Perfect Rice

I don't like a lot of kitchen gadgets.  I don't like lots of "stuff" on my counters.  In fact I'm wary of buying any new fad item that I suspect will end up sitting on a shelf after a short time.

BUT, I have to say that I absolutely love my new rice cooker.  We eat rice often with all of our soups and vegetables.  And I've spent more time than I want to admit scraping rice from the bottom of my pots.

I went to our local bargain store, Ollie's, and bought a $12 rice cooker.  It has a 6 cup (of cooked rice) capacity, more than we would ever cook at one time.  I tried it out and we've been enjoying PERFECT rice for 2 weeks now.

We use Basmati or Jasmine long-grain rice.  Put 1 cup of rice and 1 1/2 cups water plus a pinch of salt in the bowl and turn it on.  By the way, it also cooks Quinoa perfectly.  The ratio is 1 cup Quinoa to 2 cups water.

The lovely thing is that it starts on "Cook" and then magically switches to "Warm" when the rice is done.  I can leave it alone for an hour and when I return for my perfect rice, it's still perfect!! It even comes with a plastic spoon that scoops out the rice from the nonstick bowl wonderfully.  The bowl rinses clean quickly along with the lid.  It also cooks Quinoa perfectly.  The ratio is 1 cup Quinoa to 2 cups water.

I looked online and discovered that you can spend over $200 on rice cookers!!  Who knew?  I think I'll stick to my Rival cheaper model.

If you like rice or quinoa and don't like to clean the sticky pot, try a rice cooker!

The Best Tub and Tile Cleaner

I stumbled upon this simple recipe for homemade tub and tile cleaner.  I've been using it now for a few months and it's my favorite!

The best part is, not only does it clean soap scum and grime well, it's a wonderful preventative.  When I'm done with the tub and shower I spray a little on the walls and let it stay.  It keeps build-up from happening!!  That means less cleaning:)

Here's what I use:

3/4 - 1 cup liquid blue Dawn (original)

white vinegar

16 - 24 oz. plastic spray bottle

Pour the liquid Dawn in first, then add vinegar to the top.  Shake well and you're ready!

I searched for different versions of this cleaner and it's called the "Ultimate, Magic, Wonder" Cleaner by many.  You can add more Dawn if the grime you're cleaning is bad.  If you spray it on and let it sit, it will remove all kinds of dirt.  I read how one landlord uses this cleaner on the nastiest of rental grimy bathrooms!