Happy Easter

I pray that all will have a Blessed Happy Easter.

Making Liquid Laundry Detergent

***NEW UPDATE/REVIEW***
 Click HERE to read
 I do not find the detergent to meet my needs.



Imagine this as two buckets of soft set jello ~ kinda icky and when stirring kinda slimy but hey if it works not hard at all to make 

This is by far the most cost saving method of making your own laundry detergent.  It makes so much more for the ingredients. I have to confess that I had read about this and heard it was sort of messy and it is. The gel is a little gross and the thought of having to shake before each use a little annoying but this is my first try at this concoction.  I doubled the recipe and just filled up 4 huge vinegar bottles leaving enough room to shake. 

 I will review the product at a later date.

Basic Recipe

1/3 bar Fels-Naptha soap, grated

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup borax

** Amount of ingredients may be adjusted depending on your own preference.  For example, some people prefer to use 1/2 bar of Fels-Naptha instead of 1/3 bar, etc.

Instructions:

1.  On your stove top, place grated soap in a large pan with 6 cups of water and heat until the soap melts.

2.  Add washing soda and borax and stir until dissolved.  Remove from heat.

3.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the 4-gallon bucket.  Add soap mixture and stir well, then add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir again until mixed well.

4.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours; it will congeal into a gel.

5.  Stir the soap before each use.  Use 1/2 cup per load (a little more or a little less depending upon how soiled your laundry is).

Makes 1 batch-approx. 2 gallons (64 loads) Recipe may be doubled.

Please note:  This is a low-sudsing soap, so you will not see bubbles or suds in the water.  The suds aren't what do the cleaning ~ it's the ingredients!

Scented Soap:  You may scent your laundry soap if desired;  use 1/2-1 oz. essential oil or fragrance oil.  DO NOT use soap scents as they will ruin your batch.

CLICK HERE TO GET BACK TO HIBISCUS HOUSE

Dolly 

Laundry Detergent for Sensitive Skin & Baby

 

 He can't decide if he wants to wear his shoes or not.

Do you have one of these in your home?

Do you have family members that have very sensitive skin or extreme allergies?

We do so I decided to try something a little different. 

The following Sensitive Skin Laundry Detergent Recipe is a trial to see how well it will work.

When the children were little the pediatrician told me to use white Dial Soap, only white.

 To this day it is the only soap that some of us can even bathe with.

Yes I miss the bubble baths ...

 INGREDIENTS

Your choice of

BAR SOAP: Dial White, Kirk's Castile or Ivory

You need the following

ARM & HAMMER SUPER WASHING SODA,  20 MULE TEAM BORAX,

ARM & HAMMER BAKING SODA

(optional ~ great for softening hard water)

 I recommend that you buy a huge bag of baking soda & plenty of white vinegar
for cleaning around the house.  There are so many uses for the two of these items.

YOU HAVE TO GRATE THE SOAP

I am lucky enough to own a wonderful grater attachment for my KitchenAid Mixer and it works great!  You can certainly use a hand grater it will work just as well.  I happen to always be in a hurry and a little on the lazy side, so I choose convenience.

You can stop here if you like your soap pieces large.

 I have seen others do this.  I choose to take another step to chop mine finely.

This makes it easier to use cold water and works better also with warm.

 Laundry Detergent for Sensitive Skin

1 Bar Dial, Castile or Ivory Soap (approx. 2 cups)

1 Cup Borax

1 Cup Washing Soda

1/4 Cup Baking Soda

Grate your soap

chop your soap in processor with the borax, washing soda and  baking soda

that is all you have to do

store in airtight closed container and label

 Use 2 tablespoons for a large load

**Can be used in regular laundry but increase amount used to 1/4 cup**

Use your own discretion with smaller loads

 this detergent is gentle enough for baby laundry and color free.

**My Notes**

 

I have an old Black & Decker Food Processor..I say old but it isn't very old just not

very good at preparing food.  It works great at chopping soap, so glad I didn't trash it.

 (I have a KitchenAid Architect Food Processor I now use for food prep. 

I can tell you it is well worth the sale price of $149.00 that it cost.)

This Recipe can be doubled, tripled, you decide how much you want to make

For trial purposes I doubled to share with daughter. 

 I recommend that you buy a huge bag of baking soda & plenty of white vinegar
for cleaning around the house.  There are so many uses for the two of these items.

You can use the Ivory for the baby detergent also but I would try the Dial or Castile for Sensitive Skin Detergent

I know the Castile Soap cleans good for gentle, and baby laundry.  The Dial works well too.

 I strongly suggest that you wear a mask.  The dust from these powders and soaps will hurt your sinuses, and I don't imagine safe either.

 

***UPDATE: THIS CLEANS VERY WELL AND I LOVE HOW IT SMELLS.***

For the Heavy Duty Plus Laundry Detergents click HERE

Regular Laundry Detergent click HERE

Have a great week

Dolly  

Homemade Heavy Duty Plus Laundry Detergents

What you will need depending on the recipe you choose:

 

You don't need a large variety of products to make your detergent.  If you keep 20 Mule Team Borax, Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, the soaps of your choice, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and you are set to make detergent at any given moment.  You will never have to run out without a way to make more and it lasts so long.  You only need 2 to 3 tablespoons per load or 2 tablespoons per HE washer load. Use less for smaller loads.  You save so much money and just think you have made it yourself!  I do advise you to wear a mask because these powders can do a number on your sinuses and you probably don't want to breathe it all in anyway.  These are still safer than the chemical added detergents on the shelf.  The Borax and

The Super Washing Soda 

The brands of soaps have been used for many, many years. 

So be adventurous make your own

 Recipe One

3 Cups Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

3 Cups 20 Mule Team Borax

2 bars Octagon Soap
1 bar Castile Soap

3/4 cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (optional for hard water)

Grater

Food processor

container with lid

label for container

A Mask

Instructions:

Grate the soaps

Add the soaps and dry ingredients into the processor a little at a time if you have to

chop finely and mix thoroughly

This is a very good detergent but

If you want extra cleaning power 
add 1 cup Oxi Clean 

**Be sure to label it with fabric safe bleach**

because you might not want that added bleaching in every load.

I made this recipe some with the Oxi Clean and some without both did really well! I was impressed, and the girls liked the smell.  They don't like the smell of the Fels Naptha.

It cleans much better than the recipe I had posted earlier in The First Homemade Laundry Detergent HERE which is a fair all around regular detergent.

Recipe Two

3 Cups Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

3 Cups 20 Mule Team Borax

1/2 bar of - 14 oz. Bar Zote Soap

1 bar Octagon Soap 

1 bar Fels Naptha Soap

3/4 cup Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (optional for hard water)
( If you want a fabric safe bleach)

Add 1 cup Oxi Clean 

Be sure to label it with fabric safe bleach
**Note I do not recommend using this detergent always in warm water with your darks.  If you are going to wash your darks with this added Oxi Clean then I suggest you use cold water to prevent fading of your darks.**

Make detergent according to instructions above in first recipe

I have also made this before with the Oxi Clean and a batch without.  They work really well!

Again you may add the Oxi Clean for added bleaching power but be sure to label!

I personally wouldn't use the added Oxi Clean to all of my laundry it is great with whites though!

Apple Pie With Homemade Canned Apples

\

I canned some wonderful apples last year.  My old home place has some pretty delicious Granny Smith Apples..Randy planted those trees and they are just loaded every year.

 click HERE for canning apples

I know you can make apple pie filling in the jar but I didn't have all of the ingredients at the time...so use what you have and carry on...sometimes the best things are spur of the moment thrown together recipes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Ingredients

I used 2 pint jars of canned apples

drained the liquid into a small pot

1 - 2 tablespoons of flour to thicken use according to how much liquid you have and how thick you want your syrup to be.

added 1/4 cup sugar (I used the light syrup when canning so for pie needed just a touch more sugar) You taste yours to see how much if any you will need.

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

dash of salt

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

I used Pillsbury Pie Crusts

cook syrup to thicken

I poured mine onto the apples in the crust...

 I put a few little pieces of butter on top of filling

then placed top crust on.

Bake 30 to 45 minutes because the apples are already tender from canning.  After 15 to 20 minutes cover the edge of crust with aluminum foil or a pie shield.

Cool a couple of hours or so for easier cutting and serving, now if you want ice cream on top and want it to melt; cut it sooner...

 

Have a nice week!

Dolly

Cornish Game Hens

(I don't know what I would do without my Sur la Table baking mat, because I can't use foil in my Electrolux Oven ~ bummer)

Years ago I worked at Union Carbide with quite a good cook.  Eleanor was her name and wow, she could cook.  She told me of a recipe for Cornish Game Hens and for the life of me I can't find it or remember it.  I went to The Food Network today and found this recipe which is very tasty. I did cook mine on a raised rack though and they are delicious.  You could feed 6 people with these 3 birds, or 3 hungry men I suppose.

I made Uncle Ben's Long grained and Wild Rice, mustard greens and creamed corn I froze last year.


The Neelys
They also have a really cute video while you are there that shows them cooking them.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon-pepper
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 Cornish game hens, about 1 1/2 pounds each, rinsed and dried thoroughly
1 green bell pepper, large dice
2 stalks celery, large dice
1 onion, large dice

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together salt, lemon pepper, dried basil and poultry seasoning. Rub olive oil all over the hens and season each with the salt mixture. Place the hens on a baking sheet pan with plenty of space between them. You may need to use 2 pans. Loosely stuff the cavities of each hen with some green bell pepper, celery and onion. Roast the hens in the preheated oven for about 1 hour or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 165 degrees F and the juices run clear. Remove the hens from the oven, loosely tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes before carving or serving.

TIPS: Line the baking sheet pan with foil under the wire rack for an easy clean-up. The veggies and herbs stuffed in the cavities of the hens will impart flavor to the meat as it cooks. Be sure not to crowd the hens on the baking sheets or else the skin won't crisp up properly and they will take much longer to cook. 

Sharing with The Country Homemaker Hop #59 over at Heidi's My Simple Country Living

Peanut Butter Cookies Easy Flourless

If you love peanut butter you will love these cookies

Warning:  These are not sugar or fat free!

RECIPE

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Preheat oven 350 degrees

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

***note 12 3 2024  the peanut butter is different now so add 2 - 3 tablespoons of milk to batter if dry***

Instructions

Mix all of the above

use cookie scoop or teaspoon

drop onto cookie sheet

use a fork dipped in sugar

press cookie horizontally

then press vertically

Bake 10 to 12 minutes 

Cool 2 to 3 minutes then carefully lift off of cookie sheet and put onto a cooling rack.

makes about a dozen

It is very easy to double this recipe

These are delicious and can be wrapped thoroughly and frozen 

Take out of freezer only the amount you need and they will taste as good as the day you made them.

Enjoy

Dolly

Now

Link HERE for my Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

Happy 100th Farmgirl Friday Birthday Giveaway Bash

Ready? 1... 2... 3... Happy 100TH birthday to us, happy 100TH birthday to us, happy 100TH birthday dear Farmgirl Friday participants and hostesses tooooooooooo, happy birthday to US!!!   Welcome friends to the 100th Farmgirl Friday GIVEAWAY Birthday Bash!

The Country Homemaker Hop #58

Welcome to the 58th Homemaker Hop

Main Hostess Heidi Gonzales from My Simple Country Living and

White Wolf Summit Farmgirl Blogs

Has been allowing me to share in these country homemaker hops for many weeks now and it has been such a pleasure to do so.

She has this saying at the top of her posts and I couldn't agree with it more!

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ”
― C.S. Lewis

Share with us today what you are doing to make your house a home!

The Country Homemaker Hop #57

 

Welcome to the Country Homemaker Hop!

Heidi of My Simple Country Living's Weekly blog Hop Party~

Please link up with us and let us know what has been happening around your home this week!  Spring is in the air and I hear birds chirping flowers popping up through the ground, little spots of green...beautiful time of year.

If you have a creative streak after you link up here please go on by 

dolly's designs The Creative Blog Hop

 

 to share this creative side! It will be a pleasure to have you there too!

Have a great week!

Dolly