Homemade Croutons

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon white pepper 8 slices of stale bread, cubed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 300°. In a large bowl, combine melted butter and spices. Add bread cubes and toss until butter is absorbed. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 25 minutes, turning croutons frequently so they brown evenly. Serve warm with soup.

Notes:
Vary the spices and the amount of butter to your tastes.

Homemade Bath Salts

1 tablespoon glycerin
Food coloring as desired
1 teaspoon cologne or more
3 cups Epsom salts

Directions:
In a small glass or metal bowl, mix the glycerine, a few drops of food coloring, and a teaspoon of cologne. Place the Epsom salts in a separate glass or metal bowl, and pour the glycerine mixture over it. Stir until color is well combined. If desired, add more cologne. Store in an air-tight glass or metal container until ready to use. To use, add 1/2 cup or more to hot bath water.

Note:
Consult your doctor before bathing in Epsom Salts if you have high blood pressure, a heart condition, kidney trouble, or other health concerns.

Grease Spot Remover for Laundry

1 tablespoon salt
4 tablespoons rubbing alcohol

Directions:

It is important to treat the stain before it goes through a clothes dryer. Combine salt and alcohol in a small bowl. Make a pad of a clean white cloth and place the soiled area of the garment on it, upside down. With a clean white cloth, working from the back of the fabric, gently apply the alcohol mixture, allowing it to dredge through the stain and soak into the pad. Launder the garment and allow it to air-dry. Repeat process if the stain is still there.

Notes:
I am not sure if this recipe came from my mother-in-law or if I copied it from an Amish cookbook.

Amazing Homemade Cleaner

1 cup ammonia
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soda
1 gallon water

Directions:
Combine all ingredients. This will do a good job of washing walls and taking wax off floors.

Notes:
I don't remember where I got this recipe, but it sounds like either something my mother-in-law came up with or something out of an Amish cookbook.

Insect Repellant

2 cups white vinegar
1 cup Avon "Skin-So-Soft"
1 cup water
1 tablespoon eucalyptus oil

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a quart jar. Shake well and apply freely, avoiding eyes. If rash or skin allergy occurs, discontinue use.

Notes:
From my mother-in-law, Elizabeth Netz

Slug Bait Recipes

Recipe 1
2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon yeast


Recipe 2
2 tablespoons flour
1 /2 teaspoon brewer's yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups warm water

Directions:
Water should not be hotter than 110° or the yeast will be killed. Mix ingredients and pour into slug trap.

Make a slug trap from a recycled plastic food container such as a large margarine tub. Just under the upper rim of the container cut several 1 inch holes ( flat at the bottom and big enough to accommodate a large slug.) Sink the plastic container in your garden dirt, letting the top stick out with the holes very slightly above soil level. Pour a couple inches of slug bait into the container. Snap the lid back onto the container to keep out rain and debris. Clean out drowned slugs daily and replace liquid every couple days.

Homemade Hand and Body Lotion

10 oz. Velva Chal
1 pt. pure glycerine
5 cups water

Directions:
Pour all ingredients into a extra-large bowl and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy. Makes 7 to 8 quarts.

Notes:
You may have to get your druggist to order the Velva Chal and glycerine for you.

Homemade Hummingbird Food

1 part sugar
4 parts water

Directions:
Boil until sugar dissolves. Pour into clean feeder. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Homemade Fabric Paste

4-1/2 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cups cold water
1-1/2 cups hot water
1-1/2 cups sugar

Directions:
In a saucepan, mix flour and cold water until completely smooth. Heat mixture to a boil, adding hot water as it heats. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat. Add sugar and stir well. Allow to cool enough that you can safely apply it. Paste may be kept in the refrigerator in a tightly covered container for about a week.

Notes:
Use to glue fabric to any flat surface, even metal.

Mama's Ever Ready Biscuit Mix

12 cups flour
6 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons salt
2 cups vegetable shortening

Directions:
Stir dry ingredients together blending well. Add shortening and blend until mixture is crumbly. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use within 3 months.

To use, mix with milk to desired consistency. (Approximately 3/4 cup milk to 2 cups biscuit mix.) Shape or cut into biscuits and bake 10 to 12 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 425°.

Notes:
This recipe was collected and handwritten on a recipe card by my mother, Doris Hill.

Instant Hot Chocolate

1 lb. powdered milk
1 lb. powdered sugar
1 lb. coffee creamer
1 lb. instant cocoa mix (the type that must be mixed with milk)

Directions:
Mix ingredients together and store in a tightly closed container. To use, stir 1/3 cup of the mix into 1 cup boiling water.

Notes:
1 lb. = 16 oz.

Mama's Quick Biscuit Mix

8-1/2 cups all purpose flour 3 tablespoons baking powder 1 tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda 1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk 2-1/4 cups vegetable shortening.

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except the shortening. Stir them together, mixing well. Add shortening and blend well. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use the mix within four months.

To use, add about ¾ cup water to 2-1/3 cups biscuit mix. Cut or shape into biscuits and bake 10 to 12 minutes (or until lightly browned) at 425°.

Notes:
Makes 13 cups of biscuit mix. My mother, Doris Hill, collected this recipe and handwrote it on a card for her files.

Homemade Cocoa Mix

2 cups powdered milk 1/4 cup cocoa 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt 1/3 cup non-dairy creamer

Directions:
Combine the above ingredients and store in an air-tight container until ready to use.

To make a cup of cocoa, put about 1/4 cup of the above mix in a coffee mug, and fill it with boiling water. Stir well, and top off the cup with a few mini-marshmallows.

Careful -- it's very hot!

Elizabeth's Drain Cleaner

Mix together:

1 cup baking soda
1 cup salt
1/4 cup cream of tartar

Store mixture in a jar or freezer container. To use, pour 1/4 cup of mixture down the drain. Add

1 cup boiling water

Wait 10 minutes and then flush with cold water. Repeat every 2 weeks.

Notes:
A recipe from my mother-in-law.