Burnt On Mess: Meet Your Match!

I have never met a baked on mess that I can't handle. That doesn't mean I enjoy scrubbing dishes or anything, but I have a really easy trick to getting the worst mess to come off with no effort.

As you can see in this photo I baked a rack of ribs last night. It got messy. The BBQ sauce burnt quite badly. My husband asked me, with a smile, if I intended to throw the pan away when he saw how bad the mess was. 

Can you see how the edges of this burnt on mess have lifted off of the pan?  With one super simple trick you can eliminate 98% of the effort of getting this mess clean.

First, do not soak the pan or get it wet. Let it cool. When it is cool enough to touch without a pot holder or oven mitt grab your dish soap. Apply dish soap generously to the mess. Walk away from it. Forget it until the morning!

In the morning you can grab a kitchen knife, just in case you need it to help lift the edges of the baked/burnt mess.

As you can see in this video, I literally just grabbed the burnt on BBQ sauce and lifted it off.

If there is any remaining baked on mess, fill the pan with hot water. Add a used dryer sheet and allow it to soak. The remaining mess will slide right off of the pan when you are ready to wash!

Do you have a tip to help make things easier in the kitchen? I would love to hear it!

ABC Jar Find It Style

Being the mother of a 4 year old is a lot like being a boy scout... We have the same motto anyhow. Always Be Prepared. For me, that means always have a change of clothes, baby wipes, a snack and toys on hand.

In my purse you will always find a few small toys. While I like for Roo to play with cars, action figures and puzzles- I want to keep him entertained and I want him to learn or to brush up on what he knows via playtime whenever it is possible.

I created the perfect size toy for carrying in a handbag or diaper bag. This is ideal for pulling out on a long car trip or at a restaurant.

To make an ABC Jar : Find It Style  you will need:

a small baby food jar ( I used Beechnut Stage 2 size)
beads
foam abc beads
glue

Make sure your baby food jar is clean and dry.

Pour your beads into the jar, filling it 3/4 of the way full

Add 10-15 ABC Foam Beads

Line the lid with glue
Seal the jar
Shake

There you have a DIY toy that will help kids with letter recognition and keep them busy shaking the jars to find more letters.

My idea behind this was that Roo knows his ABC's really well, practicing letter recognition out of the sequence he recognizes the alphabet in would be good practice.

Whenever I pull the ABC Jar out of my purse I get an average of 6 minutes of entertainment while Roo is shaking and spotting letters.