10 0f the Best Make it at Home Recipes

We all love make it at home recipes they save us money, they often give us better products, and it is just plain fun to make our recipes instead of buying them at the store.

This is a list of my favorite recipes that we use on a daily basis.  If you have a favorite recipe then please share it with is us we would love to know!

1) Homemade Powdered Laundry Soap

1 box of borax
1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 bar of soap, grated (can use Dial, Ivory, Fels Naptha, or Zote)

Combine all ingredients and store in a container.
To use:
2 tbsp per load of laundry
If the laundry is really dirty, I will add 1/4 cup of baking soda.

2)Homemade OxiClean

Ingredient:
1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 cup of hot water
Directions:
mix together and use in place of OxiClean

3)Basic Waterproof Glue

• 6 tbsp water
• 2 packets unflavored gelatin (1/2 oz.)
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp glycerine

Bring water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin until it is dissolved. Add vinegar and glycerin and stir well. Let the mixture cool slightly and pour into a jar and seal tightly. To Use: This glue is best applied while warm. Apply to surfaces using a brush. Glue will gel after a few days. To re-use, warm by placing the jar in a pan of hot water. Good for binding leather to leather, fabrics to cardboard, paper to paper.

4)MAKE YOUR OWN FLY PAPER

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl. Pour over strips of brown paper and let soak overnight. To hang, poke a hole in one end of a strip and tie a string to it.

5)MOSQUITO/INSECT REPELLENT

Formula 1: Ingredients

• 3 cups rubbing alcohol
• 1 1/2 cups red cedar wood shavings
• 1/2 cup eucalyptus leaves

Mix ingredients together in a large bowl or jar. Cover and let stand 5 days. Strain the solid ingredients out and save the remaining liquid. Store tightly sealed. Yield: 2 cups. To use, pour into a small spray bottle and spray lightly on skin.

6)ANT TRAPS:
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup molasses
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons active dry yeast

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl until they form a smooth past. Spread the mixture into plastic lid. Any old plastic container will do. Set the mixture near the mouth of ant hill. For kitchen areas, coat a strip of cardboard with the mixture and lay along floor or in crevices where ants travel. Works best with medium to large ants. Try substituting honey for the molasses.

7)HM liquid/gel soap

1 bar of soap, grated
1/2 gallon of water
2 TBSP glycerin

Combine all ingredients and heat over low heat until the soap dissolves. Pour into your container and allow to sit for a few days till it thickens up.

8)Home Made Bubble Bath

Preparation time: 2 minutes
Makes 3.5 cups
1 cups of liquid dishwashing soap
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups of hot water
3 – 4 tablespoons of glycerin
Large plastic container (I use an old bubble bath container)
Stir all ingredients together in the plastic container.

9) Home Made Baby Wipes

2 tsp Baby Bath
2 tsp Baby oil
2 cups warm water
Half roll of Bounty Paper Towels
Air Tight container

Mix all ingredients together than pour over paper towels and let soak. After mixture has been absorbed by the paper towels, pull the tube our of the center and pull the “wipes” out of the center! Store in the air tight container.

You can add a small drop Tea Tree Oil to prevent the towels from molding.

10 All-purpose cleaner

32oz spray bottle
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice
1 tsp borax
1 tsp washing soda (baking soda if you can’t find WS)
1 tsp Murphy’s oil soap

Put the borax and washing soda in the bottle. Fill 1/2 way with really hot water. Give it a good shake to dissolve the powders. Add the vinegar and fill to 3/4 with hot water. Add the oil soap and fill to the 32oz line. I fill the bottle in stages to prevent the oil soap from foaming up (or the vinegar reacting with the soda).

Make your own Hot Pockets – Once a Month cooking Ideas

I used to make calzones for my crew on a regular basis when they were growing up. A perfect grab and go idea for teens there is no limit of ideas to do with these. use one of my ideas or come up with your own!

These freeze extremely well and reheat in the microwave or oven making them perfect for once a month cooking sessions.

Calzone dough

1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 ¾ – 3 ¼ cup flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar. Let it set for a few minutes until foamy (if you’re using fast-rise yeast, you can just add the yeast with the flour and go on) Then stir in oil salt and flour. Knead 5 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes. Divide dough into 6 pieces. Roll/pat each piece into a circle ( maybe about 6” across or so)

Top half with filling of choice, keeping back from edges from edges so it will seal well. Fold the other ½ of the circle over the filling and pinch sides together or seal with a fork. Poke a couple steam vents and bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Fillings

1. Pizza sauce with veggies, pepperoni, ham and mozzarella cheese.
2. Condensed cream soups with veggies and meat
3. Ham and cheese
4. Sloppy Joe Mix
5. Hamburger,American cheese, and sautéed onion
6. Left over stew
7. left over chili
8. Taco meat, olives, and onions with cheese over top
9. mini meatballs , spaghetti sauce & mozzarella
10. breaded chicken , spaghetti sauce , mozzarella & parmesan
11. ham , cheddar cheese & cubed potatoes
12. Turkey or chicken,onions,broccoli, and cheddar or Swiss
13. fajita seasoned chicken or beef, red peppers,onions and Monterey jack
14. Chopped hot dogs with chili and cheese
15. lasagna
16. steamed veggies in a white sauce

Ragu sauces work really well for these if you are in a hurry, such as the cheese or white sauces or you can make your own to make it more frugal.

Breakfast Pockets

1. sausage & cheese
2. sausage , egg & cheese
3. bacon , egg , cheese , onions , green peppers
4. Bacon, egg & cheese
5. ham, egg & cheese

Dessert Pockets

1. strawberry cheesecake
2. peach cobbler
3. cream fillings (banana, fudge, strawberry)

Home Made Remedies For Summer Time Problems

 We all love summer and the fun that it can bring, but with the fun of summer comes the inevitable bug bites, sunburn, poison Ivy and even tick bites.

But with the coming of summer times problems comes frugal home made solutions to take the bite of out of your discomfort. Here are a few that I have managed to collect.

Top 5 Sunburn Remedies

One of the most common summer time complaints, there must be at least a 100 remedies for sunburns. Some remedies are very common and well heard of, others are pretty off the wall. I have compiled a list of five remedies that seem to get the most praise from readers.

1. Vinegar – Surprisingly this came out as the number one remedy for burning, itching sunburn. Use either white or apple cider vinegar they both seem to work equally well, spray it on or apply it with a cotton ball and let dry. It takes away the itching and burning and helps your burn not to peel quite as much.
2. Aloe – No sunburn list would be complete without Aloe on the list. Long known for its healing properties this is the remedy that most of us are familiar with. Simply apply aloe juice, gel, or direct from the plant and leave it.
3. Tea or tea bags – Tea will reduce the burning as well has help your burn fade a bit faster than it otherwise would.While many people suggest applying tea bags directly to the burn if you have a large burn this could be a bit difficult. You can brew your tea let it cool and use a rag to apply the tea directly to your skin. Use this remedy two to three times daily till the pain stops and the redness fades. Especially good on severe burns.
4. Ice – Removes the burn and pulls the heat out of your skin, ice will also help to reduce any swelling that might occur from severe burns. Best if combined with other remedies. You can use ice cubes, ice packs or put a wet towel in the freezer and let it freeze.
5. Mustard – while this might sound a bit gross, and truthfully it is the first time I had heard of it many people swear by it. Smear the burn area with mustard and let it dry. Remove by washing it off, it takes away the sting and will prevent blistering from occuring.

Other off the wall remedies people have used for sunburn include preparation H ( recommended by a nurse) vagisil ( this from a desperate person) Noxema, Shaving cream,and a yogurt paste with barley and turmeric.

Bug Bite Remedies

From spiders to bees, we all end up with our share of bug bites in the summer time, not all remedies work the same since each bite you get is a bit different but here is a list of the best remedies and what you can use them for.

1. Ice -Perhaps the best all around remedy for bug bites is ice. It constricts the blood vessels slowing the toxins and keeping histamines from reaching the skin, easing the itch and any mild allergic reaction you may have to the bite.
2. Tobacco – Again it may sound gross or turn you off (I know it does me) but it really works well for bee or wasp stings. Any sort of tobacco will work, simply wet it and put it on the sting. Will stop the pain and swelling.
3. Baking Soda – An age old remedy for an assortment of stings, it helps to relieve the pain.Make a paste of baking soda and water and apply to the sting site, once it dries it can be washed off and reapplied.
4. Toothpaste – If you are in a pinch and having nothing else toothpaste is great for taking the sting and swelling out of a bug bite.
5. Aspirin – make a paste of one aspirin and water and apply it to the site. Will relieve the sting and swelling.

Assorted other home remedies

1. Poison Ivy – For poison ivy the most commonly used remedies are bleach, rubbing alcohol, inside of a banana peel, baking soda in your bath, a mixture of vinegar and table salt, and dawn dish soap mixed with white vinegar.
2. Tick Removal – Pert plus shampoo will cause them to release their hold and then they can be removed easily, a hot needle to the back of the ticks neck, or simply use a pair of tweezers to pull the tick straight off, the disease of the tick resides in its body so do not worry if you do not get all of the tick.

Soup Stocks – Making and Canning Your Own

Summer is the perfect time to make and can your own soup stocks and if you have never used a pressure canner before there is just nothing easier to start on.

We do a lot of scratch cooking so we use a lot of stock, whether it be vegetable, chicken, turkey or beef. Making stock could not be easier and it is not time intensive.

The other great thing about making stock is that although you will want to have a few things that standard what you put in your stock is flexible making it an easy way to use up leftovers or veggies that you want to use up before they go bad.

The Basics

Every soup stock is going to have a few basics in it.

• Celery
• Onion
• Garlic
• Carrots
• Herbs such as Rosemary, parsley, thyme and basil

How much of these you will need depends on how many quarts of Stock you plan to make and what else you are putting in your stock.

My preference is to make an all around vegetable stock that can be used with anything and which does not require having meat on hand to make.

You Will Need:

To make 4 quarts of vegetable stock:

• 1lb Carrots
• 6 stalks of celery
• 3 onions
• 3cloves of garlic
• Several sprigs of herbs
• 7 quarts of water

In addition to these you can add tomato,root vegetables such as turnips or rutabagas and peppers to your stock. I have added potatoes, green cabbage,green onions and whatever else I happened to have to my stock.

Adding Meat to your Stock

If you want to add meat to your stock it can still be very inexpensive if you plan ahead. I usually take chicken carcasses with some meat attached, turkey carcasses or beef bones and store them in the freezer till I have an adequate amount to make a flavorful meat stock. I still add all of the above vegetables but not quite as much as I would for a vegetable stock and add 4lbs of bones or other meat parts to the water.

Cooking Your Soup Stock

This is where it gets really easy, throw all your ingredients in a pot, and salt and a few peppercorns add your water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 hours and strain thru several layers of cheese cloth.

That is it…. once it is done all that is left is to store it.

Storing Your Soup Stock

You have a couple of choices here. You can freeze your soup stock if you have plenty of freezer space, or if like me you are short of freezer space you might wish to can your soup stock.

If you are freezing your soup stock the process is very simple. Just put it in glass jars with lids and freeze. Be sure to leave some head space so that when the liquid expands as it freezes it does not overflow the jar. The other way to freeze your soup stock that provides a lot of flexibility is to freeze it in ice cube trays then put the ice cubes in a Ziploc baggie. Each ice cube will be between 2-3 tablespoons.

Canning your Soup Stock

Once you have strained your soup stock with cheese cloth you simply ladle your stock into hot jars leaving a 1 inch head space. Process at 10 lbs pressure for 35 minutes and you are done. You now have freshly made soup stock make from left over scraps.

Pic by: boboroshi