Awesome Popcorn Cake

Back when I had a lot more time on my hands I watched the Food Network channel. I love Emeril. He made this wonderful popcorn cake, so easy. You simply airpop popcorn, then melt two sticks of butter, 1 (16 oz) bag marshmallows together on the stove top. Add the marshmallow mixture to the popcorn (20 cups popped) . Add a bag of any candy, we like skittels, or M and M's  work great. Press into a greased bundt pan, cool and serve. Sooo yummy and great for kids to make too. Great way to use up some popcorn in storage.

Thanks Emeril!!

Inspired Coincidences: The Lord's Law of Health

Inspired Coincidences: The Lord's Law of Health: " I teach the 2nd Sunday of every month at Church. This month, the lesson is on The Lord's Law of Health (also known as The Word of Wisd..."
( You must check out this wonderful lesson by Inspired Coincidences, pure sweetness!!)

Homemade Fabric Softener

You can make your own liquid fabric softener. There are several versions to choose from–most being a combination of baking soda, vinegar, and/or hair conditioner. I am no chemist, but  take note of a comment about mixing baking soda and vinegar to use as a fabric softener. The commenter said that once this stuff bubbles up (yes, this is the volcano recipe from the school science fair) it chemically changes to a salt. So you end up with salty water.
Hmm.
Yet, many people insist that the combination works. Others say use baking soda alone. Or vinegar alone. Or vinegar plus hair conditioner.

Here is one common combination:
Pour a cup of baking soda into a gallon container, followed by a cup of water. Add 6 cups of vinegar (observe bubbling with amazement) and then pour in 6 more cups of water. Add 10 or so drops of essential oils if you like the smell, but be aware the vinegar scent won’t remain on your clothes, so you don’t need to worry about covering that up. Shake before each use–a cup or so per load.
If you use hair conditioner, for goodness sake, buy a big jug of something cheap–something that smells good. Your clothes will not judge you for not using salon conditioner.
Vinegar also will remove soap residue from clothes, so you’ll not only get softening, but brightening as well, as the dinge of soap is removed.

Is “dinge” a word?
And, if you still notice static cling, try crumpling up a piece of aluminum foil and throwing it in the dryer. Really.

Lastly, remember that Grandma would say, goodness, just hang things on the line. Nothing beats the luxury of line-dried, sun-scented sheets

Rotating Your Food Storage

Sister Julie Beck, the General Relief Society President, asked several bishops what skills the sisters in their wards needed most to be self-reliant. Their answer: living within a budget and cooking. Rotating and using your food storage can help you to be more self-reliant. Why is it important to rotate your food storage?

1. Prevents throwing away unused, expired food, which saves you money.
2. Allows you and your family to get accustomed to eating stored food, essential in effectively dealing with emergency situation.
3. Eating your long-term storage is healthy. Most food storage items are lower in fat and higher in nutrients than most convenience foods.
4. Because these high-fiber food will be upsetting to the digestive system if you suddenly begin to eat them, it is important to start incorporating them into your diet now.
5. By already knowing how to use your food storage, it will help to relieve a lot of stress in times of emergency.
6. If you will eat food storage meals two days out of the week you can have a whole year’s supply rotated in just three and a half years.

How can you remember to use your food storage?

1. Keep a permanent marker in the same place where you store your food and then every time you bring home a new package or can of food, just date it. If the item has an expiration
   date already on it, you might want to circle it. I have also written the date on the item at the time of purchase.
2. Keep small amounts of your food storage in the kitchen. The more you see these items the more often you will use them.
3. Find recipes that sound interesting using food storage items. The Internet is a great resource. Many of the cooking websites allow you to enter either the recipe you are looking for and/or the ingredient(s) you have on hand. I like the websites where users rate the recipe and give comments. My favorite site is allrecipes.com. Also, BYU TV and byubroadcasting.org have a wonderful program called Living Essentials that has many segments on preparedness. Three of them are on rotating and using your long-term storage. You can also print the transcripts.
4. Incorporate food storage items into your favorite recipes.

Cheesecake Bars

Cheesecake Bars

Base:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Filling:

1/4 cup sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (Low-fat cream cheese is fine in my opinion. But if you don't usually like it, stick with the regular)

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp milk

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 egg

Heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. Combine flour and walnuts or pecans with creamed mixture. Reserve 1 cup for topping. Press remainder into bottom of ungreased 8" or 9" square pan. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a small bowl, blend sugar and cream cheese until smooth (if using fat-free cream cheese, mixture will be kind of lumpy, but it will cook up just fine). Add milk, lemon juice, vanilla, and egg. Beat well. Spread over baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake at 350 for 23-27 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator. Makes 24 small bars.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

*Use a nonstick mat when rolling out

*Roll them out very thin!

*Do not overcook!!

Other than that they are easy and no fail!!

Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

submitted by Melanie

3 cups whole

1 tsp salt

1 cup hot water

1/3 cup oil (I used canola)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in mixer. Remove from mixing bowl and knead on countertop until smooth (add a little white flour if the dough is too sticky). Divide the dough into 12 balls, and let rest (covered) for 15 minutes. Roll each ball into a very think circle. Heat a heavy skillet (ungreased) to medium high heat. Cook tortillas until brown flecks appear, about 30 seconds each side. (Adjust heat accordingly) Use immediately, or wrap in plastic or place in a airtight container to refrigerate or freeze. To warm, wrap in damp paper towels and microwave 15-20 seconds.

Homemade Peanut Butter

Homemade Peanut Butter
You will need:

• 1 1/2 cups peanuts. (I used roasted and salted)
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil (may need slightly more or less)
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• Salt to taste (if your nuts aren’t already salted)

The players. (Do you like my cute little liquid measuring glass? It’s not a shot glass. Promise.) 

Thoroughly process the peanuts in a food processor until finely chopped.

While the processor is running, stream in a bit of olive oil. (I did not use this whole glass, just a bit) You may have to turn off the processor for a minute, removed the lid and scrap the bottom of the bowl in order to make sure everything is incorporated well enough (at least that is what I had to do with mine).

Next, stream in the honey in the same manner.

And you’re done! It has a slightly chunky consistency, which I prefer. I also like to store mine in the fridge. It won’t last for years on the shelf like the commercial peanut butters do, but I doubt it will have a chance to be around for that long anyway!

20 Ways To Save Money On Laundry

When you are living on a tight budget like my family is you have to find ways to save $$ in every department! Here are some ideas for saving money on doing laundry:

1. Try to buy clothes that don’t have to be dry cleaned.
2. Remove and hang up your clothes that need to be dry cleaned as soon as you get home to help keep them in good shape, and to prolong another trip to the cleaners.
3. Search out a discount dry cleaner. There are many $1.50-$2.50 cleaners who are just as good as the more expensive chains.
4. If you are able, put up a clothes line and hang your clothes out to dry when you can.
5. Do all of your laundry in one day. If you are using the dryer, it will stay warm between loads and keep your overall heating cost down.
6. Wash all, but the most soiled clothes (use warm water for these), in cold water, followed with a cold rinse.
7. Use a little less than the recommended amount of detergent for each load. Your clothes will come out just as clean.
8. A little maintenance for your washing machine will add years to its life. To unclog hoses, and clean out all of the build up, fill the machine with hot water, pour in a gallon of distilled white vinegar. Allow it to run through an entire cycle.
9. If you use dryer sheets, tear them in half before throwing them in. They will work just as well.
10. Save the dryer sheets after they’ve been used. They make great dusting cloths for TV’s and computer screens. The anti-static properties will also help to repel more dust from attracting to them.
11. Press dress suits with a damp cloth between the clothing and the iron. Unless dirty, you only need to send suits to the dry cleaners twice a year to preserve the fibers.
12. Spray ties with fabric protector to avoid frequent dry-cleaning.
13. Wear you clothes a couple times before you wash them. Unless they are soiled they don’t need to be cleaned after every wear.
14. Make your own Laundry Detergent 
15. Run the washer through a second spin cycle. It will get more of the water out and cut down on drying time. It’s cheaper to do this, than run the dryer longer.
16. Make your own dryer sheets. (This is a tip I found on another website): Save big bucks every year by making your own dryer sheets. Pour liquid fabric softener into a clean spray bottle, and spray 4-6 times onto a designated rag. Put into your dryer with clothes and tumble as usual. Wash the rag every once in a while to remove buildup. A small refill carton of concentrated softener lasts about 1 1/2 years.
17. Use white vinegar in your laundry’s rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. About 1/4 or 1/2 cup will do a good job of keeping things soft and static free with no “smell”.
18. For front loading washing machines: use half of the recommended liquid detergent. It will work just as well and save you twice as much!

19. A front loading washer typically uses 1/3 to 2/3 less water. Try to get energy star appliances also. They will save on your overall energy bill. You don’t have to buy them new either. If you are in the market for a new washer or dryer, look in your local classifieds, or on Craigslist, there are usually lots to choose from.
20. Purchase Dryer Balls: Supposedly they cut down on drying time, saving energy and money! I haven’t used these yet, but I’d like to try them out. Anybody out there have any comments about these?
Well, I hope this is helpful to you! If anyone has any more suggestions, please let me know!

Use it UP, Wear it OUT, Make it DO or Do WITHOUT

Two key elements to being truly frugal are:
Make it last longer & Use it all up
Use your things sparingly. See how you can stretch them to make them last even longer.
Dilute shampoo and conditioner with water. It’ll still work just as good and last twice as long! (Don’t try this on the cheapest brands though, it doesn’t work well on them.)
Use less than the recommended amount of detergent in the dishwasher and washing machine.
Only use a pea size amount (like instructed) of toothpaste instead of a whole glob!
Lightly dab on moisturizer instead of saturating your face with it.
And use it all up, completely.
For example: toothpaste is pretty expensive (in my frugal mind). So when we get low on toothpaste, and the tube has been squeezed as flat as it possibly can be squeezed, I don’t stop there. Realizing that there is probably a little more paste still inside, I cut the tube down the side and… BEHOLD! There’s always a bunch of toothpaste still sticking around inside. So, I just scrape some off onto the toothbrush, and put the cut tube into a Ziploc baggie to keep it fresh. It usually lasts for another week and a half!
What else can you squeeze the last drop out of?
Swish water around in containers like shampoo/conditioner, liquid laundry detergent, dish detergent and such. Shake up your empty chocolate syrup container with a little milk, to get the very last bit of chocolate out before you toss the bottle. Cut open tubes of products, and be amazed at how much more stuff is hiding inside!
So, before you throw something away, see if there might be at least one more usage out of it. The savings really add up!

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk for Pennies

With a can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk going for around $2.50-$3.50 nowadays, you might want to consider this money saving substitute! Here is an easy way to make your own sweetened condensed milk, so that you can stretch your grocery budget a little farther!

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/8 cup powdered milk

Combine all ingredients in saucepan and heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, approx. 15-20 min. Continue stirring to avoid burning. A double-boiler may also be used to avoid burning.
Here is a “no cook” recipe for Eagle Brand milk substitute that I found that you might like to try as well:
1/2 C. hot water
1 C. Powdered Milk
1 C. Sugar
1 T. Butter
Blend in blender very well. Can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen.
There are actually several recipes for this out there, some using evaporated milk instead of powdered. If none of mine work for you, keep looking! You’ll never have to buy one of those expensive little cans again!

Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Homemade Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Need a recipe  for cleaning your toilet bowl using safe, non-toxic ingredients?
Baking Soda and Vinegar: Sprinkle some baking soda (about 1/4-1/2 c.) around the toilet bowl, then spray it with white vinegar in a spray bottle (uses less than just pouring it on). Scrub with toilet brush and flush to rinse.
A cheap and easy way to clean, deodorize and disinfect your toilet bowl!
Borax and Lemon Juice: In a container mix about 1/2 c. borax to 1/4 c. lemon juice (more or less as needed) to make a paste. Flush the toilet to get sides of bowl wet. Then, using a glove (or I like to use an old sock), rub the paste around the inside of the toilet bowl, especially glopping it over stains. Leave on for at least 2 hours (or overnight if possible), then scrub off with brush.
*I do this after a first cleaning with the baking soda/vinegar mix, so the bowl isn’t too grimy. I use this for slightly tougher stains, plus I like the lingering smell of the lemon juice!

Wonderful Wheat Bread

Simple Wheat Bread

Ingredients


3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1/3 cup honey
5 cups bread flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon salt
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.

Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely.

Hint to cut rising time in half:  After clothes have come out of the dryer and the dryer's still hot, place the covered dough in the dryer & close the dryer door. Of course you don't turn the dryer on, but the heat from it causes the dough to rise faster.

Potato Pearl Recipe

Cooking with Food Storage: Potato Pearl Recipes

I have a lot of potato pearls from the church's home storage center. My husband loves potato pearl mashed potatoes. Now I'm excited to find two recipes for things that I like using potato pearls. I thought you might enjoy them as well!

Potato Pearl Bread
5 c milk
1/2 c shortening
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c potato pearls
2 T salt
2 T yeast
9-11 c flour

Microwave milk until hot. Place shortening, sugar, salt and potato pearls in a large bowl. Pour hot milk over shortening mixture and stir until potato pearls are dissolved. Cool. Add yeast. Mix in enough flour to form a soft dough, then knead 6 minutes. Cover and let rise. Form into loaves and place in four loaf pans. Let them rise. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Potato Rolls
Dissolve:
2 pkg. yeast (5 tsp)
1/4 c warm water
2 c milk
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c shortening
1/3 c potato pearls
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
8 c flour (approximately)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Scald milk, sugar and shortening and set aside. Mix potato pearls with hot water to equal one cup. When milk mixture has cooled to lukewarm, mix with potato water, yeast, eggs and salt. Add about 8 cups flour. Knead until smooth and elastic. Raise until double. Punch down, roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut in 3 to 3 1/2 inch circles. Fold in half, pinch edges together. Place on greased cookie sheet. Raise until double (approx. 45 minutes). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Makes 3 1/2 dozen.

Potato Cinnamon Rolls
Roll out Potato Roll dough (see above) into a rectangle. Spread with butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, nuts. Roll dough up into a roll and pinch the seam closed. Cut in 1 1/2 inch slices. Place in grease 9x13 pan and bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Cookies and Cream Brownies

Cookies-n-Cream Brownies

1 box (1 lb. 2.3 oz) fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup crushed cream filled cookies (I prefer Oreos)
Vanilla Frosting (recipe to follow)
1/2 cup chopped cream filled cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9x13 inch pan with tin foil so that the sides hang over the edges.  Spray lightly with cooking spray.  Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the brownie mix, water, oil and eggs until well mixed.  Add the crushed cookie crumbs and stir to combine.  Spread the brownie batter in the prepared pan.  Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out with just some crumbs on it.  Cool completely.  Chill the brownies in the refrigerator for a couple hours (This helps made for really fudgy brownies and makes cutting easier.)

To make the frosting, combine in bowl of electric mixer:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk (add last and a little at a time while mixer is beating the other ingredients until desired consistency)
Spread the frosting over the chilled brownies.  Chop up enough cookies to sprinkle over the brownies.  Cut in to desired sized brownies.
*I prefer lining the baking pan with foil as the baked goods lift right out of the pan and never stick.

Simple Pantry Tuna Casserole

 When there's no groceries in the house this is my go to recipe, because I usually have these items in the pantry. I love that it uses tuna so there's no meat to cook. You can add different veggies to it if you want, but for my picky eater I leave them out and it's still good.

Recipe:

3 c uncooked medium noodles (I use macaroni)

1 can tuna fish

1/2 c mayonnaise

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 c milk

1 1/2 c cheddar cheese, divided

Optional: celery, green pepper, onion

Boil and drain noodles according to package directions. In a small bowl combine tuna (drained), mayo, and salt. In a pot or microwave safe bowl stir and heat through cream of chicken soup, milk, and 1 c cheese until it melts. Once cheese has melted add tuna mixture to the soup mixture and heat through a little more. Combine noodles and sauce in a large casserole dish or pot. Sprinkle remaining cheese on the top. Bake uncovered at 425 degrees for 2o-25 min until cheese is slightly brown and sauce is bubbly in the center.

Warm Apple Crisp with Ice Cream

I love warm apple crisp with ice cream. Yum! I always cut up fresh apples for the filling. If you cook down the apples on the stove with a little cinnamon and sugar it's good enough to eat on its own. I have to remember to leave enough for the filling. An apple peeler/corer makes this a breeze. Although my four year old insisted on peeling all the apples himself.

Apple Filling:
about 6 good sized apples (Granny Smith is best)
cinnamon
sugar

Peel, core, and slice apples. Place in a pot and cook them on medium heat for a few minutes. You want them to still be a little crunchy but the juices to release a little. Stir in cinnamon and sugar to taste. I have some thickening powder that I bought from a kitchen supply store and I add a little in, but its optional. Put filling in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the following topping on top and bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes until topping has browned and apples are bubbling. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Apple Crisp Topping:
2/3 c butter or margarine
1 c packed brown sugar
1 c rolled oats
1 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
Mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of apples.

Best 7 Layer Dip

This is always a crowd pleasing appetizer. It's a layered dip that is eaten with tortilla chips. It is made differently from person to person but this is how I like to make it.

Recipe:
30 oz refried beans
about 2 c guacamole or
3 or 4 avocados mashed with some sour cream
16 oz container sour cream
1 packet taco seasoning
jar of salsa
shredded cheese
sliced olives

I don't have exact measurement for this. Just layer ingredients according to how much you want. In a 9x13 pan layer refried beans on the bottom. Then prepared guacamole, or mash up the avocados with sour cream and layer on the beans. Then mix sour cream with about 3/4 packet of taco seasoning. Layer the sour cream mixture on the guacamole. Then layer the jar of salsa. Sprinkle shredded cheese all over the top and then sliced olives. Keep refrigerated until serving. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yummy Potato Cheesy Soup

Recipe:
8 medium potatoes
4 c chicken broth (enough to boil the potatoes in)
1 c half/half milk (I usually just use the milk in my fridge)
1 1/2 c evaporated milk
3 T butter or margarine
3 T flour
2-3 c sharp cheddar cheese
salt & pepper

Peel and cut potatoes into bite size chunks (Potatoes will cook down slightly). Boil potatoes in the chicken broth in a soup pot until tender but not mushy. Meanwhile in a separate pot heat butter until bubbly and add in flour making a roux. Then stir in the milks. Bring to a slight boil then remove from heat after the flour lumps are gone. Add in shredded cheese and stir until melted. Add salt and pepper to the cheese sauce to taste (don't let cheese sauce boil or it will turn grainy). The amount of cheese is determined by taste. After the cheese sauce is complete add it to the cooked potatoes and broth. Stir soup and serve.

Root Beer Float CAKE

Root Beer Float Cake
Cake:
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. white sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. root beer extract

Custard:
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp. root beer extract

Frosting:
1 egg white, chilled
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. boiling water
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan, or two 9 inch round pans.

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour, milk, and vanilla, and beat to a soft smooth batter.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Poke holes in warm cake.

While the cake is baking, make the custard:

Bring milk and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan without stirring. Whisk yolk (set white aside in fridge after separating to make frosting) in a bowl until blended, then gradually whisk in hot milk mixture. Return to saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens enough to coat back of a wooden spoon. Immediately remove from heat and stir in root beer extract. Pour over warm, poked cake and spread around (hmm, can you tell I used a fork to spread it?).


Cool briefly while custard soaks in a bit. Cover cake with plastic wrap and chill. After the cake is cooled, make the frosting:

Combine egg white, sugar, and cream of tartar in large bowl. Add boiling water. Begin at once to beat with electric mixer. Continue beating on high speed until thick and fluffy and mixture stands in stiff peaks. Add vanilla. Spread over chilled cake (there will be frosting left over).