Made it myself chili and taco seasoning!

Ole! If you're anything like me, I'll get in the middle of cooking a dish and realize, "Uh...I don't have____!!!" One of those things that I run out of a lot is chili and taco seasoning. I honestly think my husband would eat Mexican or Tex-Mex food everyday of his life. This is a life saver! Here's what you do!
You'll need:

Yield: about 2/3 cup

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons of chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons sea salt
4 teaspoons black pepper

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, oregano, paprika, ground cumin, sea salt, and black pepper. Store in an air tight container at room temperature.

Notes:

- Stored in an airtight container, this spice blend will keep for up to a year.
- When making chili or tacos using one pound of ground beef, start with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the seasoning blend and adjust according to your tastes.

Hope you and your family enjoy! Remember to be a positive difference in someone's life today and that God loves you.
Tiff

Homemade Taco and Chili Seasoning

Day 3- Semi-Homemade Hand soap

I know, I'm behind...but in my defense, not a lot...if any...people are reading this and my life the past week has been nuts. No excuses, I'm blessed beyond belief and I serve a Savior that died for me and endured way worse than anything I'll ever have to go through and He did it with love and kindness til His last breath.SO! Today's post is semi-homemade hand soap. It sounds hard, but it's really not and it's fun to make. This will be yet another of my family's presents for Christmas. Here's what you'll do.
You'll need:
Cheese grater---remember the one you just bought from the Dollar store, use it again!
2 Tablespoons of Liquid Glycerin (found in the band aid section at any drugstore or grocery store)
1 - 8 oz bar of soap---I used Yardley's French lavender and it works ok, next time I might try Mrs. Myers or Caress
1 gallon of water---save the jug, you'll use it later.---
Steps:
Grate the entire bar of soap
Fill a pot with the entire gallon of water and add your soap shavings.
Add 2 Tablespoons of the glycerin and on med/high heat stir until the soap dissolves.--once it's dissolved it'll look like soapy water, go figure!---
Turn off heat and leave in pot to cool for 10-12 hours.---I did it at 8 pm and when I got up the next day it was ready. It'll cloud up after about 4-5 hours.
If it's harder than it should be after 10-12 hours, add just a BIT of water and beat it w/ beaters until it's the right consistency.
Get a funnel and pour the soap into your gallon jug from the water you used and taa-daa! You have soap on hand for the next time you're out! Hooray!

Make a positive difference in someone's life today and God loves you.
Tiff

Day 2---Semi-Homemade Fabric Softener

Ok, today I'm having to post from my phone bc it's Saturday and that means I'm home! Actually Saturday mornings are my favorite bc my sweet hubby takes my sweet and perfect but completely 2 year old son to feed the cows and to see his "Gammy" about 25 miles away. Usually I get a little "me time" and time to clean up a bit. Until they get home and it gets destroyed again...sigh...
This morning I've made my 2nd batch of fabric softener. I'm kind of a fabric softener junkie, I LOVE IT! So having a recipe that's cheaper than commercial brands is awesome for us. Here's the recipe:
6 cups of HOT water. (I recommend putting it on the stove and get it almost boiling bc your conditioner is going to have to dissolve)
2 cups of conditioner. (I use Suave bc it's cheap and good and smells nice, choose any kind or smell you like. I've used Coconut and waterfall and loved them.)
3 cups of white vinegar.

Add your 2 C of conditioner to your hot water and stir until dissolved.
Next add the vinegar and stir until combined.
I was a little hesitant about the vinegar, who wants to smell like a pickle, really? But the vinegar smell washes away so you won't smell it. It's actually what's going to get your whites brighter and all of your clothes cleaner.

Add the liquid to an old fabric softener bottle and use 2 tablespoons (or more if needed) and there you have it!

I hope this helps your bottom line a little!

Make a positive difference in someone's life today and God loves you!
Tiff

Day 1---December 1, 2011

So, I'm sure most of, if not all of you have heard about or are on Pinterest. It's pretty much the most amazing thing since Facebook really. I could spend hours on there just browsing through ideas of stuff to do. With Christmas fast upon us, and if you're anything like me your list of people to buy for far exceeds your monetary ability, I thought why not get some ideas out there for people to see?! My BFF (inside joke that will NEVER get old ;) ) Kristin is a Pinterest doubter...well I guess skeptic is a better term. She's not skeptical of the site necessarily, but skeptical of her ability to stay off of it and raise her children or be productive in any other capacity. ;) That being said, I called her about a week ago and said, "Hey! I think I'm going to do a Pinterest blog. What do you think?" And so here ya go!
For day 1 of 365, I'm going to show you what go me hooked on Pinterest. My friends Sarah and Dayla had been telling me to get on Pinterest for a while. I just didn't see the point...until I was browsing and saw this! SEMI-HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP! Not only will this save me and my hubby money, it's gentle on mine and my son's sensitive skin, smells great, and lasts FOR.EVER. (insert that kid from the Sandlot here saying, "FOREVERRR! FOREVERRR!") Here's what you'll do.
Here's the products you'll need:

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) found in the detergent isle

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) found in the cooking isle

1  box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) found in the detergent isle

3 bars of Fels-naptha soap, found in the detergent isle

2 small containers of oxyclean or store brand oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) found in the detergent isle.

1 large bin with a lid. (I bought the Walmart brand of a Rubbermaid bin just b/c it's cheaper. It needs to be fairly large, you're going to put quite a bit of powder in it. I've got a picture of mine at the end of the how-to)

 

It's good smelling and to let you in on a little secret, if my house is smelling a little musty from being shut up all day, I'll open the box and leave the lid off for a little bit. It smells good! Ok, keep reading...

 

Pour all the powdered ingredients into your bin. Be sure to do it at a relatively slow pace, the powder can (and will!) make you sneeze if you go too fast!

After you've gotten all the powders in, give it a little mix with your hand just to settle it in.

Now for the fun (and a bit of a work out!)

***NOTE***

I'm a little bit OCD (or CDO...hehe that's in alphabetical order...) and didn't want my next batch of chili w/ shredded cheese to have a nice Fels-Naptha tint to it, so I went to the Dollar Tree and bought a cheese grater for, you guessed it, a dollar. (Dollar Tree is your friend, people! LOVE IT! USE IT!) 

OK! Grate all 3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap into the bin. Your arm is going to get tired and you're gonna go, "Why am I doing this?" but trust me, it's worth it! It should look like shredded cheese when you're finished. 

After you've got all 3 bars grated into your powdery bin use your hand to stir and then you're finished! I used the scoop from one of the Oxyclean jars and I use 2 scoops of it just b/c I have hard well water. If you don't have hard water you can probably use 1 scoop. It's good for regular and High Efficiency washers b/c it doesn't sud very much. If you're using an HE washer add it to the tub, not in the dispenser.

Here's a picture of what mine looks like:

 

I also made semi-homemade fabric softener, which will be my next post so you won't have to wait long!

***BONUS FEATURE***

I went to the Dollar Tree and got some cute glass jars w/ the lids that clamp down on the side and guess what Momma, both sisters and sister-in-law, Aunts, and Grandma are getting for Christmas! Yup, homemade laundry soap and probably semi-homemade hand soap...2 posts away, so stay tuned!

Ok, so I hope you like this first blog and the upcoming 364 more!

 

Remember to be a positive difference in someones life today and that God loves you.

Tiff