Cloth Family Wipes

Ever heard of cloth wipes...for the whole family? Yeah, I hadn't either...then I came across this blog which introduced me to the idea, and I did a bit more reading about it, and thought...EWWW! lol

BUT, the more I about it, the more I thought it my be beneficial. There are three girls in our family, and even though my DH said (and I quote), "Ain't NO way!" when I mentioned it to him, I thought if the girls and I used them *only for #1*, there should still be considerable savings on buying toilet paper (you wouldn't believe how much my kids use!).

While I was ruminating on all this my DH brought some old t-shirts to me and asked me to cut them into shop rags for him. Providential! lol I cut up a couple of Anna's shirts, too, that were stained. So we ended up with a pretty good-sized pile of cloth wipes as easy as pie!

I am LOVING them. A couple weeks ago I checked on the tissue paper, "We've got two packs left, use about a pack a week, so we'll be ok until the first of Feb." We STILL have one pack left! I'm thrilled! lol

(We are using them only for #1....I can't think of using them for #2 yet. lol)

Homemade Granola Bars

I made homemade Granola Bars today. They were SO good...well some were. I tried putting chocolate chips in half, and the chocolate melted all over them, so they were chocolate coated, more or less, and not as tasty.

The half I put raisins in were GREAT!


I used this recipe...delicious! *Plus* she has Great Pictures! : )

(I added flax seeds to mine, too.)

We're trying to avoid HFCS for health reasons, and I just happened to think today that as much as we love granola bars they would probably be an easy thing to make and healthier...not to mention saving money! I can't believe how much the price has gone up on granola bars lately!

(I've been using chopped, dried apricots, now...and they're SO good!)

FRESH BREAD!

Is there anything better than fresh bread?! I LOVE fresh bread, still warm...yum!

I've been making a simple flat bread recipe this past week...my DH wanted some bread and I was in a hurry, so I made flat bread for him and he loved it so much he's wanted it almost every day since. lol It's super easy, flour (I use half white and half wheat), cut in a bit of butter, sprinkle in a pinch of salt, add water and stir. When it's mixed, knead it a minute, break off pieces and flatten, then fry it....because I LOVE me some butter, I fry it in more butter. lol

But,here is a blog about bread baking, and I'm sure they've got better ideas and know LOTS more about bread than I do. lol Probably have more detailed recipes, too. ; )

Powdered Milk

I have read that Instant nonfat powdered milk is an economical alternative to regular milk. I can't attest to that, because I haven't bought any in ages. We were working with a food pantry that got an extremely HUGE load of powdered milk, and since they had to get rid of it within a certain time frame I ended up with quite a bit of it. (I nearly always take things when they say "Toss it." I ended up with a big bag of frozen rolls that had thawed into a lump of dough that way...the dough was still good, just not in roll shape anymore. I brought it home and re-formed it. The only thing I didn't take and still regret it was some empty coffee cans. I keep thinking of ways I could have used them. lol) Anyway, we haven't bought any, but I use it regularly. I use it for almost all recipes that call for milk, and I use it as a snack...I like to eat it dry. lol


Here are some recipes using powdered milk...enjoy!

Homemade Convenience Foods

I haven't done it yet, but I may put some of these recipes together, so I will have things on hand to use for *quick* meals. Right now if I'm needing a quick meal I'm still reaching for pre-packaged things...and I want to try to get away from that!

In the interest of healthier eating...Homemade Convenience Foods

In fact,this is such a good idea I may start keeping a bit of cooked rice in the freezer for making cups of soup!

Repurposed Chess Set

I LOVE this chess set!

I also love the idea of repurposing cast-off items.

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of imagination. lol The chess set idea came from the internet, like most good ideas. ; ) (I did create this one, though. I just happened to have lots of little people around waiting to be used for something. lol)

BUT, maybe *you* have imagination...lots of ideas for repurposing junk...I'd love to hear about it if you do! If you're like me, though, and can't think of anything until you see it done then say, "What a good idea! Why couldn't I think of anything like that?!?" here is a blog FULL of good ideas! : )

Happy recycling!

Nori Salad

I received an e-mail about this this morning, and it looks SO tasty!

I will definitely be shopping for some nori to try this recipe!

(If you've read my first post you've probably already read about that site and signed up for their e-mails...if you haven't, I recommend it!)