Cleaning Up the Refrigerator

Is it time to clean out the refrigerator? I know you know to toss out the science experiments first, and remove items to keep to a different shelf or the countertop, so I'll skip that part. Starting from the top, down, I begin with a dry cloth or paper towel, to remove any crumbs. After shaking out that cloth over the trash can, I run water over the cloth, and go over the same areas of the fridge shelves. If there are any areas of dried, thick residue, I lay a wet cloth on it, leave it for a few hours, and move on to the next task. That way, I avoid wasting energy on a task that moisture and time can solve for me. Then, I return in an hour or two to easily wipe up the mess. In the event of a stubborn area, repeat, leaving the rinsed out damp cloth in contact with the area in question. I do the same for my glass stove-top and interior of the oven. If raw meat juices have spilled, I'll use some Windex with Vinegar or some Clorox wipes, whatever I have on hand. I try to avoid the really nasty chemicals and find it best to start with water or sudsy water first.

Good luck!
Diana

Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes Recipe from Brigette Chevy

CHEESY HASHBROWN POTATOES!

OK, I did it again. I meant to make something for dinner, but decided I'd rely on leftovers to sustain us this evening. There's nothing wrong with that! However, since Mother Nature has decided not to cooperate AGAIN and my daughter's lacrosse team won't be playing tonight, I decided to make use of the bag of potatoes my husband asked me for last week, but then forgot to use.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Money Saving Mom, when I came across a guest post by Brigette Shevy. She wants to enjoy potato dishes, but likes to skip using cream soups and / or sour cream, which are frequently used with potatoes. Luckily, her mother-in-law had a great family recipe for Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes that she shared with Money Saving Mom, Crystal. And, now I'm sharing that recipe with you.

I'll be making this recipe this evening, and I'll let you know how we all like it. But, from looking at the recipe, and reading through comments on Bridgette's guest post, I already know a few things that I appreciate. First, NO ONIONS! I love onions, they just don't love me. So, it's nice to see a recipe without this seemingly ever-present ingredient. However, I feel the recipe is flexible enough to allow for onions if you so desire, I'd just sautee them a little first. Second, though the recipe calls for milk, and many would read that as "whole milk," what's the harm in using skim? It's what we have on hand, and though the dish might not be quite as thick without whole milk, I like the benefits of skim to help balance the ensuing carb and cheese fest! And, third, I appreciate the flexibliity of being able to use up those fresh potoates you have on hand, or the efficiency of using frozen shredded potatoes.

Oh, and those pototoes that I was going to use? I scrubbed the potoatoes, started boiling a large pot of water, then decided, it's going to takey WAY too long given that it was already 5:00 pm. So, those potatoes will wait till another day and frozen shredded potatoes, here we go!

Enjoy this recipe by clicking on the link at the top of the page!