Furniture Polish

1 cup warm water
4 drops lemon essential oil
1 teaspoon olive oil or jojoba

Combine all ingredients in a spray bottle
Shake well
Cloth should be slightly damp
Wipe down furniture with mixture
Wipe over with soft, dry cloth (micro fiber to prevent lint)

Fabric Softener

6 cups vinegar
1 cup water
1 cup baking soda
15 drops lemon oil for scent

SLOWLY add baking soda, it will overflow if you add too much.

New laundry detergent recipe without borax

1 cup vinegar
1 cup baking soda
1 cup super washing soda
1/2 cup castile soap

Start with the castile soap and then add the washing soda, followed by baking soda
Then add the vinegar a little at a time
Will solidify and get harder pretty quickly. The longer it sits, the easier it is to break apart

I use approximately 1/4 cup of detergent with each load

HE Laundry Detergent Powder Method

Here is a post that I just read for HE machines.  Personally the other one that is posted doesn't suds and could also be used, but this is one from someone that uses in hers and it works great. 


Do-It-Yourself laundry detergent

• 3 bars of soap. (I used to use Ivory) 5 oz. (guessing Fels Napa just the same)
• 3 cups Borax
• 3 cups Arm & Hammer washing soda ($5 for 55 oz)

First, cover your table with newspaper (especially if you tend to make more of a mess that is necessary like me…lol)
Grate the bars of soap into a container using a cheese grater and add the Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. Mix it up well and store in an air tight container.
You will only need about 1/4 cup for a full load.

Minestrone Soup for Crock Pot

2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups chicken broth or beef broth
28 ounces diced tomatoes
2 cups sliced carrots
1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 large celery ribs, sliced
1 large chopped onion
3/4 lb red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
grate parmesan cheese

*  In a 6 quart slow cooker, mix together the chicken or beef broth, tomatoes, carrots, green beans, celery, onion, potatoes, dried basil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper

*  Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the poatoes are tender

*  Stir in fresh basil and olive oil

Makes 4 pint size freezer containers & 1 medium container for the fridge
15.5 ounce servings

Favorite cucumber recipes

Refrigerator Pickles (Unique Cafe, Boscobel) These pickles are more sweet - I was getting to the end of the gardening season and didn't want to make a trip to the store to try the dill pickle recipes.  Maybe next year :)

When the Unique's regulars bring in mounds of surplus cucumbers to share, these sweet refrigerator pickles are the result.  "These go on the salad bar," says cook Annette Wagner.  "We use both the small pickling cucumbers and the regular ones.  The store-bought ones don't keep too well."

Although these could hardly be easier to make, Annette does specify that canning salt should be used.  Regular table salt typically has anticaking additives that don't dissolve as easily as canning salt and can cloud the brine.  If you like your pickles tangy, use less sugar.  Keep cold, the pickles will keep up to a year.  "But of course they don't last that long!"

7 cups sliced,  unpeeled cucumbers
1 cup thinly sliced onion rings
2 tablespoons canning salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspon celery seed

Mix cucumbers, onion rings, and canning salt well.  Let stand two hours.  Drain well (don't rinse, just drain).  Divide into 2 or 3 pint glass jars, if desired (avoid containers that are metal, as they can react with vinegar - - I actually used plastic containers)  Meanwhile combine sugar, white vinegar, and celery seed in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Pour this over the pickles.  Refrigerate the pickles.  Makes 2-3 pints.

Cucumber Mix

1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp celery seed

Cucumber & Tomato Salad
One of my favorites of the summer - and honestly I really don't even love cucumbers

Peeled and cut cucumbers into smaller pieces
Grape tomatoes - cut into half
Italian dressing - I used fat free
Feta cheese - I used tomato and basil flavor
Green olives cut into pieces

Garden Pics

Before

After - as everything was growing like crazy

We might have went a little overboard for our first garden - but most everything grew awesome!

This year we had:

potatoes (red and brown), two different kinds of onions, red & green lettuce, romaine lettuce, green beans!!, carrots, cucumbers, snap peas - we planted too late though, soybeans (edaname - NUM!), celery, broccoli, acorn squash, tomatoes (cherry, grape & early girl)

We didn't do any canning this year, but I got some canning jars and lids at a garage sale.  Next year we will also do some canning and not everything in the freezer.