It’s the most wonderful time of the year, the holiday season, when there’s plenty of food, family, food, friends, football, and … food! I always like to add a little something extra to a holiday feast, to use as an appetizer or maybe just something to snack on while watching the games on TV. These are not your ordinary sausage balls. These are spicy and cheesy and easy and oh, so good.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve been sharing recipes for years and years now. For some time I have been making my own laundry detergent. I wanted to share this recipe today because it works very, very well and saves our household a tremendous amount of money every year.
Ingredients for Laundry Powder:
3 (5.5 oz) bars Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar – 3 x $0.97 = $2.91 *
1 (65 oz) box Borax Detergent Booster – $4.47
1 (55 oz) box A&H Super Washing Soda – $4.12
2 (8 oz) boxes A&H Baking Soda – 2 x $0.67 = $1.34 **
2 (3 lb) boxes OxiClean Free (No Dyes or Perfumes) – 2 x $6.72 = $13.44 ***
1 (21 oz) bottles Purex Crystals Fragrance Booster (Optional) – $3.97 ****
Total: $30.25 (6 to 8 months supply)
Notes:
* Zote laundry bar or Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castille can be substituted quite easily
** Original recipe was 2 cups 2 x 8oz is close enough
*** Quite often we will use Dollar Tree’s LA’s Totally Awesome
**** Optional but sometimes my shirts smell a little funny without the fragrance
Step 1 – Make Powdered Detergent
First, you’ll break down the bars of Fels-Naptha into fine pellets of laundry soap. The pieces need to be small enough that they will dissolve readily in your washing machine.
I like to do this by chopping the Fels-Naptha bars into big chunks, then blending them in my Blendtec along with a scoop of OxiClean. (The OxiClean just helps keep the laundry soap pieces from sticking to each other too much.)
If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you can use your food processor or even a cheese grater to break up the soap. (Grating soap by hand is quite the workout, but it gets the job done!) Recently I have been buying Zote Soap Flakes to make assembly easier. (17.6oz – $3.00)
Step 2 – Mix The Ingredients
Next, you’ll combine all the detergent ingredients. In my experience, the easiest way to do this is to use a couple of trash bags!
Pour the laundry soap pellets, borax, washing soda, baking soda, OxiClean, and Purex Crystals (if using) into one trash bag.
Tie the trash bag shut, then place the tied bag into another trash bag. Tie off the second bag, then push, tumble, and roll the bags around for a few minutes to mix all the ingredients.
Step 3 – Transfer To A Container
When you’re done mixing, just cut a hole in the corner of both bags and pour the detergent into a big jar or container for storage.
If you live in a humid area, make sure to choose an airtight container so that your detergent stays dry! You can also toss a few silica gel packets into the detergent to help absorb any moisture.
How Much Detergent Should I Use?
For a standard wash load, use 2 tablespoons of homemade laundry detergent.
For large or heavily soiled loads, use 2 1/2 tablespoons.
For small loads, use 1 1/2 tablespoons.
This detergent works perfectly in any washing machine, including high-efficiency machines! (Bonus HE Tip: Skip the dispenser and toss the detergent right into the washer!)
Homemade Laundry Soap – Trial Size Version
1 bar grated Fels Naptha soap
3 cups Borax
2 cups washing soda
3/4 cup baking soda
4 1/2 cups oxygen bleach
1 cup (heaping) fabric softener crystals – store-bought or Homemade (optional)
Whether you use a cast iron skillet or a deep-fat fryer, you can’t beat the classic taste of crispy Fried Chicken Tenders! These Spicy Chicken Tenders are ridiculously delicious! Strips of tender chicken marinated in buttermilk and hot sauce, then deep fried twice for extra crispiness.
One of the key ingredients in the dredging mix is baking powder. When this hits the oil it causes a reaction, which in turn causes lots of tiny bubbles. This is what gives you that crispy, airy batter!
Continue readingIf you love shrimp recipes, these shrimp cakes are for YOU! They are juicy, tender and so flavorful. These shrimp fritters always disappear fast! P.S. DO NOT skip the lemon aioli sauce.
https://natashaskitchen.com/shrimp-cakes-recipe-video/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQLQJED-I58&t=51s
Crispy deep fried Shrimp Fritters paired with a spicy Cajun Remoulade is an amazingly simple dish to make, but it always impresses. See the recipe below.
The Chile de árbol (Spanish for tree chili) is a small and potent Mexican chili pepper also known as bird’s beak chile and rat’s tail chile. These chilis are about 2 to 3 in long, and 0.26 to 0.39 in in diameter. Their heat index is between 15,000 and 30,000 Scoville units and 50,000-65,000 SHU Capsicum Annuum.
At 30,000 SHU, this is 6 times hotter than the average jalapeno pepper. The peppers can carry some high heat, though would be more comparable in heat to a serrano pepper or cayenne pepper.
The peppers start out green and turn a bright red color as they mature. Chile de árbol peppers can be found fresh, dried, or powdered. As dried chiles, they are often used to decorate wreaths because they do not lose their red color after dehydration.
I’ve been working on this chile de arbol salsa (what we call “hot sauce” in the US) for at least five years. My first serious notes about it are dated summer of 2012, but I’d been trying out variations before then.
Here’s my version of chile de arbol salsa. Try it on tamales, fried tacos, breakfast tacos, even pizza. Pretty much rules on everything.
Scampi are tiny, lobster-like crustaceans with pale pink shells (also called langoustines). Italian cooks in the United States swapped shrimp for scampi, but kept both names. Thus the dish was born, along with inevitable variations.
This classic recipe makes a simple garlic, white wine and butter sauce that goes well with a pile of pasta or with a hunk of crusty bread. However you make the dish, once the shrimp are added to the pan, the trick is to cook them just long enough that they turn pink all over, but not until their bodies curl into rounds with the texture of tires.
Although there are several versions of the origin of the buffalo wing, a common ground between each version involves the Bellissimo family and the year 1964. The family owned a small restaurant called Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York (hence the name: buffalo wing).
I have been working on this recipe for many years now. I have taste tested several different versions with my fantasy football league and family members. Many have said these are the best wings they have ever tried. I suppose you will have to be the judge.
This balsamic chicken marinade elevates chicken to a whole new level of YUM! It’s seeping with complex savory, tangy, slightly sweet, herbilicious notes. The marinade is made with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, honey, Dijon mustard, Italian herbs and seasonings that inject the chicken with loads of effortless flavor. And the best part of this balsamic chicken marinade? It does ALL THE work! Come dinner time, just cook the chicken (grill, oven and stove methods included) and serve with your favorite sides like mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus or in salads, wraps, pasta, or sandwiches.
Balsamic is one of my favorite ingredients to use in chicken marinades! I’ve used it in my Greek chicken and Bruschetta chicken for its fruity tang, mellow tartness and rich, complex sweetness. Today, however, I’m excited to bring you this balsamic chicken marinade dedicated ALL to glorious balsamic. It creates chicken dripping with so much intoxicating flavor you will be obsessed. It’s savory, fruity, juicy, tender and goes with practically everything!
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