Month: December 2021

Posted in essential oils, Recipes

Wild Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Posted on by junebugphx

I went looking for a different recipe for Christmas morning, one that my family would like and yet different from what I usually do and that’s when I found this one pushed to the side folded and, in the middle of my box just waiting for me to blow the dust off and use once again.

Pro tip: Make the dough tonight so they’ll be ready to pop in the oven in the morning!

Ingredients

 Rolls

  • 1 cup milk
  • ⅓ cup butter
  • 2¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • 4½ cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs

Filling

  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 1½ tablespoons cinnamon
  • ¼ cup butter

Glaze

  • 3 tablespoons butter, softened
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1–2 drops Wild Orange oil
  • 1½ cups powdered sugar
  • 2–3 tablespoons whipping cream or milk

Instructions

  1. Heat the milk in a pan until it begins bubbling. Remove from heat and add butter. Stir until the butter melts.
  2. When the milk is lukewarm, add yeast and allow to proof for 10 minutes.
  3. Put sugar, 3 cups of flour, salt, and eggs into a mixer. Add in the yeast mixture. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Add in the remaining flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth and soft.
  5. Oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Turn to coat the dough with oil. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until it’s double in size (about an hour).
  6. Deflate the dough and put onto a floured surface. Roll out into a 12×14 rectangle and spread with softened butter.
  7. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Sprinkle over the dough.
  8. Roll up the dough into a log and cut into 12 pieces.
  9. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper (or grease it). Place the rolled dough pieces into the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator overnight.
  10. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator and set in a warm place to rise for an hour.
  11. Once the dough has risen, bake at 350 °F for 25–30 minutes, or until golden brown.
  12. Mix the butter, vanilla, Wild Orange essential oil, powdered sugar, and whipping cream together until smooth. Spread over warm rolls and enjoy.
Posted in Recipes

Meatless Meatball Zucchini Soup

Posted on by junebugphx

I usually go to the store with a list but the other day I thought with only needing two things I wouldn’t need one. I should have known better because it’s at those times when I spend too much or impulse buy the most and that is exactly what happened.

I walked out with two bags of groceries and a great thought of making a quick tortellini soup for dinner.

I sautéed my onion, garlic and herbs then add crushed tomatoes, salt/pepper and thought why not add my frozen shredded zucchini from summer. While I waited with anticipation for some good tortellini soup, I thought how smart it was that I found already made cheese tortellini for my soup and how dinner was so quick and easy. I think my arm almost broke from patting myself on the back.

Then it happened, I went at the last minute to add my cheese tortellini and found to my horror it was cheese and sausage, my veggie heart sank. I knew I had to pull it together so I broke up lasagna noodles (that is all I had in a large quantity) and got out some already made up frozen meatless meatballs.

I found that this soup was fast and easy, not planned out but sometimes those are the best. I still enjoyed my soup and thought why not share a quick easy soup with you.

Meatless Meatball Zucchini Soup:

4 cups of vegetable broth

1 90 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

1 small diced white onion

4-5 cloves of garlic diced

2 cups of shredded zucchini (I used frozen)

Per taste oregano, parsley, basil, salt and pepper

8-10 meatless meatballs

4-6 lasagna noodles broken up into large pieces

Fresh parmesan for on top

In a large pan on medium to high heat add olive oil then onion and garlic, sauté until almost translucent. Add herbs sauté a few minutes more then add zucchini and tomatoes. Turn down to a low simmer for about 15 minutes. Add broken lasagna noodles and meatless meatballs, turn up to a medium heat and simmer for about 15-20 more minutes or until noodles and meatless meatballs are done.

Serve in bowls with fresh shredded parmesan

Posted in Recipes

Vegan Eggnog

Posted on by junebugphx

Try this lighter version of eggnog that’s all-natural, all vegan, and all so YUMMY! I got this from my health challenge group I am in and thought to share.

I have been wanting a healthier verson of eggnog, I hope you try this out and find it is as good as any you can find in the store. To save on time and energy I bought unsweetened almond milk and used that in place of making my own.

I also like this eggnog because you get some pretty good health benefits from almonds, like vitamin E which is great for brain health and if you are like me, you need all the help you can get. Plus, almond milk doesn’t contain cholesterol or saturated fats and for those who have kidney disease and need to decrease their intake of potassium and phosphorus, almond milk is great for you, so maybe this kind of eggnog will be a good substitute but always check with your healthcare team to make sure.

Vegan Eggnog:

Prep Time 9 hrs 15 mins Cook Time 0 mins Total Time 9 hrs 15 mins Servings6 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 cups raw almonds
  • Filtered water for soaking almonds
  • 8 cups filtered water

( If you are not making your own almond milk, use 6 cups of unsweetened almond milk)

  • ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
  • ¼ cup raw almond butter
  • 1½ tsp . pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp . rum extract (or to taste)**
  • 1 tsp . ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp . ground nutmeg
  • 1 dash ground cloves

Instructions

  1. Soak almonds overnight in water.
  2. Rinse and drain soaked almonds.
  3. Place soaked almonds and 6 cups of filtered water in blender or food processor (may need to do in 2 batches). Blend on highest speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
  4. Strain milk through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth; discard solids.*
  5. Place almond milk back into blender; add almond butter, extracts, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
  6. Blend for 30 seconds; pour into large pitcher with cover.
  7. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Tips:

1. *Solids can be dried out in the oven at a low temperature (225° F) and used as almond flour in baking recipes.
2. **You can hold off on the rum extract if you think the kids won’t like it, and then add a few drops to your individual glass of eggnog.
3. Vegan eggnog can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.