Recipe Blog

Hi! I'm Oliver, a college stuent who loves cooking and baking. This blog contains easy-ish recipes that taste great that I've found or made. If you have a recipe you think I'd like, send it in!

[aspelladay]

Lavender Body Scrubs

Method 1

In a glass jar mix together two cups of lavender baby oil with enough Epsom salts to fill the jar. Leave it to sit until the mixture is totally soaked together. Rub onto skin, being careful to avoid sensitive areas (the salt is rough) rub gently to exfoliate rough skin. Rinse with warm water. The salt will dissolve and the oils will soften the refreshed skin.

Method 2

In a glass jar mix together ½ cup liquid soap with 5 drops of lavender essential oil. Fill the jar with Epsom salts. When the fragrance has infused into the salts, rub onto the body. The lather will refresh and clean as the salts aid to remove all impurities and slough off dead skin.

(from Spells for the Lazy Witch by Deborah Ashe)

[unpeutdetoutpol-e-blog]

Homemade Honey Oatmeal Soap

Hello Everyone!

Today I bring you a tutorial on how to make your own honey and oatmeal soap. After spending way too much money at natural cosmetic places, i figured I could give it a try and save some money. Soap making is not difficult and the great thing about it is that you can scent it however you want. I wanted to try honey and oats because honey is great for the skin and oatmeal it also very soothing. Plus, adding the whole oatmeal to the soap also gives it an exfoliating effect. Yummy!

Here is what you will need!

-13 cubes of any melt and pour soap base (the one Im using is white glycerin soap base and is from my local Michael’s. If you have a coupon you can get it for cheaper but its usually 9.99$ for 2 lbs)

- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon (optional)

- 3 tablespoons of honey

- ½ cup of oats (you can add less or more is you want)

- silicone mold

- glass bowl 

Step 1

Cut the 13 cubes of the soap and place them in the glass bowl. For faster melting, cut the cubes into smaller pieces. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat in 30 second intervals, mixing after each time. Continue melting until the soap base is completely melted, it should look like this. 

Step 2

After completely melting your soap base, add the ½ cup of oats and stir. 

Step 3

Add the vanilla extract, honey, and cinnamon. Make sure to mix well! If your soap hardens, do not be afraid to re-heat for 10-15 seconds. 

Step 4

Once everything is mixed well, pour into your silicon molds

Step 5

Place your silicone mold in the refrigerator and allow your soap to set for at least an hour. Once your mold has set, pop your soap bars out of the molds and that’s it! 

This recipe made 6 soap bars with my silicone mold. I hope you enjoy this vanilla and honey scented soap! Make it for yourself, for friends or family! Its heavenly!

[motleymakery]

DIY Pressed Herb or Flower Candles:

Lovely Tutorial, from Adventures in Making.

[sweetoothgirl]

ULTIMATE DAIRY-FREE EGG NOG

[creamcheesedotcom]

I tried that method of substituting equal amounts of oil/butter for apple sauce in a banana bread I made and... I’m not a fan. Compared to previous loaves of the same recipe, this one, which I only substituted half the butter for apple sauce mind you, was bland af. Some recipes have to be made with all the calories to be worth it.

[creamcheesedotcom]

So not a recipe per say, but I ran out of dryer sheets today and started searching online for some solutions made out of materials I had on hand that wouldn’t destroy my clothes or dryer. What I came up with was throwing some vinegar and a ball of tinfoil in with your clothes to dry. The vinegar smell doesn’t carry onto the clothes and the static seems to be reduced as much as a dryer sheet would be able to. I used distilled white vinegar, although apple cider was also recommended, and just poured that on the tinfoil balls so most of it became trapped inside before popping them in with the clothes.

[creamcheesedotcom]

I’m alive! Sorry about the lack of content, y’all. Hopefully there should be an upswing as the winter break approaches.

Anyway, I had some white chocolate baking chips and not a lot else. I adore white chocolate, but it can be a tad sweet for those of us with a more sensitive palate. The lemon in these cookies really helps bring down the sweetness while still providing an indulgent, easy to make treat. I halved this recipe and ended up with about twenty cookies and a nice bit of cookie dough to enjoy while they were baking.

Ingredients

1 cup Butter slightly cold, cut into cubes

2 cups Sugar

2 Eggs

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

1 1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice

1 1/2 - 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest may put more lemon zest for extra flavor

3 cups Flour

1 1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Salt

2 cups White Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, cream slightly cold butter and sugar for 4 - 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs one a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest and stir to combine.

Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix just until combined.

Fold in white chocolate chips.

Drop dough onto light colored baking sheet.

Bake for 9-12 minutes.

[creamcheesedotcom]

I know I’ve let this blog fall by the wayside, but this post isn’t to chime in with a recipe. Unfortunately, I came down with my first case of food poisoning this weekend, 100% self inflicted.

For the love of all things good, if something looks off, DON’T EAT IT OR COOK WITH IT. It isn’t worth it! Do you know what your body does when you send something to your stomach with the wrong kinds of bacteria? It purges, usually for hours at a time. After that, if you don’t want to go back to that, you’re stuck eating saltines and sipping ginger ale for the next day or two.

I thought the white goo on the chicken sausage I was cooking was congealed fat. It Was Not. More than likely, it was listeria. Please don’t make my mistake, I had to call in sick for the first time at my college. I know it hurts to throw away food, but if you just end up losing everything in your stomach, it isn’t remotely worth it.

Learn the signs of contaminated food and follow them religiously. Your body will thank you.

[creamcheesedotcom]

I have a blueberry vanilla cinnamon chevre loaf rising. The recipe is loosely based on a swirled cinnamon loaf so we’ll see how it goes considering I took out the potato and added cheese.

[dragonprinceofficial]

We want to be part of your #TDPWatchParty!

Here are the must-haves for your marathon of The Dragon Prince!

The premiere of The Dragon Prince is right around the corner, and to get in the spirit, we’ve prepared a list of watch party must-haves to make your marathon experience even more special!

No The Dragon Prince get together is complete without some freshly made (or bought) jelly tarts. Did you know Ezran’s favorite snack is based on hamentaschen? You can find them at some bakeries, or you can make your own - here’s a quick and easy recipe! Now, if you’re going to make an Ezran-themed snack, you’ll want to include his pet glow toad, Bait. How about some sugar cookies with Bait-colored frosting? Just look at this guy, doesn’t he look tasty? No, wait… that’s not what we meant… All these yummy snacks are probably going to make you a little thirsty. In The Dragon Prince, Rayla carries what looks like a bottle of blood on her person. It’s not blood, though… it’s not. It’s moonberry juice and it’s packed with nutrients! There’s just no way blood could taste that good. For moonberry juice, we recommend a glass, or cool elf jar, of Martinelli’s Sparkling Red Grape (or Apple-Cranberry)! If you end up decorating, making snacks, dressing up, or doing any other special thing for your marathon viewing of The Dragon Prince, make sure to use the hashtag  #TDPWatchParty so we can share your party pics! HAPPY JELLY TARTING! 

[sweetoothgirl]

Raspberry Sweet Rolls

[creamcheesedotcom]

lol, I’m alive, I promise. I made blintzes tonight and I’ll have the recipe up asap, because they were awesome!

[creamcheesedotcom]

low lactose strawberry dessert spread

So I recently received the wonderful realization that I had become lactose intolerant. Sarcasm aside, it’s meant I’ve had to get creative if I wanted to enjoy rich foods without paying for it. This is a simple to make, sweet spread that can go on waffles, pancakes, graham crackers, bagels, crepes, whatever you’re feeling. This will yield about two servings depending on how generously you want to spread it.

Ingredients-

-about two ounces of plain madame chevre cheese

-a handful of strawberries

-1 spoonful of honey

-1 teaspoon of vanilla

Recipe-

1. cut strawberries into chunks no larger than your pinky nail, add to mixing bowl

2. add the honey, vanilla, and cheese

3. using a hand mixer, blend until pink and smooth

[creamcheesedotcom]

Strawberry Banana Bread

I made this today and it was delicious! This recipe yields two loaves. Remember to only fill your bread pans up about 3/4 of the way or else they’ll overflow into your oven! Also, it’s very important that you pat your strawberries dry before they go into the mix. They also need to be cut into fingernail sized chunks. Wet strawberries and pieces that are too large will sink to the bottom of the loaf instead of being evenly dispersed. Using baking parchment paper is amazing because it helps keep things from getting too brown and sticking.

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

3 ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1½ cups fresh strawberries chopped & tossed in 1 Tablespoon of flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Line two 9x5 loaf pans with baking parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.

In a small bowl, beat eggs using a fork. Add eggs to sugar mixture and beat until combined. Add mashed bananas and mix until combined.

Sift all dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add sifted dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix until flour is just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Fold in floured covered strawberries.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and bake at 375F for 15 minutes. REDUCE heat to 350F and bake for an additional 30 minutes until edges are slightly brown or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool completely before removing from loaf pans.

[creamcheesedotcom]

Conifer Tea

Ingredients      

                                           Pine, spruce or fir needles            

                       Instructions

                                         You can use the needles on the twigs or off, it's up to you.  They can be fresh, or dried.  They can be whole, or chopped.  Chopping the needles and using method 2, below, will result in the strongest flavor.              

                                                   Clean the needles by rinsing well under water.            

                                                                                           method 1                                                    

           Put a handful of whole needles or several tablespoons of chopped needles into a saucepan and add 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Let sit for 5 minutes, then strain and serve.            

                                                                                           method 2                                                    

           Put a small amount of whole needles, or 1 tablespoon of chopped, into a cup.  Pour in boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes,  Strain and drink.            

[creamcheesedotcom]

Healthy Snacks for Dogs

I’m getting a rescue dog this weekend! Not so fun fact, not only are dog biscuits expensive, they’re also not very good for dogs. When you want to reward your dog, consider these alternative to dog biscuits that are healthy and shareable. Always make sure that any treat you give your dog isn’t something they could choke on!

-apple slices, making sure to remove any seeds

-sliced carrots

-banana, in moderation

-green beans, although I’ve heard too many of these can make a dog gassy

-unbuttered and unsalted popcorn

-zucchini

-watermelon

-cantaloupe

[creamcheesedotcom]

Green Tea Muffins

I made these today and they’re delicious! I love green tea so I added a bit more matcha than the recipe called for. They turned out a lovely pastel green with a gentle, slightly sweet green tea flavor. Beyond that, these muffins are a light way to start your day or end it, especially if you use skim milk and margarine.

Ingredients

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder, or to taste

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup milk 

Recipe

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.    

-Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, matcha, and sugar together in a mixing bowl; set aside. Whisk together the egg, melted butter, and milk in another bowl. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.                                                

-Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack.