Fall, Football, and Chili!

It's football season combine that with cool, crisp Fall weather and it's a perfect time for chili. We love homemade chili, but it's never a meal with out cornbread. Sure, you could buy the boxed mix, but there's a way to make your own and save money. I love having this in bulk because in the winter, we make cornbread all the time. This is a great side dish with the homemade jambalaya!

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp. salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 1 cup solid vegetable shortening
• 4 cups cornmeal
  
  Preparation:

Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and baking powder in a large bowl. With a pastry blender or two knives cut in shortening until particles are fine. Add the cornmeal and mix well. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 months. Makes about 10 cups of dry mix

CORNBREAD OR CORN MUFFINS RECIPE Combine 2 1/2 cups of the homemade cornbread mix with 1 beaten egg and 1-1/4 cups milk. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into a greased 8" square pan or greased muffin tins and bake at 425 degrees for 15-25 minutes until light golden brown and bread springs back when lightly touched with finger. Muffins will bake for the shorter time period.

This Recipe is by Linda Larsen, About.com

Stretching Dishwasher Detergent

Here's a great idea that was shared with me recently. Get more for your money with your dishwasher detergent. Combine equal parts baking soda, your favorite powder detergent, and washing soda. Here, I used Seventh Generation Free and Clear Detergent, but I find other detergents work much better. To really stretch your dollar, try using $ store variety!
Find a container (preferably with a lid), and combine ingredients. Shake/mix well.

For a full load of dishes I use 1.5-2 Tablespoons of my mixture. Instead of paying for a small bottle of liquid rinse aid, put vinegar in the designated rinse aid compartment. It will help you dishes sparkle!


*Note: If you have liquid detergent on hand, you can combine the washing soda and baking powder and mix it with detergent in the dishwasher. Just use 1 Tablespoon of the washing soda and baking soda mix with 1 Tablespoon of liquid detergent.