{So}Sartina Peppermint Lip Bliss Balm and my as-good-as Burt's Bees Recipe

{So}Sartina Peppermint Lip Bliss Balm

True confession time: I have an addiction to Burt's Bees lip balm. Who doesn't, right? It's minty goodness soothes the chappest of dry Minnesota lips. And dry Minnesota lips are, unfortunately, easy to come by around here.

Last year I ran across a recipe for a Burt's Bees copycat lip balm on Pinterest, and I was soon ordering lip balm tubes on Amazon and gathering the ingredients to make my own lip bliss. That first recipe was ok, but it disappointed in texture and stay-ability. Other recipes included many more ingredients which was not cost effective to me. I wanted a simple, natural recipe.

After a little playing around with ingredients and amounts, I am finally satisfied! My {So}Peppermint Lip Bliss Balm (available for sale in my Etsy shop) has the perfect amount of spicy, tingly mint and great weather protection stay-ability.

{So}Sartina Peppermint Lip Bliss Balm and my as-good-as Burt's Bees Recipe:

2 oz. beeswax
3 oz. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. pure lanolin
1 tsp. vitamin E oil
25-35 drops of peppermint oil

25 empty lip balm tubes

1. Melt beeswax in saucepan on low.
2. Add coconut oil, lanolin, vitamin E oil and melt.
3. Add peppermint. 
4. Carefully fill tubes. Reheat as necessary to keep mixture liquid.
5. Cool.
6. Cap.
7. Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday - Herbed Butter Crackers

"Crackers? Who makes homemade crackers?"

That's what a friend said, when I brought these (minus the herbs) to a potluck on a platter beside venison sausage and cheese.

( I love the herbed ones by themselves, but was unsure how the flavors would mingle with sausage.)

One note on the recipe: I put the powdered milk in with the warm water so it dissolves properly.  

Or if you want, this is my new version, kinda like wheat thins:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
1 cup white flour
1cup wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
 3 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
sea salt for sprinkling

Mix well, knead a bit, and let sit, covered, for 1 hour.

I split the dough in two balls, roll each out on a jelly roll pan with my Baker's Roller, cut with a pizza cutter and poke with a fork.

Bake 400* for 11-13 minutes. They need to be lightly browned to be crisp.

They are nice and thin, crispy, melt in your mouth yummy.

Now you can join the likes of those who make their own crackers!

Tasty Thursday (beacuse I'm delinquent and forgot on Tues: Ginger Cran- Apple Granola

The Flat Belly Diet comes through once again, with a superb recipe. I've experimented with granola recipes in the past and this has great flavor, good crunchy chunks and best of all, makes use of the dried apples from our trees!

Here's what you'll need:

2 c oatmeal

1 and 1/4 c walnuts, chopped 

1/2 c unprocessed bran

1/3 c ground flaxseed

1/3 c apple juice or applesauce

1/2 c maple syrup (I use the real thing.)

1 tsp minced crystallized ginger

1 c dried apples, chopped

1/3 c dried sweetened cranberries

For my daughter I leave out the ginger and cranberries and add a teaspoon of cinnamon. That was a big hit!
For cooking and baking directions, and a parfait recipe, follow this link.

Rhubarb (Nut) Muffins

I cut the oil in half in this traditional church cookbook recipe and substituted vanilla yogurt. Also, I swapped one cup of whole wheat flour for white to add a bit of fiber.

I left the sugar as it was. There is such a thing as too great a sacrifice. :) The result is fluffy and moist without being too chewy.

I left the nuts out in mine, but shouldn't have, as Megan loudly protested that she would prefer zucchini muffins and I will probably end up eating the majority of these myself. I'm not complaining. Not at all.

Rhubarb (Nut) Muffins

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup milk soured with 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely chopped rhubarb
1/2 cups nuts (optional)

Mix wet ingredients together. Add flours, soda, salt and mix. Stir in rhubarb and nuts.

Spoon into greased muffin pan.

Sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 325* F.

Tasty Tuesday - Hot Fudge Sauce

This recipe has been added to my list of homemade things to keep on hand, because you never know when you're really really really gonna need some good ole hot fudge sauce. I make a double batch and there's always a jar of it in my fridge. YUM!

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sifted cocoa
1/3 cup cream

Put all above ingredients in pan.
Over low heat, melt butter.
Stir continuously.
Turn up heat to medium until boil.
Boil 1 minute.

Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup white corn syrup

Drizzle over mint chocolate chip, orange sherbet....or whatever your craving demands.

Quirky fact: When my twin sister requests this recipe from my grandma....she asks for it grainy! If you  like your hot fudge grainy too, (why you would, I don't have know..) don't sift the cocoa. Happy drizzling!

Tasty Tuesday - Waldorf Salad Pita

Waldorf Salad Pita

Mmmmm. Summer's a-comin' and my taste buds are ready!

This is what you'll need:

Apple
Walnuts
Celery
Lettuce
2 Laughing Cow Cheese wedges in Swiss Light
Whole Wheat pita

Dice a nice amount of apple, walnuts and celery.
I can't be bothered with precise measurements. Your guess is as good as mine. :)
Spread cheese on pita, insert lettuce, stuff with chopped yumminess.

Didn't guess accurately with the quantity of apples, etc? Store in fridge for a craving later.
You'll have one. Believe me!

Never Wait for Caramel Popcorn Again, plus an upper body workout

This recipe came from my neighbor, Gerry, who lived next door to my parents. Gerry died of cancer when I was a teen and soon the house was sold. To my Grandparents! My grandma lives there now, probably using the same microwave Gerry used for this recipe.


This is for the impatient cook who doesn't want to wait an hour for the standard oven variety of caramel popcorn. Who wants to babysit the oven when you have another option? Not me!

Start by air popping 2 quarts of popcorn and putting it in a paper grocery sack.

Then you'll need:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon soda

Mix sugar, syrup, butter and salt in a microwave safe bowl. Bring to boil in the microwave. Boil for two minutes. This will take approximately 5 minutes on HI, but watch it to make sure it does not boil for over two minutes.

Mix in soda. Stir until foaming. Nice and foamy? Good. Now,
Pour over popcorn and shake the bag.

Shake it. Shake it. That's right.

Roll down the bag and smoosh it so it will still turn in the microwave.
Microwave on HI for 1 minute.

Take bag out and shake vigorously.
Everybody, move your body.
Up, down.
To the right. To the left.
Leave no two kernels together!

Microwave again for 1 minute.

Shake again. Even more vigorously. Put your whole body into it.
Shake it up.
Shake it down.
Shake it all around.

But don't hug it. It's a rather greasy dance partner.

Microwave for one more minute. It's smokin' hot by now, so,
pour out on cookie sheet to cool.

You've now had your upper body workout for the day. Or at least you've burned off the calories you're about to eat, so put your feet up and enjoy!

Double Chocolate Malt-O-Meal Cereal

I grew up eating Malt-O-Meal hot cereal for breakfast. The plain kind.

But mom let us add a predetermined amount of brown sugar. She made the Malt-O-Meal and the sugar was served on the side in a little Tupperware cup so we could add it as we pleased and eat the top layer, scraping off the sugar as we ate.We generally ran out of sugar before cereal, but if we were lucky, Mom would give us another scoop. I don't remember how often that actually happened.

I've recently discovered a new favorite: Chocolate Malt-O-Meal. With a generous tablespoon of chocolate chips stirred in. MMMmmm.

It tastes like molten chocolate heaven.

I promise.

Prepare Chocolate Malt-O-Meal as directed on box, (but I only sprinkle a smidge of sugar, and a dash of salt). Add chocolate chips.

This even works for me and my Flat Belly Diet because the chocolate chips are a MUFA (healthy fat) and the calorie count is low!

Healthy Scones. Yes, there is such a thing.

These are my new favorite breakfast...or snack. 

Flat Belly Scones

2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 c pecans, chopped
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 and 1/4 c low-fat vanilla yogurt
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
2/3 c dried sweetened cranberries 

400°F for 20-25min.

Visions of Messy Sugar Plums {Christmas is No Time for Perfectionism}

 Peppermint Patties

Twas the day before Christmas, and my cluttered kitchen

filled with cookies, goodies, boots, coats and mittens.

The sugar's out on table, in red, green and white

I do not need to tell you, by end, it was quite a sight.

You've been there I'm sure, it's a messy tradition,

we set aside tendencies to decorating perfection.

Sugar is everywhere, the cookies are messy

But every last goodie tells it's own happy story.

Spoons covered in frosting and finger licking elves;

I look at it all and laugh in spite of myself.

The kids had their fun, made their own version of pretty 

To control their fun would have been really silly.

So in your holiday traditions, keep this in mind,

there is no room for perfect, I think you will find,

much peace love and joy in more "good- enoughs"

so please take perfectionism off your Christmas list of stuff.

For what fun is a mother who gripes and controls 

how the cookies appear, I would hope that she knows

that perfection is costly and everyone works gaily

when a mother lets go, and redefines beauty.

 

For this is the season of upside-down things

of a God come down here, in a manger a King.

For the broken and messy, a star shines through the night.

May you find Him this Christmas, He's the way, the truth, the light!

Snow Snack

That's what my kids call it. And with 8 inches or more of white fresh fluff, it's a perfect day to scoop some up and make it a snack. When I was a kid, we used KoolAid mix, but today,

my kids just mixed up a glass of strong lemonade and ...

Scoop....

Drizzle....

 Stir....

 

Eat....

Yum!

Sponsors/ Affiliates: Shop the DaySpring Online Store

Get Ready for Saturday Breakfast - Homemade Doughnut Holes

Buttermilk Doughnut Holes


1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/2 c buttermilk, plus 2 T (I used 1 1/2 c milk plus 2 T lemon juice to sour it)
3 eggs, beaten
2 T shortening, melted
1 t vanilla
1 t soda
1 1/2 t salt
3 t baking powder
1 t nutmeg
4 1/2 c flour

Add sugar to buttermilk and let stand 1/2 hour. Add beaten eggs, shortening, and vanilla. Sift remaining ingredients together.

I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight. When I first tried the recipe I didn't expect the dough to be so sticky and runny, and I do not have a doughnut maker, so my methods turned out creepy monster doughnuts - little balls with pointy spines. I do not prefer to eat food that looks like a ancient weapon or spiked ball so I was more than happy that the refrigerated dough was much firmer and decreased the number of burnt points!

This dough stores well. I plan to keep this dough in my fridge for a quick and easy (and fun!) breakfast.

Heat oil, a few inches deep in a pot, over a medium heat stove. To guage when the oil has reached optimal temperature, I insert a  wet wooden spoon handle. The end of the spoon should form active, lively bubbles.

I used a cookie scoop to drop in the dough, but if you have a doughnut maker, that is super! Fry until golden brown, toss in a cinnamon and sugar mixture. 

Yum!

Fruity Fish

Tilapia, sprayed with Olive oil, baked with chopped pecans, and topped with a version of fruit salsa.

Works for me!

Virgin Cucumber Mojito

Recipe for Relaxation

A pretty glass

Lime sparkling water

1 T lime concentrate

5 slices cucumber

3 sprigs of mint ( I used peppermint and chocolate mint)

A pinch of Stevia sweetener

Ice (which I didn't have because my children were playing with the heart shaped ice cube mold and never refilled it.... :P)

A back porch with sunset views (which I also don't have. But I do have sunset views from my desk chair....)

Sip slowly. Drink life in. Above all, enjoy summer.
It only lasts so long in MN.

Shared at WFMW.

Zucchini Bruschetta

I'm not supposed to tell you, but my husband is on a diet.

Ok, he would correct me and have me say that he is not on a diet, he is changing the way he eats. And boy is he ever. He's lost ten pounds in one week!

It's a good thing I planted zucchini and tomatoes, because he is loving this recipe. I originally created it last summer when I tried the Flat Belly Diet. Which I loved. I eventually got lazy though, and gave in to the majority, as I was the only one wanting to eat healthy in the family. And if you've ever tried dieting alone, you know that consistently needing to cook something separate for yourself can kill any amount of determination.

The below recipe is a single serving of 395 calories, fitting nicely into the whole four-meals-@-400-calories, each containing a MUFA plan. (Monounsaturated fatty acid. Which happens to be yummy things like olive oil, dark chocolate, olives, nuts and avacado) Anywho, while my husband follows his program, I am following this one again, albeit loosely. And I have lost 5 lbs. Yay! Go team skinny!

Without further ado, I present:

Zucchini Bruschetta

~1/2 c diced zucchini
~1 T olive oil
~2 T  fresh basil
~1 clove garlic, minced
~1 c diced tomatoes

~1 round sandwich skinny bread thing (Have you seen these? They look like squished buns. I buy the multi-grain and they are 100 calories each.) Or, if you're not counting calories, use whatever bread you like.
 ~salt, pepper, to taste
~A sprinkle of Parmesan and a few fingers full of Mozzarella cheese

First saute the zucchini, garlic and basil in the olive oil over medium heat until the zucchini is tender crisp, then add tomatoes and heat for a few more minutes. (Don't let the tomatoes get mushy.) When it's done it should look like this:

Spread on a toasted skinny bun, sprinkle with parmesan, salt, pepper and mozzarella and broil on low until the cheese melts (just a few minutes). It should look something like this:

 As Rachel Ray would say, Yumm-O!

Strawberry Glaze Pie

Crust:
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) melted butter
1 T sugar
1 c flour
stir till the dough forms a ball
press into pie pan
prick with fork
bake for 10 minutes @ 400 degrees
let cool

Cream cheese layer:
1/2 package (4oz.) softened cream cheese
1 T powdered sugar
1-2 t milk
spread on cooled crust
arrange strawberries over cream cheese layer

Glaze:
1 c sugar
2 T corn starch
1 c water
cook above till clear
mix in 3 T strawberry jello mix powder
cool glaze, then pour over strawberries

Refrigerate until jello is set up and top with whip cream!

Can also be made with Raspberries and Raspberry Jello. 

This post is being shared with all the good readers at Works For Me Wednesday, a blog hop of shared tips hosted by We Are THAT Family.

Favorite Guacamole

Creamy. Summery. Yummy-ness. I love guacamole.

Whether inside, cooped up on a snowy day, in need of some hint of warmth or sitting by the pool basking in the warm sun with iced tea and a friend, this snack is perfect for any season.

I'm quite addicted and completely partial to this recipe.

1 ripe avocado
2 tablespoons of my salsa recipe.
2 tablespoons diced red onion
salt to taste

(This picture shows a portion of leftover salsa frozen in an ice cube tray. 

I defrosted it for 12 seconds in the microwave after the picture was taken.)

Mash with fork until perfectly blended ~ both creamy and chunky.

Just try and not eat. it. all. in one sitting!

White Bean Dip

This recipe is posted in honor of Lisa, who keeps asking me for this recipe, but actually has it in her own Flat Belly Diet Book, and remembering our recent picnic under the crab apple tree munching on Food Should Taste Good (yes, that's the brand) whole grain chips and this dip....Lisa- the beans I used for our picnic are in caps.  Love you girl!

...And in memory of a lovely mother daughter picnic at the MN Landscape Arboretum last night in which I fixed the ladies in my family a fabulous meal, if I do say so myself, which included this dip. :) Although, I forgot my camera which I had remembered to charge. Go figure. All those lovely flowers....sigh. I guess I'll go drown my sorrows with this dip. Ha!

White Bean Dip

1 can (or 1 1/2 cups) cannellini, NAVY, or great northern beans, rinsed and drained.
1 large clove garlic
1 T lemon juice
2 t white wine vinegar
2 springs flat leaf Italian parsley (or 2 T dried)
2 Basil leaves (or 1 t dried)
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 t dried oregano
red pepper flakes

Puree above in food processor


add and puree again:
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Good with whole grain chips, veggies....these are my favorite!

Fruiveggie Smoothie

My freezer is full of all kinds of stuff. A little baggie of over-ripe banana, gallon bags of frozen tomatoes, some shredded carrot left over from making wild rice soup. Tonight, while my kids clamored for a snack and I pondered the healthfulness of their dinner (pancakes) and how to get some nutrients into them, I made use of all those little bags of what-not cluttering my fridge. I threw it in the blender and viola....a V8 Splash inspired smoothie.



 1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen shredded carrots
1/2 cup frozen tomato chunks
enough orange juice so it is easily blended. Blend until smooth.

Serve to unsuspecting children.

Rosemary Chicken Sandwiches

3 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup mayo
salt, pepper to taste


whole wheat bread
butter
mustard

mix, spread, fill, eat.