Friday, November 4, 2016

Nice Smelling Fall Scents Using Essential Oils

I found some recipes in the latest issue of Living, put out by DoTerra. I tried 3 of them and like 2 of them a lot.

This one, I think we like the best. Since it has orange oil in it, it smells delicious.

Fall Harvest (Not sure of the true name of this recipe)

4 drops Cedarwood essential oil
3 drops wild Orange essential oil
3 drops Cassia essential oil
2 drops Juniper Berry essential oil

Fill diffuser with appropriate level of water and add the drops of oil. Turn the diffuser on. Enjoy the aroma!

Autumn Meadows

4 drops Douglas Fir
2 drops Cypress essential oil
2 drops Patchouli essential oil
2 drops Juniper Berry essential oil

Follow directions above.

There is a url to the magazine online and it is found here: https://www.joomag.com/magazine/living-magazine-fall-2016/0969107001474309110

Here is the url where you can find more info on essential oils and you can even order from here:
https://www.mydoterra.com/susanseifert1/#/



Thursday, October 6, 2016

My New Kitchen Toy - Instant Pot - A Multi-Task Appliance


    OK I caved in and ordered one of these about a week after I discovered them. This is called an 'Instant Pot' and it is a wonderful kitchen appliance.

      When I first heard about this, I pondered whether I would even need one or not. This one has 7 features to it, most of which I already had appliances for. But, there was one feature I did not have; a pressure cooker.

    I had a pressure cooker years ago, and used it a couple of times. I was unimpressed. Eventually, the knob broke off and I got rid of it. I didn't care for the food I made in it. But then again, I only used it a couple of times.

    I saw some appealing looking meals that were made with this appliance, and I must say, I wanted to make those as well. Because the appliance has a saute feature, the finished product was crispy, not soggy. 

      I already have 2 yogurt makers, but wanted one that would use glass jars that would fit inside. One of my yogurt makers uses little glass jars and I love it. That little yogurt making machine is probably as old as my daughter is, so I have had that one for at least 30 years now. I bought another one which works well, but, I can't fit a jar in it, unless the jar is very small. But with this Instant Pot, I can put 4 small or medium jars inside and make yogurt in it. 

   (Note: There are a couple of versions of Instant Pot and not all of them have the yogurt feature.) 

     The first thing I made in this pot was yogurt. It was time again to make more yogurt, and I was somewhat skeptical of how it would turn out. I read the reviews on it and others who made yogurt were very pleased. So, I tried my hand at it. I prepared it before I went to bed that night. Then everything went into the pot and I followed the instructions. When I got up the next morning, the yogurt had been done. It did turn out perfect.

My Instant Pot Cooker - Pressure cooker, rice cooker, saute feature, yogurt maker, and many
other things this appliance can do.

     The next thing I would make was a chicken. Again, I went to the internet to find information on how to make it, and I also bought a recipe book. The chicken turned out fine, but the whole process took about 2 hours or so to make, probably because I was not familiar with how to make a chicken in this appliance. 

     Later on, I was in a forum on Facebook for Instant Pot users. Someone had made popcorn in the Instant Pot. So, I thought I would try that as well. I followed the directions, and it turned out, but, I made the mistake of leaving the pressure valve closed, so when I made the popcorn, I made it under pressure. We learn by our mistakes. Also, I used butter, like the directions said, but the butter burned and made the popcorn dark. The popcorn itself was not burned though, but many kernels did not pop. I will try this again with just coconut oil. 

   I don't know who gets the credit for this recipe, but this is the one I found on Facebook.

Instant Pot Popcorn

Turn on SAUTE and press Adjust to raise temp to High.
When display reads HOT, add olive oil and butter. 
Wait about 1 minute then pour in corn kernels. 
Stir and make sure the fat is covering all the kernels. 
If not add more oil. 
Cover (I use the IP glass Iid) and in 2 minutes or so the corn will start popping. 
When about 2/3 of the corn has popped, turn IP off and let sit to finish popping. 
Add salt and any seasonings.

4 TBS. olive oil
3 TBS. butter
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
Salt/seasonings

Like I said, I would not use butter in the Instant Pot while cooking. Of course, it may have thought it was pressure cooking and that could have been why the butter burned. I would definitely put butter on it afterward. I also used coconut oil instead of olive oil. 

I plan to make a cheesecake tomorrow. Last week, I ordered a springform pan that was made out of safe material, that would also fit in the Instant Pot. 

Here is the one I got from amazon.com



     This one is a six quart pressure cooker with 7 different functions including yogurt making. Some of the other functions are; slow-cooker, saute, steamer/warmer, and rice cooker. I also got a recipe book to go with it. There are a lot of recipes for this on Pinterest as well. I could spend all day looking at recipes for the Instant Pot on the Internet!

  This is the cookbook I ordered:



   There are actually several Instant Pot recipe books. I may order more or maybe will just spend time going through all the recipes on Pinterest.

     The Instant Pot comes in different sizes as well. They also go on sale on amazon.com periodically, so check every day if you are waiting for a sale. I could not wait for the sale so I just ordered it as soon as I was ready and able to.

   How did I miss ever seeing this appliance until now?

   The above items are affiliate links. Thanks for you support!



Wednesday, September 14, 2016

My Version Of 'Thieves' Essential Oil Blend

OK, I don't have the trade secret recipe for Thieves, but what I have come up with does the job well.

As you probably know, the legend of the 4 or 5 Thieves started during a plague in Europe. I don't know if this story is true, but it is interesting, nonetheless. There were several plagues that attacked Europe, so I don't know which one this one had to do with, but, a group of thieves were robbing the graves of those who died from the plague. The thieves never got the sickness, and they were caught. They went to court and were found guilty of robbing graves. However, they would be allowed to go free if, and only if, they would reveal the secret of why they never got sick from digging up the graves of those who died in the plague. The secret had to do with this blend of essential oils that they used. They covered themselves in this oil blend before they would dig up the graves. The essential oils used in their blend were lemon, rosemary, eucalyptus, cinnamon, and clove.

Many have replicated this recipe and today it is used kind of like a disinfectant. You can get this oil blend from companies which make good essential oils. Or, you can order the individual oils and make the recipe yourself. That is what I do, and here is my own version of it.


Grave Robber's Oil

25 drops cinnamon essential oil
25 drops clove essential oil
25 drops eucalyptus essential oil
25 drops wild orange essential oil (can use lemon essential oil or a combination of both wild orange and lemon)
25 drops rosemary essential oil

Place drops of oil in a bottle. I use a bottle with a dropper, but you could use a roller bottle if you prefer.

The reason I like this recipe so well is that whenever I put a drop on my hands, the aroma goes off and people do notice. I was in a room with children, and a man came in to get something. He made the comment of something smelling good in the room and wondered what it was. I have had people ask me what the smell was and many are impressed. Plus, I use it to clean my hands when I am in a public place. It also serves as a perfume. Kind of smells a little like Christmas.

If you are interested in essential oils or have any questions, please send me an email at awestruck@bellsouth.net  . Be sure to put the words 'essential oil' in the subject somewhere.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Easy and Tasty Eye Round Roast In Slow Cooker

  For those of you who like to make pot roasts, here is an easy way to make one that ends up tasting good.

  You can use any roast that you would normally use for a pot roast. Just pour some kefir over the pot roast and let it sit for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Then, place the pot roast and kefir into a slow cooker. Add a couple of cups of water and let it cook on low for at least 6 hours to 18 hours. (Note: if you have a Rival crock pot, keep an eye on it as Rivals seem to cook at a higher temperature than other slow cookers.)

  You can also use yogurt instead of kefir. I had read somewhere where buttermilk or yogurt helps to make the meat tender. I would imagine any cultured milk product would work this way, if that is true. And if it isn't true, at least it will make a good gravy.

   Take a couple of mushrooms, if desired, and slice them up and sautee them. Then add them to the mixture in the slow cooker. You can add them any time to the slow cooker.


Of course, I would recommend using a grass-fed cut of meat, whenever possible. Enjoy, or as people in Germany would say, 'Guten Appetit'!

Note: Whenever working with cultured products, use glass if possible. Sometimes, cultured products such as yogurt or kefir react with metal.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

A Warning And A Plea To Moms Everywhere

  Back in the 1950s, life was fairly safe for people, including children. We locked our doors but you didn't hear about too many robberies. People respected the law and most obeyed, at least on the outside.

   I hate to write this type of blog on this blog site, but, we have to be so careful today. I am heartbroken by a lot of things that are happening in our country. One of the worst things happening, is that children are being taken away from their homes. Many of these children will be killed. Some will be physically destroyed. Others will be destroyed just because they are taken out of their home environment where they were thriving, but authority figures think they know best and remove them from parents because they judge the parents as not competent when they really are.

   The one I want to focus on is the one where children are kidnapped. I was listening to a true, very sad story told in class, about a child who was never seen again by the mother. She was shopping with her six year old boy, and the child was bored. He complained and wanted to go home. The mother still had some shopping to do. A young man came up to the mother and started a conversation with her. He was earning her trust as a safe person. He offered to take the boy to a video store in the mall. The mother said 'no'. She didn't know the man. He continued to talk to her and mentioned that he had a son around the same age. He totally understood what this mom was going through, and empathized with her. I don't know how long the conversation went on for, but he asked again to take the boy to the video store. The mother felt like if she said 'no', she would be judging him. So, she let her boy go to the video store with the stranger. Is was not too long after that when she decided to follow the man with her son. They were no where to be found, and she never saw the boy again.

   I think this is horrible for a variety of reasons. The mom wanted to be nice to the man and not judge him. Is it wrong to say 'no' to someone who wants to take your child somewhere, and you don't know that person? Never feel bad about saying no to anyone who wants to take your child away.

   Pornography is a terrible sin, and it does terrible things to people, especially children. Most children who are brought into child pornography do not recover well, unless they get good counsel and ministry. Sometimes, they grow up and become sexual abusers themselves. Many of those who struggle with sexual abuse and porn were those who were abused as children. They never got the help they needed to be free from the lie of pornography and they were destroyed. They will destroy others too.

   One thing to keep in mind with pedophiles, is that they are sexually aroused during the whole operation of their kidnapping scheme. This makes it even harder to deal with.

   Please keep your children with you at all times, or at least keep your eye on them. These predators are sneaky and will take all kinds of risks to take our children and use them for their own ends. You need to have eyes in the back of your head, as my mother in law would say.

  I had heard years ago, that the most desired target for pedophiles is 5 year old boys with blond hair and blue eyes.

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Recommended Product To Help Children Relax

I am taking a class on Biblical Counseling with Children and Adolescence. There actually was a recommendation in an article we read for class, indicating that this product helps children to sleep better at night. I live in a home with insomniacs, and we are using this product to help us sleep better as well as magnesium and other valid sleep aids.



When you shop at Amazon, one suggestion is to put the item in the cart, but do not actually order the item. Periodically check the price on the item in the cart. If there is a price change, which happens many times, you will get a message in your cart telling of the price change. The item could go through several price changes a day. Many items fluctuate in their prices every day, so with any item you wish to order, check on it often to see if the price has come down.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Moms Play A Serious Role In The Family



  We have all heard the saying 'The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world", yet, it hasn't seemed to register with most of us. Either that, or we really do not believe that to be true.


  Does media control the ideas of society, or is it the other way around? Is there advertising that is making women believe that it is more admirable to have a career than it is to stay home with the children?


  Years ago, I remember reading something written by the 'experts' who would say that children who live in a home where parents are divorced are not affected by the divorce. Why would they not see the effects of divorce? Could it be because there are lawyers and attorneys who capitalize on people who do not get along with each other? Instead of helping a man and woman take steps to reconciliation, there just seems to be this drive to provide the divorce. After all, lots of money comes from a divorce. Nobody wants that kind of income to be threatened.

  Well, the point of what I am writing is this; today we have a society made up of people who don't seem to know their left hand from their right hand. People do not appear to have been taught how to think for themselves. No one ever taught them how to regard what is right. They were not taught how to separate the truth from the lies. They may not have been taught how to balance a check book. They might not even been taught how to get ready to have a career and to provide for themselves and their families.

  I see people crossing the street without even looking for oncoming traffic. Something is wrong with this picture. I believe it is due to the fact that adults do not want to do hard things. Society, along with the lies of the media, tell women that they need that career to be a complete person. I am not personally against women working or having a career. But I am concerned when a woman becomes a mom, and chooses to leave her baby with someone else in order to keep up with her career. (I know many have to work to help pay the bills. I am referring to those who choose to work vs. needing to work).

   A mom's value and role is serious. The Bible says that a child left to himself brings his mother to shame. The Bible has a lot to say about the roles of parents.

   How easy it is for us to skip over the part of mothering. We listen to the media and think that being at home is boring and a waste of time. There are reasons why this happens, but we need to look at the Scriptures and see what the word says.

   The question isn't is it wrong for a woman who has children to have a career? The question should be, is the woman who is a mother, taking time to train and nurture her children? If she can do that and have a career at the same time, more power to her! If she has to make a choice between her job or staying home with the children, which would she take if she had to decide on either one or the other?

   We have mindless adults living around us today. No one took the time to prepare them for life. Where was mom? Sure, some children were orphaned and have only a father to care for them. He has to provide for the family and can't take time with the children. But that is not usually the case. Many parents today are simply irresponsible.

   The alternative for many, sadly is to go to the clinic and get an abortion, when the pregnancy test turns out positive. But is this really an answer to the dilemma?

   God asks us to do hard things. But He gives us the power, strength, and wisdom, if we want it. If we resist God and want to continue to be irresponsible, then we will suffer. But it will not only be us, it will be our children as well. And our grandchildren, if they should ever arrive.

   God commanded us to procreate. He also gives us His word, and His Spirit, so we can know how to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. God can help us and give us wisdom in every situation. He will be with us and desires to help us. But if we want to be in control, we will not have God's wisdom and strength to do what is right.

Here is a description of an ambitious woman, blessed by God:

An excellent wife who can find?*
She is far more precious than jewels.
  The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
  She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
  She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
  She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
  She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
  She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
  She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.
  She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
  She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
  She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
  She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
  She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
  Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
  She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
  Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
   She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
   She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
   Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
   “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
   Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
   Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

  This is not a woman who is 'out to lunch' so to speak. This woman is intentional. She has goals. She loves her family. She even does work outside the home! Her children are well taken care of. They will not grow up to be mindless adults. They will have wisdom that only comes from God when they grow up and have their own families. 

    We are a generation of foolish people. We do not fear God. We listen to what society thinks and what society expects. We can only do what is right, if we have the 'mind of Christ'. That is what we need to have, then we will have an eternal perspective. We will see that there are consequences for wrong decisions. We will pass that on to our children and they will pass that on to their children.  

* Proverbs 31:10-31 ESV