When Your Piggy Bank Don't Jingle (4 of 10)

#4: MAKE YOUR OWN LAUNDRY DETERGENT!!!

I was a little skeptical at first and rolled my eyes a bit at the idea of making laundry detergent after growing up a hardcore Tide user.  Since being in a position where I need to cut corners wherever I can with money, this caught my attention.

What do you save???

Tide - right at 20 cents per load

Homemade - between 1 & 2 cents per load

In general, what I've read shows that you'll pay around 1/10 of the cost over a year.

Does it work???

So far I've been pleased.  I've read several blogs and articles about it and you can see actual picture comparisons of people who compared Tide with the Homemade stuff.  They turn out very similar.

Need Proof???  Do this Google search "Make My Own Laundry Detergent".  I'll let you pick which link to click...there's over 1.7 million of them.  You'll see slight variations of ingredients or steps to making, but this is one of the many and what I have been using for a couple years now.

Below are a few pictures from the last batch I made.  You'll find others if you do the Google search.  Good luck!!!

Laundry Detergent

Makes: 3-4 gallons.

Time: 15-20 minutes.

INGREDIENTS/MATERIALS:

Bucket (5gal size)

Water

2/3 Bar - Fels Naptha Soap (grated - use cheese grater)

1 c. Washing Soda (Arm&Hammer)

1 c. Borax Powder

OPTIONAL – 30 drops lavender essential oil OR 20 drops tea tree oil (for scent)

DIRECTIONS (Lots of steps, but it's EASY & fast):

1.    In large stock pot, heat 3 quarts water.

2.    In a second (medium-sized) pot, begin heating 2 quarts water.

3.    Into large stock pot, stir in 2/3 bar grated soap until dissolved. 

4.    Into large stock pot, stir in Washing Soda and Borax.

5.    Stir often until mixed well.

6.    Remove from heat.

7.    Pour 2 quarts hot water into bucket from second pot.

8.    Add soap mixture from stock pot into bucket.  Stir well.

9.    Add 6½ quarts hot water to bucket.  Stir well.

10.  IF using essential oils, add these now.

11.  Set aside for 24 hours to cool and thicken to a jelly-like consistency.

HOW TO USE:

Use ½ cup of detergent per full load when washing.

TIPS:

- You don't need to boil the water, just "heat" it.

- Look for the ingredients at WalMart and grocery stores.

- Grate 2 bars of Fels Naptha at a time and store the left over in baggies marked "2/3 bar Fels Naptha" to save time and clean-up down the road.

Ingredients (minus the fragrance - I don't use it)

What you'll get when you're done.  Good luck!!!



RECIPE: NO WAY Rachel Ray!!!

My wife just made a Rachel Ray smoothie: "Super Strawberry Smoothie".  Hands down the recipe we usually use wins the taste test EVERY time.  Sorry Rachel.....you're show is cool, but this smoothie has GOT to go!!!  Cooking shows are cool and they look like experts, but does all the junk they make REALLY taste as good as they make it seem???

For once, I'd like to see a chef take a bite and go, "Blaahhhhh!!  That's sick!  Never mind, DON'T make this at home.  It's really nasty!"

OK, here's the recipe I use AND at the bottom is Rachel Ray's if you don't believe me...

STRAWBERRY - BANANA - ORANGE SMOOTHIE
by: Unknown

Servings: 1 very large or 3 small glasses
Time:  Less than 5 minutes. AWESOME!!!

Ingredients:
1c.  Orange Juice
1     Banana
8-9 Strawberries (frozen)
6oz Yogurt (Strawberry OR Strawberry-Banana)

Directions:
1.  Put all in a blender and push GO. 

TIPS:
- Put your frozen strawberries in LAST so they don't jam your blender.
- A variation is to use blueberry yogurt and add a few frozen blueberries.
- I've tried blueberry juice and it's pretty good, but OJ seems to be best overall.
- To increase servings add 1/2-1c. OJ and 1 banana.


(NOT-SO) SUPER STRAWBERRY SMOOTHIE
by: Rachel Ray

Servings: 1-2

Ingredients:
1c. Milk
1 Banana
6 Strawberries (frozen or fresh)
4oz. Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt

Directions:
1. Put all in a blender and push GO.

WHERE DID RACHEL GO WRONG???
- DON'T use milk in a fruit smoothie....use fruit juice.  Right???
- I wouldn't use thawed strawberries.  Frozen fruit gives a better texture.

Recipe RAVE: Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Three words....YUM, HEALTHY, and EASY! 

If you've never tried this before, put 'spaghetti squash' on your next shopping list.  If you don't know what to look for, hunt for a yellow egg-shaped squash a bit smaller than a football.

SPAGHETTI SQUASH SPAGHETTI

By: Who Knows

It's too easy to give credit anyway....like giving credit for bread and butter; right?  But I will have to give Mrs. Denbow a big "thank you" for introducing me to it.

Serves: 4-5

Time: 25-30min

Ingredients:

1 - Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Sauce (same as regular spaghetti)

Cheese (parmesan, mozzarella)

Directions:

1.  In a large sauce pan w/ 3in sides, bring to boil 1.5-2 inches of water.

2.  Cut squash in half END to END & scoop out seeds.

3.  Place 1/2 of squash in boiling water face down for 15-20min. (see pic)

4.  Prepare sauce. (May need to start this earlier if it takes longer than Step 3).

5.  Remove squash (use a fork).

6.  Hold squash upright and scrape out squash. (see pic)

7.  Add sauce & eat! (see pic)

(Step 3)

(Step 6)



(Step  7)

NOTES: 

- You don't have to 'cover' when boiling the squash, but will alter cook time & temp a bit.

- Basically ALL but the rind is edible when scraping out middle after cooking; no wasting! :)

Movie: Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)

If you think "tagging" (spray painting buildings with various graphics/pics/etc) is cool and like documentaries, you'll enjoy this movie.  As for me, I could have skipped this one and maintained my intelligence level and probably gotten something constructive accomplished......despite the high reviews it received by both critics and movie goers; see below.

Don't expect action, laughter, anything jaw-dropping, suspenseful, or overly dramatic.  It's simply the story of a nut who really likes the video camera and follows well-known taggers around the world until he becomes a tagger himself.  He then follows in the footsteps of some of those taggers and puts on an art exhibit and makes a chunk of money all the while revealing how nutty he is.  The End.

I'll give it only 2.73 out of 5 stars.  It is Rated R for "some language".  From what I saw, it could have been PG-13 pretty easily, but because it was about an illegal activity that makes our cities and towns look like trash (most of the time) I like the rating.

RottenTomatoes (click the link to read more reviews and to see the trailer)
Movie Watchers rated it: 92%
Critics rated it 97%

A Neat Community Event

Here are several pictures from the Knoxville, TN 3rd Annual Chalk Walk.  After experiencing the atmosphere I was left wondering why all cities don't have one of these events.  Very cool!!!  In addition to the fun, there were cash prizes for the winners of each category. 



Did you guess who she is??? L.T.

Clever.

 One of the competition's categories was 'film'.

Next to this Fox & The Hound drawing was the DVD box with the same picture.  Impressive!

These two ladies, Helen and Ellen, twin sisters, run the "Love Kitchen" in Knoxville.  A place where homeless or poor folks can get a free meal.  They make several thousand meals a day and even use volunteers to deliver.  They apparently made an appearance on the Oprah show and I recently saw them on an episode of "Secret Millionaire" filmed in Knoxville.  If you need a hug, a good example of a humble servant, or dose of Jesus just walk in the door and say hello. 

This elephant was really neat.  Cool (well, warm...harhar) colors.  That's as funny as this post is getting, sorry.

  



I'll give this event an A+.  GREAT for families, creates community, a good reason to get out, low (or no) tax-payer cost, generates business for surrounding establishments, and lots of fun.  Can't wait for next year!

Recipe RAVE! Bet You Can't Eat Just One!

This is a YUMMY dessert that Tami (my wife) found in the Kraft Food & Family magazine (Summer '09 issue, pg.25).  If you have small kids, this is a great recipe everyone can enjoy making.  We'll be making this LOTS I think for years to come.

Cookies & Cream Pudding Pops

Prep: 10min + Freezing

Servings: 9

Ingredients:
1 pkg./box (3.9oz) Jell-O Chocolate Instant Pudding
2c cold Milk...as opposed to the warm kind??? Weird.
6-9 Oreo cookies
1/2c Cool Whip Whipped Topping thawed

9 Small Cups (like Dixie Cups). Plastic worked great.
9 Popsicle sticks (or plastic spoons)

Directions:
1. Beat pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk; 2min.
2. Place cookies in Ziploc bag; smash them up.
3. Add cookies and Cool Whip to pudding; stir until blended.
4. Spoon into 9 cups..
5. Insert Popsicle stick/spoon into each for a handle.
6. Freeze for about 5hrs or until firm.  Now eat 'em!

Don't worry about the leftovers....you'll figure out what to do with those when the kids hit the sack! :)  Good find babe!  A+.....again.  I think Isaac approves too!

MOVIE: 127 Hours

If you like suspense, stories of perseverance, will-power, and survival, you'll enjoy this movie and might bite off a nail or two in the process; it's on DVD now (go rent it!)

If I had to say something negative about the movie, I wish they would have taken about 15 minutes out of the middle of the movie and created a nice ending; it's pretty abrupt after all the suspense.  It's like needing a cool-down after a hard workout. 

Positives...a good story that keeps you interested and gets your nerves, GREAT camera work, and the movie makes you feel like you're right there with him...if not 'actually in his shoes'.  I also liked that I didn't know any of the actors.  The new face, James Franco, made it more 'real' and less 'movieish'.

I'll give it a 4.32 out of 5 stars.  It is Rated R, but no sex/nudity although it's implied briefly.  Rating is mostly for a bloody/graphic intense scene.

RottenTomatoes movie watchers rated it at 93% and the critics gave it 85%. Click the link to read more reviews and to see the trailer.

Enjoy!