2 Liter Living

Homemade Mouthwash

2011-03-31T14:23:00.000-06:00

2 oz Distilled or filtered water
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 drop peppermint oil
1 drop tea tree oil

Mix all ingredients.
Store in airtight container, I use an old scope mouthwash bottle to store mine in.
Use as you would normally.
You can change the flavor of this mouthwash simply by using different oils.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2011-03-31T09:51:00.000-06:00

1 medium onion chopped

1 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

unlike the packaged seasoning, where you cook your meat and then add seasoning and water, You will add all these seasonings at the begining and cook along with your meat, no need to add water. When your meat is cooked, this is ready.

Fill up those homemade flour tortiilas with this!!

Homemade Flour Tortillas

2011-03-31T09:18:00.000-06:00

Making homemade tortillas is very easy and doesn't take but about 45 minutes from start to finish.

Once you make these homemade tortillas, you'll never want to buy those store bought ones again.

The 4 simple ingredients are:

2 c sifted flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 oil

2/3 c warm water

Mix all ingredients well to form a dough ball.

Cover and let rest 30 minutes.

Divide dough into golf ball sized balls. (This is really up to you how big or little you want your tortillas, and how thin or thick you like them)

Roll out onto lightly oiled surface, or you can use a tortilla press.

( This is my homemade tortilla press)

Now its time to cook them.

A cast iron skillet works best for flavoring, but if you don't have one, you can use any pan that has a flat bottom.

Oil the pan lightly and heat to med-high.

Place a tortilla in the pan and let cook for about 1 minute, flip and cook other side about another minute.

Make sure the pan stays lightly coated with oil, you may need to re- oil your pan a few times, so the tortillas don't stick.

Place cooked tortillas in a towel to keep moist and warm.

Cooking tortillas is a very quick process, so make sure that you will not need to leave the ktchen while cooking these as they will burn in about 30 seconds.

Store any leftover tortillas rolled in plastic wrap with a tight seal.

Hope your family enjoys these as much as mine does.

Day old Bread

2011-03-28T17:26:00.001-06:00

Ever thought about how much bread we throw away? I did. And I have come up with 3 different ways to use that bread up.

We all have those heels no one likes, or the hambuger buns that are just a little to dry for a good hamburger.

I take any bread that we won't eat, that isn't moldy and place it in a bag in the freezer. When I have enough saved up, I take it out and let it defrost and then I use it in one of these 3 ways:

Breadcrumbs

After bread has defrosted tear into pieces and place on cookie sheet.

Drizzle with oil and salt and pepper to your liking. Bake in 350 degree oven til like toast about an hour. You want it to be thoroughly dry all the way through. Let cool and dry an hour. Then place in large plastic baggie seal and crush really fine with rolling pin. store in airtight container.

Stuffing

After bread has defrosted tear or cut into little cubes, season with a drizzle of oil, and spices of your desired liking, I use salt, pepper, and garlic.

you can now proceed with your regular stuffing recipe as you have the bread stuffing.

Croutons

After bread has defrosted cut into desired crouton size. Place on cookie sheet, drizzle with oil and add seasonings. For seasonings I use itialian dressing for one flavor of crouton and for a different flavor I use salt, pepper, garlic, and some grated cheese. When it comes to the seasonings don't be afraid to experiment with what you like.

Stir in your seasongs and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 1/2 hours, let cool and dry. Store in airtight container.

Any and all breads are great and add great flavor, so don't be afraid to add that jewish rye or english muffin to the mix.

Composting made simple

2011-03-28T09:45:00.000-06:00

Have you ever googled composting? You can get so many ways to compost, add this, measure that etc, etc...

Composting is very simple, not time consuming, no need to measure anything, no special containers needed.

My Grandpa taught me a very important rule.

"Everything you need is already here for you naturally and free and that there is no need to alter what is already perfect"

To compost all you need is a small area in your yard. An area big enough for 2 piles( the size of your choosing) you need a space for 2 piles so that you have enough room to stir and flip your compost. I don't use any containers, or covers.( Although I do have to keep the dog out) I just simply pile my ingredients in a pile, and when I'm outside I go and give it stir or quick flip.

Nature just takes its course on the pile, with the rain, snow, and sun.

The ingredients of your compost is simple, I think about it like this, if its grown naturally, then its good for my compost.

All grass clippings, leaves, bark, weeds, any raw fruit or vegetable, egg shells, coffee grounds

Never put any animal feces, meat, oils, or anything cooked in your pile.

My Grandpa never used fertilizers or chemicals, never measured ph balance or anything else, as kids we would be out playing and stop in the garden for a snack, no need to wash anything off, just a little swipe on the shirt would do.

This is so easy and healthy for you and your plants.

The kids will also enjoy watching it work its magic. Over time you will see it breaking down (usually about 3 months).

Its a great science project topic and cuts down on landfill waste.

Homemade Bread and Rolls

2011-03-28T08:10:00.001-06:00

This is the best and easiest recipe for homemade bread and cinnamon rolls.

This recipe is a large recipe, you can make 4 loaves of bread with this one recipe, or do what I do and make 2 loaves of bread and cinnamon rolls with the other half.

6 c flour

1/4 c sugar

2 tsp salt

2 packages dry yeast

1/2 c melted butter ( make sure it is room temp before adding or it will affect the yeast)

2 c warm water

Combine 2 c of flour with the sugar, salt, yeast, and butter in large mixing bowl, mix well.

Gradually stir in warm water til mixed thoroughly, add 1 c of flour and stir well.

Mix in remaining flour, kneading until well mixed and forms a beautiful smooth dough.

Leave in mixing bowl, Oil top of dough and cover, let rise for 2 hours.

Punch the dough down and let rest for 10 minutes..

Punch down the dough and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Divide your dough into 4 equal loaves, and shape into loaves and place in lightly greased bread pans, cover and let rise 1 1/2 hours.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

If you are making cinnamon rolls, roll out your desired amount of dough on a lightly floured surface, spread with butter, and cinnamon and brown sugar mixture, roll, cut, place in lightly greased pan about one inch apart. Let rise 1 1/2 hours. Bake in oven at 350 for 25 minutes.

Top with Butter cream frosting and watch out your family will be running to the kitchen to gobble these up.

2 Liter self watering planter

2011-03-26T08:21:00.002-06:00

Instead of having to buy the planter and the drip tray, turn your used 2 liter soda bottles into self waterers. This will work for all plastic bottles and milk jugs too.

First grab your supplies.

1 empty and clean 2 liter bottle

Scissors or utility knife

cotton wick ( I cut 18 inch strips of old cotton T-shirts)

Rocks

Alright lets begin....

Measure 4 inches from the bottom of the bottle and cut a straight line all around the bottle.

You will notice that the bottom has a little ridge, that is my water line. Right above this line cut a hole to fit your waterer.

This is how you will deliver water to your beautiful plants.

Place a few rocks in the bottom. I usually just do 2 or 3.

Next string your wick through the bottle, leaving about 2 inches in the bottom well to soak up the water.

Place the top part of your bottle upside down in the well fitting between the rocks.

Plug the bottle opening loosely with the wick, leaving about 4 inches to thread through your soil to keep it watered.

You will need to hold the wick staight up as you fill with the soil.

You are now ready to put your plant into your planter.

After planting your plant, water from top til you hear the water dropping in the bottom. Let sit for 30 minutes for the water to settle.

If you are planting seeds, never water from the top as your seeds will end up in the water well. Instead, water your soil before putting into planter and then fill water well.

Fill the bottom to the watering line ( remember the ridge).

Now enjoy the beauty of your plants.

The wick will keep your soil consistantly moist, if you have a plant that prefers dryer soil, you can omit the wick and the water will work its way up at a much slower and dryer rate.

I also start my seeds in these planters. after planting my seeds, I place a piece of plastic wrap taught on the top until my plants sprout. Its a mini greenhouse.

Jalepenos

2011-03-22T18:32:00.001-06:00

The jalepeno is a fruit.

The average chili size is about 2-3 1/2 incehs long.

Seeds hold the heat, while the skin tastes familiar to a green bell pepper.

Most jalepenos are cultivated in mexico and texas.

Growth period : 70-80 days

Plants grow to 2 1/2 - 3 feet tall and average 25 - 35 jalepenos per plant.

The plant can be picked several times before its growing season ends. When the growing season ends the peppers start to turn red.

Jalepenos thrive in all types of soil and temperatures as long as they are given enough water.

Once picekd they can turn red, they can be eaten green or red. Handling jalepenos can cause skin irritation, never touch your eyes while handling these peppers.

The health benefits of the jalepono : jalepeno is in the capsaicin family which is know to help with migraines, sinus infections, congestion, and helps fight prostrate cancer,lowers blood pressure and fight inlammation, helps irritable bowel disease and helps kill H pylori, helps prevent stomach ulsers, can help burn fat and lose weight,is good for the heart, and has vitamin C.

Dried jalepenos produce cayenne pepper. If you have cold feet sprinkle cayenne pepper in your shoes and it will help keep your feet warm.

Mocha Chocolate mix

2011-03-20T20:36:00.002-06:00

My husband is addicted to Folgers instant Mocha Chocolate Mix. He goes through 2 canisters a week, one at home and one at work. He adds a teaspoon of the mix to his regular cup of coffee. The cost of the Folgers mix is $3.98 per canister, so were spending $7.96 a week on this alone which adds up to $413.92 a year!! YIKES

I needed to find a cheaper substitute for his one beloved habit without compromising taste. He tried hot cocoa mix, but that just was not right, so off to the kitchen lab I go after a little tweaking to his desired likeness this is the recipe I came up with.

Dales Mocha Mix

1 1/2 C Powdered Creamer ( I use store brand)

1 1/3 C Sugar

1 C Instant Coffee ( I use the cheapest)

8 Tbsp Powdered Cocoa

Mix all together in a bowl and then put through coffee grinder. Store in air tight container.

You can also drink this alone as a flavored instant coffee just add a cup hot water to a couple tablespoons of the mix, stir and enjoy.

This mix costs me $1.62 to make for a savings of $245.44 per year!!

Homemade Brownsugar

2011-03-20T19:05:00.001-06:00

Brown sugar is a must have for any baker. Not only is brown sugar very simple to make, but when you make it yourself , you can control the light and darkness of the sugar and there is no need to have 2 different bags in your cupboard.

Instead of buying the store bought which has preservatives added make your own.

What you will need:

1 Cup of granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon Molasses

Stir these 2 together, I use a fork because the molasees is a very sticky subsatnce and the fork seems to cut in and mix the 2 really well.

You can add or subtract molasses based upon your desired lightness or darkness.

Thats it..SOOO Simple

And the taste is so much better.

I buy an average of 1 bag of brown sugar a month, which usually costs $1.58, making my own saves us about $20 per year. ( every litlle bit helps).

Indoor Greenhouse

2011-03-20T18:57:00.000-06:00

Making the decision to live repurposeful has my head reeling and spining with tons of ideas, but I needed to focus and organize and choose a starting point.

I decided to start with planting seeds for an indoor greenhouse. Truth be told, I've never had a green thumb, not because I couldn't grow anything, but because I never put forth the effort. I have always for some reason only thought that I had a 3 month growing window for a garden, and then all of a sudden a light bulb came on and I thought to myself..seeds don't have brains. All I would need to do is manipulate thier atmosphere and make the seeds believe that the shelf in front of the living room window is a great place to grow.

So with the idea of an indoor greenhouse I headed to the internet. Seems as if alot of garderners and such have thier own way of doing things and some ideas I agreed with and some I didn't. However one thing we all can agree on is that you must start with a good soil. The soil must have enough nutrients, moisture, and aeration balance. I am starting a compost pile this year that will be ready in about 6 months. So since my compost isn't ready, I will need to go and buy some potting mix with which I mixed with clean dirt from my yard to provide my seeds with balance and when I transplant them they will be acclamated to the soil. Who knew there was such a thing as clean dirt, kind of an oxymoron right? I had a pile of dirty dirt sitting from an earlier project,

so I took a screen that has been in the shed for 4 years, obviously I'm not using it nor will I ever and with that I have repurposed the screen to a dirt strainer. I grabbed my big bowl, topped with the screen and put little shovel fulls of the dirty dirt on the screen and filtered out the sand (clean dirt) to the bowl, while anything bigger than a granule gets left on top of screen for another purpose.

I took my store bought potting mix and clean dirt and mixed equal parts together and then added water til just moist through out the soil, this will help in the soil settling and starting your seeds off. I bought seeds at the local store, none of which cost over $1.50 per packet. For this round of planting I chose beefsteak tomatoes, roma tomatoes, jalepeno peppers, green bell peppers, dill, chamomile, cilantro, green onion, lettuce, and cumin. I also needed to think about containers and then my recylcling mind turned on. I used the bottoms of plastic 2 liter pop bottles, some old aluminum pans that I was saving for the last 2 years and then I went and bought styrofoam cups, because I will repurpose those when I am finshed, yes there really is a purpose for old used styrofoam and they are very inexpensive at just a $1. I poked holes in the bottoms of all the containers, because you want to water from the bottom. I then put enough soil in each container to just within about 1/2 inch left to top of container. Place your seeds on top of soil, pat down and then loosely cover with soil. Thats it...Seeds are planted..Easy Peasy.. Next shelving in the right window, which for me is the livingroom window, it is a great size and faces south so it recieves lots of natural sun light and heat. You will need trays for under your containers that are about 1/2 deep to hold your water, I used some old aluminum trays and plates. I had 2 aluminum pans with plastic lids, I put the pan inside the lid and the lid is now the water tray..

Remember to never water from the top, I keep my trays with a little water in the bottom, its amazing that the seeds and soil only take what it needs. I can't wait to eat one of those tomatoes and... mmm... a cup of fresh chamomole tea will be well worth the effort, although I can't say it was work, because I really enjoyed playing in the soil and realizing that for just pennies I will be feeding my family and my ultimate goal is to specialize in herbs and tomatoes. The thought of making tea and spagetti sauce, ketchup and stewed tomatoes, essential oils and so much more not only for my family but also for the public and being able to give people the option to not only choose healthy, but my goal is to always make it affordable because for some reason the only option we have in the supermarket is cheap and unheathly or expensive. I'm so excited to share this with everyone and I hope I can inspire you to repurpose one thing today.

Welcome to the Journey

2011-03-18T12:02:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the very first post on 2 liter living. I hope you will follow me along on our journey to finding a simpler way of living through recycling, homegrown and homemade.

My name is Theresa, I am the author of the blog. I am 41 years young, have 4 amazing and inspiring children, 1 handsome tall and very patient husband of 13 years, a 10 year old lab/spaniel who likes to sleep and eat her paws, and 1 box turtle whom came to visit and never left.

I named the blog 2 liter living because I drink a 2 liter bottle of Mtn Dew a day and that adds up to alot of plastic for just one human being on this planet and instead of throwing my 365 bottles of plastic into a landfill I have decided to recycle and repurpose them.
As you follow along you will see just how I have learned to turn what once would of been throw away and left to pile up into items we would normally go and spend money on.
My frugality has come from necessity for needing to find ways to cut back and live cheaper in this economy while still being able to have fun and teach my children.
The basics are what are important and I can find ways not only to save money, but that homegrown and homemade gives me an opportunity to be with my children and teach them how a seed can turn into food, or a plastic bottle into a sprinkler on a hot sunny day.

Some of my ideas are not always great, but thats where the laughter begins.
Enjoy my blog and follow us along and watch how we, a family decided to turn these lemons into lemonades....