I made a post back in April with directions and a recipe and then my recipe for this.
Here is a link to that original one. But I wanted to revisit it and show a video I made with step by step instructions as well.
Here is the video:
Also, go here to see it on metacafe and support me witha good ranking! Thanks!
Here is the bulk of the text from my original post also:
First here is the original recipe as I first saw it.
"Bucket of Boogers"
Or, my homemade laundry soap recipe. This makes enough for 64 loads and costs a little over a dollar to make, so about two cents per load. This is a really good detergent -- it cleans well, rinses completely out, and leaves clothes soft and smelling fresh instead of chemical-ish. It does not suds up much while washing. And it bears an unfortunate resemblance to a bucket full of boogers.
1 bar Octagon soap (found in the laundry aisle), grated
3/4 cup washing soda (Arm & Hammer is the most common brand)
3/4 cup borax (20 Mule Team is the most common brand)
1 medicine dropper of tea tree oil
Put the grated soap in a saucepan with 6 cups water and heat on medium-low, stirring occassionally, until it is melted. Add the soda and borax and stir until dissolved. Add the tea tree oil.
Pour 1 quart of hot water into a bucket. Add the dissolved soap and stir. Add 1.5 gallons of water and stir again. It can be used immediately, but it will gel up after about 24 hours.
Use 1/2 cup per load.
Most delis (grocery stores, Costco, etc.) get salads and stuff in small white buckets that are just right for this recipe. If you ask nicely, they'll probably give you one.
I modified it in 2 ways.
First, I used Ivory bar soap instead of the Octagon. I believe the Octagon must be green or something giving it a bucket of boogers appearance because mine is milky white. But we have Ivory around here since my husband uses it for daily washing.
Second, I left out the tea tree oil. I have tea tree oil, I use it for skin blemishes and other various things, but I did not want my clothes to smell like it. In fact I didn't want them to smell like anything!
And thanks to these minor adjustments, I can use this homemade brew on my cloth diapers. I literally take a spoon from the kitchen like a cereal spoon or soup spoon whatever and scoop out a bit of the watery part of the mixture and put it in the wash with the diapers. Works great and isn't clogging them at all.
To get started I needed to get the bucket to store the soap. I went ahead and bought a large 5 gallon Tupperware type tub with a lid from Walmart, cost less then $3 for the cheapest. And it fills the thing to the top when done!
I also got a second grater, not necessary but for some reason I didn't want to be grating my soap on the same grater I use to grate my cheese. I'm weird I guess. I mean, what's cleaner than soap!
Then the Borax, easy, on the laundry isle in any store really.
I already had the Ivory, but it seriously costs like 89 cents for 3 bars or something ridiculous like that.
The washing soda was another story. I couldn't find it at my regular Walmart so I decided to start calling stores. No one seemed to know what I was talking about but they were usually nice enough to check for me. I thought I'd be calling forever then I found about.com lists a phone number for Arm and Hammer (1-800-524-1328). You call and run through a menu that will tell you the name and address of stores near you that sold your product in the last few months. What a genius idea! I suggest you try it first before venturing out for the ingredients to make sure the store you plan on visiting will have it just to save yourself a trip.
I also cleaned out one each a one gallon and a half gallon milk jugs to measure my water with.
Once I had all these things I made the soap. I stuck my baby in his Exersaucer, which he loves. And I got going! Grated soap, melted it in pot (I also set aside the pot for use only on this) - this part takes the longest. So while it was working I got everything else measured out and set aside ready to go. My baby actually got tired of his Saucer before the soap finished melting so I held him for the last few pieces. Make sure it all melts completely or you may get some crazy lumps of soap that will throw off the balance of the batch. The whole thing took about an hour.
Please give this a try and modify it to suit your family. Let me know how it goes!
By: Lea | Monday, September 17, 2007 at 12:51 PM | | 
I call this a Tri-recipe because you can make it into 3 super easy and super cheap meals to feed a few or feed a crowd! I love that.
I'd like to aside here for a moment and say I am sorry for not updating in so long. I honestly have been so damn busy with this baby! He's teething, learning to walk, and eating more solids than ever! So I have a full plate. I think I will return to my focus of foods and recipes for a while. I find that the easiest to update at least once a month about. And I haven't even had time for much sewing so I can't post those projects just yet. But I do plan on listing some links I have been shown recently in an up coming post so stay tuned for that!
On with the Tri-recipe!
For this whole group of recipes you will need:
Bone in chicken - at least 2 pounds white or dark or both
Bell peppers - at least 2
Onions - at least 3
Garlic cloves - about 3, more if you like
Celery stalks - at least 2
Carrots - at least 2
28 ounce can diced tomatoes - at least one
Dried Italian herbs
Pastas - spaghetti and small style like bowtie - at least a half pound of each
Rotel style tomatoes - at least 2 cans
Chicken broth - at least one can up to a whole box
Can of refried beans - at least one small size
Tortilla chips - enough to have some for each serving - the bottom of the bag or stale ones will even work!
Cream of Chicken or mushroom soup - at least one of either
Cheese shredded - at least 3 cups (Optional additional cup for one recipe)
Frozen veggies - as much as you'd like or need - I like peas, peas and carrots or mixed veg mix
Optional extras:
Parmesan
Cilantro
Green onions
Sour cream
Avacado
The majority of these things I keep on hand with the exception of the chicken, tortilla chips and the extras. Everything else is pretty much working from the cupboard for me. I may have to double check to be sure I have things.
The ingredients listed above are listed with "at least" as a guideline. For each recipe I give ways to make them bigger and you will then need to then increase your ingredients list by however much you need to increase your recipe.
I wrote these under the assumption that you would freeze batches of the original for use in the later two, however, you could just put the two batches in the fridge and make up the follow up recipes right in a row. They all differ enough from one another that it isn't like having plain old chicken 3 nights in a row!
First you make:
Crockpot Chicken CacciatoreYou'll need lots of chicken. Mine totaled over 2 pounds but there's only two of us eating it so for 3 meals that was plenty. You can make do with this amount of meat if you bulk up the other areas too. Bone in is best (and cheapest) for crock pots. I used all bone in skin on breasts. You could do this with a whole cut up chicken or just some thighs or legs. Legs may not be best because you'll want a lot of the meat for the other 2 recipes.
Start with your chicken. I pulled off the skin. I highly recommend this though it is optional. Than salt and pepper pretty liberally on the meat. Dredge in flour and brown outside in a olive oil in a very hot pan. Only a couple minutes. You aren't cooking the chicken just getting some good color and flavor. I only do this on the meaty side of my breasts.
While that's cooking in batches, put together in a large bowl, one 28 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes (or regular dice if you prefer), one chopped onion, 2 chopped bell peppers, a few cloves of garlic minced, and some dried Italian herbs, like basil and oregano. Here is where you bulk up if you need to use less meat but make more food. Use two cans of tomatoes, extra onion and pepper and throw in a celery or two for good measure.
Put meat in the bottom of the crock pot, one layer, spoon over some tomato mixture. Another layer of meat, top with tomato. I only had the two layers of meat, but you keep going until you are full up and topped with tomato mixture. It should be a it of a tight fit in a medium sized pot. But by the end of the day, it'll all cook down. Set to low, 6-8 hours.
The longer is cooks, the more the bones start to fall apart and become harder to get out so don't go too much over 9 hours if you can avoid it just for your own sake.
When it's ready, pull out the bones first, then shred the chicken making it into smaller chunks. Take and fill two 1 quart sized freezer bags with the mixture and set aside for later usage. The rest is for tonight's dinner! Serve over spaghetti with a side salad or even some bread. Top with Parmesan cheese if you like. Yummy.
Next meal:
Tortilla SoupTake one of you bags from the freezer ahead of time and thaw.
In a large soup pot on the stove sauté some celery, carrots, and onions in olive oil. For 3 -4 people you need about 2 medium sized carrots and celery, but for more don't stop there. Use 4 carrots and celery and a whole onion or more. And don't stress about the chopping job here people. Its a soup. But if you have a family that isn't into the veggie thing and you are sneaking carrots in on them you may want to take the time to finely dice them! ;)
Theses need to sauté for about 10 minutes or close to over a medium heat to get nice and tender and fragrant. Then comes the goods.
Mix in you chicken mixture. We're talking about 3 cups of mixture here you know so there's not a whole lot of chicken going on. But in a soup it seems to be more than enough!
Then add as much or as little as you need of these next ingredients:
canned refried beans
canned Rotel style tomatoes
canned chicken broth
For 3-4 people one small can of refried beans is plenty. I wouldn't use more than maybe 3 small cans or one of those big cans though no matter how many you are feeding. You can bulk up more in other areas and I think it may just weigh down the soup with too much.
I used about a half quart of chicken broth for 4 people. Use up to 2 quarts or six cans easily for extra! It can be soupy, it's a soup! Plus you serve it with tortilla chips so broth is good to soak into the salty chips.
For the Rotel tomatoes I wouldn't skip it, it's a spicy soup, but I love spicy. If you and your family do not you could sub a can of diced tomatoes. You could also bulk up here by adding one can Rotel and one can diced tomatoes.
Once all the canned liquids are added, stir really well and let it come to a bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for maybe 10 minutes or so. Let the smell fill the house and the kids and hubby will come running!
Put some broken stale old chips in the bottom of a bowl, spoon the steaming soup over it, top with a small amount of shredded cheese. For 3-4 people you need about 1 cup shredded cheese but of course you could use more or less. Or skip it all together, it isn't needed!
If you're feeling fancy top it with chopped fresh cilantro or green onions or a dollop of sour cream or even diced avocados if they're on sale!
Meal #3:
Cheesy Chicken BakeThis one is so fun and easy and you can make it about a billion ways depending on what you have on hand.
Take bag of leftover cacciatore out of the freezer and thaw.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Start your pasta water.
Then I like to chop an onion and celery and saute in a bit of butter or olive oil. Use a big pan for this! After a few minutes add the thawed chicken mixture and heat it through.
Salt the pasta water before adding the pasta and set your timer to about 4 minutes under the time the box says. You will be adding the frozen veggies in this to cook for a bit at the end. And the pasta needs to be a bit al dente with a bite to it because it has to bake and it will keep moving forward in the oven.
When the pasta is going and your chicken is heated add the canned soup and Rotel style tomatoes to the chicken.
To make this meal go really far, use a whole pound of pasta and both cans of cream soup (chicken and mushroom). To feed two with lots of leftovers, I use half a package of pasta and one can.
Once the soup and tomatoes are mixed in add the cheese in handfuls reserving a good size amount to top with before it goes in the oven. Honestly to keep my husband happy, I have to use 3 cups of shredded cheese, 2 mixed in and one on top. I have tried to use less and he noticed. I like it better with less but most people prefer more cheese. If you are making a bigger batch I would use more even than the 3 cups.
When you add your veggies to the pasta, reset the timer, making sure the total cooking time for the pasta comes to about one minute under what the box tells you. For example, the box says 10-11 minutes. Set the first timer for 5 minutes. Add the veggies and set timer for 4 minutes. Total pasta time comes to 9 minutes, one minute under.
Drain the pasta and veggies really well and stir them into the chicken and cheese mixture. Pour the whole thing into a baking dish or two if need be. Top with remaining cheese and cook at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. It should be bubbly and the top cheese will melt.
To make it fancy, top with diced green onions.
This is not very spicy with one can of Rotel but if that is too much, substitute a small can of diced tomatoes drained a bit.
You can add any fresh veggies you have on hand too in with the initial onion, or you can skip that step totally and just heat up your chicken mixture in a pan.
I hope you will try these 3 recipes for your family soon and let me know how they like them!
By: Lea | Thursday, July 26, 2007 at 9:15 PM | |
I forgot to include this one in the last post and it's is one I use every day!
Handwash some dishes.
You'd be surprised how much electricity your dishwasher uses. Well, maybe you wouldn't be!
Keeping it set to air dry instead of heated dry will help too.
I still have to run it almost every day because I cook most meals at home so we use a lot of dishes. But if I didn't handwash half of them we'd run it even more!
I handwash my pots and pans for another reason as well. It helps them last longer. Even those that are dishwasher safe are more likely to be damaged by the high heat and pressure of a dishwasher. And like hanging clothes to make them last longer I handwash to extend the life and reduce the wear and tear on my pots and pans.
Plus I live in an apartment and the dishwasher it came with is small and not to great. I feel like hand washing a lot of times gets things cleaner. I rarely handwash cups and silverware because those are difficult without a good dryer and we go through tons of them! Plates and bowls I wash occasionally. Mixing bowls, knives, pots, pans, coffee pot, and big plastic water cups are always hand washed. They take up a lot of room in the machine too.
I enjoy the handwashing. It takes a little longer, but I feel like I am really scrubbing things. It makes me feel good.
I am working with my sewing machine more and more lately. I plan to start posting some sewing projects soon. I am a complete noob about it too so even if you've never sewn it can be done, I am living proof! More on that soon....
By: Lea | Monday, June 18, 2007 at 9:58 AM | |
Been out of commission for a little while with summer activities. It seems like everything happens at summer time! And everyone spends more money so even more cautions are needed to keep your budget on track!
I am done with food for a while. Well, food entries that is! LOL I'll never be done with food! ;) I have about a gajillion and one more recipes to share so it will pop up occasionally again, I swear!
For today I want to talk a little about your electric bill. I know, I know, don't remind me! Summer time always equals more electricity! The kids are home, the air is on, they run in and out of the house, open and close the fridge. Jeesh. Our bill can jump by a whole third to a half and we don't even have kids, just the one baby! I can only imagine what will happen when he gets bigger!
Here are just a few things I do to try and keep the bill down.
Hang dry stuff.
Blankets go outside to dry. And I wash them a lot because of our cats and the fur. And the baby can leave messes too. It makes the blankets smell nice to dry in the sunshine and it keeps the dryer from running too much.
I also hang dry all denim (except baby clothes) and most nice and semi-nice shirts. It not only saves on dryer runnage, but it also preserves the integrity of the fabric making the clothes last even longer. And when you cannot afford to go buying new clothes every time something wears out, you need to get the longest life out of each piece as possible.
Use your ceiling fans or standing fans. They use less electricity than the AC and will help keep the air circulation so you can turn the AC down.
If there is a cool day or cool night, open the windows. It lets the home air out for health benefits as well as saving your AC run time.
Turn off your computer at night.
Maybe most people do this but for my family, we work from home and it is all online. Our computers are a central focus of our lives and run all day long. We often would forget to turn them off when we go to bed but when we do it saves a ton of electricity!
If you aren't using it or aren't in the room or aren't watching/listening to it, turn it off.
Do you ever find your TV on in the background and no one watching? Or the radio on and no one listening? Or the light on in the bathroom and no one in there? Go around the house and turn things off.
During the day, open the curtains and let in the natural light and turn off the lamps.
During naps, close all curtains and blinds to keep out the heat and let the whole place come down a few degrees.
If people in your house say they are hot, invite them to remove socks and shoes. Some may think that is strange I guess, but the way I see it, we all live on this planet together. Feet don't bother me. And if you are wearing shoes and socks you will be hotter. So instead of cranking the AC, take them off!
Turn your AC down at night and use fewer (or no) blankets. There is no need to have it running all night long unless you are uncomfortable.
Also, turn it down (or up as it were) when you leave. It may not be a blast of cold air when you come back home, but it will be cooler than it was outside and you can adjust it when you return. But there's no need to keep it running full blast when you aren't at home.
And yeah, our bills will still be higher even with all of these cautions. But maybe it won't be quite as much of a sticker shock each month if we just do a few extra steps to keep our electricity under control. Get your family on board with you. Have them check the house too!
Any other ideas or suggestions of things you and your family do to save on electricity? Share them in the comments!
By: Lea | Tuesday, June 12, 2007 at 10:14 AM | |
No I don't mean to just clean it once a week or whatever. And if you are a cleaner person than I, and that's highly likely, perhaps you are already on a fridge cleaning schedule.
I am referring to more grocery shopping advise here.
Clean your fridge the day before your big trip. It serves several purposes.
It gives you space for new food!
You can use up all the vegetables or fruits you have left from your last trip.
You can see for sure what you have and don't have to prevent repeats or forgotten items.
It is fun to go through the leftovers you may have forgotten about and heat them all up for you and your family to choose from. Everyone can eat what they like!
I really just like the timing on this. It makes your shopping trip the following day complete. And it is so nice to come home and fill your clean fridge up with new foods.
Take a gander at the freezer and pantry to round out the leftovers feast. Take this opportunity to do an inventory of your on-hand freezer and pantry items. Make sure you have enough of all the things you use a lot. Like for me, I check my pantry for: brown rice, instant taters, biscuit mix, corn bread mix, pastas, box of broths (beef and chicken), spices. And in the freezer: frozen veggies like, peas, corn, green beans, and spinach. I also like to always have a frozen pizza on hand for those I can't bring myself to cook nights!
By: Lea | Monday, May 28, 2007 at 10:49 AM | |
I feel a little redundant making this a post for advice on how to save money when it comes to your food. Any women's magazine will tell you the same things I am about to. But it is so true and really good habits to get into.
Do not go grocery shopping without a list! Even if you are just running in to grab a few things, have them written down and stick to it. Being realistic of course and remembering to stay in your budget, even if you stray from the list slightly.
I always keep certain staples on hand, like broths, onions and peppers, brown rice, instant taters, black olives, etc. They are a ton, I won't list them all, but they are things my family really likes and I can add to many recipes to make them family favorites. When I open my last can or use my last serving in the box/bag or whatever, I get down to the bottom of said item, I write it down on the running list I keep going on my fridge. This way I am not scrambling around the kitchen hunting through cabinets and pantries to see if I am out of anything before I go shopping. It also cuts down on the wandering through the store wondering if I am out of biscuit mix. And, it decreases the chances of coming home with a bottle of ketchup only to find there is an unopened bottle in the pantry.
Of course, I am still human and very forgiving of myself since I do still make mistakes. I in no way strive to be perfect, just better. :D
In fact, just last month I bought a huge bottle of white vinegar since I use it so much in the laundry as well as the kitchen. Then a week or so later I found a little bottle completely unopened in the pantry! It happens. When you make mistakes, and you will, don't get down on yourself and frustrated. Just keep on going.
The running list on the fridge is also a place for your family to write special requests. Now you aren't promising all requests will be filled, but it means they don't have to try and remember what they are craving on the day you are making out the list!
When you are getting low on dinner ingredients in your home you know it is time to shop. So who does one go about rounding out the running list?
Well, start with a menu. Be forgiving again. My mom always used to plan a menu for a full month, each day breakfast lunch and dinner. Then we'd do a month's worth of shopping at a time. I am no where near that organized! And my family (husband especially) is picky. He is moody about food and I need to have a few options of what I can fix for dinner for him. If I get too pigeon holed into a particular meal for each night, we will end up spending extra cash eating out because he is not in the mood for what I had planned. If I can plan a way to have options for dinner then we will not go out because I will find something I can fix that he will eat! I imagine this is what it is like cooking for young children. Kids' taste buds are just getting used to all this food business. It is important to introduce new and exciting foods, but if they won't eat it, it is nice to have a back up plan.
So I make my menus as more of a list of possible dinners I can create. I do about 2 weeks worth and then throw in some extra ingredients like that horseshoe sausage or hotdogs that I can fix up easy when I am not making a full planned menu item.
I really enjoy doing this step! I love food. I love cooking. So for me to sit and go through recipe books and pick out meals I can make is a good time. If it isn't your thing, I highly suggest you take the time to get a repertoire of things you like to make and family likes to eat. A large grouping of things you know how to fix well. That way you can just pull from your own list of meals. I will sit with several cook books and magazines and search out all kinds of things! Woohoo, it's a party! ;)
Then you make your list from your menu. You can either add it to the running list on the fridge or add the things on the running list to your menu list. Whatever works, I do both. I also try to really organize my list by the area of the store I'll be in for groups of items. This way I am not hunting all over my list for each thing for every isle and then still back tracking as I realize something that I missed. Though, believe me, it still happens!
I have more to suggest about your grocery shopping, but I am going to make that into another post. For now just remember these things:
- Keep a running list of items you run out of that you keep on hand all the time.
- Make a menu that works for you, either strict and specific or a list of possible dinners.
- Make your list from your menu and your running list and organize it by your store layout.
Then stick to the list with forgiveness. We are all human and it is OK to stray if you see the need at the time. I like being able to tell my husband to go ahead and pick something out he wants from a certain group, cereals, frozen dinners for lunches, canned fruits, whatever. These are things you can budget for. And it'll help keep your family involved in the foods you eat and not just being served by you. Unless that's what you want! And that's fine too.
By: Lea | Sunday, May 20, 2007 at 7:35 AM | |
Eggs are cheap. Breakfast meats often cost a lot less than other meats. Biscuit mixes, especially the store brand, are cheap. If you have WIC, the eggs and cheese are free! And breakfast for dinner is like a special treat. If you do it once a shopping period, you will save. (Shopping period is whatever amount of time you grocery shop for, one week, two weeks, longer...)
Biscuit mixes make pancakes or waffles if you have the iron. Add some eggs topped with cheese and a side of sausage or bacon and you have a meal. To make it healthier, scramble the eggs with some peppers and onions or spinach or broccoli.
Biscuit mix also makes... Biscuits! And they are super duper easy! Make a white gravy int he pan you cook the sausage in. 2 tablespoons butter, melt in pan with meat greases (pour some off but leave enough for flavoring), add 2 tablespoons flour to melted butter. Let the flour cook until bubbly then slowly stir in milk. (Milk is free if you have WIC!) I prefer to cook with whole milk but anything but skim will work. Add it slowly and stir in completely as you go. When you get it to a point that there is about one and a half cups of milk added let it come to a bubble and stir often while it reduces to a thick gravy. In the meantime make you eggs and biscuits. The biscuits don't have to be fancy rolled out and cut, just do the "drop biscuit" recipe on the box. Once the gravy is the consistency you want, you can add in the meat or leave it as is. Pour over everything!
Try making your own breakfast sandwiches with rolled out and cut biscuits. Just skip the gravy and make everything else. Build the egg, meat and cheese into a split biscuit. (Even refrigerated biscuits in a can are cheap if you get while on sale or the store brand)!
How about a breakfast casserole. There are about a million recipes out there. The one I like is:
Grease bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 casserole dish. (Can also be done in a 9x12 just double the amounts.)
Toast 2 (4) pieces of bread - tear/cut toast into wedges
Cook up some meat (sausage, bacon or ham) and cut into small pieces. (I never use a whole package for a small dish)
- To make meat go farther add onions and peppers or broccoli to it while it cooks
Scramble 6 eggs (dozen if doubling) in a bowl with about half a cup of milk (extra if doubling but not a whole cup).
Lay the toast wedges in bottom of dish. Cover with the meat mixture. Pour the egg mixture over the top of the whole thing as evenly as possible. Top with some cheese (however much you like) but reserve some cheese topping for later too.
Bake at 350 about 20-25 minutes or until egg is set.
Once it sets, top with more cheese and bake for less than but almost 5 more minutes.
Top with fresh parsley or diced green onions or chopped tomatoes before serving.
Slice and serve. YUM! And easy. And CHEAP!
Breakfast is my favorite meal. I love to have it for dinner because I rarely have time or energy int he morning for more than cereal and coffee! Plus it really is a cheap dinner to make.
By: Lea | Wednesday, May 16, 2007 at 9:15 AM | |
