Tote Bags from Recycled Pet Food Bags

 I made one of these from a dog food bag a while back, but today I finally got around to using my chicken feed and cat food bags.  They are lined and ready to use!

What do you think?  Do you think these would sell?  Or are they just something I appreciate with my frugality?  I'm curious to know your opinions.

Make Your Own Peanut Butter

My tip today is to make your own peanut butter. It will save you money AND be much healthier since you control the sweetener. Here is how I make mine:
2 cups of roasted, salted peanuts (you can use raw, roast them yourself in the oven and use unsalted, add your own salt to taste, if you prefer)
Olive oil (not sure exact measurement - till texture I like)
1 Tablespoon of honey

Put the peanuts in your food processor with the blade attachment. Begin processing and drizzle oil in until the peanuts start to look like peanut butter. I would estimate about 1/4 cup maximum. The more oil, the thinner the peanut butter (however, it does firm up some in the refrigerator, which is where you need to store this). Then add honey and continue processing until you get the consistency that you like. It is not possible to get anything but slightly crunchy (smooth style is not possible:-) doing it this way, but it is VERY yummy and NO SUGAR!!

I would post a photo, but the peanut butter is all gone right now and I have to make some more today!! We all LOVE it!

Simply Homemade: Yogurt in a Crock Pot

I first posted this several years ago and wanted to share the recipe again because this homemade yogurt is SO wonderful!  I have since bought a yogurt maker at a yard sale for $3 and it makes the yogurt in little cups.  Almost the exact same process, just in the small cups and the yogurt maker heats it at a very low heat for exactly the amount of time needed.  But for you who don't have a yogurt maker, here is a really simple and wonderful way to make homemade yogurt!

Well, I finally did it!! I made yogurt in a crockpot. I have been wanting to do this ever since I first read about it on a blog (can't remember whose, so if it was yours, please remind me so I can give you credit!!) It is SO yummy and inexpensive and wholesome! I am very excited at how simple it was and that it worked on the FIRST try:-) and is nice and thick and creamy!

Here is what I did:
I put 2 quarts of milk into my crockpot (you can do 1 quart, but I wanted to make alot) and heated it on low setting for three (3) hours (the directions I read said this time was very important). Then I turned the crockpot off and let it sit for 2 hours (you can leave it set for longer, but it was midnight and I didn't want to stay up any later). Then I put about 1 cup of natural plain yogurt (from the store or from a previous batch) into a jar and added an equal amount of the warm milk. I mixed this very well, then began adding it, a little at a time, to the crockpot milk, stirring well after each addition. When it was all mixed together, I wrapped my crockpot in a big towel and left sit overnight. This morning when I opened it and checked it, it was nice and thick. I chilled it in the fridge for a couple hours and then had it with homemade granola cereal and blackberry jam for breakfast. YUMMMMMMY!!!

Sorry for the bad photo - don't know what happened and I only took one (it was very early this morning:-).

Simply Homemade: Yummy Granola Cereal and Hot Cocoa Mix

These are a couple of staples that I have been making for a little while and now my kids get upset when we run out. So I thought I would share the recipes in case anyone would like to try them, too.

Healthy Homemade Granola Cereal
4 cups old fashioned oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup slivered almonds (or chopped pecans)
1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup canola oil
4 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole grain flakes
In a large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, almonds, sucanat and salt. Mix well and then toss in the whole grain flakes. In another bowl, mix the oil, honey, water and vanilla. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread over a jelly-roll pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. If you desire, you can add raisins for the last 15 minutes. You can also add banana chips or dried cranberries. The granola will brown as it cooks. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Hot Cocoa Mix
2 3/4 cups powdered milk
1 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups sugar
dash of salt

Whirl in blender and store in airtight container. Use 3 Tablespoons per cup of hot water.

Simply Homemade - Mayonnaise

One of the things that I now make from scratch and would never go back to buying is mayonnaise.  It is very easy and quick to make and the taste is SO much better than anything I have ever bought!  The only downside is that when we run out, I have to make it again:-)  I make so many things from scratch these days that there is always something needing to be made.  But I am happy to do it and love knowing exactly what we are eating!

So here is the recipe I use for making mayonnaise:

1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp. mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups oil (you can use olive oil, veg oil, canola oil, whatever you prefer)
1 Tbl. cider vinegar

I put the egg, yolk, mustard and salt together in a container that came with my stick blender.  Then I use my stick blender to blend those and begin slowly adding the oil.  As I keep blending with the stick blender, it begins to emulsify the oil, making mayonnaise.  It only take a couple minutes with the stick blender.  You can also use a regular blender, but it will probably take longer.  Just add the oil a little at a time and keep blending until it begins to emulsify (look like mayonnaise:-).  After it is done, I stir in the cider vinegar and have fresh, ready-to-eat mayonnaise.

With the stick blender, it takes about 5 minutes total. I have heard that with a regular blender it can take as much as 15 minutes or so.


I would love to hear what condiments you make from scratch.