Cardinal Red! Taco Brunch -For the sports fans out there!

For the sports fans out there!

 An original  addition for the Cardinal Team lovers out there!  A fun way to sport the red and white on game day. 

Cardinal Red! Taco brunch 

White corn tortillas

6-8 egg whites – separate the whites from yolks into bowl & whip

1/2 cup chopped white onion

½ cup red bell pepper or red chili – (or both, depending on what heat you prefer) chopped  into small dices

1 clove garlic minced

1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 large fresh tomato diced

3/4 cup crumbled Queso Fresco, or jack cheese, shredded.

Red Salsa

In fry pan, over med heat warm a white corn tortilla per person. Set aside in plate.

Add olive oil to pan and lightly fry the bell pepper, garlic, and onion  until tender, then add the egg whites, cooking scrambled style until done.

Place med. amount on warmed tortilla and top with crumbled or shredded cheese, layering red tomatoes, and white cheese, topped with red salsa! Cardinal colors to support your team!  Makes about 6-8 tacos.

Quick Ideas for Breakfast

Quick Ideas for Breakfast
A fast and easy breakfast does not have to include high sugars or processed cereals. Here are some simple ideas:

Fresh fruit and yogurt
An apple and piece of toast w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter
Oatmeal topped with honey and fruit or berries
Slice of melon and cottage cheese
Eggs: scrambled, fried, egg sandwich, omelet, hard boiled, poached
Breakfast burrito with egg, cheese, sausage and salsa
Whole wheat pancakes served with honey drizzled, or maple syrup
Whole wheat waffles served with real maple syrup or molasses
Breakfast smoothie with fresh fruit and yogurt
French toast served with apple sauce
Toast with yogurt cheese or cream cheese and berries 

Homemade noodles the way my Grandma made them

Homemade Noodles and Chicken stock
2 dozen eggs, 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon salt, flour to make a very stiff dough
Mix well. Knead dough. Roll dough into large thin circles. Cut by hand into noodles or cut with pasta machine. Let dry in single layer. Store in airtight containers.

Grandma would spend an entire day making homemade noodles. While she used a handcrank pasta machine in her later years, I do remember the handcut ones from when I was really little. The dough would be rolled out across the entire end of her kitchen table and often a batch of her homemade noodles were a length of at least foot (something makes me want to say that was folded over the dryer dowl- so 1 noodle was approximately 24" long.)

 Every time she made the noodles, an entire chicken would be boiling on the back of the stove, in a kettle of water with 1 bay leaf, a tsp of allspice (with cloves removed) and salt and pepper. This was her homemade chicken soup stock for that evening dinner. She'd later remove the bones, and add the noodles. And we would all feast. Yum.
Each child and grandchild's household then left that night with a bag of homemade noodles from the day's event.

Static! Eliminate Dryer Sheets!

Static! UGH!!!!

  Do you hate static from the dryer? I certainly do! I seem to always live in areas prone to static! UGH! Haha! :)
I have an aversion to dryer sheets. The smell alone from the chemical scents of commercial dryer sheets drives my allergies batty! The chemicals alone are what I am trying to avoid anyway, as I learn more about green cleaning. There are a few easy easy remedies that do not cost much at all! (Yay! Green and Frugal! Double bonus!)

1.  First, and foremost, to address the static alone- use aluminum foil. I take a square of my kitchen foil, loosely ball it in my hand and throw it in to the dryer with my wet clothes. When the load is finished, (I have never had anything from it come off on the clothes) and it removes the static build up. The balls are always in a tightly compacted ball when they come out- but it works! No noxious smell, no chemical residue, no STATIC!!!!!!! Win win! Easy, simple, frugal, and green. Yay!

 2. The second remedy is Vinegar. To add 1/2 cup white vinegar to your rinse cycle. It acts like a fabric softener. The best part is: it does it naturally, and the smell of vinegar evaporates off. Wonderful!  Your clothes come out softer, and you have done it naturally! Safer for environment - no toxic waste water, and better for your family and budget! Yay!

My Mix Laundry Soap

My Mix Laundry Soap. Yay!!
  Okay, it’s not homemade in the sense I got lye soap, a cauldron and bubbled and burbled my own concoction- haha!  but it’s my MIX, and it’s really good, lasts longer, and is a fraction of the cost of name brand laundry soaps! It’s more natural in ingredients than most name brands, and less offensive on the perfumey chemical trail. Plus, I do not have any allergic reaction to it! YAY!

  I have found I can make: 1 trip to the grocery store, spend about $39, use up about an hour of prep and mixing, and in the end, have an effective, and extremely good smelling laundry soap that is amazingly only a fraction of the cost of my old store bought brand.

You will need:

Ingredients:
1 (4 lb) 20 Mule Team Borax
3 (1lb) boxes of Baking soda  (for homemade Washing soda***) or 1(3 lb) Box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (***make your own, as I  did; directions at the end- by using 3 boxes of Baking Soda)
1 (3 lb) Container of OxyClean
2 (14 oz) Bars of Zote Soap
4 (1 lb) Boxes of Baking Soda
3 (28 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener (100% optional!) There are 3 scents offered by Purex Crystals, use whichever one you prefer- or leave this out to eliminate the fragrance altogether.

Supplies: 1 large bucket, clean, dry inside, with lid; 1 cheese grater and old mixing bowl, wood spoon, and 1baking sheet if making washing soda.

Step 1: 

 Grate the soap! Grate into a large mixing bowl. The grated Zote soap dissolves just fine, even in cold water;  but,  the finer the pieces- the faster it dissolves, so using a small grater is best. When you finish grating, the hardest part is over – now it’s just time to mix.

 

Step 2: Mix in the bucket!

I used a large bucket and poured the ingredients in segments. I took a small amount of each and layered it on top of each other, then I grabbed a large wood mixing spoon, and mixed it together each time.  My husband helped with this, I poured -while he mixed. We do this outside on the back porch, as it does pouf clouds of powder easily as you pour and mix. Go slow and less pouf will occur.  Pouring it in in segments just made it easier to completely mix.

To USE: 

 You only need 1-2 Tablespoons per load depending on the size! I just recycled/reused the Oxy Clean container. I had it available after all was poured in,  and it's so easy to refill as needed!   I just scoop my mixture right back into the now empty tub, and wahh-lahh, my detergent has a perfect container! YAY!!!! The Oxy clean scoop says 1,2,3,4, right on the side! Perfect to sit on your laundry room shelf! I have found the scoop filled to the line 2 is enough for my large capacity load! The Purex crystal bottles work great, too, especially if you are sharing! 

Note: because this laundry mix is low suds, it IS safe for HE washers.

Try to keep the remaining bucket mixture in a dry/cool location. To store the remaining mix,   I recycled one of my husband's 5 gal buckets from the garage, cleaned it out, and now store the remaining laundry soap in it! Sits perfect in the dry storage area in the garage, ready for refills.

 

  As with  most of these DIY posts, I am not the originator. Although all words & pictures are mine, the original recipe and concept was not.  I originally found this DIY Laundry Soap mix recipe by author Jen, from DIY Diaries. On this site: http://www.howdoesshe.com/cheaper-and-better-diy-laundry-detergent/

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**Washing Soda
The original recipe I found for this detergent, called for Super Washing Soda- and I couldn’t find it in the area I live in. :( Ugh. However, I did some more research and found you can actually make Washing Soda- DIY -at home, on your own.

It turns out Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda is Sodium Carbonate.which you can easily change from Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda) using one key item- HEAT. The heat evaporates off the "Bi" of bicarbonate creating Sodium Carbonate.
 
So, Heat your oven up to 400-475° F. Pour the 4 boxes of Baking soda onto cooking sheets and bake for at least 1 hour. Each time you check it, stir it a bit to ensure all is changing. When I did, I noticed a "poof" of what appeared to be steam rising off the baking soda. After one hour, the “steam” was gone. (The ‘poof like steam’ is the water and carbon dioxide evaporating off)

Take it out of the oven, and let it completely cool. Once cooled, it’s ready to use in the laundry mix. (Note: Although Baking Soda is naturally safe to eat- sodium carbonate (Washing Soda) is NOT safe to consume- so take care in the kitchen to not spill, or wipe away from any surfaces that might touch your food later. And clearly label any jars or canisters you use when storing it. It's a fantastic cleaner! Just don't store it beside your regular baking soda.)

When making my laundry soap, I set the baking soda in the oven first, then went outside and started grating the Zote Soap. By the time I finished grating, dealing with the kids, taking a bathroom break, etc… about an hour was over, and all I had to do was let it cool while I gathered the supplies, bucket, and prepared to mix.

Done! Homemade laundry soap that cleans bright, doesn’t fade my colors, and smells fantastic! All for $39. For me this recipe lasts about 7-8 months- sometimes longer. Saving me mega amounts on my budget.  (Well over $100!) Super frugal, super smart and great results! It is worth the time taken once every 7-8 months.








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