Christmas Peanut Butter Fudge

With the Christmas Season hard upon us, I decided this year to make a little fudge for around the house. Growing up, my grandmother always had old coffee cans (decorated with felt and Christmas themes) full of fudge, cookies, buckeyes and candies. I found a recipe in my old handy-dandy Better Homes & Gardens cookbook and set to work.

Ingredients: Sugar, peanut butter (chunky if you want the fudge nutty), marshmallow creme, butter and evaporated milk.

Not surprisingly, there are massive amounts of sugar in this recipe. And you start with 4 cups of sugar, a cup of butter and a can of evaporated milk in a buttered saucepan. Heat on medium (I stir most of the time because that's what I saw my grandmother doing).

Here's the tricky part: The syrupy mixture needs to be heated until it reaches 234 degrees (no more than 240). That's right, 234. Not 233 or 232. 234. This is called 'softball stage' and I think I figured out how to do it without the thermometer but I wasn't willing to risk ruining $47 dollars worth of sugar to find out. Once it is 234, you remove from heat and mix in the peanut butter and marshmallow creme. It's really quite easy if you have $47 worth of sugar and a candy thermometer.

When all ingredients have finally been mixed thoroughly, pour the fudge into a buttered 13 x 9 baking dish. I sprinkled some chopped nuts on top and pressed them in slightly for a nutty top. You could add nuts to the fudge itself but I had just gone ahead and used crunchy peanut butter and that did the trick.

Cool completely, then cut. I used a sharp knife dipped in water for a cleaner cut. I also took some of the fudge, balled-it-up, dipped it melted chocolate for a crude but effective buckeye. Lay neatly inside of a tin on top of wax paper, add a bow to the top and you are ready to serve.


I can't eat any of it but it smells delightful and the boys are sucking them down. Merry Christmas!

Laundry Detergent Recipe

More than a few people have asked about how I make my own laundry detergent so I decided to break it down for you. First off, I'm cheap. The fact that I'm making laundry detergent is even kind of a line I'm not sure I'm comfortable I've crossed, but crossed it I have. Fortunately, it is not all that hard to do and the results actually work. So for you cheapies out there or just plain curious, here we go...

Ingredients: The bulk of your ingredients are available in grocery stores or box-store type joints. You need to buy BORAX 20 MULE TEAM which I got at WalMart. This is one of those things you did not realize was sold everywhere until you buy it at least once then notice it everywhere. I really like the old school design of the box. Second, you need to buy a box of WASHING SODA, Arm and Hammer seems to be the only brand of this that I've ever seen. Picked up my box at the grocery store. Third, you need to buy a bar of regular soap, I bought IVORY because it was the cheapest. Note about your bar soap: that will ultimately be the smell and color of your detergent, so choose your bar soap with that in mind.

Equipment: You need a clean 5-gallon bucket which I bought at Home Depot, a cheese grater, and something to stir with.

Instructions:
1) Grate the BAR SOAP.

Note: I had to swat a few hands as two of my boys nearly choked on what they thought was "pizza cheese".


2) Combine two cups of the WASHING POWDER (above)...

3) With two cups of the BORAX 20 MULE TEAM (below).


4) Add powders to the bucket and mix together.


5) Bring a quart of water to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and start stirring in the grated soap. You need to add the soap a little bit at a time in order to avoid clumping.


6) Add all of the soap and stir until the entire mixture is melted. Be patient and allow it all to melt together.


7) Add this soap mixture to the powder mixture and stir.
8) Top off everything with two more gallons of water and stir again.


9) Cover the bucket with the lid and you'll some gooey, gelatinous laundry detergent in a couple of hours. I usually let it sit overnight to be safe.

Just stir and use. You can add 10-15 drops of your favorite scent (like what you'd use to make candles) for that evergreen or tangerine or lilac smell to your clothing. Welcome to the world of the cheap...