Asparagus

Pick a bunch of asparagus that looks good. I prefer thin to medium stems.

Wash, snap off the ends

Place in a 12 inch skillet with about a few Tablespoons of water.  Cover and place over medium heat.  Let the asparagus steam until it's bright green.

Drain the water

Add a small amount of EVOO (and small amount of butter for flavour if you wish), minced garlic, minced red onions, and a TBSP of balsamic vinegar. Sauté until the vinegar is mostly absorbed. Super delicious, sweet, healthy, and easy! Great with fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Peppermint Breeze Shampoo (name courtesy of Crystal)

what you need:

• empty shampoo bottle (16 oz is great, I recommend one with a cap that has a small hole)
  
• Peppermint Castille Soap (hint: Trader Joe's, natural stores, Amazon.com)
• 100% Aloe Vera Gel [optional]
  
• Lemon Juice (very important)
• Jojoba Oil (again, TJ's or natural food stores)
• distilled water
• eucalyptus oil [optional]

Put 4 oz each of Castille soap and water in the bottle, add 2 oz lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon of Jojoba , 1 TBSP of Eucalyptus oil, and 2 TBSP of Aloe Vera

This is very thin, so instead of pouring in your hand, squirt it directly on your wet scalp, give yourself a good massaging, let sit for a couple of mins, and rinse. This can also be used as a body/face soap, but do not get it near eyes!!  I have noticed with my most recent batch (possibly due to the addition of Eucalyptus oil), it is a LOT thicker. Sometimes I have to add a TBSP of water and shake it up.

I highly recommend following up with an apple cider vinegar rinse. Get a spray bottle or one that has a cap like this. Just squirt on to your hair. Yes, it will stink in the shower, but you will get used to it after a few uses. Once you rinse it out, you just smell peppermint. The acid smooths down the shaft of your hair, preventing knots and adding shine.

Conditioner is hard to make homemade and shelf stable. I recommend Trader Joe's spa conditioner. It is cheap, and has no sulfates. After 2 shampoos/conditions with this combo, almost all of my flaky dry skin is gone, and my hair looks and feels great! Amazing!!

**also recommend Organix Tea Tree Mint Conditioner, though it costs more than TJ's Conditioner

Laundry Detergent

Ok, so I know this is not edible, but it IS still a recipe. . .

Save up those detergent bottles, and when you run out, try making your own detergent. Here is what I did:

grate (finely) 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap ($0.97 at Wal-Mart). Other lightly scented soap can also be used (body or laundry--another laundry soap I saw is Zote)

1.5 c Sodium Carbonate (pH plus or Washing Soda. Cannot find Washing Soda, so I used pH plus from the pool chemical section. It is 98% Sodium Carbonate and 2% Water. $5.97 at Wal-Mart)

1.5 c Borax. ( I believe it was $3.97 at Wal-Mart)


boil 3 c water in a large saucepan. add grated soap, whisk well. add sodium carbonate. mix; add borax, mix again. pour into a bucket and add about a gallon of water (more if you want it thinner, less if you want it concentrated. I simply did this amount because it was the combined capacity of my bottles). If you add about a gallon, use one ounce per load. It must be shaken before each use, as it will separate almost immediately.


I figured out that this costs about $4 for 120 loads. a lot less than you pay for Tide

Tuna Mac Skillet

• 1 pkg. macaroni and cheese dinner mix (like plain ol' blue box)
  
• 3/4 c. milk
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard
• 2-6 oz cans tuna, drained
• 1 c. sour cream
• frozen peas, however much looks good to you. and PLEASE, not canned. They're gross! Trader Joe's has the BEST frozen peas
  

Boil macaroni.

In a pan mix milk and cheese powder.

Add butter, parsley, paprika and mustard. Bring to a boil; simmer 5 minutes.

Add tuna, macaroni, peas, and sour cream. Top with shredded cheese, cover and cook on medium low heat until cheese is melted (not too long or the pan will be hard to clean!)