Play Dough

I have this great book called "Feed Me, I'm Yours" by Vicki Lansky. It has tons of baby food recipes, teething biscuits, crafts, and cleaning tips. One of my favorite recipes is the play dough. If this play dough is kept in a sealed container it will last up to a year! It's not greasy like the store bought play dough and does not get stuck in carpet as easily.

Play Dough (stove-top recipe)
Mix in Medium Pot:
1 C white flour
1/4 C salt
2 T Cream of Tarter
Combine and add:
1 C water
2 t vegetable food coloring
1 T oil
Cook over medium heat and stir (about 3-5 minutes). It will look like a "globby" mess and you'll be sure it's not turning out . . . but it will. When it forms a ball in the center of the pot, turn out and knead on a lightly floured surface. Store in an airtight container or plastic bag. This is edible, but not tasty.

For a tasty play dough treat try this:
Mix 1 (18 oz) jar of peanut butter
6 T honey
non-fat dry milk (as much is needed to make the right consistency)

Baby Formula

This baby formula recipe comes from a friend of my sister. This friend was not able to produce enough breast milk for her infant and refused to feed her baby high fructose corn syrup, which is the first ingredient in every store bought formula out there. I have never used it and am not sure what some of the ingredients are or where to find them. I thought this was a great alternative and I'd like to share it.
To make your own 36 oz of baby formula you will need:
2 cups whole pasteurized goats milk
1/4 cup homemade liquid whey
4 tbsp lactose
1/4 tsp bifodobacterium infantis
2 tbsp good quality cream
1/2 tsp high vitamin cod liver oil
1/4 tsp high vitamin butter oil
1 tsp unrefined sunflower oil
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp coconut oil
2 high frontier brand nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp gelatin
1 7/8 cups filtered water
1/4 tsp acerola powder


~ Submitted by Brooke Wood

Making Kefir

Kefir is a thickened probiotic drink which contains 10 live and active cultures. This drink is a cousin of yogurt, and is very nourishing. Kefir can be made using a variety of different milks and drinks including: powdered milk, skim milk, 1% milk, 2% milk, whole milk, goat milk, sheep milk, rice milk, soy milk, coconut milk, fruit juice, and ginger beer. I have found this drink at any grocery store.  They can also be bought in a freeze dried version found at health food stores such as New Frontiers. You can also buy it in a freeze dried version to make your own kefir grains. Kefir may taste sour buy itself, but is good when added to cereals, fruit salad or shakes.

To make Kefir at home:
Buy one small plain organic kefir to use as a starter. Mix 1/4 C of kefir with one quart of milk and let it sit on the counter for 48 hours (kefir does not require any special heating or cooling like yogurt). Keep refrigerated. The cultures will still continue to grow during refrigeration, but the process will be slowed. Kefir will stay good in your refrigerator for several weeks. When you are ready to make a second batch of kefir, simply save 1/4 C of kefir from your previous batch and repeat the fermentation process. You can use starters from a previous batch up to 5 or 6 times before needing to buy a new kefir from the store and beginning the process again.

Emergency Substitutions

FOOD SUBSTITUTIONS

1 t Baking Powder = 1/2 t cream of tarter plus 1/4 t baking soda
1 T Balsamic Vinegar = 1 T cider vinegar or red wine vinegar plus 1/2 t sugar
1/4 C dry Bread Crumbs = 1/4 C cracker crumbs or 1/4 C corn flakes
1 C Beef or Chicken Broth = 1 t or cube instant beef or chicken bouillon plus 1 C hot water
1 C Butter = 1 C shortening plus 1/4 t salt
1 C Buttermilk = 1 T lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to make 1 cup (let stand 5 minutes before using) or 1 C plain yogurt
1 T corn starch (for thickening)= 2 T all purpose flour
1 C Corn Syrup = 1 C granulated sugar plus 1/4 C water
Egg (whole) = 1 T powdered egg plus 2 T warm water or unflavored gelatin
1 C Half and Half = 1 T melted butter or margarine plus enough whole milk to make one cup
1 C Molasses = 1 C Honey
1 C Sour Cream = 1 C plain yogurt
1 C Sugar (granulated) = 1 C brown sugar or 2 C sifted powdered sugar or 2/3 C honey
1 C Brown Sugar = 1 C granulated sugar plus 1-2 T molasses
1 C Powdered Sugar = 1 C granulated sugar plus 1 t cornstarch ground in blender
1 C Tomato Juice = 1/2 C tomato sauce plus 1/2 C water
2 C Tomato Sauce = 3/4 C tomato paste plus1 C water
1 C Whole Milk = 5/8 skim milk plus 3/8 C half and half or 2/3 1% milk plus 1/3 C half and Half or 3/4 C 2 % milk plus 1/4 C Half and Half or 7/8 C skim milk plus 1/8 C heavy cream
1C Half and Half = 3/4 C whole milk plus 1/4 heavy cream or 2/3 C skim milk plus 1/3 C heavy cream
1 C Heavy Cream (for soups and sauces only) = 1 C evaporated milk
1 C White Flour = 3/4 C plus 2 T whole wheat flour
1 C White Sugar = for each 1 cup of sugar you can substitute 2/3 C honey. Be sure to deduct 3 T of liquid from the recipe for each cup of sugar substituted. Also reduce the oven temp. by 25 degrees and bake a little longer as honey tends to make baked goods brown faster.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES
3 t = 1 T
4 T = 1/4 C
8 T = 1/2 C
16 T = 1 C
1 C = 8 oz or 1/2 Pint
2 C = 1 Pint
2 Pints = 1 Quart
4 C = 1 Quart
4 Quarts = 1 Gallon
8 oz = 1 C
12 oz = 1 3/4 C
16 oz = 2 C
20 oz = 2 1/2 C
28 oz = 3 1/2 C
46 oz = 5 3/4 C
6 lbs. 10 oz = 13 C

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

Dry Laundry Soap Recipe

I have had many people ask me if there is a dry laundry soap recipe. Well, it just so happens that my sister-in-law has one. It is very similar to the liquid laundry soap. I have tried it and it works just as well as the liquid and is less time consuming to make. I had Casey sit and grate a whole bar of fels naptha and we tripled the recipe. For other laundry tips, refer to earlier posts.
I have had a few people tell me though that the dry laundry soap does not dissolve well in a front loading machine.  If you use a front loading machine you can try the liquid laundry soap.

Dry Laundry Soap
1 c. grated fels naptha soap (1/3 of a bar)
1/2 c. borax
1/2 c. arm & hammer WASHING SODA
mix well & keep in covered container
use 1 T for regular clothes; 2 T for heavily soiled

~ Submitted by Stacy Fuller