Laundry Detergent

You may think this is a little over the top... BUT keep reading and let me tell you about my first experience making my very own laundry soap.  I am going to keep this post simple.

Pros:

• Ingredients are very easy to find.
• There are only 3 ingredients.
• It cost less than $5 to buy everything to make a batch of soap.
• It is okay to use in high efficiency machines.
• Takes about five minutes to make.
• Washes strong odors like 2 days worth of campfire smoke completely away in the first wash.
• There is not really a smell to your clothes once dried.
• IF you want your clothes to have a nice fragrance you can add some essential oils to your soap.
• IT COST A PENNY OR LESS FOR EACH LOAD!!!!!!!!!

Cons:

• ?
• ?
• :-}
• ?
• ?
• I really can't think of any... If I ever do I will be sure to let you know.

I have to tell you, I am not a person that can use just any detergent for my laundry.  I have two man cubs that know how to soil their clothes pretty thoroughly and one man that is an expert at dirt, grease, blood... you name it he's had it on his jeans.
This stuff works!!!  It really does get our clothes clean.

While searching for a recipe I read hundreds of recipes that were pretty much the same but with slight variations.  This is the one I decided would be best for me.

It is a powder.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (1 bar) Fels Naptha Soap, finely grated
• 1 cup Washing Soda
• 1 cup Borax

■Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.


■Use 2-3 tablespoons per full load.
 
 
Look at Tipnut for very helpful sight if you would rather try liquid soap.  The only reason I did powder is for storage reasons.
 
Please leave me your input or questions....
 
THANKS!!!

Shepherd's Pie

This Shepherd's Pie is very normal... I just searched through other recipes for Shepherd's Pie and all of them that I saw was... I'm not gonna lie... a bit weird.  This is a recipe my mother in law has made for years and years and I have never heard anyone complain about anything she has ever made.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 cups mashed potatoes (about 10-12 medium sized potatoes) skinned or not its up to you
• 1 lbs ground beef
• onion (optional)
• about 3 cups frozen green beans
• about 2 cups frozen corn
• 2 cans tomato sauce or soup (I like the sauce)
• 2 cups grated cheese (I always keep Colby Jack cheese in my house so that's what I use)

Here are my mashed potatoes...  kinda a wierd picture, sorry, but that is my masher if you were wondering.

Now brown the ground beef in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  If you are choosing to use onions, chop them and put them in with the hamburger to cook while browning.  At this point I also like to season the burger with salt, pepper, & garlic powder.

In a medium sized pot fill it with hot water about 1/2 full. Bring to boil.  Once boiling add beans & corn, cover, and bring to boil again stirring a few times.  Once the water begins to boil let cook for about 1 minute and remove from heat. Drain. And cover again to keep warm.

In a dutch oven or a 9x13 baking dish you will add all the ingredients in layers in this order...
First the ground beef then the green beans and corn.  Now you will pour the tomato over the mixture.

 Now spoon the mashed taters on top of that.  The first time I made this I spread them over the top but quickly learned that you DO NOT SPREAD the taters... the correct way would be to spoon globs of taters over the top of the beans and corn.  There is no scientific 'nor logical reason to spoon globs instead spread.  But if you ask my husband life would never be the same, it would knock the earth off it's axis.

Now just sprinkle the cheese over the potatoes and bake for about 15 (if all the ingredients were still good and hot) and until the cheese is ooy gooy and looks delicious...

Serve and be very cautious this stuff is HOT!

This is what I have been doing lately... Yep I've been sewing.

And, I've really been enjoying it.  These back packs are so mch fun to make but even funner to see the kids wearing.  I customize each of them and they are all diferent.

I'm enjoying it so much I have decided to create my own Etsy Shop

Please check it out and let me know what you think and if you have a birthday, special event, or just want to give someone you love a sturdy, flashy, unique gift that they will l-o-v-e let me know and we can create one heck of an amazing looking back pack for a special person.

***Free shipping for one week only... you must LIKE my Facebook page.  The coupon code will be posted on my wall.

Moms

I hope all of you moms out there have amazing days filled with love and appreciation for all that you do. For always putting your family first and for all the never ending work you do daily.
I am so blessed with my family! They couldn't be any more fun! I love my husband and three kids, what a blessing they are.

It's May!

It's May and it even feels like spring!!!  Yeah!!! Shout Horray, HIP HIP HORRAY... okay I'm just a little excited.
Today is a good day :-)  Why, you ask?

1. My little man is freakin' cute with his chaps on!
2. We had a very good weekend!  Despite a late night (okay early morning) trip to the ER to get Jed's forehead stitched up after he walked into a flying beer bottle being thrown across the room by a very angry person in the middle of a bar fight. (We had just walked into the room and bam!)
3. I'm looking at a beautiful blue sky!
4. I caught my 4 year old niece peeing in my front flower bed.  When I asked her what the heck she was doin' she said, "Steele pee's outside".  And yes he deffinetly does... all of the time!  He has his own little pee spots. And no, I do not care one bit.  But I told her that maybe she should come inside to pee since she is a girl.
5. While Steele was a preschool we went to Walmart for some ingridients to make my own laundry detergent.  I've done some research on recipes and I finally just decided on one and we will see how it goes (I've been super excited to try it)... If I like it, it will only cost ONE PENNY per load!  Amazing!  It was way fast to make too.  I'll let you know what I think.
6. While in the laundry isle I saw startch.  Jed has been throwing out some pretty obvious hints like, "I wish my Wranglers looked crisp like that with the lines going up the legs" and "I would love it if you startched my jeans"  so I bought some and am in the process right this second of startching his sexy Wranglers ;-)
7. I am going to make this for dinner.  It should be great!
8. I get to go get Kylie from school in one hour!
9. Jed started his new job today!  Due to his outstanding work ethic and brilliant mind he is now the Infrastructure Superintendent for Hunt Electric.  Just gotta tell ya'll he is SO good at what he does!  He's been very excited since he was offered this job and gave his two week notice.
10. May means that this is the last month of school!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I love when the kids are out of school!

Here is a few pics of the Chicken Tacos I am making tonight... I am borrowing this recipe and picture from The Pioneer Woman 

PW's Brother's Chicken Tacos

Hope you liked my list...

And I hope you all have an amazing Monday too!



Cheerio Chocolate Maddness

If you like Rice Krispies Treats and you like Cheerios and you have leftover Easter chocolate candy you will like no love this here treat... and it's so quick and simple to make.

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..................................................... I know you're drooling now.............


You will need:
6 tablespoons butter
2 (10.5 oz) packages mini marshmallows
12 cups Cheerios
Remaining chocolate Easter candy
*Optional Milk Chocolate Chips


First of all gather up the kids' Easter treats.  If they haven't eaten them yet, they got entirely too much candy during the Easter egg hunt and they must have a grandmother like my wonderful mother in law.  No joke my kiddos had GALLON buckets FULL to the brim of candy and there were ten kids doing the hunt that got the same amount...
So anyway, steal no borrow all or some of the chocolate treats...  Oooo now that I am looking at this picture all those Sixlets would have been great to use.

 We had lots of Reese's Eggs and Mini Milky Ways.  If you have Reese's eggs cut them up into bite sized pieces. 

Now in a large pot on low heat let the butter melt and add the mallows.  Be sure to stir often and don't leave the room if you burn these mallows it will be gross.  Once the marshmallows are melted and mixed well with the butter remove from heat and stir in the Cheerios. 



 Doncha just wanna eat these right now?  This looks sooooo good.

Now that the mixture has cooled some and wont burn you if you were to touch it --not that you should touch it or anything, it's completely up to you.  I don't want to see any comments blaming me for a burn! -- Gently stir in the chocolate candy.

Yes, it will more than likely still melt a bit but it will be okay ;-)

Spread it out into a greased baking sheet.  For a thicker treat press into a 9x13 for a thinner treat use a larger rectangle baking sheet.  And now if your feeling the need for a bit more chocolate to the madness sprinkle some chocolate chips on top and softly press them down.

Family Sized Baked Burrito

Oh how I love this...

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/2 lime, juiced

3/4 cup salsa, thick & chunky

1 clove garlic, pressed
1 1/2 cups Colby Jack cheese, shredded & divided
4 burrito-sized flour tortillas (11-11 1/2 inches)
3/4 can refried beans
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Optional: Lettuce, Avacodo, salsa, Sour Cream...

Preheat oven to 425. In medium sized microwaveable bowl mix chicken, onion, lime juice, salsa & garlic together.

 Microwave this mixture for about 3 minutes.
Start heating the beans in a small sauce pan.

Arrange tortillas like a plus sign. Starting with the left one, work in a clockwise fashion.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I hope this picture help you.  Be sure to over lap them!

Take your chicken mixture out of the microwave and mix in about a 1/2 cup cheese.

Spread your hot beans over the tortillas in a square shape. Then your chicken mixture over that.

Now close up your burrito starting with the first on the left and work clockwise as well.

 *** Be sure your wee little one is helping!  It makes it taste that much better.



Top it with your sliced tomatoes and the rest of the cheese.

Place it in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges of the tortilla starts to brown and the cheese is melted.

Cut with a pizza cutter and serve.