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Thursday, March 26, 2015

**RECIPE** Oven Crispy Pork Chops

This is for Tiana, who I was blessed to meet this morning. She really brightened up my morning. We discussed food and the different ways we are trying to get healthy. I tried to tell her about my recipe for pork chops done in the oven with a corn chip crust (to replace our grease-fried skillet chops), but here is the recipe from memory.

Ingredients, Equipment & Instructions:

  • Pork chops (any kind, but the thinner cuts are best)
  • corn or tortilla chips
  • (opt) seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic, etc)
  • (opt) liquid smoke
  • about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil for each chop
  • Baking sheet, foil (optional), large enough pan to oil-dip the chops, and a plastic bag (or just a large area) for crushing and working with the chips.
  1. Line the baking sheet with foil and a spray of cooking oil (or with a rub of olive oil)
  2. Take your thawed chops and rinse lightly. Pat dry with paper towel.
  3. In your coating pan, pour the olive oil in & set aside.
  4. Crush your chips (in the plastic bag or on on a flat surface). You can use a rolling pin or a canned good.
  5. Lightly dip the chops in the oil on each side. (If you need to, you can rub the chops together to share the oil coating. Just need enough oil to hold the seasoning you are going to add...
  6. Add the seasoning. (If your chips are seasoned or salted, adjust additional seasonings as needed.)
  7. Coat the chops with the chips. 
  8. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes each side, checking every 10 minutes or so.
This comes out with a nice crunch and there's no heavy "bad" fats used. I like to serve mine with a spinach and avocado salad with a vinegar and honey dressing. 

Hope you enjoy it, Tiana!

Peace
--Free

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

**REVIEW** Indian Healing (Bentonite) Clay

This Indian Healing (bentonite) Clay product by Majestic Pure is to detoxify and cleanse the pores. I've heard about clays for this purpose and there are supposed to be many benefits to using bentonite in face and body care. This brand of clay is supposed to be more detoxifying. (NOTE: This clay is not labeled for internal use/ingestion!)



(My jar was damaged in transit. I'm sorry that I didn't get a photo of the clay itself, but I notice that this blogger did in her review of this same product. I hope she doesn't mind my linking to her page. I love her blog's name!)

 I never understood exactly what bentonite clay was so I had to do a little checking. Wikipedia describes it as an "absorbent aluminium phyllosilicate, impure clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite". Of course I didn't look up all those words, but I get the gist of the description. What I didn't realize is that there are different types of bentonite - each type depending on their dominant element.  I think that your chosen clay type would depend on what your skin type is. This particular clay that I reviewed has is a sodium bentonite. From glancing at characteristics of the 3 types of the clay, I gather that sodium bentonite expands when wet; calcium bentonite absorbs fats and oils; and potash (potassium bentonite) is potassium rich.

Like I said, I had heard of clay being used for skin care. I remember that, years ago, my mother mentioned that "bathing" in clay was good for the skin. Of course, my mother also used to eat clay dirt so...

Anyway, getting back to this particular clay, I did use it as both a facial mask and as a body treatment. I mixed water to make a paste for the facial and, for my body, I did more of a scrub. I was too impatient to clean up the mess I'd make by doing a whole-body mask.

As a facial treatment, it worked well. The mask didn't get rock hard and uncomfortable the way most drying/drawing masks tend to do. Rinsing it off wasn't too tedious either and I got the extra benefit of some exfoliation in the process. When I used it in the bathe as a sort of scrub (mostly just using a wet washcloth to run the clay over my torso, elbows and knees), I didn't get as much benefit as from the facial. I probably should have stood in the shower first and done a more thorough scrubbing. Sitting in a bath, the clay just made a muddy mess to sit in.

As you can see from the photo on Dreadfully Divine's page, this clay is super, super fine-grained. One of the things that would have made it easier to use/dispense would have been a handy scoop. I also had a bit of frustration in trying to get the right balance of water and clay to make my mask. So maybe I should say that a measuring scoop would have helped. I eventually stumbled upon a good consistency for a facial mask, but I didn't keep track of the measurements so I'll have to go through the same thing next time.

My preferred way to use this is to make a little paste in the palm of my hand and then use it as an exfoliating cleanser. One reason for this is that it's easier to get a usable consistency with this method. Also, I don't always want to do a mask treatment - waiting for it to set and dry, then rinsing.

The clay did make my face feel good. I plan to do the next body treatment as a oil-and-clay scrub, and this time I'll use the shower method.

Like I mentioned, the drawback is that, with such a fine grained clay, there's potential for a mess. On the upside, the customer service team is responsive. The jar I received arrived with a cracked lid. Some of the clay was silting out into the mailing container. Someone got back to me immediately and offered to replace my jar. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I am waiting.

If you are unhappy with the product for any reason, contact the Seller within 60 days for a 100% guaranteed refund.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.


Monday, March 23, 2015

**App REVIEW** Got Questions?

During church the last few Sundays, I noticed how many people use their Bible apps on tablets and phones instead of traditional Bibles. I am one of the app people. I always come home and make notes in my traditional Bible, but my phone is so much easier to use during church services.

This past Sunday, after a really detailed study of the part of the Book of Daniel that relates to the 70 weeks of the end times, I added some topics to my Flipboard app. "Apologetics" is one of my favorite topics and, through an article on Flipboard, I learned about the Got Questions? app.

Got Questions is one of those sites I generally refer to when I, well, have questions. I was surprised that I had never heard of their Android app before now. I was even more surprised to see how good the app is. I never thought that an app could live up to the best of the site, but it does. Because my phone is with me more than my laptop is, I actually prefer the app for regular use.

After downloading, I was given a choice of updating the content (of questions) and this update feature is on the menu for refreshing as needed. The app is in a great format of categorized questions with a Search option. Also, users can "Favorite" questions that then show up on a menu for quick re-reads.

Of several reviews I read before downloading, the only negative ones had nothing to do with the design and function of the app (there were a few users who had problems with content and theology). In my experience, the app runs very, very smoothly on the Samsung Note4 (Android version 4.4.4) and quickly. In my opinion, there are no problems with the theology or content I've seen yet, and I have sense enough to check every and anything to do with that against the Bible.

BEST part? Got Questions is FREE and the app is also available via iTunes and Windows 

My top use for this app - other than my own study purposes and general curiosity - is to find a starting point for discussions among my friends and family when certain topics come up. When I just want to read up on something, I can check the Random Article feature. Even for someone not of faith, this would be a good app to have for getting a general handle on questions about what Christians believe.

Great app, great resource, and just handy, handy, handy.

If you know of similar (and good) apps, feel free to share with me.

Peace
--Free

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Doing Yourself Healthy Natural Hacks, Solutions & Substitutes

It was nice browsing through information I found on other sites when I did the Do Yourself Beautiful post. So nice that I kept browsing through last night's insomnia. I thought I would pass along some things I found to address problems with dry skin and hair, wrinkles, dealing with other common healthy and beauty problems - in the most natural ways possible. (NOTE: when I speak of "natural" hair, I mean the hair african-american, bi-racial or other people who have naturally kinky-curly hair.) Here we go:

Treating your skin



For dry or damaged or "special needs" hair
(I think I'm going to compare all the lists & pick the foods that show up more than twice. Because, apparently, everyone has an opinion!)

Some Random finds
Well, that ought to keep us all busy for a while, right? BTW, I'm not kidding about the Matcha powder. I just applied to try a few different brands, but I will probably start by picking some up locally. When I get a chance to try it out, I will do reviews for you guys. So stay tuned, and do let me know if you try any of the listed hacks and recipes. I want to know what you think.

Peace
--Free

Friday, March 20, 2015

Do Yourself Beautiful (Naturally)

So many things to do with some of the products I get a chance to review. A friend of mine came to visit today and we were sharing and exchanging beauty products. She fell in love with the organic coconut oil I shared with her. She was telling me about a sugar & coconut oil skin treatment she's been wanting to try. All that talk of beauty products and recipes got me to thinking about putting together this post.

There are a lot of yummy-sounding recipes for and ways to use Coconut Oil, Argan Oil, Lemon Oil and some others ingredients. Here are some of the ones I've run across that I really like the sound of:


Coconut Oil








Argan Oil









Lemon Essential Oil & Lemons



Other Essential Oils








Good stuff, right? 

I will do more posts on using some of the other products I have either reviewed or just run across in my daily life. 

By the way, many thanks to all these sources for some good and useful info! If any of you have more DIY stuff that you like or have heard about, please share with the rest of us.

Peace
--Free

**TrueSol Moroccan Argan Oil

Argan oil is one of the richest and most versatile of all the oils I use. I love it. I really like when one is good quality. This one is of great quality and feels marvelous on my skin:




This is 100% pure Moroccan Argan Oil by True Sol Nutrition.

I have used this on my skin, nails, feet, and hair. I judge the quality of it based on the fact that I can just straight apply it to my face and hands and get instant relief from dryness - without an overly oily residue. (Although, I do lightly blot my face when I'm going to be applying makeup afterwards.) When I use it on my feet and hands, I get almost zero residue. Guess that tells you about the state of my feet and hands...

Paraben free

This is one of the 2 oils I used as a carrier while using the tea tree oil I am also beginning to love. The Argan oil is rich enough to protect my skin from the straight tea tree for spot treatments while the odor-free factor allows me to use it with my fragrant essential oils.

Once again, to go over the general benefits of Argan oil:
  • Moisturizing for dry (and even acne prone skin)
  • As a makeup remover and skin cleanser (rub in and wipe off with a towelette)
  • Improving skin elasticity (which could help with stretch marks)
  • Soothe chapped lips, and
  • mix with tea tree to make a lip treatment, or
  • mix with an exfoliant to make a lip scrub
  • Mix with an exfoliant to make a face/body scrub
  • Help soothe razor burns
  • Treat dry scalp and hairline
  • Use on nails and cuticles
  • A hot-oil treatment for hair (and for the skin - especially good on feet!)
  • Tame your flyaway hair
  • Add shine to hair
  • Use as a leave-in hair conditioner
  • Fade sunspots on the skin (I've heard it can possibly heal sun-damaged skin)
  • For dry facial skin, you can add a bit to your cosmetics
  • The oil is high in anti-oxidants
And the list goes on and on and on.

This brand is really good. The one drawback for some might be that the price is higher than for other brands. I counter that with the fact that this oil is of a really good quality (and that makes a big difference). I used this on my face and was happy that it didn't clog my pores or leave a nasty residue. I wouldn't be as picky for an oil that I was going to slather on my feet or knees, but when it comes to my face, I prefer quality over quantity. The other thing that I noticed was that the website listed on the bottle is no longer working. By ordering through Amazon, customers will be protected with the standard Amazon return policy.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Where Are You? A Child's Book About Loss

**UPDATE** I found out that it was my dearest and best ever friend, Barb, that sent this for DJ. That's the kind of friend she is: the best. Ever.

I owe some sweet person a very sincere Thank You.

Along with all of the adults in our family, we have out little one (DJ) who is also dealing with the loss of his "Auntie Mike".  I just checked our mail and found this beautiful surprise - addressed to DJ in my care:


This book is a sweet and thoughtful creation by the author, Laura Olivieri (illustrated by Kristin Elder) that captures everything that a child must think when someone they love is suddenly no longer there.

Until I find out who sent this for DJ, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to... whoever you are. God bless you.

Peace
--Free

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

**REVIEW** Pure Body Naturals Fractionated Coconut Oil

No, this isn't the first time I have reviewed a fractionated coconut oil, but I like doing reviews of similar products by different brands. Fractionated coconut oil is kind of a big thing right now because, I think, it's a very versatile product and comes in large enough sizes to last a while. This is why it's important to pick a fractionated oil that lives up to a certain standard. I have a few things that I want in this product: that it's fresh, that it's pure, and that the price is good. This one passed the test.


This is a 100% Pure Fractionated Coconut Oil by Pure Body Naturals.

Let's look at the whole 100% and "pure" thing. When I first discovered how much I like fractionated coconut oil, I kept an eye out for some whenever I was shopping around town. I won't mention names of the store, but I found some on the shelf at a local place. I can't remember what the exact price was, but it was about half the cost of this one for an 8-ounce bottle. The product was mostly hidden by the label but, when I got it home and tried it, I could tell that I had an inferior oil. For one thing, the oil was really cloudy - which made me doubt the purity. All the other good oils I've used have been crystal clear. It was the odor that let me know I couldn't trust the product. There was a slight "off" smell to it.

This oil by Pure Body is right up there with some of the best, but it is rather pricey. However, if you catch it when it's (or have Amazon Prime), it's the best in my opinion. There is no second-guessing the purity claim.

Of course, this one can be used as a carrier oil and in all the other ways that fractionated oils are being used for. I did try this one in a couple other ways and one of my favorite uses is as a hot oil wrap for my hands and feet. Just slather on the oil, wrap your hands and feet in some cling film, then wrap them in a warm (or even hot) wet towel and relax. This really works nice when you are a few days past a manicure or are getting ready to step out in some sandals. (And thank goodness it's just about time for sandals!)

I was recently gifted with a manicure and the promise of another one. I'm the kind of person who straightens up the hotel room before the maid comes. Before my next manicure, I'll do a hot oil treatment prior to the appointment. The oil is really good on dry cuticles.

The most popular way to use fractionated oil is as a carrier for other products. I am going to experiment with using this with my tea tree oil and my homemade fragrance mixes with Sweet Orange and Myrrh. I use the Myrrh on my hair and scalp, so I need a good carrier oil that won't interrupt with the scent.

The other important thing when buying any product is, of course, whether the brand stands behind the quality. Pure Body Naturals has a "no quibble" guarantee in place. I also like that they list their contact address on their site. Nice. I have used several Pure Body Natural products and they have always been quick to respond to questions, and they have responsive customer service people.

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

**FAMILY** This is (just some of) My Big, Beautiful, Crazy Family

As the song says, "The Storm Is Over Now", as far as the worst part of my grief. A lot of people might not understand what a blow it was for us to lose Mike, but I have such a big and crazy and beautiful family that I decided to steal and share some of our photos. Now you know.























This is just a tiny teeny bit of the photos I am sorting through (ahem, stealing) to put together a family slideshow later. It's going to be a loooong job... You can tell that we are strong on serving our country, loving our kids, and putting up with each other through thick and thin. #Blessed

Peace
--Free

**RECIPE** Cool Whip & Jello Rainbow Cake (and bragging)

This was one of my mother's and my sister's favorite recipes. All the chicks in the family learned to make it except for me. Until the other day. My first one was a disaster because I made a couple of rookie mistakes. My niece, +Gabrielle B (who should have her own bake & crafts shop!) walked me through it over the phone and I finally #nailedit.





Here is the recipe (with notes from my own experience):

Ingredients:

  1. 2 boxes white cake mix
  2. 2 (or more) different colors of Jello gelatin
  3. Big tub of Cool Whip
Also needed
  1. 2 cake pans - each large enough to hold a full cake mix*
  2. Parchment paper (to line bottom of each cake pan for baking)
  3. Enough extra oil and some flour (to dust the pans)
  4. Coffee straws (for poking holes in cake)
  5. Skewers (or toothpick-like items to anchor the cake for frosting)
  6. A children's medicine squirter, if you have one. 
  7. Make sure to have room cleared in fridge to hold cake pans later.
  8. Make sure the fridge is very, very cold.
  9. Leave your Cool Whip in fridge (not the freezer). Makes it easy to use later.
  10. Have a plate ready for later. The cake is tall, so...
Instructions:
  1. Mix and bake cake (one box for each of the 2 pans). Don't forget to line bottom with paper.
  2. Once cakes cool to normal, put them in fridge for AT LEAST 8 hours.
  3. Just prior to removing cake pans from fridge, mix your Jello, keeping colors separate. (My mother would use half the water required for making the Jello. Give more intense flavor.)
  4. You're going to leave the Jello in its liquid state. Set it aside.
  5. Take out your cakes (and leave them in the pan). Poke holes in the cakes from top to bottom. This is where you are going to be injecting the Jello. (You want to space the holes so that your Jello colors won't glob together, and you don't want to make any too near the edge of the cake.)
  6. Use your medicine squirter to inject your different colors of Jello into the holes. (Don't put the same colors close together; spread them around for a pretty effect when the cake is sliced.)
  7. Put the cakes (still in the pan) back in the fridge. Try to wait at least several hours. I left mine in for about 8 hours.
  8. Remove one of the cakes from its pan and put onto cake plate. This is the bottom layer. Duh.
  9. Frost the top of this bottom layer of the cake with your Cool Whip. You will want to go heavy with the frosting here. Don't worry about the sides of the cake yet.
  10. Remove your other cake from it's pan and place on top of the first layer.
  11. Use something to anchor the two layers. I had a problem with the top layer sliding when I tried frosting it. Also, this will help steady the cake later when you're cutting slices. (Trust me, anchor the cake!)
  12. Frost the rest of the cake. (I like to go heavy with the Cool Whip.)
  13. For extra prettiness, you can run lines through the frosting across the top of the cake and down the sides. Add a little of the Jello and let it run down the lines.
The cake needs to be kept in the fridge in between servings (if it lasts that long!).

It's a pretty easy and inexpensive cake to make. Plus, you can use the leftover Jello and Cool Whip for more snacking later.

By the way, this is what happens if you don't get the right size skewers & they stick up too high:




But that's better than when you don't have a cold enough fridge, get impatient about letting the cake set overnight, and make all the other mistakes I did with the first one:




And this is what happens when you're a baking queen like my niece!




And I'm not kidding when I call Gabby the Queen of All Creative... Here are some of what she has done - while holding down a full-time job and going for her Masters... Stiff competition in the family to pursue your dreams. (Gabby lives in the Dallas Texas area, and she is available for custom cakes and creations of all kinds for parties, baby showers, etc. #pluggingmyretirementplan!)







Everything has a function



Jazzing up some plain chairs

Nintendo cookies for a family birthday

fiesta hats

Our uncle's M & M birthday cake

DJ's tractor construction cake


Peace
--Free