MommyTLC

After a long day at work, coming home to a no-so-clean kitchen and an empty fridge that was practically screaming "please stock me!" with no mode of transportation to the nearest supermarket, I was faced with the dilemma of having to concoct some edible meal with the contents of my refrigerator.  I managed to find some frozen pasta samples that my husband had brought home from work (being that he works in a restaurant, vendors are always bringing him samples of new products that generally end up in our refrigerator and tested in our kitchen, oh the perks of being in the restaurant business), about a pound of spicy chorizo and a bag of broccoli rabe.  Usually I would just put all these ingredients together, but since I was out of tomato sauce, I was drawing a blank on what to make.  After a little web surfing, I came across this recipe and decided to give it a try with a few substitutions:

These days, I'm all about saving a buck! So when I heard from my sister-in-law, Laurissa the DIY Mom, about making your own laundry detergent and how easy it really is, I was all ears! Not to mention that she only spent $4 to make 2 1-gallon battles! Hello, I spend close to $20 for a bottle of Tide. That's $36 big ones I'll be saving!
I'm really bad about throwing out old laundry detergent bottles, so I know I have at least 2 or 3 sitting in my basement collecting dust. That's a great start already! Now all I need is to pick up the following ingredients and I'm making me so homemade laundry detergent!

Recipe #8
2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda (yes baking soda this time–not washing soda)

• Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted.
• In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well.
• Then add the baking soda, stir well again.
• Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.

Liquid Detergents Note

Soap will be lumpy, goopy and gel-like. This is normal. Just give it a good stir before using. Make sure soap is covered with a lid when not in use. You could also pour the homemade soap in old (and cleaned) laundry detergent bottles and shake well before each use.
*If you can’t find Fels-Naptha locally, you can buy it online (check Amazon).

Optional

You can add between 10 to 15 drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade laundry detergent. Add once the soap has cooled to room temperature. Stir well and cover.

Essential oil ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil

My daughter and I both have eczema, so I'm supposed to get the laundry detergent that is for sensitive skin but I don't! I know, bad mommy!!! It's just the cost can sometimes be too much. I'm on a budget here people, and that's not something I do too well with. I do however use Aveeno soap for the shower and since I have the option of adding essential oils (caution - some essential oils cause skin irritation on sensitive skin, make sure that the oil you select isn't one of them by clicking here) like lavender to a fragrance free soap. I'm excited to try this new recipe and I'll let you all know how it goes!

If you've tried making your own laundry detergent, what did you think of it? Was it as easy as the recipe described? Would you recommend it to a friend? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so leave me a line!

I had been so looking forward to making my roasted chicken on Friday but a devastating stomach bug had struck the Deininger household leaving my daughter and I completely unable to eat for 2 days straight!  Luckily, my darling hubby only got a very mild (if that) case of it the same day as my daughter and has shown no signs of it since then.  My baby got the worst of it and wasn't able to stomach anything, liquids included, for almost 3 days.  I, on the other hand, was incapacitated for 48 hours.

I'm happy to say that today I'm feeling much better and finally able to eat again!  Hooray!  So today I start back on my culinary track and prepare to make my first ever roasted chicken.  Unlike the pasta I made last week, I'm not a poultry virgin!  For the past 5 or so years, I have been the one responsible for making the Thanksgiving turkey at our family dinner.  You'd think the person with the most culinary experience, or at least someone who knows their way around a kitchen, would be the master of that task, but thanks to my talented husband who taught me how to properly cook a turkey about 6 years back, that task has been mine ever since.

Thankfully, the 5lb chicken I've chosen to roast was much simpler to prepare than the turkey, although similar in the preparation method.  I was more so concerned about the sauce more than anything else.  I've never made any kind of sauce myself.  This herb sauce seemed simple enough, so here goes nothing!

All together, the it's a very nice, simple recipe.  Great starter for a newbie cook and doesn't really take too long to make.  Just have a little patience with the sauce, and trust me, it's definitely worth the wait!  Interested in trying the recipe yourself?  Check out Classic Roasted Chicken with Herb Sauce here.