3 bars Fels Naptha Soap
washing soda
baking soda
borax
purex beads

Cut the bars into chunks and put into a food processor

This is what it looks like up close 🙂

Add the washing soda, baking soda and borax

Mix together

Add the beads and mix. Isn’t it pretty!

You can actually use the oxiclean scoop. This is plenty of detergent to use! This batch makes almost a year of detergent!

You can also use the bead cup which is double the amount of the oxyclean scoop

1 cup Borax
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup pickling salt
Leme Shine

Measure out a cup of borax into a mixing bowl

Add the washing soda

Add the pickling salt and Leme Shine

Mix

You can use anything  but I keep mine in a mason jar

You only need a tablespoon of this mixture to clean your dishes!

1 bar ivory soap
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda

Put ivory soap in the microwave 90 seconds. This is what it looks like after the microwave!

Put in food processor and add washing soda

add borax

Blend together. This is the final product and is amazing on dedicates! Much cheaper than ivory snow at the grocery store!!!

8 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups wheat germ
1 1/2 cups oat bran
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup finely chopped almonds
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups raisins or sweetened dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F and Line two large baking sheets with parchment

In a large bowl combine the oats

Add wheat germ and oat bran

Add sunflower seeds

chop walnuts

Add almonds and pecans

Measure out maple syrup, honey and add to a saucepan

In the honey mix add the salt, brown sugar, oil, and cinnamon in a saucepan

Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the vanilla and pour the mix over the dry ingredients and stir to coat

Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted, about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through

Cool then stir in the raisins or cranberries before storing in an airtight container

Serve and enjoy!

Watch the video on how to make it here
https://vimeo.com/68877742

This is one of my recipes for pizza dough and is excellent. You can make it thin or thick

1 1/3 cup Water
2 teaspoon Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Cornmeal
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder

Measure out 1 1/3 cup water

Add yeast to the water

Add sugar to the water and yeast mixture and stir

Into a mixing bowl add salt

Add olive oil

Add cornmeal

Add the flour

Add garlic and onion powder

Add the yeast mixture and follow your manufacturer recommendation for making a dough (#2 Kitchenaid)

Knead approx 4 minutes in the kitchenaid or 10 -15 minutes by hand until you have a stretchy dough

The dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl

Put the dough into a greased bowl

Cover and let sit until it has doubled in volume

Roll it out, put some cornmeal onto a pizza pan and place the dough on the pan

Add your sauce. A terrific recipe is here

Add your toppings

Add more toppings

Bake at 450°F for 15 to 20 minutes

This is a really good sauce!

1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf

Open a 15 oz can tomato sauce and empty it into a medium saucepan along with 1/4 cup water

Add 1 teaspoon sugar

Add 1/4 teaspoon oregano

Add 1/4 teaspoon basil

Add 1/4 teaspoon thyme

Add 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, salt, pepper and a bay leaf. Simmer for 20 minutes

The recipe will cover 2 large pizzas. Enjoy!

Did you know you can make your own ramen? Ramen begins with Chinese style wheat noodles and stock or base. You can add chicken or pork, seaweed, green onions or corn.

Noodles 4 oz – 8 oz
Stock (Chicken, Beef or Pork) 2 cups – 4 cups
Base (Chicken, Beef or Pork)
1 tsp sesame oil
garlic powder
chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Soy sauce for color and to taste

Optional Ingredients
*Chicken (cooked)
*Pork (cooked)
*Beef (cooked or raw)
*Boiled eggs
*Bean sprouts (raw)
*Green Onions (cooked or raw)
*Chili pepper
*Sesame seeds
*Minced or crushed garlic (cooked or raw)

You can find noodles in any asian store. There are many bands to choose from!

You want one serving (4 oz)

If you are hungry double the noodles (8 oz)

Cook the noodles in stock 3-4 minutes

Add seasonings, oil, soy sauce and base

I love to eat my noodles in a big white bowl

Some like to drain them instead of eating like a soup. You can also add meat and vegetables to make it more healthy or leave plain.

I like to eat mine as a soup.

Enjoy!

I love fresh cranberry sauce. I do not know why anyone would buy it when it is so easy to make.

1 cup water or orange juice
1 cup sugar
1 12 ounce package fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 tsp grated orange rind (optional)

You want to use a fresh bag of fresh cranberries

Aren’t they pretty? Add them to a medium saucepan

Add 1 cup of water or juice. Adding juice will give it more calories and make it sweeter. You can use orange, pineapple or any juice you normally drink. I am using water hee so I can clearly taste the cinnamon

Add 1 cup of sugar

Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and cook or 10 minutes or until the berries have broken open stirring on occasion. I really like the flavor that it gives so I use it most of the time.

Pour into a bowl and refrigerate until serving

Yes you can make your own filling from scratch!

Sugar Pumpkin

Select one sugar pumpkin per pie (these are small pumpkins). Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C)

Remove stem and cut the pumpkin in half from the stem to base

Remove seeds and pulp

Save the seeds to roast. Here is the link to how to roast seeds

Place cut side down on a cookie sheet

Bake in the preheated oven 1 – 1 1/2 hours or until tender. This is what they will look like

Scrape pumpkin meat from shell halves

Did you know you can make pumpkin soup and serve it in the shells?

Puree in a food processor and use right away or store in the freezer

In case you wanted to know my 2 little pumpkins gave me 4 1/2 cups of puree

Preparing delicious Vietnamese coffee is quick and easy! It is stronger than American coffee, weaker than espresso and just perfect. You do need a special gadget called a phin filter which is made of stainless steel and has four parts (filter, plate, screw-on or push damper and lid). You can find it online or in any asian grocery store.

Ca Phe Sua Nong – Hot Coffee
Ca Phe Sua Da – Iced Coffee

2-3 teaspoons Coarse Ground Coffee (use a strong roast suitable for espresso)
3 heaping teaspoons Sweetened Condensed Milk
Hot Water (almost to a boil)
Vietnamese Coffee Filter – Phin Filter
Small bowl to use as a bain marie

Put water into your kettle and let it come to a boil. Take off the heat while you get everything ready. You want the temp to go to 180-190 for best flavor

Put a glass into a small bowl

This is the best brand of sweetened condensed milk to use for this coffee

Spoon the sweetened condensed milk into a glass

This is what it looks like if you are just pouring it instead of measuring it out with a spoon

Put the plate on the glass

This is the recommended band of coffee

Spoon the coffee in the filter

Tap it to make the grounds level

Next grab the damper. This one is a screw on type

Screw the screen back on until it stops which will compact the grounds

Unscrew 2 rotations

Place filter on the glass with the milk and pour boiling water into the bowl to heat the milk and glass

Pour just enough hot water to cover the grounds

This is about how much water to add and then you are going to let it sit for about 20 seconds

This is what it looks like after 20 seconds. The grounds have absorbed the water and are now ready to brew a perfect cup of coffee

Pour hot water to the top of the filter

Put the cover on to hold in the heat and let sit until water has gone all the way through filter

The brewing process should take about 4 minutes

Remove the lid

Take the filter and put onto the lid to catch any drips

Serve it just like this… isn’t it pretty

To drink just stir the condensed milk into the coffee and enjoy Ca Phe Sua Nong – Hot Coffee!

To have iced coffee grab a glass of ice

Pour the hot coffee over the ice

Enjoy – Ca Phe Sua Da – Iced Coffee!

Especially enjoyable while reading a terrific book! This one was written by my friend Larry Flaxman. You can find out more about him at this link http://paraexplorers.com/index.php?page=home

To clean the filter dump the grounds, rinse and dry