I Made Slime!

Yes, it's been a while. I apologize, but not to worry - we've been cookin' up a storm here. :) I actually did this a few weeks ago which is good; it gave me a chance to test it out AND see how long it lasts.

So - slime.

I tried to lure the husband into doing this one with "Hey hun, I'm making slime by the gallon in the kitchen." He was unfazed. J, however, was all about it. And Matt agreed to let us make our mess because it saves us so much money, especially considering how much laundry we do in our house.

This particular project turned out to be super simple, not require any special stuff, and I only had to go out and find one ingredient. Here's what you'll need:

Tools:

cheese grater

large sauce pot

long handled wooden spoon

measuring cups (1c)

a bucket - has to be at least 4 gallons (pictured) but 5 would be better

Ingredients:

1c. Washing Soda - this is NOT baking soda. It can generally be found in the laundry section of your local grocery store

1/2c. Borax

a bar of soap (I used a bar that was a gift - unscented olive oil base)

This is a bit time consuming, mostly with mixing at the stove. And it will take a day to set up before you can use it.

Alright, let's get started. Boil 4-6c. water in your large sauce pot. That bar of soap? Grate it all down in to little curls. This will make it a little easier to dissolve. You're going to slowly add the soap to the water and stir it to dissolve. If you add the soap too quickly, it'll clump up and end up taking a while to melt. Keep an eye on your heat and keep stirring. If you walk away at this point, your water will boil over.

The water will take on the color of your soap, so if it looks different, don't be alarmed. I used green soap, so my soap soup is green. Once it's all melted, turn your heat down to keep it warm, but not simmering. Add 3 gallons of water to your large bucket. Add your soap soup, washing soda, and borax to the bucket and stir. Then stir some more. Cover your bucket (I used a towel) and let it set for 24 hours.

When you come back to it, it should be a bit of a hard gel - liquid on top, but a very thick jello consistency. I imagine you could scoop from the one giant blob, but I wanted to store mine in smaller containers, and I use an HE washer, so the detergent goes into a dispenser so I needed it a little more fluid. Break out that long handled wooden spoon and start stirring again. I used the spoon to start, but to really get the glob broken up, your best bet is to reach in there with your hands and start squishing. J loved this part - it's extra gross. It took a few minutes, but mine ended up about the consistency of watery scrambled eggs. Using a cut off top of a 2 liter bottle as a funnel, I was able to pour my detergent into just over 3 - 1gal. containers (juice, milk, vinegar, etc.). And that's all there is to it! I use 3/4c to 1 1/2 c per load for clothes, blankets, diapers - everything. Adjust it as needed. It's great for my HE machine because it's virtually suds free. 

Here's the really cool thing though: It cost's just a few bucks to make. The borax and washing soda are about $2.50 each and contain enough to make quite a few loads. I've got a stash of bar soap around that I use to scent drawers, so that was "free" - everything else I had around the house. As I mentioned before, I do a LOT of laundry - at least a load a day, usually 2-3. Diapers alone constitute two washes, and I wash them every other day. So, how long has my bucket o'slime lasted me? Well, it's been over 3 weeks and I've used just over half of it. Normally, I would spend $12-15 a month on Tide. 

But does it work? YES! Did I mention I wash cloth diapers? A lot of diapers? Really yucky ones? I didn't adjust my wash cycle at all - cold with baking soda and detergent, hot with detergent, hot with detergent, extra rinse with vinegar - and they came out as clean and fresh smelling as they would with the off the shelf brand name detergent. If that doesn't tell you it works, I don't know what would!

Well, there you have it - slime making 101.

Enjoy!

Chicken Nuggets!

Yep. Those little chicken things that kids can't get enough of. Well, my kid at least. If Jordan could only eat one food from now until the end of time, you had better believe that girl would say "chickens." That being said, we go through more than a few of them. While Tyson, the brand we usually get, at least uses ingredients everyone can pronounce, when you make them at home, you know exactly what goes into them.

Plus, I had to try out my new gadget...

Now, before you start, let me warn you, while this one is easy, it's a mess. Don't do it when the baby is screaming or the toddler would like you to open every piece of halloween candy she got (or both, like I did). Also, go big or go home. If you do it, I recommend doubling or tripling (or more) the recipe for a larger yeild. You'll only have to clean up the mess once, but you'll have way more reward. In addition to the ingredients, you'll want to make sure you have an apron or mess towel (I use a towel when I'm working with raw meat just to wipe my hands before going back to the same stuff - DON'T use it to wipe anything that won't be washed before eating off of, like clean plates, or your hands after you wash them). And you need some sort of a food processor or grinder.

I like to gather all of my gear and ingredients before I even start. Here's what you'll need:

Equipment:

• Decent Knife (for cutting raw chicken into strips or cubes)
• Cutting Board
• Food Processor/Grinder
• Mixing Bowls
• Spatula
• Fork
• Plates
• Large, Heavy Frying Pan
• Paper Towels

Ingredients:

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. oregano
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. flour
• 1 1/2 c. oil for frying

You can toss all of those spices in one small bowl - they're all going in at the same time anyhow. It should look something like this when you have everything:

So, now that you have everything, let's get started. Put the oil in the skillet and heat it over medium to medium high heat while you prep so that it's ready to go when the nuggets are. Keep an eye on it though; if it starts to smoke at all, turn it down. I'm not sure of an exact temperature you're shooting for here, but we'll get to that later.

Cut your chicken in to strips or cubes depending on what your processor reccomends, and then use the processor to grind the chicken into a large mixing bowl. You'll want it to have a paste consistency so make sure its set for fine grinding rather than coarse. Once all of the chicken is ground, mix in the spices. Use a fork to fluff it up and really make sure they're well blended. I tried to actually run mine through the food grinder again with the spices to make sure they were all blended, but it didn't help much and made more of a mess, so I wouldn't bother with that.

Here comes the messy part: See that ball of sticky paste? Roll it into smaller balls. I got 24, but you could easily get 32 depending on the size. I would say about 1" diameter is about right. Now take those balls and roll them in flour, dip them in egg, then toss them back in the flour. If you manage to do this without accumulating half of your egg and flour on your fingers, please, please tell me how. Also, I have to note that it was at this point that Harper decided it would be a nice time to eat, and Jordan needed her candy. But I digress... Flatten out the balls as you set them down; they should be starting to look like nuggets now.

Time to check your oil. Remember I said if it's smoking, it's too hot? Well, toss a little flour in it. Does it bubble up right away? If not, it's too cool, so turn it up a bit. When you toss in the flour and the oil immediately reacts, you know it's at the right temperature. Go ahead and start putting in the chicken. Cook them 5-10 minutes on each side. They'll have a nice golden color when they're done cooking.

Once your nuggets are done, move them from the skillet to a plate covered in paper towels. It'll absorb some of the oil while they cool. Serve with honey, Heinz Ketchup, BBQ sauce... however you like.

Surprisingly tasty, if a little messy, these homemade chicken nuggets are well worth the work. For just over $10, I can make a few more than come in the bag (at the same price), and the homemade ones kill the freezer section ones in taste. You just can't beat fresh...

Greening Your Cleaning

How much do you spend on cleaning products over a year? Do you know what's in those bottles? Why not try some tried and true natural (and cost effective!) methods to spruce up your space?

Cleaning Product Basics:

White Vinegar - I use this stuff like crazy. It's especially useful to neutralize any pet urine smells. It actually has about a bazillion uses - enough for an entire post!

• All Purpose Bathroom/Kitchen Cleaner - Mix vinegar and water 1:1 in a spray bottle. Great, mild, all purpose cleaner for sinks, stoves, floors, walls - almost anything! I've even put this in my rug scrubber to deep clean and deodorize pet spots.

• Clean soap scum from your tub by pouring a generous amount of white vinegar into HOT running water as it fills the tub. Allow it to soak on any "soap ring." The dirt should wipe right off after soaking for a few minutes. 

• Vinegar at full strength will help to dissolve hard water deposits on fixtures and clean and deodorize a stinky toilet.

• Use some in your laundry to help break down detergent and rinse cleaner. It gives a fabric softener effect without the chemical side effects.

Baking Soda - stain removing, odor absorbing, bathroom scrubbing - baking soda does everything that vinegar doesn't.

• Baking Soda can be sprinkled onto a sponge or surface to help remove heavy soils from counters, sinks, toilets, and tubs. 

• Make a paste of baking soda and water to pretreat stains.

• Toss a tablespoon in with your laundry to help remove stains (this is a MUST for cloth diapers!).

Lemons - Great scented and sanitizing too

• Mix olive oil with lemon juice 2:1 for a nourishing furniture polish. Straight olive oil rubbed into "glass rings" (the sooner the better) will help to hide them.

• Toss your lemon rinds down your garbage disposal to disinfect and deodorize even the smelliest drains..

• Use a lemon cut in half with some salt to clean spots from copper.

So there you have it. With just a few products that you probably already have in your pantry and fridge, you can clean your house top to bottom!

Who We Are and What We Do.

Sarah E: "For me it started in February. I had just had a life changing doctors appointment - not only was I pregnant, we were expecting twins. Having had Jordan 2 years earlier, I knew how pricey raising a baby could be, let alone two. Things were already tight, so I knew I would have to do things differently this time. So began my adventure into all things reusable, homemade, and, well, all around less expensive. I figured if my grandmother could raise 9 kids on a budget, I could do this on a much smaller scale."

Sarah A: "Both of my parents instilled in me at a young age respect for things made from scratch. My dad showed me through cooking and my mom through her baking and sewing skills. My mom especially instilled a sense of needing to be thrifty like with her couponing before couponing became popular. I guess in a way my contributions to this blog can be seen as a tribute to my parents and the lessons they taught me about what is important in life, FAMILY, even through their seperation and divorce. This way of living frugally and making things from scratch will allow me to spend more time with my family."