Top 16 Gift Ideas and Recipes Using Essential Oils

I love the Holidays and I love making people happy with gifts and goodies so I have put together a list of links of some of my favorite ideas:

1.) Peppermint Patties!  I love her blog everything I've made off of her blog is really good!

2.)  5 Gift ideas from Doterra blog including the easy Bath Salts and sugar scrub

3.)  Dryer Balls with a bottle of oils (For dryer sheets)

4.)  DIY Diffuser Necklaces

5.)  Travel tin/ small gift set of oils

 

6.)  Roller Bottles..You could make up a group of your favorite oils into roller bottles and 
tie a ribbon around them with some oils info.  When I fill the bottles I fill with a 1-1 ratio 
essential oil to Carrier oil (Fractionated Coconut oil) for adults and a 1-2 ratio essential oil 
to carrier oil for kids.  This is such an easy way for kids to put on their oils.

This is where I buy my bottles great site...

7.)  Room Spray or Monster Spray!  Room spray is a great replacement for air freshener 
that is non-toxic.  Also Monster Spray is pretty much the same thing only I use Lavender for 
my scent and it is the perfect remedy for monsters at night. I even let my kids spray it to put 
them in control of getting rid of the monsters.  Not only do they think it gets rid of monsters it is

full of lavender which will help them calm down and sleep.

8.)  Bath Bombs/bath fizzies

....There were many more recipe's for them when I searched bath bombs under Google. 

......Also as a tip: you can substitute Citric acid (which can be hard to find) for half the

amount of Cream of Tartar.

9.)  Tub truffles

...This is only one of the many recipes when I was searching.

The main idea that I got was equal parts of coconut oil and a butter i.e. like Cocoa or Shea

and then and a little bit of fractionated coconut oil to combine and some of your favorite 
essential oilfor scent and then freeze and package.

10.)  DIY Whipped Body Butter

11.)  Hot cocoa recipe and popcorn... doTerra Holiday Magazine recipe ideas and prices for 
holiday oils and specials.

12.)  GingerBread Men....I just added oils in place of spices i.e. Cinnamon oil, Ginger oil, and Clove oil and add it into the wet ingredients instead of the dry...This dough seemed really dry when we were rolling them out but we rolled them out pretty thick and didn't over bake and they turned out really nice and chewy yummy!

13.)  Cranberry Chutney...This was really good what a great dip for any holiday party!

14.)  Cheesecake swirl Peppermint Brownie's....I just added a drop of peppermint to the brownie 
mix you could do this with your favorite brownie recipe to give it some holiday flare.  It makes an easy 
classic into something for the holidays and an easy yet yummy filler for those Holiday Cookie Plates.  Also 
try adding a bottle of oils to the top of your plates with a ribbon or a cookies cutter or an ornament.  
Always a nice Touch!

15.)  Pinterest Doterra Oils recipes

16.)  Fruit Dip and other Yummy and Easy Food and oil recipes.  The Fruit Dip with Wild Orange is delicious.

....She also has some great spa product recipes and other ideas so search her blog for more ideas!

***When cooking with essential oils make sure you are using food grade oils such as doTERRA!****

You can buy doTERRA product here on my website. 

Happy Holiday's and fun gift and treat making!!!

Helpful links for Essentail Oils info:

http://www.oilsmentor.com/

http://www.everythingessential.me/

Compensation Plan

Enrollment Kits

Wild Game

My husband loves to hunt, his man bonding time.  But we also love to eat what he hunts.  We usually have a lot of elk meat and need to eat it.  It's never good when the meat is dry or gamey so that's why I have put together some good recipes for eating our wild game that we really enjoy.   My sister-in-law gets to share in the joy of our husbands past time of hunting and wanted some ideas, so this is for Shauna. 

If your husband does like to hunt but you don't like to eat it you might try to experiment with some new recipes.  After all, not only is it using our resources it is a great way to eat healthy.  The meat is more lean than beef and it is organic.  No added growth hormones or steroids in this meat.  Just good old fashion grass from the prairie.  If you refuse to use wild game then here are some good recipes for your beef. ;)

The main way to keep meat from tasting gamey is to treat your meat right.  Make sure the animal gets dressed right away and put in a cool dry place until you can butcher it.  Which should be as soon as possible.  Then I freeze it.  When I'm ready to use the meat for cooking there is a delicate time in which the meat tastes good after de-thawing it.  I take mine out the night before and put it in the refrigerator and I do not wait more than two days to eat it.  I do not de-thaw it in the microwave or in hot water.  Unless I'm in a pinch but there is a taste difference.  It just tastes more gamey if I do that.

Top 8 recipes for Wild Game in our home:

1.)  Sloppy Joes

I got the recipe off of allrecipes.com and tweaked it.  I love this website you can find almost any recipe even ones your mom used to make.  But now that I just said that I cannot find this recipe, I guess I didn't save it to my recipe box so here is my version.

1 lb Ground Elk Meat
1/2 onion chopped (My husband can't eat them so I leave them out and add onion powder.)
1-2 minced garlic cloves
2 Tablespoons white flour
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
8 hamburger buns

In a skillet cook ground elk, onion/onion powder, and garlic over medium/high heat until meat is no longer pink.  Slightly cook in the flour, just until you can't see white.  Add the remaining ingredients except for the buns. :)  Simmer for 15-20 min. stirring occasionally.  Scoop 1/2 cup of the meat mixture onto each bun.  And eat!  Make sure you have a napkin!

2.) Cheddar Loafs

I love this recipe.  I tried it with ground Elk and fell in love.  Individual meat loaves, and they are delicious.  They are moist and full of flavor.  It is not your average meat loaf.

Meat loaf Ingredients:
1 egg
3/4 c. milk
1 c. (4 oz.) Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 c. quick-cooking oats
1/2 c. chopped onion (once again we don't do onion, I use onion powder and garlic powder about a tsp. of each or you could use a clove of minced garlic)
1 tsp. salt
1 lb lean ground elk or beef

Sauce:
2/3 c. ketchup
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. prepared mustard

Beat the eggs and milk in a bowl.  Stir in cheese, oats, onion(or powders and garlic), and salt.  Add the ground elk and mix well (I use my hands.)  Shape into eight loaves; place in a greased 13x9 inch pan.  Combine all the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, spoon over loaves.  Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and the meat thermometer reads 160. Serves 8.

3.)  Stuffed Peppers

We love it when the grocery store's have sales on produce like bell peppers.  This is the perfect time to make stuffed bell peppers.

8 bell peppers, we used Green
1 cup onions (onion powder, my permanent change)
1 lb ground elk
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cans tomato soup
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 c. cooked brown rice (or white)  I just start the rice cooker before I start cooking dinner.

Boil the peppers 3-4 minutes on the stove top after you cut off the tops and take out the seeds.  Combine the onion, garlic, chili powder, and pepper in the skillet on the stovetop and cook until no longer pink.  Add the remaining ingredients until heated through.  Then stuff the peppers with the mixture and bake at 350 for 20 min.  You can also save some of the cheese and top the peppers with more cheese.

4.) Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

I also got this recipe from allrecipes.com.  Click here for the link.  I did make a few changes.  I used ground elk instead of ground beef.  I added 1-2 cloves of minced garlic. About a handful of cilantro and 1/2 teaspoon Grandpa Lyn's Seasoned Salt. You can find Grandpa Lyn's here.  It is locally made.  This salt is excellent you can use it on anything.

5.)  Marinated Steaks
I love to marinate pretty much any meat with soy sauce, lemon juice and olive oil.  Make sure to let it sit over night to really soak in.  Then we grilled the steaks.  You will want to use the best cut of your elk for this one and tenderize the meat.  Here is a link for some other ideas of what you could add to your marinade and how much of each to use.  I usually just use a combination of other things depending on what I have in the house so I don't have to make a trip to the store late at night.  Well, I can't.  I live in a small town and that isn't possible.  So make do there are a lot of yummy things right in your pantry.

6.) Beef and Broccoli/ Crock Pot

I found this recipe on pinterest.  Here is a link.  I am all about fast, easy, good, and mix and match with what you already have in the kitchen.  This makes a good base.  I also added fresh grated ginger and garlic.  I love that I can stick it in the crock pot and put the rice in the rice cooker and have an easy and tasty dinner for a busy night.  The elk steaks cut into pieces work really well.

7.) Taco's and Fajitas

We love Taco bell spice packets from the store and the are fast and easy.  Brown your meat, add the water, and spice.  Make some Spanish rice for a side dish.  A few vege's, sour cream, and cheese on a tortilla and this elk meat tastes great.  And once again, it was fast, easy, and tasty.

8.)  Your Own Family Recipe Favorites

Take your family recipe favorites and replace them with wild game.  You'd be surprised at how much you will like it.  We use wild game in our Chili, Spaghetti, Portuguese Soup, Egg casserole (with the wild game breakfast sausage), Shepard's pie, breakfast burritos, and anything you can think of really.

Do your own experiments.  Some you will keep and some you won't, but that's how we found some of our favorites.

What is your favorite thing to make with wild game?  How do you keep yours from tasting gamey?

Portuguese Soup

Christmas time and holiday's get so hectic.  This year I said I'm making a double batch of soup for Christmas Day and we can eat it for days.  Or if you have family around for the Holiday's and you guys have had your big meal and need something else to feed them this one works great.  I chopped up the veges the day before and then stuck them all together the day of and just let it cook.  It's a great way to feed a lot of people fill them up and enjoy your guests.  I had a request to share this recipe.

It's called Portuguese Soup.  Now I'm not sure if this is a traditional Portuguese food but it is a tradition for our family.  I remember the first Christmas my mom made this recipe my sisters and I looked at it and said "no way" we weren't going to eat it.  We tried it and loved it and ever since then it was a Christmas soup tradition.  We ate it every year.  The colors are also very festive.

This picture was taken before it was quite finished cooking the cabbage gets so nice and soft and the flavors just come together so nicely.  I didn't add the onion because I have some family members who can't eat them so I added some onion powder and it still turned out great.

Portuguese Soup

6 cups                           Chicken Broth
1 lb                               Smoked Sausage (sliced)
1 lb                               Potatoes (about 3-4 average sized potatoes, chopped)
1 15.5 oz can                Kidney Beans Drained
1 14.5 oz can                Diced tomato's not drained
1/2 of a head                Green cabbage chopped
1 medium                     Onion chopped
1 large                          Carrot chopped
1/2                                Green pepper chopped
3                                   Cloves minced garlic

Put all the ingredients together in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, while stirring reduce heat, and then simmer for 2 hours.

This is a delicious meal to share with friends and family for the holidays or for the after holidays when you've done a lot of cooking and just don't want to do a lot more.

LeftOvers

I realize I'm a bit late on posting my plan for leftovers however I felt that it was very successful so I would like to share.  I had read a bunch of ideas for leftovers and I do think that I read this idea somewhere but can't remember where or even if I put a couple ideas together or what so here is what I did...

 

I wish I would have gotten a picture before we ate it but hey we were hungry. :)
This was really simple and easy...

1.) Ingredients:
                      - Thanksgiving or Christmas or any large meals leftovers
                      - Store bought pie crusts (Rolled up in the refrigerator section of the grocery store)
                          I bought the cheap generic brand and it was good
2.) Roll out the bottom crust in a pie pan
3.)Layer leftovers mine were:
            -Mashed potatoes
            -Stuffing
            -Sweet potatoes and Green bean casserole (I did one half of each because I only had enough
            of each to fill one side
            -Turkey
            -More mashed potatoes and Gravy
4.)Roll out the top crust and crimp edges
5.) Bake for your pie crusts instructions  (really just to brown the crust and heat up the goodies)

We really enjoyed it!  I loved my daughters reaction..."Mom I'm Scared." I replied, "Me too, let's try it together." "Okay."  "Yum this is good!"  She had seconds and we had those left overs for lunch the next day.  Another suggestion would be to make it without the crust and just layer the leftovers in a casserole pan and heat through.  And of Course, Turkey is a great Meat that you can add to almost any recipe that you already make.  Enchiladas, Chili's, Chicken and Rice....etc. etc. Happy Left Overs!!!

Thanksgiving Day Guide to Success

Okay so thanksgiving is coming the Turkey's getting fat, I have got to get ready! what do I do?!?...

I am going to include as much information as you could possibly need for a traditional and smooth thanksgiving day celebration.  All the Websites that I've searched and recipes that I've used for thanksgiving will all be included.  So stop surfing for hours to make your thanksgiving work. I've already done the work for you.  If you enjoy a traditional meal with a bit of a twist yet still simple this is the guide for you.  The Holiday is about having family and friends and sharing what we are thankfull for, so I like to spend as much time visiting and enjoying company just as much as I enjoy the food.

If your the host of thanksgiving this year your going to have to get the meal ready and in good timing if you also want to enjoy your guests.  Let's face it, cooking and cleaning last all day and if your not prepared you may be eating thanksgiving dinner way into the late dark night.  It is also important for the holidays that you set a time when dinner will be served.  If you live in the same area as your family you know they may need to house skip between parents.  And if family is driving in you want to be considerate of others schedule for the holiday.  Or even if your just having friends over for the big day, let's be prepared.  If you say dinner will start at 5:00 then start dinner as close to 5 as possible.  Here's how it's done.

1.) Gather all you favorite recipes before you make your trip to the grocery store.  Are you tired of calling your mother for her recipes again?  I mean, "I know I had that recipe somewhere!"  Try searching for your favorite recipes online.  I love Allrecipes.com you can find almost any recipe that you desire you can search for recipes by name or ingredients.  I love to read the reviews because they always have some new and fun ways to spice up traditional recipes.  Turkey is definately the main event, unless your into tofu turkey and then you are reading the wrong blog.  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way.  I likes this recipe because it wasn't to difficult and few ingredients but yet still delicious.  For the turkey we bought a roasting oven and I stick it in there in the morning and then just let it roast.  It is a great way to keep your oven free for all those side dishes.  Or instead of a roaster and if you don't already have a double oven you could reconsider a remodel to include one. :)  Speaking of side dishes here are a few of our favorites.

• Grean Bean Casserole; from foodnetwork.com by paula dean  Yummmmmy!!!
• Candied yams (Of course with mini marshmellows); from allrecipes I made the sweet potatoes from scratch last year and not a can but it was a lot faster and easier to use a can, and they tasted just as good. And I have made them healthier as well but I figure if I get to splurge on a holiday, what they hey!
• Mashed potatos; I just peel and boil the potatos until soft with a fork and then I use a potato masher and add milk, butter, and/or sour cream to the consistancy that I like and then I also add garlic powder, salt and pepper and any other spices that you might like.
• Rolls; this year I am buying them or frozen rolls are great too you get them warm freshly baked rolls without all the rising and time that takes to make them fresh, although I have to say homemade rolls are great too here's a recipe if you need some help with that.  It's from Betty Crocker, I haven't tried it yet but it looked like a good one.  So attempt at your own risk.  I've made my rolls out of a bread recipe before and I didn't really care for it so this one should be better.
• Cranberry-orange sauce; From food network Tyler Florence  This recipe was pretty tart but I didn't have a cinnamon stick so I just used cinnamon spice and I don't think I added enough orange either but if you like homemade from scratch cranberry sauce this is quick and easy! And I would use a stick of cinnamon and make sure you put in plenty of orange and give it a taste test.
• Stuffing: I love Mrs. Cubbison's Cubed Stuffing mix and then I used the recipe on the box and did the cranberry and spinach option it was delicious I highly recommend it even if the recipe did come from a box.  I'm using this recipe again and cutting out the cranberry sauce this year, to simplify my dinner. *See update below*
• Pumkin Pie;  This year I made them from scratch, (This website has all the information you could need from A-Z)  But if your looking for just the recipe and short instructions here is another recipe. I made them after Halloween with some pumkin pie pumkins and then I stuck them in the freezer so that I would be ready for the big day and have less to do.  I used the first website for imformation because I had never made pumkin pie from scratch before and not a can and then I used the recipe from the second website because it was easy with few ingredients and had the measurements for the from scratch pumpkins.  (I did have extra filling so I just baked it as a crustless pie and it was fun to snack on.)  You could freeze any pie you like or if you really need a quick pie you could buy one from the store or ask one of your guests to bring pies. 

You never know how your holiday season is going to go from year to year. So don't set yourself into such rigid traditions that they can't be altered a bit to fit the time you have each year, it may require a few store bought items.  Don't skip the tradition alltogether just alter it.  The holiday can still be great!  Pick the few things that are your families favorites that you make and them go from there.
                  These recipes I've included aren't necessarily the healthiest recipes but I just figure that we don't get to do this very often so we're going to enjoy the fat and good food, and then go out and play football or go for a run with our loved ones.  My Husband is hosting a Turkey trot (5k run/bike/walk) so we've got the exercise built in this year.  The event includes a thanksgiving memory game and prizes for the winner.  Search your local town or city for an event like this one.

2.)  Once you have Gathered your recipes you need to...

•  make a Grocery list.  Make sure to look at all of your recipes and include everything you will need for your recipes, including any changes you want to make. 
• Clip coupons, there a lot for these specific foods this time of year.  Your going to be buying a lot so save a lot too. 
• Include in your shopping lists snack foods.  For instance, if you eat later in the day your guests may be trying to save room for the big meal that they might skip lunch but they'll need something to tide them over.  So a nice simple relish tray, or chips and dip. Is a nice easy way to do that.  You don't want to be cooking a lot of snack foods because there will be a lot of other cooking going on.  Or once again this could be a good thing to assign guests. 
• So make your List and Get Shopping!  (I didn't include a list because I hate premade lists because half the time I end up editing the list so much that it would have been easier for me to make my own list.  Because I have to take things off that I already have and I have to take things away that we don't like, and I have to add specific things that are my families traditions and add things that I wanted to add to a recipe so I'm going to let you make your own list.)

3.)  Before the big day:  Make as much as you can before hand. Anything you can do days before the big day is a big help. i.e.

• peel and cut the potatos, and then put them in water in the pot your are going to boil them in and stick them in the refridgerator.  If you don't put them in water they will brown...and then you'll have wasted your time. 
• Bake Rolls, or even just start them rising the night before
• Make any cold salads and put them in the fridge
• I personally like to wait till the day of to make the hot sides but if your short on time you could even make the hot sides, cool them off, put them in the fridge, and then reheat them the day of.
• #1 thing:  Defrost the Turkey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Here are some safe ways to do that.  If you are dethawing in the refridgerator you will need 24 hours for each 4-5 lbs so plan ahead.  My Turkey is 11.58 lbs so I have to get mine out of the freezer on Monday!  You have got to have days of time to do this so think about it now!!!!!
• Make any decorations that you would like on the table or place cards.  Family Fun had some cute ideas.  Also check your pinterest account for some fun ideas.  I'm going to get a white table cloth and put out some fabric markers and have kids and adults write or draw things that they are thankful for.  This idea was from family Fun.
• Don't forget to invite Guests!

4.)  You will need to make a cooking/oven schedule because if you don't you will not have dinner when you plan on it.  I was planning dinner at 12/12:30pm and pies at 6:30.  And I did have everything ready on time (Except I had to get dressed still :) I was busy the whole day so if you wood like a little wiggle room asjust accordingly.  Here is my example for the recipes I have above...

• 7:00am:  Get dressed and get ready, if you don't do it before everone gets there you wont have time later. :)  Make sure your turkey is dethawed.
• 8:00am Turkey and Stuffing Prep  (Oh once you get that celery and onion going on the stove it starts smelling delicious already and you are already ready to eat. :)
• 8:30am Cook Turkey and Stuff turkey (This year I'm just going to bake the stuffing I still worry about stuffing it without mixing with raw turkey juices but I know that you can.) For safe turkey stuffing see this site.  My turkey was 11 lbs to temp 165 for 3-3.5 hours.
• 8:30 Prep Rolls (the roll recipe above is different then the one I used but I didn't like the one I used last time so I wanted to give you a different one, but the timing is the same.)
• 9:00am Bake Sweet potatos, peel russet potatos chop and put in water in the fridge, rolls rising
• 9:30am Make Cranberry-Orange sauce on stovetop cook 20 min and refridgerate, Start Boiling potatos too
• 10:00 Punch and Shape rolls  Watch the Parade!
• 10:15 take sweet potato's out of the oven and peel and prep casserole
• 10:45 Prep Grean bean Casserole
• 11:15 Bake Rolls, Grean Bean Casserole, and Sweet potato's (Candied Yams), Mash Potato's and add wanted ingredients to them.
• 11:30 check/remove rolls
• 11:45 Remove Candied yams and Green bean casserole
• 12:00 Check Turkey and Stuffing for 165 temp (ps don't forget to baste the turkey throughout cooking as well)
• 12:00/12:30 Eat!!!
• 2:00 Prep pies (take out of freezer, I used store bought freezer pies last year, and I think a quick pumkin pie with a pre-made crust)
• 2:30 Bake  While the pies were baking we went out side and played dodgeball, it was a lot of fun!
• 4/4:30 Remove pies
• 6:30 Eat pies!!!

I also included fun things that I wanted to do with the family to my schedule otherwise I could easily miss out while I was in the kitchen.  Some other fun things we've done is talk or act out the thanksgiving story, watch football, and play games.

5.)  Enjoy your guests and make sure you remember to ask everyone what they are thankful for!

***UpDate: I am feeling like quite a dork.  I did use the box recipe for Mrs. Cubbison's stuffing as a guideline for the amount of bread crumbs to liquid and vege's ratio but I just bought my box for this year and there is not a Cranberry spinach option.  So now I am remembering that I added these ingredients to the staple recipe.  When your sauteing your onions and celery and they are almost soft, add in the spinach and wilt it slightly.  Then when you add the cranberries you don't need to cook them first you can just add them when you add the stuffing from the box.  The cranberries come out the perfect doneness this way.  Make sure you use the Oven Casserole Directions not the Top-Of-Stove Directions.

*** How could I forget the Gravy!!! Here is a video on how to make the gravy with your turkey stock.