Third Post 12-22-2011

It's hard to believe it's been about two weeks since I've posted here. Since I posted last I had emergency eye surgery which took me out of commission for some time, but I don't really want to write much about that just yet, if ever. And it's still too difficult to type very much at once. But I will say this much about it - the possibility of losing one's vision, even in just one eye, has brought to mind this morning thoughts of things I want to see. Among those things are my blue girl roses blooming against the warm red brick of my house. For those who may not know, the scent of the blue girl rose is nature's loveliest perfume, the sweetest smell imaginable. Following is a photo of my rosebush from a previous year. If only there were a way to capture the smell...

My Blue Girls

These delightful creations frame the right side of my front porch. They bloom profusely, several times a year. These don't look especially "blue," although sometimes they do sport their characteristic silver-lavendar color and other times we see the more pinkish lavendar color.

Second Post 12-7-2011

I'm already falling behind. I wanted to try and post something every day, darn it. Today's bit of goodness is Lazy Mom Casserole.

I don't want to give the wrong idea. I'm not too lazy to do the things that need to be done every day. But I am not one of those hyperactive super moms who do the once a month cooking and build their own utility sheds. Well, I used to be sort of like that, but my kids got older and I got tired of doing all that stuff. Nevertheless, I like a certain amount of orderliness and so I am re-focusing my energies into looking at ways to do things that allow me more lazy time.

One of those things is potato preparation. I have found that I can peel and cut potatoes while watching TV and keep them for several days in the fridge. Later on, when I would like to cook potatoes or something that requires potatoes, I will not be deterred by having to prepare the potatoes. Seriously, I have changed more plans than I care to admit by being too lazy to peel potatoes. But if you can combine the potato peeling with an enjoyable activity - let's say watching several episodes of "Breaking Bad" on Netflix, the potato peeling is no problem. I like to cut them into smallish (half inch or so) cubes so they cook faster.

To keep them in the refrigerator for about four days or so, placed cubed and washed potatoes in a container (one that has a tight fitting lid), cover completely with water. Sprinkle about a teaspoon of salt and a goodly squirt of lemon juice on top. Cover with plastic wrap and lid. I've used mine after four days and they were just like new. Haven't tried longer than four days, though. Use your own judgment. Just so happened I had some potatoes waiting in the fridge tonight and used them in the Lazy Mom Casserole. I also had a small amount of leftover mashed potatoes which I mixed in with them.

Lazy Mom Casserole is a great cold-weather standby that anyone could make. It allows for a lot of variation as well. I seldom make the exact same casserole twice. Below is how I made it tonight:

Lazy Mom Casserole

Brown 1 - 2 pounds ground beef in a skillet, depending on how much of this stuff you want and how big of a casserole dish you want to use. Tonight I used the Pampered Chef 15.5"x10" Stoneware Baker, which easily accommodated what I would call a double batch of this stuff using 2 pounds of beef. If I use a regular 9 x 13 cake pan, I would use only 1 pound of beef and fewer veggies than tonight's batch.

If necessary, drain excess fat. I use only Laura's Lean Beef or locally produced organic beef so I don't have to drain. I seasoned the beef with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worchestershire sauce. Next I added a can of generic Mexi-corn (corn and pepper mix), french-sliced green beans (drained), a large can of sliced mushrooms (drained), one can of tomato soup and about a half a can of water. This did not look tomato-y enough to me, so I squirted in some ketchup until it looked about right. Cook on medium heat until everything is hot and evenly distributed, then pour into the baking dish.

Mash the potatoes. I add a little Country Crock, sour cream, salt, garlic powder, and milk - not to mention the leftover mashed potatoes I already had, which is a great way to use those up, and I ended up with just the right quantity, about half a medium size pan. Not sure how much mine holds, so I took a picture to give you some idea how much you need.

Use a large spoon to ladle dollops of mashed potatoes around the perimeter of the baking dish, as shown:

Bake in 350 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes. Should be nice and bubbly. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and return to oven for about five minutes. Remove from oven and let set for about five minutes before serving.

My family loves this casserole, and it keeps well in the fridge for delicious second-day leftovers. Good, warm, and filling cold-weather food. Let me know if you try it!









First Post 12-3-2011

I've started and abandoned these things before, but this time I want to make a real go of it. What's on my mind currently is how to live and thrive in today's economy. Believe me, I don't have all the answers, but I'll share the ones that have been helpful to me.

There are certain things I resent - like spending money on products that are not fun and entertaining! But let's face it, some things you just gotta have whether you like it or not. Like toilet paper, laundry detergent, and fabric softener. Have you noticed the prices of these items recently??? I haven't figured out what to do about the toilet paper yet, other than try to catch it on sale and stock up. However, I do have alternatives I like for the laundry detergent and fabric softener! That's right, do-it-yourself laundry products! The hub and I have office jobs and typically our clothes don't get very soiled, so our laundry is super easy. For heavy duty cleaning, you might want to use some Oxy cleaner or experiment to find your own solution for heavily soiled items.

There are several good posts on the internet for homemade laundry soap - all are some variety of this same recipe. I would like to give credit to Mary Hunt's outstanding web site, Debt Proof Living, which is the first place I found the recipe and began my own experimentation with it. And now I'd like to share my experiences with you!

First of all, my mother laughed at me and offered me money to buy laundry soap at the store. No doubt, there are many others who would prefer not to trouble themselves with the bother of making something at home that is readily available at the store. Yes, Mom, I can afford commercial laundry detergent if I want it. But to me, this is about the satisfaction of doing it myself, of knowing how to take care of a basic need. It's also about doing something natural and clean and environmentally sound. It's not worrying about mixing a chemical cocktail in my washing machine to inflict upon my sensitive skin by forcing it to rub against chemically treated clothing day and night! And, it's about aromatherapy - mix up a batch of this and your nose will thank you!

--Finally, a word about my washing machine and the fine print warning: I have a fairly new Samsung front loading high efficiency machine, and this naturally low-to-no sudsing recipe works well in my machine with no known problems. However, use the recipe at your own risk. I am a plain old working mom, not a chemist nor an engineer, and I assume no responsibility for your experience, clothing, washing machine or anything else.

INGREDIENTS:

Fels-Naptha Heavy Duty Laundry Bar Soap

We're located in Kentucky, and I can get this in the laundry aisle at either Wal-Mart or Kroger. I haven't looked anywhere else, so I'm not sure what other stores carry it, but I know it can be ordered online if you can't find it in your store. It smells SOOOO good. You can use other kinds of bar soap, but if you can get this, I don't know why you'd want anything else. I've used Ivory bar soap in a pinch when the Fels-Naptha was the only ingredient I was missing, but I do love the wonderfully distinct, clean smell of Fels-Naptha. Today, it was on sale for 99 cents a bar, so my cost today = 18 cents per ounce.

Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

Do not make the mistake of confusing this product with baking soda. I bought a new box today at Kroger, $3.15 for one box = just under 6 cents per ounce. You can also use this product to make a pre-soak for stains, directions on the back of the box.

20 Mule Team Borax

I still had a lot of this left over from previous batches, so I didn't need to buy it along with the other ingredients today. Apparently they have changed the packaging since I last bought it, too, so it doesn't look quite like this anymore. I did a price check on the Borax on the shelf today - 4.29 per box = about 5 and a half cents per ounce, call it 6 cents.

So there we have it, that's all the ingredients except for water, which I don't even try to include in the calculations.

Most people make a two-gallon batch. Alas, I have no pot big enough to hold two gallons. Sometimes I split the ingredients into two pots; sometimes I make a one-gallon batch. Tonight we will make a one-gallon batch, using about 1/6 of the Fels Naptha (round up to 17 cents, slightly exaggerates the cost per ounce), 1/4 cup washing soda (2 ounces = 12 cents), and 1/4 cup borax (another 12 cents).

Excluding the fraction of a penny for water, this brings us to a grand total of 41 cents per gallon. Try finding a gallon of laundry detergent in the store for 41 cents! I'm not that good at math, but let's see if we can get to the bottom of this: one U.S. gallon = 128 fluid ounces divided by 4 ounces (1/2 cup) per load = 32 loads per gallon. 41 cents divided by 32 loads = .0128125 cents per load.

Yep, just a fraction over one penny per load. I like that math, so let's get started:

First, grate the soap with a regular cheese grater. After soapmaking, I wash the grater normally in the dishwasher and put it back in the cabinet for regular use and I never taste soap in my cheese :D

Next, I use milk jugs or any other clean, one gallon container. Fill it up with water - I use mildly hot - and pour it into a pot big enough to hold all the water. Many of the recipes will have you boil so much water, add so much of this and so much of that, then more water, etc. (Those are the people whose output comes out to exact quantities, unlike yours truly.) I put the water in first and bring it to a boil, then add all ingredients while stirring until it is more or less dissolved. You don't want anything sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the soda and borax first, then sprinkle in the shredded soap. Boil and stir, boil and stir. You can turn down the heat and leave it unstirred if you need to walk away for awhile, which is what I am currently doing. I just checked and nearly all the soap shreds are melted, see?

And here's what it looks like with a good stir:

I use a metal spoon, by the way. I think it would be fine to use a wooden spoon, but since they are porous and I don't fancy eating soap no matter how good it smells, and I don't want to designate one of my wooden spoons to use only for making soap, I use a metal spoon which I can be reasonably sure will come completely clean of the soap mixture in the dishwasher and will be safe for food use post-soapmaking.

All right, it's all boiled together now, and I'm not sure exactly how long that took. About a half-hour, I think. I got a little wrapped up in blogging and forgot to check the time! Remove from heat and let the mixture sit until it cools. Once cool, get a large'ish funnel and someone to help you pour from the pot into the gallon jug. Depending on how much of the liquid boiled away during production, there will be somewhat just less than a full gallon.

I top it off with warm water to make a full gallon. I mean, this is not rocket science here - we have some room for fluctuation. Fasten lid securely, give it good shake. Let sit for about 24 hours before using.

To use, give the jug a good shake and pour out 1/2 cup per load.

If anyone tries this, I would be pleased to know how it worked for you. Tomorrow - fabric softener!