BROWN SUGAR SCRUB (for personal use & gifts)

Posted By Suzanne McMinn On February 9, 2010 @ 1:05 am In Beauty, Primitive Crafts & Country Style

Try a natural facial scrub! You’ll never want to go back to that stuff from the store. And when you make it yourself, you won’t just be saving money, you’ll be taking better care of your skin. Organic plant-based ingredients nourish and protect your skin naturally and give you the added benefit of knowing exactly what’s in them–and you can probably find it all right now in your kitchen.

The brown sugar in this recipe is the exfoliant. The olive oil is for the moisturizer. Honey is a natural antibacterial (as well as another moisturizer), and vanilla is for the added scent.

These measurements are by volume.

2 cups brown sugar (lightly packed)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Place the brown sugar in a medium-size bowl. Add the olive oil. You can use any other plant-based oils in place of the olive oil, such as coconut oil, sunflower oil, or almond oil, to name a few.

Add the honey. Honey not only moisturizes your skin, it helps hold moisture in.

Add the vanilla.

Stir to combine.

Scoop mixture into a container. This recipe will fit a pint-size jar perfectly. (You could also divide it into two half-pints. Keep one for yourself and give the other away!)

A homemade natural scrub makes a great gift. Add a bit of ribbon or raffia to make it pretty.

Store-bought beauty products contain synthetic ingredients to hold mixtures together. Your all-natural scrub will separate. Stir before each use. Moisten your face with warm water, scoop out a bit of the scrub, and apply to your skin. Work it in gently–you can even leave it on for 10 or 15 minutes to increase the nourishing benefits before washing off with warm water. Use a couple times a week and you won’t believe how soft your skin will be! I love this stuff. It makes me feel as if I’ve had an expensive spa treatment–and it’s practically free.

Note: This keeps well (easily as long as it takes to use this amount) and doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

You can find more brown sugar scrub recipes on the Chickens in the Road forum.
Article printed from Chickens in the Road: http://chickensintheroad.com

URL to article: http://chickensintheroad.com/house/crafts/make-your-own-brown-sugar-scrub/

MOIST GARLIC ROASTED CHICKEN ~ for Blood Type O Secretors

1 (4 pound) whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 large lemon, sliced
6 cloves garlic, sliced
6 sprigs thyme

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

Place a large sheet of parchment paper into the middle of a roasting tray (or prepare as per directions for my Juicy Roast Chicken. The parchment must be large enough to completely envelop the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, stuff with half of the lemon slices, and place breast side up in the middle of the parchment paper. Sprinkle garlic slices, and thyme sprigs evenly over the chicken. Lay the remaining lemon slices over the breast. Fold the parchment over the chicken forming a loose parcel.

Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken has cooked, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. A meat thermometer inserted into thickest part of the thigh should reach 180 degrees F.

NOTE:
Instead of slicing the garlic I used a paring knife to poke holes in the breast and inserted the whole garlic cloves right in. There was a nice garlic flavor throughout the chicken. I took another reviewer's suggestion and opened up the parchment paper during the last 30 minutes so the chicken could brown.

JUICY ROAST CHICKEN ~ for Blood Type O Secretor

1 (3 lb.) whole chicken, giblets removed

Salt and black pepper to taste (or Montreal Chicken Seasoning)

1 T. onion powder, or to taste

1 T. garlic powder, or to taste

1/2 c. butter, divided

1 stalk celery, leaves removed

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper or Montreal Chicken Seasoning. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 T. butter in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining butter around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.

Bake, breast-side down, uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180°F. Baste every 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and baste with melted butter and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

NOTE: if you use larger hen then cook time will be longer.

MORE IDEAS FROM READERS:

I followed the direction except I had no onion powder and used a little onion in the cavity. The chicken breasts were not juicy at all and next time (there will be a NEXT time!) I will cook this breast side down. I lined my pan with foil and the gravy/sauce was incredible. One of the top ten gravies I have ever tasted, and that's saying a lot, because my father is a gravy magician. I know there was a lot of chicken fat in it, but this thin light sauce drizzled over roasted vegetables was outstanding! I didn't thicken it or add anything else to it at all, it was salty enough. Overall, fantastic recipe, use as much butter as you want and my trick with the salt is to not just rub it on, but massage it very well into the skin, the better you do this, the better the skin. Dry breasts, use A+ sauce.

***

I had to make one adjustment to the recipe. I did not have onion powder so I ended up using a packet of the dry onion soup mix which still worked out great.

***

I added garlic powder and season salt to the outside, otherwise followed the recipe as written. It was perfectly moist, the only drawback is that the seasoning wasn't fabulous. This would be the perfect recipe - it only needs a good punch of seasonings! Next time I will make a spice rub and let it marinate for several hours beforehand.

***

MMMMMMM.... good! The secret is don't use light margarine - or anything that's got water in it. I use 1/2 olive oil & 1/2 butter - melted together and then brushed over chicken & splash the rest inside. I add an onion inside with the celery. Adding any broth or water makes for a more stringy, chewy, dry chicken. Also, don't cover it, because you don't want to trap any steam. I cook it low & slow at 325 until the thermometer reads 170-ish deg. Then take it out to rest & let the temp. Rise to 180. Chicken heaven! This works with cut up chicken pieces too!

***

Garlic powder, rosemary, onions, onion powder, mushrooms, and celery and came out even better!

Also, I was out of the onion powder and so I used garlic powder instead, I also lifted the skin on the breasts and massaged some butter under it, makes the skin crispy. Yumm.

***

I have tried this recipe with Promise Lite Spread and it came out juicy as ever. Recipe calls for margarine and I am happy to say low fat or lite works just as good.

***

Great recipe! Though, I had to use different ingredients to season the chicken. i didn't use salt and pepper. I used Cajun seasoning and rubbed it outside and inside the chicken. I stuffed the butter/margarine inside the cavity like it says in the recipe but instead of using onion powder I stuffed onion wedges inside the chicken. I also added crushed garlic cloves and about 2-3 sprigs of rosemary. If you're too lazy to baste chicken, you can inject olive oil (or garlic infused olive oil) in the breast and the thigh to make it really, really moist. It’s such a no-brainer. Thanks for the recipe.

*** 

Added some potatoes to the pan and brushed over them with some olive oil since the margarine was not melted yet. Yum!

BREAD PUDDING with BOURBON SAUCE ~ for Blood Type O Secretors

Bourbon Sauce:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup Kentucky bourbon {Makers Mark}

Bread Pudding:
1 loaf spelt bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch squares (about 6-7 cups)
1 qt almond milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup raisins (soaked overnight in 1/4 cup bourbon)
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted


Bourbon Sauce:
In a saucepan, melt butter; add sugar and egg, whisking to blend well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. (Do not allow to simmer, or it may curdle.) Whisk in bourbon to taste. Remove from heat. Whisk before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.

Bread Pudding:
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.

2 Soak the bread in milk in a large mixing bowl. Press with hands until well mixed and all the milk is absorbed. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, vanilla, and spices together. Gently stir into the bread mixture. Gently stir the raisins into the mixture.

3 Pour butter into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in the bread mix and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until set. The pudding is done when the edges start getting a bit brown and pull away from the edge of the pan. Can also make in individual ramekins.

Serve with bourbon whiskey sauce on the side; pour on to taste. Best fresh and eaten the day it is made.

Yield: Makes 8-10 servings.

Adapted from recipe at:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chubby-Gourmet/651895261500834

BLACKBERRY COBBLER

6 cups Fresh Or Frozen Blackberries
1/2 cup Plus 4 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
1/2 whole Zest Of Lemon
2 cups Spelt Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/4 cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 whole Egg
1/2 cup Milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine blackberries, ½ cup sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a mixing bowl. Stir and spread out in a buttered Pyrex dish.

In a separate bowl pour flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Add shortening and butter and work mixture together with a pastry blender (or your fingers) until the mixture is coarse. Measure ½ cup milk, add an egg, and mix together. Pour into flour mixture, stirring as you go. Mixture should be smooth and not dry, but not over sticky.

Take clumps of dough and place them on top of the blackberries. Lightly flatten dough with your fingertips. Sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar and bake until golden for 30 minutes. Berry juice will be slightly thin, but don’t be afraid. It will gradually soak into the biscuity topping and make your life complete.

Courtesy of The Chubby Gourmet  https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Chubby-Gourmet/651895261500834

BAKED CHEESE BALLS ~ for Blood Type O Secretors

Cut up mozzarella cheese, dip in almond milk, then spelt Italian bread crumbs.
Bake at 425 for 7-10 minutes.
Yummy Dipped in Marinara Sauce!!!