Castile Shampoo Recipe

I use this and am very pleased with the outcome.

Shampoo Recipe

Ingredients:

* water – ¼ of a cup
* liquid castile soap – 1/4 cup
* 1/2 teaspoon of sunflower or any mild vegetable oil of your choice

Directions:

Place all the ingredients for your liquid soap in a hollow container and mix well. Place the finished mixture in an empty bottle to store. Make sure that you rinse your hair well before and after shampooing.

Moisturizing Honey Body Wash with Essential Oils Information

This is a wonderful and easy body wash that leaves your skin feeling great and gives you lots of suds.  I make mine and store in a repurposed body wash bottle with pump.

Ingredients:

• ⅔ cup liquid castile soap 
• ¼ cup raw, unfiltered honey 
• 2 teaspoons oil – grapeseed, jojoba, sweet almond, sesame, or olive (find it here
• 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil 
• 50 – 60 drops essential oils - see suggestions below

Directions:

Measure out all ingredients and combine in a bottle with a squirt top, shaking to mix. Shake gently before each use. To use, squirt onto a washcloth, bath pouf, or directly onto body.

Since this recipe doesn’t contain water, it has a long shelf life of up to a year.

Essential oils for skin

When making your body wash, keep your particular skin type in mind and find a scent you enjoy. If you’re using this body wash for your baby, you may want to omit the essential oils altogether, or just add a few drops of chamomile or lavender essential oil. If children will be using the body wash, use half the suggested amount of essential oils.

Here are some suggestions:

Chamomile (German and Roman) – Great for dry and sensitive skin, acne, eczema, and dermatitis.

Geranium – Great for oily complexions, acne, mature skin, eczema, dermatitis, and other problematic skin conditions. It also brightens and revitalizes dull skin.

Grapefruit – This essential oil tones the skin and is extremely cleansing for oily skin. If using the amount suggested in the above recipe, there is no phototoxic concern.

Lavender – Very gentle and good for all skin types, including very sensitive skin. Perfect for mature skin, acne, eczema, and psoriasis. Effective in soothing itchy skin.

Palmarosa – Stimulates new cell growth, moisturizes skin, and regulates oil production. This makes it a valuable essential oil for use in any DIY skin products.

Patchouli – Antimicrobial, astringent, fungicidal, and deodorant. Great for acne, cracked and chapped skin, eczema, oily skin, and mature skin.

Peppermint –  Since peppermint is very strong, use only half the amount recommended in the recipe (or less). Cooling, refreshing, and stimulating. Has astringent properties, making it perfect for acneic skin. (Note: Avoid during first 4 months of pregnancy.)

Rosemary – Rosemary is stimulating and restorative. Useful for acne, eczema, and dermatitis. (Note: Avoid during pregnancy. Do not use if you are epileptic or have high blood pressure.)

Sandalwood – Useful for acne, dry, cracked, and chapped skin. Also great for wrinkles and mature skin.

Sweet orange – One of the only citrus essential oils that is not phototoxic, sweet orange is helpful for dull or oily skin.

Tea tree – This antibacterial oil can be nicely blended with others like lavender and peppermint. May be useful for acne, oily skin, rashes, and inflamed skin. Using too much may actually create a drying effect. You may need to experiment a little to find the right amount for your skin.

Ylang ylang – Great for general skin care, irritated skin, oily skin, or acne. Since this oil is a strong scent, add a few drops at a time until the desired aroma is achieved. (You will need much less than the amount suggested in the above recipe.)

Make it your own

Don’t limit yourself to the essential oils or ingredients recommended in this recipe.

Experiment with your favorite ingredients, and be sure to let us know how it turns out!

Chocolate Ice Cream

This is a rich, delicious and easy recipe!  Thank you Alton Brown and Food Network.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces unsweetened cocoa powder, approximately 1/2 cup

3 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

8 large egg yolks

9 ounces sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the cocoa powder along with 1 cup of the half-and-half into a medium saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Add the remaining half-and-half and the heavy cream. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about 1/3 of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

Angel Food Cake

Here is another wonderful recipe from Taste of Home.  We have chickens, so I get a lot of eggs.  I use the yolks to make the French Vanilla Ice Cream on my blog.  When I do that, I end up with a lot of egg whites.  So I use them egg whites to make this wonderful and easy cake.

Angel Food Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups egg whites

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup cake flour

1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/4 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Place egg whites in a large bowl; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sift 1/2 cup sugar and flour together twice; set aside.
2. Place oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat oven to 350°. Add cream of tartar, extracts and salt to egg whites; beat on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.
3. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10-in. tube pan. Cut through batter with a knife to remove air pockets. Bake 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned and entire top appears dry. Immediately invert pan; cool completely, about 1 hour.
4. Run a knife around side and center tube of pan. Remove cake to a serving plate. 

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

This is a wonderful and easy bread that can be made for any occasion or for any reason.  I found this great recipe on Taste of Home.

Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar - divided

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 cup canola oil

3 tsp cinnamon

Glaze:

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 - 2 tsp milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine flour, 1 cup sugar, baking soda and salt. Combine buttermilk, egg and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar.
2. Grease the bottom only of a 9x5-in. loaf pan. Pour half of the batter into pan; sprinkle with half the cinnamon-sugar. Carefully spread with remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar; cut through batter with a knife to swirl.
3. Bake 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine confectioners' sugar and enough milk to reach desired consistency; drizzle over loaf.  (I cut my bread into slices and then drizzle the glaze on the cut slices.)

Vanilla Ice Cream

For Christmas my daughter purchased me a new Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer with the ice cream attachment.  Since then, I have been on a quest for delicious ice cream.  I found this one, and it is wonderful!  I make it all of the time.

Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups half-and-half

8 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups whipping cream

4 teaspoons vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. In medium saucepan mix the egg yolks and sugar until well blended and mixed.  Add the half-and-half and heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around edge and mixture is steamy, stirring constantly. Do not boil. 

2. Transfer half-and-half mixture into large bowl; stir in whipping cream, vanilla and salt. Cover and chill thoroughly, at least 8 hours. 

3. Assemble and engage the KitchenAid® Ice Cream Maker attachment. Turn to STIR Speed (Speed 1). Using a container with a spout, pour mixture into freeze bowl. Continue on STIR (Speed 1) for 15 to 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached. Immediately transfer ice cream into serving dishes, or freeze in an airtight container. 

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream Directions
1. In medium bowl, combine 2 cups chopped, fresh strawberries (or other fresh fruit) and 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar, if desired. 

2. Let stand while ice cream is processing. Add during last 3 to 5 minutes of freeze time.

Laundry Detergent

I just love this recipe.  It is easy to make, cheaper than other detergents and does a wonderful job on my family's clothes.

Laundry Detergent

Ingredients:

3 bars of Fels-Naptha

1 box of Borax

1 box of Super Washing Soda

1 Value Size Box of Baking Soda

Directions:

Grate the bars of Fels-Naptha and then mix all ingredients together.  I leave mine like this but you can run everything through the food processor to make the soap more fine.  I store mine in repurposed coffee cans.  

For each load, I use a little less than 1/4 cup.