January 12, 2014 at 1:09 AM (Grilling, Homemade Condiments, Homemade Seasoning Mixes, Recipes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: cajun, cooking, DIY, Easy Recipes, frugal, Health, homemade, kitchen, Meat, Nutrition, organic, paleo, real food, recipe, seafood, seasoning mix
Cajun Spice Mix
- 1 Tbsp Sea Salt
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Fresh Ground White Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Oregano
- 1 Tbsp Thyme
- 1 Tbsp Basil
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Cayenne
- 2 Tbsp Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Tbsp Onion Powder
Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container. I always make spice mixes in large quantities, because I cook more than the average bear. Feel free to halve or quarter this recipe if you aren’t a slave to your kitchen like I am 😉
This is good on a whole lot of foods, but will blow your mind on seafood. Grilled Cajun Shrimp anyone? Why not try it with Homemade Cocktail Sauce?
Related Posts:
Worlds Best BBQ Sauce (sugar free)
Homemade Worcestershire Sauce
Tender Grilled Brisket
Homemade Probiotic Teriyaki Sauce
Cajun Smothered Pork Chops (Robs Favorite!)
Recipe Index
7 Comments
January 11, 2014 at 1:02 AM (Grilling, Homemade Condiments, Homemade Seasoning Mixes, Make It Yourself, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: beef, chicken, cooking, Garlic, homemade, kitchen, organic, paleo, Recipes, seasonings, spice rubs, Venison
Sweet & Smokey Spice Rub
- 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil- softened
- 1 tsp Garlic- minced
- 1 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
- 2 tsp liquid smoke
Mix all ingredients. It makes an ugly, brown, mushy paste. Rub all over meat. Cook meat.
Sounds too simple right? Not enough ingredients, way too fast. No way this is going to taste good…..Oh but you’re wrong!
We have tried this on wings, steak, ribs, a pork roast and several cuts of venison. It is delicious! It has a deep smokey flavor with just the slightest hint of sweetness. Very delicious!
Related Posts:
Coffee Spice Rub
Perfect Barbeque Dipping Sauce
The Worlds Best BBQ Sauce (sugar free)
Homemade Seasoning Salt
How to Peel a Head of Garlic in 10 seconds
Homemade Fajita Seasoning Mix
Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
Homemade Italian Seasoning Mix
Recipe Index
2 Comments
May 26, 2013 at 1:01 AM (Homemade Hippie cleaning products, Make It Yourself, Non Toxic, Simple)
Tags: Detergent, DIY, easy, Essential oil, frugal, Home, homemade, housekeeping, Laundry, Laundry detergent, Non Toxic, Soap
This is the laundry soap that I used before I discovered soap nuts. See all about soap nuts HERE and other ways to use them besides laundry HERE. I was at my girlfriends house the other day and she was complaining about the high cost of laundry soap and all the chemical junk that it contains. I showed her how to whip up a batch of homemade laundry soap. Her cost: $0.83 cents! This does 60-64 loads of laundry. That is one penny per load baby!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap
- 3 pints water (6 cups)
- 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap grated (we cheated and grated it in her food processor . ha!)
- 1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
- 1/2 cup borax
- 1 Quart hot water (4 cups)
- A 2 gallon bucket with a tight-fitting lid (we used an old coconut oil bucket, if you’re really nifty you can funnel this into an old detergent bottle and nobody will even know you’re a cheap skate!)
- cold water to fill bucket
1. Mix Fels Naptha in a saucepan with 3 pints water, heat on low until dissolved. Stir in the washing soda and borax. Stir until thick and remove from heat.
2. In the 2 gallon bucket add 1 quart of hot water. Add soap mixture to the bucket and stir well.
3. Now fill the bucket with cold tap water (leaving room to stir).
4. Set bucket aside for 24 hours. Uncovered. It will turn into a gel.
5. Place lid on bucket and you’re ready to wash some clothes.
Use 1/3 to 1/2 cup per load. You can stir in any essential oils that you like, if you are a fan of scented laundry.
Related Articles:
What the heck is a Soap Nut?
Soap Nuts around the House (and on your head)
Homemade Hippie Orange Cleaner
Homemade Hippie Scouring Powder
Homemade Hippie All-Purpose Cleaner and Disinfectant
Homemade Hippie Dishwasher Detergent
Homemade Hippie Windex for 0.12 cents a bottle
ALL Homemade Hippie Recipes
12 Comments
April 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM (Almost Free, Homemade Hippie Beauty Products, Make It Yourself, Non Toxic, Simple, Under $1.00)
Tags: beauty, Coconut oil, DIY, easy, Essential oil, frugal, hair mask, hair oil, hair products, herbal medicine, hippie, homemade, homemade beauty products, hot oil treatment, Non Toxic, Simple
Many of my Homemade Hippie fans know that I am the ultimate cheap skate. I was standing in the grocery store aisle reading labels (yes I am a Label Nazi, and you should be too!) and after much searching, finally found a deep conditioning hair mask that didn’t list the first two ingredients as water and alcohol. It has such yummy ingredients as coconut oil, olive oil, keratin, aloe vera gel and carrot seed oil. I then turned the bottle over and saw the price tag. $12.59! This bottle claims to treat your hair 2 times and contained 2 ounces of hair oil. I don’t know about you, but smoothing my split ends isn’t worth $6.29 per shower. So of course I decided to make it myself.
First of all, to be very cheap you’re going to want to use what you have on hand. Just about any type of oil will nourish and moisturize your hair. If you want to be very specific:
OILS
- Avocado Oil- good for very dry or very frizzy hair
- Coconut Oil- Good for all hair types, and works well for dandruff
- Castor Oil- Good for those with oily hair or scalp
- Sesame Oil- Good for thinning hair
- Jojoba Oil- Good for oily hair or scalp, a very light oil and easy to wash out
- Neem Oil-Excellent for dandruff
- Argan, Almond, Apricot- Good for all hair, but expensive to be washing down your shower drain
Other Ingredients:
Essential Oils
Herbs
Aloe Vera Gel- Clarifies and strengthens
Eggs- A source of serious protein and keratin, things that hair is made of
With all of this in mind, make up your own personal oil blend. In a pinch grab whatever natural oils you have at home already and mix with a couple of raw eggs.
Homemade Hippie Hot Hair Oil
This was compiled with ingredients that I already had, and for my specific type of hair. I have red hair that is very fine and thin and does tend to dry out easily.
- 2 Tbsp Avocado Oil
- 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 2 Tbsp Aloe Vera Gel
- 2 raw eggs
- In a small double boiler or saucepan gently heat oils and aloe, stirring to mix and melt. Remove from heat and whip in the eggs with a fork.
- Wet your hair in the sink and apply warm oil to wet hair. (you can apply to dry hair if you like. I just feel like it absorbs better when my hair is wet)
- Run a bath towel or large kitchen towel under very hot tap water. Wring out towel and wrap it around your head.
- Sit around with your oily head and watch the Lifetime Movie Network or check out old Homemade Hippie Posts (below) and plan your next concoction.
- I don’t time this, but it’s best to leave the oil on your hair as long as you can. 30 minutes minimum.
- You can rewarm the towel under hot water if you wish.
- Wash your hair as you normally would. You will probably need to wash it twice to remove all of the oil.
MY COST:
2 TBSP Avocado Oil $1.33
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil $0.81 cents
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil $.047 cents
2 Eggs $0.00 The beauty of dating a chicken farmer If you aren’t so lucky, you can add approximately $0.25 to your total
For 1 hair treatment this cost me $2.61 and used 3 ounces of oil. That is $0.87 cents per ounce!
Calling all Cheap Skates
Related Posts:
Homemade Hippie Lip Balm
Homemade Hippie Hair Spray
Homemade Hippie Body Wash
Homemade Hippie Bug Spray
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Homemade Hippie Scouring Powder
Homemade Hippie Dishwashing Powder
Homemade Hippie Wrinkle Cream & Eye Cream
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Homemade Hippie Windex for $0.12
Homemade Hippie Mouthwash
Homemade Hippie Face Wash
Homemade Hippie Simple Hand Lotion
A COMPLETE LIST OF HOMEMADE HIPPIE RECIPES
3 Comments
April 7, 2013 at 12:01 AM (Health, Herbal Medicine, Homemade Hippie Beauty Products, How To, Make It Yourself, Non Toxic, Under $1.00, Your Journey to Health)
Tags: alternative medicine, DIY, Essential oil, frugal, Health, herbal medicine, homemade, Magnesium, Non Toxic, restless leg syndrome, Simple
Many of you have inquired about Rob’s restless leg syndrome. For those of you who missed it, the original post is HERE and how to make the Magnesium Oil for cheap is HERE.
I am happy to report that my darling bed-mate is no longer turning the sheets into a tiny ball in the middle of the bed, kicking me in the knee caps, running up and down the stairs in the middle of the night, sitting up in bed and loudly sighing, constantly twitching or flipping around the bed like a fish. My legs are back to being the normal pasty white color, instead of various shades of black, blue and purple. We are both resting well and I am not lying in bed awake dreaming up ways to smother someone more than twice my weight with a pillow. In short, IT WORKED!
Rob has found over the months of trial and error that he does much better if he sprays with magnesium oil twice a day. In the morning before work, he sprays his legs and rubs it in until its dry, then gets dressed and goes about his day, leaving the magnesium oil on his skin. At night about 1/2 an hour before showering he sprays his legs, arms, and torso and rubs it in. He pays special attention and sprays an extra amount along his spine, as he feels that it absorbs better there. Zero scientific proof of that, but he ‘feels’ that it works better so that’s what he does 🙂 Sometimes you just have to listen to your body right? He lays around and lets it soak into his skin for at least 30 minutes, then gets into the shower and gets ready for bed.
I can attest that twice a day is much better than once. He is completely still at night! It’s amazing the difference between Crazy Twitchy Rob and Non-Heebie-Jeebie Rob. I don’t want to strangle the new guy. He’s so nice and peaceful to sleep with that I’ve decided he can stick around 🙂
This program has also turned out to be very affordable. You all haven’t forgotten that I’m a cheapskate have you? We are still using the original 2.2 lb bag of Magnesium Chloride Flakes that I purchased for $14.99. I am happy to report that I have since found an even cheaper source for you HERE at Iherb. This is 2.75 lbs of very pure Magnesium Chloride for only $13.85! IF YOU USE THE COUPON CODE HIF798 YOU WILL RECIEVE A $10 DISCOUNT. PLUS THEY OFFER FREE SHIPPING! YAY!
2 Comments
April 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM (Ferments, Homemade Seasoning Mixes, Recipes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Cook, cooking, easy, Easy Recipes, Frugal Recipes, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, real food, recipe, Salad, Venison
Taco Salad for the Candida Free Kitchen
2/3 Cup Quinoa
1 Cup homemade Bone Broth
1 lb ground turkey/chicken/beef/venison etc
2-4 Tbsp homemade Taco Seasoning
Romaine or iceberg Lettuce
Olives
Diced Onions
Green Chilies
Grape or Cherry Tomatoes
Sliced avocado
homemade Salsa Verde or ‘green sauce” as Rob likes to call it.
- Bring bone broth to a boil, add quinoa and simmer until tender
- Brown ground meat
- Add cooked quinoa, and homemade taco seasoning. Adding more broth if mixture is too dry
- Allow mixture to cool slightly
- Toss mixture with all remaining ingredients to make salad.
- Top with homemade yogurt if desired.
We love this meal. Something about the still slightly warm meat mixture and the crunchy cold lettuce. Yum! Plus it is “Phase One” safe, if you are following a Candida free way of life, or just plain trying to eat more vegetables!
1 Comment
May 31, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Health, Herbal Medicine, Homemade Hippie Beauty Products, Make It Yourself, Non Toxic, Under $1.00)
Tags: alternative medicine, aromatherapy, beauty, bug spray, DIY, Essential oil, frugal, Frugal Recipes, Health, herbal medicine, Home, homemade, insect repellant, Non Toxic, Simple
In Michigan we are surrounded by water, which causes lots of humidity, which causes mosquitos the size of pterodactyls. For some reason mosquitos love me. Maybe because I am an extremely white, white girl and you can see every vein in my body, which to a mosquito must look like the best all you can eat lunch buffet in town. I also get welts the size of a quarter every time I get bit, so I spend most of the summer looking like a victim of scabies. They have hatched really early this year, because of the crazy warm weather, so it’s time to get out the arsenal and try to fend them off before they start carrying away small children.
The best natural bug repellant I’ve ever used is Bite Blocker by Homs LLC. I have tried several different kinds, but they all seem to wear off after a few minutes. Bite Blocker really works for hours, and doesn’t smell nasty at all. I decided to make my own version of Bite Blocker at home, because the ingredients list is pretty simple.
If you don’t want to make your own it can be purcased HERE. If you use the coupon code HIF798 you will receive a $10 discount and free shipping.
Homemade Hippie Buy Spray
1/4 cup olive oil (or any cheap liquid oil you have laying around)
2 Tbsp vegetable glycerin
1 Tbsp Citric Acid
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp homemade vanilla extract
6 drops Lavender essential oil
6 drops Tea Tree essential oil
6 drops Clove Bud essential oil
6 drops Peppermint essential oil
6 drops Rosemary essential oil
6 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops Geranium essential oil
Mix all ingredients and pour into a spray bottle. Shake before each use. Reapply after 2-3 hours. You can use any strong mixture of essential oils that you prefer, this is just what I had a lot of in the house. I would make sure to use the Geranium oil, because that is the main active ingredient in Bite Blocker. The others I’m sure you could play with and have good results. Let me know what you use!
I have used this a few times so far and it does work very well. Rob and I went to a terribly overgrown area to chop down some dead trees for fire wood. It was way back in the shade, and next to a small creek. Every step we took sent up swarms of mosquitos and I thought for sure we’d be covered in welts. I got one nasty bite on my ankle, through my sock and Rob got zero bites. Considering that we were outside for 2 1/2 hours hauling firewood and sweating profusely I think that is pretty darn good don’t you?
This also smells good, and isn’t offensive to Rob’s manly nostrils, as he doesn’t like to “smell like a flower”.
Related Posts:
Homemade Hippie Wrinkle Cream
Homemade Hippie Mouthwash
Homemade Hippie Face Wash
Homemade Hippie Hand Lotion
Homemade Hippie Lip Balm
Homemade Hippie Hair Spray
Homemade Hippie Body Wash
Homemade Hippie Tooth Paste
Homemade Hippie Body Lotion
A COMPLETE LIST OF HOMEMADE HIPPIE RECIPES
20 Comments
May 30, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Recipes, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: bacon, brussels sprouts, Cook, cooking, Easy Recipes, food, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, real food, Recipes, Salad, Simple
This recipe is very simple, but full of flavor. I love the saltiness of the bacon, the sweetness of the raisins and the bitter brussels sprouts all mixed together. A fabulous side dish!
Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
3 slices thick bacon
4 cups brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 medium shallot, minced
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
- In a heavy skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside to crisp up.
- Add Brussels sprouts to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook until well browned and almost soft. About 7 minutes.
- Reduce heat to low and add raisins, shallot and butter. Cook 3 minutes
- Add broth and bring to a boil, being sure to scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Reduce heat and simmer broth 1-2 minutes.
- Mix in vinegar and crumbled bacon. Taste and season as needed. Serve warm.
I only had a tiny amount of golden raisins on hand, so I added 1/4 cup of dried cranberries also. It turned out delicious!
I mix mine with lettuce or spinach and eat it like a salad. Yum!
5 Comments
May 28, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Recipes, Simple, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Bake, baking, casserole, Cook, cooking, Easy Recipes, fish, food, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, morel, Nutrition, real food, sea food, trout
Any fish will work for this recipe. Just pick your favorite fillet and go with it. We just happened to have a huge lake trout in the freezer, so this is what I used. It is finally mushroom season, and morels are my favorite. Time to stock up!
Lake Trout with Morels
1 lb fish fillets 1/2 to 3/4 thick
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup green onion, sliced
Sea salt
1 tsp fresh thyme, or 1/4 tsp dry thyme
- Thaw fish if frozen. Pat dry and place in baking dish. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- In a saucepan melt butter and add mushrooms, onions and thyme. Cook until tender.
- Pour over fish and bake in 450 degree oven for 12-18 minutes. Fish should flake easily with a fork when done.
If you are lucky enough to have a surplus of morels this year there are many ways to preserve them. I have tried just about everything, and several methods work.
1. I thoroughly rinse the mushrooms in cold water. Then sauté in butter for no longer than 3 minutes. Let cool and place in a zip lock baggie with juices from pan. When you are ready to eat, cut off the plastic bag and place the whole frozen block in a skillet. Cover and cook on low. Tastes just like fresh, with a slight difference in firmness and texture.
2. I have dried them on a string in the attic for a month, I have laid them on the oven rack and dried them at 160 degrees for about an hour. I have laid them on window screens out in the back yard until dry. I have never owned a dehydrator, so that’s the only method I haven’t used. Of everything I’ve tried, threading them onto a string (like a little mini-clothes line) was by far the best. When rehydrated the taste and texture was exactly the same as fresh out of the ground. Maybe because no heat is used?
3. I have washed and drained the mushrooms so they are almost dry. Then laid them on a cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer until solid. Pack into bags and vacuüm seal. This method changed the texture a bit, but the flavor was the same.
4. My least favorite method was packing a mason jar (or other freezer container) with mushrooms, covering that with cold water and freezing. They would be ok for soup, but the texture was too mushy for my tastes. And a lot of the flavor gets dumped out with the water after thawing.
Happy mushroom hunting!
3 Comments
May 27, 2012 at 1:01 AM (Baking, Recipes, Whats for Breakfast?, Whats for Dinner?)
Tags: Asparagus, Bake, baking, casserole, Cook, Easy Recipes, food, Frugal Recipes, Health, Home, homemade, kitchen, Nutrition, real food, Recipes
This is an easy make-ahead breakfast. You can mix it up the night before and then bake it the next morning. It also makes a fast and easy dinner.
Ham & Asparagus Strata
4 English muffins, torn into pieces
2 cups cooked ham
2 cups fresh asparagus, cut up
4-6 oz Gruyère cheese, cubed
5 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups milk
2 Tbsp onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
- Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Spread half of the english muffin pieces on the bottom.
- Top with ham, asparagus and cheese cubes
- Top with remaining english muffin pieces
- In a bowl, whisk together eggs, sour cream, milk, onion, mustard and pepper
- Pour this mixture over casserole dish, coating everything evenly
- Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours
- Bake, uncovered at 325 degrees for 60-65 minutes
There are a zillion variations on this recipe. I have replaced the ham with chicken before. I have used broccoli instead of asparagus. I have used swiss instead of Gruyère. Let your imagination go wild!
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