Friday, December 27, 2013

Rendering your own Lard

I know some will turn up there nose at this.  But Lard doesn't have transfats.

I always boil down bones from meats to make my own stock/broth.  I have always had fat left over.  What do you do with it.  Yesterday I had used pork stock, and the left over fat.  I used the fat instead of shortening in my biscuits.  My Goodness those were the best biscuits I have ever had.  My middle child asked if I had gone and got Popeye's biscuits for breakfast.  Well they didn't exactly taste like Popeyes but they were soft flakey and so yummy.  So I started thinking, maybe I can make my own lard because whole generations use lard.  Well, I decided to look online this morning and see what I could find.  And low and behold I found something.  How to render and can your own lard.  Yippee!  I read it and decided this needed to be shared.

http://www.howtobaker.com/techniques/insane-foodie-projects/how-to-render-and-can-your-own-lard/comment-page-1/#comment-41660

Also on the site, How to make your own sea salt and How to make Cream cheese without starter cultures.  This guy is Brilliant.  I have set this site as a favorite and I think those like minded will too.

Remember real fat from meats are okay it is transfat that is bad.  And Lard is 100% natural, pig fat and water are the ingredients.  Gee can you get more natural?

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Antibacterial Everything Validation

You might remember back in May I blogged about soaps all being Antibacterial.  Well Yesterday a report came out that says that these soaps and agents are damaging.  The report says it messes with hormone levels, and is contributing to Antibiotic resistant strains of Bacteria.  An other thing the report states that I didn't even think about is that these antibacterial agents are laced with pesticides and we all know that is not a good thing for our bodies.  Gee I hate being right but I was.  

Since I still have a problem finding liquid hand soap that is not Antibacterial, Here is my recipe for homemade liquid Hand soap.

http://houkreativehomestead.blogspot.com/2013/05/antibacteral-everything-really.html


Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Homeschool lesson Budgeting.

I know a bunch of Public schools don't teach certain skills any longer due to teaching to the "No Child Left Behind" test and Common Core.  In my opinion not teaching these skills leave children ilequipped for the real world, and that is part of the problem with the economy.  This country has a negetive savings rate and our leaders have no clue how to do a budget and live by it.  Seriously this is a problem for our future.  So today I sat down and created a great (well I think it is great) worksheet for kids for Homeschooling.  I am sharing it below.  Now tomorrow, we are tackling Interest rates, Savings and Credit rates. I am including essay type questions with these.  And when you look at this, Yes it is a very tight budget with some hard choices for a reason.  


Monthly Budget Worksheet.

rent 450 
Car payment 
ins 150
cable/internet 50
phone 75
electric 150
Car gas 150
Savings
Food 250
Extras

Pay check



1. You are paid $8.50 an hour. You work 40 hours a week.
What is your gross pay before Taxes?___ a week. _____ a month. ___ a year.
2. Your tax rate is 10%. How much is Taken out a week ___? A month____? A Year_____?
3. You should save 10% of your take home pay every paycheck. How much should you save a month? _______
4. How much money have you saved at the end of the year? ______
5. What Percent of your paycheck goes to rent?_____
6. How much money do you have left over at the end of the month?______
7. You need to get a car. Can you afford it?_________ If yes how much of a payment can you afford a month?__________
8. The movies cost $10.25. Can you afford to go to the movies this month?_________
9. Your mom gave you $40 in grocery coupons. What are you going to use the extra money for? And Why?


If you can think of other questions to add leave me a comment.  We will be doing this lesson with different variables over and over again.