Four Spring Cleaning Tips (Plus Bonus Cleaning Inspiration!)

House Cleaning Checklist

First, you need a plan. You can schedule chores for each day or, for bigger projects, each week. Also, consider whether you can divide up the necessary tasks among family members.

Figure out what rooms you want to tackle first, what needs to be packed away, or given away, and what to clean out and replace. A house cleaning checklist will help.

Ceiling Cleaning

Everyone from seasoned homemakers to cleaning professionals adhere to this simple rule: start from the top and work your way to the bottom as you clean. That means your first step is to look up for cobwebs and dust. You can use a duster with an extension rod to dust ceiling fans. This is also a good time to clean light fixtures and replace burned out bulbs.

Window Cleaning

Window cleaning is not usually on the top of anyone’s “want to do list,” but it can make a stunning difference. In addition to polishing the glass, dust the frames and blinds. Also, decide whether you need to wash, dry-clean, or vacuum the curtains.  Finally, check your windows to see if they need resealing anywhere. (Last year we had a mysterious recurring puddle in our laundry room. New sealant on the exterior of the window was a quick and easy fix.)

Surface Cleaning

Now, let’s talk about floor cleaning. This “most used” surface in your home needs some TLC. Spring clean provides an opportunity to assess whether your floors simply need a deep cleaning, special treatment to rejuvenate them, or even replaced.  For carpet, deep clean and vacuum.  Lift up any rugs and, if possible for that material type, wash them.  For hardwoods and stone tile give them a good sweeping, and mopping– paying extra attention to cleaning the edges where the wall meets the floor. Be sure to use safe cleaning materials that won’t damage your floors. (This is especially important if you have hardwood floors.)

This is also a good time to consider whether you have materials that need special care such as granite or travertine tile that should be resealed.

Inspiration to Clean Like a Pro

I recently found an online Maid Training Academy which claims graduates can clean a 3,500 square foot house in four hours. I’m impressed! You can check out their free cleaning videos with commentary.

Do you have spring cleaning tips to share?

How to Recreate this Season’s Best Chicken Recipes

Easy Chicken Recipes: Lemon Grilled Whole Chicken

Let’s start off the list with a zesty grilled chicken recipe that is sure to be a dinner favorite.  Lemon grilled whole chicken recipe is a sure fire way to to add some healthy protein to the plate as well as a tasty side to the menu.  Don’t let the whole chicken intimidate you with the amount you may have to cook, you always have the choice of cutting down your proportions.  Plus, you can add barbecue sauce to the citrus delight and help bring out the smokiness flavor of the chicken.  Just go ahead, try it and see how it works out for you!

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Crock Pot Recipes: White Chili with Chicken

24 Of Our Best Party Food Ideas and Super Bowl Snacks

1. Game Day Favorite Philly Style Cheesesteak

Let’s start off with a sports favorite.  The classic Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich.  This mouth watering tailgating/ sports party favorite has been on the menu for decades.  This sandwich carries all of the comforting deep sauteed flavors that will leave you and your guests very satisfied especially on Super bowl Sunday.

2. Super Bowl Snacks Football Sugar Cookies

Dessert snacks anyone?  The football sugar cookies are great grab-n-go snacks when cheering for your favorite team during the day.  A nice pop of sweet sugar cookie for anyone to enjoy from the adults to the kiddies.  Not only are they simple to make but even better to taste so give them a try on the party day.

3. Super Bowl Food Easy Chicken Parmesan Garlic Bread Pizza

Who doesn’t love pizza?  The chicken Parmesan pizza with garlic bread is great if you have a multitude of guests or if you are just flying solo.  The recipe is simple with all of the traditional ingredients of herbs, crispy chicken, and chicken that will shoot your tastes buds through the roof.

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4. Super Bowl Appetizer Pulled Pork Sliders

Here is another recipe for your party food ideas that will become a super bowl favorite in your household.  The slow cooker pulled pork sliders are fill with the down-home barbecue that everyone will love to enjoy.  Pull pork bathed in sweet and spicy barbecue sauce and topped with creamy coleslaw.  Yum!

20 Super Bowl Appetizers Ideas from Blogger Friends

1. Crispy Baked Buffalo Chicken Tenders
2. Coconut Shrimp
3. Cole Slaw Chicken Sliders
4. Fajita Bowls
5. Hot Crab Dip
6. Spicy Thai Chicken Wings
7. Cowboy Caviar Recipe
8. The Best Philly Cheesesteak Egg Roll Recipe
9. Twice Baked Potatoes
10. Blue Cheese & Balsamic Steak Sliders
11. Hot Swiss Cheese and Bacon Dip Recipe
12. Cheesy Crab Bite Appetizers
13. Cajun Glazed Bacon
14. Polenta Footballs
15. Taco Salad Mini Bites
16. Pizza Bites
17. Beer Cheese Dip
18. Spicy Buffalo Cheese Dip
19. Ultimate Easy Nachos
20. Chicken Sliders

Looking for more delicious recipes for your game day celebration?

Try these Empanadas and Pigs in a Blanket recipes.

Super bowl Sunday is on the way and you don’t have to be unprepared for it.  try out some of these party food ideas on the table and see what a difference it will make on game day.

Now that you have the snacks and appetizers, what about Football themed desserts?

See our 21 Favorite Football Themed Dessert recipes

For more great Super Bowl snack ideas visit our archives.

Super Bowl Food: Easy Chicken Parmesan Garlic Bread Pizza

Total Time:  30 min

Total Servings: 4

Ingredients

½ cup of Canned Pizza Sauce
6 Deli Fried Chicken Strips
1 (10-oz.) package of Frozen Garlic Bread Loaf
1 cup of (4-oz.) of Shredded Italian three-cheese Bread
2 tablespoons of Fresh Basil, chopped

Super Bowl Food Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Set the garlic bread in an arrangement where the butter sides are up on a baking sheet.  Then bake the bread for 8-9 min in the oven or until they are lightly browned.  Then take them out and spread the pizza sauce over each piece of the garlic bread until all pieces have been covered.
2. Next, cut the chicken strips into ½ inch pieces of and evenly spread them on the garlic bread pieces.  When the cut chicken strips has been placed then sprinkle each garlic bread piece with cheese and basil and bake at 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and serve. Then serve immediately…and ENJOY!

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Try these Super Bowl Foods too!

From cheesesteaks to chicken wings… we have 24 of the best super bowl recipes, appetizers and snacks for the big game.

For more Super Bowl food recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

How to Make a Classic Holiday Egg Nog Recipe 

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Egg Nog Recipe Ingredients:

4 cups of Milk
2 1/2 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
5 Whole Cloves
1 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon
12 Egg Yolks
1 1/2 cups of Sugar
4 cups of Light Cream
2 1/2 cups of Light Rum
1/2 teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg

Homemade Eggnog Recipe Directions:

1. Heat the milk, cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract in a saucepan over a low heat for approximately 5 minutes. After the time has passed remove the saucepan from the heat.
2. Take a large bowl, and whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the combination becomes fluffy. Then begin to whisk the hot milk mixture slowly with the mixture of fluffy eggs.  After the two mixtures have been combined, pour them into the saucepan. Cook them over a medium heat, being sure to constantly stir it for 3 minutes or until it becomes thick.
3. After mixture has become thick, strain it to pull out all of the cloves.  Then let it cool for about an hour.  Then stir in the rum, cream, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and nutmeg.
4. Refrigerate the mixture over night before serving and then ENJOY!!!!

Looking for more holiday drinks?

Take a look at our 26 holiday cocktails – perfect from Thanksgiving through New years!

For more delicious drink recipes on Stagetecture, visit our drinks archives.

If you love desserts, take a look at our desserts recipes on How To Make a Burlap Wreath website too!  The new redesigned site has more than just wreaths. Look to the new site for ways to celebrate, decorate and organize.

19 Of Our Best Holiday Cake Recipes

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1. Holiday Cake: Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

Starting off this holiday cake recipes list with a sweet and succulent cake that will have you and your guest begging for more.Oh who doesn’t love rich goodness of cheesecake? And how many of us like cheesecake that carries extra goodies on top, bottom and inside? If that is you then this holiday cake recipe is made for you. Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe, has all of the usual ingredients but has a mixture of pumpkin spice as an additional flavor. Not to mention chocolate and caramel sauce drizzle on top along with toasted pecans. Make your tongue say “Mmm-hmm.” Go ahead and make this holiday cake recipe a family favorite this season. We also like this Brandy Cheesecake Recipe.

2. Sugar-Free Dessert: Applesauce Cake Recipe

Now not all cakes have to be sugar filled like this next recipe for example. Typically, being on a sugar-free diet is not a part of the holiday plan. However, just because something is sugar-free doesn’t mean that it can’t be just as flavorful as a sugary delight. Try this Sugar free dessert: Applesauce Cake Recipe. This cake is completely simple to make and there are only a few substitutions that will only add to the deliciousness. Plus, when eating this cake you can still appease those sweet tooth cravings without feeling any guilt or heaviness when you’re done. Go ahead try it out!

3. Brown-Sugar Bourbon  Bundt Cake

You can’t have a true holiday without a bundt. And here is one bundt cake recipe that you can’t miss out on. Ladies and gentlemen, now introducing the Brown-Sugar Bourbon Bundt Cake recipe. Who doesn’t remember when you were in the kitchen and your grandmother or mother was filling the bundt pan with batter right before sliding the mixture into the oven? From this recipe you get the wonderful goodness of the maple brown-sugar emersed with a little liquor to enhance the sweetness of the entire cake that the family will adore.

4. Holiday Cake Favorite: Ambrosia Coconut Cake Recipe

Thanks to Southern Living, the Ambrosia Coconut Cake recipe is at our fingertips. This exotic cake recipe not only gives the sweet and refreshing flavors that everyone will love but can also serve as wonderful décor. It only takes a few easy steps to make and even better to taste, it is sure to quickly become a holiday tradition.

The holidays are a great time of the year. And what better way to celebrate it than with a baking recipe that will help to bring the entire family together. And these holiday cake recipes are just a small few of what you and your family can create. Don’t be limited and see what you all can come up with. Also, Stagetecture readers, do you have any recipes that you would like to share for the holidays?

15 Blogger Friends Holiday Cake Recipes

1. Holiday Rum Cake
2. Cranberry Orange Cake Recipe
3. Eggnog Bundt Cake Recipe
4. Tropical Christmas Cake
5. Cinnamon Roll Layer Cake
6. Gingerbread Bundt Cake With Vanilla Glaze
7. Gingerbreak Cheesecake
8. Ferrero Rocher Cake
9. Old Fashioned Jam Cake
10. Cranberry Pumpkin Upside Down Cake
11. Butter Crunch Cake
12. Cranberry Upside Down Cake
13. Simple Chocolate Peppermint Cake
14. Spiced Chocolate Eggnog Cake
15. Fresh Cranberry Cake Recipe

Do you want a chocolate cake recipes for the holidays?

Try this Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe!

Looking for more yummy desserts? Take a look through our dessert recipes category.

Holiday Bedroom:  Christmas Guest Room Ideas

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Pick a Color Scheme

One great way to invite the holidays into your home and make your guests feel the holiday cheer is with the color palette. Just as if one was decorating for the Easter season in which pastels would be idea, for Christmas you would choose different reds, greens, and white. Or, you could switch it up with a non-traditional approach by adding in royal blues, silver, violet, gold, even hot pink was used for the younger crowd some have even gone as far as neutrals or whites for the decor which adds a refreshing, open and organic appeal to the space. The choice is yours, use ribbons, bells, mini-Christmas trees, cozy blankets, pillows, curtains, knickknacks etc. that carry the color scheme that you and your guests may find comforting for the season.

Decorating Tips for the Holidays

Words have always been a great way to inspire, encourage, and uplift which are all of the things that are amazing to hear during the Christmas season. So capitalize on that idea, place design elements that spell words that depict the season. Choose words like; JOY, HOPE, MERRY, NOEL etc. You could place these on the mantle if it is in the room or even on the window sills, perhaps there is a fireplace that is no longer in place the words could sit there. You can visit any craft, hobby or home store for the letters and possible more ideas on how to create and display the words.

Create Interiors that Mimic the Outdoors

Something that was always fascinating about the holiday season is that when one decorates their home it’s both interior and exterior. Typically, for other holidays it’s usually one or the other not so much all at once. So with that being said, take inspiration from the exteriors for your holiday bedroom. Hang up some simple wreaths or garland on the beds, book shelves/ cases, mirrors or on the windows, again if there is a fireplace then on the mantle would be ideal. Again, take little shrubbery and tie colorful ribbons some of the branches or mini-Christmas trees and place them in the corners of the room.

Guests are great to have around for the holidays.  They bring the fun, life and character to the home, at least hopefully they bring all of these things.  So have their space to imitate the best of the season.  Just a few little tips and tricks can make an entire difference from the ordinary guest room to an extraordinary holiday bedroom.  Take a look above and see how the tips work for you.  Or perhaps fellow Stagetecture readers, you have some suggestions on how you like to create your guest rooms for the holidays?

For more bedroom ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

Easy DIY Halloween Crafts Ideas

Welcome Guests with a Halloween Chalkboard

Image via Etsy – Lily & Val – Halloween Chalkboard

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Handy Candy Dish

Do you remember “Thing” from the Addams Family?  Well for this idea we are going to bring “Thing” back but in a good way.  This idea works best for parties and small get-togethers.  But take a candy dish, tray, large bowl or plate that has some type of food, drink or item on it and place a stuffed black glove or a severed hand in the center of the dish holding a card.  Now it is completely up to you for what you want the card to say.  You could describe what’s on the dish, state a greeting, have a haunted saying etc. again up to you!  Or, you can put the hand to the side like the image above you will still get the same effect.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall – Halloween Craft Ideas

Now this idea can be used for any mirror that is placed around the home.  From the mirror placed in the entryway all the way to the mirror that is in the bathroom, it doesn’t matter.  First, cut some construction paper or if you can find a marker that can be erased on a mirror, cut or draw a crazy hairstyle and place it in the center of the mirror.  That way anyone who looks into it will have a funky hairstyle on top of their heads for them to remember.

Toilet Paper Disguises and Ghost Tootsies

Toilet paper is used for so many things and now we are going to use it for something else.  First, you can wrap the toilet paper in orange tissue paper and tie it at the top then put a face on it to look like a pumpkin jack-o-lantern.  Or you can just take a roll of toilet paper and paste a face on the paper with black felt and glue.  Either way you have your own mini disguise showcase for all to see. Now for the ghosts.  (This trick can also be a treat for kids)  Take a tootsie roll pop and place a small cloth over it, then take a ribbon or string and tie it in a knot underneath the tootsie head then draw a cute face on it.  These make great goodie gifts as well!

Halloween Decorating Idea: Walking Table

One simple decoration that you do not have to go on a splurge for is dressing up your table legs, literally.  Take four long socks that you might have (preferably those that have Halloween designs on them) and slip them on the legs of your display table.  Then for spunk, take 2 pairs of shoes and place one shoe on the bottom of each leg.  This will definitely be a crowd pleaser and one that the smaller kids will love and enjoy!

Halloween is always a super fun time of the year.  It’s filled with spooks, candy, mystery and fun.  So for this year go all out without having to go all in your wallet.  It’s the little things that can make a huge difference.  So take at the ideas above and also see what you can come up with then have a Happy Halloween!

For more Halloween ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

For more DIY ideas on Stagetecture.

Vegan Fresh Peach Cobbler Recipe

 

Fresh Peach Cobbler Ingredients:

½ cup of Raw Sugar or Other Sweetener
2 tablespoons of Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder
4 cups of Fresh Peaches, sliced
1 cup of Water
Ground Cinnamon
1 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
2 tablespoons of Sugar
1 ½ teaspoons of Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon of Salt
3 tablespoons of Margarine
½ cup Soymilk or Water

Optional Ingredient: Vanilla Soy Ice Cream

Peach Cobbler Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, then stir in the peaches and water.  Bring the mixture to a boil for 1 minute, watching and stirring it constantly.
3. When the boiling is done then pour the mixture into a 9” square baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles cornmeal.  Then stir in the soymilk until mixed with the previous mixture, then drop by spoonfuls onto the hot fruit.
5. Then put the pan into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until the dessert is golden brown.  Then take out of the oven and let it cool and enjoy!

Note: Add a scoop of vanilla soy ice cream to the top of the pastry for extra sweetness!

For more dessert recipes on Stagetecture, click here.

The Best Charleston Shrimp and Grits

Prep Time:  46 min

Cook Time:  6 min

Total Time:  46 min

Servings:  4

Shrimp and Grits Ingredients

1 ½ Medium Shrimp; peeled, halved (lengthwise), and deveined
1 Lemon
Juice of Tabasco
1 ½ teaspoons of Salt
1 ½ cups of Stone Ground Corn Grits (Not instant or quick-cooking)
6 slices of Bacon, chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
¼ cup of Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced
½ cup of Scallion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons of Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup of Chicken Stock
1-2 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter
1 cup of Grated Cheddar Cheese

Shrimp and Grits Instructions

1. Take the shrimp and combine it with the lemon juice and a few generous splashes of the Tabasco sauce, and let the mixture sit while you start on the grits.
2. In a large heavy saucepan boil 6 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Whisk the grits, handfuls at a time and they will bubble at the initial entry.
3. When all of the grits have been added turned down the heat to a very low simmer and let the grits cook for 35-40 minutes, being sure to stir occasionally at first the constantly towards the end.
4. Now you are going to work on the gravy while you grits are simmering.  Fry the bacon in a skillet over a medium heat until they are brown but still limp, then stir in the onion, green pepper, and garlic and let them cook until the onion and pepper are limp (approx. 5 min).
5. Next, add in the scallions, sprinkle flour over the entrie mixture and continue to sauté it for 5 min longer. 
6. After it is finished sautéing then stir in the chicken stock and remaining salt and cook for another 5 min.  After you have finished cooking the combination then remove it from the heat while you continue on finishing the grits.
7. When the grits become thick and creamy, begin to stir in as much butter as you like along with cheese, then add a splash of Tabasco sauce and more salt if desired.  Cover the grits while you are finishing the gravy.
8. Heat the gravy and stir in the shrimp, cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout which is about 5 min.
9. Then serve immediately mounting the grits in large shallow bowls or on plates and covering them with shrimp and gravy.

For more brunch recipes on Stagetecture, click here.