Liquid Laundry Soap

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!

Feta Stuffed Mushrooms

Submitted by Dana Hebdon

-4 med. button mushrooms

-2 Tbls crumbled fat free feta cheese

-2 tsp chopped fresh parsley

-1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

-1/4 tsp cayenne, or none at all if you don't like cayenne :)

preheat oven to 425. spray baking dish with pam or other non stick spray. remove stems from mushrooms. mince stems and place in a small mixing bowl. place the caps in the prepared baking dish stemmed side up. add the cheese, parsley, oil, and cayenne to minced mushroom stems. stir to mix well. spoon the mixture evenly among the caps, mounding the filling on each. bake for 12 to 15 mins or until tender. serve

*50 calories for all four of them!

Pork and Brocoli

Submitted by Dana Hebdon

i always guess on the amounts of my ingredients now so ill try to be as accurate as possible but you will have to adjust everything to your taste probably.

-pork (i use a shoulder roast because we have a ton of it in our freezer right now but im sure you could use any cut you want) cut up into bite size pieces

-quarter cup chopped onion (i really like a lot of onion)

-2 tsp minced fresh garlic

-2 tsp minced fresh ginger

-1 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

-2 Tbls soy sauce

-2 cups chopped broccoli

-2 Tbls teriyaki sauce

-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

-when i have some i also add a whole bell pepper chopped or sliced but that was not in the recipe

heat a frying pan over med high heat. add pork, onion, garlic, ginger, olive oil, and soy sauce. cook, stirring often for about three minutes. add the broccoli. cook, stirring frequently for about ten mins or until pork is browned on all sides. stir in the teriyaki sauce and pepper flakes. cook for another minute. serve immediately

*200 calories per serving!

Dana's Tortellini

alright we tried this recipe last week and it passed the thomas test. although it is a little more expensive then we would like it was pretty delicious and it made enough to last us three days of leftovers.

i forgot what it is called lol

-1 large package of frozen or fresh tortellini

-1 medium sized zuchinni

-2 small bell peppers (any color you like)

-1 cup low fat half and half

-1/3 cup premade pesto (im gonna start making mine fresh though as soon as my basil gets big enough)

cook the tortellini according to package instructions. in another medium saucepan boil zuchinni and bell peppers until desired tenderness. in large saucepan heat half and half and pesto together, then add tortellini and veggies. mix together and serve warm.

k im writing this one down from memory so sorry for my lack of cooking words but im not very educated yet. this recipe was really good but it might need salt or somethin to give it a little bit more punch i have not figured it out yet so let me know if you change anything to make it better. also i might try it later with broccoli or some other veggies instead of zuchinni and peppers. ill let ya know how that goes.

*less then 350 calories per serving

Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
• 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

Directions

Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.

275 Calories per Servomg