saturday soiree home made laundry soap

Tools used to shred the soap, it has three different parts to shred the soap, so I tried all three to make three batches. The point was to find the best way or easiest way to make the laundry soap.



first shred on the cheese grater



second - middle shred



third shred



now to boil the soap to melt it down



I marked the buckets where the water fill was supposed to be, it was much easier then trying to use a 4 cup measuring cup for gallons of water.



my stir-ing stick was also used as a measuring point for the water inside the buckets.



three buckets filled with water and ready for the melted soap to be poured in.



my little helper stirring the batch



it was work doing three batches but she still stopped to smile for me, how cute

Mine didn't turn out how the recipe says it turned out for others, mine looked like soapy water, so if it doesn't turn out slimy for you don't worry, it still works. I made these buckets in May of last year and still have 1 bucket left. I have not seen any difference in how clean the clothes are, it works just like regular store bought detergent but it is way cheaper. I use 1/2 cups of the liquid only and it works just as good, I have had no problems with this what so ever.

I got this recipe from cutting corners/tips and tricks section of sample life


This is the what taxicheermom had to say about what she did, how it worked for her and the recipe:

I’ve been experimenting with making lots of cleaning supplies at home, but this one is by far the craziest - and the most successful. Basically, I made a giant bucket of slime that works incredibly well as laundry detergent at a cost of about three cents a load. For comparison’s sake, a jumbo container of Tide at Amazon.com costs $28.99 for 96 loads, or a cost of $0.30 a load. Thus, with each load of this stuff, I’m saving more than a quarter. Even better - I got to make a giant bucket of slime in the kitchen and my wife approved of it.

Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap (whatever kind you like; I used Lever 2000 because we have tons of bars of it from a case we bought a while back)
- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff)
- 1 box of borax (this is not necessary, but I’ve found it really kicks the cleaning up a notch - one box of borax will contain more than enough for tons of batches of this homemade detergent - if you decide to use this, be careful)
- A five gallon bucket with a lid (or a bucket that will hold more than 15 liters - ask around - these aren’t too tough to acquire)
- Three gallons of tap water
- A big spoon to stir the mixture with
- A measuring cup
- A knife

Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.

Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.

And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used (in our case, it’s a very pale greenish blue). One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry - and the ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70.

and I am linking to a Saturday party

oriental happiness now readable

Before from the goodwill, a nice happiness symbol sign. I really like it, but the black in the letters is a little too light in certain areas making it hard to read. My little sister Aly who is 7 always asks me what it says because she can't read it.

So I took my sharpie pen marker and went over the letters and now after......


Much better, now Aly can read the sign easily.

finished bed??

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, it's not my fault...seriously I got caught up in everyone else's fabulous blogs. I had 1,000 + blog posts to read. Without further ago here is the finished bed.

The first photo is what it looked like with the mattress and box spring. Remember it's high enough to put rubbermaid containers underneath it for storage.


For a 6 foot something man, this bed is obviously too high. What's a girl to do, but remove the box spring.


And that worked only to a point. It's shorter now, I still need to a step stool to get up on it though. And now I have another problem...the mattress is falling through the cracks of the support beams.

Now I need to get a board so the mattress doesn't fall through anymore. More on that as it progress's.

master your metabolism

For a Jillian Michael's book it wasn't as good as I expected it was going to be. If I had bought the book I would be very disappointed. Don't get me wrong it's not a completely or even remotely bad book, but it isn't over all great or even good book.

The book can be summarized in 2 pages, that's pretty much the extent of good content that I found to be useful.


Step 1: remove bad stuff

Step 2: restore - add good stuff, eat/drink good stuff

Master your metabolism power nutrients

Group 1: Legumes 1-3 (s)ervings/(d)ay
Group 2: The allium family 1s/d
Group 3: Berries 1 s/d
Group 4: Meats & Eggs 3-5 s/(w)eek
Group 5: Fruits & Veggies 5 s/d
Group 6: Cruciferous veggies 2-3 s/d
Group 7: Dark green leafy veggies 3-4 s/d
Group 8: Nuts & Seeds 1-2 s/d
Group 9: Organic dairy 1-2 s/d
Group 10: Whole grains3-4 s/d

GO ORGANIC:

Helps you stay slim and prevent diabetes.
Help you avoid scary hormones.
Help you avoid pesticides and other chemicals.
Help you prevent antibiotic resistance.
Make your food taste better.
In season make your diet more diverse.
Make your food more nutritious.
Help you save the earth.

Don’t bother buying organic

Seafood
Water
Foods you don’t eat often

Sometimes buy organic if you’ve got the cash

Processed foods
Onions
Avocados
Pineapple
Cabbage
Broccoli
Bananas
Asparagus
Corn
Mangoes

Always buy organic

Meat, dairy, eggs
Coffee
Peaches and nectarines
Apples
Bell peppers
Celery
Berries
Lettuce
Grapes
Foods you eat a lot

Step 3 : Re balance

1- you must eat breakfast
2- you must eat every 4 hours
3- you must not eat after 9 pm, especially no carbs

-Eat as early as feasible no more than an hour after waking. Grab a quick bowl of high-fiber cereal or an apple with a handful of almonds before your workout.

-Eat until you’re full but not stuffed.

-Combine foods correctly:

40% carbs
30% protein
30% fat

Average sized women trying to lose weight should consume 1200-1400 calories
A large sized women trying to lose weight should consume 1400-1600 calories
A moderate to large somewhat active women at your desired weight 1600-1900 calories

Master your lifestyle

Vitamins:

Biotin 30 mg
Folic acid 400 mcg
Niacin 20 mg
Riboflavin 1.7 mg
Thiamine 1.5 mg - carb addicts are often deficient in thiamine.
A 2,500 iu
B6 2 mg helps with depression
Copper 900 mcg
Iron 18 mg
Magnesium 320 mg
B12 30 mg
C 400 mg
D 2,00 iu
E 200 iu
K 10 - 20 mg
Zinc 15 mg
Selenium 70 mg
Chromium 60 - 120 mcg
Potassium 4.7 g
Calcium 1,000 - 1,200 mg
Omega - 3 fatty acids 1 g helps with bipolar disorder and depression
Sleep at least 7 hours
Move your body every day
Br good to yourself

2 good pages in the book are those that summarize what to eat for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner. I like that she gives you a list that you can choose from she makes things less ridged.

Skinny Bitch

Yeah I said it. It's a book for those not in the know, a diet book. Let me tell you that the first 114 pages are pretty much shit. It talks about other diet programs and what is good about them and bad. As good as that is, it doesn't really help. I don't know what it is about certain diet books, but they like to dilly dally till they get to the fucking point. Excuse my language, but it is a biproduct of the book that I just read. That's right, if you read this book, don't go in public if you don't want to have potty mouth. The entire book is just as the title very frank and many words in which your mother would wash out your mouth with soap if she head you.

ch 1: give it up basically tells you to give up coffee, pop, and liquor. Don't worry we can have water flavored with lemon and they say if your feeling crazy you can add a fruit to the water. Oh and tea - organic herbal decaffinated.

ch 2 : carbs the truth what you can eat and what you can't, yes there are good carbs.

ch 3 : sugar is the devil self explanatory, substitues are given.

ch 4: the dead, rotting, decomposing flesh diet, talks about the atkins diet and becoming a vegetarian.

ch 5: the dairy disaster, mothers milk should not be drank after 24 months and cows milk is going to make you fat, it's made to make a baby cow go from birth weight to 2,000 pounds in 2 years. Talks about other dairy products and more about being a vegetarian and it's benefits.

ch 6: you are what you eat. More information about being a vegetarian.

ch 7 : the myths and lies about protein.

ch 8: pooping. You should shit as much as you eat every day. If your not increase your water intake, exercise, and start eating better.

ch 9: Have no faith: Governmental Agencies don't give a shit about you health. Self explanatory. USDA, FDA, NAIS, PCRM, CMPB, OCA, RDA, and other agencies and the amount of caring they give us talked about.

ch 10: Don't be a Pussy. FINALLY! The book get's to the point of it all and starts talking about their diet and their suggestions that they came up with.

More on chapter 10 later, off to read some more.

diy bed frame

I originally was going to make a farmhouse bed from knockoff wood, but I wanted the space underneath the bed to be able to fit a rubbermaid container that measured 16 inches. Adding that to the headboard and foot board length and current legs would make it a very high headboard, too high for my room at the moment. However, I was able to use the same plans to make a frame for my bed without a headboard and footboard. Slightly modified, we added length to the legs and since we didn't have a headboard or footboard we didn't need to leave 3.5 inches on either end.





Seperating the headboard, footboard, side rails, and the inner support boards.





After measuring I squared the lines



Travis cutting the boards



Made the outter frame



Again squaring lines, this time marking for the inner support boards. These boards were supposed to be 16 inches apart occording to the plans I was following, but with 3.5 inches left on either end for the headboard and footboard, since we weren't doing those we started from the foot board and marked 16 inches from the foot board for ever support board for 4 boards. That did leave room after the 4th support board, but since all it is supporting is our heads we didn't find a need to modify the plans to space out the support boards any more then what the plans called for.



Painting the all put together bed frame.

Tomorrow I will post pictures of the bed frame with it all put together with the bed all made up.

Coupons don't make people poor, people make people poor

Frugal Dad recently had a guest post from Neal Frankle of Wealth Pilgrim, titled Your coupons are making you poor. He had some questions within the post he posed but also ended it with some questions, so I will go through the post and answer all the questions he posed from my opinion as well as make some comments on the topic as well.

When you spend time thumbing through the paper or surfing the net for great coupons…aren’t you really just thinking about spending money?

Of course you are.

I absolutely do not, I don’t spend my time going through coupons just to spend money but to save it. I go through the ads, the coupons, and all the blogs looking for ways to save me money and to stretch what little I have.

Coupons are directly tied to spending.

I agree, of course they come from the manufacturer of the product or the store carrying the product. The companies agenda is to get you to spend, and if you don’t think about it then you will spend. And people do get caught up in couponing and buy stuff not because they need it but because they have a coupon for it. However, if you are smart about it and patient, you will wait and find a sale for the product you have the coupon for and use the coupon then to get an even better deal. If you wait for Walgreens or Cvs to have the product on sale with register rewards (walgreens) or easy care bucks (cvs) you can do even better. If you look for rebates for those items, you do the best possibly making the deal a money maker as the rebate amount is before coupons and RR’s and ECB’s.

Have you ever heard of someone telling you that they bought something just because it was on sale?

This is another tricky thing to watch out for. You have to ask yourself is it really a sale, is it really a good deal, do we really need this, will we really use it?

Best way to find out if things are really good deals is to start your own price book. Use columns and write where you got it, the size, when you got it, and how much it was. Do this for your most shopped stores. Bring the price book with you when you shop and next time you see a sale you can look to see if it really is a deal or not.

If you find it difficult or think it’s too time consuming or daunting of a task you can subscribe to The Grocery Game, which is a coupon site that tracks sales by their 12 week cycles and lists in color coded sheets if something is at it’s rock bottom price to stockpile. It cost’s to subscribe, but most people have said that they save what they pay for the site and much more. If your not sure they do have a discounted trial period. I was subscribed to their site myself, but I didn’t spend enough to justify continuing my subscription. I saved as much as I spent on the subscription so they just canceled each other out, but I was only spending around $100 a month, most families spend that a week.

Coupons were created by the Retailers Association of America probably. They did it to give you a reason to get into their store and spend money. That’s it. They know that once you’re there, you’ll keep spending. You might get a deal on toilet paper, but they’ll get you on the breakfast cereal.

He has a point when he says that retailers want to get you by getting you in the door for the good deal just so that you continue to spend and buy other things not on sale. Best way to avoid this trap is to make a list of things that you need and stick to it.

Of course, some people use coupons to stop spending money they don’t have — and I hope that describes you. But most people get sucked in. Coupons get you to buy stuff you really don’t need.

He goes to say that our trash cans being full is proof that we are buying more then we need. I disagree, I think if the trash can is full it means we aren’t using what we have. Something bigger then people getting sucked into spending more money because they have a coupon or because they didn’t just buy what was on their list and mindlessly put things in their cart is that we are a wasteful nation. A lot of people make too much food for meals and then don’t eat the leftovers.

Not to mention that many people don’t recycle and reuse items. Or that they get into just buying a new item when the old one is broke. Many people would rather buy new then spend the time fixing what they have. I have 6 people in my house my family coupons and stockpiles items at rock bottom prices and we don’t even fill up 1 trash can. Why? Because we only make enough for us to eat, if we do have leftovers we don’t let them go to waste. We also recycle/reuse and fix broken items. Just because something is no longer of use one way doesn’t mean you can’t find another creative way to use it differently; you don’t have to use something how it was intended to be used.

When I need something I go out and get it. I don’t clip coupons and then find a reason to need something. Maybe I pay more for the stuff I need than you do. But I don’t buy anything I don’t really need. At the end of the day, I spend less money as a result of not collecting coupons.

For me it depends on the person, you have to be accountable to yourself and your family. You have to be financially responsible. Clipping coupons is the it thing, you see it all over magazines. It is a marketing ploy to get people to buy their magazine, that’s one reason they are talking about it and the other as he said to try and lure people into spending.

If your smart about it, you can take the amount of money you spend now make a list of everything you buy for your house and then find coupons just for those items, that alone will save you money. Yes you may find yourself buying additional things from time to time, but when combining deals with coupons you should continue to spend only what you started out spending. There are coupon queens/kings out there who actually spend less.

A Thrifty Mom shared a post from one of her very first readers; you can see the post in it’s entirety here. The reader Jeanette wrote about living within your means and how her family made certain decisions about their lifestyle. They hadn’t always made those decisions and she speaks about that as well that hindsight is 20/20, and how they wish they knew what they know now.

I can relate to that myself, as I am sure most people can. I have tried to pass my own wisdom of my own life experiences onto my family and friends, sometimes it is well received while most of the time I get humored. Can you remember anyone warning you about something and you did it anyway? We all get advice and learn about so many things yet in the end it’s our life experiences that teach us the most. I am a firm believer that sometimes we need to fail at things and get hurt to really learn those lessons. Life is like college courses, there are parts where you learn from reading and being told and then the parts you learn from doing and experiencing yourself. We hopefully learn from our mistakes or as I read somewhere there are no mistakes just learning experiences.

“We have made financially poor decisions over the years. We have used credit cards and then felt the burden of getting out from under them as the interest quickly accrues. We have longed for things we couldn’t afford. However, in the end, we have learned to work with what we have. And I am always looking for new ways to stretch our budget. Couponing is my newest find. I started only a couple of months ago, but it has become a challenge and game for me to see how much I can really buy with my money. I find that I am spending as much or less than I was before, but am getting 2-3 the amount of things for that same money."

Way to go Jeanette! It isn’t easy, using coupons can be confusing and in the beginning you might get caught up in spending, but I think most people learn from that and get to where Jeanette is, yes Neal she buys more then what she needs, but she is stockpiling when there are sales and she is spending less then what she initial was, you too can do it.

I myself subscribe to Refund Cents, Michele Easter has made books, videos, and interviews about her coupon experiences. She compiles deals for walgreens and cvs, but also mentions a lot of other deals out there. I go to the website but also get the newsletter and she always has success stories from familys showing how much they got and for how little, you really do get inspired by seeing what other can do with coupons. And you can’t beat the cost, even I who doesn’t spend a lot of money per month saves a lot of money, one trip to walgreens I saved around $75.

Of course I also have free blogs that I go to as well, here are the ones that I follow:

For financial matters I subscribe to Frugal Dad, he has great articles, but mostly I love all the links he has to tons of other great articles.

For couponing, frugal, thrift shopping:

A Thrifty Mom
Frugal Living Skills
Money Saving Mom
Passion for Savings
Saving with Shellie
Clipping Money
Frugal Living and Having Fun
Kansas City Mamas
My Frugal Lifestyle
Saving and Giving
Thrift Jinxy

Cowgirl coat hanger redo

I started out with this


Removed the hooks that were simply screwed into the back.

Then tried to think of where I was going to place the cowgirl hanger turned decoration, either over the mirror or over the fuse box.

I then measure the space between the mirror and the ceiling since the mirror is higher than the fuse box.

The space between the mirror and the ceiling is 11 inches. The halfway point is 5 1/2 inches. The cowgirl sign is 5 1/2 inches from base to the top of the cowgirl hat and 4 1/2 inches from the base to the top of the L. After I took all the measurements I subtracted the measurements of the cowgirl sign from the available space between the mirror and the ceiling. Since I suck at fractions I counted each point on the ruler and calculated how much space I should have below and above the cowgirl sign if it was centered.

My next step was to place the sign above the mirror and take a picture to see how it would look above the mirror. Once screws were drilled it wouldn't be directly on top of the mirror so I adjusted my conception and just visualized it a little higher.

I then placed the sign above the fuse box and took another picture.

I then compared the two to pick the placement I liked best.

I then measured between each of the hanging plates on the back of the sign.

Then I took all the measurements I had and made a few marks on the wall. Note that making measurement markings on the wall a flat surface with a measuring tape is not easy with the part on the end; a fabric measuring tape would have made it easier.

Even with the measurments and the level I still didn't get the screws exactly spaced right, but it was good enough and just fit.

Look at the finished project, ask bf if he thinks it's level, bf says it's level, lay down and think about it, go back unscrew and measure and mark again and move the sign down a little more.

Look at the finished project for the second time this time satisfied it works and that I got at least that one thing off of my to-do list.

What do you think?

sew pretty

I started out with this bag of sewing supplies.



And this cleaned up old pickle jar. Note if you want to clean out a food jar and get rid of the smell first clean it with regular soap and water. Then put a little bit of bleach in it put the lid back on it and shake it so the bleach gets all around in it, then dump the bleach out and rinse with water. That's it. You don't have to let it sit for any period of time, just shake it, dump it, rinse it. If you want to test this out after you clean it with soap and water smell it, you will see that the smell is still there even if you washed it by hand or in the dishwasher the smell is still there. Then do the bleach shake and rinse, and smell it again....smell that clean fresh smell. I love bleach. It gets rid of the smell right away, no waiting.



I took both and combined them and now have a very pretty useful and decorative display.

Every time I look at it I smile, it's so pretty. Now I just have to find out where to put it.

cleaning the vintage high chair

I have a vintage red vinyl highchair that I got for free last year. I saw a posting on craigslist from a lady who was unloading everything in two garages for free, first come first serve. I got a few things from those garages, but this is one of my favorites. I had been on the look out for vintage items especially vinyl.

Please ignore the mess surrounding the high chair.

As you can see although it's in very good condition, no rips and is structurally sound it doesn't look clean to eat off of. So I took some goo gone and attempted to clean it. Here it is after the first scrubbing.

Still doesn't look like you should eat off of it.


It appeared like the goo gone wasn't spreading all over. Goo gone is a very oily substance. I wasn't thinking at the time how water and oil don't mix very well, I just thought I wanted to spread out the solution more, so I combined it in a spray bottle with some water. That was when I was reminded of how oil and water don't mix, the oily solution went straight to the top. I did the only thing I could think of, before every spray I shook the bottle and sprayed. This helped to get some solution and some water. After I sprayed it I let it sit for a while.

This is what it looks like after it sat with the solution and I then scrubbed it again. Although it looks better then it did in the beginning it still shouldn't be eaten off of.

So in the end I used a bottle of goo gone from the dollar store and I got all of this off of the highchair and it's still not clean.

I was thinking of silver polish that you use on silverware and bowls and such. My bf thinks I should look for a metal cleaner. I don't know what I should use next. I would prefer to try other solutions to get it clean before I go to the last resort for this highchair which is spray paint. I love spray paint, but in this circumstance I would rather keep it original unless I end up not having any other choice.

Any suggestions?

Christmas ornaments

I don't know what it is about me, but when it is Christmas I don't really sing carols. Though after Christmas when it is out of place I find myself singing them. So when I got the following email a special offer from fave crafts although I thought it was out of place I also smiled, it looks like I am not the only one who thinks of the next Christmas right after Christmas just past.

Christmas Ornament Kit-of-the-Month Club guarantees your success with a dozen of imaginative kits that are guaranteed to make each year's Christmas festive. Your Christmas celebrations will be all the more joyous when you display and give these masterpieces.






CONVENIENCE TO THE MAX!
Every month you’ll automatically get a brand-new kit shipped directly to your door. Join today!

COMPLETE & READY TO GO!
Each project is carefully assembled into a complete, ready-to-go kit, including all the materials (except basics like scissors and glue) and step-by-step instructions. There’s nothing left to buy. And nothing’s been left to chance! Join today!


STUNNING VARIETY!
When you join Christmas Ornament Kit-of-the-Month Club, you’ll really be pleased with the quality of materials and and wide variety of techniques. Join today!



YOUR SUCCESS IS GUARANTEED!
The kits are created by some of the best designers in America. Simple, step-by-step photos and instructions guide you from start to finish. Join today!

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HALF-OFF INTRODUCTORY SAVINGS!

These kits are a great value at the regular member price, but if you act today, you can also take advantage of a BIG 50% OFF INTRODUCTORY SAVINGS OFFER! Join today!

When you go to their site it doesn't tell you anything about prices till you click join now. If you join with a 50% off offer your first Christmas Ornament craft kit at their listed BIG INTRODUCTORY SAVINGS rate is $7.49 (plus postage & processing). After the first kit it goes back up to the regular rate of $14.99 (plus p&p.

Each kit is supposed to make 3 ornaments. I don't know what the postage or processing costs are, figuring before those charges your paying $5/ornament. Am I the only one that finds that ridiculous?

Let's compare the ornaments Kit you get with this company to what a fellow blogger Just a Girl did with ornaments from the dollar store, hot glue and a hanger. I estimate after all is said and done she made both ornament wreaths for less than the price of one of their kits. The following is her post.

Let me make this declaration. I am a FIRM believer that you do not decorate for one holiday before another has taken place. Firm. Believer. Thanksgiving and Christmas are two very different feelings to me, and I don’t need decor mixing ‘em up. However…

I couldn’t resist a jump up on just one. So I’ve seen others taking part in this project, but Eddie Ross’s was my dream wreath. The colors were perfect, and that bow sang to me. He used about 80 ornaments. I did not.

I hit up the dollar store and bought these tubes of ornaments for, well, $1.00. The pink ones I picked up for 1/2 off at Michaels. I had to have the pink. Oddly enough, I actually had to buy a package of wire hangers at the dollar store. I didn’t have a single one! Wire hangers and I don’t really get along.

Like Eddie says, unwrap the wire and form a circle out of the hanger. Then, just thread the ornaments on in assorted colors. I hot-glued the hook to half of them like he told me to. The other half, I didn’t. I regret that decision.

Of course, the only problem now is that I didn’t buy enough ornaments for two of them. Inside the den is where I keep the kids’ white tree, and I thought this would be a cute entrance. Looks like I’m back to the dollar store for more!

Until then, let’s just pretend.

Okay. That’s it. Back to Thanksgiving. No more talk of this stuff.

Go to her blog and give her some love. I have quite a few posts of hers starred for future reference. Here are a few of her posts that I starred myself.

I have a confession to make

One. More. Day

Tag Tutorial

The Dresser

Greeting Card Caddy

What is it about Art Supplies?

Of course these are just a few of the posts I have starred, I have many more. Instead of sharing everything I starred myself I will let you go check her out yourself. I read it all, so take it from me you might just fall in love yourself.

sloppy joe turnover

I found this recipe for Sloppy Joe Turnovers at Little Birdie Secrets blog, her mom makes them every Christmas. This is the recipe they followed.

Sloppy Joe Turnovers

1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. onion (you can sprinkle in dried, minced onion if you prefer)
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
10 oz. can refrigerated flaky biscuits

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground beef and onion in a skillet. Add ketchup, sour cream, salt and garlic powder. Simmer for 2 minutes. Roll out biscuits (just stretch them out a bit with your hands). Place a heaping spoonful of meat mixture in the center of each biscuit. Fold over the biscuit to cover meat and seal the edges with a fork. Cut a slit on the top of biscuit. Bake turnovers on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

You can go to here Sloppy Joe Turnovers for the full article including the pictures of how theirs turned out.

I didn't follow their recipe, but a modified version of their idea. I made the traditional can sloppy joe. And set that aside. I then made a batch of biscuits using the recipe off of the jiffy box. In hindsight I think my attempt would have ended out better had I used the refrigerated flaky biscuits. Although that is my perfectionism peaking through. My family though loved it the way it was.

I made the dough the night before and refrigerated it. Though that's not neccesary I just had time the night before to get some prep in.



I then took some of the dough and rolled it out into a thin sheet with no real shape. I couldn't get it as thin as I wanted just rolling it out so I spread it out and pushed it down a little with my hands then rerolled it again.



After I got it the desired thiness I took a spoon full of the sloppy joe mix and placed it on the uncoked dough. I then folded the dough over the mix and sliced around the fold. I then took a fork and pinched the edges all around to seal it closed. And then cut a slit in the top as a vent with scissors.



Then placed on a cookie sheet to go into the oven. That I had preheated to 375.



I cooked it for about 15 minutes. Or until it was golden brown.



The final product looks a little oddly shaped and my version might have had smaller portion sizes, at least mine looked smaller than little birdies; but for a first attempt I am happy it at least turned out and that the family liked it. I think I will have to try doing it with the refrigerated biscuits just to have a comparison version to see which the family likes more. I might like it more just because it would save me time on not having to roll the biscuits out which was the most time consuming part of this dish.