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How to keep cats out of the Christmas tree

Ivy says: Rachel wanted to know how to keep the cats out of the Christmas tree.  I only wish this worked as well for curious toddlers as it does for cats! Cats hate the smell of citrus- particularly oranges, but lemons work as well. I spray an orange based cleaning product like Orange Clean on …

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Countdown to Christmas!

Ivy says: Like we did for Thanksgiving, we are going to have another countdown to Christmas!  The price of everything has gone way up- gasoline, groceries- you name it. We’re all feeling the pinch! So here at Home Ec 101, we’ll be giving you guys some great ideas for handmade gifts, make-it-from-scratch cookies and candy, …

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Cookie-a-day: Divine Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

I know Heather already posted chocolate chip cookies, but a couple of times a year, when I was a kid, my mom would make these cookies and they were fabulous. Not just good, not just great, fabulous. Divine, even. I never understood why Mom only made them every once in awhile, and I resolved to make them all the time when I was a grown-up.

Once I was an adult and Mom finally gave me the recipe, I found out why Mom only made them every once in awhile. They’re a tremendous pain to make. And these are the kind of cookies that if you skip a step or take shortcuts, they’re good, but not fabulous. Also, all the ingredients except the one that is marked optional are imperative that they be added exactly as written. No substituting, no leaving anything out. Like I said, they’ll probably still be good, but they will not be fabulous.

With those disclaimers out of the way, here are the best chocolate chip cookies you will ever eat:

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 C unsalted butter*
  • 3/4 C white sugar
  • 1/3 C brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract**
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 C sifted flour***
  • 1/3 C old-fashioned oats****
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 C milk chocolate chocolate chips*****
  • 3/4 C walnuts (OPTIONAL)

To read the long, drawn out directions, click to

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The Great Pre-Christmas Toy Clean-out

Ivy says: If you haven’t done this already, this weekend would be a great time to go through all the kids’ toys and  get rid of anything broken, anything they don’t play with, anything they just have too much of (my daughter had approximately 1,493 stuffed animals before we cleaned out her room), and anything …

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Vacuuming Practices

vacuum for long hair

Dear Home-Ec 101, I’m curious to know what’s the best vacuum for someone with long hair and a cat that has short hair. I’ve got a nice Kenmore canister vac, but my hair bogs up the roller constantly. And I ain’t cuttin’ my hair. Signed, Lovely With Long Hair Ivy says: Back when I had …

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Horrible Kitchen Tales- We have a winner!

retrochick.JPGIvy says:

The deadline for your horrible kitchen stories was last night, so today we announce a winner! It was really, really hard to decide. There were lots of stories that I absolutely loved and several I could really relate to. I wish I had more gift certificates to give away, because so many stories were very deserving!

But there could be only one winner, and we decided the winner was…drumroll, please….

Evonne Lack from MOMformation in “The Toxic Waste Leftover Warm-up”!

Congratuations, Evonne, I’ll be emailing you soon to get your mailing address to send your GC!

To read more stories, just click…

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Happy Thanksgiving From The Home Ec 101 Crew!

Ivy and Heather say: If you’re having trouble cooking your turkey, check this post out. If you’re needing gravy advice, check this post out. If your turkey hasn’t thawed and you need to do an emergency thaw, check here.  If you need to know how to set the table, look here. Have a safe and …

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