Homemade Dishwasher Soap

Ok so this recipe is super easy and quick to make. 

All you need is 3-4 things.

 

1 cup Borax

1 cup Arm and Hammer Pure Baking Soda (or Washing Soda)

1/2 cup Sea Salt (all I had was Fine Sea Salt, but it still worked ok)

 

Add all three ingredients together and stir well.

Then store in a tight container (I used and old spaghetti jar).      When you are ready to use it, use 1 Tbsp for pre wash and 1 Tbsp for wash. I also put vinegar in the rinse dispenser, it works as a good so far.

 

I like this recipe, I thought it worked better than my off brand walmart jel detergent. There is another recipe I want to try that is a jel and it uses lemon drink packets. I’ll post it as soon as I try it, after I use this stuff up.

Homemade Laundry soap

I am SO excited about this soap!!!!!!!! I was cautious to be too excited about making it since I wasn’t sure how well it would work, or how well it would get the smell out.

I am happy to say this is a DEAL! As Fox 4 News would say!

You will need the following…

 

1 bar of Zote or Felz Naptha soap

1 cup of Borax

1 cup of Arm and Hammer Pure Baking Soda or Washing Soda

 

First you chop or grate the soap.

Then you melt the grated or chopped soap on the stove in 6-8 cups of hot water.

Once it has melted into the water it will look like so…

Once it is completely melted pour into a 5 gallon bucket.

Add borax and Pure Baking soda (or Washing Soda).                       If you wish to add fragrance you can add it now. I used 20 drops of rose scented soap fragrance that I picked up at Michaels.

Still until well combined. Then fill bucket (you want a total of 5 gallons).

Stir some more. Then cover and let sit overnight. Stir a few times when you can.

It will get quite thick by morning, kinda like pudding, as you stir it up it will thin a little. I even used a hand wisk to help break up the thicker chunks and get it smoothed out.

I know store my bucket of homemade laundry detergent on top of my washer, with a little bowl next to it to old the measuring cup I use with it.                                                                                    When you are ready to use it. Just ad 5/8 of a cup to your washer.

 

As for laundry softener…. I heard this trick of using vinegar instead of laundry softener and it has worked great! Just add 1/4 cup to your softener cup. And no it does not leave your laundry smelling like vinegar. It actually has no smell.

 

Ok, and as for the dryer? Well I use these two blue dryer balls my mom got for me, I think you can get them at Walmart. I then put one drop of the same scent fragrance I used above (I used either rose or lavender) on each ball.

Have fun!

Really LOW calorie Banana Muffins

 

I love this recipe I found online, then I played around with it and lowered the calories and fat even more!  Now if you are looking for something really sweet and fluffy and full of calories this isn’t it. If you appreciate a healthy, low calorie food, you will probably like this!

This time I used self rising flour instead of the baking soda and powder, next time I plan to use all purpose flour and use the baking powder and soda.

I also ground up some flax seed to make it into flour, then blended it in the blender with some water to use in place of the egg. Works great!

The original recipe called for just white flour I used have white and half whole wheat.

So here it is….

LOW Calorie Banana Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups mashed bananas

1/2 cup sugar (I used brown sugar)

4 Tbsp Flax seed flour (mix in blender for 45 seconds with 2 Tbsp water, it will turn it into a nice paste)

or you can use 2 eggs.

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350. Grease your muffin pans or use paper muffin liners.

In medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

In separate bowl, combine banana, sugar, flax seed paste (or egg), and vanilla extract. Blend until well mixed. Add applesauce. Then slowly add to dry mixture and stir until well blended.

Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cook on wire racks.

Makes 24 servings.

 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size – 1 muffin

Amount Per Serving

Calories   63                  Calories from Fat   1

                                          % Daily Value^*

Total Fat   0.1g                                       0%

Cholesterol   0mg                                    0%

Sodium  25mg                                         1%

Total Carbohydrates   14.4g                    5%

     Dietary Fiber  0.7g                              3%

     Sugars  5.0g

Protein  1.2g

Vitamin A 0%               •           Vitamin C 2%

Calcium 0%                  •                   Iron 3%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Spicy Fried Tofu

Ok, so I found this recipe while googling around the internet for some sort of yummy tofu I could make for Sabbath. And here I found it. It is REALLY good!

 

1 lb tofu (preferably frozen and then thawed first)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp sweet basil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp curry powder ( I DID NOT use this, since I do not like curry)

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp soy sauce

 

I always like to freeze my tofu before using it in stir-fries and such. It gives it a much better texture and stays together better. I usually like to freeze mine for at least 48 hrs, then thaw just before ready to use it in a recipe.

First drain the tofu and pat dry with a paper towel, then cut into 1/2-in cubes.

Heat oil and sauté tofu over high heat for 5 minutes.

If there is any excess water, pour it out. Reduce heat, and add turmeric, stir until tofu is uniformly yellow and then add basil thyme, cumin, and curry powder (if you choose to use it).  And garlic (and a little more oil to prevent from sticking, if needed). Increase heat;then add soy sauce. Sauté until golden brown.

Serve over rice, in pita bread or in rollup up tortillas with shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese. Use any of your favorite toppings.This tastes just as good the next day. 

Divine French Pasty Pie Crust

Ok so here is the crust recipe that I used in the Apple-Berry Pie recipe that I also have listed on the blog. It is another that is not my own but too good not to share! It is a sweet dough that is great for fruit pies!

Divine French Pastry Pie Crust

(Makes enough for two pies, or a top and bottom of a single pie)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp white sugar
1 cup shortening
1 egg
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
5 tbsp water

In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and sugar. Mix well and then cup in the shortening until mixture is like course meal.

In another smaller bowl combine egg, vinegar, and 4 tbsp water. Whisk together, then slowly add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork. Mix until dough forms a ball. Add one more tbsp of water if needed.

Allow dough to rest in refrigerator 10 minutes before rolling out

Awesomely good apple-blackberry pie!

Ok, so I found this recipe on Allrecipes, so this is not my own! But it is really good! And I loved making it so I wanted to share it!

Apple-Berry Pie

20 min -prep time
50 min - cook time

1 pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1 cup white sugar
4 tsp tapioca
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups apples-pealed, cored, and sliced
2 tbsp butter, cut into small peices

Preheat oven to 375. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one crust and place in a 9 inch pie plate. Roll out top crust, and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together the sugar, tapioca, and cinnamon. Add blackberries and apple slices. Toss gently to coat without mashing the berries. You could add the berries after coating the apples in sugar mixute, I did that the second time I made this and liked it much better since the berries didn't get as mashed ( I was using thawed frozen berries). Let stand for 2o minutes.

Spoon filling into pastry lined pan. Place small cut peices of butter on top. Moisten the edge of the pastry with water. Cover with top crust or make a latice top; trim and crimp edge. Cut a few slits in the top to allow to steam steam to escape (if using a full top). Cover edge with foil to prevent over-browning.

Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

This is one very good pie!! I doubt you will be dissappointed!

Mom's awesome Multi-Grain Bread

I love this recipe of my mom's Multi-grain bread! I like to make it using my breadmakers dough cycle and then take it out and cook it in the oven. I like the texture and the shape better that way. But it can also all be done in the breadmaker if you prefer.

Mom's Multi-Grain Bread

1 1/4 cup Warm water
2 Tbsp Oil
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Honey or 3 Tbsp brown suger (I use brown sugar)
1 1/2 tbsp Powdered milk (optional, I usually use it though)
1 1/8 cup Bread flour
1 1/8 cup Whole wheat flour
2 tbsp Gluton flour
2 tbsp Wheat germ
2 tbsp Barley or soy flour (I use soy)
1 cup Old-fashioned oats
2 tsp Instant yeast

Put in breadmaker in order above. Set on dough cycle. Watch it about half way through, if it still too sticky and 1-2 Tbsp of flour. After dough cycle is complete take out of pan and place in a bread pan. Place in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes to allow to rise. After the 20 min is finished raise temp to 350 and set timer for 35 minutes. A
After you remove bread from oven take out of pan and let cook on a cooling rack. Enjoy!