Aprons Made From Old Shirts

What to do with those old dress shirts of your husbands! Don’t throw them out. I have a fun project for the kids of even you to do with old shirts. How many times have you needed an apron while you were cooking and did not have one on hand? Today I am going to show you how to make a homemade apron out of an old dress shirt. My husband is always throwing out his old dress shirts with strains or little holes in them. Now I save them for scrap material, buttons and more. This apron I will show you to make took me less than 1 hour to cut out and sew and it was free. When I was at the gym a week ago I saw a lady who had made different aprons from old shirts, so I decided to try this myself and it turned out pretty good.  Aprons are hard to find in a store and online they star at $4.00 dollars and can go as high as over $20.00 dollars. Why not make one for free.

Today I will show you step by step how I made this apron in about 1 hour.

1.       Pick out your shirt you want to use. I took my husband’s old blue dress shirt. Place your shirt on a hard table for cutting.

2.       Cut off your arms around the seams. Save and put aside the sleeves for later. Next cut off the back of your shirt leaving the small panel at the top of the shirt attached to the collar.

3.       Take your sleeves and use them for your straps or ties for the back of your apron. Do not use the cuff. Measure the length of your sleeve for your straps or ties. I made my ties 4 inches wide to make it easier to inside out. Cut your straps or ties from both of your sleeves.

4.       Fold your straps in half right side to right side and sew up the sides.

5.       Using a pin or just your finger inside out your straps.

6.       Sew up all your seams where you cut off your arms and back. When you get to the sides place your straps or ties into your seam and sew them inside. Before I put my straps inside I put the apron on to measure exactly where I needed them to be placed. If you want to get fancy buy some colored seam binding for a prettier finished look around your arms and sides or your apron. I had some scrap material lying around so I made and extra pocket for my apron.

7.       Here’s the finished apron I made in less than 1 hour.

Isn’t it amazing what you can do with the things you have lying around your house? For little to no money at all, you can make this apron. This would be a great Girl Scout project or project to do with your own children or grandchildren.  This would make a nice Birthday or Christmas gift that the kids could make and feel proud of. I have always loved to sew and create things with my own two hands.  Now I have an apron to use and share as needed, from Suzie Homemaker

How To Make Homemade Tomato Soup

                It’s canning season again and my tomatoes are doing very well.

There are so many things you can do with tomatoes. You can make tomato juice, paste, spaghetti sauce or just eat them straight from your garden. I decided to use my Grandmothers recipe and try to make homemade tomato soup. My Grandmother gave my mother a lot of homemade recipes and now they have been passed down to me, so I can pass them onto my readers. This recipe is very simple to make and most people have all the ingredients right at home. I made a very big batch of this and I canned the soup for the winter, but you can also just make the basic small recipe and eat the soup right away.

Tomato Soup Recipe

                4 cups tomatoes (juiced)                                         1 small onion (chopped)

4 garlic cloves (minced)                                           2 cups chicken broth (option, take 2 bouillon cubes and dissolve them in 2 cups of hot water)

                2 Tablespoons butter                                               2 Tablespoons flour

                1 teaspoon salt                                                         2 teaspoons sugar

1.       Pick your tomatoes from your garden and wash them up, or buy some fresh tomatoes from a store. I like my own tomatoes since I grew them and they were free.

2.       Cut your tomatoes into chunks and put into a large kettle.

3.       Boil and smash your tomatoes as they cook until they are soft.

4.       Pour your tomatoes into your food processor or food mill like I am going to use. Since my Grandmother gave me the recipe I can at least use her food mill for pressing the juice through. I like doing it the old fashion way, this reminds me of my Grandmother.

5.       Take a little dish with a tight cover and pour about 2 cups of your tomato juice in with the 2 Tablespoons of flour, shake well. This will help thicken your soup.

6.       In a separate pan fry up your chopped onions and garlic in your 2 Tablespoons of butter. If you do not want to buy whole garlic, try minced garlic in a jar from a store. 1 Tablespoon of minced garlic is about 1 whole garlic clove. Fry your garlic and onions slowly until soft ( do not burn or brown them).

7.       When your onions and garlic are done add them to your tomato juice. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Enjoy your soup.

If you want to make a big batch of tomato soup like I do, here’s how to can the soup.

1.       After your soup has simmered, pour into your canning jars (either pint or quart jars). I made one batch with pint jars and today I am doing quart jars.

2.       Boil your lids and screw on the covers very tightly.

3.       Place in your pressure canner at 10# of pressure for 55 minutes for pints and 1 hour and 30 minutes for quarts. Again be sure to check your canners directions to make sure this is correct for your canner.

4.       After they are cooled for 1-day remove covers and label and date your jars. Enjoy your soup all year round.

This soup is great on a cold winter day just by itself or with a nice grilled cheese sandwich. Enjoy this soup right away or later when you are ready to pop open a can to eat. This recipe is very simple to make. My Grandmother would be proud to know I am sharing her recipes with other. Enjoy a great bowl of soup from Suzie Homemaker.

                

Making Homemade Laundry soap

I have a question for you today!  How many of you think that buying laundry detergent is a chore and very expensive? I know you have to wash your clothes, but when you have to pay over $10.00 dollars for a little bottle of laundry detergent this gets expensive quick. Even if you decide to buy a generic or cheaper brand or laundry detergent, it’s still pretty pricey. As you all know I try to find ways to make and do things cheaper to save money. I gave up buying laundry detergent over 5 years ago and I will never go back. My husband was always saying didn’t you just buy some laundry detergent a couple of weeks ago. With a family of four, I am doing anywhere between four to six loads of laundry a week. Depending on what kind of laundry detergent you use, you use anywhere from ½ to 1 cup of detergent per load. The laundry detergent goes fast this way and it gets expensive very quickly. So today I am going to give you my alternative to store bought laundry detergent.  Here’s my secret, I make homemade laundry detergent. I will show you how to make homemade laundry detergent for a lot less. My homemade laundry detergent cost less than half the price of store-bought laundry detergent. This recipe makes a very big batch and lasts a long time, plus you use only, ¼ cup of soap per load.

Borax Soap ½ cup                                                        Felsnaptha 1 bar

Baking Soda ½ cup                                                       Washing Soda 1/2 cup

                   

You will need an old kettle that will be used for only making soap, a wooden spoon for stirring, a wire whisk, a grater and a 5-gallon container for your soap.

Take your bar of Felsnaptha and grate it into your kettle.

Add 8 cups of water and start heating your soap and water, ( do not boil). Stir the Felsnaptha until it is completely dissolved.

Pour into your 5-gallon container.

Using the same kettle dissolve your Borax, Baking Soda, and Washing soda in another 8 cups of water,( do not boil).

Pour into your 5-gallon container with the Felsnaptha. Mix well with your wire whisk.

Let stand overnight. The next morning add enough water to make 3 gallons of  laundry soap. Always shake well before using. This soap has no scent so if you want, add a couple of drops of essential oils.

This laundry detergent cost me pennies to make. A bar of Felsnaptha cost $1.79. The Washing Soda, Baking Soda, and Borax cost me under $1.00. So for under $3.00 dollars I have 3 gallons of laundry soap. Here’s a helpful tip if you have some really big stains take your bar of Felsnaptha and rub it directly into the stain with a little water then throw it into the wash with the rest of your clothes. I use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of laundry soap per load depending on how big the load, and how dirty the clothes are.

This laundry soap is so easy to make, it took less than 30 minutes to make this soap. I just store my extra soap in my laundry room and take out what I need and put into a smaller container. Finding ways to save money has always been fun for me. This is just another way I cut costs from Suzie Homemaker.

How to Make Mock Pineapple

As you know I like to can a lot of different fruits and vegetables.  Here are my shelves that I use for all my canned goods.

As you can see I have a lot of jars and many different kinds of fruits and vegetables that I can each year. This recipe I am going to show you today came from my mother in law. This recipe is very easy to make, and you can keep it in the refrigerator up to one month or use your canner and preserve it to be used later. If you like pineapple and Zucchini ,I have a great recipe for you. I love recipes that have been handed down through the years. These recipes seem to stand the test of times. So today I am going to give you my Mock Pineapple recipe. I canned my recipe because it makes a pretty big batch. This way I can pull out whatever I need and use the rest later.

Mock Pineapple

16 cups Zucchini squash (grated or peeled)

2 ½ cups sugar

1 ½ cups lemon juice

1 46 oz. can pineapple juice

Simmer 1 46 oz. can of pineapple juice, 1 ½ cups lemon juice and 2 ½ cups of sugar for 20 minutes.

Grate or peel your zucchini making sure to remove all the green skin.

Cut out all seeds.

Cut into bite size pieces or chunks

Put your zucchini pieces or chunks into either a quart or pint size jar. Make sure to leave at least ½ inch space from the top of jars.

Pour your simmered juice over the zucchini, leaving about, ¼ inch from the top, of your jars.

.Place a knife done the sides to release the air bubbles.

Boil your lids and screw on tops for your jars.

 Check your canners directions for canning fruit. Make sure you check for amount or pressure needed and how long to can.

This fruit can keep a long time on your shelf. I like to use this Mock Pineapple on hams, pork roasts, or to just eat it just like pineapple. This Mock Pineapple looks and tastes just like the pineapple you buy in the cans at the store.

Store bought pineapple can get expensive, so for less than half the price, try making the Mock Pineapple instead.   Enjoy the sweet taste of Pineapple (Mock Pineapple) soon from Suzie Homemaker.