Recipe for a simple meal for bbq or campout

The time for barbeques, cookouts and camping is upon us and there is nothing my family likes to do more than share a meal and some conversation around an open fire. One of my favorite summer meals is, oddly enough, a simple and easy dish to prepare. Known in our family as the "Hobo," it was first introduced to me by my father-in-law back in the days when Mike and I were still dating. It is still a regular family tradition and I have found a few new things to make the recipe my own.

Recipe for Hobos

You will need: (the basics)

Aluminum foil, hamburger, potatoes, carrots, onions, seasonings

1. Start with sheets of aluminum foil... one for each helping.

2. Next comes the hamburger. Season this to taste, however your like yours prepared. We like McCormick Chicago Steak Seasoning. Give it a try, I think you'll love it as much as we do! Make a small loaf for each serving and lay atop the foil pieces.

3. Peel and dice potatoes, carrots and onions. Any size you like but not too small or they will over-cook. Add these to foil.

4. Fold the filled foil sheets into packets. Start by folding two sides over and then roll the remaining sides in.

5. Cook slowly in a grill, or next to banked coals on an open fire. You can also cook them on top of a rack over a fire pit. Make sure they are not IN the fire, or they will burn on the edges.

Options

Use ground sausage, potatoes, and onions for breakfast hobos

Use turkey burger, carrots, mushrooms and asparagus for low-fat version

Use all veggies for a tasty, vegitarian alternative

Step-by-Step Homemade Laundry Soap Instructions

When I posted the recipe for homemade laundry soap a few weeks ago, many of you were interested but felt it might be too complicated to do. To prove to you all how easy it is (and in honor of Mother's Day) my mom generously offered to demonstrate the process for everyone. Thanks goes to Nana, a fellow Hectic Domestic, who uses this soap exclusively and does her laundry for only 2 cents a load!

These are the ingredients we need:

1 bar Fels-Naptha soap (If you can't find this, homemade bar soap will do)

1 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda

1/2 cup Borax

Step One: Grate the bar soap to a fine crumble. The smaller, the better. 

Step Three: Add 4 cups of water

Step Four: Heat on medium, stirring until melted

Step Five: Add to a 5 gallon bucket with remaining ingredients and stir until dissolved

Step Six: Fill Bucket 1/2 full with water and stir again (Nana tip: Add a squirt of Dawn dish soap to mix for grease fighting power!)

Step Seven: Fill Almost full and stir again. Let sit overnight.

Stir well and bottle it up! You may dilute with water as much as you want, up to half/half.  Use a regular cap-full of soap for each load.

Woohoo more free Old Navy stuff!

As many of you are aware, I have been participating on a little site called Crowdtap for some time now. While you can earn a few bucks doing tasks on the site, the best opportunity lies in the campaigns. When you are chosen for a campaign, you receive free products to try out and rate. And Crowdtap sends out some pretty nice stuff! My first campaign was for the Old Navy Style Council. Myself and three friends each received a free pair of ON ankle jeans to try! We got the coupons in the mail, redeemed them at the store and walked away with four pairs of cute new jeans. Well, they are at it again... this time with a free pair of Athletic pants from Old Navy. Be sure to sign up quickly so you can apply for this campaign. Good luck!

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee....soap!

Happy Sunday Hectic Domestics! In true hectic style, I am bogged down for finals week at school. Going to college is crazy hard when you are a mom! So, today I am sharing a link I found for COFFEE soap that you make in an old crackpot. Looks all yucky 'till it's done, but I bet it smells wonderful! So, have a little visit with fellow blogger Hearts, Hands, Home and see how this nifty soap is made.