The Huffmaster Family

Essential oils are expensive but have so many wonderful uses! I thought I would share what sounds like a super easy recipe for making your own at home!

Originally Published HERE by Kristie Leong, M.D.

What do you need to make your own essential oil?

All you really need is a an oil, some dryed herbs, Vitamin E gel gaps, unbleached cheese cloth, and access to a slow cooker or hot pot. I would recommend olive oil because it can withstand the heating process used to make essential oils. Some people also use sweet almond or jojoba oils for this purpose. The Vitamin E gel caps will serve as a natural preservative for your essential oils.

Here’s how to make your own essential oil:

1. Mix 1/2 ounces of bulk herbs of your choice with 2 cups of oil.

2. Stir thoroughly.

3. Add the mixture to your slow cooker and allow it to heat on very low heat (around 140 degrees) for 5-7 hours.

4. Remove the mixture from the crockpot and strain with your unbleached cheese cloth.

5. Place the strained liquid into a clean Mason jar and label it appropriately with the type of essential oil and the date. Dating your essential oil is important since the shelf life is about 6-8 months.

6. Store in a cool, dark area.

The only thing this recipe doesn’t give is how many Vitamin E capsules or how much Vitamin E oil to use, so maybe a little online searching, and you can figure that out. If you know offhand, please leave a comment!

DISCLAIMER: Keep in mind these oils are for use on your skin only and are NOT for oral ingestion.

I can’t wait to try this myself!

This recipe originally came from the Duggar Family Website, so I’m giving credit where credit is due, but we’ve tweaked their version to our own liking and made it our own family favorite! The places where I have variable amounts, we normally use the least amount on the more expensive items, and the largest amount on the more inexpensive item to make it more frugal and delicious!

1-3 pounds ground turkey or hamburger
1 med. onion, chopped
3 (4oz.) cans chopped tomatoes with green chilies
3 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. pepper
3 pkg. taco seasoning
3 pkg. ranch or 1 c. liquid ranch dressing (optional)
9 (14 1/2 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
3 (15oz.) cans kidney beans, undrained
6 (15oz.) cans pinto beans, undrained
6 cups water
(note: on the beans we usually make our own from dried in the crockpot and use about 8-10 cups total either with kidney and pinto or just one of those…whatever is on hand)

Brown ground meat with onion and then put all ingredients into a large stock pot. Bring to boil, then turn to low and simmer 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips, grated cheddar cheese and sour cream.

This is a family favorite and so many have asked for the recipe I thought I would share here. Since this recipe was shared with me, I’ve added my notes within it about what I may do differently.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour
5 1/2 cups flaked coconut
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla

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This is used later to dip the macaroons after cooking and cooling: 1-2 packages of almond bark

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350* Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil. (I normally just put them on a well greased cookie sheet) In a large bowl, stir dry ingredients together.
Mix in wet ingredients with hands (you can use a spoon) until well mixed. Using wet hands make small balls (I just use rounded teaspoons) and then flatten. Place on the cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes until toasted. Let cool.
Melt chocolate almond bark. Using tongs, dip cooked macaroon in the chocolate and place on wax paper until dry.

OPTIONAL: place an almond on top of macaroon before cooking.

ENJOY!