Check out my Word Press website for my new post

I am trying out some posts over on Wordpress. Check it out here.

Frugal Friday . . . Make It Yourself Recipe Roundup

As I have said before, I am trying lots of new recipes in an effort to make things myself. This week I have tried quite a few things. I have taken pictures of some. I am only going to list the ones that turned out well, my family liked and that I would recommend. I am still working on more recipes and trying out several. I am hoping to try Tammy's pizza sauce recipe tomorrow with the tomatoes from my garden.

First off, Italian Cheese Bread from Tammy's recipes was so good. It was pretty easy. I made it to go along with my chicken Alfredo pasta and my canned green beans (which were also good by the way). I HIGHLY recommend this recipe.

I made 50's Housewife's Homestead Biscuits. They were pretty much a hit.

I have been searching and searching for bread recipes and I have finally found a white sandwich bread recipe that looks and tastes a lot like store bought, but it is a white bread recipe so I will use it, I just prefer a whole wheat recipe. But I am still working on it so I won't share the recipe yet. If anyone has a bread recipe that looks and tastes like store bought (for my husband), please share! Here is one I am going to try next.

Now, drum roll please, I finally did it. I have been wanting to do it for months - I made my own yogurt and cream cheese!!!! I have researched and researched recipes - online, in books - everywhere. I found Laura's recipe over at Heavenly Homemakers. It truly is as easy as she says. And it really does work. I followed her recipe exactly as she said to. The yogurt smelled and tasted like the yogurt starter that I used (Stoneyfield cream on top yogurt). The cream cheese was really good and also tasted like cream cheese.

Laura's Applesauce Bread was delicious. I tried her Mudball recipe and it didn't turn out for me, but I think I know what I did wrong.


Here is the yogurt, and below would be the cream cheese.


















And now, I am going to make my family some popcorn and we are going to watch, um, I am trying to clear my throat, the rest of the Democratic Convention.

Have a blessed and wonderful Labor Day weekend. Be safe and love on your families.

For more Frugal Friday's, please visit Biblical Womanhood.

Make it Yourself . . . Syrup and butter

I have made several homemade things this week. My first experiment was the homemade chocolate syrup. There were several versions of this same recipe and I chose this one. The syrup itself is good. It would be good on ice cream. My son doesn't like it in his chocolate milk, but I am fine with that since he is now drinking more "Yegular" milk (Regular milk). He used to only drink white milk, but my mother thought it was horrible that I didn't give him chocolate or strawberry milk (actually she used the world "cruel"). So ever since he hasn't wanted to drink just white milk very much. But I digress.

My next homemade venture was from Tammy's recipes. It was her brown sugar syrup which we had with our homemade blueberry whole wheat waffles. Very tasty I must say.

I had mentioned before that I made my own butter. I have been using it in recipes and on my homemade corn bread and it worked out very well. I also used the buttermilk that I got from making my butter in a couple recipes.

How about you? What things have you tried to make yourself?

For more Kitchen Tips, visit Tammy's recipes.

Works for Me Wednesday: Pantry lists and Homemade items

So on my last Works for Me Wednesday post, I asked for some coupon help and I got it. Thank you to all of you who have responded. One of the suggestions was to put the coupons away and take a break and so I have. I am officially on a coupon break (don't looked so shocked). During this time I am updating my pantry list and my "what is usually in my refrigerator" list. I am also trying to update my list of recipes that I can make with things that I have in my pantry and refrigerator. I am also looking at these lists and trying to figure out what I can make myself. One of these items is chocolate syrup. I have gathered a recipe and plan to make this myself very soon since we are almost out and my son loves chocolate milk.

Anyway, I don't have my lists completed so I don't want to post them yet, but I did want to list some recipes that I use and are going to use of pantry/refrigerator items that you can make yourself.

Refrigerator items:
Butter - I have done this myself and I just use regular cream
Chocolate syrup
Yogurt

Household items:
Laundry detergent - I use this and I love it. I am needing to make my second batch.

I also have a weekly post I do on different items you can make yourself. You will find them here.

This list is short for now, but I will be adding to it and I will hopefully post my lists soon. I got several ideas from this post.

For more Works for Me Wednesday, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Make It Yourself . . . Pizza

Pizza is a regular thing around our house. I love it. Yes, it is my favorite food. Alas, my husband cannot have red sauce very much because of his acid reflux. He has a few pizza places he can eat at (actually mainly one), but I need a little more variety. Anyway, I have tried several recipes for crusts and sauces over the years. Here are a few:

Papa John's Pizza sauce (a copycat recipe)
Crockpot Spaghetti sauce (which I have used because it has a lot of veggie's in it)
Pizza Hut crust and sauce

Here is a recipe for a pizza crust that I used today. I thought it worked fine, but if you use it, make sure to add an extra cup of flour. I had to do that because the dough was wet and sticky. I also kneaded it and let it rise for about 5 minutes.

Here is another pizza recipe that is pretty healthy.

I am always on the lookout for good recipes for pizza crusts and sauces. If you have any that are your favorite - let me know!

Make It Yourself . . . Brownie Mix

This Brownie Mix comes from the cookbook Make-A-Mix.

6 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons salt
8 cups sugar
1 (8-oz.) can unsweetened cocoa powder

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and cocoa. Stir with a wire whisk until evenly distributed. Put in a large airtight container. Label with date and contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 10 to 12 weeks. Makes about 15 cups Brownie Mix.

To make the brownies:

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups Brownie Mix
2 Tablespoons of water*
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional - I always leave these out because we don't like nuts in our brownies

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour an 8-inch-square pan. Combine melted butter or margarine, eggs, vanilla and Brownie Mix. Beat until smooth. Stir in nuts (if using). Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until edges separate from pan. Makes 16 brownies.

*I added the 2 Tablespoons of water because I found the batter to be a little dry. This was not in the original recipe

I also cook them until they are almost done and then take them out because we love chewy brownies. If you cook them until they are completely done they are more cake-like. I actually store my brownie mix in a re-purposed coffee container. When I find a glass jar big enough, I will probably store it in there. For you creative people, you can use this as a gift and put it in a cute glass jar with a decorative lid and little cute card with the ingredients and recipe.

For more Make it Yourself ideas, see the Centsible Shopper.

Make It Yourself . . . Hamburger Help"er" Mixes

I did get some Hamburger Helper on sale and have been using that up a little bit at a time. I did some research to find these mixes that you could make yourself. Here are a few below. Also, see my post here for an update of the dish washing detergent.

This is from Thrifty Fun

Homemade Ground Beef Helper
2 c. nonfat dry "instant"milk
1 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. unsalted chicken or beef bouillon powder
2 Tbsp. onion flakes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp.dried thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
Mix the ingredients together and store in an airtight container. Use as base mix for hamburger helpers.

Chili Tomato Mac
Brown 1 pound ground beef or turkey, drain off fat
Add 1 c. water, 1 and one half cups uncooked macaroni, 2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes, 1 Tbsp chili powder, and 1/2 cup of the "Helper Mix". Simmer covered about 20 minutes or until macaroni is tender. Serves about 4 persons.

I found a few other really good recipes at "Mama Says". She has a lasagna style, cheeseburger style, taco style and stroganoff. You can find them here.

I found another link that I like about Hamburger Helper Mix in a jar. Check it out here.

For more ideas as to what you can Make Yourself, visit Centsible Shopper.

Make It Yourself . . . Dishwashing Detergent

UPDATE: I tried the original recipe and some of my dishes came out with a slight powdery film. So I did not have any citric acid, but I added the unsweetened lemonade powder that this blog suggested. I also added an extra rinse cycle. This did help, but a few things still had the residue. So, next I am going to try to not use as much powder. I was using about 1 Tablespoon and a half. So I am going to just try 1 Tablespoon. I will keep you posted!


There are many, many recipes out there for making your own dish washing detergent. Here is one from Tip Nut.

There are varying opinions on which one gets them the cleanest and which one causes spots or a film. I personally chose to try the one from Tip Nut. It is simply this:


1 cup of Washing soda
1 cup of Borax

Mix well. Use 1-2 Tablespoons per load.

I have hard water, and even with a store-bought detergent my dishes still have spots and my glasses still look cloudy so I don't think this could do any worse.

You can also use vinegar as your rinsing agent. I have tried this in the past.

For some other recipes go here, here, here for a more in-depth recipe or here.

Some people use Baking soda and some use Washing soda. I have read that Washing soda does a better job, but we will see. If you want to know the difference between the two go here.

If you do this, let me know what works best for you!

Also, check out more Make It Yourself ideas at Centsible Shopper.

Popcorn!

I know that I have been marketed to way too much! I just recently started making popcorn on the stove instead of in the microwave. Where have I been all of these years? I thought it would take forever or burn if I made it myself. Well, guess what - it comes out perfect every time and it literally takes about 2 minutes.

In case you don't know here is what I do (I just use the instructions on the back of the popcorn bag).

I have a pot with a lid. I heat up the pot while I prepare my 1/4 cup of oil. I pour the oil into the pot with ONE popcorn kernel. When that kernel pops I pour enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pot (a little less if you don't want a whole pot of popcorn).

I stand there doing something in the kitchen while it pops. Usually, I am holding up my 3 year old son to show him the kernels popping. He thinks this is amazing!

I usually melt some butter while the popcorn is popping. When the popping slows, I pour the popcorn into a big bowl, pour the butter next and add a little salt - and there you go!

Just as easy as microwave popcorn, I know, except you have to dirty up a pot, but come on - it is not that bad! And you saved some money by making it yourself.

If you want to add some interest to your popcorn, head on over to Frugal Granola and check out this post!

You can see more Works For Me Wednesday ideas at Rocks in My Dryer.

Make it Yourself . . . Laundry Detergent

When I first got married I really wanted to make my own laundry detergent. I had read the Tightwad Gazette. I was so excited, but I never got around to making my own detergent. Well, that was eight years ago and I finally found all of the ingredients to make this detergent. I got my instructions from The Simple Dollar. Washing soda is really hard to find. But apparently I hadn't looked very well at my local Kroger store. You can also order it online if you can't find it locally.


These are the ingredients you start with. I looked all over for them and finally found all 3 at my local Kroger store.

This is what your "soup" looks like once you have added the shaved (or grated) soap to the water. My husband suggested I use the vegetable peeler and peel the soap into the water.

This is a picture of my son helping me stir.

Here is the finished product. Several other websites mentioned that it will actually look like an egg noodle soup. It does.

I have washed several loads of clothes with it today and they have come out clean so I am happy with this process.

And, it does not take that long to do. It takes about 20-25 minutes for the soap to disolve and then a few minutes to mix in the washing soda and borax and then just let it sit until the next day.

The cost: The Fels Naptha soap costs $1.29, the Washing Soda was $3.09 and the Borax was about $2.49. Considering you only use 1 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup of Borax this was SUPER cheap!

I use one cup per load. According to Simple Dollar this amount will last about 48 loads.

Check out more Make It Yourself Ideas here.

Make It Yourself . . . Condiments (and Yogurt)

This week's Make It Yourself recipes are from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking. I really enjoy her blog and wanted to pass on some of her recipes for those of you not familiar with her blog!

Dressings (You can check out my Honey Mustard Dressing here)

Bread Crumbs

Mayonnaise

Ketchup - The thing that I cannot live without!

Yogurt

So there you go. For other Make It Yourself ideas go here.

Make your own Swiffer Update!

I posted earlier about wanting to try to make my own Swiffer duster refills. Well, today I did just that. And, I even used it to dust. I can't remember when I have been this excited to dust, ha!

I used the instructions from this post. Here is step-by-step how I did it.

I cut out 2 8x8 inch pieces and 2 4x6 inch pieces of 2 microfiber cloths which I got at the Dollar General for $2.00. Actually my 8x8 is more like 7x8 but I used what I had.

Then I lined up the smaller pieces on each large piece making sure the small piece was centered. I then sewed each small piece to each large piece with just a line down the middle. I had brown thread in my sewing machine so I just used it!

I put the two large pieces together with the smaller pieces facing outward. I marked a 1 1/4 x 6 inch area out with a black marker and sewed along that line.

I tried it on and it fit pretty well. I made some slight adjustments by sewing a little more for a more snug fit! Then I just snipped all around the edges, and here is the end product! Not pretty, but it does the job:

So either I am super frugal, or I have too much time on my hands. Can you tell it is raining here today!

See more Frugal Friday tips from Biblical Womanhood.

**UPDATE - after washing mine in the washer it became a bit frayed. I just wanted to let you know that. You can still use microfiber just be aware of the fraying or you can try fleece. I haven't tried that but I may soon.

Make your own Cereal . . . Granola to be specific

Granola

You can use this as a cereal or you can mix it in your yogurt.

10 cups of old-fashioned oats
1 cup wheat germ
½ lb. shredded coconut
2 cups raw sunflower seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
3 cups chopped almonds, pecans or walnuts
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
1 ½ cups water
¾ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ cup molasses
1 ½ t. salt
2 t. ground cinnamon
3 t. vanilla extract
Raisins or other dried fruits, if desired

Preheat oven to 300F (150C). In a large bowl combine oats, wheat germ, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and nuts. Blend well.

In a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, oil, honey, molasses, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. Heat until sugar is dissolved, but do not boil. Pour syrup over dry ingredients and stir until well-coated. Spread into five 13” x 9” baking pans or cookie sheets with sides.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Bake 15 minutes longer for crunchier texture. Cool. Add raisins or other dried fruit, if desired. Put in airtight containers. Label with date and contents. Store in a cool, dry place. Use within 6 months. Makes about 20 cups.


This recipe is from the Make-A-Mix Cookbook.

Visit here for more Make It Yourself ideas.

Make it Yourself . . . Tortillas

This week I decided to try to make my own tortillas. At first I tried to make Spinach Tortillas but I used frozen spinach and it didn't work out so well (you can see them peaking out from the bottom of the pile). But then I just made regular tortillas and they turned out wonderful. Although, I need to work on making them round as you can tell from the picture! I will also try to find a slightly healthier recipe since this one called for shortening.

You can find more "Make It Yourself" ideas here.

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

I just had to share this recipe. I never make my own dressing, but I had this dressing at a cooking school demonstration that I attended. It was so wonderful and I do not like mustard so I was very surprised I liked it. Here is the recipe.