Reusable Canning Lids!!!

Tattler Reusable Canning Lids


I ordered some this past winter to try this year. There are plenty of good reviews of these canning lids - look on their "Reviews and Blogs" page for these. Have fun with a new way to be frugal!

Stocking the Pantry via Deanna

I have been a fan of Our Plain and Simple Life for quite some time. Deanna does alot of stuff that I do, but does even more things that I would like to do. Recently, she posted about a Mega Shopping trip to stock her pantry for 6 months. That is something I have wanted to do for a long time, I just have a hard time knowing where to start. I think she may have gotten the ball rolling for me. She updated with this post on That shopping trip and That plan. I am anxious to read more about this! Thanks so much Deanna!!!

Sidenote: Deanna did this 6 month pantry stocking for 11 people on $1300!!!

Make Your Own...Skin care products

I am really trying to eliminate chemicals from our lives. I can't believe how much unnecessary junk is in personal care products! For more info visit Skin Deep.

Instead of listing one recipe, I have found several websites to help you find your own products to make!

www.passionatehomemaking.com

www.recipegoldmine.com

homemeadebeautyrecipes.homestead.com

www.csuzberry.com

Some of the above sites do offer where to buy products. One place I have had good luck in ordering from is Mountain Rose Herbs. They also go into great detail about each herb they sell. It's a great learning tool!

Anyone else have tips or good websites to visit?

Make Your Own...Deodorant

Deodorant. Nearly all of us use it - or else we should be and don't! :) But why put something on our skin that is potentially harmful? Have you ever looked on the label of your deodorant? Aluminum and propylene glycol are very common ingredients in deodorant. Aluminum is well known to cause problems. There are studies that indicate that aluminum may be part of the Alzheimer problem or even breast cancer. Propylene glycol is found in antifreeze! That alone is enough to deter me away from it! Check out these websites for more info on these ingredients or your favorite personal care products. Natural Health Information Centre and Skin Deep.

Now for a recipe to avoid all those unnecessary chemicals and it is far less expensive - a win-win situation to me!

Once again I cannot take full credit for the recipe. I got it from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking. It's only ingredients are coconut oil, baking soda and cornstarch. (You can find aluminum-free baking soda at most stores. Usually the Rumford brand is ok.) I saved an old solid deodorant container and washed it out real good and put the homemade stuff in it. I must say, I was skeptical at first, but it honestly works well! No odors, no sweaty pits! I am anxious to see how well it works this summer when I am working outdoors and REALLY sweating. That will be its true test for me. The only thing I have found that I didn't like, is that if your shirt is a bit snug in the armpit area, the coconut oil can leave a residue on your shirt. Not so attractive. Makes it look like your not wearing deodorant! But if you wear loose clothing, no worries! (side note: the residue does wash out - nothing permanent)

Give it a try - I dare you! :)

Make Your Own ... Dish Soap

Another project I tackled last month!

Found a good recipe for Old Fashioned Dish Soap at Laura Williams Musings blog.

After some research on the different bar soaps, I decided to use Octagon bar soap. Of course, I couldn't find it locally. So I ordered some from Soaps Gone Buy.

I must say, it was sooo easy to make and it works really well! The only thing about using soap like this, it does not suds up like the commercial dish soap does. Once you get over that, it is great!

I bought the Octagon for 99 cents and it made 1 gallon of dish soap - not too bad!

I did try to add essential oils to the soap, but it has enough of a scent to it I couldn't get it to change much. The scent was good, I just wanted orange smelling dish soap!

Now that I make my own laundry detergent and dish soap, I think it's time to learn to make my own bar soap for these recipes and for personal use! Maybe next winter...

Make Your Own...Pepperoni

Over the winter, there were a few things I had wanted to learn to make myself. Pepperoni being one of them. I found this great recipe at Tammy's Recipes - Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni. It is really good. I have used it on pizza and in pasta so far. It is also so simple to make. If you can make meatloaf, you can make pepperoni!
I was able to find all the ingredients locally except for the TenderQuick. I ordered that from Leener's. Leener's is an Ohio company that sells alot of cool make it yourself kits. On Tammy's website, there were several people who commented that they used regular salt instead of the TenderQuick. Sounds like it may be worth a try just to avoid the nitrates. Regardless, this pepperoni tastes like the real thing and you can make it so much cheaper and healthier than that store bought stuff!

Make Your Own Dry Minced Onions

Here is something I posted on August 30, 2008. I am re-posting this to participate in Tammy's In-Season Recipe Swap. Please go over and visit and see what others have contributed! Make sure you take a look at all of Tammy's recipes, they are great!

Many people dry their own bananas or apples, but did you know it is very easy to make your own dry minced onions or dry onion powder? I wait until I find a good sale on onions and buy lots of them. It's even cheaper when you can grow your own! I can only speak from experience with an electric food dehydrator, however I have read where you can dry things outdoors or in your oven. Do a web search and I am sure you can find instructions as to how to do this without spending money on a dryer. I have had mine for many years so it has paid for it's self many times over. This is how I do it...

First, cut the ends off your onions and peel away the dry, papery outer layers. Second, slice your onions to about 3/8" thick. Now lay them onto the dehydrator and turn it on. It takes 12-14 hours in my dryer. Yours may vary. Just follow the instructions that came with your dryer. After they are dry, they should be brittle. You do not want to store them with moisture in them, it will ruin the whole batch.

Next I put them in the blender and whir them to the desired consistency - chopped or powdered.

I store them in old glass jars or chipped canning jars - anything I can't use for canning. I also give used canning lids a second life by using them to seal these jars of dried food. That's all there is to it, it's that easy! Just use as you would normally use the store-bought kind. Only this way they are far cheaper, and if you grow the onions yourself, it is very frugal and self-sufficient!

One tip that I recommend is to place your dryer in your garage or outdoors because it will make your house really stink to dry onions.

I plan on doing this to my garlic this year. I have never done it before, but I am sure it will be the same as the onions. Have fun drying your own onions or garlic!

Frost Advisory!

I can tell the seasons are definitely changing in our neck of the woods. The trees are becoming more colorful, the tomatoes are finishing up (yay!), the days are getting shorter and the farmer's are beginning the big harvest. Top that off with our first frost advisory. The low is expected to be around 34 degrees tonight. Time to cover the tender garden plants!

We started our outdoor wood burner for the first time yesterday evening. Works great! No more indoor mess and there should be alot less dusting on my part! One cool thing about this wood burner is that it also heats our water.

Since the weather turned cooler this week, I needed to pull out our light-weight bed comforters and Audrey's footed pj's. Those pj's always look so comfy!

We also started wearing jackets this week. Looks like I better make sure our heavy coats, overalls, hats and mittens are clean and ready to wear!

I canned the last of the tomatoes yesterday. (HUGE sigh of relief!) I will pick whatever is left today and they will be dehydrated this week. I will not try to save the tomato plants from the frost. They have blessed me beyond expectations and anyways, I don't have enough sheets/blankets/anything! to cover all 24 plants. I will try to save the greenbeans, jalapenos and raspberries. The carrots and onions can handle slight freezing so no worries there.

With the major canning done (unless I find a great deal on apples) I will concentrate on getting the remainder of my pantry stocked. This would include things like oils, seasonings, baking supplies and toiletries. Here are some great links that have helped me stock my pantry.

Food Storage Made Easy

Food Storage and Preservation

and a great yahoo group called food-storage:LDS(and friends) Food storage

All three sites are extremely helpful to those wanting to start their own food storage and explaining why alot of us believe in doing so. In my opinion, it just makes sense. I look at it as another form of insurance.

Time to go stir my simmering chili soup and curl up with some sewing and enjoy the quiet while Audrey is still napping!

Knee-Deep in Tomatoes!!

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes!!! We have tomatoes!

Seems we are picking about a 1/2 bushel of tomatoes every 2 days. Yesterday hubby helped me puree about 70 pounds of them. Today, it is simmering and being canned into spaghetti sauce.


So far we have done salsa, pizza sauce, tomato soup, tomato/veggie juice and now the spaghetti sauce. The plan is to make more soup, juice and sauce. Then possibly some ketchup. Any other ideas?

Make Your Own...Homemade Laundry Detergent

I hate shopping. Plain and simple. So when I can come up with ways to shorten or eliminate my need to shop, I am very happy. This summer I started making my own laundry detergent again. It had been years since I had last done this. I don't know why I ever quit. Convenience I suppose. This is the recipe I have been using and liking very well. I gleaned ideas from tipnut.com. Note: I have very hard well water that is softened and a hubby that get very greasy, dirty and sweaty and THIS WORKS!!

Liquid Laundry Detergent

1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1 cup borax
1 cup oxyclean
2/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap, grated

In a large pot, heat 3 quarts of water. Add the grated Fels Naptha and stir until melted. Add the washing soda and borax. Stir until the powders are dissolved. Turn off heat. Add the oxyclean, stir until dissolved. The oxyclean will make this mix very foamy and expand - that is why I turn off the heat first!

In a large, clean pail (I use a 3-5 gallon bucket that has a lid) pour 2 quart of hot water. Add the heat soap mixture. Add about 3 quarts of cold water and stir well. (sometimes I add more or less water, I just kinda eye-ball it to see how it looks. Sorry!)

The soap will continue to look very foamy (at least it does for me). You will have to stir this well each time you use it. Once stirred, it is more gel-like.

I use 1/2c per load (I only run large loads). Use more or less depending on you water quality and how dirty your laundry is.

The ingredients:




The Fels Naptha and my grater:


Melting the Fels Naptha:


The mix getting foamy after adding the oxyclean:


Pouring the mix into the bucket. See how much foam forms for me!:


This is how thick the top gets after is sits a few days. You have to stir it well!


I have not figured out the cost of this detergent yet. I can't imagine it costs ANYWHERE near what you'd pay for Tide or similar detergents! So far it seems that this amount of detergent will last me about 75 loads. Give or take a few (I am not the best at remembering how long things last). One thing I will note is that I do pour about a 1/4 cup of pinesol into my washer per large load. It helps get rid of the perspiration odors. I also never use fabric softener - I use white vinegar. It does not make your clothes stink!

Please visit the tipnut site, there are so many comments and suggestions for the different kinds of water and washers you may have. It helped me greatly! Homemade Laundry Detergent tips.

Bulk canning lids

Just a reminder since it's that time of year!

Dry Your Own Oregano

I use alot of oregano. Instead of paying an insane price at the store for sub par herbs, I grow them. I recently took my first spring cuttings of my oregano. Once planted, it comes back every year(so far). It grows like crazy. It gives more than what we can use in a year, and that's alot! You need to cut the herb before it flowers so that you can experience the full flavor of oregano. I cut it with sharp kitchen scissors and place the cuttings into a paper sack.




I fill it about half ways.

Then I fold the bag shut and put in a dark dry room to dry. I usually have several (or more)bagfuls by fall that are dry. Once dried, I take the stems and pinch it between my thumb and finger. Then I slide my hand down the stem. This releases the dried leaves from the stem. It's helpful to do this over a bowl or newspaper to catch the leaves. At that point, I put them into an old large canning jar that is no longer usable for canning. I use spent canning lids to close them. Label the jar and store with the other herbs. It's that easy. I have one oregano plant that grows about 12" tall and probably 12-16" wide and it provides for us well. They do get woody stems, so you should prune them at the end of the season. That way, they have nice supple fresh growth in the spring.
Here's a site I found with some more oregano info for those interested.

Weekend Gardening

We had a beautiful weekend despite the wind. I got another box planted, this time with carrots. I planted an entire 4x8 box, so that makes approximately 512 carrots. I say "approximately" because for one thing those seeds are so tiny, it's hard to just drop one at a time. And also it was quite windy, so some may have blown away or extras blown where I didn't intend for them to be. All in all, I think the box will be ok.
The peas are coming up nicely, here they are:


The onions look marvelous, although windblown:



The potato tires are looking good:






The strawberries are filling out nicely. I bought 4 plants to fill in some empty spots.


I also bought some berries to plant. I got grapes, raspberries and blueberries. Can't wait until those are producing well in a few years! We all love berries.
In a large container, I also planted some mixed lettuce and radish.
It feels so good to grow my own food!

Bulk Canning Lids

Wanted to share a wonderful place to buy bulk canning lids!!
I found this place by way of the food storage group at yahoo. Its called Dutchman's Store. They have no website (pretty sure they are Amish). They sell 345 regular canning lids for $34.95 and 288 wide mouth lids for $35.95. Plus shipping. My shipping charge was $15.00 (west central Ohio). That's better priced than what I can buy them for locally. This is the first place I have come across that sells them in bulk. I can't verify the quality(haven't used them yet), but plenty of the gals on the food storage group like them.
They take phone orders and can take credit cards or they will wait for your check to clear. I sent a check and they were here quickly.
Here is their info for anyone interested:

Dutchman's Store
103 Division St.
Cantril, IA 52542

phone 319-397-2322
fax 319-397-2370
dutchman@netins.net

Better Times Living link and other links

Here is a very useful website I found years ago when I was living by myself and didn't have a penny to spare. I have come across it again and felt that it's worthwhile passing on to those who may find it useful also.
It will be added in the right column with the other websites that I visit.
http://www.bettertimesinfo.org/2004index.htm

Also added some other new links to the side bar.

Making Fruit Leather

I've been making fruit leather again. This time its apple-strawberry. I puree a gallon bag of my home-grown strawberries (thawed from the freezer) and add a little (home canned)applesauce to help thicken it a bit. I then add about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Not absolutely neccesary, but it does help reduce the tartness. Pour onto the trays and dry!
I only have one fruit leather tray that came with the dehydrator. So what I did to be able to make more than one at a time is use wax paper cut to fit the trays. Works really well! I tried using plastic wrap, but didn't really like it. With the wax paper, it's easier to wash it and re-use. I'm all for reusing and eliminating waste and cutting costs! Plus, the wax paper I have is the wax bags from boxes of cereal. I always save those bags, they are so handy! I can't tell you the last time I bought wax paper! On that note, I also haven't bought foil, plastic wrap or plastic baggies in several years. I always wash and air dry what I use and reuse, reuse, reuse! Sounds like a good start to another installment of Disposing of Disposables!

Make Your Own...

Onion Soup Mix

2c powdered milk
3/4c cornstarch
1/4c beef boullion crystals/powder
2T dried onion flakes
1 tsp dried basil leaves, crushed

Stores up to 1 year in a bag/jar.

To use: 1/3c of mix per recipe. Blend with water for soup or sour cream for dips.

Make your own...Tartar Sauce

Tartar Sauce
1c mayo
1/4c chopped sweet pickles
2 tbsp chopped onion
2 tbsp pickle juice

Mix togther and store in the frig.

Correction to Seasoned Salt recipe

I made an error on the Seasoned Salt Recipe. Please add the following:

1/4 tsp turmeric

Sorry for any inconveniences this may have caused!

I have changed the recipe post but wanted to note it here in case anyone is following this blog and has made it already!

Disposing of Disposables...Diapers and wipes

Using cloth isn’t what it used to be! No pins, rubber pants or toilet-dunking here! You can even purchase diapers gently used if that doesn’t bother you. Or make them! There are so many resources online to help you with all aspects of cloth diapering! We have been using cloth with our 16 month old since she was about 3 weeks old. I love the independence that using cloth gives to me. No quick trips to the store because we are running low. And every child we have in the future can reuse the same diapers until they fall apart! Now that saves money and sanity, not to mention less in our landfills!
Here is how we do it.
I really like prefolds and Thirsties diaper covers.

I fold the pf(prefold) diaper into thirds longways and just lay it in the cover.

It’s that easy! No learning different folds and no pins. You can easily add extra layers for heavy wetters. I just lay a terry cloth Kissaluv doubler under the pf. However you can use any type of doubler that suits you. I have even done 2 pf’s in the cover for naptimes. The Thirsties diaper covers have a laminated interior that makes it easy to wipe clean. They also have leg gussets so nothing leaks or oozes out. You know what I’m talking about!

My baby is on the thin side, and so far no explosions or messes outside the diapers. Try that with disposables! Now there is one drawback of laying a folded pf in a cover like this as compared to actually folding and pinning the diaper around the child. It is the runny poopy messes. Like I said, they don’t leak OUT the diaper, but they can and do mess the entire inside of the cover. So, with this method, it pays to have extra covers so you can wash the messed ones. As far as the wet diapers, I just lay the cover out to air dry and reuse it later in the day.
I also use some fitted diapers and wool covers. They work just as wonderful as pf’s and Thirsties. I just don’t have as many of them.
We also use cloth wipes instead of disposables. I absolutely, hands down, think they are superior to ANY throwaway one I have used. I made them out of old flannel receiving blankets. I cut them into 8” squares and put 2 squares wrong side to each other. I then sewed the edges with an overlapping stitch. I didn’t even turn the edges to hem. I just sewed them straight across. They are holding up fine.. If you have a serger, that would work great too. I just don’t have access to one. I made 4 dozen of them, and that amount has always served me well. To use, just get them wet and go at it!

Here is my diaper stash:
Infant Prefolds – 24
Toddler Prefolds – 12
Fitted Diapers – 6
Thirsties covers – 5
Wool covers – 5
Wipes – 48
Wet bags – 2 (for holding the dirty ones until wash day)

Websites I recommend:
http://www.diaperswappers.com/ a great place to buy, sell, swap diapering products
http://www.diaperpin.com/ for ratings on all diapering products and companies
http://www.thediaperhyena.com/ how-tos, caring for your diapers, make your own resources

My diaper routine.
How do you wash them, you ask? After I change the diaper, if it is only wet, it gets thrown into the wet bag until wash day. If it is a messy diaper, I dump the solids into the toilet then I rinse the diaper out in our utility sink. It has a pull-out spray faucet to rinse the diapers.

The waste goes down the drain into our septic. That diaper gets thrown into the wet bag also. Treat your wipes the same as the diapers. If the cover gets dirty, it gets rinsed also. Do not put the laminate covers in the wet bag! They attract the ammonia and do not clean out as well. I keep an old plastic dishpan in the laundry for the covers. Now it’s wash day. Around here that comes about every other day or two. I set my washer on rinse only and dump the entire contents of the bag into the wash. The wipes, covers and the bag get thrown in as well. Run through the rinse first to get the urine and any missed solids rinsed out. After that, run a normal wash cycle with your detergent of choice. I have used Allen’s Naturally and Charlie’s Soap, both successfully. Make sure you use a detergent that has NO ADDITIVES of any kind. They coat the diapers making them less absorbent and they will stink. As far as water temperature, a scalding is not always necessary. In the summer time, I hang my diapers outside so I can get away with washing the diapers in cold water. In the winter, I hang them indoors and it seems if I don’t wash the diapers in warm or hot water, they tend to stink. See what works for you. After the normal wash cycle, I run the diapers in an extra rinse just to make sure there is no detergent residue left. We have hard well water, and that makes it harder to cut through the soap residue. My experience is that if I don’t do the extra rinse, my daughter will get a rash and the diapers will stink. I line dry all the diapers. When they are dry, I typically throw them in the dryer with a clean, wet wipe for 10 minutes to soften them up a bit. I especially do this when I indoor dry. It seems to turn them into cardboard.
Some things I have learned along the way is to make sure you don’t throw the laminate covers and bags into the dryer to often. It shrinks and wears them out. The wool needs different care. Refer to the instructions that came with your wool, or see some of the links above. Experiment with different thicknesses of diaper and the covers to find what works for your situation. My daughter was such a heavy wetter very early on, I tried so many variations of folding, doublers, covers and wool to find a solution. With persistence and a will to do it, you too can cloth diaper your children!