Irish Stew - Slow Cooker

1 lb. roast/steak, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, cracked
1 large onion, chopped*
3 large carrots, chopped*
4 med. potatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 c. beef/chicken stock*
1 1/2 c. frozen green peas
1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Place all ingredients except green peas in large slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Just before serving, add peas. (They will stay nice and crisp and cook down the meal for eating.)

*If using frozen vegetables, thaw before adding to slow cooker, and/or heat stock to boiling before adding. This will help raise the temperature to the "safe" point more quickly.

Chinese Chicken

3/4 c. chicken stock
3 T. vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. fresh minced gingerroot
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
4 green onions, chopped in large pieces
2-3 lbs. chicken

In the dish of a large slow cooker, whisk together first seven ingredients. Then stir in onions. Place chicken pieces in bottom of slow cooker and spoon sauce over the top. Cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 hours. Serve over Jasmine rice (3 c. prepared) with fresh pineapple and/or ginger-glazed vegetables on the side.

Homemade Lotion

Ingredients

• ½ cup almond or olive oil (can infuse with herbs first if desired)
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• ¼ cup beeswax
• Optional: 1 teaspoon Vitamin E oil
• Optional: 2 tablespoons Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter
• Optional: Essential Oils, Vanilla Extract or other natural extracts to suit your preference

Instructions

1. Combine ingredients in a pint sized or larger glass jar. I have a mason jar that I keep just for making lotions and lotion bars, or you can even reuse a glass jar from pickles, olives or other foods.
2. Fill a medium saucepan with a couple inches of water and place over medium heat.
3. Put a lid on the jar loosely and place in the pan with the water.
4. As the water heats, the ingredients in the jar will start to melt. Shake or stir occasionally to incorporate. When all ingredients are completely melted, pour into whatever jar or tin you will use for storage. Small mason jars (8 ounce) are great for this. It will not pump well in a lotion pump!
5. Use as you would regular lotion. This has a longer shelf life than some homemade lotion recipes since all ingredients are already shelf stable and not water is added. Use within 6 months for best moisturizing benefits.

From: http://wellnessmama.com/3765/homemade-lotion-recipe/

Works, feels, and smells great!

Three Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

1  egg
1 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
1/3 cup honey

Optional: chocolate chips (1/2 cup), raisins (1/2 cup), or 1/4 cup shredded coconut and 1/4 cup pitted dates, or 1/4 cup chopped dried fruit and 1/4 cup nuts…or you choose what to put in!

Mix all the ingredients together, stirring well. Drop the batter on parchment paper or silicone baking sheet, a heaping tablespoon for each cookie. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Cookies should start to brown slightly around the edges. They may seem too soft, but if they’re starting to brown they’re good to go. Cool for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

From: http://www.thankyourbody.com/recipe-3-ingredient-peanut-butter-cookies/

Yum!

Chicken Tikka Masala

For the Rice:

1 cup basmati rice

1 tablespoons butter or olive oil

½ teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)

1¾ cups water

½ teaspoon salt

For the rice, melt butter or olive oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add rice and cumin seeds and toast for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water and salt, bring to a boil, cover and turn heat to low. Rice will cook in approximately 30 minutes.

For the Chicken:

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

salt and pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons butter, divided

1 onion, diced

1-inch piece of ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

1.5 cups (1 small can) crushed or pureed tomatoes

1 heaping tablespoon garam masala

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, opt.

½-3/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk (coconut milk can also be used)

 

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil plus 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken and season it with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until fully cooked on both sides. Remove from pot and set aside.

Add remaining 3 tablespoons butter to pot and saute onions and ginger until softened. Stir in garlic, tomatoes and seasoning.  Simmer 5-10 mins. Stir in cream, then add chicken back in. Serve over rice.

Ginger-Glazed Vegetables

3-4 cups of fresh vegetables (snow peas/sugar snaps/green peas/broccoli, etc.)
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. lemon juice (or cranberry or pomegranate)
1 T. vinegar
1 T. oil
2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. honey
1 T. toasted sesame seeds, opt.

Steam vegetables until just tender crisp; plunge in cold water then drain. Stir together other ingredients and then pour over vegetables. Toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Tomatillo Sauce

3 lb. tomatillos, husked and rinsed

1-2 can of green chilies (can use other kinds for added heat)

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbs. sea salt, or to taste

To make the sauce, in a saucepan,cover the tomatillos (and chilies, if using fresh ones) with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. If some of the tomatillos remain firm, the pan should still be removed from the heat. Drain. Place the tomatillos and rest of the ingredients in a blender; process until a smooth sauce forms. 

Makes a yummy sauce for chicken enchiladas, over white rice, or for just eating with tortilla chips.