December 2010 ~ Colie's Kitchen

Dec 30, 2010

Homemade Foaming Hand Soap

I don’t like to refer to myself as cheap so I will say I am frugal. I hate spending big bucks on things we use every day. I love to have foaming hand soap in the bathroom, but I hate to pay refill prices. In the kitchen I have the Lysol No-Touch Hand Soap System which I refill myself also. I decided to find a way to refill my foaming hand soap dispenser that I purchased at Target. I paid around $2.50 for the initial foaming soap dispenser and of course it came filled, but I wasn’t going to pay the money they wanted to refill it. After 2 minutes of research I found a “recipe” and instructions on how to make my own. I walked to the bathroom with a measuring spoon, cup, and dish soap and 1 minute later I had foaming soap! Simple Simple Simple! Cheap!

You will need:

1 empty foaming hand spa dispenser
3 TBS Clear (very important) liquid soap (body wash, hand soap, dish washing soap, shampoo)
2/3 Cup water

Directions:

Add the 3 TBS of clear liquid soap to your foaming hand soap dispenser
Add the 2/3 Cup of water
Close up your your foaming hand soap dispenser and gently move the soap and water around so that they will mix well. Do not shake! Gently combine the water and the soap.
Test your foaming hand soap dispenser to insure it works
Enjoy!

This is an excellent recipe on a cold winters night! It's warm and filling, and even better... it's not very expensive! I love corn chowder!! I had no idea I loved it until I finally gave it a chance now it's a favorite soup of mine. I did not use fresh corn. I actually used one can of sweet corn.

Ingredients:

3 ears fresh corn or 3 ears bicolor corn (I used 1 can or sweet corn)
4 ounces bacon, cut into 1/3 inch dice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1/2 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1 lb yukon gold potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
3 cups chicken stock
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in
2 tablespoons water
1 cup heavy cream (Milk can also be used or canned milk)
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives or 2 tablespoons thinly sliced scallions

Directions:

Husk the corn.
Carefully remove most of the silk by hand and then rub the ears with a towel to finish the job.
Cut the kernels from the cobs and place in a bowl.
You should have about 2 cups.
Using the back of your knife, scrape down the cobs and add the milky substance that oozes out to the corn kernels.
Heat a 3-to 4-quart heavy pot over low heat and add the diced bacon.
Once it has rendered a few tablespoons of fat, increase the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crisp and golden brown.
Pour off all but one tablespoon of the bacon fat, leaving the bacon in the pot.
Add the butter, onion, bell pepper, thyme, cumin, and turmeric and sauté, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes, until the onion and pepper are tender but not browned.
Add the corn kernels, potatoes and stock, turn up the heat, cover, and boil vigorously for about 10 minutes.
Some of the potatoes will have broken up, but most should retain their shape.
Use the back of your spoon to smash a bit of the corn and potatoes against the side of the pot.
Reduce the heat to medium and season the chowder with salt and pepper.
Stir the cornstarch mixture and slowly pour it into the pot, stirring constantly.
As soon as the chowder has come back to a boil and thickened slightly, remove from the heat and stir in the cream.
Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
If you are not serving the chowder within the hour, let it cool a bit, then refrigerate; cover the chowder AFTER it has chilled completely.
Otherwise, let it sit at room temperature for up to an hour, allowing the flavors to meld.
When ready to serve, reheat the chowder over low heat; don't let it boil.
Ladle into cups or bowls and sprinkle with the chopped chives.

This recipe was found on www.food.com

Teriyaki Chicken Legs

This is a fantastic recipe! The chicken legs are bursting with teriyaki flavor. I marinate the chicken legs no less than 12 hours which makes a huge difference. By marinating them for at least 12 hours the marinade has a chance to get deep into the meat. Fantastic!

Ingredients

2 lbs chicken legs
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup soy sauce (I use reduced salt)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

Heat butter, soy sauce, sugar, water mustard and garlic powder in the microwave or stove top until the butter and sugar melt. Allow to cool
Place chicken legs in zip bag
Pour marinade over legs and marinate at least 12 hours, turning as often as possible.
Drain off all the marinate
Bake in a heavy foil lined baking pan at 375F for 1 hour or until down, turning occasionally.

Puppy Chow

Chex Party Mix is a staple for our Christmas Celebration.

Since I married my husband I always make something

that he grew up being “Puppy Chow” which is made with

Chex cereal! We love finding new and creative ways to use

Chex especially at the holidays!

Ingredients:

9 cups Chex cereal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

In a saucepan over low heat melt the chocolate chips and add peanut butter.
Mix until smooth.
Remove from heat, add Crispix and stir until coated.
Pour powered sugar into a large plastic bag, add coated Crispix and shake until well coated.

Wordless Wednesday: Coupons!

This is how coupons pay off!! Because I use coupons I got 74 items at Kroger totaling $139.21 for $7.90 after coupons!! When people tell me they don't like to use coupons, it's embarrassing, they don't have time, it's too much trouble... yada... yada...yada this is what I say in response: $7.90 for 74 items! Coupons give me the ability to share with my extended family, the food pantry, and feed my own family for very little to nothing! Clip, Save, and Life!

Wordless Wednesday (Ummm Pretzels!)

When Kevin and I were at the Texas Renaissance Festival on Saturday where the pretzel guy became our best friend. We literally didn’t eat one single thing other than pretzels. We are seriously cheap! LOL We just couldn’t justify $8 for everything you could eat there especially after we spent that a few weeks ago when we were there, and it wasn’t worth the money. We had a large breakfast before we went, and had a good dinner when we left. It sill ended up costing us less. So anytime we got hungry we had a pretzel and actually completely enjoyed them. I am sad that the Renaissance Festival is over for another year, but it was sure fun while it lasted.