Easy, cheap homemaking ideas

[glenda]

Ok ladies. I know there is more of us out there than what has posted on this site. Most of us have families and homeschool our children. We have to have some good idea in our heads on homeschooling, homekeeping, cooking, etc that we can share with others. So lets see how many idea we can come up with to help each other.....


I will start.
Homemade laudry det.
This is simple just grade up a bar of soap melt on stove with about two cups of water. In a five gallon bucket add 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1 cup baking soda, and fill almost full with warm water. Stir until all is disoloved. Now add all the melted soap. Stir stir stir. Allow to sit over night use 1 cup per wash load.

[hszoo]

I make a mild, white homemade cheese. I use powdered or instant milk (I'll note what the difference is in just a bit) and make up two gallons of milk with the very hottest tap water. Then I gently stir in 1/2 to 3/4 cup white vinegar. It will immediately begin to separate into curds. I then put in about a tbsp. of salt, stir, and strain through a clean, thin cloth. Hang it up somewhere over a bowl or over the sink and let it drip about 3 hours.

I don't use cheesecloth for a couple of reasons. 1) too much cheese hangs in the weave and 2) it's very hard to wash and reuse. I use something like sheet fabric so I can get all the cheese off it, rinse it, then launder it to use it again and again.

This makes a very mild white cheese you can use in place of ricotta, feta, farmers, etc. We like it just salted and put on crackers or stuffed into celery.

I also make a mozzarella style cheese by taking the white homemade cheese and simmering it on low heat with another tbsp. or so of salt, in its whey until it goes together in one clump. Then strain it and cool it, knead it like bread until it can't be kneaded anymore. Heat and melt it, and put it into a container to cool so it will be a block or cake of cheese. It can be sliced and melted - it strings out just like mozzarella.

Now, there's a difference between instant milk and powdered milk. Powdered is harder to mix, is a much finer more powdery product. However, it only takes 1/8 cup of powdered milk to make a cup of liquid milk. It takes 1/3 cup of instant milk to make a cup of liquid milk.

You can find good info for this at waltonfeed.com/self/dairy.html. You can go to their homepage and click on Shopping Cart to search what things they have available, too.

[glenda]

this is wonderful thank you so much. I used to make yogurt out of powder milk and then I would put it in a theromas and allow to sit. However i have lost my recipe and can not find one like what i used. I am going to try making the chese tomarrow. Thank thank thank thank you so much !!!!!

[hszoo]

hszoo said:

...

I also make a mozzarella style cheese by taking the white homemade cheese and simmering it on low heat with another tbsp. or so of salt, in its whey until it goes together in one clump. Then strain it and cool it, knead it like bread until it can't be kneaded anymore. Heat and melt it, and put it into a container to cool so it will be a block or cake of cheese. It can be sliced and melted - it strings out just like mozzarella.

Oh, I should have mentioned to spray a container with pam to melt the cheese in, then you can melt it either in the microwave or in boiling water. That way you can remove it from original container easier.

[hszoo]

glenda said:

this is wonderful thank you so much. I used to make yogurt out of powder milk and then I would put it in a theromas and allow to sit. However i have lost my recipe and can not find one like what i used. I am going to try making the chese tomarrow. Thank thank thank thank you so much !!!!!

You're welcome! LOL My family really loves this homemade cheese and it saves me a trip to the store everytime I need cheese for snacks or recipes! Plus, cheese of this quality is fairly expensive at the store.

[glenda]

We are a huge cheese family. I have not found any kind of cheese that my family did not like. I am looking forward to making this tomarrow. I really am. I know my husband will be thrilled that you have shared this recipe with all of us also. We spend way way to much money out of our budget getting cheeses of all tyes.
glenda

[glenda]

hazoo,
I have a question on the material that you use to drain your cheese in. Do you use a all coton material or just any white cloth.. Example a good nice flour sack cloth..
Glenda

[hszoo]

glenda said:

hazoo,
I have a question on the material that you use to drain your cheese in. Do you use a all coton material or just any white cloth.. Example a good nice flour sack cloth..
Glenda

Yes, that would work. As long as it will drain it will work.

[glenda]

thank you so much I can not wait to try some today
glenda