Make It Yourself: Homemade Cream Cheese

Homemade cream cheese? Oh yeah! Well, I guess you could call it yogurt cheese (I think that's the technical term). It's so easy, and with the added bonus of aquiring whey which is extremely beneficial when used to soak grains.

First, I make plain yogurt in my crockpot . Refrigerate overnight. The next morning place a fine sieve over a large mixing bowl and line the sieve with a tea towel. Pour the whole crock full of yogurt into the sieve and wait. The whey will drip into the bowl. It takes a while... sometimes all day...

When the yogurt is fairly thick, tie the corners of the tea towel so that you have a neat little package of cream cheese. Tie the contraption around a wooden spoon and hang it from... well, somewhere. I used my kitchen cabinet handles. Make sure the bowl of whey is still underneath because it will continue to drip. Leave it hanging until it is no longer dripping.

When it stops dripping whey, unwrap the towel and using a spatula, scrape the cheese into a container. This makes somewhere between 16 and 20 oz. of cheese depending on how much you strain it and how thick you like it. In this last batch that I made, I got over a quart of whey!

By The WHEY...

Whey can be used to soak grains for easier digestion (for those who have trouble digesting wheat -- like myself -- this can be especially useful).

Whey can be used for lacto-fermented veggies, salsas, and other condiments (I use it for pickles and sauerkraut).

Some people swear that drinking a few tablespoons of whey every morning cures a host of ailments (I haven't had the guts to try this yet).

Whey can be used in smoothies for added nutritional benefit.

Whey can be used as a fertilizer (50% whey and 50% water).

There are probably a million other uses for whey but these are just the ones that I know of!

Better baby formula??

I'm posting these links because my sister's newborn is having a lot of trouble with commercial formulas and breastmilk. Hope this helps.

Here are some links about homemade baby formula:

http://www.westonaprice.org/Recipes-for-Homemade-Baby-Formula.html
http://www.realmilk.com/formularecipes.html

Make it Yourself:Homemade Hamburger Helper

So everybody likes Hamburger Helper, right? I know! Me too!

But wait, what's in that little envelope of powdery yumminess?

I DON"T KNOW!!! Hehe!

I found this recipe the other day and thought I would give it a try. I wish I could remember where I found it so I could give them credit but I've racked my brain, So if this is your recipe, I'm sorry and thank you!!! Because it is GOOD! And so easy. It is just as easy as making the stuff from the box-- I promise.

Also, I am not kidding when I say it tastes just like the original. You're gonna love it!


Hamburger Helper

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb pasta (I used the mulit-colored veggie pasta from Whole Foods)

2 c. water

1 1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 tsp sugar (or whatever sweetener you use)

squirt of mustard

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp onion powder (I ended up using a real onion- small)

salt to taste (at least 1/2 tsp?)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Brown and drain beef. Stir in pepper, onion powder, tomato sauce, sugar, and mustard, water and pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the water is absorbed and the pasta is cooked.

Turn the heat off and stir in the cheese.
 

There you go: yummy "Hamburger Helper" and you know all the ingredients!!

I especially love using the veggie pasta for this because the nutrients don't get boiled away in pasta water.

Each color is made from a different vegetable: Purple- beets, orange- carrots, green- spinach. It's a good way to sneak in a few more veggies.

Make It Yourself: Sour Cream

This is the first post for my Make It Yourself series!!


Drumroll please....

Sour Cream!

Well technically it is Creme Fraiche (European style sour cream) but it is amazingly fantastically delicious!!! And EASY to make-- really.

All you need is:

One pint of heavy cream (HAS to be unpastuerized or at least not ultrapastuerized as it is in most stores-- I used raw from the dairy.)

2 Tbs of cultured buttermilk

A glass Jar with a tight fitting lid

On the right is my homemade buttermilk- a byproduct of my homemade cultured butter.

All you do is:

Pour the cream and buttermilk into the glass jar. Shake. Place in a warm spot to culture for 2-3 days (DO NOT OPEN the jar to check it for any reason). After a couple of days, turn jar over to see if the cream has thickened-- it should still look a little runny but be thicker than it was when you put it in. If it has thickened, refrigerate completely before opening. If not, find a warmer place to culture for a few more hours, then refrigerate.

Sour cream culturing in a warm spot above my fridge.

Voila! Sour cream! It. Is. So. Good. You will never buy store bought sour cream again!

Here are a few other homemade items that I will be talking about in the next few days:

L-R: Cultured raw butter, saur kraut, garlic dill pickles, chicken stock from my crockpot chicken.

The pickles and stock are almost gone so I will probably post about the pickles soon. 

Also, everything that I post, I have already tried for myself and liked it. My family liked it as well-- even some who weren't into healthy food! So don't be afraid to try it even if it sounds crazy!!

Make It Yourself: Crockpot Yogurt

You can make yogurt in your crockpot... did you know that?? I discovered this fact a few months ago and tried it out. It is super easy and it makes the most delicious yogurt for a fraction of the cost of buying it!
This is what I do:

First, gather the ingredients. You need a half gallon of milk  (organic, raw, or regular pasteurized), 1 1/2 cups of powdered milk, sweetener (I used honey and agave), vanilla extract (or some vanilla beans), and 3/4 cup of yogurt with live active cultures. Also, you need a 2 quart crockpot (I bought this one especially for yogurt making for $4.00 on black friday).

*** Edit*** I no longer use the powdered milk and the yogurt still turns out great!

Pour the half gallon of milk into the crock and set it on low for 2 hours and 45 mins.

Now turn the crockpot off and let the milk cool with the lid on for 3 hours. When 3 hours have passed, remove 2 cups of the warm milk to a bowl.

To the bowl/milk, add 3/4 cup of yogurt with live active cultures. Wisk well.                                                  

To the crock, add the rest of the ingredients ( if you want plain yogurt, just leave out the vanilla and sweetener) and mix well.                                                                                                              

Pour the yogurt mix back into the crock and stir. Replace the lid and wrap the whole crock in a thick bath towel.                                                                                                                                                     

Let the yogurt sit in a warm place for 8-12 hours. In order to culture, the yogurt has to stay warm. Since my house stays pretty cold, I warmed my oven a little (too hot will kill the bacteria in the yogurt), then turned it off and placed the whole bundle in there.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

After, it cultures, chill thoroughly before eating.

At this point you can add fruit if you like. I don't suggest putting the fruit in until it is completely finished. So easy! Try it!                                                                                                                                          

How to refill Swiffer Wet-jet solution

A few weeks ago I posted about how I make my own Swiffer Wet-jet pads. I just realized that in that post I promised to tell you how to refill your Wet-jet solution container! In my crazy, pre-Christmas mindset I forgot. So here it is:

It's super easy. Start by filling a large glass measuring cup half way with boiling water. Next, add a couple splashes of white vinegar. Insert the empty solution bottle upside down in the water (it will suck up some of the water so that it won't float). Let it soak for 30 minutes. Remove. Using a towel to get a good grip, you should be able to remove the lid. Now you can refill with whatever solution you like. For an anti-bacterial cleaner that is safe for all floors including wood, use this recipe:

1 cup white vinegar
1 Tbs. dish soap
1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 cup water

This solution has worked well for me on my tile and linoleum.

Homemade Reusable Swiffer Wet-jet Pads

So, have you noticed how expensive Swiffer Wet-jet Pads are?? Not to mention the added waste that ends up in the landfills. I LOVE my Swiffer, but I needed a cheaper and more earth friendly alternative (read here about the huge trash swirl). I needed something thick and absorbant and something with some texture to make the pads. So I found these at our local Ross store:

 

They are 12x12 microfiber cloths. Since the microfiber doesn't fray, I just cut them into thirds.

This resulted in three pads that were slightly smaller than my Wet-jet surface. When I used them, it seemed to work out well. However, next time I might just cut the cloth in half to make them a little bigger.

These are great because they stick to the velcro on the bottom of the Swiffer very well and are quite absorbent. When I'm done with them, they go in the bucket with all my other dirty cleaning rags and get washed along with them. Easy! It is very simple step to being more frugal and green.

In tomarrow's post, I'll tell you how to refill your used Swiffer solution bottle with your own homemade cleaning solution!

Making your own Gatorade

We had a terrific Thanksgiving!! The dinner was the best one yet in my opinion! I can post the recipes if anyone wants them, just let me know!

On to todays post... I came across this recipe for making your own gatorade (or rather, a gatorade type drink) on the Dr. Oz Show . They have not posted it on his website, but luckily I had the show DVR'ed. It's terribly simple and can save you a ton of money. Also, you know exactly what you are getting- no artificial sweetners, preservatives, ect. So here it is:

Electrolyte Drink

1 liter of water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt (or regular salt)
2 T agave nectar or honey
Fruit juice (optional)

Mix together. Add a little fruit juice for flavor if you desire.


Easy right? Now this won't be Kool-aid type drink, but it is a good option for a workout or dehydration from illnesses.

Grinding Your Own Flour

This is something I have been exploring recently. I learned that whole grain flour loses many of its key nutrients in the first 36 hours  after it is milled. This means that grinding it on an as needed basis is key to maintaining its nutrient value. You can buy a flour mill or a mill attachment (for stand mixers) but they are fairly expensive. So I decided to try using my Magic Bullet to grind flour. I used the grinding/ whipping blade (the flat one) and organic whole wheat berries. It worked like a charm! I have used it to grind rice, oat, and spelt flour as well. In the long run, I might invest in a good flour mill (that would probably result in a finer flour than the Magic Bullet) but for now this method works great!

Homemade Oatmeal Bath

I was originally inspired to post this because of my poor little 11 month old nephew who contracted... duh duh DUNN... Chicken Pox! The poor little guy was COVERED with it so we found a recipe for homemade soothing oatmeal bath and adjusted it a little:

Homemade Oatmeal Bath

1 cup each Oatmeal, ground to a powder (food processor, blender, or use baby oatmeal cereal), epsom salt, powdered milk. *Also, you can add 1 cup of baking soda if using for Chicken Pox or Excema*

Mix all ingredients together and store in an air tight container. Use 1/2 cup (or more) for each bath.



This is a very frugal alternative to buying oatmeal bath and it worked great on my sweet little nephew!

After seeing that The Nourishing Gourmet was hosting a Handmade Gift Carnival, I figured this would make a good entry! This would actually make a great gift for a new mother (to use for herself or the baby!) or really for anyone who takes a bath (which should be everybody!). You could jazz it up with a decorated jar and some ribbons- possiblities are endless!

A Fantastic Frugal Find!

Okay, I couldn't resist the alliteration! This is a good one for all you coffee lovers! My mom and my husband are MAJOR coffee drinkers, and they have to have the cream and sugar with it. I love coffee too, but I don't drink it as much because of my high blood pressure. However, when I do, I would describe my drink as being mostly creamer with a little coffee! We all love the liquid creamer the best but it can be quite pricey (over 2.00 for a 32oz. bottle). This would be ok if we just used a little bit- but we use alot! So my mother went on a mission to find a better option... and she succeeded! She figured out how to turn powdered creamer (which is much cheaper) into the liquid form. It worked great and actually tasted better than the liquid we were buying! Maybe it just tasted better because it was cheaper!! Here is the recipe:


Homemade Liquid Creamer

2 cups boiling water
2 cups powdered creamer
2 cups cold water

Mix the powdered creamer with the boiling water, until creamer is dissolved. Then combine the mixture with the cold water. Store in the fridge. Easy! This recipe make a little more than a quart of liquid creamer.


The cost difference is drastic: The CoffeeMate liquid creamer is $2.98 per quart. The CoffeeMate brand powder is $3.25 for 22 oz. The 22 oz. powder makes 3.2 quarts of liquid. It would cost us $9.50 to buy the liquid and only $3.25 to make it!

Home Made Baby Wipes

Recently, I happened upon an idea for making your own baby wipes. I thought, "What a brilliant idea for saving money!" Also, have you ever looked at the list of ingredients on the back of the box? Even the ones that are "gentle", "for sensitive skin", "fragrance free", ect., still have loads of harsh ingredients! It is no wonder that babies scream when wiped with these things! Any how, I thought I would test it out on Corky, because after all, it is her bottom that will be the judge! So, I looked at all the various recipes online- there are a million! They all have a basic formula:

water, something to sooth, something to clean, disinfectant, and something to wipe.

Some people use the all-in-one wipes method. Others keep the wipe and cleaning solution separate (in a spray bottle or something). Also, you can make them disposable or washable/reusable. I chose to do all-in-one disposables (I know disposables aren't as good for the environment, but I needed something easy- I might try washables with our next child since Corky should be potty training soon!).

This is what worked for me:

3 cups warm water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup baby wash

4 drops tea tree oil

I mix it all and store in an airtight container (shake well before each use). Usually a batch of wipe solution will make about 4 batches of wipes.

Next, for the wipes, I use Viva paper towels because they are the softest. I have also used Bounty- they work well, they just aren't as soft. Also, I don't recommend using "select-a-size" type towels unless you have a small baby. Cut the paper towels in half cross ways, so they resemble a large roll of toilet paper. Use one half for each batch of wipes. Place the roll, cut side down, in an air tight container and pour a little over a half cup of solution evenly over the roll (if you use "big roll" towels, you will need to adjust the amount of solution). Then turn it over and repeat. Let it sit for an hour to saturate. It will seem like it isn't wet enough, but after an hour it should be just right. After an hour, pull the cardboard center out, and pull wipes from the center. If they are too dry, add some water, but be careful not to get them too wet! The first time I made them, they were so wet that I had to wring them out to use them- they were too soapy too!

* The reason this recipe is not exact is because all the recipes I tried were failures. So I adjusted it to fit my needs. I chose to mix a batch of solution, and just use what I need for each individual batch of wipes. Also, the amount of solution needed will vary depending on the brand of paper towel.

Substitutions:

Many of the ingredients that I used can be substituted with items more suited to your individual baby. Here are some suggestions:

Water- you can use filtered, tap, or distilled

Something to sooth- baby oil, mineral oil, olive oil, baby lotion (be careful about ones that contain alcohol).

Something to clean- castile soap, any liquid baby soap that works for your baby (something gentle).

Disinfectant- This step can be skipped, tea tree oil, lavender oil, vitamin e liquid from capsules.

Wipe- Any strong paper towel, blue shop towels, strips of soft Cotton fabric (for washables).

*Note- Some of the sites where I found recipes stated that people have had trouble with the wipes mildewing. I have never had this happen. I don't know if it is because of the tea tree oil or because I use them so quickly. Anyway, keeping them tightly covered and out of the sunlight should help.