Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

If I can make something from scratch I make it! This is just the way I am, it saves money and I get some satisfaction from figuring out how to make for myself something that the manufacturers think only they can make and charge us too much for.

Sooo now I have to ask myself ..."Self, why didn't you think of doing this before if you are so darn smart?"

Answer self now..."Good Grief, I don't know!"

Here it is...

You will need;

  Washing Soda (sodium carbonate) found it at Walmart, did not find it elsewhere

Borax (sodium tetraborate)

Sugar free lemon aid packets or Fruit Fresh or citric acid (in the canning supplies)

The washing soda cost just over $3 for a 3 lb. 7 oz. box and the Borax was just under $3 for a 4 lb. 12 oz. box and the lemon aid packets cost about .12 cents each for the store brand and .25 cents for the Kool Aid brand. Fruit Fresh is a bit more expensive, but works very well. With this amount you can make a lot of dishwasher detergent for pennies per load.

Now here is the hard work...

Into a clean plastic container measure 1 cup of  washing soda to 1 cup of Borax and 2 packets of lemon mix or 2 teaspoon of Fruit Fresh or citric acid.

Mix well and it is ready!

Use 1 tablespoon per load of dishes.

 This recipe works really well and the lemon gives it a fresh sent. With in 2-3 times of using this detergent the stubborn hard water stains on the dish washer door were gone.

In addition to this I added white vinegar into the rinse agent reservoir 

Homemade Cooked Mayonnaise

This is a very handy recipe to have for those times when you find you are completely out of mayonnaise and have a sandwich half built or a summer salad needing a bit more mayonnaise then you can scrape from a sad empty jar. Once you have found how easy it is to make and tasted how good your homemade mayo is you will not ever again want to buy the pale bland grocery store version. Not to mention you will save money with making your own.

And by the way read the title on this, I said "cooked"

I raise chickens so my eggs are very fresh, but I don't do raw eggs!

Cook the darn things and save you and your fellow picnickers from an unwanted visit from 

Sam n" Ella

Nobody likes for those two to crash a party!

Anyhow...

Make this in a blender and it is so easy!

I have made this recipe with lemon juice and it is very good, but for this one I use rice wine vinegar which gives it a very nice flavor that stands out well with most foods.

You will need:

4 Egg yolks 

                               4 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

              4 Tablespoons water

                  1 teaspoon dry mustard

     3/4 teaspoon salt

                                              1 1/2 cup oil, canola, olive or vegetable oil

Put the egg yolks, vinegar & water into a small sauce pan and whisk well.

Place pan over medium heat and stir with a rubber spatula till the mixture starts to thicken well.

Once hot remove the pan from heat and set into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process and to cool to just warm..

Scrape contents into the blender and mix a few seconds then check to see that it is only slightly warm, not hot.

Now with the blender on high remove just the center part of lid and slowly drizzle the oil into the egg mix. This will take a few minutes and watch the texture to see that it is emulsifying well. 

When I have added about 1 1/4 cups oil I stop the blender and check the thickness and flavor. If the flavor is good I may stop adding oil and call it mayo or decide to add slightly more then the 1 1/2 cups called for. This is personal choice.

Scrape contents into an air tight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

***

For an extra flavorful mayo add a clove of garlic or dill weed, fresh or dried

Roasted red peppers are very good and gives the mayo a beautiful sunset color!.