Cough Syrup That You Make At Home

Do you hate the preservatives, alcohol and dyes that come with the high cost of cough syrup? I sure do. My daughter's good friend makes her own cough syrup and she let me take a spoonful. Sure, it taste like a medication but it worked instantly in freeing my throat and lungs from that congested feeling. It is so simple to make that I want to share it with you.

The ingredients are: Honey, onion and dry herbs of licorice root, horehound or cherry bark. (I used only the cherry bark and you can pick the herbs up at a Health food store and they really don't cost too much.)

Dice a onion and cover with raw honey in a double boiler. Once the honey is liquefied, add 1/2 -1oz. of any combination of the herbs. Cover and simmer 4-5 hours. Strain. Store in fridge.

I used an old medicine bottle and labeled it with the name and date.
Use 1-2 tsp every four hours when needed. You can use more this won't hurt you and you will get relief.

Can You Say Chicken Pot Pie! Yummy!!!

I have been wanting to make chicken pot pie for a while now and I finally got Cindy to show me how to make them. Remember if I can do this so can you. I am very excited to share this with you.

 Recipe for Flaky Pie Crust

You will need:
12-1/2 cups for all purpose flour         5 cups vegetable shortening   2 tablespoons of salt
First Step: you will want to combine your flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix well. With your pastry blender, cut in your shortening until evenly distributed. Mixture will resemble cornmeal in texture.

Put in a large airtight container. Label. Store in a cool, dry place. use withing 10 to 12 weeks. Or put about about 2-1/2 cups mixture each into 6 freezer bags. Seal and Label your bags. Freeze. Use within 12 months. This makes about 16 cups of Flaky Pie Crust Mix, enough for 6 double-crust pies or 12 single- crust pies. Please note you do not need to freeze before using.

Second Step:

You will need 2-1/2 cups of your Flaky Pie Crust Mix   1 Egg, beaten 1 tablespoon white vinegar

1/4 cup of ice water.

 

Put your mixture into a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine ice water, egg and vinegar. You will want to sprinkle a spoonful of water into mixture at a time over the Flaky Pie Crust Mix and toss with a fork until the dough barely flings together in the bowl. Roll out your dough to desired thickness between 2 sheets of lightly floured wax paper.

Third Step:

Place your dough in a 9-inch pie plate without stretching. you will want to flute the pie edges. Please note if filling recipe calls for you to bake the pie crust, preheat your oven to 425f. You will need to bake 10 to 15 minutes, until it is very lightly browned. cool. Fill and bake according to directions for filling. For double- crust pies, place top crust over filling and press flute edges, and cut slits in top of your crust. Makes enough crust for one 9-inch double pie or two 9-inch single -crust pies.

Now for my favorite part the Pie Filler!

Recipe for your Pie Filler.

What you will need is: 1 (15oz) pie crust  1 1/2 cup or chicken broth. 1/3 cup butter. 2/3 cups of milk

1/3 cups of chopped onions. 2 1/2 shredded chicken or turkey.  1/3 cups of flour. 1/2 salt. 1/4 tsp pepper. 2 cups of your favorite thawed veggies.

First Step: Preheat your oven to 425f.  Note: This is for a double Crust Pie.

Second Step:  Melt your butter on stove. Make sure your heat in on medium. Add your onion. Cook your onion for 2 minutes or until they are tender. Add flour. salt, pepper and stir. You will want to blend gradually. Stir in your broth and milk. Cook and stir until your mixture bubbles and thickens. You will want to add your chicken. Mix well. Remove from heat. Spoon your filler into your crust-lined pan.

 

Third Step: For your double- crust pie, place top crust over fillings, press and flute edges, and cut slits in top of crusts.

 

Fourth and Final Step: Bake your pie at 425f for 30 to 40 minutes. Let your pie stand for 5 minutes. This will make  6 servings.

This may seem like there is a lot of steps, but it really is not. This is relatively simple and quick to do. The best part of making a homemade pot pie is that I can make it the way that I want it. I have not bought a chicken pot pies for years because the have peas in them. If you know me you know that I despise peas .  I am diffidently hooked on the homemade ones now. Thanks Cindy!!! I hope you like as much as I do. Please try and let us know what you think!

Quick and Easy Pork "canning"

Pork was on sale for only $1.99/lb so I had to fill some of my empty bottles.
Step 1: cut meat into 1/2 inch slices.
Step 2: Lightly grill on both sides This step is optionally.

Step 3: Place sliced meat into clean mason jars. You may need to trim meat to fit. I love the wide mouth for this but if you have small mouth then meat may be cubed.
Step 4: Have a pan of water boiling, ready to go and fill the jars down 1 inch from the top and optional is to add 1 teaspoon of canning salt to each jar.

Step 5: place new lids and rings onto jars (just lightly tighten so air can escape from jars)
Step 6: Place 7 jars into your pressure cooker and pressure at 12 lbs for 1.5 hours
            (you need to know what elevation you're at to adjust the required pressure).
This is an ideal way to have meat ready to go in minutes. I use the pork as dinner steaks, mix for a sandwich spread and my husband tells me it will make good soup. Bottle meat stores a long long time.

Pumpkin and Chocolate Chip Cookies...Yummy!!!!

Recipe

1 Box of Spice Cake

1 Can of Pumpkin Pie Filler

1 Bag of 12oz Chocolate Chips

Preheat Your oven to 400 Degrees

This Recipe is very simple and easy.

First Step: Add your cake mix, pumpkin pie filler and chocolate chips in a bowl. stir until cake mixture is completly moist.

Second Step: Grab your cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spary. Use a large table spoon to measure your cooking dough. Place on pan.

Third Step: Place your cookie sheet in oven for 20 minutes.

Repeat until your cookie dough is done.

These Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip Cookies are so Yummy! They do not last long in

my house. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family's does.

No Eggs? No Worry!

Do you ever need to bake a cake but have no eggs? It's happened to all of us before and it's bound to happen again. But, if you don't have eggs, and are too scared to ask your neighbor for one, we have a recipe that substitutes for eggs. There's no change in flavor, no change in texture or how your pastries bake. Here's how:

Before you start baking, and in a separate bowl, mix;

~ 1 Teaspoon of unflavored gelatin

~ 3 Tablespoons of cold water

~ 2 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon of Boiling water. (You can boil your water in the microwave)

And that will give you one large egg!

Quilted Fabric Spheres

Creating a quilted sphere is simply and very easy to do. This is a great way to create  holiday ornaments or a table centerpieces.
Materials that will be needed:
10 fabric squares. Size 2"x2"
If you are making a hanging ornaments you will need at least 7" of  ribbon
One Black Maker and one Butter Knife.

Instructions:

With your black maker draw diamond shapes on spheres until sphere is covered. Your pattern does not need to be perfect. lay 1 fabric square on sphere. Using your knife 1/6"to 1/8" away from the edge, push fabric into Styrofoam. continue pushing in all edges lay your 2nd piece of fabric on sphere overlapping on edge of 1st piece by 1/6" to 1/8". Push fabric into same space as edge of 1st piece of fabric. Push in remaining sides of 2nd piece of fabric. Continue placing fabric squares overlapping previous ones till sphere is completely covered. Fold your ribbon in half overlapping ends and place together. Place pin in the top of sphere.If you do not have a pin you can just insert your ribbon in shpere with your butter knife. You can use hot glue to secure the ribbon to the sphere.. If you are making spheres for a centerpiece you will not need to use ribbon.

Like I said, these quilted fabric spheres are very simple and easy to do.You can add character to your home decor with out breaking the bank. I hope you will have fun with this as much as I have.

Tip: If you are wanting to make spheres for a table centerpiec use a glass vase or a large wood bowl.

Less than a nickel per day for breakfast

Here is a fast and easy way to enjoy a breakfast that is also full of nutrients

Oats with Oat Groats
1/4 C. Oats
1/4 C. Oat Groats
1 C. water
Place in a pot bring to a boil then simmer about 15 min. I put a lid on the pot and let it sit for about 15 min. while I get ready for the day.

(tip: buy oats in large quantity and this will cost only pennies to make into a meal)