rather make than buy: laundry soap

      1 1/2 c Borax
      1 1/2 c Super Washing Soda
      1 bar soap

Whirl it up in a food processor or finely grate bar soap and combine in a jar. I usually do a double batch, keep it with a 1/4 c measure and use 2 T (about half of your 1/4 c measure) for a load of laundry.

Personal preferences:

• I often put in the soap, let the washer start to fill and swirl it around til it's dissolved before I add my laundry. 
• A sprig of rosemary, lemon verbena or a few drops of essential oil will add a light scent.
• I've used both Fels-Naptha and some fancy soap from Trader Joes. It's really up to personal preference. I didn't notice a difference in my laundry.

oatmeal bread

This has been slowly becoming a part of my weekly routine. For us it's perfect because although it's slightly sweet, it can also be used with soup. The more often I make it, the easier it gets--not many ingredients, the KitchenAid does most of the work and it's yummy! I'm sure my recipe will sound awkward to people who really know about bread baking, but this is all still new-ish for me :)

Combine in mixer:
   1 c quick oats
   1/2 c whole wheat flour
   1/2 c brown sugar
   1 T table salt
   2 T butter
Pour over:
   2 c boiling water
Stir to combine. Dissolve:
   1 T or 1 pkg yeast in
   1/2 c warm water
Let it just sit there for awhile until the batter is no longer hot, add yeast solution. Stir in:
   2 c wheat flour
   3 c white flour (reserve about half c of this to mix in as needed, depending on conditions)
   3 T flax seed
Knead with dough hook in mixer for 5 min, adding reserved flour as needed so dough sticks to bottom, but also forms a ball. Scrape into a ball in the middle of bowl, cover with towel, let rise until doubled. Dump onto clean surface, form into a ball, cut in half and kneed lightly, using either flour OR water to keep hands and surface from getting dough-y. Shape into two loaves (rounds or greased bread pan). Let rise til doubled again. Bake @ 350 for 30-40 min. Cool on rack. Use or freeze.

Adapted from More-With-Less Cookbook.

rather make than buy: refried beans

We try to eat a beans and rice meal at least once a week. Here's the most simple, easy bean recipe I use. It's great for burritos, taco salad, chikilikis, etc. No pre-soaking necessary.

      2 lbs dry pinto beans, rinsed
      9 c water
      2 dried chilies (New Mexico, CA or ancho)
      3 cloves garlic, peeled
      1 sm onion, roughly chopped

Cook at least 3-4 hours and up to all day in the crockpot on high. After the beans are soft, use a potato masher to squish them all up and season with:
      2-3 t salt (or to taste)

The time really doesn't matter too much because you're cooking the beans til they're really squishy. (I usually leave them for about 5-8 hours on high.) Everything's loose in this recipe. Like the water never makes them the exact same runny-ness so you may start with less and add more if they're not covered. Or if you finish up and they're too runny, leave the pot open and on low so they can reduce down.

Personal preferences:

• Sometimes I try different beans. 
• Sometimes I vary the chili situation--just one of those chilies or fresh or pickled. 
• Pickled jalapeño juice, cumin or oregano added at the end give a nice flavor.
• I freeze all the leftovers in dinner portion sizes in Ziplock bags. Usually this gives me about 3 cans worth in the freezer.

I love how easy and cheap this is. It takes me 5 minutes to get it all in the crockpot. Washing up is the biggest trouble...and David usually is the dish washer :)