Let me start out by saying, I have never liked iced coffee. To me, the only way to drink coffee was hot. Well, it turns out that I was wrong (It happens occasionally). I made iced coffee for the first time today and I couldn't believe how good it tasted.
I used the recipe at The Pioneer Woman's site ( I get a lot of wonderful recipes from her). I made the coffee concentrate, but I didn't make a large amount. I used one of the recommended portions in the comments. I got an old butter bowl and put in 2/3 cups of coffee grounds and then added 3 cups of water straight from the tap. It doesn't have to warm or hot. The recipe says to allow it to steep for at leas 8 hours, but every time I make this concentrate, I just can't wait that long. I put the lid on it and allowed it to steep for about 4 hours.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 29, 2014
Homemade Butterfinger Bars
These homemade Butterfinger Bars from Budget101 taste just like a Butterfinger candy bar. Plus, you only need 3 ingredients to make them. The shortening is optional, so I'm not counting it.
I made these back in October when it was easy to find the candy corn. I am not sure how easy it will be to find now, but I plan on looking for it. Just thinking about this recipe makes me want some more.
The part of this recipe that I hated was melting the candy corn. It starts to harden back up as soon as you take it out of the microwave. You need to work kind of fast. If it starts to harden back up on you, just stick it back in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time.
Cleaning the melted candy corn out of the mixing bowl is a pain. I soaked it hot soapy water for a while, but you may be able to stick it in the microwave to melt a little and then try wiping it out.
I made these back in October when it was easy to find the candy corn. I am not sure how easy it will be to find now, but I plan on looking for it. Just thinking about this recipe makes me want some more.
The part of this recipe that I hated was melting the candy corn. It starts to harden back up as soon as you take it out of the microwave. You need to work kind of fast. If it starts to harden back up on you, just stick it back in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time.
Cleaning the melted candy corn out of the mixing bowl is a pain. I soaked it hot soapy water for a while, but you may be able to stick it in the microwave to melt a little and then try wiping it out.
Homemade Frappuccino
This Frappuccino recipe at The Pioneer Woman's site is unbelievably good. My daughters and I love to get a Frappe at McDonald's once in a while as a special treat. With this recipe, we never have to go any further than our kitchen to get one. Although, we like to order the caramel Frappe and this recipe didn't call for that. When we make it again, I plan on having caramel and whip cream handy.
I highly recommend using the coffee concentrate that she mentions from this page. While your there you might has well write down the recipe for her iced coffee too. We haven't tried it yet, but we plan to soon. The Frappuccino recipe needs to be mixed in a blender. If you don't have one, try the iced coffee, it looks pretty good. If you try it, let me know what you think.
I highly recommend using the coffee concentrate that she mentions from this page. While your there you might has well write down the recipe for her iced coffee too. We haven't tried it yet, but we plan to soon. The Frappuccino recipe needs to be mixed in a blender. If you don't have one, try the iced coffee, it looks pretty good. If you try it, let me know what you think.
Liquid Laundry Soap
I loved the Super Laundry Sauce that I posted about recently, but I love the liquid laundry recipe even more. With this recipe, I don't have to wait until it cools off to use it and if I don't feel like it, I don't have to blend it with the immersion blender (this step isn't used in the original recipe, but I like to make it smoother).
The recipe I used came from One Good Thing by Jillee. At this time, for some reason, her site is down so I can't link to her recipe. UPDATE: Her site is finally working
This is the way I make it:
The recipe I used came from One Good Thing by Jillee. At this time, for some reason, her site is down so I can't link to her recipe. UPDATE: Her site is finally working
This is the way I make it:
My First Attempt at Homemade Laundry Detergent
We are a family of 5 and saving money is a priority. So when I read
online that it was possible to make my own laundry detergent, I was
excited. Well, that isn't true, I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe that I
could actually make my own laundry soap. I sat at my laptop for hours
checking articles and posts until I realized that I was too afraid to
even attempt it.
The recipes all called for a 5-gallon bucket and several ingredients that I had never heard of. My first problem was, what if I made the laundry soap and it didn't work very well or not at all. What was I going to do with 5 gallons of goop? Second, I didn't want to waste the money on something that I would never use.
I know, I know. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm just not the venturing type. Trying new things actually intimidates me, but I really wanted to try this. I finally found a recipe that I was willing to try. I went out and bought all the ingredients and got started.
I followed the recipe from Budget101 called Mom's Super Laundry Sauce. When it came time to use the mason jar on the blender, I couldn't do that part. So I just cut up the solid part at the bottom of the jar and dumped it into a big pot. Then I used my immersion blender to whip it up. Here is my review of the "sauce"
The results were pretty thick, but I scooped out a spoonful of the "sauce" and added it to my load of laundry. When the load was done, I added them to the dryer. At this point, I was skeptical because I couldn't really smell anything on the clothes.
I went on with my cleaning while listening for the dryer to buzz ( It seemed like it took forever). When it finally buzzed, I ran excitedly to check it. My clothes actually smelled clean. I couldn't believe it. I was jumping for joy. Everything seemed to be as clean as it would be if I had used my usual brand.
The only difference with this laundry soap was that it didn't have a strong scent like my other detergent has. I was a little disappointed about that, but how can I complain when it works and I can save my family money.
Well, it turned out, I could complain about it.
I loved how the homemade laundry detergent made my clothes smell clean, but I didn't like what it was doing to my washing machine. I have one of those efficient machines that only use has much water as it thinks I need for that particular load. (it drives me crazy, but that is another story). Anyway, clumps of it were starting to stick to the sides of the tub of the washing machine. I would have to clean the clumps off after every load. I don't know about you, but I don't like extra work
Adding extra water to the recipe might have fixed this, but I was afraid of messing it up. I continued to use this recipe with nice results. The extra work of cleaning the tub was the price I was willing to pay to save money. I even gave some away to family and friends and they loved it.
So in conclusion, I love this Super Laundry Sauce, but I kept my eye out for more traditional looking laundry detergent (liquid) and finally found one. I will post my results soon.
The recipes all called for a 5-gallon bucket and several ingredients that I had never heard of. My first problem was, what if I made the laundry soap and it didn't work very well or not at all. What was I going to do with 5 gallons of goop? Second, I didn't want to waste the money on something that I would never use.
I know, I know. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm just not the venturing type. Trying new things actually intimidates me, but I really wanted to try this. I finally found a recipe that I was willing to try. I went out and bought all the ingredients and got started.
I followed the recipe from Budget101 called Mom's Super Laundry Sauce. When it came time to use the mason jar on the blender, I couldn't do that part. So I just cut up the solid part at the bottom of the jar and dumped it into a big pot. Then I used my immersion blender to whip it up. Here is my review of the "sauce"
The results were pretty thick, but I scooped out a spoonful of the "sauce" and added it to my load of laundry. When the load was done, I added them to the dryer. At this point, I was skeptical because I couldn't really smell anything on the clothes.
I went on with my cleaning while listening for the dryer to buzz ( It seemed like it took forever). When it finally buzzed, I ran excitedly to check it. My clothes actually smelled clean. I couldn't believe it. I was jumping for joy. Everything seemed to be as clean as it would be if I had used my usual brand.
The only difference with this laundry soap was that it didn't have a strong scent like my other detergent has. I was a little disappointed about that, but how can I complain when it works and I can save my family money.
Well, it turned out, I could complain about it.
I loved how the homemade laundry detergent made my clothes smell clean, but I didn't like what it was doing to my washing machine. I have one of those efficient machines that only use has much water as it thinks I need for that particular load. (it drives me crazy, but that is another story). Anyway, clumps of it were starting to stick to the sides of the tub of the washing machine. I would have to clean the clumps off after every load. I don't know about you, but I don't like extra work
Adding extra water to the recipe might have fixed this, but I was afraid of messing it up. I continued to use this recipe with nice results. The extra work of cleaning the tub was the price I was willing to pay to save money. I even gave some away to family and friends and they loved it.
So in conclusion, I love this Super Laundry Sauce, but I kept my eye out for more traditional looking laundry detergent (liquid) and finally found one. I will post my results soon.
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