Make Your Own Laundry Detergent!

This post is in honor of The Thrifty Home's first Penny Pinching Party on Wednesday! I'm very excited about it, can't wait to see everyone's money-saving tips. My recipe is modified from recipes I found on several "frugal blogs", and is designed to be made in a large pot (like a pasta pot or stock pot) and stored in empty laundry detergent bottles, so save up a few before you make this. It only calls for three ingredients, all of which I found in the laundry aisle of my local Kroger.

Grate 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap and melt in 6 cups hot water in your pasta pot / stock pot on the stove top (medium high heat makes this work quickly). Once soap is melted add 1/2 cup Borax powder (20 Mule Team Borax - anyone else remember that?) and 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. Stir until dissolved. Gradually add 15 cups hot water. Remove from heat and let cool completely before pouring into detergent bottles. Don't fill them up completely, because once this mixture cools it's, well, I think the scientific term is "gloppy". You need room to shake the bottle up before you pour it each time. The entire prep time is about 15 minutes, grating included, and would probably be even faster if you used a food processor. This recipe makes enough to fill three 100 oz. detergent bottles, but could easily be doubled if you have a pot large enough. The concentration is just right for using the cap on the laundry bottle for measuring (one capful per load). It is unscented, but I sometimes add about ten drops of lavender essential oil after I remove it from the heat just because I love the light scent it gives towels and sheets. This cleans just as well as commercial laundry detergents and you will be AMAZED at the amount of money you save.

Watermelon Salad ~ Lunchbag Week 8

OK, I know it is just wrong to post a watermelon recipe at the end of September, but this is truly the best thing I've ever put in my mouth and I just had to share it. We can still get decent watermelon here, those nice little Sugar Babies are available until the first frost, but I know some of you aren't as lucky. Make this RIGHT NOW if you can get hold of a decent watermelon, and I'll keep you posted on how the sauce works on other things. We're experimenting tonight, and it's good on other fruit, just not quite as orgasmic as watermelon; and we're marinating some pork chops in it right now - should be interesting.

On to the details! This is a Paula Deen recipe, was kind of a throw-away on an episode of "Paula's Best Dishes" featuring some steak recipe I couldn't get excited about. This one spoke to me, though, so I printed it out and whipped it up.

1/4 cup pineapple juice

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup lime juice

2 Tbsp sea salt

1 1/2 tsp ground ginger (I used fresh instead 'cause I can get it in a tube at my Kroger and it tastes better)

Mix, drizzle over watermelon, and serve. I swear, the layers of flavor will just knock your socks off. It's like that scene in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" where Violet's chewing the gum: "It's roast beef, now it's baked potato, now it's blueberry pie!". This is sweet, salty, spicy, fruity. Just trust me on this one. Make it, and you may eat it all before it even makes it into everyone's lunch on Monday!

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He's One of My Five

Mark, my next-door neighbor's cousin, has earned himself a permanent position as one of the Five Men I Have To Have In My Life. He has been building my new kitchen, and while we're waiting for the granite to be cut he's building a shed in the backyard. He has also put new brake pads on my car and re-wired a light fixture in Jack's room. Mark can FIX THINGS. Now, for those of you who haven't read Jill Conner Browne's classic "The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love" in a while or in case someone out there hasn't read it at all (buy it immediately, your life is not complete without this book!) the Five Men You Must Have in Your Life are (in no particular order):

1) someone to dance with

2) someone to have great sex with

3) someone you can talk to

4) someone who will buy you things

5) someone who can fix things

Just think about that list for a minute. Really, isn't that all you need? And some men can fill more than one category. If you find one that can fill three you'd better marry him fast, 'cause I don't know anyone who's gotten higher than a three.

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins ~ Lunchbag Week 7

OK, this one's multipurpose. It can be lunch, it can be breakfast, it can be an afternoon snack. It's banana muffins with peanut butter centers. This recipe originally had cream cheese frosting on top and no peanut butter in the middle, but as wild as things are around my house right now I think less sugar and more protein is the way to go.

Mix:
3/4 cup sugar
1 stick butter
2 eggs
3 large ripe bananas
1 3/4 cup flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Pour into muffin tins. Fill about 1/3 full (Pampered Chef large scoop), add a little scoop of peanut butter (Pampered Chef small scoop), and fill to 2/3 full with batter (another PC large scoop). Bake at 350 for about 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. I think chopped nuts in the batter would be great, or chunky peanut butter in the middle, but I got out-voted. For those with peanut butter allergies, I bet a little strawberry jam would be yummy instead.

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New Favorite Scrubs!

Today I wore my new scrubs from http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ to work. I have been wearing scrubs to work every day for the past twenty-one years, so I suppose I qualify as an expert. When Blue Sky Scrubs offered me free scrubs in exchange for a review on my blog I jumped at the opportunity. Their website talked about "making women look and feel beautiful" and I thought, "If there's something out there that can make me look and feel beautiful when I go in to work at 4 a.m. BRING IT ON!" I ordered the scrubs from their simple and user-friendly website and they shipped later that same day - WHOA! They were sent UPS, so they arrived very quickly, and look at this nice packaging:




Tissue paper and a thank-you note - I sure haven't gotten that kind of customer service when I've ordered scrubs online before. And when I unwrapped them I was even more impressed. The tag says they are a cotton-polyester blend, but this fabric is like no other I'm familiar with. It's lightweight, but not too thin, and soft, but not clingy-staticy soft (yes, I'm picky about my fabrics). These are VERY comfortable scrubs. I especially like the top, which looks like a regular tunic-style scrub top on the website, but has a slightly shorter and tapered cut that is comfortable and flattering.


Not so short that you're flashing skin when you bend or reach, though, and the sleeves are a relaxed cut, not the short, tight fit that so many of the "fashion scrubs" have right now. Who buys those things? Are there 12-year-olds wearing them to school or what? Now here's my favorite thing about these scrubs: this "miracle fabric" that hangs so nicely also seems to repel stains AND dries in seconds - literally! I can't believe they don't mention this on their website, because I know I'm not the only nurse who splashes water on the front of her scrubs when she washes her hands or who drops her late lunch in her lap trying to drive and eat at the same time. I can't wait for their line of labcoats to go on sale, 'cause I will be all over those! Of course there are some drawbacks, but they are few. There are only two styles of women's scrubs for
sale on the site, the Simple Scrubs (what I ordered) and their Original Scrubs, which have a lot of contrasting decorative stitching on them that I thought looked a bit too Western. And there are very few color choices for the Simple Scrubs: ceil blue, black, navy, or light gray. I got the light gray and it's a very nice color, not boring at all. The Original Scrubs have a much wider variety of colors available, so I'm hoping the Simple Scrubs line will expand. The prices are mid-range, and for the quality and customer service you get, it's a steal. I'm certainly going to be ordering from them again!

Top Ten Things Not To Do In Carpool Line

My Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop inspiration for this week: What's the message you would craft?



What perfect timing! While I can't claim to compare to the inspiration post, I was so inspired the other day in carpool by what was going on around me that I put aside my light mystery novel to grab some scrap paper and start listing the Top Ten Things Not To Do In Carpool Line. So this is longer than just a message, more of a memo really, and please feel free to copy and paste to create your own memo for distribution in your own carpool line. This is appropriate for both public and private schools, since items were inspired equally by my experiences as a parent at both. Don't think you can always pick which is which, 'cause, honey, you would be shocked! It's hard to decide which offenses are more irritating, so I've listed them in order of occurrence from the moment I pull into carpool line until the moment I leave it.



10) Do not leave your car running while you are parked in carpool for 20 minutes just so you can run your AC. You are blowing hot, foul exhaust fumes at all the cars around you whose occupants are following the rules and sweltering with engines off and windows open. You have an exception if you have an infant in the car, but that's the only valid excuse.



9) Do not park your car in carpool line and then prance around from car to car in your tennis skirt, especially if you haven't played tennis that day. Really - we can tell from the hair. And if you are too deeply involved with your conversation three rows over to move your car when it's your turn to go I think the patrol kids should be allowed to take a cattle prod to your ass to get you moving.



8) If you really must smoke in carpool line (can you really not go 20 minutes without one? really?) do not blow the smoke into the car parked next to you. As my grandmother would say, it's "common". You Southern girls know what I'm saying here.



7) Do not play "Name That Tune" with songs on the radio. That's Queen, honey, and there is no one else who sounds like Freddy Mercury. You probably can't name the Beatles, either, so I have no use for you.



6) Do not sing along with any song on the radio. I don't care how well you think you sing - this is not karaoke carpool. And especially don't sing the profane lyrics to the rap song you're listening to. I prefer the driving bass that shakes my fillings loose 'cause then I can't hear the words as well.



5) Do not stand around in carpool on a pretty early April day bragging about how you've never received a W-2. This makes us frumpy-looking, exhausted working women want to run down your bleached-blonde, laser-whitened, surgically augmented bodies with our old, dirty cars. And we don't worry about the prison time either, sugar, 'cause eight hours sleep every night and three meals a day cooked by someone else sounds pretty damn good about now.



4) Being old is no excuse. I think it's wonderful that some grandparents pick up their grandchildren at carpool - really I do - they can even pick up mine if they want to. But they have to follow the rules. It's a carpool LINE. This means there is a beginning and an end. First in is first out. Being over 55 does not mean you can drive across the cones, pick up your grandkids, and dodge all the other sobbing kindergartners while you race out of the parking lot. Bring in those patrol kids with the cattle prods and set them to "stun".



3) Do not share True Confessions teenage sex stories in a loud voice. This applies whether you are talking to you friend in the passenger seat or your friend on the cell phone. And most especially don't do it while the carpool line's moving, 'cause it's like a train wreck - we just can't look away. And the kiddo we smoosh just might be your own (hopefully not conceived during that story, 'cause that was way too icky).



2) Do not scream at your child as soon as they get to the car. Or if you are a butthead and really must, then roll your window up. I do not want to hear, "What the hell were you thinking? How many damn times do I have to tell you to turn that f#$%in' altar server form in?" Oh, yeah, honey, that was a dad in a parochial school carpool.



1) I'm assuming you can read. That sign says "Right Turn Only". Do not attempt to turn left. This is not all about you. Rear-ending your Lexus seems like a reasonable option right about now.

Sweet Potato Salad ~ Lunchbag Week 6

OK, this one's all about me! I can't even get the guys to try a bite of this, although I did try. None of them could get past the sight of sweet potatoes ("Are those carrots or what?") and spinach ("What's that green stuff?"). That's just fine, though - leaves more for me. I'm taking this for lunch every day this week and they can have boring sandwiches unless they decide to get brave and try some of this delicious salad. I found it in a Family Circle magazine and altered it to fit what I had around the house. Here goes:

Warm Sweet Potato Salad (although it's good cold, too)

• 3 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 3 Tbsp maple syrup (I used plain old pancake syrup)
• 3 tsp Dijon mustard
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size chucks
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 8 oz ham, diced (I used deli ham, but I bet thick chunks would be even yummier)
• 3/4 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (I tried it with and without, and it's great either way)

1. Heat oven to 400. Stir together vinegar, syrup, and mustard. Whisk in 2 Tbsp oil and set aside.
2. Mix potatoes, onions, ham, 1 Tbsp oil, salt, pepper, and thyme and bake for 45 minutes.
3. Add spinach, walnuts, and vinegar mixture. YUM!

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Verbal Kleptomaniac ~ Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop

Here's the prompt I'm using this week:

3.) List the pieces of you that have come from those around you.

Select your own and join in the fun at Mama's Losin' It!

I confess - I am a verbal kleptomaniac. I habitually steal words, phrases, and speech patterns from the people around me. I didn't do this as a kid, I'm sure, because I remember going to visit my cousins in Lynch, Kentucky during the summer and their friends asking, "Where are you from, New York?" I'm actually just from Central Kentucky (and I sound like it), but the accents in Harlan County, Kentucky are pretty thick (think Loretta Lynn with a little extra spice) so I evidently sounded pretty city-fied. Maybe it started when I was in college and they taught us in Psych Nursing to use "therapeutic communication" - it did make me much more aware of all the nuances of a conversation, both verbal and non-verbal. Anyway, give me a good ol' country fella to do a stress test on and I turn into my mother. Things pop out of my mouth like, "No, honey, I've been workin' here since God was a boy" or "I'd like to buy him for what he's worth and sell him for what he thinks he's worth!" Of course if the next patient's in his early twenties and didn't drive a truck to the hospital I turn into my seventeen-year-old son, "It's all good!" . My favorite word stolen from my ten-year-old is "ginormous" (gigantic plus enormous) which has a lot of uses, including describing some of the patients I do stress tests on as well as the size of the sweet tea I'd like to have at lunch. I have shamelessly stolen "any-who" from Dianna, just 'cause it sounds so darn perky. I also stole her name for me, AngieB, to use on my blog - thanks, girl! It cracks me up when her husband calls me that, it's like they've been married for fifty years and are turning into each other (although I have underwear older than their marriage license). Any-who, I have to give credit for the head-bobbing thing I do when I fuss at the boys to Wendy (stole that from her way back in high school) and my scowl-mumble-stomp comes straight from my grandmother. I think that one may actually be genetic since my brother does it, too. Just remember when I steal something from you: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Lunchbag ~ Week 5

This week's lunch plan involves writing a check to the cafeteria at school and hitting a drive-thru or having leftovers from supper the night before. Maybe I'll feel more creative next week - right now Sam and I need a nap.

Swing Dog on a Three-Day Weekend

There are so many thing I love about days off. The first, of course, is not getting up at 3am. Today I lounged in bed until six, and I still have plenty of quiet time before anyone else gets up. They all look like this
and will until noon if I don't wake them up. I get to eat leftovers from last night's dinner for breakfast, play on Facebook, blog, and drink sweet tea in the backyard swing - AHHH! Sam lies at my feet when I'm on the computer, gazes longingly at my plate while I'm eating, and joins me on the swing, although from the look of that yawn she'd really rather be back in bed. What a good dog!

It looks like it's going to be a gorgeous day, so I think I'll get some laundry going and hang it outside to dry. It's Old Guy Band Day at my house this afternoon, and if I try to use the washer or dryer in the basement the overhead mics in the studio pick it up, so my motives are not ENTIRELY environmentally friendly. Then maybe some time at the pool with "the child formerly known as Jack" and cooking something really sinful for supper. I've got a stack of good books to read, Book Club with the girls tomorrow, and I'm charging up my phone for long chit-chats with both Kim and Dianna. This is going to be a fabulous weekend!

The First Day of My Ten-Year-Old's New Identity ~ Mama Kat's Writers' Workshop

Click here to play along!

This week I selected prompt #4: "The first day of . . ."


"The First Day of My Ten-Year-Old's New Identity" No, this isn't some touchy-feeling post about how he's discovered his true self in some philosophical sense. He's a ten-year-old boy. He's changed his name. Without consulting me. I found out in carpool when the patrol girl said, "Have a good evening, John!" He's at a new school, remember, and is less than a month in, so I didn't think much of it.
"Haven't you told everyone to call you Jack? I put on all your paperwork that you prefer "Jack" and we told your teacher that at meet-the-teacher night."
"No, I decided I like being called John."
"But no one has ever called you John. You've always been Jack."
"Yeah, but now I like John."
He came home and finished up his first big project of the year, and what's the name on the front of the tri-fold? John. Here's something he did in computer class today:

HMMM . . .if John's going to be organized, I just may like this new kid ('cause Jack sure wasn't). Evidently John likes Spongebob as much as Jack did, and tries to sneak snacks before dinner just like Jack does. Oh, great, he just handed me a notice from school - a kid in his class has lice and I need to check his head for nits every day for the next couple of weeks. None of Jack's classmates ever had lice - SIGH! Well, if John cleans his room I'm all for it. I'd let him change his name to Spongebob if he'd clean his room.

Rice Bread ~ Lunchbag Week 4

Sometimes, it's all about the bread . . .

Even the most ordinary ham and cheese sandwich gets a little more attention at lunchtime if it's on fresh-baked bread. I grind my own wheat and bake up several loaves every Monday, and my arms are so sore from all that kneading at the end of the day! Yeah, right. I am too lazy to even stop by a bakery, let alone bake my own bread. I cheat - I have a bread machine. In less time than it would take me to find a parking space at Panera I can dump a few ingredients into that big ol' machine, punch a couple of buttons, and come back from carpool to the smell of fresh bread. THIS is the way technology is meant to be used - to give me good things to eat with minimal effort. Now if I'm feeling up to doing just a little more work I will take the dough out before it starts to bake and shape it into rolls, then bake it that way. The picture above is rice bread made into sandwich-sized rolls - MMMMM! I usually make rice in my bread machine at lease twice a week (another dump-and-press-a-button recipe), so I've always got a bit of leftover rice lying around, and this recipe doesn't take much.

Place 1/2 cup cooked rice in a 2-cup measuring cup. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and enough warm water to equal 1 1/2 cups. Dump into bread machine. Add 3 cups bread flour, 2 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (Don't buy those little packages, go ahead and buy the jar and measure it yourself - it's SO much cheaper). Select "basic" setting to bake a loaf, or "dough" setting if you want to make rolls. If you selected "dough", take it out when it's finished, form into 8 rolls, and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. I've frozen them before baking, too, and you'd never know the difference.

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