Friday, November 19, 2010

Home Made Laundry Detergent

‎4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar & Stain Remover (By Purex)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

This recipe is from my friend Britney. Her son was allergic to store brand detergents so she decided to make her own! No more itchies!! This is soooo much better for our environment.

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.


Note: All of the ingredients can be purchased at your local supermarket.  Fels-Naptha soap can be found either in the detergent aisle or the soap aisle.  You can also use Ivory Soap or Zote.

* If you don't have any Washing Soda, or can't find it at your local store, you can make it.  Pour 1 cup baking soda onto a cookie sheet, spreading it out evenly.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, stir, bake another 10 minutes.  You now have Washing Soda!

See this link to mix up a large batch of Washing Soda.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5859235_make-washing-soda.html


Monday, November 15, 2010

Home Made Dog Biscuits

Snoopy Sue's Snacks

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup non-fat powdered milk
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup cornmeal
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 egg
1 small jar strained real beef baby food
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
2 teaspoons sugar free applesauce
1/2 cup cold water

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Mix ingredients and knead for 3 minutes. Dough should form a ball. Roll to 1/2" thick and cut into dog bones. Dough should be stiff. Bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes. Allow the biscuits to dry out overnight on racks...out of reach of your dog!

Dogs love cheese, but most cheeses have a high salt content. If you want to add cheese to your dog biscuits, read the label before you buy this ingredient!

Check the baby food jar label to make sure the salt content is low, or find a no-salt meat baby food.

SALT - This is not good for your dog, because a dog's body cannot process salt. Salt can accumulate and cause kidney disease in old age. At any time in a dog's life, if salt is given in excess, it could cause your dog's kidneys to react and swell. Your dog would have to be totally without water for a period of days if this happens before the kidneys could function normally again (just think about how serious that is) if the dog survived.

Here is a story about these dog biscuits...
A co-worker's wife, Linda, came into the place where I was working in order to meet me because I gave her husband a bag of dog biscuits for their dog. No, I don't have a dog. I just like making the dog biscuits and hearing about how much my friend's dogs love them! Weird, but true. I had a bag left in my freezer and I just wanted to give them away before they got that old frozen fridge taste.

Linda said these were the first biscuits her dog had ever eaten without immediately throwing them up. Her dog has a very sensitive stomach and they've tried every biscuit on the market and her dog could not hold any of them down. Linda said she continued to buy the dog biscuits because her dog would beg for them. I thought that what they were doing must have been wreaking havoc on her poor little dog's stomach. But certainly I can understand that by not giving him the treats the poor little guy might think he was being punished. I have suspicions that her dog could have been allergic to the preservatives in the biscuits. I don't use preservatives, so the biscuits should be refrigerated or frozen until ready to use.

Linda thanked me for the complimentary bag of biscuits. I gave her the recipe (my own concoction above) and directed her to various websites where she could find more dog biscuit recipes to try. Don't you just love happy endings?

Other websites for your dog to peruse are: http://www.fuzzyfaces.com/lrecipe1.html

Another great site is www.bullwrinkle.com They have some really great peanut butter dog treats for you to copy.

This is going to sound funny, but another website with some great veggie dog treats is www.thepoop.com/pooppantry/champcheese.asp . My daughter’s dog went absolutely nuts over these.

Happy Baking!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Home Made Dishwasher Detergent

Today I made home made dishwasher detergent. Everything came out squeeky clean! Cost .81 cents to make 20 oz. In a plastic container mix together 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Baking Soda, 1/2 cup Kosher Salt. Shake. Pour 2 Tablespoons into first dispenser and 2 Tablespoon into the second dispenser.

Just experiment with the amount. It will probably depend on your dishwasher and how hot your water is. I used Normal Cycle. Will try energy miser... next time and see if I get the same results. I pour vinegar in the rinse dispenser instead of using expensive rinse aids. My friend Terry said she has been using vinegar as a rinse agent since forever! I only found out about this a few years ago, and now that is all I use. It's really all you need!

Sam's Club sells 5 lb. bags of Baking Soda for about
$6.00. Paid $3.99 for the Borax at Walmart today. I think I got the big box of Kosher Salt at Sam's Club too and it was relatively cheap. The yield and savings you are going to get from your small investment is enormous!

Dishwasher cycles, water usage and running times vary. If you find your dishes coming out a bit cloudy then just add a drop or two of hand dishwashing detergent. That should clear it up. Also, you should use the store bought dishwasher detergent at least once every 2 weeks to keep your dishwasher sanitized. Let me know how this works for you!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Mayaimi Tropical Feet Treat

Nice Homemade Foot Beauty Treatment!

If you're craving tropical breezes but can't get away, set aside some time for this all--out foot treat dreamed up by Rob Aylward, salon manager at Canyon Ranch Miami. The two--part treatment begins with a sugar-lime scrub and is followed by a relaxing massage. By the time you're done, your feet will be beach--ready, even if you're not.

Mayaimi Tropical Feet Treat

Ingredients:

4 Limes, cut in halves

3 Tablespoons Organic Sugar

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 Ounce Virgin Coconut Oil

First: Exfoliate. Place sugar, honey and a few drops of coconut oil in a bowl and mix well. Massage into both feet in a circular motion, moving up to the calves. Using two lime halves for each leg, massage from the foot to the knee, using a circular motion and releasing the lime juice as you apply it to the skin. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then rinse legs.

Then: Moisturize. Place a small amount of coconut oil--about the size of a quarter--and a few drops of honey in the palm of your hand. Mix products, then apply to the soles and heels. Move up to the ankles, calves and toward the knees. Massage each leg for about 5 minutes. Wrap each foot in warm towels. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then use the towels to remove any excess oil.

Watch magazine/April 2010

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

How To Dry Out a Cell Phone

I got this great tip from my friend Lisa. Lisa's phone went underwater and her son told her about this neat trick to dry it out. It worked!

To dry it out, remove the battery. Place your phone in a bag of rice for two days. Take it out, replace battery and charge it. It works like new again!

Other websites say the phone should be dry within 24 hours.  Try it after 24 hours.  If it still doesn't work, try drying it out in the rice for 2 days.

I hope this helps!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Home Made/Non-Toxic Cleaning Products

How to make home made/non-toxic cleaning products
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Tilapia & Vegetable Packets Recipe


Tilapia & Vegetable Packets Recipe

By Woman's Day Kitchen from Woman's Day | April 17, 2010 .
Photo: Con Poulos

Nutrition Facts
Yield 4 packets

Amount Per Serving
Calories 284
Total Fat 13g
Saturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 92mg
Sodium 802mg
Total Carbohydrates 6g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Protein 39g

Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

4 cups baby spinach
4 tilapia fillets (6 to 7 oz each)
8 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
8 oz thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into lengths about 2 in. long
4 tsp each capers and minced shallots
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 to 12 thin slices lemon

PREPARATION
1. Place oven rack in center of oven. Heat oven to 425ºF. You’ll need a rimmed baking pan and 4 pieces of parchment paper or nonstick foil (each about 16 in. long).

2. To make each packet: Place 1 cup spinach in center of parchment. Top with a tilapia fillet. Brush fish with 1 tsp of the olive oil. Scatter 1/2 cup of the asparagus on and around fish. Scatter 1 tsp each of the shallots and capers, and 1/2 tsp of the thyme over top. Drizzle with another tsp of the oil; sprinkle with 1⁄4 tsp of the salt and 1/8 tsp of the pepper. Top fish with 2 or 3 slices of the lemon.

3. Bring long ends of paper together and fold down 3 times to make a seam. Place on baking pan and tuck ends underneath. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 4 packets.

4. Bake 15 minutes until packets are puffed. Open 1 packet to test doneness. If fish isn’t opaque at center, reseal packet and return to oven. Check again after 5 minutes