Posted by Cindy on January 27, 2011
Oh, my goodness! This was so easy!! I’ve wanted to make my own laundry detergent for years, but I’ve always been intimidated. I just knew it would be too much work, too messy and not worth the money. Boy, was I wrong! The recipe below will last my family about six months and all the ingredients (including a 5-gallon bucket with lid) cost less than $10. TEN dollars for six months of detergent!! (And next time around, the whole batch will be about $1.25 because the only thing I’ll need to buy is an additional bar of soap!)
My mother-in-law made her first batch about four months ago and has been very pleased with the results. She used to be a tried and true Tide user, so her standards are pretty high!
Homemade Laundry Detergent
Need:
1 5-gallon bucket with tight fitting lid (I found mine in the paint department at Walmart.)
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap (Kroger and Meijer carry this in my area.)
1 cup Borax (I can find this at any grocery in my area.)
1 cup Arm and Hammer WASHING Soda (Not Baking Soda! I can get this at Kroger and Meijer.)
5 gallons of water
How To:
1. Grate the entire bar of Fels-Naptha soap using a cheese grater.
2. Melt the soap in ONE gallon of water that you have warmed on the stove.
3. Meanwhile, pour one cup of Borax and one cup of Washing Soda in the 5-gallon bucket.
4. Add FOUR gallons of water to the bucket and stir.
5. Carefully add the melted soap water to the bucket and stir.
*My bucket was filled to the very brim!! I used a coffee cup to funnel the first batch into an old laundry bottle.
To Wash:
Simply add 1/2 cup to 1 cup of detergent – depending on your washer and the size of the load. Voila!
Visit my recipe page for more Homemade Posts.
Posted by Cindy on July 1, 2009
It’s garden time again! I just love this time of year – even though it keeps me VERY busy. I feel so productive caring for, harvesting and putting away things from the garden. Two of the first crops to fill our home this summer have been zucchini and onions.
I haven’t had much experience putting either of these away, so I did a little internet research. It seems as if the quickest and easiest way to save these veggies for later use is freezing them raw. What could be simpler than that?
I grated the zucchini and placed it in freezer bags in two cup portions since most of my normal recipes call for about this much grated zucchini. So far, I’ve frozen 20 cups!
With the onions, I sliced some and chopped some. I didn’t worry about measuring since frozen onions come apart with a quick tap on the counter. One website said to place the onions on cookie sheets and freeze before bagging, but I didn’t have time to fool with that. 
Both of these will need to be used in cooked recipes since they won’t hold their original texture. For the zucchini, the directions said to add any liquid in the bag (after thawing) to the recipe since it will be the juices that are normally in the zucchini.
Mahayla and Caleb grew carrots this year. They were able to can 10 quarts – and I only had to supervise! Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the finished jars.
Looks like green bean canning will be next on the list! Anybody have a really good idea for saving summer squash? I have attempted to parboil and freeze, but it turned out way to mushy to use, even in cooked dishes.
Posted by Cindy on December 15, 2008
Here’s one of my favorite and super-easy Christmas sweets.
Pretzel and Nut Bark
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup thin pretzels broken into small chunks
2/4 cup salted nuts of any kind (I use mixed nuts)
1/3 cup white chocolate chips or almond bark
2 Tablespoons (more or less) of Christmas colored sprinkles (any style)
Line 13×9″ pan with foil so that the foil hangs over the edges. In a large bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate chips 1-2 minutes. (Stir the chips after one minute, microwave in 30 second increments until chips are melted.) Stir in pretzels and nuts. Spread in pan.
In a smaller bowl, microwave the white chocolate chips or almond bark for 1 minute or until melted. Place melted chocolate in a plastic ziptop baggie. Snip the corner and squeeze the chocolate over the bark in the pan. Lightly cover with sprinkles. Chill for about 1 hour (until firm).
Lift the bark out by the foil, then peel the foil away. Break the bark into pieces. Keep chilled until ready to eat.
Posted by Cindy on December 12, 2008
We’ve made oodles of cookies and sweets this year – many of them the old standby recipes like peanut butter fudge, chocolate chip cookies and magic cookie bars.
I thought I’d share one of my favorite indulgences this time of year that’s maybe not so ordinary, but very easy.
Cream Cheese Cookies
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
2 cups flour
Cream butter, cream cheese and sugar. Stir in vanilla, flour and nuts. Roll in a damp cloth (or waxed paper) and place in refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Slice thin (about 1/4″) and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or just until edges begin to brown.
For what it’s worth, these freeze well and taste just as good frozen as fresh!
Posted by Cindy on November 7, 2008
Remember the black walnuts we collected to harvest and freeze? Yeah, well, let’s just say it turned out a bit like the applesauce experience. What you see below is less that one cup of walnuts, which took at least 45 minutes of my hard labor.
I got lots of great advice on doing applesauce the easier way next year. Any advice for an easier way to harvest these little boogers? (I used a hammer on a large rock to crack the shell – which flew everywhere. Then used a nut tool to painstakingly get the meat out.)
At this point, I told my son to scatter the rest of the walnuts out for the squirrels! My husband told him to bag them up just in case I change my mind. Me, change my mind? 
