Zucchini-Pineapple-Raisin Bread

*Blows the cobwebs off the page*  I'm baaaaaack!!  :-)  Last 2-ish years have been crazy!!  Bought a house, stuff at work, same ol'-same ol'! :-)  Looks like people have been LOVING the Laundry post on Pinterest!!  We are well over 500 repins on that post alone!!  THANK YOU, ALL for your support!!  :-)  I hope to be posting on here more often... I have a craft room now that, while I have some work to do in there, I hope to include you on my journey!  :-)

OK... SO... What you are here for... Zucchini-Pineapple-Raisin Bread.  My division manager at work grew some MASSIVE zucchini (like 12+ inches long!), so I grabbed two and figured I would try my hand at zucchini bread.  I know it's got some healthy element (ok... so it pretty much starts and stops at the zucchini, but maybe the crushed pineapple and raisins!  LOL)...  I went to Facebook friends for an easy, tasty zucchini bread recipe (Alright, alright... I emphasized the "EASY" part!).  I didn't have to look far since my hubby posted a Zucchini-Pineapple Bread right away from Taste of Home (recipe here).  Only thing we were missing was the pineapple which he went out in the morning and got for me!  What a sweetie!!

First, some zucchini tips.  This was the first zucchini I ever worked with like this.  You will first wash the outside of the zucchini (you grate the skin as well, so make sure it's nice and clean!).  Take a knife and slice length-wise down the zucchini.  If there are seeds, slide a spoon down and get rid of the seeds.  In the middle, there is also like a mushy part.  Try to get that part out as well with the spoon (otherwise, if you are grating it like I did, the mushy part wouldn't grate, so I just tossed it as I grated).  Then, since mine were so long, I cut them in half to make it a bit more manageable while I grated.  Once I grated, I strained the zucchini.  When I got the 2 cups out for the recipe, I put them on some paper towels and grabbed a few more to put on top and try to press out any extra moisture.  I personally had another 2+ cups that I didn't use for the recipe, so I put them in 1-cup (well... 2 1-cup and 1 3/4-cup) snack bags, squeezed out the air, and then put them in a larger bag so they were double bagged before putting them in the freezer...

Wet Ingredients (Combine in a bowl):
~ 3 eggs
~ 2 cups finely chopped zucchini
~ 1 cup vegetable oil
~ 1 8oz can crushed pineapple, drained
~ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients (Combine in a separate bowl):
~ 3 cups all-purpose flour
~ 2 cups sugar
~ 2 teaspoons baking soda
~ 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
~ 1 teaspoon salt
~ 3/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
~ 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

You can also have chopped nuts or raisins... We opted for some raisins.

Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient bowl just until moistened.

Fold in raisins or nuts if you desire.  Recipe says "1 cup"... I say "However much you want!"  I have no clue how much I put in.  We like raisins.  LOL

Get your oven preheating to 350-degrees (if you haven't already).

Now... you can grease your loaf pans.  If you opt to go with the butter or spray, be sure to then coat the pan with flour - otherwise, it won't rise.  Not that I ever dealt with that or anything.  OR!!  You can try this wonderful, wonderful product!!! Wilton Cake Release!!!  You don't have to coat the pan with flour.  Just shake it a little, squeeze some inside whatever pan you use, use a pastry brush to brush it around the pan and up the sides (don't forget corners!! I always try to make sure I get plenty in the corners!), and the cake/bread/whatever comes out BEAUTIFUL!!!!!  As a former corners-still-stuck-in-the-pan baker, I can further appreciate this product!!  It's great!!

The original recipe says that for 2 8x4 loaf pans, it is 50-60 minutes.  I couldn't find our larger loaf pans, so instead, I made them in mini loaf pans.  I arranged them so that the one with the least amount of batter (whoops!) was in the middle - thus would have less of a chance of burning.  I put it in 5 mini-loaf pans.  I tried it for 35 minutes first.  That seemed to cook the middle one but the others needed some time, so I put them in for another 10 minutes - that did the trick, and we were good!!

Thanks to the cake release, I put a hot pad on the top, turned the pan over, and with no effort, had the loaf in my hand (well... hot pad! LOL).

A little bit of butter was great!  My hubby also recommends some honey!  It's a great little treat and you have no idea you are eating zucchini!!!  :-)

Homemade Laundry Needs for PENNIES!!!! (Detergent, Color-Safe Bleach, & Fabric Softener)

Hi everyone!!  I apologize for the delay in posting anything.  The Christmas season found me up to my eyeballs in brownie balls (HA! That sounded funny!)!!  I'll say that Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Peppermint Frosting (that came out for the season) combined with Wilton Candy Cane Colorburst Melts tasted like an after dinner mint - many people loved it!!  And I made them half-size and they were perfect for Christmas!!

OK... Back to the topic at hand!!!  This is going to be a long post, but bear with me!!  This is where the "crafty" aspect of Nifty Novice comes into play!!  The time it will take to read the post is worth the DOLLARS you will be saving on a regular basis!!  I'll admit that none of this was made up by me...  But I'm combining all of them together for you to hopefully save you from having to search!!!  I will tell you this - these are so insanely easy and cheap, you'll only be upset that you hadn't started earlier!!  (Actually, when I first found the "recipe" for the laundry detergent, I wanted to try it so bad, I was washing everything in sight - some things, numerous times!  I just wanted to use up all of the expensive store bought stuff!!)

Also, I BELIEVE the items should be safe for those of you with allergies to detergents.  I'm not sure on the laundry detergent because of the bar soap that is used... But I think everything else should be ok... (Please comment below and me know if you have any issues... We don't have allergies to the soaps in my house, so I don't know for sure...)

Now I have started shopping with coupons as of last year.  I do my best to match up coupons with sales... But some things just do NOT ever seem to have coupons (at least, on my schedule! LOL), and the coupons just never seem to take a big enough dent out of what I need...  So while browsing Facebook one day, a group I belong to posted about homemade laundry detergent.  SAY WA?!  Surely this isn't going to work!!  I was sure of it!!  It sounded too easy!!  So I browsed online to find other "recipes" and they all seemed to be the same, so I dubbed the "recipe," LEGIT!!!  :-)

Note that it might cost a bit when you first buy everything, but take note that you don't always need the whole box/bottle... So while something may cost $5, you will use it 20 times before you need to buy it again...  So it's really only like $0.25 each time.  I will posts prices of things using Amazon prices (since, for the soap, I bought the items a while back - and for the bleach and fabric softener, I had everything already, so I can't get you the prices I paid).

I've used headers to help you search for the sections you need.  I really wanted to keep it at one post (to ultimately make it easier on you to search for this post in the future), so please bear with me!

So... are you ready to save some money?

Laundry Detergent

Price Comparison

Tide Original Scent with ActiLift, 32-Load Bottles (Pack of 2): $7.54 per bottle (this would be about accurate at the grocery store with an AMAZING coupon...).  In our house, a bottle of detergent lasts about a  month since it is just my husband and I.  This comes to about $90.48 a year in detergent (again - with a great coupon).

VS

Twenty Mule Team Natural Laundry Booster & Multi-Purpose Cleaner-76 oz. (aka "Borax"): $10.18, however you only use 1/2 cup per batch, which means about 19-batches out of this box.  Since I just had to make our second batch of detergent, I know that a batch of the homemade detergent lasts about 3 months.  That means that if you ONLY use the Borax for laundry detergent (because it can be used for regular household cleaning as well!!), it could last nearly 5 years!!!  (Although I'm sure you should replace before then! LOL)  This comes to about $2.14 a year for the Borax.

Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOTE: This is not regular Arm & Hammer!!  Make sure it is the Super Washing Soda!!): $8.67, however you only use 1/2 cup per batch for this as well, so with this being 55-ounces, you get about 14-batches out of this box.  This means the Arm & Hammer can last almost 4-1/2 years - if you don't use it for it's great household cleaning powers as well!!  This comes to about $2.52 a year for the Arm & Hammer.

Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap: $3.91, however you only use 1/3 of the bar for a batch.  So in a year, you will would use 1-1/3 bars of the soap.  This comes to about $5.21 a year for the Fels-Naptha.

Water: Whatever your water company charges you - unless you are lucky like we are in that we live an apartment where they pay for the water!! :-)

So let's do our comparison here: For one year, I can either spend $90.48 for store-bought bottles of laundry detergent, or I can spend $9.87 - and I have soaps that can be used for household cleaning as well!!  I definitely am willing to spend some time in the kitchen to save $80.61 a year!!!!!  And, for everyone concerned about the environment?  No bottles of laundry detergent to deal with!!

The Process
I found the "recipe" for the laundry detergent here.  This may take a while, but as we saw, well worth it cost-wise!

First, collect your ingredients...

1. Borax

2. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

3. Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap (Although you can use any comparable laundry bar)

You will also want to get a knife to cut the laundry soap apart with, 1/2 cup measuring cup, and a grater (I just used a regular grater for the kitchen since I was going to put it in the dishwasher after. A tip would be to use one that will grate the soap into smaller pieces...you need to melt them, so the smaller they are, the quicker they should melt).  Also, you will want a large bucket.  The original author of this used a 2-gallon bucket and said it was a bit too small.  I believe my bucket was 5-gallon?  (In any case, it was purple, so it didn't really matter! LOL)

Cut the Fels-Naptha soap into 3 equal pieces.

Now, you are going to grate it.  Since I wanted to save myself time, I ended up grating all 3 sections at once.  I would grate one section, put it in a small baggie, grate the next one, put that one in a baggie, put them both into a larger baggie, and label and date it.  That way, for the next 2 batches, I just have to grab the bag of the already grated soap and not pull the grater out again!

Be sure to monitor small children when you are grating the soap.  It looks a LOT like grated cheese (in fact, to be honest with you, it put me MAJORLY in the mood to have pizza afterwards!).

Next, heat 6 cups of water on the stove and stir in the 1/3 bar of grated soap.  You want the soap to melt, but do not let it boil.

Next, add 1/2 cup of Borax and 1/2 cup of the Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda.

Stir until it is all dissolved.  Then, continue to stir until it thickens to the consistency of honey.  (Side note: I love honey, but I totally blanked on the thickness level and doubt my hubby would appreciate me squeezing honey into the sink to determine the consistency to see if it matched.  LOL  I would say: make sure it is nice and thick, but don't kill yourself standing at the stove for a half hour like I did!!)  Once it is thick enough, remove it from the heat.

Now, grab your bucket.  Pour 4 cups of hot tap water in.  Add the soap and stir.  If you want to add a scent (like lavender), feel free to add a few drops of essential oil in.  I didn't have any (a crafting accident a few Christmases back that made my solid wood kitchen table smell like lavender for the next year made me a bit hesitant to do that! Maybe in the future, I'll give it a shot!)...

Next, add 22 cups (1 gallon plus 6 cups) of hot tap water to the bucket.  Mix it for a few minutes more.  This is when the large bucket is nice.  I really got into the stirring.  There is just something fun about stirring so much liquid and knowing it won't splash out!!!

You are going to leave it overnight.  We covered ours with a pizza box (don't tell me you didn't see that one coming after my statement about the grated soap! LOL)... Covering was more so to keep 2 very nosy kitties out of it!!

The next day, depending on weather and soap you used, the detergent could be runny, gel-like, or thick and watery on the bottom.  At this point, you can consider yourself done... Just scoop out 1/2 cup for each load.  However, the original author went a bit further, so I decided I was going to copy her...

I used a beverage immersion blender to help blend the soap up a bit.

Then, I funneled it into a cute little container that I got at Wal-Mart for like $8 I believe...  I think it was maybe 2 or 2-1/2 gallons?

A few notes about the laundry detergent... It WILL settle.  So you may have to shake it up between loads.  That is why the handle is so nice.  I just slide it off the shelf, shake, shake, shake, and put it back and we are all good... Or if I don't feel like sliding it off and back on, I just slide it back and forth on the shelf real fast.  It also may still be chunk-like if the blender didn't help break up the final pieces.  A little squeeze on the sides will help it come out.

Use about 1/2 - 3/4 cup per load.

Color-Safe Bleach
*Note that at the time of this posting, I am not sure how long a batch lasts for us with the homemade version. I just made my first batch.  I will update the bottom of the post once I have an idea of how long it lasts for us. However, for "sake of argument," I am going to figure it will be at least 2 months per batch, considering the laundry detergent lasted 3 times longer than the store-bought detergent and we use color-safe bleach in every load.

**VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!! PLEASE READ!! The color-safe bleach results in a clear liquid!!!  PLEASE!!!  Be sure to label it properly and keep it out of reach of children (or thirsty family members!)!!  It looks IDENTICAL to water!!  We don't want anyone getting the two mixed up!

Price Comparison

Clorox 2 Liquid (16 Load): $5.69 per bottle.  I think this is actually a smaller container than what we normally get (I believe our bottles are 32 load and cost upwards of $8), but it probably works out to about 1 of these bottles a month (maybe less, but we'll go with it).  This comes to $68.28 a year.

VS

Hydrogen Peroxide (16oz): $0.98 per bottle.  This price is pretty accurate depending on where you buy it at.  I got mine for like $1.09 at our grocery store.  You actually use the entire bottle for each batch, so considering 2 months per batch (see note above), that comes to $5.88 a year...

Water: Again, if you have to pay, it's whatever you get charged... Or for us, nothing.  :-)

THAT'S IT!!!  I verified this over and over because it seemed too good to be true!!  But it IS!!  To make it be color-safe, it uses an oxygen-based cleaner (think Oxy-Clean, but in our case, it is the hydrogen peroxide and water)... I think this made me the maddest - that I was paying so much for something that was so cheap!!

So again, $68.28 or $5.88?  That's $62.40 in my pocket!

The Process

I found the recipe here.  I didn't take many pictures of the process because, quite frankly, there isn't much of a process!  Ha!

First, collect your ingredients...

1. Hydrogen Peroxide (hint: get the 16oz bottle and then you can just dump the entire bottle in and not have to measure!)

2. Warm/Hot Water

OK... Here's where the directions get tough. *winks*

Pour 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide into a container at least one gallon in size.  Again, if you get the 16-ounce bottle, just dump the entire bottle in.

Technically, the next step says to "add enough water to fill to one gallon," but if you are using a larger container like I was and your husband doesn't point out right away that there are actually faint markers on the container that actually show one gallon, just know that if you had 2 cups of hydrogen peroxide, a gallon is 16 cups, so you just have to add 14 cups of warm-to-hot water.

Cover your container.

Shake to mix.

And your done!  Tough, hey?  $62.40 for roughly 2 minutes worth of work?  Well worth it to me!!

Again, shake before use. Since it is clear, I can't tell if it separates, but I'd rather err on the side of caution.

Use just under 1/4 cup per load.

Fabric Softener
*Note that at the time of this posting, I am not sure how long a batch lasts for us with the homemade version. I just made my first batch.  I will update the bottom of the post once I have an idea of how long it lasts for us. However, for "sake of argument," I am going to figure it will be at least 6 months per batch, considering the laundry detergent lasted 3 times longer than the store-bought detergent and we only use liquid fabric softener for washing shirts (for everything else that goes in the dryer, we do use a Downy Bar in the dryer...).

Price Comparison

Snuggle Exhilarations, 3x Concentrate Fabric Softener, 32-Loads: $6.08 per bottle.  We end up having to buy maybe 1 bottle every 3 months.  This comes to $24.32 a year.

VS

Hair Conditioner: $1.25 per bottle.  I am not connecting a link to this as I did not find one on Amazon that was price-comparable.  I got my bottle for $0.89.  You can usually find a bottle for $1.00.  Don't go buying Garnier Fructis or another good, more expensive brand!  Just a cheap, nice smelling conditioner will be good enough.  For the batch I made, I got White Rain Ocean Mist Conditioner... smells so fresh!  Get a bottle at least 16 ounces (I used 18 ounce) and you actually use the entire bottle for each batch (yes...I used the extra 2 ounces.  I figured it didn't do any harm), so considering 6 months per batch (see note above), that comes to $2.50 (at most!) a year...

Heinz Distilled White Vinegar 32 oz: $2.39 per bottle (Although I think you can get it even cheaper than this!). You only need 3 cups, so considering doing this twice a year, for $3.59 a year, you would have all of the vinegar you need for this!

Water: Again, if you have to pay, it's whatever you get charged... Or for us, nothing.  :-)

So I ask you, $24.32 or $6.09?  At a savings of about 75% (if not, more!), I'll take the $6.09 any day!

The Process

I found the recipe here.  Like the color-safe bleach, I didn't take many pictures of this because of the ease of the recipe.

Your ingredients:
1. Nice-Smelling Hair Conditioner (I recommend getting a bottle that is between 16 & 18 ounces... then you can just use the whole bottle)
2. White Vinegar
3. HOT water

Pour 2 cups (-ish! LOL) of conditioner (or the entire bottle if it is 16-18 ounces in size) into your container.

Add the 6 cups of HOT water (it doesn't have to be boiling... But I would make sure you have steam coming from the faucet when getting the water).
Cover your container and shake to mix until the conditioner has dissolved.

Add 3 cups of white vinegar.

Cover and shake to mix.

DONE!!!  Easy, hey?

Again, shake up between use.

How much you use depends on how much clothing is in the load.  Personally, I use a Downy Ball and throw it in with the clothes.  The spigot on the container works great for getting the soap into it!

Conclusion

So ultimately, if you do all 3 of these, and have the same amount of usage as my husband and I, you will only spend about $21.84 (verses $183.08 - a $161.24 savings!) on your laundry needs for a YEAR!!!  And if you do more than we do, you can just watch your savings skyrocket!!

I managed to buy thinner versions of the detergent container to hold the fabric softener and color-safe bleach, so now, the OCD-side of me is happy!  I also printed labels for each container labeling what it was, how much should be used, and how to make it again (so I do not have to continuously go online - although I would love for you to visit this page often!!).

I have to admit that I am giddy about having made this post.  I hope that all of you can find this as beneficial as I do.  I would love to hear your results!!

UPDATE: On April 29th, I finally had to make new bleach (I did a double batch for this next time since the container is (almost) big enough!).  On April 30th, I made new fabric softener, but I probably could have went another week or two with what was in there...

Mozzarella Sticks (9-17-11)

While on Pinterest.com, I found a great picture of mozzarella sticks. Someone had written underneath about baking them instead of frying them. So, I followed the original link to here to get the initial set of ingredients.  Then, I did various browsing online to find out how to bake similar items.  Since it was a lot of browsing and random clicking, I don't have the original link, so bear with me.  Although - to be honest, the fried sticks tasted better.  Just sayin'!

Ingredients:
~ 12 pieces string cheese
~ 12 egg roll wrappers (OK. Side note here... I spent FOR-EV-ER (in my world. To most people, this would be more like 2-3 weeks) trying to find these in the freezer section like all the stupid websites said it would be in... No.  They were by the tofu in the produce section.)
~ Cooking spray
~ Egg for sealing the egg roll wrappers (although water works just as good.  Save the egg for a cake! LOL  I read that the egg would be better at sealing the egg roll wrapper... Let's see how well that works!)

First, prep the items... Line the cookie tray with foil and spray with cooking spray.  If necessary, unwrap the string cheese.  Mix up the egg.

Next, roll up your cheese sticks.  I had them on a piece of wax paper.  Be sure to moisten some paper towels to lay over the open egg roll wrapper package. (Side note: To preserve the egg roll wrappers if you do not use all of them, wrap them in a moist paper towel to keep them from drying out and put them in a Ziplock bag.  They will stay good for about 2 weeks.)  Don't forget to tuck in the sides!!  And at the end, use your egg wash or water along the tip before pressing it against the stick. It will (in theory) help it stay closed.

Spray the top of the sticks quick with your cooking spray and put in the oven at 400 for 15 min... Or not...

I ended up pulling mine out after about 10 minutes I believe.  This is why:

Yes.  The cheese erupted.  Which is why I questioned the "sealing power" of the egg wash.  But, alas, it did not stop me from eating it with some yummy pizza sauce (OK... I know it's usually marinara sauce, but the pizza sauce in the squeezy bottle is just so much fun!!).

Update: On 10-9, I tried the frying idea...  I wrapped the cheese sticks up the same as before, using water to seal.  Then I put it in a pan of hot oil (I'm very proud of myself - this was only the second time I've done something like that!  And this time, I didn't try to throw the food in from like a foot away!).  Roll them around every few seconds so that they are equally browned, and then pull them out (after probably 60 seconds total) and put them on some paper towels to help absorb the oil.  The cheese tried sneaking out of a few of them, but I grabbed them out in time.  My hubby was very impressed by the frying skills!!  I may try that again some time!!  They tasted super yummy!!  It's amazing what happens when the cheese stays in the wrapper!  :-)

Skip the baking. Go for the frying!!  MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

Pizza Muffins (9-17-11)

Oh yes! You read that right! PIZZA MUFFINS!!!  As I've mentioned before, I've become quite addicted to a site called Pinterest.com.  It can be very inspirational, and I decided that I was going to stop browsing and put a few things into action!!  These are really easy to make and can easily be done with children!!  The original post can be found here.

First, get the ingredients together...
~ Cooking spray
~ 1 Tube of refrigerator biscuits (like the original poster, I used Reduced Fat Grands. You won't want to use a "Flaky Layer" type biscuit)
~ Pizza Sauce (I used a squeeze bottle...less waste and easy to manipulate)
~ Mozzarella cheese (I used sliced)
~ Pepperoni slices (or whatever you want for a topping, but keep in mind that you don't have a ton of room!)

Preheat the oven to 375 and coat the muffin tray with your spray.

Undo the biscuits (be careful... I don't care if they fixed it so it doesn't pop on it's own... When I poked it open and it popped, it still startled me! LOL).  Cut each biscuit in half (suggestion - go the long ways - from side to side...not from top to bottom.  Then, it is already in a round shape...or...at least... it should be. May help to not use a chopping knife for it as well. That tends to eliminate the round shape. *cough* Oops! LOL).

Now, pull the biscuit half into a large circle.  I found it to be easiest to turn it on the side so I could pull straight down.  Work with gravity.  It will save on the frustration.

Now, you are going to start making the biscuits.
1 - Line the muffin cup with your pulled dough circle.  It is best if you have enough that it can drape over the edge/onto the top of the tray... Otherwise, you are fighting gravity again if you don't work fast enough... the dough will slide right down!
2 - Pour a little bit of sauce in.  Just enough to fill the bottom about 1/4-1/2 inch.
3 - Sprinkle in some cheese!!
4 - Put your topping in.
5 - Sprinkle just a bit more cheese for good measure.
6 - You'll have a beautiful tray of pizza muffins!  Note that there are only 8 biscuits in a tube.  So for some, instead of having biscuit halves to waste, I just put an entire biscuit in the muffin cup.  Makes it a bit more cramped, but still do-able.

Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.  You'll want to let them cool a bit (I can't be held responsible for others burning their mouths... I don't even like taking responsibility when I do it to myself! LOL), but this definitely isn't a "freeze-until-later" type of meal.

1 - Done in the pan!
2 - They pop right out!!
3 - BEA-U-TI-FUL bottom!!!  Nothing burned!  SCORE!!!!
4 - Yummy inside!!  (But be careful... The sauce at the bottom tends to like to spurt out at you. Not that my hubby and I would know! *cough* LOL)

Update: On 10/9, I used a large muffin tin (like this one: Baker's Secret Basics Nonstick 6-Cup Texas Muffin Pan) and put an entire biscuit in each cup.  I think I'll do it this way in the future.  It made it seem a bit less "bite-size" and more of a nice snack.

1 - Nice in the pan!
2 - Still turned out fantastic on the crust! YAY!
3 - And still super yummy on the inside!!

I definitely will not be losing this recipe!!! HIGHLY recommend for a movie day!!