DIY Gel Air Fresheners

I go through TONS of gel air fresheners in my house, from the bathroom, kids' rooms and the garbage closet. I feel like I am spending tons of money on something that just evaporates over time, and personally I feel they don't last as long as they used to either. I happened upon this one day on Pinterest and instantly thought "Why have I never done this before!?!" 

Reading the directions it seemed easy enough, so I set out to make some. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups of water, divided 

1 oz. unflavored gelatin 

30 or so drops of essential oils, aromas of your choosing (I went with Lemon and Orange) 

1 TBS of Vodka OR salt, (I have read vodka prevents molding better than the salt)

Jars/Containers, large enough to hold at least 1/2 cup of HOT liquid each, or one large  (I used 5 small baby food jars) 

Food coloring, optional 

Stir sticks, (I used wooden skewers broken in half)

Start by adding essential oils to your jars. How much you add depends on how strong you want your scent to be at the end. I added about 30 drops to each of my jars and the end result was enough for me. You can also add the food coloring now. 

Boil one cup of water, slowly add gelatin stirring as you go to prevent clumps, until dissolved, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat and add the other 1 cup of water. Mix well. 

Pour gelatin mixture into your jars, stir to incorporate oils and food coloring. Let sit to firm up. I let mine cool for about an hour then placed in the fridge for 3 more hours and they were completely firm. 

Put them in a room/area you want to smell good and that is it! These are so cheap and easy I wish I would have found these sooner, Best of all they are all natural so I don't have to be as worried about one of the kids getting into one of them!

Tru MOO!

As you have read before I belong to a lot of product testing sites. Bzzagent is another great one I am affiliated with. This month I have gotten 3 new bzzkits!
The one I am currently working on is for Tru Moo, ya know the milk. I received some free coupons to try and review the product.
I have to say I really do like it, and so do my kids. They are also giving away coupons for $3 off any goosebumps DVD right now. You can also enter to win The Goosebumps Haunted Hollywood Vacation!

Stewed Beef with Gravy over Rice

It has been colder here lately. It went from 90+ to just above 60 in about 5 days. So I have been cooking more warm and hearty stick to your ribs kind of meals. I LOVE this stuff. I first came across this recipe while reading another food blog. I have made it a few times now and each time I think it tastes better than the last. I have adapted the recipe a bit for my tastes. Might I also add, I was so excited to make this I forgot to make the biscuits! :(


Stewed Beef with Gravy over Rice
1 1/2 pounds of stewed beef/beef tips-(Depends on where you live on what it is called)
2 TBS of Vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 packet of beefy onion soup mix
2 cups of water, keeping 1/2 cup reserved for later
3 TBS of cornstarch
1/3 cup sour cream
White rice cooked to box instructions

Heat oil in a medium sized stock pot. Season beef with salt and pepper and add to pot. Searing on all sides until brown on med-high heat for about 3-4 min.

Switch heat to low and add 1 1/2 cups of water and soup mix to pan stirring until combined. Add lid and allow to gently simmer for 1-2 hours.


DO NOT I repeat DO NOT let the liquid boil. The meat will turn into shoe leather. Believe me, I've done it.

After meat has cooked remove with slotted spoon and set aside. Turn heat back up to med-high. In a small bowl combine corn starch and remaining water. Once combined drizzle into liquid mixture in pot stirring continuously as you pour. Allow mixture to boil for 1 minute then reduce heat back to low. Once liquid has stopped boiling add the sour cream add the beef back into the mixture. DO NOT add beef to mixture while it is still boiling, you WILL have meat that resembles playground rubber chips.

Allow the meat to mingle with the newly thickened gravy for about 5-10 minutes then serve over rice.
You could serve this over egg noodles or mashed potatoes if you'd prefer, but why?