Teriyaki Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup honey
1 T cooking oil
2 T dry mustard
3 T soy sauce
1 t ginger root (grated)
1 minced garlic clove


Place chicken in ziploc bag. Melt honey in microwave and mix in remaining ingredients. Pour over chicken, seal and freeze.

To serve, place in baking dish and cook covered in oven for 1 hour at 350 F.

OR place in crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.

OR BBQ!

Curried Chicken

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T butter
1 cup honey
1/3 cup mustard
3/4 t salt
1 T curry powder

Place chicken in ziploc bag. Microwave butter and honey in a medium bowl until melted. Add mustard, salt and curry to honey mixture. Stir and pour over chicken. seal and freeze.
To serve: Place in baking dish and bake covered at 350 F for 1 hour.
OR place in crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
OR BBQ!
Serve with rice.

Mini Meatloaves

3/4 c ketchup
3 T brown sugar
3/4 t dry mustard
1 egg, beaten
3 t Worchestershire sauce
2 cups Chex cereal, crushed
2 t onion powder
1/2 t seasoned salt
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t pepper
2 lbs raw ground beef

In a large bowl, combine ketchup, brown sugar and dry mustard. Set aside 1/3 cup of this mixture for the topping. Add all other ingredients to remaining mixture. Mix well. Press meat mixture into 12 muffin cups (about 1/3 cup each). Flash free loaves in muffin tins. Remove from pan and place in freezer bags. Include topping in a small freezer bag.
To serve: Thaw and bake on a baking sheet at 375 for 20-25 min. Spoon topping over loaves and bake 10 minutes longer or until meat is no longer pink.

Self-Reliance

"Self-reliance means using all of our blessings from Heavenly Father to care for ourselves and our families and to find solutions for our own problems. Each of us has a responsibility to try to avoid problems before they happen and to learn to overcome challenges when they occur. How do we become self-reliant?
We become self-reliant through obtaining sufficient knowledge, education, and literacy; by managing money and resources wisely, being spiritually strong, preparing for emergencies and eventualities; and by having physical health and social and emotional well-being." - Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president

Deodorant

1/3 cup arrowroot powder
1/3 cup baking soda
10 drops of antibacterial essential oil (tea tree, lavender, or eucalyptus)
10 drops of antifungal essential oil (tea tree, peppermint, sandalwood, or eucalyptus)
5 tablespoons coconut oil
Mix everything up in a bowl until it forms a thick paste. Transfer to your storage container and then allow 24 hours to ’set up’. You can use an old deodorant container or a shallow, wide-mouthed jar, applying the deo with your fingertips.

Homemade Stuff

I've been acquiring homemade recipes for household items, and realized I need to post them all in one place so I can find them when I need to make a new batch! The only "recipe" I haven't tried yet is the deodorant, and I'm waiting until Mike runs out of his store bought stuff before I give it a go.
I amassed my collection of recipes from various websites - and I can't remember all of them, but I'll try to link a few that were really helpful.
As always, my cousin-in-law Kristyan is an incredible resource for all things vegetarian, tasty, green and simple. I found some great advice and lots of "food for thought" at Angry Chicken. I LOVE Bonzai Aphrodite and her Monday Monthly Missions, even if I'm not brave enough to actually *do* all of them :) And I know this next link is off topic, but if I don't link it here, I'm afraid I'll forget it when I want it! The Pioneer Woman is a great blog for recipes and homemade ingredients!

Toothpaste

4 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted to its liquid state) or glycerin
3 teaspoons xylitol
15 drops peppermint oil
Mix everything in a small bowl until it forms a uniform paste. Add more peppermint oil 5 drops at a time, tasting as you go, if you like it stronger. Transfer to a small glass jar or storage container with a tight-fitting lid. The toothpaste will keep unrefrigerated for months.
I've used a washed baby food jar and we use a popsicle stick to get the toothpaste onto our toothbrushes.

Diaper Cream

8 oz shea butter
4 oz coconut oil
6-8 Tbsp arrowroot powder
Microwave butter and oil until melted. Add powder 1 Tbsp at a time, mixing until combined. Pour into containers and allow to cool before use.
This also makes an awesome lotion - for baby or mama!

***update***

Now that we are living in a hot climate, I've discovered this diaper cream doesn't work for me anymore. Coconut oil has a melting point of 77 or 79 degrees, depending on how refined it is. I keep our air conditioning at 77 constantly, so our cream melts into more of a diaper oil - not very convenient when I have to stir it every time I change a diaper, especially now that I'm changing twice as many these days! I still love the way it helped my babies bummies and my hands, but I'll have to start figuring something else out.

All Purpose Cleaner

2 tsp borax (or ¼ cup baking/washing soda)
4 Tbsp vinegar
¼ cup Palmolive or Ivory dishwashing soap
enough hot water to fill 32 oz bottle
Mix together in a spray bottle.

Dishwasher Detergent

1:1 ratio of:
baking/washing soda
borax
I shake it up in a quart size mason jar.
Use 2 Tbsps per load.
Use vinegar in the rinse cycle.

Laundry Detergent

1/3 bar ivory soap or fels naptha
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup oxiclean free

For dry detergent: I triple the recipe so I can use a full bar of soap and then I store it in a large "dog food container" (it has a seal around the lid so it won't spill if it tips over). Grate the soap into a food processor, then add everything else and let the chopping blades do the rest. A large load takes 3 Tbsp, a medium or small load takes 2 Tbsp.

For liquid detergent: You'll need a total of 2 gallons of water and a container big enough to hold it. Grate the soap into a large pot, then add 6 cups water and heat until the soap melts. Add the washing soda, borax, and oxiclean and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into your container. Add your soap mixture and stir. Add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. Use 1/2 cup per large load (1/4 cup for HE washers).

For a stain remover: Dissolve 3-4 tablespoons of dry detergent in 32 oz hot water in a spray bottle.

Beef Enchilada Casserole

1 lb ground beef
1 T taco seasoning (or one packet)
1/4 t salt
15 oz enchilada sauce
1/2 c water
1/2 c salsa
12 corn tortillas
1 c shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican blend, colby/monterey jack)
fresh cilantro to garnish

Combine and brown beef and seasoning. Add enchilada sauce, water and salsa. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.
Place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1-inch squares. Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over the bottom of a 9x13 greased pan. Top with half of beef and half of cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, beef and cheese (kind of like an enchilada lasagna). Either freeze at this point or continue.
Microwave on high for 8 minutes (or bake at 350 for 10 minutes), just until cheese is melted. Garnish with cilantro and serve with sour cream and lime wedges.

Gramma Harker's Chicken Pockets

8 oz cream cheese
1/4 c butter
1 can (or 1 c.) cooked, chopped chicken breast
1 T onion powder
biscuit dough (enough for 16 biscuits, or 2 cans of crescent rolls or biscuits)
1 can cream of chicken soup

Combine first 3 ingredients well (will be lumpy). Grease a cookie pan and place half of biscuits, flattened, on pan. Top each biscuit with filling. Flatten other half of biscuits and place on top of filled biscuits (making a pocket of dough around the filling).
Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, until brown. Either continue to serve, or freeze in individual ziplock bags (reheat in microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes).
To make gravy to pour over biscuits: Heat can of cream of chicken soup with 1/2 can of water or milk.

Sour Cream Enchiladas

16 oz sour cream
2 T salsa
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can (or 1 c) cooked, diced chicken breast
8-12 flour tortillas
1/2 lb shredded cheddar cheese
chopped green onion (optional)

Mix all but cheese and tortillas together. Spread a thin layer of filling on bottom of 2 9x13 pans. Place a spoonful of filling on tortilla and top with cheese. Roll up, place in pan seam side down. Each pan will hold 6 enchiladas. After pan is full, cover with remaining filling. Sprinkle with cheese and green onion.
Bake at 275 or 300 degrees until heated through, but not any hotter or sour cream will curdle.

This is my mama's recipe.

Inside-out Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1 T. Italian seasoning
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 15oz. can diced tomatoes
1 16oz. container ricotta cheese
1/2 lb. pasta, cooked and drained
1 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

In a large skillet, cook ground beef with onion. Season with salt, garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Drain when browned. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes to skillet. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in ricotta cheese until combined. At this point I either freeze it (and will cook and add fresh pasta when I reheat and serve it) or continue on.
Stir in pasta. Sprinkle cheese on top, cover and allow cheese to melt before serving.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

1 lb. bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
5 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 c. chicken stock
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
1 1/2 c. milk
3 green onions, sliced
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 t. black pepper
Sour cream for garnish, optional

In a large stock pot, cook bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain and set aside. Drain all but 2 T. of bacon grease from the pot. Cook the onions in the remaining bacon grease for about 5 minutes, until tender.
Add potatoes and chicken stock to pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer about 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender. With a slotted spoon, remove a few scoops of potatoes. Place in a bowl and mash with a fork. Set aside.
In a small sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, bring to a boil and simmer until thickened. Slowly stir in to stock pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer. Stir mashed potatoes back into pot.
Add 1/2 c. shredded cheese, three-fourths of the bacon and half the sliced green onions to pot. Add pepper. Stir to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes.
At this point you can freeze or serve.
To serve, ladle soup into individual bowls and top with some shredded cheese, bacon, green onions and optional sour cream. If frozen, allow to thaw in fridge all day, then heat in microwave until warm.

Thanks to my Aunt Jackie for this awesome recipe!!

Chicken Tamale Casserole

1 cup Mexican blend cheese, divided
1/3 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 can cream-style corn
1 box corn muffin mix
1 can chopped green chiles, drained
- Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese.
At this point either freeze or put back in the oven for 10 minutes until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes.
After freezing, let thaw in fridge during the day, then bake at 400° until heated throughout, about 20 minutes.