Homemade Fabric Softener

Now this is something I was amazed to find!! Who knew some water, vinegar, and some suave condition could make a fabric softener?!? Not me!! I found this recipe while browsing through Pinterest and I fell head over heals!!

Homemade Fabric Softener

6 cups hot water

3 cups white vinegar

2 cups Suave Conditioner {your favorite scent}

Wash out an empty fabric softener bottle or other large container. Pour hot water into container, add Suave conditioner. Place cap on and shake vigorously until conditioner has dissolved completely. Add vinegar, mix well.

Store in your container and add to wash as you would any old fabric softener.

 

Note: This averages out to less than 3 cents for every ¼ cup of softener you add to your wash! It cost a grand total of $1.26 to make this softener and it smells wonderful! (these stats, recipe, and comments were from the original post which can of course be found here.)

 

Enjoy everyone!! Tell me what you think!

Homemade laundry detergent

I recently did research trying to find a homemade laundry detergent and I came across a few that I liked. I found the recipe from the Duggar family, but found that another blogger had a great recipe for a powder detergent that I just LOVE! It has a great smell, cleans my clothes wonderfully and you only have to use 1 Tbsp!! You heard me right, 1 TABLESPOON!! Crazy!! Now if you have those loads that include your husbands work clothes, or, your children's sports stuff you can go ahead and use 2 T for extra duty stain lifting and cleaning. You can also find the original recipe here.

Homemade Laundry detergent 

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax

1 (3 lb 7 oz) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean

2 bars of Ivory regular soap

2 (2 lb) Boxes of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda, or, 1 4lb box (I found it hiding, and some store do not carry this size so don't worry if you do not find it)

1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener ( I used only 1 and it was plenty)

 

First you will need to take the bars of ivory soap and grate them into a large bowl that you will not be using for food prep. Then you will need to take a large container, one that has a lid, and layer your grated soap, baking soda, washing soda, borax, oxy clean, and purex crystals (this makes it a little easier to mix). I would also make sure that when you are mixing, or, even pouring the ingredients to be in a well ventilated area as there will be dust. Once it is all mixed together you can place a little into the oxy clean container, or, you can use the purex crystals bottle, both will work fine. Note: If you do decided to use the purex bottle, which is what I did, know that the top is pretty hard to remove! Also, and this is a good thing, the small cap on the purex bottles actually has line indicating small or large loads and the first line equals 1 T, and the second line indicates 2 T!! Pretty cool!!

HEALTHY Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Sausage gravy and biscuits, one of my favorite breakfast foods. Full fat milk and greasy sausage slathered over two buttery biscuits! YUMM!!!! Unfortunately it's not so healthy (enter sad face). I have been making a full fat and high calorie version at home for a while with no concerns. However, recently, after realizing I was pushing 300lbs., I decided to modify my recipe into one that was a little more "diet" friendly. The results? EXCELLENT!! It has the same comfort food taste you would desire, but is WAY better for you!!

Note: This recipe contains soy products, if you are allergic, or, if you just do not like soy products you can omit and use turkey sausage in place of the soy sausage. However, you will need to count your calories and fat accordingly. Happy eating!!

HEALTHY Sausage Gravy and Biscuits

Serves one
189 calories
4 g of fat
18 g of protein

1/3 c of Heart smart baking mix (use my heart smart baking mix recipe found here for the above calorie stats. However, you can use Bisquick's Heart Smart mix, but make sure to add 14 cal. and .5 g of fat to the above stats.)
2 T fat free milk
1 T of spray butter
1 soy style breakfast sausage
1/4 c of 99% fat free beef broth
1T of all purpose flour
1/2 c of fat free milk
1/8 t of salt
1/8 t of ground black pepper
1/8 t of dried dill weed (optional)
1/8 t of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl combine 1/3 cup of the heart smart baking mix, 2 T of fat free milk and 1 T of spray butter. Mix until combined. It will look like a sticky mess, but trust me it will fluff up nicely in the oven. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray and drop two evenly sized biscuits onto your pan. Bake in oven for 10-12 min. or until golden brown. Place your sausage patty on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 30 seconds, flip over and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove and cut into small pieces. In a pan over high heat boil the beef broth and while stirring constantly add your flour. Stir until thickened. Add your soy sausage crumbles to beef broth/flour mixture and the lower heat to medium and slowly add your milk to the mixture, continue to stir until incorporated. Return to boil and boil mixture for one minute until sauce has thickened to a gravy like consistency. Remove from heat. Add your salt, pepper and optional spices. Serve over your buttery biscuits and enjoy!!

Let me know what you think!!

Heartsmart Baking mix

This recipe replaces the leading store bought heartsmart biscuit mix. VERY easy to make and keeps in your fridge for a LONG time, however I have yet to see it last longer than a week! We use A LOT of this stuff!!

Heartsmart Baking mix

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c dry buttermilk
3/4 t salt
2 T baking powder
1/4 c light margarine

In a large bowl blend the flours, dry buttermilk, salt and baking powder until incorporated. Next cut in the margarine with your fingers. It's the easiest way to do it so don't be afraid to get a little messy!! Store your biscuit mix in an airtight container in the fridge. I have heard that if you do not, your mix will spoil. It can be stored in the fridge for up to four weeks, however it probably won't last very long!

I will make sure to post more recipes using this wonderful mix so you can get the idea of how to use it! Enjoy!!

Black Raspberry with Cream Cheese Danish

Oki dokie, so this is a recipe I found on another blogger's site who was trying to make her own tweaks on the Nutrisystem diet. I LOVE almost all of her recipes and they are healthy and filling. Now I do have pictures for this recipe, however, my camera sucks so they came out blurry. I am going to try and modify them and see what happens, but it may be a day or so until I can get them posted. I will look into getting another camera soon :-) This recipes has been modified to serve four people because I know my children and husband would look at me disappointed if I didn't make any for them. I guess you could call me a "nice" person because I wanted to make enough for all of us. However, if you would like to make an individual serving you can take a look at Amy's Blog and a lot of her recipes are single serving. BTW, this recipe make a large serving and is REALLY filling!

Note: To save on money I made my own Bisquick Heart smart baking mix, it taste great and is actually less in cal., fat, and sugar than the stuff found in the store. I will make sure to post the recipe later so you can give it a try.

 Black Raspberry with Cream Cheese Danish

4 servings
262.5 cal per serving, 1.9 g fat, 18g protein

Cake batter:
1 c of Bisquick Heart smart
4 T soy flour (this adds the extra protein and makes it more filling in my opinion, however you can omit due to allergies,or, if you just do not want it)
 4 T Splenda
1/2 cup of egg substitute, or, 2 large eggs(will increase the cal. and fat count so be careful and count accordingly)
4 T of fat free milk
4 t vanilla extract
4 T butter spray (cal. free)

Cream cheese filling:
4oz of fat free cream cheese softened
4 T of Splenda
4 T egg substitute
4 t lemon juice

Fruit topping:
3 c of frozen/ fresh black berries
2 T Splenda

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 loaf pans, 1 8" cake pan or square brownie pan. In a large bowl mix together all of the cake batter ingredients until smooth and no lumps are present. Pour batter into the sprayed pans, set aside. In another clean bowl mix together softened cream cheese, splenda, egg sub. and lemon juice until creamy. Pour evenly over cake batter. Next, in a clean bowl place thawed berries and splenda and mash until desired consistency, pour over cream cheese/cake batter. Bake for 20 min. or until edges are golden brown. Serve warm with coffee and a two slices of turkey bacon...AMAZING!!

You could also make this recipe using whatever fruit you want. I have made this using sugar free cherry pie filling and it was really tasty!! You could also use strawberries, red raspberries, or even blueberries. All would be great. I haven't tried this recipe not using any fruit, but I would imagine it would be good too.

Let me know what you think!!

Tuna & Whole Grain Noodles with a Lemon Vinaigrette

When I was younger, my mom would make me and my sisters a tuna and noodle dish that basically consisted of spiral noodles, tuna, and some bottled Italian dressing. EXTREMELY cheap to make and honestly very good!! It made for a quick meal and easy on the budget as my mom was a single mother before marrying my wonderful step-father and she learned how to make simple, quick and delicious meals on a tight budget. This dish was my version with some small tweaks and I thought it had great flavor!! Hope everyone enjoys!!

-Once I make this dish again, I will do a photo tutorial. My family ate it up quick so I didn't have the opportunity to take some pictures :-)

Tuna & Whole Grain Noodles with a Lemon Vinaigrette

Makes 4 LARGE servings

3/4 of a bag of whole grain egg noodles (makes approximately 4 suggested servings)
1 can of light tuna in water
1cup of grated carrots
1/2 of a small onion

For the vinaigrette:
Juice and rind of 1 lemon, or, 1/3 cup of lemon juice found in juice isle at your local store (this is what I had on hand so this is what I used)
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup of chopped fresh tarragon (can use dried, but use 1 tsp)
1/8 cup of chopped fresh marjoram  (can use dried, but use 1 tsp)
1/4 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1 1/2 of a Tbsp of sugar, or, splenda

In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil, salt water if desired. Drop pasta into water and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain and place in large serving bowl.
Add grated carrots, onion, and tuna to the pasta and stir until combined.
In a separate small bowl combine all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette and whisk until combined.
Drizzle vinaigrette over warm pasta mixture and stir to combine.
Serve immediately, or, store in fridge.
This would be excellent if served cold.

FIRST POST!! WOOHOO!!

My first post!! There should be a celebration!!
For those of you who are looking for a place to obtain some tips on how to be a stay at home mother and save money then this is your place. Now, for those of you looking at the previous sentence, please understand I am in no way saying I do not support the working mother. I ABSOLUTELY do!! I was working until I was laid off from my job and have struggled for two and a half years to just find a job that would pay for the child care I need for my two children! Absolutely difficult!! So, with that being said, I have, not necessarily by choice though I love it, am now a stay at home mother and this blog will contain what I have found to make my life easier and less expensive. I mean who doesn't enjoy saving money and time?!? I know I do!! I have spent the past few years researching and creating my own little tips and tricks for just about everything from cooking, cleaning, and entertaining my family. Please enjoy and feel free to comment or share your own tips!

 -Whitney :-)