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The Prepared Pantry has wonderful mixes, baking ingredients, kitchen tools, free recipes, baking tips, food storage tips, and many other hard to get items.  AMAZING!  Check it out... you won't be sorry!

Roma Christensen
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Free Miscellaneous Recipes

 

Clay Ornaments

Roma Christensen

  • 4 c. all-purpose flour

  • 1 c. salt

  • 1 1/2 c. cold water

  • Christmas cookie cutters

  • Shellac

  • Ribbons for hangers

Mix flour and salt together.  Slowly add water while stirring with a fork until soft dough forms.  Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding a small amount of water or flour, if needed.  Roll dough on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut with cookie cutters.  Place ornaments 1 inch apart on un-greased baking sheet.  Punch "hanging holes" with a drinking straw.  Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes.  Baking time will vary with size of ornaments.  When completely cool, you may paint ornaments with Tempera paints or leave natural.  Coat with shellac.  Note:  Dough will keep indefinitely if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Bubble Recipe

Roma Christensen

  • 2 c. Dawn dishwashing detergent

  • 6 c. water

  • Almost 1 c. Karo light corn syrup

Combine, shake, let settle 4 hours.  Store covered in refrigerator to extend suds shelf life.  Allow to warm before using.  Costs about $1.50 per gallon.  Bubble Tips:  1.  If foam develops scrape off with a stiff card.  2.  Keep suds clean from dirt and grass.  3.  Bubbles are best on humid days.  4.  Protect suds from direct sun.   

Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments

Roma Christensen

  • 3/4-1 c. applesauce

  • 1 (4.12 oz.) bottle ground cinnamon

Mix applesauce and cinnamon together to form a stiff dough.  Roll out to 1/4 inch thickness.    Cut with cookie cutters.  Make a hole for ribbon.  Carefully place on rack to dry.  Let air dry several days, turning occasionally.  If you prefer they may be baked at 150 degrees for 5-6 hours. 

Apple Potpourri

Roma Christensen

  • 1 c. dried apple slices

  • 2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

  • 1/4 c. whole allspice berries

  • 10 (2") cinnamon sticks

  • 2 tbsp. whole cloves

  • 1/4 c. canella or Nandina berries

  • 10 sm. pinecones

  • 7 drops cinnamon oil

Combine all ingredients and place in a tight jar or tin.  Shake every few days.  Cinnamon oil has an extremely strong scent that intensifies as it is absorbed.  Add additional oil if needed.  The red sumac berries that grow wild can be used dried as a stabilizer for potpourri (in other recipes it takes the place of orris root which is very expensive).  I used sumac berries instead of nandina berries in this recipe. 

Best Play-dough Ever!

Roma Christensen

  • 2 c. flour

  • 1 c. salt

  • 4 tsp. cream of tartar

  • 2 tbsp. vegetable oil

  • 2 c. water

  • Food coloring (optional)

  • Extract (optional)

Mix all ingredients in bowl.  Dump into electric skillet.  Cook over low heat until it just begins to look dry (not completely).  Take out of skillet.  When cool enough to touch, knead until smooth and pliable. 

Salt and Flour Clay – Bread Dough

Roma Christensen

  • 2 c. flour

  • 1 c. salt

  • 1 c. water

 Mix flour and salt together.  Slowly add water and stir until it forms a soft dough, all of the water may not be needed.  If too gooey, more flour may be added.  Roll out on a flat surface to make bread dough cookie ornaments.  May be painted with food coloring while still moist.  Can be air dried (about 2 days) or baked 1-2 hours at 200-250 degrees.  Baked ornaments are less fragile than those which have been air-dried. 

Face Paint

  • 1 tsp. cornstarch

  • 1/2 tsp. water

  • 1/2 tsp. cold cream

  • 2 drops food coloring of your choice

Mix all ingredients in small plastic mixing bowl.  Make sure it is mixed well. 

Finger Paint

  • 1 tbsp. unflavored gelatin (1 envelop)

  • Cold water

  • 1/2 c. cornstarch

  • 4 tbsp. dishwashing liquid

  • Food coloring

Stir gelatin into 1/3 cup cold water.  Set aside.  In a saucepan stir cornstarch into 2 1/2 cups cold water until dissolve.  Bring to a simmer and stir until fully thickened.  Remove from heat and blend in gelatin mixture.  Add dishwashing liquid.  Cool and add food coloring as desired.  Store in Tupperware at room temperature. 

Perfect Hug

  • 2 people

  • 4 arms

  • 2 heart

  • A touch of love

  • 1 pinch of humor

  • 1 sprinkle of glee

 Extend arms and wrap them around each other.  Clear your minds, take a look at each other, then pull yourselves together and mix well.  Serves 2.  

Favorite Play-dough

  • 2 c. flour

  • 1 c. salt

  • 2 tbsp. alum

Mix.  Put 3 tablespoons olive oil (substitute with baby oil, if needed) and desired food coloring into 2 cups boiling water.  Add liquid to dry mix and knead. 

Recipe for Finger Paint

  • 1 c. starch (clothes)

  • 5 c. boiling water

  • 1/2 c. soap flakes

Add vegetable coloring or let child mix in powder color as the finger paints are used.  Mix starch with enough cold water to make a smooth paste.  Add boiling water and cook mixture until its glossy.  Stir in dry soap flakes while mixture is warm.  Cool, divide into 3 parts to color.   

Paste

  • 1 c. boiling water

  • 2 c. flour

  • 1 tbsp. powdered alum

  • 2 c. cold water

  • 1 heaping tsp. oil of cloves

  • Oil of wintergreen (optional)

Add alum to 1 cup boiling water.  In separate bowl mix flour and cold water until smooth.  Pour flour mixture into boiling water and cook until it has a bluish cast, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in oil of cloves. 

Dried Apple Wreathe

  • Ripe red apples

  • 1/4 c. lemon juice

  • 1 tsp. ascorbic acid - per 2 c. cold water

  • Wooden embroidery hoop

  • Cinnamon sticks

  • Ribbon for bow

 Do not peel apples, but do core, cut (slice) 1/8 inch thick.  Let the slices fall into cold water to prevent rusting.  Slice crosswise so you end up with a donut like piece of apple.  Drain thoroughly.  Spread out on cookie sheet and put in 140 degree oven.  Turn once in awhile.  Dry until fairly firm.  Choose size of wooden embroidery hoop desired and glue apple slices to edge of hoop using hot glue gun or tacky craft glue.  Arrange a bow or other decoration and glue on.  Garnish with cinnamon sticks as desired. 

Lavender Powder Sachet

  • 1/2 oz. dried powdered lavender flowers

  • 1/2 tsp. powdered cloves

Mix 2 ingredients, then sew up snuggly in a cloth pouch or "pillow".  Use in drawers or hang in closets or put with your linens.  It makes a nice little gift. 

Homemade Soap with Bleach

  • 10 c. melted fat (lard and suet is a good combination)

  • 1 c. liquid bleach (Clorox, Purex, etc.)

  • 1 can of lye crystals

  • 6 qts. water

Wood slotted spoon for stirring. Use an enamel crockery or glass container to "cook" lye-fat mixture in.

Use extreme caution in a well ventilated area when using lye.  Never use anything but a wooden spoon and stir carefully in one direction only.    Start with 10 cups melted fat and stir in 1 cup liquid bleach.  Dissolve 1 can lye in 6 quarts water and carefully add the fat and bleach mixture.  Stir thoroughly.  Set 4 to 5 days, stirring frequently.  It will start out thin and watery but by the 4th or 5th day it will be solid to the bottom of pot.  Put on stove and melt, pour into molds and cut when cool.  It should dry for several months to cure.  This is good hand soap or laundry and is biodegradable. 

Gelatin Critters

  • 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

  • 1 pkg. (4 - 1/2 c. servings) sugar free strawberry-banana flavor gelatin

  • 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

  • 1 1/2 c. boiling water

In a medium bowl, stir gelatins together with a fork.  Stir cinnamon into boiling water until dissolved.  Add water to gelatin and stir until dissolved.  Pour into an 8" to 9" square pan.  Chill about 2 hours, until firm.  Using 2" to 3" animal cookie cutters (such as cat, owl, horse) cut out shapes.  (These little critters do not melt at room temperature.)  Makes 8 servings.  (You could also use any cut out shapes, according to the holiday at hand!) 

Bubble Bath

  • 1/2 c. liquid hand soap

  • 1 c. epsom salt

  • 5 drops glycerin

  • Few drops of food coloring

  • Few drops of fragrance

 Mix well, shake right before using.  Pour into bathtub while water is running and enjoy. 

Soap Crayons

  • One ice cube tray

  • Liquid food color

  • 2 tbsp. hot water for each crayon

  • 1 c. soap flakes

  • Small bowl

  • Spoon

For each color, put two tablespoons of hot water and one cup of soap flakes into a bowl.  Add as many drops of food color to the mixture as you wish.  Stir the soap mixture until it thickens.  This takes time, so be patient!  Press spoonfuls of the first color of soap into the sections of the ice tray.  Mix enough soap in other colors to fill the ice tray, following the above directions again.  Let the soap crayons dry for one or two days.  Gently bang the ice tray to loosen the crayons.  Pack them in a box for gift-giving.  Great for birthday presents or holidays. 

Soap Flake Sculptures

Roma Christensen

  • 4-cups soap flakes (any kind, NOT detergent)

  • 1/2 c. cold water

Place soap flakes and water in a medium size bowl.  Squeeze the mixture together with your hands until it becomes slightly damp and sticks together.  (This mixture dries quickly, so you'll have to work fast!)  Now you can form it into any shape you'd like, animals, snowmen, decorations, tree ornaments, etc.  Place the finished sculpture(s) in the refrigerator to harden. 

A Magic Garden

  • 5 tbsp. salt

  • 5 tbsp. bluing color

  • 1 tbsp. ammonia

  • 5 tbsp. water

  • 2-3 feet aluminum foil crumpled and broken into assorted sizes

Mix together first 4 ingredients.  Place foil in a low dish or pie plate.  Pour mixture over it.  Crystals will start growing in a few days.  This is fun for kids.  (Other colors can be used.) 

Helpful Hint for Carpet Cleaning

Club soda makes a great and cheap spot cleaner for carpet. 

Sweetened Condensed Milk

  • 1 c. powdered milk

  • 2/3 c. sugar

  • 1/3 c. boiling water

  • 3 tbsp. melted butter

Mix all in blender.  This makes the equivalent of one 14-ounce can. 

Helpful Hints for Fishermen       

I've been asked to jot down some helpful hints.  Well, I scratched my bald-head and looked around the house and here's a few that I came up with. 

1. After you have cleaned or filleted a few fish, your hands get pretty smelly. If you get your hands wet, soap up then pour a generous amount of salt on your hands and wash them good.  The smell will be gone. 

2. If you plan a fishing trip and get some live bait (like worms, grubs, or crickets) prior to leaving, warn your wife before you put them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.

3. After a day of bird hunting, remember to check in your game bag for extra birds or uneaten sandwiches before you put it away in the basement.  This seems like a pretty trivial matter to me but my wife tends to over react when she discovers the source of the odor several days after my tiny oversight. 

4. The fat on game animals is what gives the meat a "wild" taste.  Next time that you dress out a duck, goose, pheasant or quail, take some extra time and remove all the fat that you can. 

5. Don't use your wife's spoon that she uses for lifting things out of the deep fat fryer for keeping the ice out of your ice fishing hole unless you can get it out of the kitchen and back again without her knowledge. 

6. Avoid using the garbage disposal to get rid of the feathers from the birds you just plucked.  My wife  tends to express herself with profanity when I've done this in the past. 

7. When a tool or a part says "universal" it really means that it doesn't fit anything properly.

8. When a friend lets you drive your truck to his secret fishing spot and you approach an area that you think is too rough for your truck and he says "go ahead, don't worry" ---- WORRY!

9. Try as hard as you can but you will never get your wife to understand to except the phenomenon that two guns or fishing poles left alone and unsupervised in the cabinet will multiply, and beget a new gun or fishing pole.

I'm sure if I had the time, I could come up with other valuable hints for husbands, but right now I can hear my wife and by the tone of her voice, I'll bet she has discovered those fish entrails that I put in the freezer after my last trip.  I meant to put them out with the trash.  It seems I forgot.  

Kitchen Secrets

  1. Easiest way to remove silk from an ear of corn: Wipe downward firmly with a clean, damp cloth.  2. Keep the layers from slipping while you ice a layer cake.  Just push 3 long sticks of dry spaghetti down through the center of the cake.  Pull them out when icing has set. 

  2. Perk up the flavor of stew by adding a few drops of lemon juice or red-wine vinegar during the last 15 minutes of cooking. 

  3. To halve a recipe calling for 3 eggs, use 2 and decrease the recipe's liquid by 2 to 3 tablespoons. 

  4. Soak garlic cloves in cold water for a few minutes and the skins will slip off more easily. 

  5. Rub fingers with the cut side of a ripe tomato to get rid of the smell of garlic.  For very strong odor, rub with coffee grounds.

  6. Sour cream last longer if you turn its container upside down in the refrigerator, preventing air from filling the top. 

Cooking Cleanups

  1. Easy way to remove dried-food splatters inside your microwave: Boil 1 cup water in a bowl on high for about 2 minutes.  (The steam will soften spots.)  Then wipe off. 

  2. To clean a messy broiler pan, sprinkle it with dry laundry detergent while it's still hot.  Then cover the surface with dampened paper towels or a sponge (over a small area) to produce a steaming effect while you eat.  The residue should come off quickly, and with little or no scouring. 

Helpful Hint for Foot Odor

Soak feet regularly in a shallow tub of cool water containing one-quarter cup of baking soda to absorb odors.  You can also try this footbath:  Steep two bags of chamomile or mint tea in a pint of boiling water for 15 minutes, then pour the brewed tea into a basin filled with two quarts of cool water. Soak feet for 20 to 30 minutes.  Rinse with cool water, then pat dry and finish with powder. 

Pets

Train a puppy this way not to chew on everything in the house: slip on a man's big, heavy leather glove.  Sit down and hold the puppy in your lap, stroking him with one hand and letting him chew the glove on the other.  Repeat this often.  He'll come to associate the glove with such well being, he'll tend to chew only on that. 

Bugs and other helpful hints

1.  Bait for roaches: even portions sugar, cornmeal and Borax.   

2.  Will Rogers said:  "We need more dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds."   

3.  Turn can goods if stored in pantry for awhile. 

4.  Marshmallows, cut with buttered knife or scissors.  

5.  Freeze buttermilk in portion amounts and use later.   

6.  " Gardner’s" wash greens in salty water to remove lice.   

7.  Add vanilla flavoring to pan cake batter, good!   

8.  Store crackers that are individually wrapped in empty tall, cylinder-shaped potato chip can. 

9.  Use boiled egg water for watering house plants.   

10.  Use ice cream dipper for making uniform meatballs.   

11.  For a quick shine, rub glass shower door with a sponge dampened in white vinegar.   

12.  Sweet smell in the bathroom, add a touch of fragrance by dabbing your favorite perfume on a light bulb.    (Heat releases the aroma.) 

13.  Smooth gravy - add water and flour into a small jar, shake, add to boiling liquid. 

Take Time for 10 Things!

(1) TAKE TIME TO WORK - it is the price of success. 

(2) TAKE TIME TO THINK - it is the source of power. 

(3) TAKE TIME TO PLAY - it is the secret of youth. 

(4) TAKE TIME TO READ - it is the foundation of knowledge  

(5) TAKE TIME TO WORSHIP - it is the highway of reverence and washes the dust of earth from our eyes. 

(6) TAKE TIME TO HELP AND ENJOY FRIENDS - it is the source of happiness.

 (7) TAKE TIME TO LOVE - it is the one sacrament of life. 

(8) TAKE TIME TO DREAM - it hitches the soul to the stars.

 (9) TAKE TIME TO LAUGH - it is the singing that helps with life’s loads. 

(10) TAKE TIME TO PLAN - it is the secret of being able to have time to take time for the first nine things. 

Husband Conserve 

(SELECT THE BEST MAN)

  1. Select the best man you can find and brush him carefully to rid him of any indifference. 

  2. Be careful not to beat him as you would an egg or cream, for beating will make him tough and apt to froth at the mouth. 

  3. Lift him gently into the home preserving kettle and tie him with strong cords of affection which are not easily broken. 

  4. Do not sear him with sarcasm for that causes spitting and sputtering which may ultimately result in spontaneous combustion.   

  5. Scramble when difficulties arise. 

  6. Do not soak him in liquor either for excessive drinks will make him mushy and spongy with your friends, and in most communities stewed husbands have never been very popular.

  7. It is best to let him simmer tenderly at will, to blend tactfully with dressing and seasoning. 

  8. Stuff him one hour before taking him out or before asking a great favor of him.

  9. Flavor him with oil of happiness, and ounce of understanding, and a bushel of laughter and fun. 

  10. Should he seem weak or troubled with feminine infatuations, smother him in onions and garlic and treble your charm. 

  11. Need him, need his dough, and be sure to save some of the dough for the little dumplings. 

  12. Do not spoil him by over indulgence, but serve him daily on a platter of strength and courage, garnish with clean shirts and trousers.