I'm a part-time fitness instructor so that leaves quite a bit of empty space in my work week. Of course some recipes I try will be no-brainers (ex. I got the Pot Roast recipe from my mom and the back of the Onion Soup mix package).
As long as I have a recipe to start off with, I can usually come up with a few personal touches using my sense of smell as a matchmaker. Its almost like trying on clothes, sometimes you just know when things go together and when they don't. Or you can do what I do and subject your spouse/significant other to the trial-and-error process (so far, hubby hasn't made the "WTF IS THIS?" face yet so I'm happy!).
To start with, we needed to christen our new slow cooker and what with the plethora of slow cooker recipes requiring ingredients I don't have yet, I decided to treat hubby to some comfort food and made a good old fashioned Pot Roast:
("before cooking" photo)
Ingredients: (Serves 8)
1 tbsp. EVOO (I only use EVOO since Canola, corn and other vegetable oils are highly processed)
3-4 lb. boneless beef pot roast (hubby got the leanest round eye available)
1 small bag baby carrots (or if you enjoy chopping, slice up 4 whole carrots)
6 small russet (red) potatoes (or 4 medium regular potatoes) cut into 1 in. pieces
1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (both envelopes are used)
3/4 cup water (I went a tad overboard with the water since I didn't want the veggies to dry out but that can always be drained afterward)
1. Rub the thawed meat with McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning.
2. Brown every side of the roast on medium heat in a large pan (or pot) with the dash of EVOO. Should take about 6 minutes per side. Splash a LITTLE Worcestershire sauce if you're feeling fancy!
3. Arrange the chopped veggies in the slow cooker in a nest, placing the browned roast on top.
4. Combine both envelopes of Lipton Onion Soup Mix with the water and pour over roast and vegetables. (My mom likes to add a dash of Worcestershire sauce and red wine to enhance flavor, but I didn't do that here)
5. If you want a nice thick gravy, mix 2 tbsp all purpose flour into 1/4 cup water and add to slow cooker.
6. Cook on LOW for 8-10 hrs or HIGH for 4-6 hrs (I started at noon so I chose the latter)
And now we wait...and also experiment with the DIY deodorant recipe I've been dying to try!
Weird train of thought, I know, but just roll with it.
I'm trying out just a basic recipe I found here <http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Stick-Deodorant> and I'm psyched to use coconut oil for the first time! If you'd rather not keep your deodorant in the fridge to keep it from melting, you could substitute the coconut oil with beeswax! It will keep longer and stay solid at room temperature, but its a bit too pricey for my taste. I saved an empty deodorant dispenser from my last stick and washed it out, so I'll be reusing it today!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup (55 g) baking soda (odor eliminator)
- 1/4 cup (32 g) cornstarch (moisture absorption)
- 10 drops tea tree oil (antiseptic, antifungal, antibacterial agent *we keep about 8 different essential oils in the cupboard, but this one is the most important)
- 2+ tbsp (30 g) coconut oil, melted (emulsifying agent: blends it all together)
- You can also add another essential oil for a favorable fragrance and/or a tsp of sweet almond oil or Vitamin E for razor burn. Other EO's you can add are rose, eucalyptus, sandalwood and chamomile.
- * I'm adding a few drops of lavender because its my favorite scent and it soothes the skin.
1. Mix the baking soda, corn starch and tea tree oil in a small bowl
2. Add melted coconut oil (and any other skin soothers or EO's) to the mixture until smooth
3. In the old deodorant stick container, twist the dispenser until its at the bottom of the container before pressing in the mixture with a spatula.
4. Mixture will be gooey at first but will harden/set after a few days (I'm putting mine in the refrigerator)
5. Use like store bought deodorant but with a lighter hand as it will be much softer than store bought.
My primary reasons for making my own toiletries, cleaning products, cosmetics and remedies are as follows:
- Its economical and eco-friendly
- I know what's going into my body (and more importantly, what isn't)
- It uses safe ingredients thus eliminating the need for animal testing in the process
- Self-sufficiency comes with its own intrinsic benefits of independence and freedom
Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? - 1 Corinthians 6:19
She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands - Proverbs 31:13