Hand Sanitizer

To be effective, hand sanitizers MUST contain a minimum of 60% alcohol by concentration. Alcohol kills germs by dessication, meaning that it dries them out through rapid evaporation. A lower concentration of alcohol results in not having enough alcohol to rapidly evaporate and dry out the microbes on your hands. There are many recipes on the internet that result in an over-diluted mixture which will prove to be very ineffective at killing germs.
Notice that the ingredients for this are also useful for lots of other things?
This results in an alcohol concentration of roughly 63% (being more precise requires using tenths of a cup in measurement). You can add essential oils as desired for scent. There are some essential oils that add germ killing ability such as tea tree oil but I have no idea what the diluted effectiveness would be or what quantity you would need them in.

The recipe and method we have come up with for Do-It-Yourself home-made hand sanitizing gel is as follows:

* 5 cups 91% Isopropyl Alcohol
* 2 cups 100% pure Aloe Gel

Mix Alcohol and Aloe Gel on high speed for several minutes until mixture begins to gel. The aeration of the mixture is extremely important to getting the consistency correct. You should see bubbles all throughout the mixture. The end mixture is thicker than water, but not extremely thick. Once you’ve gotten the mixture to gel and achieve a constant consistency, you can pour it into containers for storage and use.

~ Submitted by Stacy Fuller

Using Powdered Milk

Powdered milk can be used in recipes on a regular basis. I use powdered milk for all my baking and also to make homemade yogurt and/or keifer. When using powdered milk in recipes, add the dry milk to the other dry ingredients. When the recipe calls for wet ingredients, add the amount of water you need to make the powdered milk. Here are some ways to use your powdered milk every day.

Good Drinkable Powdered Milk = To improve the taste of powdered milk, always mix with warm water and leave it overnight in the refrigerator. Another suggestion would be to add a little sugar or vanilla to enhance the flavor.  We also have found that aerating the milk by pouring it back and forth between containers helps to improve the taste.

In our home, to rotate the powdered milk, I always keep two quarts in the fridge.  I use it all the time in baking.  I also make sure that I make two quarts every time I open a new gallon of milk.  When we have drunk half the gallon, I pour the already mixed powdered milk into the gallon container and it extends our milk.  I have recently told my husband that's what I was doing and he hadn't even noticed a difference in taste.  My son does not like powdered milk, but doesn't notice when it's mixed half and half.  I also don't buy anything unless it's on sale, and that includes milk.  If we run out of milk, we drink powdered milk.  The trick to getting my son to drink the powdered milk is to mix in some Nesquick or Ovaltine.

Whole Milk = 1/3 C powdered milk mixed with 1 C warm water

Evaporated Milk = 2/3 C powdered milk mixed with 1 C warm water

Sweetened Condensed Milk = 1/2 c hot water, 1 C sugar, 1 C powdered milk

Buttermilk = 1/3 C powdered milk mixed with 1 C warm water. Add and stir in 1 T vinegar or lemon juice and let stand several minutes

Reconstitution Table for Dry Milk

QUANTITY	INSTANT MILK POWDER	NON-INSTANT GRANULAR	WARM WATER
1 quart	1 1/3 C	3/4 C	3 3/4 C
1 Pint	2/3 C	3/8 C	1 3/4 C
1 Cup	1/3 C	3 T	scant C
1/2 Cup	3 T	1 1/2 T	1/2 C
1/4 Cup	1 1/2 T	2 t	1/4 C

~ Edited from Carma Koester