Wrapperless Eggroll

Ground meat (turkey, pork, or burger) I had a 1 ½ pounds of pork on hand

Next time I make this, I'll actually take pictures!

Minced Garlic

Chopped onion

Ginger, fresh or ground; I had ground on hand

Cayenne pepper

Black pepper

Cabbage, 1 head (Chopped)

Sauce:

Soy sauce

Honey

Ginger

Cayenne pepper

Onion powder

Garlic powder

As usual, I don’t measure anything. So, basically this is how I prepared this meal (one that my Honey said he’d like to have again. J Yay!)

Chopped a medium onion, add it and minced garlic to a skillet over medium heat, along with a tablespoon or so of oil (I used coconut oil.) Cook until onion begins to go translucent, scoot onions to edges of skillet and add ground meat to center. Season meat with ground ginger, cayenne and black pepper, stir the meat and seasonings to combine then brown meat.

As meat is browning, cut up your head of cabbage. I just used regular old cabbage, but nappa cabbage would be very good in this as well. Once meat is browned, or if you get impatient like me, once the meat is mostly browned , add the cabbage and cover. Every 5 minutes or so, stir the cabbage into the meat to encourage its wilting. While cabbage is cooking, combine soy sauce, honey, ground ginger, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Taste sauce and adjust to your liking. I ended up with maybe ¼  a cup (or more) of sauce. Pour this over everything and stir well. Serve! 

This would be excellent over a bed of rice, but we had it as is, and it was scrumptious!!!

Essential Oils: A Skeptics View

by Kathy Hutson 2/2016

Yes, I know…you are seeing them everywhere! I have never been a trend-rider, but I have always gravitated toward more natural (aka alternative) health remedies.  

The biggest buzz surrounding essential oils seems to be which brand has the best oils. I am a natural skeptic and never just run with what someone says until I’ve looked into it. So, I did some research and basically this is what I have discovered: as is true with everything I have run into; you get what you pay for.  However, at the same time, that DOESN’T mean that the most expensive (and most touted) essentials oils out there are the best of the best either. There is some middle ground.

The bottom line is that some of the oils are more expensive because of the materials they are made from, for example Helichrysum Italicum, Melissa, and Sacred Frankinsense to name a few. You can shop around and compare prices…but if you find a company that offers all of their oils at the same price point, or the price is too good to be true…RUN!

Essentially, you want a company with several or all of these attributes:

·         On the small side (not a corporation)

·         One geared toward aromatherapists or those educated in essential oils

·         One who has a certified aromatherapist on board; ideally they would be the owner

·         One who has a batch-specific MS/GC spec report readily available on each essential oil sold

·         Have MSDS readily available

·         Well established and with an excellent reputation

·         Has a relationship with their distillers

I have and use several different brands of oils, and the brands have grown as my essential oil education has grown. As far as I can tell, they all seem to work. J  I particularly like Native American Nutritionals which has joined with Rocky Mountain Oils. I also have several of Plant Therapy oils, which I purchased on Amazon (yes, I know…but free shipping is free shipping). Many of them were less expensive than other companies, not rock bottom, mind you, but they met my financial need at the time and I have been getting results from them, which is the whole reason for using them, so there you go.

In a later post I will go into what oils I use most. I will also include my cheat sheet of which oil treats what condition.

Here are some excellent articles that helped me in my research:

The Quality of Essential Oils (2010) by Jade Shutes, B.A., Dipl. AT, Cert. Herbalist

How to Choose High Quality Essential Oils (2015) from the Herbal Academy of New England

Which Essential Oil Companies Should YOU Buy From? My surprising findings […] (2013) The Hippy Homemaker Blog

Now…go out and get oily!!! J

Green Chile and Sour Cream Chicken Skillet

Green Chile and Sour Cream Chicken Skillet

      by Kathy Hutson

Chicken (boneless breast, tenders or boneless thighs)

½ Onion chopped

Black Beans (1 can, rinsed)

Tomatillo Salsa (I like Herdez)

Shredded Cheddar

Green Chiles

Chopped Jalapeños

Sour Cream (I had a 16 oz container)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Mexican Oregano

Cumin

Heat a pan over medium heat with about a tablespoon of oil.  I used coconut oil, but just use what you have on hand. Season the chicken with Salt, Pepper, Mexican Oregano, Cumin, and Garlic Powder, and then add to a pan and brown the chicken.

Rough chop the onion while the first side of the chicken browns. Once browned, turn the chicken and then add the onion to the pan. Cover the pan and cook until the onion begins to get translucent. At this time, add the black beans, and about a quarter of the bottle of Tomatillo Salsa to the pan, reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pan and cook until the chicken is cooked through completely.

During this time, make the Sour Cream and Chile sauce. Mix about ½ the container of sour cream with about ½ of the remainder of the Tomatillo Salsa (give or take…I don’t measure!)  Combine these together completely, then drain and stir in the cans of chopped Jalapeños, and Chiles. Next add some salt (½ teaspoon??), pepper, and garlic powder, (all of these are to taste) then stir well.  Taste the sauce and adjust your seasonings and add more Tomatillo salsa if you want—you don’t want the sauce to be real thick or super runny…somewhere in the middle.

Stir the chicken in the pan, and then cover it with Shredded Cheddar. Next cover it with the Sour Cream and Chile sauce. Cover the pan and sauté on low heat about 5 minutes.

We ate it just like this, but it would also be good served over rice, or you could even add some tortilla chips (I’d go lighter on the salt during cooking if you do that though.)

Enjoy!!! We sure did!