Free Recipe Friday. . . It's Laundry Day!

Welcome back to Free Recipe Friday boys and girls!

Today we are going to do something thrifty - my favorite!

We are going to make detergent!!!!

I know what you are thinking, 'that is ridiculous - I can go buy some for $10'...

and I will say...'true, yes you can!'....BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT...

this little, easy, schmeazy recipe costs about half of that!

The estimated cost is $6 for 576 loads!

(depending on soap used and amount used per load---

I don't get near that - but 2 gallons DOES last me 4 weeks or more---

still haven't grasped that it doesn't take very much!)

I'd say that is prettttyyyyy thrifty!

INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES

(taken from 'Why Not Sew' blog found on Pinterest!)

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)

1 cup of Borax (you can find on the detergent aisle at most stores)

1 cup of washing soda (you can find on the detergent aisle at most stores)

a big pot ( that holds more than 2 gallons)

a grater

a funnel

a long spoon

2 empty gallon jugs/containers

*I use these utensils for detergent making only*

WHAT TO DO

Grate your bar of soap into your big pot.

Fill one gallon jug and pour water into pot with grated soap.

Cook until the grated soap dissolves.

(be patient, this takes a little while - just keep checking and stirring)

Add the borax and washing soda.

Bring to a slow boil - it will begin to coagulate.

Turn off the heat and add 1 gallon of cold water.  Stir well.

Pour 1 gallon of detergent into each jug.

It will thicken as it cools - so if the first batch is too thick,

please don't throw it out...just shake it well before using

and it will all loosen up a bit.

If you'd like it to be a bit thinner for the next try,

use only 1/2 of a grated bar of soap.

You now have about 2 gallons of liquid clothes detergent!

The blog recommends using 1/2 cup per load.

If you know me at all, you know that I rarely measure things...

therefore, I would say that I use between 1/2 and 1 cup! :)

"This won't make many, if any, suds. Suds don't equal clean.

It took a while to get that into my head.

This detergent cleans wonderfully!"

http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/

This detergent is surprisingly much thicker than store bought.

And has little to no smell at all.

At first that bugged me, then I realized that we do not need

the extra dyes and perfumes in detergent anyway!

So, it's a win, win!

This would make great little Christmas gifts -

poured up in little jars with homemade tags!

Have a scrubby dubby weekend!

Free 'Double Doozie' Recipe Friday!

Good evening/morning everyone!

Wow, what a crazy day, week, month!

Hope you are having an awesome November so far!

What a great month this is...SO much to be thankful for!

Cooler weather means yummy comfort foods,

so this weeks Free Recipe Friday is a double doozie!

Beef Stew and Fried Cornbread!

In the past few years, I have realized that beef stew recipes

are about as different as chocolate cake.

Chocolate cake means many things to many people.

(thanks to my brother for bringing this to my attention years ago!)

Is chocolate cake a yellow cake with chocolate icing?

Is chocolate cake, chocolate cake with chocolate icing?

See what I mean?!?

But today we aren't eating cake...we're having stew, BEEF STEW ;)

And we are throwing in an extra side of Fried Cornbread for ya!

Beef stew to some people means beef and assorted veggies...

including corn, english peas, tomatoes, etc.

To some it may have hamburger meat as it's beef...but to our family,

that would be called 'beef veggie soup'...THIS particular stew

is basically an Irish Beef Stew...also known as our oldest daughter's

favorite thing...so much so, she requested that it be

the meal served at her wedding. 

So we did...and it was duhhh-licious!

Here we go!

Remember, be flexible and adventurous...

you can use many cuts of beef for this recipe...

roasts, round steak, sirloin, etc.

STEW INGREDIENTS:

(for a family of 6 or more)

2-3 lbs. beef (nicely trimmed of fat and cubed)

appx. 5 lbs. potatoes - cubed into 1 inch chunks

(not red, new potatoes)

appx. 2 lbs. carrots - cut into 1 inch chunks

(if you like more carrots, by all means add more carrots!)

1 yellow onion, diced (optional)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

beef broth (appx 8-10 cups)

(I use beef paste concentrate and add my own water)

veggie oil (appx 1/4 cup)

flour (appx 1 cup)

salt/pepper

water

heavy stockpot

Cube beef, potatoes, carrots into nice sized chunks (appx 1 inch)

Place stockpot onto medium/high heat.

Place flour, salt and pepper in a medium size bowl

and dredge cubed beef and toss to cover well.

Add veggie oil to hot stockpot.

Drop dredged beef, diced onions and garlic into oil immediately.

(*Hint - hot pan, cold oil, food won't stick!)

Lightly brown beef, stirring occasionally.

Next, add in carrots...stir to combine with beef.

Add in diced potatoes, continually stirring.

Once the mixture has a chance to come back up to heat,

add in your beef stock and stir well...

scraping up the yummy browned bits on the bottom of the pan!

Bring your baby stew up to a good boil, then reduce heat to medium/low.

Partially cover with a lid and simmer for as long or as little as you'd like.

Technically, when the potatoes and carrots are fork tender

it is done and you are ready to go.

The longer this mixture cooks the thicker the broth will become.

And as some things usually are, this is better the day after!

MOM'S FRIED CORNBREAD:

2 cups plain cornmeal

(I have no idea what 'plain' cornmeal is...isn't it all plain?

-- my mom dictated this recipe to me from her memory,

I just wrote it down as fast as I could...

and I usually use plain white cornmeal for this)

4 tablespoons flour (plain? ha)

3/4 teaspoon salt

boiling water

veggie oil

iron skillet - because those are the best!

Now here comes the hard part ;)

Put dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.

Pour some boiling water over said dry ingredients...

the amount will vary depending on humidity, etc.

It will take at least one cup...stir really fast...

if it is too dry...pour a bit more in...

you want your mixture to be thicker than pancake batter,

maybe more like brownie batter? 

Next, you need to place an iron skillet on medium/high heat.

Add enough veggie oil to come 1/3 to 1/2 up the sides of the pan.

One great trick to know if your oil is ready to fry in is to

stand a wooden dowel (or the end of a wooden spoon)

into your skillet - all the way to the bottom.

When you see tiny bubbles climbing up the wooden dowel,

it's time to fry!  No bubbles? No fry!

Now place a heaping tablespoon of batter into the hot oil.

Fry on each side until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

Pure yumminess!  Great with ANY soups or stews!

ENJOY!

Free Recipe Friday. . .A Taste of the Gulf!

Even though I am married to a 'Taylor', 

it also means I am married into a long line of Zimmerman's
on my mother in laws side.

Without giving you the whole family tree,

that side of the family is being represented here today

as we go back in time on this Free Recipe Friday.

I was given this recipe wayyy back in the early days of our marriage.

One day, back in the mid 80's, my sweet hubby and I

had driven his Granny and Grandad Zimmerman

down to Beaumont to visit their son Stanley, wife Arlene and their family.

We stayed only for the day...but had a great time
watching Uncle Stanley sit in his chair and smoke his pipe,
catching up on family news and happenings...but before leaving,

Aunt Arlene cooked us the most fabulous lunch...

a meal I had never, ever had before.

I asked for the recipe and am forever grateful that she obliged!

We have been making this for years!!!
(The oleo listed below even shows the recipes age!)
I'm not sure if this was something Aunt Arlene concocted on her own,
if it was an old recipe or a common one - but oh so glad
it made its way to our taste buds!
It is basically a stuffing....although we have never 'stuffed' anything with it...
but I'm sure you could get really adventurous
and stuff a turkey or a chicken with this yumminess -
just be really careful about cooking it all the way through.

Our kids used to pick the shrimp out of it, grrrr.

There was nothing so aggravating as heading to the fridge

in anticipation of eating some leftover 'Aunt Arlene Special'

and you open the lid and someone has picked half of the shrimp out!

But surely no one in YOUR family would EVER do that!!!!

(Thankfully, our kids aren't so picky anymore!)

So, here you go...Aunt Arlene calls it Seafood Casserole...

our family has tried to rename it...but, to me it will always be

Aunt Arlene's Seafood Casserole...

you really need to make it nowwww!

INGREDIENTS

1 stick oleo - melted (butter or margarine)
1 small onion - diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard

1 can cream of mushroom soup

8 oz. pkg - Pepperidge Farm Herb Stuffing Mix
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
1 can crab meat 
(we recently substituted half of a can of pink salmon
and is was just awesome!)
1 lb. medium size raw shrimp - peeled and deveined
(fresh or frozen)

Now here comes the really difficult part...
combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl.
Just dump 'em in there...all of it....and give it all a good ol' stir.
Now, spray a casserole dish (equivalent to a 9x13)
with non-stick cooking spray and dump the mixture right in.
That's it....that's all there is to it!
Bake in a 350 oven for 40-45 minutes.
If you overfill your dish as I did, you may want to make sure and
bake it on a cookie sheet to catch any dribbles.
Serve this up with a good green salad
and maybe some crunchy bread or good crackers.
This is even great made ahead!

Free Recipe Friday. . . Good Gravy!

Ahh, who wants to go camping?!?

This week on Free Recipe Friday 

we're gonna take a virtual camping trip.

With this amazing fall weather upon us,

it's making us dream of being on a campsite somewhere!

Today's post is a recipe that is a tradition

 for our family on every camping trip.

It is Sausage Gravy.

Ahh, did you hear that???

I think I heard some angels singing or something!

Oh, you didn't hear anything???

Well then, I guess you haven't had

the same Sausage Gravy that WE have had! ;) 

It is also routinely made in the Taylor household

once or twice a month for our big Saturday breakfasts.

So, with camping on our mind,

 it was only fitting to have THE finest Sausage Gravy maker

in the whole United States

to share with us his gravy makin' skills!

A man that takes Sausage Gravy makin'

pretty seriously!

So, let me introduce to you,

the one, the only,

James Taylor! (isn't he cute?)

Ok, here goes...

Get a whisk---

Fry up some ground sausage in an iron skillet

(cheap stuff works well cause its greasy)

(use a wad about the size of a baseball - more if you like).

Chop it up as it cooks into little crumbles.

I usually add a "little" bacon grease at this point but that's me.

Once it's cooked, turn the heat down to medium

and sprinkle in some all purpose flour

until all the crumbles are coated - stirring all the time.

Don't add so much flour that you make a doughy mess.

Just enough that all the sausage crumbles

are coated and the flour is wet with piggy grease.

Now for the tricky part.

Get the whisk-

Fill a small glass with milk

and another larger glass with tap water.

Pour the milk into the sausage first -

slowly while stirring so the sausage doesn't cool off too much.

It'll look all lumpy but don't stop stirring with the whisk.

Now slowly start pouring in the water

a little at a time while your whisking what looks like cement

and your arm starts crampin'. 

You want the gravy to look like smooth pudding

but that comes later. The whisk is the key.

Whisk whisk whisk.

Stir stir stir until it's smooth.

If it's too thick, just add a little more water

and stir stir stir till the water is blended in

and the gravy is smoooooth.

Let it cook for a few minutes while stirring

so the flour doesn't taste raw.

Add salt and black pepper to taste

toward the end as you stir stir stir.

Once it looks all smoooth like pudding

you can turn the heat down to simmer

and wait on the biscuits that you got cookin' to be done.

Great on biscuits or even toast.

Mom used to dip cat poop in it. It's THAT good.

Enjoy,

James

A special thanks to my sweet hubby
for sharing with us this week.
He makes gravy like no other!
Listed below are the things you will need
to make gravy for yourself or your family.
Hope you'll try it real soon!

INGREDIENTS/TOOLS NEEDED

Seasoned Iron Skillet (or other large saute pan)

Whisk

1/2 lb. of pork sausage (or a 'wad')

Extra fat if needed (bacon grease or veggie oil)

Flour (appx. 1/2 cup)

Milk (appx. 1 cup)

Water as needed (usually 2-3 cups, maybe more)

Salt/Pepper to taste

Biscuits or Toast

Now our great family secret recipe is out.

All you have to do is decipher it!

No problem, right?!?

ENJOY!



Free Recipe Friday. . .Cheese Truffles!

Welcome back to Free Recipe Friday!
Enjoyin' the cooler temps????
Who doesn't love fall???!?
The weather, the colors and the flavors are so nice aren't they!?
It reminds me of our daughter's wedding...

which was on a beautiful fall day in November.

That day was almost one year ago...EEK...

where does the time go???

So, as we reflect back on that momentious occasion

 we will spotlight some yummy goodness from that day...

an easy cheesey treat that you can whip up in a flash.

Cheese Truffles!

They are quite delicious AND a pretty impressive little appetizer -

what more could you ask for!?!

Our menu was indeed a fall menu that day...
Irish Beef Stew, an Autumn Salad with
mixed greens, apples, walnuts and bleu cheese -
a bazillion assorted homemade muffins,

made by my amazing muffin makin' sisters...

assorted crackers...and these heavenly delights...

CHEESE TRUFFLES!

They consist of just a very few ingredients,

are easy peasy to make AND can be made up ahead of time!

So here goes....

FETA CHEESE TRUFFLE INGREDIENTS:

4 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used 6 oz.)

1 (4-oz.) container crumbled feta cheese

2 tsp. finely chopped onion

1/2-1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

This recipe made 23 bite size cheese truffles for us!

WHAT TO DO:

Beat first 5 ingredients at medium speed of an electric mixer

until well combined.

Cover tightly and chill at least 1 hour or until firm.

You can store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days!

Roll cheese mixture into 3/4 inch round balls.

Roll each ball in chopped parsley or bacon crumbles.

Either serve immediately or cover and chill until ready to serve.

If chilled, let stand 30 minutes before serving.

VARIATIONS:

Gorgonzola Truffles:

Substitute 1 (4-oz.) container crumbled Gorgonzola (bleu) cheese

for the Feta cheese and use 1/2-1 cup cooked and crumbled bacon

for the chopped parsley.

Goat Cheese Truffles:

Substitute 1 (4-oz.) container crumbled Goat cheese

for Feta and 1/2 cup toasted chopped pecans

for the chopped parsley.

Maid of Honor Shelby, making up a ton of assorted truffles

on Melody's wedding day!

The wedding 'party'

The love birds, Jason & Melody!

Free Recipe Friday. . .Fried Goat Cheese!

Ever tried it? Goat cheese that is...yum!!! 

Just ignore that part about it

being made from the milk of a goat if

it freaks you out a little.

Goat cheese is an amazing cheese.

It is more of a dry, crumbly cheese,

so by frying it quickly, it won’t melt and ooze all over as it cooks.

And as we all know, goat's milk

 is easier to digest for those who have a low tolerance for cow's milk.

Wikipedia states that goat cheese has been made for thousands of years

and was probably one of the earliest made dairy products.

It also says that the west (that's us)

has popularized the cow, but that goat milk and goat cheese

are the preferred dairy products in much of the rest of the world.

And it is delicious - you should try it!

For this evenings Free Recipe Friday

we will pay homage to our great friend, goat cheese.

Let's fry it up!

Fried stuff puts a smile on most everyones face! :)

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Panko breadcrumbs - readily available these days

Goat Cheese - sadly, not too many varieties available around here

Panko breadcrumbs with other spices

eggs and flour used for dredging

Ohhh, and some olive oil to fry these babies up in!

THE INGREDIENTS/MEASUREMENTS

6 oz. goat cheese log

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 tsp. dried parsley

1/2 tsp. granulated garlic

1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

pinch of kosher salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup of flour

olive oil

WHAT TO DO

Chill the cheese!

Pop the whole package in the freezer for approx. 15 minutes.

While your cheese is chillin'

grab the rest of your ingredients

for the dredge.

Put the panko in a medium-sized bowl.

(substitute white breadcrumbs in a pinch

but the crunch won't be the same)

Add the parsley, granulated garlic/garlic powder,

ground pepper, and kosher salt.

Stir to combine well.

In a seperate little bowl,

crack the eggs and beat them.

Put the flour on a plate or in a shallow bowl.

Remove your goat cheese from the freezer

and carefully slice the log into 1/2 inch slices.

Wiping your knife clean after each slice.

You can also use unflavored dental floss

for easy slicing!

Put the cheese in the flour. Flip it gently to coat on both sides.

Drop the floured cheese into the beaten egg.

Flip it gently to coat with egg on both sides.

Lastly, put it into the seasoned panko breadcrumbs.

Flip it to coat on both sides.

Repeat with the rest of the cheese,

setting aside onto waxed paper or a cookie sheet.

You can do this an hour or more ahead of time if need be

and just keep refrigerated.

Now, here comes the fun part.

Put a little olive oil in a nonstick pan.

Use just enough to coat the bottom of the pan.

Gently grab your little coated goat cheeses

and place them into your pan and fry over medium heat.

Watch closely as they will brown very quickly.

Flip each one over and gently brown on the other side.

Remember not to overcrowd your pan.

A crowded pan means your food will almost steam,

instead of fry,

and you’ll wind up with soggy cheese….

and nobody wants that!

Remove and drain on a paper towel

as they become golden.

Let them rest a bit before consuming

or the lava hotness will dissolve your taste buds.

Now sit back and watch them disappear!!!

These are great to eat alongside a salad

with some great bread, to serve at brunch

or eat cold for breakfast :)

These are amazing anytime, day or night!

Free Recipe Friday. . .BACONNN!!!

Have you ever had those cheeeesy biscuits from Red Lobster???

Yea well, you will want to throw those in the trash

after you try THESE Cheddar-Bacon Biscuits...

thank you William-Sonoma! 

One of my FAV stores/catalogs in the whole world!!!!

You should make these for breakfast,

you should make these for lunch

and if you make them right now,

everyone will love you a whole bunch!

So, today's Free Recipe Friday is biscuits.

That's right. Biscuits.

Have you ever made biscuits?

I mean like homemade biscuits?

Don't be scared.  Reach wayyyy back into your memory banks

to those days of Home Ec...when you learned to "cut in" shortening and flour...
do you remember that?!?!??!!!??
 "Cutting in" means incorporating shortening or butter
 into the flour in such a way that little lumps of the raw fat remain whole within the flour mixture.
When the dough is baked, these little lumps create separation in the structure of the product,
which is what gives it that flaky consistency.

The EASIEST way to do this is with a pastry blender/cutter...
but in MY middle school Home Ec years,
we were taught to use two knives. NOT FUN!

No fancy pastry blenders/cutters in those days! Oh nooooo!

It was one of those things that when you are in middle school you are thinking
 'this is the dumbest thing in the world...I will never use this skill, ever!

And to be honest, it's still not my favorite part of biscuit making

or pie crust making for that matter.  But it's oh so easy.
When you're all done you will realize, hey, what was the big stinkin' deal?!

Some people choose to use their fancy food processors for pastry making,

I guess I am just old school...as long as I have a pastry/blender cutter!

So here goes...push your sleeves up...we are going to make biscuits!

You'll be glad you did!

INGREDIENTS

6 oz. bacon, diced

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt (or substitute table salt)

2 tsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

8 Tbs. (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces,

plus 2 Tbs. melted butter

3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

(it's the best, but you can use colby)

1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

(and egads! you can use that cheap powdery stuff in a can...if you must!)

3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. buttermilk

(don't have that either? you can add a few spoonfuls

of lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk. voila!) 

See THAT wasn't so hard, was it???

WHAT TO DO...

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

In an 11-12 inch fry pan over medium-high heat,

cook the diced bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes.
(You could also BAKE your bacon strips on a sprayed cookie sheet,
drain and then crumble with the same results - make it easy on yourself!!!)

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate...to drain

Reserve that bacon grease for another recipe! :)
Set crumbled bacon aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour,

baking powder, salt, sugar and pepper.

Using a pastry blender or 2 knives,

cut in the cold butter until pea-size crumbs form,

then use your fingers to pinch the crumbs into flat disks.

Stir in the cheddar and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses and the bacon.

Stir in the buttermilk until the dough just comes together.

Transfer the dough to a floured work surface

and roll or smoosh it out into a rectangle about an inch thick.

Fold the dough into thirds, rotate 90 degrees

and roll out into the same-size rectangle and same thickness.

This step, though not common with all biscuit recipes,

increases the flakiness of the biscuit.

Now, using about a 2 inch floured biscuit cutter,

round cookie cutter, or empty antique tomato paste can, as I did, 

cut out the biscuits and place on a sprayed baking sheet.

Gather up the scraps, reroll the dough and cut out more biscuits...

repeating this process until all of your dough is used up.

Ours made about 12-15 biscuits.

Hopefully all of your family members will be out of the kitchen

and not be temped to come grab clumps of raw dough!

Be forewarned! :) 

Bake the biscuits until golden brown

and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

Brush the tops of the biscuits with the reserved melted butter

as soon as they come out of the oven.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

 

 

Oh my word, we ate on these all day one Saturday!!!!!

Yummmmmmmm!