Duped Project 14/50: Dawn, Wizard of Kitchens

This is the size of Dawn I buy. Just kidding. Maybe.

I just recently wrote up this review of the guilt-factor on one of my favorite things: Dawn Dishwashing Fluid. It's all a part of my new motto: "Trying always to be socially and environmentally conscious, and making it at least halfway since 2010."

Dawn is fantastic. There's at least a couple dozen uses for it, and I intend to try them all. In the meantime, I thought I would repost the list from my other post on my other blog, so that you can find them on both sites. I believe that this qualifies as a dupe for a few reasons:

1. It's a big help in of reducing the number of cleaning products you need (use, buy, store). This multi-purpose wonder makes it possible to cut out several of the other bottles you need to make your house run. That cuts down on packaging, shipping, cost, and generally wasteful practices.

2. Dawn is so effective at cutting any kind of grease, you can use significantly less. It's also popular enough to be sold in bulk at your local grocery (in other words, you don't need to have a pricey annual membership to some builk-buying warehouse to cut down).

3. Even though this is a commercially-available product, you can avoid the dupe by getting the Original Blue Dawn (what I affectionately refer to as "True Blue"). All the other versions (different colors, scents, formulas) mess with something that doesn't need to be change. Introducing additional ingredients can mean introducing phthalates or other toxins, or could worsen the environment impact).

I usually don't repost to both blogs, but this will have to be an exception, since I think it falls right in the center of the imaginary venn diagram in my head. Enjoy this (somewhat hastily) assembled list of uses for True Blue Dawn.

---

Uses of DAWN Dishwashing Fluid: A quickly compiled list

NOTE: Original Blue Dawn. Not anything else - no other brand, scent, version. I'm pretty serious about this.

Sources: One Good Thing, Life Crafts & Whatever, Modern Day Moms

Freezer Packs
Partially fill a strong zip-type sandwich bag with Dawn dishwashing liquid, close and freeze. The liquid soap stays cold much longer and it can be re-frozen many times. It will conform to the place you need an ice pack.

Carpet Cleaner/Stain Remover for any Cloth
1 part Dawn with 2 parts Hydrogen Peroxide. Mix together and pour directly on the stain. Add light scrubbing.

Spot Treatment/Pretreat
For oil-based stains such as lipstick, grease, butter, motor oil, cooking oil, and some pen inks, simply apply some Dawn dishwashing liquid directly to the stain and scrub with a small brush or toothbrush until the oil is removed, and then launder as usual.

Flea Dip and Dog Shampoo
Use it to bathe the dogs. It kills fleas on contact and is much cheaper than expensive dog shampoos.

Bubble Solution
1/2 cup Dawn, 1/2 gallon warm water, 1 tbsp glycerin or White Karo syrup. Best. Bubbles. Ever.

Greasy Hair Disasters
If your kids get into the vaseline, or maybe (like me) you're doing a super-cradle cap treatment with mineral/baby oil, you'll want more than shampoo to cut through that mess. Use it just like shampoo and rinse well.

Clean Automotive Tools or Spills, or "Mechanic Hands."
After you have finished your automotive repair project, soak your dirty tools in Dawn before you put them away to remove all the oil and grime. Dawn also helps prevent rust from forming on the tools. Spill oil on the driveway or garage floor? Start with cheapo kitty litter to absorb, then finish up with a scrub of dawn and a stiff bristled brush. It's also the best cleaner for oily, greasy mechanic hands.

Soap Scum Remover
Heat up a cup of vinegar in the microwave to 1.5-2 minutes and add to a spray bottle with an equal amount of Dawn. Little to no scrubbing is needed.

Repel Ants
Spray counter-tops, cupboards and any other area where you see ants with a solution of Dawn and water. Wipe dry. The slight residue of Dawn that remains will not be a problem at all for kids or pets, but ants hate it. Should you see a trail of ants, go ahead and hit them with the Dawn spray.

Stripping Cloth Diapers**
Add a squirt or two of original Dawn dish soap to your washer and run a hot wash, then rinse until there are no more bubbles. Dawn is a degreasing agent and helps stripping by removing oily residue. Be sure to rinse, rinse, rinse until the water runs clear.

** New to cloth diapers? Here's my post on cloth diaper savings, and another about how we cloth diaper. You can also make your own detergent, which is super effective and safe on cloth diapers

Unclogging Toilets
A cup of Dawn detergent poured into a clogged toilet allowed to sit for 15 minutes and then followed with a bucket of hot water poured from waist height will clear out the toilet. Apparently, human waste is grease-based. Yikes.

Poison Ivy Treatment
Poison ivy spreads through the spread of the oil within the blisters. Washing the affected area with Dawn, especially on children who keep scratching the blister’s open, helps dry up the fluid, AND keep it from spreading.

Sidewalk De-Icer
When walkway is clean (right after you did all that crazy hard work) pour on a mix of 1 tsp of Dawn, 1 tbsp of rubbing alcohol, and 1/2 gallon hot water. They won’t refreeze.

Repel Pests from House Plants/Aphid Control on Fruit Trees
In a spray bottle, combine 2 tablespoons Dawn in a gallon of water. Try to get spray both sides of the leaves, branches and the tree trunks. In the case of fruit trees, let sit for about 15 minutes and then rinse the trees thoroughly.

The Duped Project 11/50: DIY Orange Cleaner

I love Earth. I do not love the smell of vinegar. For years, these two things were in conflict, and my cleaning products continued to cost me too much simply because I preferred the smell of bleach or "clean linen" fragrance (which never smells like linen, by the way).

Recently, I decided it was time to give homemade all-purpose cleaner a shot when I came across this idea from Little Brick Ranch to harness the power of citric acid by essentially pickling orange peels. The claim: you won't smell the vinegar AND you'll get the added cleaning from the fruity goodness.

So did it turn out? Yes ma'am. I'll admit, there's a bit of a vinegarishness to the concoction, but nothing I can't handle. It cleans very well, is healthier for my family and the environment, and like any other homemade cleaning product, reduces packaging and fattens your wallet.

Ready to try it? Read on, dupers!

The Duped Project 8/50: Stovetop Mac 'n Cheese

We woke up on President's Day with a sick little girl. One of my daughters got the other one sick, as always, and she had a fever and a serious case of the whinies. Very understandable. I decided to use one of my favorite recipes for some comfort food. Mac 'n Cheese time!

When I first found this recipe (or I should say, when my friend Nicole first found it and shared it - thanks bud!), I was pretty astonished to read that it was important to use freshly shredded cheese. Why? Because when you buy pre-shredded cheese in a bag, you aren't just getting cheese. You're getting an anti-caking agent, most commonly cellulose-based, that makes your cheese less likely to mold and keeps it from clumping together. How pretty. On the down side, it's more expensive to produce and harder to melt. Also, existing anti-clumping agents are hazardous to worker's health, and sometimes, these additives can contain gluten and other allergens (Source).

I'm a purist when I can be. The way I see it, a cheddar by any other name tastes just as scrumptious, and it takes a whopping 60 seconds to shred, so I've stopped buying the bagged stuff all together. It melts better, is cheaper, and gives you more options on how to use it. Another plus: I use less. How many times have you come across a recipe where the amount of cheese required just happens to be 2 cups - the standard amount in a bag of shredded cheese? I've found that you usually don't need nearly that much. Don't get me wrong, I'm a total cheese-a-holic, but it certainly is one thing that could use a reduction in my diet. So if I can cut down the cheese by an ounce or two in a recipe, that's gonna make a big difference in the saturated fat in my finished meal.

There's another side to this story. It's a story of love, loss and loving again. It's a story of my love affair with Velveeta. Sound silly? I don't think you know how seriously I take my mac 'n cheese, folks. And for many a year, me and the orange box were close and personal. Do you know what the industry calls Velveeta, in an attempt to make it sound edible without lying? Processed cheese food. Heave. I have many guilty pleasures, but I was looking for a way out of this relationship, fast. Then along came this recipe.

Quick, easy, and filled with real food, this stovetop mac and cheese hits the spot without baking. From start to finish, it takes me about 25 minutes, including boiling the water. Find the recipe after the jump.

The Duped Project 6/50: Creamed Soup

I was born and raised in North Carolina, but you wouldn't know it from the way I talk. My dad is from Illinois, and when I was a year old, my paternal grandparents relocated from Springfield, IL to southern NC to be near their only grandchild. Growing up, I was at Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner at least 2 times a week. The contrast of Grandma's supper to the food I got practically anywhere else was stark. It was what I am fond of calling "yank cookin'."

This romantic casserole photo must
have been taken by a midwesterner.

Apparently, my mother's preference for northern men was hereditary, because I married someone from a part of the country so far north, he's practically Canadian. Hailing from Michigan, my husband moved southward in his teens. He also noticed the distinct difference between the homecooking of the mid-west and that of the Carolinas. To him, a casserole tastes like home. To me, it tastes like my Grandma's cooking. Two very positive associations mean that yank cookin' makes it to the table many nights in my house, especially in the winter.

What makes a yank dish so special? I'll tell you one thing: It's not a lack of saturated fat. That aside, there's a few ingredients that seem to pop up over and over. Sour cream, cheddar cheese, and egg noodles as ingredients are all distinctly midwestern to me - but one food reigns supreme yank ruler in my eyes. Cream of Something.

Something seems artificial in my soup.

Those union folk are always creaming something. Chicken, broccoli, celery, potato, and my personal favorite, mushroom. But (big surprise) there's a lot more in that can of soup than the wholesome steamy bowl on the label would have you think. Even the low sodium versions are busting through the salt ceiling, and try as I might, I could find a single dairy ingredient in something that starts with the word "cream." I did find a plethora of sugar and soy products though.

I knew I could make my own soup, but aside from starting my own cannery, I didn't think this was practical. After all, the whole point is to have all the ingredients on hand so you can just add a few fresh things (like meat or veggies) to the mix and have a ready meal. Then I came across this post (from One Orange Giraffe), detailing how to make your own "Cream of Something" dry soup mix.

Knowing absolutely nothing (hey! stop snickering!) I dove in. Find out what happened, catch the recipe,  and read about how I managed to screw it up completely, after the jump.

The Duped Project 4/50: Spice Mixes

One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen, besides avoid the dishes, is experiment with familiar flavors. For example, I love greek food. So what makes greek food taste greek? What makes Mexican food taste different from Cuban food? Why does an italian tomato sauce taste so different from a tomato? SPICES! (Um, duh).

Of course, the easiest way to get that taste is to buy the "spice blend" at the supermarket. Italian blend - basil, oregano, marjoram, all perfectly proportioned. Or Ms. D's classic Garlic and Herb, which makes just about everything taste fantastic. As a general rule, these spice blends are not that much more expensive than buying the individual spices. In fact, if you use them sparsely, you might even save a few pennies and avoid waste. So why make your own?

1. Knowledge. I know that most people don't care, but I love to know that thyme is that taste on those potatoes I love, and that rosemary is not my favorite even in a blend. I also love knowing that cumin is just as important in Mexican flavors as cilantro or chili powder. Geekery, perhaps, but knowledge is power. And when I want to make my quiche into Santa Fe quiche...too easy.

2. Dietary Restrictions. There are a growing number of spice blends on the shelf with low or no salt in the mix, but take it from someone who's always looking for them - they aren't consistently there. Maybe you've got someone in your family (or coming over for dinner) who is gluten intolerant. There could very well be wheat flour in that taco seasoning. When you've put it together, you know.

3. Monosodium Glucamate. MSG is a real deal breaker for a lot of people, and just like the low sodium seeker, you may find a blend without any MSG. Then again, you may not. FDA requires that any food containing MSG list it on the label, but chances are that the pesto blend that's MSG-Free and Low-Sodium are not the same packet. For more info on MSG and what's so bad about it: Mayo Clinic Article

So I'm on quest to make my own! Good thing I've been saving small glass jars for a while. More, after the jump.

The Duped Project 3/50: Hummus

Ah, Greece. Home of the Acropolis, Birthplace of philosophy, and creator of my all time favorite foods. I fell in love with Greek food during my 4 years in Germany. Strange, I know, but Germany is significantly closer to Greece than anywhere else I had the opportunity to fall in love, and the Greek food there is often cooked by immigrant Greek families. It's fantastic. I am drooling just remembering it.

But those were different times. Living in a foreign country, two incomes, no kids. We ate out all the time. Now, even if we could afford to eat out all the time, our young children make it less than a picnic (am I confusing my food metaphors?). But there is one thing I cannot give up. Hummus. Or is it Hommus? I never know.

Here in Texas, I'm continually shocked at how cheap some groceries are. Hummus is one of them. Back home in the footlands of North Carolina, a decent grocer will charge you as much as $5 for a 10 oz tub of hummus, but here in San Antone, the great and illustrious HEB carries several varieties for around $3 for 12 oz. That sounds like a real steal until you realize what hummus is. Chick peas (or garbanzo beans for you city folk), spices, olive oil. Pow. I have a food processor (well technically, I have an attachment for my blender) so I thought I'd give it a go. Turns out that it IS as easy as it sounds like it would be. See how, after the jump.

The Duped Project 1/50: Homemade Cornbread

What's the hurry? Well, when dinner's gotta be on in 30, there's always a reason to make things happen fast and easy. In a Jiffy, you might say. Hardy har har. Yeah, sorry about that one. It's a curse.

I grew up with Jiffy in my grandma's kitchen - and the printing on the box is exactly the same as 20 years ago, as far as I can tell. So what's so fast about Jiffy? And what's actually in the magical blue box? 

Well, as it turns out, the stuff that's inside is actually rather wholesome. In fact, it's pretty much exactly what's in cornbread if you make it from scratch, minus the "wet" ingredients (egg, milk and butter) with two crucial exceptions: there are a few preservatives, and it contains animal fat (lard) and/or hydrogenated solids (so that you don't have to have butter on hand when you bake it). Yuck-o. Thank you, but my veins are happier without those trans fats. Let's see what we can do about that.

My dear husband went through a stage a while back when he had some spare time (long since a memory now) of cooking from scratch. There are several "legacy items" in our pantry left over from those spur of the moment trips to the supermarket, including 4 kinds of cornmeal. I'm not kidding. I guess he just kept forgetting he had already bought it. Anyway, this kind was "course ground," which just sounds yummy. And conveniently there was a recipe for cornbread on the back. Game on. (after the jump!)