Oatmeal Raisin Bars

1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup Sucanat (or organic sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon molasses
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the melted butter, sugar, vanilla, and molasses. (Use the butter wrapper to grease your 9x13-inch glass baking dish!)

Add the egg, mix well.

Add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, and oats, mix well.

Mix in the raisins.

Spread in a greased 9x13-inch glass baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Nail Soak

Mix the following ingredients in a small bowl:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 capful Hydrogen Peroxide

Soak your nails to clean and whiten them! Enjoy!

Black Beans & Rice

• 1 bag of black beans (about 1 pound)
• 1 cup brown rice
• 6 tablespoons whey or lemon juice
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• meat (beef or chicken) (optional)

THE NIGHT BEFORE
Put the black beans in a large bowl. Add enough filtered water to generously cover the beans. Add in 3 tablespoons of whey or lemon juice. Cover the bowl and let it sit on the counter overnight. Do the same with the rice - put in a bowl and cover with water, then add in 3 tablespoons of whey. Cover and let both of these sit on the counter overnight to soak.

THE NEXT DAY
Drain the water from the black beans, pour them into a large pot, and cook according to package directions (substitute one cup of water for the one cup of chicken broth). Add 1/2 cup butter to pot as well as beans cook.

While beans are cooking, drain the rice, then cook according to package directions.

Once the rice and beans are cooked, add rice to beans along with the salt and pepper. Mix well.

Serve with a large lettuce salad!

Yummy Taco Bake

• 1/2 bag tortilla chips, crushed
• 4 cups (or more) leftover beans/beans & rice (this can be pinto beans, black beans, etc. and with or without meat)
• 1 can Cream of chicken soup (homemade is easy and best!)
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Spread crushed chips in bottom of baking dish. Spoon leftover beans/beans & rice over top of chips.

Mix the cream of chicken soup (again, homemade works best!), with the salsa. Pour this sauce over top of the beans and chips in the baking dish. Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with a large lettuce salad! Yummy!

Sheri's Notes: I am always looking for ways to use up leftovers! The other night I had some black beans, chicken, and rice leftover in the freezer from another meal. I threw this recipe together to use it up and it tasted delicious!

Shampoo

Ingredients:

• 5 bags of chamomile tea
• 4 tablespoons of pure soap flakes
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of glycerin

Directions:

Steep the tea bags in about 1 1/2 cups of boiling water for about 12 minutes. Then remove the tea bags and add the soap and glycerin. Stir it up till it is blended good and your shampoo is ready.

You can even try other fragrances if you wish.

Semi-Homemade Spray-On Conditioner

• 1 tablespoon of your favorite conditioner
• 8-ounce spray bottle
• Water

Put the above ingredients in a spray bottle and shake up. Spray on hair to control frizzy, tangled hair. Do not rinse.

Leave-In Hair Conditioning Spray

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 8-ounce spray bottle (I used an old store-bought leave-in conditioner spray bottle)
• Water

Put the above ingredients in a spray bottle and shake up. Spray on hair to control frizzy, tangled hair. Do not rinse.

Laundry Detergent - Liquid

Note from Sheri: I have tried several different liquid laundry detergent recipes that I’ve found on the internet and never had much luck with them. I decided to stick with the powdered versions – they are less messy and don’t take up so much space to store. I will include some links below to some liquid recipes if you want to give it a try!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/03/15/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent-and-save-big-money

http://www.christian-mommies.com/special-features/just-for-moms/homemade-laundry-detergent

http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes


Hopefully this will get you started! Have fun!

Fabric Softner

Add white vinegar (½ cup) to the last rinse cycle when washing your clothes. If you have a place where you are supposed to put your fabric softener (our washer has a little holder right in the middle of the agitator), then fill it with the vinegar like you would fabric softener. It should hold about ½ cup - at least ours does.

The vinegar will not only soften your clothes, but it helps rinse all the detergent out of your clothes. If you want a little fragrance, add 25-30 drops of essential oil to your gallon of vinegar and shake up.

Laundry Detergent - Powder #2

• 2 boxes borax
• 2 boxes washing soda (NOT the same as baking soda)
• 2 bars Fels Naptha (Ivory Soap can be used too)

Dump in your boxes of washing soda and borax into whatever sort of container you're going to use. Grate up the soap. Then put the lid on and shake it up -- or you can stir it if you want.

When you're going to use this, you only need about 1/8th of a cup (or 2 tablespoons) per load.

Laundry Detergent - Powder

• 1 bar grated soap (Fels Naptha or Ivory)
• 1 cup baking soda
• 1 cup borax

Mix everything and store in an airtight container.

Use 1 tablespoon per load. Use 2 tablespoons for heavy soiled loads.

Note: Add powder to empty washing machine and start water. Once the powder is mixed with the water a bit, then add your clothes.

Sweet Treat Popcorn

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup honey
• 3 quarts popped corn
• nuts - up to 1 cup chopped nuts of your choice, optional

Put your butter and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir it until the butter melts and is blended nicely with the honey. While this is warming, mix your popcorn and nuts in a large bowl. Pour your melted butter/honey mixture over the popcorn and mix well. Spread this out on a cookie sheet in a thin layer and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until crisp. This will be very hot so use caution!

Double Chocolate Mint Treasures

• ¾ c. butter, softened
• ½ c. brown sugar or Sucanat
• ½ c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. peppermint extract
• 1 ½ cups whole-wheat flour
• ½ c. cocoa
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 c. chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Add egg, vanilla and peppermint extract. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add to wet ingredients and then stir in chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes on greased cookie sheet.

Note: This is one of our family favorites! They are delicious!

Recipe by Marilyn Moll at www.urbanhomemaker.com, a home based business specializing in bread baking equipment and products for health. Used by permission.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2/3 cup soft unsalted butter
• ½ cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour (I just used whole wheat flour, not pastry, and they still turned out great!)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup quick oats, uncooked
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• ½ cup chopped walnuts, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or spray cookie sheet.

Whisk the butter and honey together until well blended and smooth. Next, whisk in the egg and vanilla. Blend flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl; stir into liquid ingredients and mix well. Next, stir in quick oats, chocolate chips, and walnuts (if desired), and blend well.

Chill dough, if needed, for easy handling. Drop tablespoons of dough or dispense with all-purpose scoop onto cookie sheet leaving room between cookies to spread. Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove from pans immediately.

These cookies are delicious! Store in airtight container in refrigerator or freezer.

Yield: About 3 ½ dozen cookies

Adapted from a recipe by Sue Gregg at www.suegregg.com.
Used by permission.

Wacky Cake

• 1 1/3 c. unbleached white flour or whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 c. brown sugar
• ¼ c. Cocoa
• 1 t. baking soda
• ½ t. salt
• 1/3 c. oil or butter, melted
• 1 t. vinegar
• ½ t. vanilla
• 1 c. water

Mix together all the ingredients in the above order and pour into an ungreased 8x8x2 pan. (double the recipe and make a 9X13 cake!) Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost with frosting. This is a very moist cake! I use this recipe for our birthday cakes!

Sheri's Healthy Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies

• ½ cup butter, softened
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup honey
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup raisins
• 3 cups rolled or quick oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Cream butter, syrup, and honey until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Mix dry ingredients (except raisins and oats) in a small bowl, then add and mix well. Stir in the raisins and oats (and chips if using). Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Oven Pancakes

• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Heat oven to 425 degrees. While the oven is heating, put butter into a 9x13 baking dish and put in the oven to melt.

While that is heating and melting, beat the eggs, milk, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Once the butter has melted, remove the pan from the oven. Pour the batter into the pan. Once the oven is done preheating, bake for 15-20 minutes.

To serve: Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with pure maple syrup (or homemade syrup). Applesauce is also good on top in place of syrup! We would also pour a little orange juice over the top with the powdered sugar and that was good too. Enjoy!

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups Sucanat (or organic cane sugar)
1 tablespoon molasses
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream the butter, sugar, and molasses. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop by teaspoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yield: 4-5 dozen cookies

Note: These cookies are the softest and chewiest chocolate chip cookies I have ever made! You would never guess they are made with whole wheat flour either...give them a try!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

NOTE: I decided to try a banana variation to my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins....I made some this morning and they were a hit! I bet this recipe could even be used to make a nice banana cake as well! I'll have to try that next time :). Enjoy!

The Day Before, mix up the following in a plastic bowl, cover with a lid or plastic wrap, and let sit out on the counter until the next morning. (I actually start these a whole 24 hours before I want to bake them. Allowing the flour to soak for 24 hours gives you the best nutritional benefit! So…get this soaking the morning before you want them for breakfast.)

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup buttermilk (can use homemade)
• 1 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

The Next Morning: Add the following and mix well with a mixer until the batter is smooth and the lumps of flour are gone:

• 4 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups mashed bananas

Next, mix in the rest of the dry ingredients with the mixer:

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Then stir in the chocolate chips:

• 2 cups chocolate chips

Put in greased muffin tins (see note below). Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Yield: 24 muffins

Note: I like to use the silicone (rubber-like) muffin pans. You don't have to grease the pans at all and the muffins pop right out! The muffins also bake very evenly and nice in these pans.

Taco Soup

• 3 cups dry pinto beans
• 1 pound cooked hamburger, drained
• 1 can sweet corn, drained (or 1 cup frozen)
• 1 can olives, drained and sliced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 2 packets taco seasoning

In large soup pot (6-8 qt.) put 3 cups dry beans, 12 cups water, and 1 tablespoon salt. Cook for about 2 1/2 hours or until soft.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 15 minutes to an hour. Serve with corn chips and cheese.

Adapted from a recipe by Crystal Miller at www.thefamilyhomestead.com.
Used by permission.