Coconut Oil

Last February I posted how to make a balm out of olive oil and beeswax.  I love that recipe and have it on hand at all times.  Ever since I found out how to make it,  I have no use for buying lotion anymore.  It is my pleasure to supply anyone I have made any for to refill their containers.  That being said, there is another substitute for lotion that I also use, especially for extra dry skin.  Coconut oil is the most absorbable oil for your skin.  Besides that, it smells so good!  I had forgot about it until I found some in my pantry.  Occasionally I buy it to put it on my toast (it also tastes as good as it smells).  The winter is the best time to use it for lotion because it turns to liquid in warm temperatures.  So I have had my coconut oil sitting in my bathroom and the jar didn't look so pretty.  I had this idea to make it look nicer and I thought I would share it with you.  As a side note you can find coconut oil at health food stores or in the organic section of the grocery store.

All you need is the jar of coconut oil, packaging tape, scissors, scrap book paper.

Cut the paper the width you need to cover up the label and wrap it around the jar.  Put a piece of tape at one end to hold it in place and then use the packaging tape to cover up the paper.  I needed go around twice to cover up the whole paper.

If I was making it for a gift I would use my label maker to personalize it before I put the tape over it. Now you can enjoy another healthier way to hydrate!

Graham Crackers

Ever since I mastered the marshmallows, I have had on my mind to make graham crackers.  How cool to make my own s'mores mostly from scratch (I have not yet made my own chocolate).  These are delicious crackers that were as easy to make as sugar cookies.  Making them again would be easy because all the ingredients are common.  Here they are:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Using a wire whisk, blend together 2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar,  1/3 cup honey until light and fluffy.

Stir in the dry ingredients alternating with the milk and vanilla.

Cover dough and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Divide chilled dough into quarters.

On a well floured surface roll each of the quarters into the dough a 5 X 15 inch rectangle. I think next time I may use cookie cutters instead.

Divide into rectangles using a knife.  Place rectangles onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Mark a line down the center of each one and prick with a fork.

Bake for 13-15 minutes in the preheated oven.  Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Here is a picture of the smore.  Yummy!

Note:  The marshmallows were posted December 11th.  All I did to make the s'more was cut the marshmallow the size of the graham cracker and drizzle melted chocolate over it and topped it with another graham cracker.

Pondering

Luke 2:19

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

I am up early this morning when I could be sleeping in because I cannot get this verse out of my mind.  Every time I hear it read I know there is something I need to learn from it.   When reading the whole passage, Luke 2:1-20, I believe Mary was the only female in the cast of main players.  Given the stereoptypes of men and women I find it amusing that it is the men telling all they had seen and heard and it was Mary "pondering it all in her heart."

This gets me thinking what I would have done.  I realize this is a different time and I have never had something happen to me as miraculous as giving birth to the creator of the world!  But given my past reactions to exciting tidings I am pretty certain a phone would be involved.  I might ponder for about 3 seconds, at best, who I was going to tell, but storing this information in my heart?  I crave this kind of reaction for myself.  How many times do I open the treasure chest of unbelievable gifts God has blessed me with and just pondered them?  I'm not saying there is never a time to react as the shepherds did, but I am saying there are times to react a Mary did.  She settled herself apart for the moment and allowed God to recall to her mind all that had come to pass the past nine months.

I have so many unbelievable things that have happened to me just in the past week.  God has answered my prayers in significant, rich ways and I want to treasure that this very day!  The idea of "treasuring up" a thought is that you can pull it out again.  I am sure Mary had to pull these thoughts that she had on Christmas Day on Good Friday when she was watching her son die.  I am also certain she had new treasures to store on Easter morning when her son had risen!

Thank you Jesus for your words to me today.  Help me to do less talking and doing and more listening and being still.  Thank you for all you have done in my life.  Thank you for working everything out for your glory.  Amen

Flourless Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

What a great discovery I made today.  I was looking through the December issue of Southern Living magazine and found this winner recipe.  I don't think I will use flour in my peanut butter cookies again.  These cookies are soft, chewy, and delicious.  My daughter has been my taste tester for these.  So far she has tried them right out of the oven and after they have cooled.  Both trials have been yummy.

 This is what you need:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350.

Stir together 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 large egg, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon salt until well blended.

Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  This task is made easier by spraying your measuring spoon with cooking spray.  I got 18 cookies out of my dough.  The recipe said I should get 2 dozen, but that would make for a pretty tiny cookie.

Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned.  Cool on baking sheets on wire rack 5 minutes.  Transfer to wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes.  (Or if you are like my daughter, eat one within 5 minutes of taking them out of the oven :D)  Enjoy!

Marshmallows

It all started when I went to get my hair cut and I was thumbing through a magazine and saw an advertisement for Domino Sugar with a recipe for marshmallows.  I've had it in my head to make them ever since.  When looking up how to make them I found numerous recipes. Who knew so many people make marshmallows!  I chose this one because of the step by step directions with pictures.  You can visit howcast.com to see what I used, or just continue on and I will show you.

What you will need:
1/2 cup cold water
3 envelopes (about 3 tablespoons) unflavored gelatin
1 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 vanilla extract or other flavoring, like mint or almond
powdered sugar for dusting
candy thermometer
stand mixer with a whisk attachment (At the very least a handheld mixer with a whisk attachment, do not attempt without a whisk attachment!)

Spray your pan and use some of the powdered sugar to coat your pan.  I used some parchment paper on the bottom but you do not have to.  Just make sure your pan is coated good.

Pour the 3 envelopes of gelatin into the bowl of an electric mixer and add the 1/2 cup of cold water.  Let sit while you move on to the next step.

Combine 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water and 1 cup corn syrup in a small saucepan.

Place a candy thermometer in the mixture and heat up to 235 degrees (the soft ball stage).

With the mixer on low, pour the syrup in a slow, steady stream into the gelatin mixture.  Add the 1/8 teaspoon of salt.  Mix on high speed until soft peaks form.  My mixer only took 5 minutes, but it can take up to 15 minutes.

Add the extract of your choice and food coloring, if you are using some, when the sugar mixture has a shine to it.

Pour the sticky mixture into your prepared pan.  It helps to coat your hands and scraping utensil with cooking spray.

Sprinkle more powdered sugar on top.  If you want you can cover more paper or plastic wrap and smooth it out so it is even.  I did not do this and it worked out just fine.  Let the marshmallow sit at room temperature for at least 4 hours.  I made mine in the evening and let it sit overnight.

Remove the slab from the pan by turning it upside down onto a cutting board that is coated with more  powdered sugar.

Now you can cut them any way you would like.  I couldn't wait to try my snowflake cookie cutter and it worked great for a few, but then it got gummed up with the marshmallow.   I am sure a larger cutter would be better.  Using a pizza cutter is also a fast and easy way to do it.  I dusted off as mush of the powdered sugar as I could because they are pretty sweet.  They need to be stored in an airtight container.  I wasn't sure about the stickiness so I put wax paper between the layers.  Now I need to let some ideas settle in my mind about how I can decorate them.  I already know I will be using some in my for rice crispy treats and homemade rocky road icecream.  If you make any and have a clever way you have used them, take a picture and let me know, I will try to post some of your creations.

Salt-Crusted Roast Beef

What a wonderful discovery!  With as much bread as I have baked in my life, I have never heard of wrapping it around a roast.  I was thumbing through the February 2010 issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine and found this delicious way to make roast beef.  The article told me "A salt crust works as an oven within an oven, so the beef cooks evenly and stays moist. "  So I tried it and was very satisfied with the results.

Here is what I used:
1 cup of mushrooms (canned or fresh will work)
1 teaspoon of garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme (I only had dried on hand)
2 tablespoons olive oil (if you are using fresh mushrooms)
2 1/2 to 3lb eye of round roast
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups salt (kosher works best, but regular table salt will also work)
3 tablespoons dried or fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375.  Line a shallow baking pan with foil.  In a blender or food processor place mushrooms, garlic, pepper, thyme.  Blend or process until chopped.  If you are using fresh mushrooms, slowly add the olive oil until mixture is combined and begins to cling together.  Rub mushroom-garlic mixture on outside of roast; set aside. (note, you can chop up the mixture as fine as you want, mine is a bit course)

In large bowl combine flour, salt, and the 3 tablespoons thyme,  Stir in 1 cup water to form a dough.  If dough is too dry add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time (dough will be firm).

On a lightly floured surface roll dough to twice the size of roast.  Place roast on one side of dough.  Fold remaining dough over roast.  Wet seams with a little water and pinch to seal, making sure there are no holes.  Place the roast in the foil lined pan.

 Roast for 1 to 1 1/4 hour (135 degrees for rare; to check temperature, stick meat thermometer through salt crust.) Remove from oven and let stand 15 minutes.  Remove salt crust and discard.  To serve, slice meat thinly.  Serve warm or chilled for sandwiches.  Store up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Some things to note:

I had my 3lb roast in the oven for 1 1/2 hours and it turned out medium, as you can see from the first picture.  Next time I think I will cook it just 15 minutes less, either way it is delicious)

Also, I think next time I will experiment with different herbs.  I think garlic and onion would be a good compliment with mushrooms.

The mushrooms are for flavoring the roast.  They turn out pretty salty from the crust so I don't advise eating them.  My husband liked them, but he also is the type of person who puts salt on this toast!

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder Soup

My family certainly has had their fill of soup lately. So I think this is the last one for a while.  This is  probably my kids very favorite soup.  The recipe is from my cousin Annie who I am very thankful shared this with me quite a few years ago.  The only change I have made from the original is that I add ham to it so that my husband can consider it a meal.  My husband considers any food that doesn't have meat an appetizer no matter how filling it is!

Here is what you need:

1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup celery
3/4 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped potatoes
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped ham (optional)

Combine onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, garlic powder, and chicken broth in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in corn, remove from heat.

Melt butter, add flour and cook 1 minute.  Gradually add milk.

Add the flour/butter mixture to the soup and stir.

Add the cheese and ham.  Stir until the cheese is melted.  Now sit back, relax, and enjoy this tasty soup on this chilly evening.

Italian Sausage Soup

My husband bought me a cookbook called Americas's Most Wanted Recipes.  It is filled with great recipes that I cannot wait to try.  I adapted the soup recipe for today from Olive Garden's Italian sausage soup found on page 178.  I left out the spinach and tomato paste and substituted my own canned tomatoes.  I love finding a way to use the canned tomaotes from my garden.  I was also able to use the beef broth I made from canning my own ground beef.  It's a little late to can tomatoes but you can look up my previous post on how to can ground beef/broth if your interested.

So here is what you need to make it my adapted way:
1 pound bulk sweet Itailian sausage (or links taken out of the casing)
1 cup converted white rice
1 quart beef broth
1 quart stewed tomatoes (or a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes)
salt and pepper to taste
grated Romano cheese for garnish

Brown the sausage in the bottom of a large pot, breaking it up as it browns.

Add the 1 cup of cooked rice to the Italian sausage and stir until it is completely coated in the fat from the sausage.

Add the can of tomatoes, beef broth and the salt and pepper to taste.  Let is simmer for just a few minutes and your done!