Grape Jam

Grapes are ready, and who doesn't like homemade grape jam? 

The grapes were so beautiful this year!

We followed (mostly) the directions from the Sure Jell box.  I will admit we doubled our batch, which this is something they recommend not to do.  Our jelly turned out wonderfully, so we will do the next batch the same way.  ☺

Supplies Needed:

Dry measuring cup

liquid measuring cup

saucepan

ladle

bowls
jars

lids and rings

fork 

metal spoon.

canner (and canning rack if you have one)

towel

Ingredients:

Grapes - about 4 lb. (enough to make 10 cups juice)

(see below for instructions)

1 tsp. butter

Sugar - 14 cups

2 boxes Sure Jell

Okay, let's get started!

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1. Pick your grapes.  
(As you can see....we had one excited girl to help pick the grapes!)

Look what we picked! 

2. Sterilize your jars.  (I use a dishwasher.)

 

         3. Put lids in saucepan. Cover with water.



4. Prepare canner by adding some water.  Set aside.

5. Wash the grapes.

6.  Remove and discard stems. 

(My son helped me do this.)

7. Place them in a large pot and add enough water just to cover the grapes.

Stir.

8. Bring to  boil; simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

9. Carefully pour grapes through juicer.

As you can see...we used a pan to help catch the juice. 

10. Measure out 10 cups juice.

(You may add a bit of water, if needed, to make the correct amount.)

11. Measure out exact amount of sugar and set aside.  (In our case, it was 14 cups.)

12. Stir 2 packages of Sure Jell into the prepared fruit juice.  

13. Add 1 tsp. butter to reduce foaming.

14. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. 

15. Add sugar to fruit mixture.  

16. Return to full rolling boil; boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. 

17. Remove from heat.  Skim off any foam with metal spoon.

18. Pour juice into hot, clean jars. Fill each, leaving 1/4 inch space from the top.

19. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with lid, put rim on, and tighten. 

20. Place jars in hot water canner. (Make sure water is covering jars!) Add boiling water if needed.

21. Process for 10 minutes, according to your canner's instructions.

22. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely.

That's it!

By the way, these would make nice gifts! :)

Baby Wipes

Two months ago my husband and I had our first baby, a wonderful, healthy baby girl. :) Now, if you have had (or have) a newborn, you know that you go through a TON of diapers and wet ones. My husband had went out and bought three big containers of wet ones and we used them up in practically no time flat! 

So...I decided to look up a “recipe" for wet wipes and I love them! They don't save you a ton on cash, (they do a little bit) but it's wonderful knowing exactly what is being applied to your little one's skin. ;) Below are the ingredients. I've made them a couple times now and changed the original recipe a little bit.  I've found that the changes I made works better.  You may need to adjust things for your recipe, too! :) I made this recipe for two containers of wet wipes. 

*NOTE: This recipe makes 2 containers of wet wipes.

What you'll need:

2 Wet Ones containers

1 roll Viva paper towels

Divide the following ingredients in half so you can make 2 containers:

4 Cups Water

2 Tbsp Baby soap (your choice)

4 Tbsp coconut oil

6-10 drops essential oil, optional

You are going to have to buy two commercial containers of wet wipes before this little project due to the fact that you will be using the containers.  Otherwise, you could find a jar or other container that they would fit in, if you'd prefer.

1. Before you start the “hard work" of this, put the water in a pan and let that start to boil. As soon as it starts to boil, turn off the burner and remove from heat.

2. Let the water cool to room temperature before adding the ingredients. (This step will help keep the wipes fresh and not become moldy.)

3. Now for the hardest part of all - cutting the roll of paper towels in half. (I found out after I did this that you should probably NOT use a serrated knife for this step.  It shreds it a little - as I found out!)

4. Once that is all finished, wipe off the excess paper towel pieces and put each half into a container so that they are "standing up".

Hopefully, if you use a knife that isn't serrated you won't have as big of a mess as I did. Haha :-)

5. Dividing the liquid ingredients, combine 2 cups of the boiled and cooled water in a small bowl.  Add 1 Tbsp of baby soap and 2 Tbsp of coconut oil.
If you are adding essential oils, add 3-5 drops.  
Mix until coconut oil is dissolved.
(Be sure not to stir too much otherwise it will become very sudsy.)

6. Next, pour the mixture over the paper towels.
Press the top of the paper towels down a bit.

**Repeat steps 5 & 6 for the other container.

7. Close the lids and flip the containers upside down.
Leave them upside down for about 5 to 10 minutes.

8. Flip the containers back upright and remove the cardboard pieces inside the paper towels.

9. Pull the first wet wipe from the center (where you pulled out the cardboard) and push it a little through the top of the lid.

And there you have it! :)

Laundry Stain Buster

My sister asked me a couple months ago why I make things myself rather than buying them. (Such as our body wash, laundry detergent, etc.)  It got me thinking about why I take the time to make all these items.

1.  It's cheaper.  More often than nought, I take the time to do it because I believe that the amount of money we save by "DIYing" is worth the time it takes to make it.  Once I find a recipe that I like, it really doesn't take all that long and I can usually work on more than one thing at a time.

2.  I have to buy less often.  When I make something myself, it's generally "bulk-sized", so we have to restock fewer times. Since it's also cheaper to make it at home, we are, again, saving money.

3. It's healthier.  Most of my DIY items aren't made of all natural, organic ingredients, but there are some that are truly healthier than commercial products.  It may seem a little counterproductive for me to make chemical-free lotion bars, then turn around and slather my face with chemical-laden make-up, but I believe that even a small difference is still a difference.  I know we don't live as healthy as we should, but we do live healthier than we could. :)

4.  They work better.  Yes, I know this doesn't apply for all things homemade, but you would be surprised at how many things DO work better.  If I decide that a product works about the same whether it's homemade or commercial, I try to look at the other reasons before deciding to continue making it.  Is it cheaper?  Is it healthier?  Is it worth it?  For example... my homemade laundry detergent.  We have been using this detergent religiously for over 3 years now.  I still love it!  And the cost difference is amazing!  So, yes, it's definitely worth it to take 10 minutes out of my day to mix up a batch of detergent once a year!

5.  I love it.  My last reason is my best answer to the question "Why do you do it?"

I love being able to make a product that actually works.  There is something about the "homey" feeling you get when you can create (or recreate) a product for your family to use.  Whether it's making some homemade makeup remover wipes or a denim pie iron bag to take camping, it makes you feel a little more domestic in this busy life.  I just simply enjoy it.

I have been in search of a stain remover for awhile.  When I came across a post about homemade "Shout" on the blog, One Good Thing By Jillee, I knew I had to try it.  We've used it on a couple of articles of clothing already and I was amazed at how well this worked!  I wet the fabric down a smidge, sprayed some of this on and rubbed it in.  Then, I let it rest for a couple of hours before tossing it in the wash.  Simply unbelievable.  Next time I will be making the full batch instead of a half. :)

What you need:

empty spray bottle

funnel

3 Tbsp. baking soda

1 c. warm water

1/3 c. ammonia

1/3 c. Dawn original dish soap (the blue kind)

Using the clean, dry funnel, pour the baking soda into the bottle.

Add the warm water and swirl until mixed well.

Add the ammonia and dish soap.

Shake to mix.

To use:

Shake well before each use.

Wet fabric slightly with water.

Spray Stain Buster directly on stain.

Rub into fabric.

Let rest at least 2 hours, or overnight.

Wash as normal.

(On really tough stains, I will sometimes spray and rub once more after it rests, just before I toss it in the washing machine.)

*Do not use with bleach!

(*You may want to test on an inconspicuous spot on the fabric.)

  This stain buster has worked wonders for our clothing! However, my husband has a pair of coral colored shorts where it removed the dye. Other than that, it has been awesome with our whites and colors alike! So if you are worried about ruining a piece of clothing, I would suggest doing a test run.  :)

I labeled mine using the label maker we got from my parents for Christmas last year.  Seriously one of my favorite gifts ever!  

Since there is ammonia in this, be sure not to mix with chlorine bleach!  I would suggest somehow noting this directly on the bottle.  If you don't have any labels of any sort, just write it directly on the bottle with a Sharpie.  :)

**Note: the baking soda does tend to settle after it rests, so be sure to shake it up well before each use.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Pie crust

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into cubes

2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, as needed

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can peas

1 can corn

1 can beans

 pie crust

2 tbsp of milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

First, if you are planning on making your own crust you will want to do that right away. With the recipe above I had mixed the flour and salt together. After that I mixed it the butter by using a fork to cut the butter into the flour mixture, then added the water. Roll out crust, and lay into greased or nonstick pan. Also roll out enough dough to lay on the top of the pan. Set aside.

Cook chicken in a small skillet.

While you are waiting for the chicken to finish, melt butter in a large pan. Once it has melted add flour, salt, and pepper and mix for a few minutes on medium heat.

 I didn't have any chicken broth on had but I did have some bullion cubes so I boiled 2 cups of water and added  3 bullion cubes (ratio is 1 to 1 cup, but I wanted a little more flavor.) And there you have it...chicken broth!

Remove broth from heat and pour into your pan of butter, flour, salt and pepper mix; bring to a boil and cook until it is slightly thickened.

Next, add the beans, corn, peas and chicken into the mix.

Mix well and pour evenly over the pan of crust.

Lay your remaining pie crust you set aside earlier over the top and press edges together with the crust on the sides. Poke crust with a fork and spread milk on crust.

Cook in oven for about half an hour or until golden brown on top.

Cut yourself a piece and enjoy! 

Taco Seasoning

Prepackaged mixes?? 

No thank you!! If you are anything like me, you are always looking for a better, tastier, and healthier alternative to the shelves full of prepackaged foods! 

Taco seasoning is something I use often...from beef tacos, chicken burritos, chicken tator tot hotdish, tator tot taco bake...the list goes on....

 This is a recipe I make (and remake) a lot!

It tastes great! Another bonus??...Way cheaper 

than those little packets you can buy!

Here is what you will need to make your own fabulous taco seasoning:

4 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons paprika

2 tablespoonsground cumin

4 teaspoons salt

4 teaspoons black pepper

You will also need a bowl to mix all the seasonings in and an empty shaker container. I just peel the label of a large seasoning container and 

write "taco seasoning" in permanent marker. Easy enough, right? :) 

....Just for visual reference...:)

Combine all the seasonings in a medium size bowl and mix well.

Simply pour or funnel the mix into a container and you are done!! If only everything was that simple! ;)

I use 2-3 Tablespoons per pound of ground beef for tacos or when any recipe calls for taco seasoning.  Also, if you like a little "kick" to your taco seasoning, feel free to add a little crushed or ground red pepper.  Since my house is full of little people, I avoid making things too spicy.  

Hope this mix becomes a staple in your pantry!!  

Regrowing/Freezing Green Onions

Green onions. They always come in packages of more than I need at one time, and I never seem to be able to use them up before they go bad. Then I learned you could freeze them AND regrow them indoors.  I love Pinterest!

When you bring green onions home, wash and chop up all the onion, but don’t throw away the root! Whatever you don’t use, put in a bottle or jar so you can put it in the freezer.  (I used a small coffee creamer bottle which works great to shake some out as needed.)  As you see in the picture, the glass on the left is holding the onion roots. Fill the bottom of the glass with water and place in a sunny window. Keep the water clean, and you will have green onions growing again! Keep snipping and freezing as necessary. :)