Recycle for Christmas

It’s not too early to begin planning for Christmas (Chanukah, Kwanza, Yule) now. And it is never a bad gift when your hands make it; your love and creativity construct it therefore you make it personal.

Start keeping jars for recycling into your treasures. Old spaghetti jars are just the right size to put all dry ingredients for bean soup in. Just place the ingredients, including spices into the jar, seal it. Cover the lid with a scrape of cloth and ribbon leftovers. If the different kinds of beans are layered to show off the colors , it is very pretty. Next make a nice label, either attached to the jar or hanging from the ribbon. On the label place the name of the soup, gifted by, and full directions for cooking the soup, including ingredient list. The label becomes a recipe card at the same time!

6 Bean Soup

Ingredients for Jar:
¼ cup baby lime beans
¼ cup small white beans
¼ cup black eyed peas
¼ cup garbanzo beans
¼ cup pink beans
¼ cup pink beans
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup dehydrated onions
½ cup dehydrated celery
½ cup dehydrated carrot
¼ cup dehydrated green pepper
½ cup dried parsley, minced
¼ teaspoon powdered garlic
½ bay leaf crumbled
½ teaspoon fines herbs
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 envelops chicken noodle soup (opened and poured into jar)

Ingredients for Label:
Parmesan Cheese grated

Directions for Label:
To soak beans: For each pound of dry beans, any variety, add 10 cups hot water.
Up to 2 teaspoons of salt per pound of beans may be added to help the beans absorb water more evenly.
Heat to boiling, let boil 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least one hour, but preferably four hours or more.
The longer soaking time is recommended to allow a greater amount of sugars to dissolve, thus helping the beans to be more easily digested.
Always discard the soak water.
To maintain color integrity, soak beans separately.

Drain beans.
Combine vegetables with soup mix, 2-1/4 quarts water, bay leaf, fine herbs and soaked beans. Simmer, covered, about 1 hour to desired tenderness.
Serve hot sprinkled with cheese.

Note: a small zip lock baggy can be attached to the label filled with the cheese. Another zip lock baggy can be used inside the jar to hold and separate the spices and soup from the beans. Also note this is a large recipe and a larger jar will be needed.

Keeping the same idea, you could make up all the dry ingredients for brownies, layer it so the flour is white with the cocoa’s brown separate on top. On the label add directions for assembly and cooking- but do not forget to tell them what “wet” ingredients they have yet to add!

Brownies for Jar

Ingredients for Jar:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup cocoa
1/3 cup red candy covered pieces (like M&M’s)
1/3 cup green candy covered pieces (like M&M’s)
½ cup chopped pecans
1 cup brown sugar packed
1 cup white sugar

Ingredients for Label:
¾ cup softened butter
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions for Label:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place mix from jar into large bowl
Add butter and eggs
Mix until completely blended
Spread into lightly greased 9x9 pan
Bake for 35 minutes or until brownies just start to pull away from sides of pan
Cut into 16 pieces, 2x2


Another suggestion for the spaghetti jars you are recycling is to make bath salts up and place in the jar. Again the lid can be covered with fabric and ribbon with a label telling them what they have, how to use it and what the ingredients are (in case of allergies).
Making a bath salt is as simple as adding essential oils to some Epsom salts and….voila! instant bath salts. (In the next post I will put several different bath salt recipes, some far more complicated.)

How to Make Your Own Recycled Paper

First off.....I need to apologize in advance......Not for this article, but because of the authorship of it. Years ago I found this article, online. I didn't know much then, I didn't copy the URL or the name of the author......SO, I honestly don't know where it came from. It is a great, short piece on recycling paper, I knew it needed no improvement, so include it here. Again my apologies if it is your work with no credit.

Don't throw away your old newspapers. Try making your own recycled paper!

Recycled paper can be made from old newspaper, following the instructions below. Recycling paper uses cellulose (plant fibers) over and over again, it uses less electricity, less water, a lot less pollution, and it saves trees from being cut down!

You will need:

a food processor or an old blender
an electric iron
an old wire hanger
an old pair of panty hose
newspaper or other paper, torn into 2-inch squares
white glue
water
an insect screen or strainer (optional)
food coloring (optional)
a big sink or tub filled with 4 inches of water

Make sure you have a place to work where you can make a big mess!

Step One:Make a frame out of the coat hanger. You'll need a frame for each piece of paper you make. Stretch the hanger and bend it into a rectangle/square shape. Take one leg of the panty hose and stretch it carefully over the hanger frame. Make sure it is tight and flat.

Step Two:Put a handful of the torn up paper and some water into the food processor or blender. Blend the mixture on high until it becomes mushy. Keep adding paper and water until you have a big gray blob. You may have to add a little more water to keep things moving smoothly. Keep the food processor on until all the paper has disappeared. Then leave it on for 2 minutes.
For some color, add a handful of brown or red onion skin (not the onion itself, just the papery outer skin).

Step Three:Put 2 tablespoons of white glue in the sink water and add all of the paper pulp you just made. Mix it really well. Use your hands.

Step Four:Scoop the frame to the bottom of the sink, then lift it slowly. (Count to 20 slowly while you are lifting.) Let the water drain out for about a minute.

Step Five:Hang the frames on a clothesline or put them out in the sun. Wait until they are completely dry with no dampness at all. You can then gently peel off the paper.

Step Six:Use the iron, set on the hottest setting, to steam out your paper. You can keep making paper until the pulp is all strained out of the sink. Mix up the sink every time you make a new piece.

Try other things like using in insect screen over a wood frame, or a strainer instead of the pantyhose and hanger.

Try adding lots of food coloring, for colored paper, or try adding lint or leaves to the food processor. Your paper will have an interesting texture.

Making your own paper can be fun, and it's a great way to re-use old paper.
You can recycle all kinds of paper for re-use.
Sometimes paper printed from color-inkjet printers will run, that is, the color will bleed off and become part of your new paper, but that can make for an interesting effect!