Hey all, I'm back with yet another homemade laundry soap recipe. After fine tuning my previously used powder recipe (found here) I've come up with something super simple & quite possibly the easiest & most effective soap blend we've used to date!
What you'll need:
-Borax
-Washing Soda
-Baking Soda
-Zote Soap Flakes
-(OPTIONAL) Scent Boosters (Purex is the favorite around here)!
You can also swap out the scent boosters for essential oils as well! ;)
Recipe? Just mix 1 cup each of the Borax, Washing Soda, Baking Soda, & Soap Flakes together with one cap of the Scent Boosters. Seriously, SUPER easy!
If you're like us & do a lot of laundry on a weekly basis, mix 2 cups each of the Borax, Washing Soda, & Baking Soda with the entire box of Soap Flakes & 2 caps of the Scent Boosters.
To measure out I use a Scent Booster cap for my measuring cup. Typically 1 cap for small loads, 2 for large will do the trick! For a little extra cleaning punch (especially for those whites!) I add in 1/4 cup white distilled vinegar to keep out clothes nice & clean.
Cost...
For starters a box of Borax, Washing Soda, & Baking Soda will run you about $10. A box of Zote Soap Flakes is slightly less than $3. Scent Boosters run from $5-8, depending on brand.
On average, our family of 5 (7, if you count the pups!) racks up about $15/month in laundry soap costs. In comparison, we were running at nearly $10 per WEEK for free/clear liquid laundry soap! Needless to say our wallets are slightly happier now with this new arrangement. If you still prefer liquid detergent to powder, check out my awesome homemade liquid detergent recipe on the blog!
Have a favorite DIY laundry soap recipe? Feel free to post below...I'd love to check it out!
I'll admit it....I'm ready for Summer to end. Fall is by far my favorite of the seasons. Love the holidays, the sights, the smells, & above all, the food. So when I was flipping through the monsters' new cookbook yesterday, I just HAD to try this right away. & man, am I glad I did!
Officially the recipe is called "Ernie's Halloween Marble Cake" from Sesame Street's "B is for Baking" healthy cookbook. I altered it around a bit to make bread loaves, which will be described here. If you choose to make a cake, just bake in a bundt pan instead. ;)
Ingredients:
3c all-purpose flour, 1.25c sugar, 2tsp EACH of baking powder & baking soda, 1tsp EACH of ground cinnamon & salt, 2c of your veggie of choice (can be butternut/acorn squash, skinless sweet potatoes, or a 15oz can pumpkin. I chose the latter), 1.5c olive oil, 4 eggs, 1.5tsp vanilla extract, & 6oz melted chocolate chips (optional for chocolate swirl).
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350* & grease pan(s).
Whisk together all dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, sugar, baking powder/soda, cinnamon, salt). In another bowl mash squash/potatoes/pumpkin.
Add olive oil, eggs, & vanilla into bowl w/mashed veggies & mix well. Gradually add in dry ingredients, mix til smooth.
Transfer 1/3 batter into another bowl & mix with melted chocoalte.
Spoon batters alternately into pan & swirl chocolate/batter mix with either a knife or spatula to create marble effect.
Bake 50-60m/until a knife inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Cool for 15m & enjoy!
For an extra bonus I spread some homemade cream cheese frosting across a slice. Delish!
Seems like my 'focus' has got the better of me so far this year. I seem to be rocking everything better BUT blog posts. For that I reward you with an amazing & ediable activity!
Seeing as last week was Valentine's Day, Monster Man and I made these delicious little cake bites on a stick for his class. They were a huge hit! And so simple to make.
All you need is a box of your favorite cake mix, 1 tub frosting, some melting wafers, sticks, decorations (sprinkles, jimmies, etc), & bags/saran wrap & ties for storage. A huge styrofoam block for drying would be a definite plus, something I'm going to invest in for sure before trying these again!
Bake cake according to package instructions. We had strawberry for the pink effects of the holiday. =)
When cool, crumble cake in a large bowl. I found that shredding with 2 forks is quite effective.
Mix frosting in with cake til nice & moist. Chocolate covered strawberry. Yum.
Mold cake mixture into small, 1in balls & place on cookie sheets lined with wax paper. Let chill 4-6 hours in the freezer or overnight in the fridge.
Melt wafers in either the microwave or double broiler method. Dip sticks FIRST in chocolate, then insert into the cake balls. They hold to the stick better that way. Roll Cake ball around til covered & let excess drip back into the bowl.
*Note, when removing cake balls from the fridge/freezer, only take out 2-3 at a time. If the cake gets too warm it'll start to crumble when dipped.
Add sprinkles/etc to your yummy creations. We used red to spread the love of the holiday.
Stick into foam to dry. I had a box lid. It did the trick, but not quite as easy to manuever as styrofaom would have been.
Place pops back in the fridge overnight (8-10hrs) to harden. Remove when needed, bag/tie, & share the love!
As awesome as these treats taste, PLEASE be advised that the 1in sizing is more than enough. They're super rich & loaded with cake, chocolates, etc. Any bigger size & you might have little monsters climbing the walls from a sugar high! That said, pour a glass of milk, kick back, & enjoy!
Since everyone is gearing up for Turkey Day I figured I'd share a quick & simple surefire dessert hit!
You'll Need....
3/4c butter or margarine
2/3c evaporated milk
1/2tsp vanilla extract
3c sugar
1 1/2c marshmallow crème
1 (12oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
Combine butter/margarine, sugar, milk, & vanilla in a large saucepan & bring to a boil over low heat. Stir to avoid burning. Boil for 5 minutes & remove from heat. Add marshmallow crème & chocolate chips & stir until all ingredients are dissolved. Pour into a foil-lines & greased 13x9 pan & cool over night.
Yields about 3lbs of purely addicting homemade fudge. Best part about this recipe is that you can customize it anyway you like! Add in a spoonful of peanut butter after taking the pot off the stove, throw a handful of walnuts in with the chocolate chips, or top with fresh cut fruit before sticking in the fridge! Sky's the limit!
Have a great dinner everyone!
Below is an amazing recipe, tried & true. Most recently it helped me out with my oldest daughter's brithday cake / cupcakes. Click here for a super simple, quick, & inexpensive. What else could you aske for?
From Lynneth's birthday party...
Have a great weekend & Happy May Day!
So yesterday I realized something. Not only did Andrew turn 5 on Monday (1st), but Lynneth officially hit the 3.5yr mark (4th) & now tomorrow (6th) Gwenna will be 6wks old. Mix that in with the madness that everywhere already has a ridiculously decorated Christmas tree on display (only 
left to shop!) & honestly, where DOES the time go?
Good news, I'm getting my butt in gear & finally getting my college entrance packet & scholarships in order! Yay! Being a member of the awesome c/o 2006 I've felt like an academic slacker lately watching all my friends graduate this past year, but glancing over to the couch at the 2 kids dozing to Jimmy Neutron & the baby already snoring, I'm reminded why I've been so busy. Not a bad trade mind you, but it's definitely time. Especially when both Drew & Lyn will both be in school next year. Aim is for Fall 2011 (again, after the older 2 monsters are back in school) & I'm zoning into getting an AA in Social Welfare/Services. Wish me luck!
Oh, a real quick shop update. I -am- still working on having the soaps & newborn crocheted headbands up. I've been slightly busy the last few weeks & haven't forgotten, promise! Both items will be 100% custom to the buyer as well!
Today the Little Misses & I were also able to whip up Week 3 of 'A Muffin a Week'. Next up...Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins! Probably the best find of the bunch thus far. Who knew that something HEALTHY could clear out of my fridge so fast?
Anyway, again, super simple & quick recipe. Grate 2c of Zucchini into a large bowl & set to the side. Or have a little helper grate for you while you get the rest of the ingredients together. Whatever works. =)
Mix 3c Flour, 1/2c White Sugar, 1c Brown Sugar, 1Tsp Baking Powder, 1Tsp Baking Soda, 1Tsp Cinnamon, & 1/2Tsp Salt in a second large bowl. Add 3 Eggs, 3/4c Oil, 3Tsp Vanilla, & 1/2c Chocolate Chips to the bowl with the Zucchini & mix well. Just be careful with the Chocolate Chips, as all of mine mysteriously didn't make it into the bowl...
You should have something looking like this:
Now, gradually add dry ingredients into the wet mixture & blend. What you'll end up with resembles something that 'Looks like what sissy has in her diaper.' Lyn said it, not me. =p
Gwen, ignoring her big sister's comment.
Anyway, all that's left now is to fill up your muffin pans & bake at 350* for about 20-25mins. Recipe should yield about 2 dozen muffins.
While I was pouring Lyn decided to take an 'action shot' before running off with my camera to 'take pictures of ghosties' around the house. Mental note, schedule an interview with TAPS in about 15 years.
Unfortunately, I don't have an finished product/after shot. My rest of the juice in my camera battery went to the ghostie expedition. They turned out great & super moist though, & like I said earlier, have been a hit around our crazy house & were quickly added to our Thanksgiving dinner list. Enjoy! =)
I really can't believe Halloween is Sunday. Even more insane is that little man will be 5 this Monday!
Speaking of, Drew has his first school party this afternoon & we're carving pumpkins tonight. =) Tomorrow the whole family is going to to a local orchard & enjoying their pumpkin patch, petting zoo, & maybe a hayride during the day & then trunk or treating tomorrow night on base. Is it just here or is everyone doing trick or treating Saturday (30th) rather than Sunday (31st)? Here it's to the point where the city declared trick or treating for Saturday night. Weird. As mentioned above, we have a birthday boy on Monday & will just be doing dinner/cake at home since we had his party in FL last weekend. I forgot how nice it was to actually be able to celebrate birthdays & holidays with family!
In shop news, a clearance section has been opened up. Take advantage of the awesome markdowns while they're still there!
Also, time for our weekly muffin update. =) Lyn & I decided to make Cranberry muffins this week using an ultra simple recipe that can actually be modified for any type of fresh berry!
Take 1c fresh cranberries (chopped) & mix well with 1/4c sugar.
Next mix 1.5c milk, 3tbsp melted butter, & 1 egg in a bowl. Gradually add an additional 1/4c sugar, 2c flour, 4tsp baking soda, & 3/4tsp salt. Stir well until completely mixed.
Add in berry/sugar mixture & lightly whisk.
She had to have the final stir to make sure the muffins were going to be 'just right'.
Finally pour into a lightly greased muffin pan & bake at 425* for 25min.
& there you go, berry muffins fresh from the oven. Yum!
As great as they taste, my only adjustment would be possibly using this recipe to make a loaf rather than a muffin. Other than that, it's a tasty & easy recipe that can be well accomplished during naptime. =)
Speaking of, little miss Gwenna had her 1 month well baby check yesterday & is weighing in at 10lbs, 3oz & 21in! Definitely mommy's little chunklette. <3
While this has nothing to do with the shop or the babies, I really have nowhere else to keep track, so I'm creating yet another use for this little blog.
Last year around the holidays I read an article where a bunch of co-workers each picked a day to bring a baked good to work for the office & called it 'A Cookie a Day'. Since fall is in full swing & the holiday season is right around the corner, I figured what better way to share new recipes than through the blog-o-verse?
I'll be honest. We're not really cookie people in my house. So I'll be doing a new muffin recipe every week (monster permitting) & posting it up here in hopes that someone else will find it interesting enough to share their recipes for whatever baked good of their choice.
Today my girls & I made a batch of Autumn Spice muffins, fitting for this time of year. Lyn acted as my little baker...
...while Gwen more or less just supervised.
The recipe itself is pretty simple. First, peel & dice 3 large apples (Granny Smiths work great!) & put them into a large bowl & set to the side.
Just watch out for snackers...
Mix 5c flour, 4c sugar, 1TBSP nutmeg, 2TBSP cinnamon, 2tsp baking soda, 1tsp salt in a SECOND large bowl. Next, add 1LG can pumpkin (29oz Libby's), 4 eggs, & 1c canola oil in the large bowl with the apples & mix.
What the bowls should look like before combining.
Gradually add dry ingredients into wet & mix well until fully moist. Little tip during mixing...keep the mixer at a low speed, otherwise the apples will magically jump out of the bowl & cause an impromptu costume change. Just ask Lyn.
Fill muffin cups 3/4 full & bake approx 40min at 350*. Told you, super simple, right?
The mix yields about 3.5doz muffins & takes maybe 20-25mins (depending on how many little hands you have 'helping') to mix together.
Ta-Da! The finished product.
Fresh out of the oven, the baked apples inside are AWESOME. Better than any applesauce muffin I've had.
The only down side I've found is since the batch IS so big, it's a lot of in & out of the oven, especially if you only have 1 muffin pan like I do. (-HINT HINT- hubby...lol) Big perk is that they're packed with fruits & veggies, yet my kids eat them like they're going out of style.
Who knew eating something healthy could taste so good? ;)
Anyone else interested in sharing? Leave a comment to let me know so I can check out the goodies! <3
