Dishwasher detergent

1 cup of washing soda (cleaner)

1 cup of baking soda (cuts out grease)

3 packages of unsweetened lemonade drink mix (added cleaning power, antibacterial and smells awesome)

1 cup of salt

1 cup of water

Mix all ingredients with a spoon.  Break up large clumps.  It's ok if it is a little lumpy.  It dissolves in the dishwasher compartment.

Review:

It is a little clumpy but it works. We have an inexpensive dishwasher so dishes do need to be rinsed first. 

I made my own washing soda by putting 1.25 cups in the over at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 

I tried making detergent tabs out of ice trays but they broke apart. Once you add the water the mixture will harden pretty quick. Once it dries you can break it up eaily into smaller pieces that fit in the dishwasher compartment. I use 1 tablespoon in the compartment. You can also use vinegar as a rinse agent. If dishes are really dirty you can ass another tablespoon in the silverware caddy.

I will not be buying dishwasher detergent again.  I made this at the end of August 2014.  It is the middle of Oct and we have barely put a dent in the stash.  We do dishes every day.
This batch should last though the end of the year at least. 

  

Can Cream of chicken substitute

3 tablespoons of butter or oil
3 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup chicken broth
Dash of pepper
Chicken pieces, if desired

Melt butter
Add flour and whisk to reduce clumps
Add milk and broth. Continue to stir on low heat with whisk until desired thickness.

Who knew I would learn to cook this year? I am never buying cream of anything again.

Homemade Waffle & Pancake mix

Makes 12 to 15 pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
half cup of blueberries or chocolate chips
1 small Mashed Banana    
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Assorted toppings, such as butter, maple syrup, confectioners' sugar, honey, jams, preserves, sweetened whipped cream, or chocolate syrup

Preheat oven to 200 degrees; have a baking sheet or heatproof platter ready to keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, butter (or oil), and egg. Add dry ingredients to milk mixture; whisk until just moistened (do not overmix; a few small lumps are fine).
2. Heat a large skillet (nonstick or cast-iron) or griddle over medium. Fold a sheet of paper towel in half, and moisten with oil; carefully rub skillet with oiled paper towel.
3. For each pancake, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter onto skillet, using the back of the spoon to spread batter into a round (you should be able to fit 2 to 3 in a large skillet).
4. Cook until surface of pancakes have some bubbles and a few have burst, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip carefully with a thin spatula, and cook until browned on the underside, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a baking sheet or platter; cover loosely with aluminum foil, and keep warm in oven. Continue with more oil and remaining batter.  Serve warm, with desired toppings.

Optional for more yumminess:



Stuffed Breakfast Peppers

4 red bell peppers (any color bell pepper works) Spinach
4 eggs
Cheese for garnish
Cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line the bottom of a baking dish.
Cut off the top of each pepper. Remove the seeds.
Place peppers into baking dish and bake for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, defrost the spinach in the microwave. Squeeze the moisture out of the spinach.
Remove peppers from oven and stuff the bottom 1/2 with cooked spinach.
Crack an egg into the top 1/2 of each pepper.
Bake for ~20 min longer.

I love picking fresh peppers from the garden for breakfast.  It is the simple things in life that matter. Try growing your own veggies.    

Homemade Tomato sauce

4 lbs fresh tomatoes-peeled
2 cloves garlic
1/2 of a large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh basil
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil

1. Toss all of the ingredients into the Crock Pot (the tomatoes can go in whole).

2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally.

3. Once the tomatoes have broken down, uncover; and continue cooking until you reach the desired consistency (expect it to take at least eight hours).

4. Run the tomato sauce through a food mill to remove the seeds and peels, or give everything a quick spin in a blender or food processor.

This was such an easy way to make base tomato sauce for different sauces out of fresh tomatoes.

Home Made Laundry detergent

I know this is a cooking blog, but...

I am on a Pintrest kick. I wanted to try to make my own laundry soap. It seemed fairly easy & inexpensive IF I could find the ingredients on sale.  Use 1-2 tablespoons for each load.

Homemade Dry Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

Borax- (1) 4 lb $3.50 (found at Ace Hardware)
Baking soda- (4) 1 lb boxes or (1) 4 lb box $4.00 (I could have found this cheaper)
Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda- (4lbs) *see recipe below $4.00
2 bars of Zote Laundry Soap or 3 bars of Fels-Naptha $1.00 each
1 scoop of oxiclean $1.00 (I had some at the house already)
Cheese Grater
5 gallon bucket
1 large, thick plastic bag
2 gallon container to store the mixture in

Cost of ingredients=$20

Instructions:

Mix all ingredients together.  Use 1 tablespoon per load. I have been dissolving the 1 tablespoon in cold water before I put it in the washer.

Homemade Washing Soda

I couldn't find washing soda anywhere, so I made my own out of baking soda.

Ingredients

Baking Soda

Instructions

1. Fill a wide baking dish with baking soda.
2. Heat in the oven at 400 degrees until all the baking soda becomes washing soda. Occasionally mix it so that this process happens faster and more uniformly.  Bake for 1 hour.



This was a fun project. This would be a good science experiment for an elementary school student. Unless, you can get the ingredients for way less than a $1.00 per pound, I think it maybe just as cheap to find the economy sized laundry soap on sale with a coupon at Costco.

COST
I cut this recipe in half to make sure it would be a good substitute for the laundry detergent I currently use.

1lb=26.5 tablespoons
7lbs=186 tablespoons
$10 investment=.05 per load

update:

It is the end of September and we have barely put a dent in our supply. We will have laundry soap for months. It did a fantastic job washing my 3 week backpacking clothes.  I wish I had brought some on the trail with me to use at the coin op laundry.
update:
It is December.  I still have more than half of the laundry detergent left.  It does the trick.  I am thinking about making this for Christmas gifts in pint sized mason jars.

Oven Roasted Chicken

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced - quartered
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
Olive oil



Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out.
Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry.
Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken.
Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic.
Brush the outside of the chicken with the olive oil and sprinkle again with salt and pepper.
Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken.
Place the onions & carrots, roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil.
Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes.

Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Who knew this was so easy? 

 I carved the chicken & made more chicken stock for the Chicken Tortilla Soup.
The chicken salad sandwiches were excellent.
One chicken can easily generate 8+ high protein servings.
Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/perfect-roast-chicken-recipe.html?oc=linkback

Blueberry Lemon Pops

• 1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, plus several extra dollops for each popsicle*
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, divided
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Juice from one lemon (or about three tablespoons lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Mix 1 cup of yogurt, 3/4 cup blueberries, the honey, and the lemon juice together in a blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Grab the popsicle molds and put a few blueberries in the bottom of each mold, followed by a couple dollops of yogurt. Then, add a few more blueberries before filling the mold the rest of the way with the blended blueberry-yogurt mixture.
3. If the molds don’t come with handles, cover the molds with plastic wrap and make small holes in the wrap for the popsicle sticks -- then place the popsicle sticks through the holes and into the center of each popsicle mold.
4. Put the popsicles in the freezer for several hours.
5. Enjoy!

YUMMMM!~  Good for breakfast, snack & desert!  

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 table spoons of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 teaspoon of paperika
3 teaspoons of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons black pepper

I will NEVER buy taco seasoning packets again!!!

Spicy Chickpea Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
3 cup chickpeas
2 cup brocolli
1/2 cup of carrots
1/2 cup of red/orange peppers
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Chili flakes

Cook your quioa normally and set aside.-I cooked mine in the home made chicken stock.

Heat olive oil, chili flakes in large frying pan on low for 10 minutes.  Oil should take on an orange hue.
Turn up the heat to 4 and add your veggies.  Allow them to cook part way though.
Turn the heat up to 5 and add the chick peas.  Stir together until the chickpeas start to pop.

Excellent hot or cold!  I could have used less olive oil.  Any mixture of spice & veggies would be good.  You can always add chicken.

I will be making this again.  It didn't last long.  I will take a picture.
Possible homemade Backpacking meal?

Homemade Crockpot Chicken Soup

2 lbs chicken breasts-I used frozen
6 cups of chicken broth/stock-chicken stock recipe
1/2 teaspoon of crush red pepper flakes
1 cup sliced celery
4 carrots-sliced
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh, chopped Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
8 oz of fav pasta

Combine all ingredients except pasta for 6-8 hours, or until carrots are tender.
For the last hour add the pasta until pasta is al dente or to desired doneness & shred chicken.

This was so good, easy, cheap & healthy.  I got about 6-7 large servings.
I will never buy soup from the store again.

A different take on frozen pizza

One organic cheese pizza
Dice favorite fresh veggies
Dice leftover meat
Arrange on pizza
Add favorite cheese
Drizzle bbq

Bake according to pizza directions.

Viola -  pizza batter than delivery for a quarter of the price.

Crock pot chicken stock

Chicken carcass/chicken bones

Onion-diced

One celery stock-diced

A few carrots-diced

One sprig of parsley

One bay leaf

Fill crock pot with water

Add all ingredients

Cook for 10 hours

Strain all bones, skin & veggies

Throw away veggies.

Chicken bones can be used again.

*I have been saving veggie scraps in the freezer and adding them to this recipe.*

I have also been adding a little bit of this every night to Choppers food.  He LOVES it.  Choppers now begs for me to "fix" his food.  It is very satisfying to know you used 100% of a chicken.

As my Iron Man training has been ramping up, I have been looking for low calorie, low cost, EASY recovery "nutrition".  I have read lots of benefits to drinking chicken broth like tea. I have also seen chicken broth at aid stations.  Last weekend, I heated this up and took it in a thermos for a post workout "meal".  It was very satisfying. 

Grandma Diane's Macroni Salad

1lb of cooked macaroni
1/2 bottle of red pimentos
3 chopped celery stocks
4 green onions
3 chopped or grated boiled eggs
6  oz can of sliced olives
2 table spoon of sweet relish
1 teaspoon of pepper
Pinch of Salt
1 can of tuna
1/4 cup of mayo
1 knife of mustard

Mix in big bowl
Dust top with Paprika

Oatmeal Blueberry Muffins

 1 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/4 cups of all purpose flower
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp sald
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 400
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl
combine egg, milk and oil into dry ingredients
Fold in blueberries

bake 18-22 minutes until golden brown