Lemon Peppermint Lip Scrub

Recently I have been experimenting with essential oils. I decided to start my collection with the awesome First Aid Set from Eden's Garden. I have made many different things so far, but one thing I made recently and am using for Christmas gifts is a lemon peppermint lip scrub. I modified a recipe which called for both coconut oil and wild orange essential oil. I have a severe nut and coconut allergy, so half of the challenge with all these awesome homemade body products is finding something that will suitably replace coconut oil. For ones that need a more solid base I have used avocado butter and beeswax, but for this I replaced the tablespoon of coconut oil with 1 teaspoon of avocado oil (I got this bottle at Costco). I also didn't have wild orange oil on hand, but I love the combination of lemon and peppermint so I thought I would give it a shot. I have loved this recipe. It made my lips feel so good. I got my mom to try it and she loved it as well.

Lemon Peppermint Lip Scrub

• 4 TBS brown sugar
• 3 TBS honey
• 1 TBS avocado oil
• 9 drops lemon essential oil
• 9 drops peppermint essential oil

Mix sugar, honey, and avocado oil together. Add essential oils. Spoon into airtight containers. I found it filled two 2 oz containers nicely. 

Rub on your lips, wash off, and enjoy!

A Pie Worthy of Rivendell

Today is Father's Day and my family is celebrating Daddy this evening at dinner. My contribution is dessert. I decided to make a blackberry pie and saw something similar to this and decided to see what I could do! I think Lord Elrond would approve of this pie, don't you?

Blackberry Pie from Remodelaholic

• Preheat to 375
• In a bowl combine:
• 3/4 – 1 cup sugar
• 3 T flour
• dash salt
• 1 – 1lb bag frozen blackberries (or blue…)
• 1-2 tsp lemon juice
• Fold together, gently.  The flour and sugar won’t necessarily melt, it doesn’t matter. 
• Pour into the prepared pie shell.
• Cut 2 Tbsp of butter into small squares and distribute over the top of the berries. 
• Cover with a top crust, either a solid pice with a few slits or lattice, which ever you prefer. 
• Bake for 40-45 minutes.

List Yourself Has a New Home

My List Yourself project has a new home:

Makin' A List

Come on over!

Yummiest, Easiest Pizza Dough EVER!

Alright, y'all. I had to share this! I made pizza for my family tonight. And let me tell you about this dough. I made a small pizza for each of us. Each pizza's dough was 1 cup of plain, fat free Greek yogurt and 1 cup of self-rising flour. I just put it in my Kitchen Aid with the bread hook and let it do the work for me. When I saw this I thought it sounded weird, possibly gross, and way too simple to be true. I have noticed something, though. Things this weird tend to be the best. And it's true. This was absolutely delicious. And with the Greek yogurt, it contains more protein than pizza normally would! This would great for vegetarians who want the protein but not the meat! Definitely a keeper in my house! Enjoy it!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Green Peppers

You know those nights when you want something yummy but are short on time or energy? Well boy do I have the solution for you. I was perusing Pinterest (shocked aren't you?) and saw a post for Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Green Peppers. Hmmm... interesting... and delicious looking... but the link didn't give a recipe, only a picture, but I thought, "Well shoot, I can do that." So I did. And they were soooo yummy. My family dubbed it "a keeper." Enjoy!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Green Peppers

3 green peppers
12 slices provolone cheese
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 pkg sliced mushrooms, broken into smaller pieces
1 pkg thin sliced roast beef (we used Hillshire Farm)
2-4 TBS butter
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Fill a 9x13 with water about 1 in deep. Cut the peppers in half, de-stem, and seed. Place cut side down in water. Cook until desired softness is achieved  We like ours a little on the crunchy side so I only cooked them 20 mins. While they are cooking, melt butter in a pan and saute onion and mushrooms until both are well cooked and soft. Chop the beef into strips and add to the pan after the veggies are done. Season to taste with salt ad pepper and cook a while longer.

 Remove the peppers from the oven and drain. Flipping them cut side up, put one slice of cheese inside each one. Fill with meat and veggie mixture and top with an additional slice of cheese. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is well melted.

Enjoy! :-D

Greek Quinoa Salad

If you've been on Pinterest recently, chances are you have seen about a zillion quinoa recipes (pronounced keen-wah). I'd never heard of the stuff before but people are raving about it. Well, I found this once recipe from With Style and Grace. It was absolutely delicious! I think the next time I make it I would double everything but the quinoa. Also, my family doesn't like olives so I used an extra 1/4c tomatoes instead. It was so yummy, but it would be better with more goody! Here's the original recipe.

Greek Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 c quinoa
2 c water or chicken broth (I didn't have any broth on hand so I used water)
salt
1 heaping cup of chopped cucumber
1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 c Kalamata olives, sliced
1/4 c red onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
1 lemon juiced
3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS white or red wine vinegar (I used red)
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
crumbled feta cheese

In a medium pot, bring 2 c of water and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover. Cook 16-18 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with fork.

In a large bowl combine cucumber, tomatoes, olives, red onion, and green onion. Mix in quinoa.

To make the dressing, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over salad a little at a time. Chill then serve topped with cheese.

Baked Zucchini Fries

I got this recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything and it was DELICIOUS! Mine didn't look quite like this and we didn't eat them with marinara sauce, though, just straight. Yum.

Baked Zucchini Fries

3 med zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
1 lg egg white
1/3 c seasoned bread crumbs
2 TBS grated Romano cheese
cooking spray
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper

Heat to 425.

Beat egg whites in a bowl. In a ziploc bag mix bread crumbs, cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Spray cooking sheet and set aside.

Dip zucchini in egg. Place in bag, a handful at a time, and shake well. Place in a single layer on the cooking sheet. Spray more cooking spray on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with marinara.