Love to stay home

2 Houseplants that you can multiply for free!

May 6, 2021 2 Comments

2 Houseplants that you can multiply for free are Pothos and Lucky Bamboo. Of course, there are many more that can be propagated but I am sharing with you the two that I have succeeded with.

Do you love houseplants? I have always loved having houseplants, but struggled for years to keep most of them alive! It was either too much water, too much sun, too little water, not enough sun. But I have not given up and wanted to share with you 2 of my success stories!!

Everyone likes the idea of having plants without spending money! So propagating your existing plants is the easiest way of multiplying your plants without spending a dime.

I have tried and tested propagating these plants and have had great results. So I just had to share my success with multiplying these 2 plants.

You are guaranteed to see at least these 2 plants in my house!

Another thing that I wanted to share is that with house plants, sometimes you find the most annoying part is the tiny little flies( Fungus Gnats) They just multiply like crazy and it’s really hard to get rid of them. I have researched all sorts of ways to get rid of them and have tried lots of products, but the only product that has worked is called Mosquito Bits, I heard about it on a gardening youtube channel. You just have to sprinkle it in your pots., and you can be sure you will not see these pesky insects again!

Pothos ( also known as money plant)

The perfect place to have this plant is in the bathroom, the humid conditions make it thrive. It does not need direct sunlight. It is also a great plant to purify the air in your house. However, this plant can survive anywhere in your home where it gets some indirect sunlight.

It is not a very fussy plant either, so you can water it once every 4 or 5 days, or when the soil is dry.

If you do not have a pothos plant, to begin with, you can get one at any gardening store or on Amazon

Or if you really don’t wish to spend any money, ask a relative or friend for a cutting!!

How to Propagate Pothos:

The best part about propagating this beauty is that every leaf can be used to grow new roots and become a new plant. The root nodes on the stem are present right below each leaf.

To propagate, Using sharp scissors cut off about 6 inches of the stem with leaves. Remove the leaf closest to the base, place the stem in a jar or vase of water.

If you want to have many new plants cut a long piece of the stem with many leaves and then you cut each leaf making sure to cut below the root node. Put all these leaves in water, making sure the nodes are submerged.

I have mine in a glass vase as I love seeing these plants in water. Change the water every 2 weeks.

This can be transferred to the soil once the roots start appearing, but I have it in water as I love the look of it in water.

Pothos cutting — Pothos Cutting growing in a glass jar.

Bamboo- ( Lucky Bamboo)

Bamboo plant cuttings grow really fast! In literally a few days to a week, you will see roots popping out! The lucky bamboo grows in spirals. But it is important to note that your cutting will not grow that way, it will just grow straight up. This is an easy plant to take of as it needs watering just once every 15 days or so. Also, it thrives in indirect sunlight. It is a beautiful ornamental plant which is also considered lucky in some cultures.. hence the name!

You can find Lucky Bamboo in any gardening center or on Amazon

How to Propagate Lucky Bamboo:

Take a healthy cutting off of the mother plant, it should have at least one leaf joint. Put the cutting in a glass vase with some pebbles and water. In a few days, you should see little roots appearing.

Change the water every 12 days or so. I usually wash the vase and pebbles and the plant as well to prevent any sliminess from forming. Keep this plant in a well-lit area but not in direct sunlight.

I have both these cuttings in glass vases.

lucky bamboo cutting — Lucky Bamboo Cutting in a glass vase with pebbles, The Mother Plant is in the background.

Watch this video by Sadia of PickupLimes to learn more about Plant Propagation

Her website and YouTube channel are great resources for learning about a Plant-Based Lifestyle and Plant Care.

Thanks for reading and do share your plant propagation success stories with me! I would love to hear from you!

(This post contains affiliate links which means if you buy the products that I recommend, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please note that I only recommend products that I love and use myself. Thank you for your support.)

Recipes

Quick Chicken and Egg Noodles

May 6, 2021 2 Comments

This is just a basic Quick Chicken and Egg Noodles recipe, very simple to make, and really tasty. It is a favorite of my kids. They ask for it almost every week!

Basic Ingredients required for Quick Chicken and Egg Noodles:

Noodles:

What kind of noodles to use?

The best kind of noodle to use is thin spaghetti, I have also used regular spaghetti, egg noodles, and even linguine but I always go back to thin spaghetti. Of course for authentic Chinese noodles, egg noodles are preferred. An important thing to remember is not to overcook them. I follow the directions on the box for ‘al dente’.

Vegetables needed:

You can use up whatever vegetables you have on hand. Carrots, cabbage, broccoli, peas, bell peppers, corn, or green beans can be used.

I used carrots, broccoli, green bell pepper, and cabbage in this recipe. Cutting and prepping the vegetables in the same size helps them cook evenly, you want them to still be crunchy in the end.

Other than the above vegetables, you will need spring onions or scallions and chopped garlic.

Chicken:

Which cut of Chicken is best?

You could use chicken breasts, thighs, or tenders. My personal preference is chicken thighs as the thigh meat is more tender and remains juicy after cooking. The chicken breast and tenders usually become a bit dry when cooked.

Other ingredients:

Eggs, Soya Sauce, Oil, Salt and Pepper to taste, Chicken stock cube(optional)

How do you make these Quick Chicken and Egg Noodles?

Cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces using kitchen scissors. After that marinate it in salt, pepper, and soya sauce. I do that just before I start prepping the veggies, so it has about 10 to 15 minutes to marinate. Once the chicken is cooked, save it along with its juices to add later once the noodles and vegetables are done.

Keep all the ingredients ready, once your wok or Non-stick wok is hot, it just takes 5 minutes for the noodles to be done. The vegetables just need a couple of minutes to cook, be careful not to overcook them, they still need to be crunchy.

The egg can be scrambled and added in the end.

If you are vegetarian, just substitute tofu/paneer for the chicken or just go with only vegetables.

(The above links are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase these items on Amazon, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please note that I only recommend products that are of great quality and that are useful to my readers. Thanks for your support.)

Chicken and Egg Noodles

Noodles with chicken, egg and vegetables

Course Main Course

Cuisine Chinese

Ingredients

½ box Thin Sphagetti cooked till al dente
1 tbsp olive oil
1 carrot cut into sticks
½ green bell pepper cut into sticks
¼ cabbage sliced thin
4 broccoli florets sliced thin
2 scallions chopped, green parts saved for garnishing.
2 garlic cloves chopped
3 tbsp soya sauce
2 eggs scrambled
Salt and pepper to taste

For marinating chicken

1 chicken thigh cut into small pieces
1 tbsp soya sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook sphagetti till al dente and set aside. Drizzle with a little olive oil and mix it with a fork so the noodles do not stick to each other.
Marinate chicken with soya sauce, salt and pepper.
Prep all the vegetables. Chop up scallions and garlic. Cut vegetables into sticks as shown in picture.
Heat up a wide pan on high heat. Keep all your ingredients ready.
Add marinated chicken and cook. It will cook fast as the pieces are small. Take out the chicken and set aside.
Add the scallions and garlic, stir it and immediately add the veggies, Season with salt and pepper. Dont cook too long, as they still have to be crispy.
Add noodles, soya sauce and mix everything. Add in chicken pieces. Scramble 2 eggs and add them in. Mix and switch off.
Garnish with the chopped scallions.

Notes

You can make this vegetarian by excluding chicken and eggs.
You can add vegetable or chicken soup cubes to add even more flavor to your noodles.
The entire process from the time you heat the oil till you're done should just take 5 minutes as your cooking on high heat.

Art/Crafts & DIY

DIY Paper Bunny Garland

May 6, 2021 2 Comments

This DIY Paper Bunny Garland is a fun, easy Project. Everyone loves DIY decor especially when you are on a budget! So here is an easy Easter Project to decorate your home.

Decorate your home with this Easter Bunny Garland, hang it up on your fireplace mantel, on a window or across an entryway table. Wherever you put it can elevate your Easter Decor.

It is so easy to do, you will need a template of an Easter bunny, you can find one here: https://www.easypeasyandfun.com/printable-easter-silhouette-craft/

Other materials include:

A few different patterns of Scrapbook paper

Cotton balls

Scissors

Twine or ribbon

Hot glue gun

(The above links are affiliate links which means I will earn a small commission if you buy these items using my links, this is at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I love and are of great quality. Thank you so much for your support.)

How to make this DIY Easter Bunny Garland:

Trace the bunny template onto the scrapbook paper and cut out as many as you want. Choose different designs that go together, or if you have a color theme you could choose the paper accordingly. I cut out 8 bunnies.

Stick the cotton balls on the bottom for their tails. You could also use pom-poms.

Here is a link to a super cute Easter Bunny garland with pom poms: https://diycandy.com/easter-bunny-garland/

Lay your twine or ribbon down on a table, use hot glue to stick the bunnies onto the ribbon/string at regular intervals. I have used a thin satin ribbon.

There you have it! Your easy peasy Easter bunny garland! All you have to do is hang it up! I just secured it to my mantel with tape.

Hope you will try out this DIY project to decorate your home this Easter!

Recipes

2 Ingredient Naan

May 3, 2021 6 Comments

If you haven’t tried this internet phenomenon yet you definitely have to!!

I could not believe it until I tried it for myself! You get soft naan in no time without much work and the best part is NO yeast!!

It is a definite yes in my kitchen!! I make this at least once a week and my kids love it.

You can eat it with your favorite curry dish, as a wrap, or even make a naan pizza! Whichever way you decide to eat it, it is delicious!

Update: I wanted to share a picture of 2 ingredient Naan pizza made by my nephew Ethan!

Naan pizza by Ethan — 2 ingredient Naan Pizza By Ethan Mudartha

This 2 ingredient dough recipe is very popular. When I first came across it I wondered if with just 2 ingredients this was possible or was it just a hoax?!

I decided to put it to the test and was pleasantly surprised by the results. I used this recipe as a guide: https://thebigmansworld.com/2-ingredient-naan/

Ingredients:

You just need 2 ingredients as you would have guessed;)

1 and 3/4 cups Self-raising flour ( don’t worry if you don’t have this, you can make it by combining 2 cups flour, 1 tbsp baking powder & 1 tsp Salt) just take away 1/4 cup and use the rest.

And

1 cup Non-fat Greek Yogurt

Add 1 tsp salt to taste and any seasonings that you like. Some great options are Chilli flakes, Garlic powder, onion powder, Kasoori methi( dried fenugreek leaves)

How do you make it?

Just combine the two and you have your dough., mix with a wooden spoon, and then knead with your hands to make a dough, it does not have to be a very smooth dough. You don’t even have to wait for it to rise like a yeast dough. Just roll out your naan bread and cook them on a hot pan. You can use a cast iron pan that retains heat very well and cooks the naan evenly. A non-stick pan can be used as well, but I recommend a cast iron pan for even cooking.

( The above link is an affiliate link, which means if you do decide to purchase the item using my link, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please note that I only recommend items I love and know are of great quality and use to my readers. Thank you so much for your support.)

Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, giving you 8 good-sized naans. I have even divided the dough into 16 pieces and made mini naans! Use a rolling pin to roll out the naans about 1/4 of an inch thick.

After cooking the naans you can brush them with butter, chopped garlic, cilantro, etc to give it even more flavor.

« Previous 1 … 11 12 13