Shampoo Solution

I have a big event at my house today, so last night I was determined to get the stains out of our carpet and shampoo it (at least the living room) so it looked nice and fresh for our guests today.
Problem #1 - I'm out of my magic Kirby carpet spray!! I've got to find a local dealer for it, because I need it! No time to do that last night, so I settled for trying to remove the stains the natural way... with vinegar. Not as good as my carpet spray, but it at least lessened them and I'd hoped it had loosened the dirt enough that the shampooer could take the rest.
Problem #2 - I'm out of carpet shampoo solution!! Of all the times to run out of both! So I did a quick search online for homemade carpet cleaner solution and found a few recommendations for vinegar again! Well, it's better than nothing, I figured... So I gave it a try. Ran the shampooer like normal, substituting vinegar for the cleaning solution.
Then I let the carpet dry and went to bed. When I woke up this morning, guess what? IT WORKED! We opened the windows to let the vinegar smell dissipate the rest of the way and it cleared out quickly. The carpet looks great and it was a cheap solution!! I think I might just be doing that instead of buying more carpet shampoo. It doesn't smell like lavender, but it works great!

(And just for the record, I also already mop my hardwood floors with vinegar, and that has seemed to work just fine, too. Plus it's safe to have around kids and it has naturally disinfecting properties. Ah, the glory of vinegar.)

What's in the freezer?

This is the ongoing list of ready-made meals I have in my freezer right now, from oldest to newest. When I'm stuck for an idea or need something quick, here's what I have...

Meals:
3 Cilantro Lime Chicken (Stove Top)

2 Japanese Chicken (Crock Pot)

2 Pepperoni Calzones (Oven)

2 Hawaiian Calzones (Oven)

2 Curry Chicken (Crock Pot or Stove Top)

2 Curry Sauce

Purees:

Bulk Ingredients:

Parmesan Cheese

Meats:

Turkey Breast

Chicken Breast

Pepperoni

Canadian Bacon

2 bags Stew Beef

Flank Steak

Menu Planning: Friday

Friday:

Friday is my day to cook again, providing dinner for Amber's family, too. Here are a variety of ideas for when I get stuck...

Chicken Cordon Bleu
Grilled Chicken
Pepper Steak
Apple Salad
Chicken Soup
Greek Gyros
Greek Salad
Fried Potatoes
Meat and Veggie Kabobs
Aloha Chicken Kabobs
Poultry with Pears
Broccoli Cheese Soup

Menu Planning: Thursday

Thursday:

Amber provides dinner on Thursdays! In the event that she doesn't, American food sounds good, doesn't it?

Chili
Fishsticks
Barbecued Chicken Wings
Baked Ham
Hamburgers
Roast Beef
Roasted Chicken
Baked Beans
Chicken Nuggets

Menu Planning: Wednesday

Wednesday:

Wednesday is DATE NIGHT! That means Leif and I will either have the evening to ourselves, or we will have Josie over and have to provide dinner for her, too. For now, let's go Asian with Wednesdays...

Stir Fry
Eggrolls
Sesame Chicken
Vietnamese Rice
Sweet and Sour Chicken/Pork
Curry
Mandarin Salad
Korean Wings

Thai

Menu Planning: Tuesday

Tuesday:

I provide dinner for Amber on Tuesdays.

If I'm stuck for ideas, go Mexican...

Enchiladas
Tacos
Fajitas
Quesadillas
Spanish Rice
Taco Salad
Tortilla Soup*

*Crock Pot

Menu Planning: Monday

Monday:

Amber provides dinner on Mondays.

If she doesn't, go with Italian...

Calzones

Pizza

Spaghetti

Chicken Marinara

This week's meals....

Monday (Day 5) - We had CROCK POT BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP, made almost entirely of items that needed to be used now to keep from going bad. Hooray! It was quick, easy, and delicious. I'm freezing the leftovers for another meal, but it's a recipe I'll have to make again! Here is the recipe:

Broccoli Cheese Soup

12 slices of velveeta cheese
quart of half and half
16 ounce frozen bag of broccoli
2 cans of cream of celery soup

combine everything in crockpot and cook on med until desired thickness. And broccoli is soft.

**I added chopped onions and some shredded colby jack cheese and substituted whole milk for the half and half.

Tuesday (Day 1) - MK meeting tonight, so we need something quick and easy. SPAGHETTI

Wednesday (Day 2) - QUESADILLAS

Thursday (Day 3) - Children's Museum and errands today, so something easy for dinner. STIR FRY


Friday (Day 4) - Watching Zoe, so a crock pot meal would be good. CHILI


Saturday (Day 5) - Robert arrives!! CHICKEN CORDON BLEU?


Sunday (Day 1) - Robert here! PITA PIZZAS