Fabulous Friday - a new recipe to try!

Things are gearing up for me - getting things ready for the  new school year and a grade change. I realized looking at my calendar that there isn't much time left and I needed to get busy. As a result, I've been a bit focused on school stuff and less on house projects - but I'm seeking balance. 

First, an update on the Dingle Twits. They've been sequestered to the coop and run until they figure out that it is their home.  So far it's been working - I've only had to go lock up - everyone's been inside. This decision came Monday when I went to close up: three of the Dingle Twits were sitting on TOP of the umbrella. A fourth was trying to climb up to sit with. The fifth was on a tree branch waiting her turn.  Just as I was getting close enough to take a picture, the fourth one made it to the top - and brought the whole umbrella toppling down. Missed the picture by seconds, but got one of them on the ground looking at it as if to say, "Well, THAT didn't go as planned!"  Too funny. 

I've let the Goddesses out everyday to give the Dingle Twits some time to get used to the run. It's been nice - by 7:30 the goddesses are all hanging out by the door, so I let them in. I have only had to go lock up at 9:15. Fingers crossed this keeps working. 

Now for the recipe . . . 

I mentioned that I've been pretty busy with curriculum work - the last thing I want to do is spend a ton of time in the kitchen making food.  My solution: Mexican Wontons

Ingredients: 
wontons
favorite nacho/burrito/taco ingredients


I lined a cupcake pan with three wontons (overlapping to make a cup because my pan makes large cupcakes) 

Then I added:
 a scoop of re-fried beans
some shredded cheese
some salsa
some chopped olives
Mrs. Dash chili lime seasoning

I topped it with another wonton and some cheese and salsa and baked it at 385 until the wontons were crispy and golden. 


They popped right out of my silpat pans - and right into our mouths. Yummo! 

Fabulous Friday - Remedies, Recipes, and Cleaners

 I have been converting the cleaning products I use to all natural and home made for quite some time.  I either made or purchased awhile, a "natural" version as one of the regular bands I had already had ran out -- I didn't want to just throw out good money which is what I would be doing if I tossed a 1/2 empty bottle of 409 or something.   

Why would I go to the trouble? I want to get away from the harsh cleaning agents and limit the chemicals my family is exposed to. It will be better for our septic system in the long run as well. After all, my grandma was able to clean just fine with vinegar, borax, baking soda, and some muscle.  

The recipes are out there, and they are plentiful. One weekend I tried a recipe for laundry soap that someone had Pinned. I thought, why not.  I tried a liquid soap recipe  but something wasn't quite right about it (whether it was cook error or recipe, I'm not sure). So, it was back to the drawing board - or supermarket for me. . . 

One if the switches I made was to Mrs. Meyers. It does a good job, I love that I can tailor the fragrance I use, it's OK with my septic system, and the best part - I can just pick it up of the shelf.   The down side?  It's as expensive as the other stuff - definitely not a way to save money.  Still, it was a good transition given the convenience. 

Now that it's summer, and I have more time (and I'm almost out of soap) I thought I'd give it another try.  In my test kitchen today - laundry soap for HE machines. Most recipes were variations of the one I eventually used - can't wait to try it on towels.

Ingredients & supplies:
An airtight container (gallon size at least)
cheese grater
food processor 
4 cups Borax 
4 cups Washing Soda
2 bars grated bar soap
I used Ivory, cause it's what I had on hand - other recommendations are Castille or Fell's Naptha
2 cups Oxiclean (dye and fragrance free)
There seems to be great debate as to the "naturalness of this product" but I leave it to you to decide - it has Sodium Carbonate (washing soda)  and Sodium Percarbonate (basically hydrogen peroxide in solid form which probably explains why it works so darn well. 
10-15 drops Lavender essential oil 
You could also use TeaTree, Camomile, or whatever you prefer - just remember a little goes a long way.


Steps: 
1. I ran the powder 2 cups at a time through my Vitamix (except for the Oxi - it was already very fine). 
2. I added each portion to my airtight storage container
3. Mixed it it all together once I was done (next time I'll add the soap last - I discovered it stuck to the container a bit when I mixed it)
4. Added the essential oil, put the lid on and gave it a shake. 

2 tablespoon for regular loads and 3 tablespoons for heavily soiled loads should be plenty, I'll let you know. 

I didn't think to stop and take pictures along the way. I have to remember that for next time. 

Also, I did some extra research and feel safe using this recipe with our septic system because there are ZERO phosphates and ZERO fillers. That means there's nothing to harm necessary septic bacteria. Yea!

Inspiration and motivation

Thinking I should be working in my garden led me to actually working on my to do list. I just waited until it cooled off a bit. I wasn't outrageously hot like I remember the Central Valley of California where I grew up - - it would get so hot your heels would sink into the blacktop -- mid to upper 80's isn't bad when you've experienced 110 -114, but I digress...

Once motivated, I decided that I should start with the lawn because it is pretty mindless work and it REALLY needed to be done. I couldn't motivate myself to weeding or any other bed work - I knew I didn't have the oomph to tackle that just yet.   The good news is that I finished in less than FOUR HOURS, albeit ten minutes less, but still. . . 

The other good news is that while walking behind that mower, I had an epiphany about the blog. I think the format will help the posts be focused and help inspire me to be more consistent in writing them. It's a plan and it may change, but it's a start. Most of the titles are pretty self-explanatory, but I've included descriptions below. Future posts will follow thusly:  

Mystery Plant Monday -  I sleuth out the details of one of the hundreds of "I'm not sure what this is" plants on the property so I know how to care for it. 

To Do List Tuesday - I/we tackle one of the projects on our every growing To Do List.

Wishful Wednesday - a more broad subject. Might be filled with wishlist tools, future plans for garden or house areas, and plans on how to achieve those goals. 

Therapy Thursday - I've always said that gardening is my therapy. So Thursday's post will be dedicated to all things garden related. With five acres, I've plenty to talk about.

Fabulous Friday - reflecting on recipes, remedies, and research for our journey to self-sufficiency.

Snapshot Saturday - photos of things I've discovered here at Our Haven, updates on projects, chickens, memories made, etc. 

Simply Sunday - family time; time taken to express thankfulness for what we have.