Showing posts with label save money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label save money. Show all posts

Friday, December 21, 2012

You Don't Have to Buy that!




OK, so my posts about spa recipes and my post about homemade household cleaners seemed to be pretty popular. I guess that it's actually saving money that's pretty popular! So I thought I would make it a trilogy! Today I'm going to give you guys some recipes for things you never realized you were spending so much money on! If you don't know already, homemade is always better. Even the jars above are homemade- DIY all the way! The link to them is at the bottom of this post!


Homemade Nesquik Recipe
2/3 C Sugar
1/3 C Cocoa
Pinch of salt

Combine the three ingredients and store in a sealed container.

Homemade Bisquick Recipe
3 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

mix and store in a sealed container

Eagle Brand Condensed Milk
3/4 cup powdered milk
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup hot water
Blend until smooth.

This recipe equals one can of store bought condensed milk.

Homemade Brownie Mix
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
⅔ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar

mix and store in an airtight container. When you're ready to use this, add 1 cup melted butter or margarine 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit till done.

Homemade Muffin Mix
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

mix in air tight container.When you're ready to use this add any special additions (like blueberries, chocolate chips, nuts etc.) first then add 1 egg, beaten 1 cup milk and 1/4 cup oil.

Seasoned Salt
8 Tbsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
3 Tbsp. pepper
1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. paprika

Homemade Taco Seasoning same link
6 tsp. chili powder
3 tsp. onion powder
4 1/2 tsp. cumin
2 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
5 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. oregano
Mix all ingredients and store in an airtight container. One teaspoon of homemade taco seasoning equals 2 teaspoons of the store-bought seasoning.

Italian Seasoning same link
1/4 cup dried basil
2 Tbsp. dried thyme
2 Tbsp. dried marjoram
2 Tbsp. dried rosemary
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. dried coriander
1 tsp. sugar
Combine all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place for up to 3 months.

Homemade Cajun Seasoning
1/2 cup paprika
1/3 cup Himalayan Salt or sea salt
1/4 cup Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Onion Powder
1 Tablespoon Cayenne Pepper (optional- won’t be spicy without this)
2 Tablespoons Oregano leaf
1 Tablespoon Thyme leaf
To Make: Mix all ingredients in jar or food processor and store in an airtight container. Good on stir frys, eggs, casseroles, and poultry. Can add more or less Cayenne to get to your taste.

Homemade Lemon Pepper Seasoning
Zest of 3 lemons, about 1 -2 tbsp
Crushed black pepper, 2-3 tbsp
Sea Salt, 1 tbsp
Preheat toaster oven to lowest setting.
In a large bowl, combine lemon zest and black pepper.  Cover metal pan fitted for toaster oven with foil and spread mixture evenly in pan.  Allow to bake low and slow until zest is completely dried.  Mine took about 26-30 minutes.
Transfer lemon-pepper mixture to a bowl.  Using the back of a spoon (or spice grinder if you have one), crush mixture until desired texture is achieved.  Mix in salt, 1 tsp at a time.  Continue to add salt until you have the right balance to fit your taste.

Homemade Fajita Seasoning
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. sugar
2-1/2 tsp. crushed chicken bouillon cube
1-1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin

mix and store this is about the quantity of 3 commercial packets.

1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp minced onion
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin

this recipe is enough for 1 pound of ground beef

2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion flakes
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper

mix and store. When you're ready to use this whisk together 1 TBS of Mix , 1/3 Cup of Mayonnaise ( or 1/3 cup non fat Greek yogurt)  and 1/4 Cup of Milk. Add salt to taste.

PS: You can make your own spice jars for the above spices. If you like the ones in the picture you can find out how to make them yourselves at Well it's Okay, another awesome blog!

That's it for now, I hope you guys enjoy these! Always remember to label clearly and don't forget to label how much you need to scoop if you make more than a single batch and what to add to that! Label label label!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Homemade Cleaner Recipes





I love to save money, doesn't everybody? Making your own cleaning solutions can save you a ton of money, I have a lot of recipes for different types of cleaners- as I'm sure any readers for this particular post do. However, I'm writing this to create a place where they're all gathered together!

Homemade Tub Scrub

Add one teaspoon of liquid soap and several drops of an antibacterial essential oil (such as tea tree, eucalyptus, rosemary, or peppermint) to one cup of baking soda. Add just enough water to form a paste, and use it with a sponge or brush to scour bathtub surfaces.

Furniture Dusting Spray

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon essential oil
1/4 cup  white vinegar
1-3/4 cups water
Spray bottle (16 oz size or larger)
Mix the ingredients in the order listed into your clean spray bottle.  Shake well each time you use to mix oil and water. Spray onto wooden furniture and wipe off with a soft cloth to dust and clean the surface.

Spot Remover

one part dawn dishwashing liquid, two parts hydrogen peroxide

Mattress Freshener

Fill a mason jar with holes poken in the lid with baking soda and a TBS of your favorite fabric softener, let sit for an hour and vaccum off. Would be a great carpet freshener as well-

Carpet Freshener

Same mix as above OR mix in different jar with just a few drops of your favorite smelling essential oils. It's like homemade carpet fresh! These can both be put into empty grated parmesan cheese bottles too! Oh and those sprinkler lids from the parmesan bottles? They fit mason jars.

Dishwasher Soap

2 c borax
2 c Arm & Hammer washing soda
2 c lemi shine
1 c kosher salt

thats 1 TBS per load

Homemade Fabric Softener

6 cups HOT water
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.
Add the vinegar, and mix well.
Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}
Pour into a downy ball… or use approx. 2 tbsp. in the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)
a grater
a funnel
a long spoon
2 empty gallon jugs/containers
Grate your bar of soap into your pot. Fill one gallon jug and pour water into pot with grated soap. Cook until the grated soap dissolves. Add the Borax and washing soda.Bring to a boil. It will coagulate. Turn off the heat. Add 1 gallon of cold water. Stir well. Pour 1 gallon of your detergent into each container. A funnel helps tremendously. Now you have 2 gallons of homemade laundry detergent.Use 1/2 cup per load.

Mock Windex

1 Empty Spray Bottle
1/8 Cup (1oz) White Ammonia
1/4 Cup (4oz) Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol
1 Drop Laundry Detergent
Water - To Fill The Bottle

                                                ::::::::::WARNING::::::::::
                               
   !!!!ALWAYS LABEL YOUR BOTTLES AND KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN!! AND NEVER EVER EVER EVER MIX BLEACH AND AMMONIA- IT WILL CREATE VERY TOXIC FUMES!!!!!!

Other Tips:
  • put a few drops of essential oil inside the cardboard tube of your toilet paper, each time it's spun it will give off that scent!
  • Nailpolish remover will remove marker from laminate and other hard surfaces (always spot test!)
  • Use wadded up aluminum foil to scrub caked on nasty pans (I love doing this)
  • Use old newspaper to clean windows- the difference in that and paper towels is amazing! Crystal clear!
***********All recipe titles include links to the original website, where I got them. Several sites are repeated.