Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

I don't know about you, but I have a really a really hard time paying almost $4.00 for a big bottle of liquid handsoap.  On the other hand, I think having a bar of soap at the sink to wash with is messy.  So, I tried making homemade liquid handsoap and it worked great!  It is WAY cheaper and very easy.

Ingredients:

1 c. grated soap
10 c. water
1 T. liquid glycerin (found by the band-aids at Wal-mart)

Just so you know, this makes about 2 to 3 quarts of handsoap so make sure you have a container big enough to store it in.

Take a bar of soap and grate it with a cheese grater.  One bar of soap gives you more than a cup so just save the remainder in a Ziploc bag for next time.  Put 10 c. water in a large pot.  Add the 1 c. grated soap and 1 T. liquid glycerin.  Heat on medium-low, stirring occasionally, for a few minutes until soap flakes are dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Now you need to let it cool completely before putting it in the plastic soap bottle.  At first it is going to be the texture of water but as it cools it will thicken.  However, you need to stir it about every 1/2 hour just to make sure the soap and glycerin stay mixed with the water evenly and don't clump up.  Once it is completely cooled and thicker (after a few hours) then you can put it in the soap bottles.

Bottling Carrots

I decided to try something new and bottle my own carrots.  Carrots really aren't very expensive (at least not yet).  I think I paid $2.18 for a 5# bag at Winco.  Plus I had a couple 2# bags already in in the refrigerator.  All together I got 15 quarts of carrots.

There's really not a whole lot to bottling carrots.  I just peeled, washed, and chopped the carrots.  I put 1/2 tsp. salt (optional)  in each quart jar.  Add boiling water and fill each jar leaving 1" headspace.  Then process in pressure cooker at 10 lbs. for 25 min.  Here is the link of the website I got my information from if you want detailed instructions.  I pretty much did it how she describes except I added a little salt and I also cold-packed mine (didn't boil for 5 min. prior to putting them in the jars).  Happy canning!

Baked Oatmeal

Tried this new recipe this morning for breakfast.  MMMMMMM!!!!!  yummy!  I don't know if I will ever be able to go back to eating slimy oatmeal.  We poured evaporated milk over the top and added some peaches.  Way good!

Baked Oatmeal

3 cups Quaker quick oats

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat together oil and sugar. Mix in eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, oatmeal. Beat well. Pour into a lightly greased pie pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Refrigerate overnight (this step is not essential). Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees until firm, about 35 minutes. Serve hot. Can add milk and/or top with fresh fruit.

Here is where I found it Fabulessly Frugal Baked Oatmeal