Peanut Butter Playdough

We like to play with playdough around our house from time to time. A fun twist to playing with playdough is playing with edible playdough. The kids have alot of fun with this activity, and it tastes pretty good too!

Peanut Butter Playdough

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup dry powdered milk
2 tbsp. honey

Mix ingredients together until it forms a plyable dough.

Diaper Cream Recipe

I found this recipe today for homemade diaper cream. We are trying it out, so far I like it. I like it because it is made from ingredients in my kitchen, without all of the extra added chemicals and preservatives. Not only that, but it is super thrifty, and it seems to be doing well for my little one's diaper irritation. Super simple, super thrifty!

Diaper Cream

3 Tbsp Cornstarch
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Mix together to form a paste, add more cornstarch or oil to get desired consistency, if necessary. Store in a covered container.

I personally added a little bit extra cornstarch because I wanted the paste to be a little bit thicker. I got the recipe from this website: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=29378.0

Crockpot Turkey & Noodles Recipe

I made up this recipe using things I had around the house. My family really seemed to enjoy it, so I am passing it along!

Crockpot Turkey & Noodles

1 16 oz package of elbow macaroni

2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken) cut into smaller pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrots

1 6.5 oz can of mushrooms

1 10.5 oz can condensed cream of mushroom soup

1 jar alfredo sauce

3 cups water

Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on high setting for an hour, then cook on low setting for four hours.

Crockpots Are Our Friends

I LOVE my crockpot! When trying to be thrifty, you will find that a crockpot most definately is your friend. There are many advantages to using the crockpot vs. using the stove or oven. The energy used to cook with the crockpot is less than using the oven or stove, thus saving money on your energy bill. Using my crockpot also allows me to plan ahead for busy days and have a meal ready to go for supper instead of eating out when I know there is going to be a time crunch in the evenings (that saves lots of money too!). It is also easier to eat healthy using the crockpot.

My favorite part about using the crockpot is that it allows me to prepare dinner for my family in the mornings (my most productive part of the day) rather than in the evenings, when I am starting to get tired. If I plan ahead and use the crockpot, it is easier to resist eating out or feeding my family convenience food that really isn't that healthy. Plus, my house smells good all day from the food cooking!

Some things I make in my crockpot regularly include lasagna, chili, pea soup, pot roast, chicken and rice, lentil soup, and pork ribs. In the near future, I will be posting some of my crockpot recipes, so stay tuned!

Homemade Hot Oil & Honey Hair Treatment

I happened upon a recipe online for a homemade hot oil conditioning hair treatment. I decided to try it out for fun. I have bought the occasional hot oil treatment from the store, but those can be pretty expensive. So far, I am impressed with this hair treatment and I will probably use it again. It is rather simple, I found it here.

Honey Deep Hair Conditioner

1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp olive oil

Combine ingredients and heat up in the microwave. Apply to hair and wrap in a warm towel for 30 minutes. Rinse and shampoo hair.

This left my hair looking and feeling shiny and soft. I have longer hair, so I tripled this recipe. The honey and the oil mix together quite nicely when warmed up. I hope you enjoy this little pampering as much as I did!

Homemade Laundry Stain Remover

One of my daughters has been checking cookbooks out from the library. She was looking through them and saw this recipe and showed it to me. I don't know how well it works, when my current stain remover runs out I will probably try it out. This recipe comes from the cookbook "Recipes Kids Vote For." Why kids voted for a stain remover, I have no clue! LOL!

Homemade Stain Remover

1/2 cup ammonia

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup baking soda

2 Tbsp liquid dish soap

2 quarts water

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a spray bottle. Shake solution before each use. Spray on stain and let it soak for a few minutes before washing as usual.

As a side note, for your safety, do not use this spray with a load you are using bleach on. Bleach mixed with ammonia or vinegar can create toxic gases and fumes. If you decide to use this, please come back and leave a comment to let us know how it works!

Thrifty Haircuts

Warning! What I am about to suggest for saving money on family haircuts may be down right risky and adventurous for some...it sure was for me when I started doing it! I got this crazy idea that I could cut my family's hair when we stumbled upon a haircutting kit at Sam's Club in 2003. The price was right, my husband was a willing victim, and thus, mom cutting the family hair came into practice.

I have to say that I did have one haircut under my belt at the time. My uncle sure was a good sport! He asked me to cut his hair with his electric clippers. Somehow, I ended up trimming one side too high above the ear. I informed him of this, and he was pretty cool, calm and collected about it, so I proceeded to try to even out the rest of his hair to match. What resulted was not exactly pretty...since he was bald on the top, he ended up with what I would like to call "the monk cut"! He went and looked in the mirror, and after having a good laugh with me, he decided I should just shave it all off. I can do the completely bald haircut pretty well!

Our haircutting set is a set of clippers with attachments, scissors, clips, a comb, and a cape. I have to say that the attachments really help with giving a decent haircut. I also trim my children's hair, and I have even cut my own hair a time or two (that's more tricky than cutting someone else's hair!). Our haircutting set cost us around $18 at the time we purchased it. It more than paid for itself after one or two haircuts. We have saved hundreds, if not thousands of dollars now just by doing our own haircuts. And my husband is still handsome, even after I give him a trim :-)

If you are not quite so adventurous, I would highly suggest clipping coupons or watching for specials. Another option is to go to a local beauty college if you have one. We have a few around here, and if you let a student cut your hair, it is only around $4-$6 a piece, which really is a pretty good deal. And with that, I will wish you "happy haircutting"!