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Communicating about essential oils, nature, photography, chickens and inspirations along the way.

 

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Honey Lavender Lemon Ice Cubes

8/3/2020

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Honey Lavender Lemon Ice Cubes
by Cheryl L. McClure

Quench your thirst on a hot summer day and keep it chilled with these big ice cubes! They are so good to keep your beverage of choice chilled while it's in your glass. I found the large ice cube trays on Amazon. I like them because they are BPA free and they have a top on them so I can leave the tray in the freezer till I've used up the cubes.

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Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Drops Lavender Vitally essential oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 lemon
Instructions:
  1. Drop your lavender essential oil onto a tablespoon of honey and dissolve in 1/2 cup warm water. This helps to disburse the oils throughout.
  2. Add the lemon juice to that.
  3. Add lemon sections. Roll your lemon on the counter to loosen up the insides and wash it before cutting into eight pieces. Half them on and then quarter each half. Take seeds out as you go. Squeeze each quarter’s lemon juice into the mixture you have already started and then place each quarter in a section of your ice cube tray.  Stir.
  4. Pour enough of your mixture into each section to fill about halfway. Then go back and add a little more water to bring the level up leaving room at the top.
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Since they float, I positioned the lemon quarters with the skin side up. Freeze.
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Pour over your favorite beverage like Honey Lavender Lemonade, Topo Chico, Zyng or in plain chilled water!

Click this for the recipe >>> Honey Lavender Lemonade

Enjoy!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch

essenty.com/cherylintexas

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Honey Lavender Lemonade

8/3/2020

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Honey Lavender Lemonade
by Cheryl L. McClure

Here’s a simple refreshing drink you are sure to enjoy! Treat yourself to a glass of Honey Lavender Lemonade. It uses Vitality essential oils and Jan Paul really likes the lavender added to it. Lavender Vitality essential oil will add a sweet and slightly floral flavor that will be hard to forget!
🤩
Ingredients
☑️ 5 cups (1180ml) water
☑️ 1/2 cup (160 grams) honey
☑️ 1 cup (240ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons)
☑️ 2 drops Lemon Vitality
☑️ 2 drops Lavender Vitality
☑️ Glass pitcher
💧
Instructions
  1. Combine lemon juice, honey, Lavender and Lemon Vitality oils into a glass pitcher.
  2. Chill in fridge
  3. Serve over ice cubes and garnish with optional lavender sprigs, lemon slices or mint leaves  🌿
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Adding lavender lemon ice cubes will bump up the flavor as the ice melts! See how to make them here: Honey Lavender Lemon Ice Cubes

Enjoy!
Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch
🥰
To sign up for a newsletter and see more >
essenty.com/cherylintexas

#freshlemonade #lemonade #quenchyourthirst #yltip #yleo #vitality #makeyourown #lavendervitality #summerdrink #fresh

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Instant Pot Tomato Sauce

7/19/2020

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Instant Pot Tomato Sauce
by Cheryl L. McClure

OMGeee!!
😄
Taa Daa! Cherokee tomatoes from the veggie garden and some other odds and ends make up this tomato sauce. This sauce is more for spaghetti but you can jazz it up for Tex-Mex or anything else you like.

Normally I would purée it but shown here, was so darn chunky and pretty, I left it alone.

Here's the process y'all!

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds or so of fresh tomatoes (I had a big bowl of them)
2 tablespoons olive oil or almond oil
1 large onion (or two)
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 large carrot
2 cups vegetable stock or water
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Sauté onions in the oil (I like almond oil since it works well with high heat), then add garlic, chopped celery and chopped carrots in the Instant Pot. Continue to sauté till onions are caramelized and celery and carrots are tender.

Throw your tomatoes on top after you have quartered and squeezed out most of the liquidy seeds. (Is liquidy a word? If not, I just made that up.) Mix it all together a little bit.
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Pour 2 cups water or stock on top. This is where it got interesting. I used the leftover juices from when Jan Paul grilled meat and veggies and had added it all to a pot with a little water to keep everything moist. I had stored the juices in the freezer and this was the perfect time to use them.

Lay two big bay leaves on top and then add your herbs on top of that. I used about two tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, chopped basil from the garden, tablespoon dried oregano, thyme and a sprig of rosemary. FYI - If I’m out of any of these herbs or don’t want the texture, Young Living has all of them in a Vitality line for use in cooking. Check them out at my other website: Nature at its Best
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When it's all layered in like this, set the instant pot to manual for 20 minutes. Release pressure when done.

This was quite liquidy when it was done so I needed to cook it down using the sauté setting.

First remove the rosemary stem and the two bay leaves. I didn’t want to mess with blanching them first to get the skins off, so as it cooked down, I fished out the most prominent tomato skins that were mostly floating on top.

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Once it got to my preferred consistency I let it cool. Normally I would use my immersion blender to smooth everything out but it was so pretty and chunky and rich and tasted great! All I need to do now is decide if I want to use it on my zucchini zoodles alone or if I want to add ground beef. I would sauté the beef in the instant pot and then dump the whole jar on top to heat through.
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If you prefer a smoother sauce, you can use an immersion blender. Works great and in this 2 quart batch, I didn't even take the tomato skins out. I like shortcuts! This sauce shown below was lighter than the other batch because I just used water instead of stock from grilled veggies. It was still good though!

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I hope you have a chance to grow your own tomatoes, if you haven't already. They're so much better than what you get at the grocery store! And how many tomatoes have you seen smile at you from the store, huh? (See below) LOL!

Wishing you and yours well during these challenging times. Happy Veggie Gardening! Enjoy!

Cheryl at Pickle Creek Ranch
YL Distributor 1176855

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INSTANT POT TOMATO SAUCE
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds or so of fresh tomatoes (I had a big bowl of them)
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery
1 large carrot
2 cups vegetable stock or water
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
  1. Sauté onions in the Instant Pot, then add garlic, chopped celery and chopped carrots. Continue to sauté till onions are caramelized and celery and carrots are tender.
  2. Add quartered tomatoes and mix. Let cook a little longer.
  3. Pour 2 cups water or stock on top. Do not stir any more after you've mixed the water in. You want the herbs to remain on top.
  4. Place two big bay leaves on top and then add your herbs on top of that. That would be the parsley, basil, oregano and thyme.
  5. Set the Instant Pot to manual for 20 minutes. Release pressure when done.
  6. If too liquidy, cook it down using the sauté setting, stirring often to desired thickness. You can add a teaspoon of tomato paste or cornstarch to thicken.
  7. Remove the rosemary stem and the two bay leaves, and if desired, the tomato skins.
Use to make chili or add ground beef for spaghetti sauce. You can also jazz it up with jalapeños for Tex-Mex.
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Fresh Guacamole Please!

5/1/2020

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Fresh Guacamole Please!
By Cheryl L. McClure

How's your guacamole? We love it fresh and feel so lucky when we get avacados from the store and cut them at the RIGHT time!! Sometimes they are too hard, sometimes too soft. But wow, when we make a good batch it's so tasty!

I like to halve my avocados and then score them while they're in the shell, then scoop them out.
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One of the things I like to do is add essential oils to my recipe. We live out in the country making a trip to the grocery store, impractical. If I'm growing cilantro, I have it made though! Otherwise, Vitality Cilantro essential oil is the perfect match to flavor my guacamole. I also use Vitality Lemon and Vitality Lime essential oils. Usually a drop or two is enough for two or three avocados but you can start with one drop of each and go from there. As shown below, I make a little well in the center after it's all mashed up, add the lemon juice and then the drops of essential oils. Mix well, season and you're set!

You'd be surprised at the line of Vitality essential oils Young Living produces. They are dietary and can be used in cooking. You can read more on my personal Young Living exclusive website, Nature at its Best.
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TIP

A tip I learned for leftovers: Put your leftover guacamole in a smaller container. Seal the top of it with water. Yes! Add a thin layer of cool purified water to the top before securing the lid and placing in the fridge. It will seal off the air that makes it turn dark brown. When you get it out the next day just pour off the water and mix. I do this when I make a large batch and know we won't eat it all the first time we sit down for lunch.
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Here's the recipe:

3 avocados smashed up with a potato masher
1 or 2 jalapenos minced
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
1-2 drops Cilantro Vitality essential oils
1-2 drops Lime Vitality essential oils
1-2 drops Lemon Vitality essential oils
Salt and Pepper to taste
Handful of chopped cilantro if you have it
Add chopped tomatoes too, if you like that

Mash chilled avocados and add minced jalopenos.
Make a well in the center of mixture and add lemon juice, Vitality essential oils and season with salt and pepper.
Mix together and add chopped cilantro and tomatoes
Now it's ready to serve!
Enjoy!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch
yl distributor 1176855
essenty.com/cherylintexas
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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana

2/25/2020

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Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Soup
by Cheryl L. McClure

Everybody knows how good Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup is, but sometimes, it's just nice to have a good bowl of soup at home. It's soup for the soul!

If you read the ingredients list first, you’ll see that I mention to use this or that. I used what I had, so I figure anyone can improvise on this recipe and come out with a tasty soup. It's such a simple recipe!
First, I used the sauté function on the Instant Pot and sautéed the onion in bacon grease. Mmmm (Nobody said you couldn't add bacon either!)

Then I added mild pork sausage. After it cooked a bit, I added the minced garlic. Cloves of garlic are great but someone here at home doesn’t like the smell of stored garlic in the house, so I buy the pre minced and jarred garlic. It sure comes in handy!

After cooked through, I turned the pot off and strained the grease out.

Putting everything back in the pot and heating back up, I added the 1/2 cup of white wine to deglaze the pot and release all the good browned parts on the bottom of the pot.

Next, I poured the chicken broth in. Oh how I wish I had homemade broth but had to use boxed this time. Dumped in the potatoes. Just make sure it’s all covered with broth.

I set the pot to manual pressure for 5 minutes and after it was done, I let the pressure release naturally for about 15 more minutes.
After the time was up and pressure released, the next thing was stirring in the kale and collards. I like our homegrown kale but I love the Morris Heading Collard greens. They are so sweet and taste good in anything - salad, frittatas, stir fry, soup, ANYTHING!! mmmm Can’t say enough about it! Glad I had these growing in my garden all winter. Here’s a link to their page if you want to try: rareseeds.com/morris-heading-collards (I am not an affiliate of theirs but I have had success and like the seeds from them so recommend them).
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Morris Heading Collards
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Greens + Coconut Milk ready to go into the pot.
After the greens wilt in the soup, I added the can of coconut milk and stirred. This is where you might want to use cream if you prefer.
The best thing to do, would have been to let it all cool down and wait to eat it the next day, but we couldn’t wait! It’s always better the next day though, so you might keep that in mind for your meal planning.
Ingredients

2 TBSP olive oil (or bacon grease)
1 onion, diced (I like the Texas Sweet)
1 lb ground Italian sausage (or sausage of choice, even turkey sausage)
1 TBSP minced garlic (or 3-4 cloves)
1/2 cup white cooking wine (optional)
3-4 or 5 russet potatoes, unpeeled and sliced (1/4 inch is good)
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups fresh kale or Morris Heading greens
1 can coconut milk (or 3/4 cup heavy cream)

Instructions
  1. Set the Instant Pot to "sauté" function and then heat the bacon grease when hot. Add onions and cook until they are almost carmelized.
  2. Add the sausage, crumbling up into smaller pieces and cooking until browned.
  3. Add garlic and allow to cook just until fragrant, about a minute.
  4. Drain off grease if desired and return to pot.
  5. Pour in 1/2 cup cooking wine to deglaze the pot. Cook for a minute or two.
  6. Add potato slices, chicken broth and lock the lid into place and set to "sealed."
  7. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes using the manual setting.
  8. When cooking is complete, allow a natural pressure release for 15 minutes or so, then use quick release.
  9. When pressure valve has dropped, remove the lid and add greens of choice to the pot. The heat from the soup will wilt the greens as you stir.
  10. Pour in coconut cream or half and half, stirring to combine.

If you want a thicker soup, make a slurry of 1/4 cup water with 2 TBSP cornstarch or flour, blended well and add to soup, stirring to combine and thicken.

Even after all that, if you want to experiment, try additional flavor by adding your essential oils like Oregano Vitality or Basil Vitality, just dipping the tip of a toothpick into the bottle and then swirling into the pot of finished soup!

Serve and enjoy!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch
See more about essential oils at essenty.com/cherylintexas

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Instant Pot Cilantro and Lime Rice

8/18/2019

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Instant Pot Cilantro Lime and Rice
by Cheryl L. McClure

We love a good rice recipe to eat with Tex Mex here at the ranch and this sounded so good! Not to mention, it tastes good!! Recently, my favorite home & health products company came out with Cilantro Vitality essential oil and I was excited to give it a try in this dish.

We use a 6 qt Instant Pot and it cooks rice perfectly every time so I did not hesitate to experiment and it turned out delicious!! Most recipes for the Instant Pot will use the same ratio for rice as for water, so makes it easy to remember.

We use it for a lot of different dishes, but FYI it's a great appliance for cooking beans from dry to done in no time!
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Anyway, this side dish is so EZ to make but if I don’t have all the fresh spices, herbs and fruits, I have essential oils to replace them, right here in the cupboard!

Here are some of the Vitality line of essential oils that would come in handy for this recipe or to flavor any Tex-Mex meal!
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You can find all these and more at essenty.com/cherylintexas - Use my member number to purchase! #1176855
While the weather was cool in the springtime, I was able to harvest my own from the garden and it was soooo good! I love all the texture and color with cilantro, but I find so often, that I want to cook something with cilantro and I don’t have any, don't have enough or it has gone bad.

We don’t live around the corner from the grocery store, so having essential oils is like having fresh herbs in a bottle! They're ready to use at any time.

It only takes a little, so use sparingly. The good thing is, you can use herbs  fresh, dried or essential oils interchangeably or together in recipes. Don't be a fraidy cat! Experiment with your oils and herbs and adjust to your own taste, just start low and add from there.

Note, you will want to add all your essential oils after the rice has cooked.

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Jasmine Rice (or long grain white rice)
2 cups chicken broth (or water)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter to add to rice
+
1 drop Bay Vitality (Laurus Nobilis)
1 drop Cumin Vitality
3 drops Citrus Fresh Vitality
2 drops Lemon Vitality
2 drops Lime Vitality
2 drops Cilantro Vitality
1 drop Black Pepper Vitality
1 drop Orange Vitality
Butter or olive oil to mix EOs into

OR use fresh/dry ingredients
2 fresh bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
4 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons lime zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Butter

INSTRUCTIONS:
  1. Butter the inside of the instant pot.
  2. Add 2 cups rinsed and drained rice and 2 cups chicken broth. Throw in 2 fresh bay leaves.
  3. Set Instant Pot manual pressure for 4 minutes, after done, allow 11-18 minutes natural pressure release.
  4. Add butter with essential oils or your fresh/dried herbs, combine all.
  5. Enjoy!
This makes a double batch, about 6 cups, which I like because after I've used it as a side there are leftovers to use in a soup or casserole.

Hope you enjoy this dish and discover more ways to use this great line of Vitality essential oils in cooking. Let me know what worked for you!

Cheryl @ Pickle Creek Ranch
essenty.com/cherylintexas
picklecreekranch.com

If you would like to order any of the essential oils for cooking you can do so through either website, you will just need my member number to order.
CL McClure - Member #1176855

You can order retail or save 24% by becoming a member. I'd be happy to tell you all about it!

Young Living is the leader in the essential oil industry because they have what no other company has, the Seed to Seal promise. I do not recommend any other oil besides Young Living.
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    Cheryl L. McClure

    Young Living Distributor
    #1176855

    I have retired from the corporate world and now enjoy keeping chickens, ducks, working in the garden and cooking more than ever before!

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    It's probably pretty obvious I love nature and art. Nature and landscape photography is a part of everyday life at the ranch. There are some pieces available as works of art that I would like to share with you!

    I only recommend Young Living essential oils because I am confident in their purity and the quality of their essential oils and other products. I am not a doctor. The information I post on this website is for educational purposes only. Young Living supplements are designed to improve nutrition; they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. However, scientific research has established a connection between nutrition and we all know better nutrition leads to better health.

    Please consult with the medical professional of your choice whether using essential oils or not. Remember that being proactive and taking responsibility for your health is in your own best interest. Dig in, research and make wise choices. I encourage you to see what others have done with essential oils and supplements by visiting Oil-Testimonials at http://www.oil-testimonials.com/.

    I hope that this website and blog will provide you with helpful information and resources to achieve your desired goals!!
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    Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns as I am here to help and hopefully point you in the right direction!​

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