Apparently Steve and Gayle Henson opened a dude ranch in 1954, and started a company with Steve’s secret recipe for dressing (Hidden Valley Ranch.) As guests kept raving about how good the dressing was, the Henson’s decided to bottle it. As with any great entrepreneur, the Henson’s knew when to sell the stuff, too. Clorox bought the recipe in 1972 for $8 million.

Image: Amazon

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Origin of Ranch Dressing

• Ready Made Pie Crusts
• Leftover beef tips (about 2 cups)
• 4 oz. frozen corn
• 4 oz. mushroom slices (canned)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat oven to 375. Mix ingredients together in a large bowl. Place pie crust bottom in pie pan. Put filling (ingredients) into pie filling. Cover with top pie crust. Slice several slots in top. Bake for 40 minutes.

Image: sxc.hu.

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Beef Pot Pie

“Color is NOT a reliable indicator that ground beef or ground beef patties have been cooked to a temperature high enough to kill harmful bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7,” reads the CDC’s E. coli outbreak page.

Twenty-three people, most of whom reported eating undercooked ground beef, have become ill with E. coli O157:H7. Read more about the recall of ground beef recall from JBS Swift Beef Company at CDC.

Do you use a thermometer to test burgers at home?

(Image via stock.xchng)

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Ground Beef Temperature, Not Color

Photo: sxc

• How will people take bathroom breaks? If they’ll be hiking through the house, consider protecting your floor with throw rugs or plastic rug runners.
• Will they bring their own towels? If not, put buckets of towels in a convenient spot. If so, provide an area for them to place their towels until they need them and set up a towel line so they can let towels drip dry between dips in the pool.
• What will they do with wet swim gear? Recycle plastic grocery bags into after party gear holders. People who opt to wear wet swim suits home will appreciate a way to protect their seats, so you may want to offer trash bags as seat protectors, too.
• How will they feel tomorrow? At least one guest is sure to forget sunscreen. Providing a few bottles of sunscreen and lotion is a thoughtful touch they are sure to appreciate.

Do you have any tips for organizing a pool party?

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Organizing Your Pool Party

The blue device is a handy clip on that you can snap to your shorts or pants waistband, and head out in the garden or yard without worrying about it falling off or becoming a nuisance. The small device needs batteries (which are included) and a repellent refill. The manufacturer says that each refill provides up to 12 hours of protection.

While I didn’t use the device for 12 straight hours, I can say that the no mess part of it is truly fabulous. The device has a small fan that runs very quietly, so even if you’re going outside for some R&R it won’t disrupt you. I snap it on when I run outside with the dog, and I’ve also set it on our picnic table when my family was gathered around. It seemed to work well in both instances.

The only downfall I can find at all is that it’s slightly pricey. I was able to download a buy one, get one free coupon which really helped.

Overall, if mosquitoes are a problem for you, I highly recommend the Off! Clip On.

Image: Off

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Review: Off Clip On

While I normally don’t like creamy, cold pasta salads, this one from Betty Crocker is delish! It doesn’t have that heavy mayo taste, and also isn’t drenched in salad dressing. The cooked chicken give it some depth, and the croutons and Parmesan topping make it really unique. Also very easy to make.

Image: sxc.hu.

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Chicken Parm Pasta Salad

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Aqua-Leisure Industries have recalled 4 million inflatable baby floats due to drowning hazards. The leg straps in the seat of the float can tear, resulting in children falling into or under the water. There have been 31 reports of float seats tearing and children falling into or under the water as a result. No injuries were reported.

A date between 08/02 and 07/08 is molded on the valves of the baby floats that have been recalled. Floats not included in the recall will have “NP” on the valve.

The recall includes several different styles of baby floats. Please visit the CPSC recall page to see photos, descriptions and model numbers of all recalled floats. Recalled floats shown in photos: Ticklish Turtle Sunshade Float/Baby Boat and Sunshade Buggy.

Contact Aqua-Leisure at (866) 807-3998 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit aqualeisure.com for refund information.

(Images from CPSC)

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Inflatable Baby Floats Recalled

The article offers several ideas on how to spruce up a kitchen. One thing I appreciated about this link was that it included ideas for a really small space. Not everyone has the room for a big fantastic spread.

Image: sxc.hu.

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Kitchen Ideas

• Making mini frozen pops. We mix up a juice drink, pour it into trays and let it start to set in the freezer. After it is partially set, I pop in toothpicks to use as popsicle sticks. If you don’t have juice, you can blend up fruit to smoothie consistency and freeze it instead.
• DIY bullion cubes. Save that leftover chicken or beef broth and pour it into a tray to make ice cube size bullion cubes. A great way to add a bit of flavor to greens, soups and other dishes fast.
• Organizing small things. Ice cube trays are just the right size for sorting beads, holding your earring collection, etc.

Photo: SXC

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Uses for Ice Cube Trays

It seems like a great product for people like me: too tall for petite, but too short for most of the jeans out there! It’s designed to hold a hem in place for days without puckering the fabric as safety pins might. “One of the biggest complaints women have when buying a new pair of jeans is that they can’t wear them immediately because the hem is too long. Once tailored, pants can only be worn with heels or flats,” said Christine Benidt, Bristols 6 co-founder and developer of the denim hem tape.

The hem tape also lets you to switch between different lengths for jeans, allowing you to wear the same pair with heels or flats. You can also test-run different lengths before making a cut. The pack contains 18 pieces for $12. According to Bristols 6, the tape works on most fabrics without leaving a sticky residue.

(Image from Bristols 6)

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Handy Hem Tape for Jeans