Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Friday, October 21, 2022

Question ~ Spreadable Butter~ Errand Day

 Our stores do not sell organic milk by the quart.  We buy the half gallon, but find that it goes bad before we finish it.  I decided to start freezing half of it, as we buy it.  I'll have it on hand, and it won't be wasted.  We have no access to goat or cow milk in our area either, so it's purchased at the store.  Heck, I couldn't even find goat milk for soap making, so we are back to buying it.

Speaking of soap, I think I asked this before, but how much essential oil to add to 1# of soap base?  I have some to use up, and want to make travel size soaps for traveling (and to get the base out of my closet, ha ha!).

Spreadable butter was made.  It's great to have on hand when the weather is cold.  We keep our butter on a butter dish in the kitchen, and during colder weather, it's not spreadable on fresh bread, or to grill sandwiches.

I am starting to dislike "errand" day ha ha!  I got 'er done though.  I was tickled pink to find gruyere and aged cheddar at our Aldi's (way cheaper than the main grocer).

The credit union sent this to my husband.  Literally.  Wasted money to encourage us to buy a new vehicle.  I guess it'll go to our grandson.

It went down to 35°F last night and is predicted to be 70°F today.  Crazy weather for sure.

10 comments:

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

what a bizarre thing to be sent! Hopefully your grandson will like it. I used to freeze milk when my kids were little in a bid to only shop once a week, and the fridge wasn't big enough to store what we needed so it had to be frozen.

Carol said...

I would love to have a butter recipe if you could send it to me. I have been looking at making soap as well. My mixer is going to be getting much more use once I am able to walk and cook meals again. The prices at the stores is completely ridiculous and I am going to look at ways to save money and reduce the items that we must buy from the store.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Jill, I just have to make space in my freezer now, ha ha!

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Carol, it's simply one cup butter (I use salted butter) softened and 2/3 cup olive oil. Mix with a mixer and keep in fridge. Yes, prices are horrible, so I'm trying to do a lot more to reduce our expenses.

Jackie said...

I used to make softened butter often. Not as much any longer but have been thinking of starting up again.

God bless.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Jackie, I love it for the winter months for sure.

Debby Flowers said...

Hi Kristina - regarding EO in soap, it depends. Some EOs stay or fix in soap better than others. I buy a lot of my soap supplies from Brambleberry and they have a fragrance calculator. I went there just now and plugged in Lemongrass EO for 16 ounces of Cold Process Soap. For a light fragrance they recommend .48 ounce. For a medium, use .72 ounce and for strong use .96 ounce. Personally, I usually use 4 to 5 ounces in a 10 lb batch which is more like .4 to .5 ounces per lb. Hope that helps.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Debby, thank you that helps a lot. I'm sure we'll be back to buying soap from you soon. My husband likes it the best. We bought some in Hocking Hills, and he really didn't like it.

Debby Flowers said...

Thanks Kristina - I know I don't comment much but do still follow you. Sounds like things are a little tougher there - economy-wise than here in MN. We just wrapped up a very successful famer's market season. Our locals are supporting us more and more and our lake people (we are very much in the heart of an area of many lakes and cabins- second homes for people who come up from the Twin Cities) really come out and support us too.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Debby Flowers, you are very lucky. I decided not to do a November craft show in the "Big City" at a mall. This year they wanted $30 per table, so it would have cost me $60 to participate. In 2019 I made about $60 and put $40 into table space and I have my own tables. My $2 hair clips are not selling at the salon either. We are not a tourist town, so we depend on locals and no one here has extra money to buy.