Recipe

Tomato Pie

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This recipe is a favorite of our family and I have actually changed it a bit to suit our needs. I am sharing our recipe, not the original one. This will melt in your mouth and is so yummy! Hope you try it and enjoy!

This is a true southern pie. It is not pizza or even deep dish pizza. It is a great recipe for when you are getting overrun with your garden tomatoes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

One or two cans of diced tomatoes (we use fresh tomatoes when in season)

two Tablespoons mayonnaise or miracle whip

bacon bits (use the real bacon bits)

one can of crescent rolls

shredded cheese (your choice here, most will work fine)

Start with a square cake pan or pie dish. Open the rolls and take out four. Open them up and lay them out on the bottom of the pan so they form a bottom crust for your pie. You may pinch them together if you like. Next, take your miracle whip and spread it out over the rolls thinly. Once that is done, sprinkle your bacon bits. Add the tomatoes next. You can use one or two cans depending on your preferences. Sprinkle liberally with cheese. Take the next four rolls and put them on top (as you did on the bottom, open them and place them on top to form your top crust). Add more cheese on top if preferred as well. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Variations can include: using pepperoni instead of or with bacon, using italian sausage (cut out of casings and cooked before adding) instead of other meats, seasoning with herbs to your liking, and really anything you would like to try. *If using any meats that are not cooked, fully cook them before adding to the layers* You can also add fresh veggies from the garden like yellow squash or zucchini sliced thinly. The choices are yours.

How to Make Your Own Detergents and Cleansers

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I saw this and thought, Hey! What a great idea! I know a lot of folks have been doing this for years, but I have not taken that step yet. I use coupons and tend to stock up on cleaning items when they are free or almost free. However, should I need to do this, I now have the recipe for making my own! I found this on yahoo in the finance section. Please read and share!

How to Make Simple and Cheap Detergents

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Ever wonder why there are so many dish soap commercials? Maybe the
companies who make this stuff are trying to hide the fact it’s really simple —
and cheap — to make your own.

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from MoneyTalksNews.com:

• 3
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• The
10 Golden Rules of Saving on Everything

• 10
Things People Buy That They Should Get Free

 

According to the latest government data, Americans spend an average of $659 a
year on housekeeping supplies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which provides
that figure, also says the average American earns about $787/week — which means many people are spending most
of (if not more than) a week’s pay every year on dish soap, laundry detergent,
and other cleaning products.

If that sounds crazy, here’s a better idea: Make your own.

Recipes for cleaning products are as numerous as recipes for dinner. Here are
just a few to help with dishes, clothes and more.

Dishwasher Detergent

Here’s a simple recipe for dishwasher soap:

• 1 cup of borax
• 1 cup of baking soda
• ¼ cup of table salt
• 2
packets (half an ounce) of unsweetened lemon Kool-Aid

You can try to save even more by buying ingredients in bulk, but another idea
is to find smaller and much cheaper boxes at your local dollar store: a good
idea to since you’ll want to try a small amount at first to see if you like the
results. The amounts listed above are good for 16 loads — one tablespoon each
— so even small batches will last a while.

Other recipes online vary: For example, we found one that suggested combining
only borax and baking soda, 1 tablespoon each per load. Another suggested adding
a little citrus essential oil to make it smell nice: We didn’t try that
one, however, because we had difficulty finding inexpensive citrus oil online.
Then there’s this recipe, which goes in a different direction altogether:

• 2 bars of shredded Octagon soap
• 1 cup of baking soda
• ¼ cup of
washing soda
• ¼ cup of lemon juice

This one calls for melting the shredded soap in five quarts of water and then
mixing in the other ingredients. If that sounds a little like the recipe for
laundry detergent we wrote about last year, that’s because it is.

Laundry Detergent

Speaking of laundry detergent, that’s easy, too. You’ll need:

• 4 cups of water
• ⅓ bar of cheap soap, grated
• ½ cup washing soda
(not baking soda)
• ½ cup of Borax (20 Mule Team)
• 5-gallon bucket for
mixing
• 3 gallons of water

First, mix the grated soap in a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and heat on
low until the soap is completely dissolved. Add hot water/soap mixture to 3
gallons of water in the 5-gallon bucket, stir in the washing soda and Borax, and
continue stirring until thickened. Let the mix sit for 24 hours, and voila!
Homemade laundry detergent.

Other Cleaning Products

If you like the results of your homemade concoctions on clothes and dishes,
why stop there? The next time you’re at the store, instead of picking up a
bottle of some expensive cleanser, grab these six items and make your own
cleaning supplies:

• Vinegar. It may smell a little weird, but vinegar can handle
everything from dishes to laundry and even weeds. We’ve written about the
wonders of vinegar before.

• Baking soda. Eliminates odors and helps with stains, and also works
as a natural method of pest control — ants hate it.

• Borax. This mineral salt beats bleach as a toilet cleaner and is
also useful for scrubbing walls. And as you see in the recipes above, works with
laundry, too.

• Fels-Naptha soap. This one’s actually made by one of those big
cleaning companies: Dial. They recommend it for “pre-treating” stains. In other
words, “use this in addition to a bunch of our other expensive products, like
Purex!” But you can turn the tables by using it as part of a recipe for your
own laundry detergent, and they can keep the Purex.

• Rubbing alcohol. Works as a disinfectant and is also a great glass
cleaner. It also gets grime off plastic and metal surfaces like patio furniture
or bathroom fixtures.

• Lemon juice. This cuts through dish grease and is an ingredient for
homemade furniture polish — but it’s not the easiest thing to preserve
long-term.


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If making your own cleaning products sounds a little extreme, there are still
simple ways to save. The best? Buying generics. And if you insist on using name
brands, at least clip those coupons — but only the ones worth your time.

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