Homemade Bierocks :)

Alright, here is how I make my bierocks.  I thank my mother for teaching me, and my aunt for instilling the love in me with fond memories <3

Things you need:
3 lbs hamburger
1 large onion
1 head cabbage
bread dough (I cheat and buy mine in the frozen ready made loaves)
salt
pepper
cheese-sliced or shredded

The morning of preparation I set out my loaves on a cookie sheet to thaw and rise. If you are planning on making them early in the day just leave them out overnight covered with saran wrap.  I like to let mine get big and puffy, they seem to be easier to work with when they are warm and make bigger bierocks after they have had a chance to rise.  They will approximately double in size.


I usually get a package of bread that has 6 loaves in it, and find that I use 4 for the bierocks, so you can either plop two loaves into greased bread pans before it rises and also have fresh bread or just leave it tucked into the freezer until you are ready for it.

Put your hamburger and chopped onion into a pot to brown and cook together.  After this is done, add 1/2 to 3/4 chopped head of cabbage and stir.  I add salt and pepper at this point and let the cabbage simmer down and taste test to see if I want more pepper, it's personal preference how much you want really.

The mixture should look something like this when you are ready to start putting them together.  I have found that I can get about 6 bierocks from 1 loaf of dough.  I just cut it as I go, you can also pre-slice the dough if you want before starting.

Grab your first piece of dough and start smooshing it down (yes, technical cooking term there).  I flatten mine out and go for a squarish/rectangular shape, it makes it easier for me to fold the ends up.  I just use a spoon or measuring cup and put the hamburger/cabbage mixture in the center of the dough (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup usually).  IF you are using cheese, I recommend putting it on BEFORE the meat.  Cheese slices work well for this, I just lay them in the center and smoosh it down into the dough a little and then put the meat on.

Now you are ready to fold up the dough around the meat.  Just grab a couple corners and pinch together and repeat until the dough is in a ball covering the meat. NOTE:  I keep a kitchen towel handy when doing this because if you get the meat/cabbage on your hands you will have a hard time getting the dough to stick to itself.

Just repeat all the way until you have used up your meat mixture.

The bierocks are cooked approximately to the directions on the bread dough package, usually about 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.  They should be nicely browned when they are finished, but this might vary with brands of dough and ovens.  Let them cool for a few minutes on the pan and then remove with spatula to a clean towel/cooling surface. This yields approximately 24 bierocks, and they hold well in the freezer for lunches or last minute supper options.  I sent a couple bags with my husband to take to work and share at lunch and got rave reviews! I am so pleased!  So don't be intimidated by making these, they are not hard! And you can substitute about anything you want for bierock filling, ham and cheese, pepperoni, eggs and cheese etc. Instant crowd pleaser!

Random Updates on a Snowy Tuesday

I promise, I didn't forget my blog! I had a wisdom tooth pulled a couple weeks ago so I was down recovering from that, and subsequently trying to stay caught up with college courses/family etc.  Since then I have gotten a few things accomplished and have more things waiting to start! I made some bierocks last week and they were yummo.  I took a few pictures while preparing, so I may end up sharing my recipe on here for those.  I have done a few peacock studies in pencil, I have wanted for quite some time to start a good sized ink of a peacock.  Hoping I get laundry put away today so I can start on the layout!

After retiring the flag it got me to thinking and talking with my husband, it would sure be neat to make my own flag.  Not sure if I am going to keep it all by hand or if I will use my sewing machine.  But Hobby Lobby had fabric on sale while I was there yesterday so I did get some to hopefully start that project as well.

Hopefully we get the mudding finished in the living room soon, and as we move things back into the room I can finally start decorating a little.  I think it will be fun to make up some pillows with the room colors on them.  Have been thinking some monochromatic drawings for that room, but no inspiration has hit me yet.  I need to get back into practice on portraits so I can do some of the kids. That would really be fun.

My cat and dog are snuggled up next to me on the couch.  Neither has moved much this morning.  It is very windy and snowing today.  It is rather temping to curl up on the couch and hibernate with a good book, but maybe this evening.  Was going to make fried chicken for supper but I think I want something warm, stew or something in the crockpot.  I will have to poke around the pantry and see what I can throw together.

I have a basket in the laundry room on a shelf where outgrown/mismatched/holey socks go.  Had an idea the other day that I won't get rid of the socks, going to use an old pair of jeans and the socks as stuffing for a dog(and by dog i mean cat because he stole the other dog bed for himself) bed.  Think it will hold up pretty well and will go through the wash/dryer just fine.

So as you can see, I have great plans, just need to get busy and accomplish them.  Hopefully I will have some interesting stuff this week to share.  Thanks to everyone for reading :) God Bless.

Retiring A Flag

I was wondering what my blog would be about today, but as the family was beginning the process of retiring a flag, I realized what it should be.  I had taken a flag from a friend awhile back that was worn out and fraying and told her I would retire it properly for her as she didn't have the means.  So this morning we all sat down in the living room and went to work.

The red stripes were cut apart from the white and the blue field of stars was separated from the stripes.  All 50 of the stars were cut out from the blue.  It was a bit time consuming, but it was a nice feeling to know what we were doing.

After finishing, there were 4 piles of Old Glory on my couch.  My husband started a fire outside and one pile of colors at a time and with a moment of silence, we retired those wonderful colors.  I will admit it was a little emotional for me, but a moment I know I will always remember.

So if you have an old flag that is worn out, please don't just throw it in the trash.  Give it to someone to retire or retire it yourself.  Give our flag the respect that it deserves.

~I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.~

DIY Fabric Softener

Since I posted about making detergent yesterday I figured it was pretty logical to follow with making your own fabric softener today.  It is just as easy and inexpensive and you can use your favorite scent.

Things you will need:

White Vinegar

Hot Water

Suave Conditioner (scent of your choice)

     *Make sure you have about 30 fl oz of conditioner

Bowl for mixing

Airtight storage container(s)

In your mixing bowl pour 6 cups of HOT water, 3 cups of white vinegar, and 2 cups Suave conditioner.  Give it a good stir, don't worry, it will be chunky.

For my storage, I divided the mixture into glass jars and gave them a good shake after the lids were on to further mix the ingredients.  If you see it begin to separate after sitting in your container for awhile, just give it a good shake or stir to mix the contents again.

For each load just pop in a couple of tablespoons like you normally would with store bought softener and you're ready to go!

Homemade Laundry Soap!

I have been using homemade laundry soap for awhile, and I thought I would share it with anyone who might be interested. It is very inexpensive and EASY to make! So easy, you can get your kids involved!  I also have my own recipes for Febreze, fabric softener, and dishwasher soap that I will share later on.

Things you will need:
2 or 5 gallon bucket
saucepan
cheese grater (large holes)
Box of Washing Soda
Box of Borax
Bar of Fels Naptha washing soap (Or Ivory soap)

The Washing Soda, Borax, and Fels Naptha can all be found in your laundry aisle at the store.

First you grate about half of the bar of soap into a dish.  It's really not as hard to grate as I thought it would be!

 Pour the soap flakes into your saucepan and add 6 cups of water.  Stir over medium heat until soap flakes have melted.

 See the soap flakes?

 No more soap flakes!

Now you need to add 1/2 cup of Borax and 1/2 cup of Washing Soda into your pan and stir until it has dissolved (just a couple of minutes usually).

Remove your pan from the heat and pour 4 cups of HOT water into your bucket.  Add the soap mixture from your saucepan and stir.  Next you need to add 22 cups of COLD water (1 gallon + 6 cups)  Stir and let your mix sit for 24 hours.

 The detergent will gel as it sits, it makes a sort of egg noodle soup consistency.  You can also add about an ounce of your favorite essential oil to the mixture to scent it, I haven't yet because I really like the light, fresh smell of the detergent alone.  This does not make lots of bubbles when you use it, but don't let that fool you.
I have recycled my old detergent containers and that is where I store my homemade detergent, but any airtight container will do!
-It takes 1/2 cup per load of laundry. 

I also keep some OxiClean on hand if I have a super grimy load or I want to soak something before I wash it.  I wish I had a before picture of my husbands hat he wears to work, because after I soaked it in some warm water and Borax/Washing Soda/OxiClean for about an hour, it looked brand new! I swear by this stuff, it really is amazing.  The whole process to make the soap takes about 10 minutes, and it is so inexpensive compared to buying laundry detergent from the store. Happy Washing!

Welcome to my corner of the internets!

Alright, here I am embarking on the world of blogging.  I think this will be a fun way for me to combine two activities, writing, and keeping family and friends up to date with my world.  Don't get me wrong, I check facebook as much as the next girl, but I have been thinking for some time about getting away from it and I think this will be a great opportunity.  I think this blog will be a big random mix of things, how-to's, book reviews, art projects, ramblings about my family, thoughts on my day/week.  It seems right now that nothing is really off limits.  I don't promise a daily post, but I would like to have new content a few times a week.  Thanks in advance to everyone for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the visit.  God Bless.