Homemade Spa Experience

I am not one for making New Year's resolutions. 

As a matter of fact, I don't know that I ever have. 

But I decided that this year is different.  We all have things we could be working on, right? 

So I sat the guys down and asked them each to come up with one thing that they would like to stop doing or start doing in 2012.  

After lots of ideas and conversation, we came to a conclusion.  We all needed to work on one area in particular.  

Love. 

Loving each other.  Loving the people in our lives, even the difficult ones.  Loving strangers.  Loving God.  This is our call; to love. 

But what about loving ourselves? 

It is so easy for me, and I believe most women, to get wrapped up in the lives of our families and demands of everyday life that we forget to love and take care of ourselves. 

So that's it.  

I am going to try and make time every day to do at least one loving thing for myself this year. Nothing extravagant, or maybe so.  Who knows what I might come up with.  

Yesterday I created a homemade spa experience using items from my pantry.  I decided on a facial that turned out to be incredibly relaxing and satisfying.  It left my skin amazingly smooth and bright! 

Steps to creating a homemade facial spa experience:

I suggest that you gather all of your supplies before you begin.  You will need:

• Cleanser
• Hot water
• Bowl
• Towel
• Prepared Oatmeal Mask
• Cucumber slices
• Moisturizer
• Relaxing music - Pandora has some great stations

Prepare the oatmeal mask before you begin your spa treatment.  Allowing the oatmeal to sit in the moisture for a longer period of time softens it and makes it easier to smooth on.  You can use a variety of household items to tailor the mask to your skin type.  Check out the Natural Home Remedies website for countless ideas. 

I used 1 cup of oatmeal.

I then added 2 tablespoons of honey and 3/4 cup of warm water.  

Suggestion  - You may want to send the oatmeal through the blender first.  It might be a little easier to apply.  Either way is fine though.  

Now you're ready for the spa treatment! 

First, thoroughly cleanse your face to remove impurities.

Next, create a facial steam bath to open pores.  You can buy a facial steamer or make one yourself.  Simply boil water on the stove top, place the water in a bowl and lean over it.  Place a towel over your head and the bowl to create a steam "room". 

Stay like this 10 minutes or until steam is no longer rising.  

After steaming, smooth the oatmeal mask all over your face, avoiding the eyes and lips.  Lay back with the cucumber slices on your eyes and relax until the oatmeal hardens.  During this process the oatmeal is cleansing and the honey is moisturizing your skin. 

Once the mask has dried and hardened, rinse it off with warm water. You will be washing off any dry and dead skin with the mask. 

Now splash your face with cold water to close your pores.

Finally, you can apply a moisturizer if you feel the need, but I suspect you won't.

My skin was so even, soft and bright when I was done.  What a great treat.  So far this loving myself thing has been a very satisfying part of our resolution!  =D 

What ideas do you have?

Chocolate - Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I wasn't feeling very well on New Years Eve (nasty cold) but wanted to do something special for my guys.  This is what I came up with ~ homemade chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.  Well, kinda homemade.

This is a fun and easy way to make chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and you probably already have all the ingredients you need just sitting in your pantry!    

Ingredients:

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's Cake Mix)
• 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (I used Peter Pan Honey Roasted PB)
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk

First, prepare your cupcakes according to the package instructions.

While the cupcakes are baking, you can prepare your icing.

1. Mix the peanut butter and the butter together.  I did mine by hand, but if you want your icing fluffier, you can use an electric beater to incorporate some air into the mixture.  You could also add more butter. 
2. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the icing, a little at a time (easier to mix that way).  
3. Next, add the milk in.  This is not an exact science; you can add as little or as much as you like until you reach the consistency you desire.  For this particular cupcake I wanted my icing very thick.  I also had heavy cream leftover from Christmas and so I used that up first.
4. This step is very important.  Taste it!  Is it sweet enough?  Is it too sweet?  Do you want more of a pb taste?  From here you can tweak the recipe using the ingredients to make it your own.  I listed what I thought was tasty.
5. Once you are happy with your icing's consistency and flavor, scoop it all into a baggie.

Back to our cupcakes now ~~~

Once your cupcakes are cooked and cooled it is time to fill and frost.  This is the fun part!

Using a knife, cut out a little hole in the center of the cupcake.  My guys love peanut butter, so I made a big hole (about 1" in diameter and 1" deep). 

Next, cut a corner off your icing bag and pipe it into the cupcake centers.  After filling, do a little swirl of icing on the top but remember, you don't need much ~ all the flavor is on the inside! 

Next time, once I get the icing the consistency I want for the top, I am going to separate it into two batches.  Two-thirds will be put in a baggy for the cupcake tops.  The other third will be made into a much thinner icing (adding more milk) and put in it's own baggy for filling centers.  

In my opinion, more textures always makes things taste better.  Which is why I also garnished our cupcakes with some chocolate covered peanuts (remaining chocolates from my sweet mom who brought enough chocolate to Christmas dinner for each person to eat like 1 lb each! ~ Yeah, we're Italian and that's how we do it...lol)!  Love you mom.  =D

 Hope you enjoy and have a Happy New Year!

 

Foil Packets 101

Have you tried cooking in foil packets yet?  If not, let me give you 8 good reasons that you should ~

1. Easy and Versatile -  Almost any combination is delicious!  Pick any combo of meat, veggies, seasonings and liquid that sounds good to you, center the ingredients on a piece of heavy-duty foil, wrap up, sealing the ends, bake and enjoy!   
2. Very Little Clean-up - Pan free cooking!  =)  Heck, you don't even have to dirty a plate if you just eat right out of the foil!
3. So Quick - Only 20-30 minutes for beef or chicken and 10-15 for fish, shrimp or scallops at 450 degrees.
4. Perfect On-the-Go Meal - They travel well with all the food and juices neatly packaged in foil.  They will even stay warm for a couple of hours.
5. Easy Reheat - You could make them in advance or extras for later that week.  Just keep the packet intact and reheat at 350 degree for about 5-8 minutes.
6. Portion Control  -  Do you ever end up eating more than you planned or even needed?  Cooking in foil packets ensures each serving is separated.  You can always take another packet if you're still hungry but it will be a conscious decision versus mindless eating.
7. Healthy - The food is essentially steamed by whatever liquid you put into the packet (chicken broth, wine, soy sauce, water, etc...) versus sauteing in butter and oils.  This method of cooking also ensures none of the nutrients are lost during the cooking process. 
8. Moist and Flavorful - Because the meal is steamed, the meat and veggies come out infused with intense flavor and so incredibly moist you won't even need a knife to cut it!

Notes:  Be careful  when you unwrap the foil packets!  Lots of very hot steam will escape and could burn you.  Also, if you don't have heavy duty foil, a double layer of regular foil will do the job. 

This Week's Packets: 

I made these packets for this week's wrestling meet.  One of my guys needed to limit his food intake that day to make sure he made weight.  He ate lunch but wanted to save dinner for after weigh-ins . By the time he could finally eat them (about 2 hours after they left my oven), they were still warm, moist and delicious! 

 

 My packets each included a 1/4 lb chicken breast, sugar snap peas, 

chopped red peppers and a teeny bit of onion. 

I seasoned with salt, pepper and a little Italian seasoning.  

For the liquid I used about 1 1/2 teaspoons of chicken broth per packet.  

Sealing the ends so no liquid escapes.  

 And this was our yummy dinner.  

I brought them in the foil to the wrestling meet with a plastic fork.  

No clean-up! Can't beat that.  =)

Now it's your turn!  Be creative.  =)  Remember almost any combo comes out delectable.  Also be sure to share your ideas with me and let me know what you come up with.  

Happy cooking!

Nicole