{Basted Holiday Turkey Recipe with doTERRA Essential Oils}

Cooking / Food and Drink / Holidays / Learn About Benefits of Using DoTERRA Essential Oils / Recipes

It’s turkey time! This Thanksgiving, give your family and friends a turkey they will love and remember. Stuffed and basted with fresh herbs and essential oils, this turkey will not only be extremely flavorful and aromatic, but will also be the highlight of your Thanksgiving feast.

WARNING: You will most likely be asked to provide this turkey for all future Thanksgiving dinners after you serve this star. Serve at your own risk.

Ingredients:
1 (13-pound) turkey
1 onion, peeled and quartered

Divide These Ingredients in Half:
2 sprigs rosemary
2 drops dōTERRA rosemary essential oil
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 drop dōTERRA thyme essential oil
2 cloves garlic, slivered

Cider Baste:
1/4 cup apple cider concentrate
2 drops dōTERRA wild orange essential oil
1 drop dōTERRA lemon essential oil
2 tsp. olive oil
1 toothpick dōTERRA thyme essential oil
1/4 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions: 
Remove giblets from turkey. Place turkey on a rack and stuff with the onion and half of the rosemary, thyme, and garlic mixture. Loosen the skin from the turkey breast and place the remaining half of the mixture under the skin.

To prepare the baste, stir together the cider concentrate, wild orange essential oil, lemon essential oil, olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Roast the turkey in a preheated 325-degree oven, basting every 30 minutes with the cider baste until an internal temperature reaches at least 165 degrees in the innermost part of the thigh, the wing, and the thickest part of the breast. (Some diners may want the turkey cooked to a higher temperature.) Carve and enjoy!


This recipe courtesy of www.doterrablog.com

Question for you:

Have you ever used Essential Oils to cook with?  If so, please comment and let me know how!  I would love to hear from you!

Ali

{Favorite Pizza on the Grill}

Cooking / Food and Drink / Recipes

 
Pizza
Well, hello there!  It's been a while since I posted last.  Life got busy, and I was also under the weather a few days, which is never fun!  But, I'm feeling better now and I have so much I want to post about.  There just never seems to be enough hours in the day 🙂

Today, I want to tell you about what has become our new favorite summer meal!  I originally posted about the Best Pizza Evah! last year HERE.  We normally just use our oven and a pizza stone to cook the pizza, but earlier this summer I was craving homemade pizza and didn't want to heat the house up, by turning on the oven (we have had a HOT HOT HOT summer here). Soooo, I thought it might be fun to try cooking the pizza on the grill, and I was right!  It was fun and super yummy!

 

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1.  Gather all of your ingredients.  We LOVE tomatoes, fresh  mozarella cheese and red onions on our pizza along with pesto (the pizza dough I used was Trader Joe's Garlic and Herb dough).

2.  We recently found Grandma Sandinos Vegetarian Garlic Sauce at our local farmer's market and fell in love with it!  And Trader Joe's Pesto is always a good choice!

3.  Roll or shape your dough to the desired shape and brush one side with olive oil (I used the Vegetarian Garlic Sauce).

4.  Place the dough, olive oil side down on a MED/HIGH grill.  Now brush the top side with olive oil.

5.  It should only take a few minutes to get some nice grill marks on the dough.  Go ahead and flip the dough over (be careful, it's HOT)!

6.  Now you are ready to spread on Pesto, or whatever sauce you like on your pizza. 

7.  Add the rest of your ingredients and close the lid on the grill, to allow the pizza toppings to melt.

8.  Take a quick peek and  admire all the melty goodness!  *NOTE: if the bottom of your pizza is cooking quicker than the cheese is melting, you can slid a pizza stone or baking sheet under the dough.  We've had to do this a few times.

9.  ENJOY your pizza!  Soooo quick and easy!  And sooo GOOD!  We love to eat this out on the patio with a cold beer or glass of wine!

What is your favorite type of pizza?

Have you ever tried to make pizza on the gill? 

I'd love to hear from you!  And be sure to share the recipe!

Have a great Thursday! 

Ali

{Cooking, Crafting and Getting Fit}

Cooking / Crafts / Food and Drink / Health & Fitness / Me

Hmmmmm…..Cooking, Crafting and Getting Fit.  During my 5 month blog hiatus, did I do any of those things?

Well, let's see.  I posted about my Valentine's Day Cooking Exchange HERE, and that definitely involved some cooking and a little bit of crafting!  In, January I crafted some centerpieces for a church luncheon we had and made some chocolate covered fortune cookies (crafting or cooking?):

 
January Collage

I also decorated my small white Christmas Tree for Valentine's Day:

Valentines Tree

I even decorated it for Easter, but didn't take any photos!

As far as Cooking goes, let's see?  I've made some of my favorite meals:

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Which include clockwise from top left:  The Best Pizza Evah! , Grilled Salmon, (YUM!), Lemon Vodka Pasta (I add Shrimp) from the I Love Trader Joe's Cookbook, and the always delicious Funeral/Mormon/Company/Utah Potatoes (made for Easter).

I've got an injury that I am dealing with (more on that below), so I have also been trying to be much healthier in my cooking by eating more of a clean diet.  We've also been trying to drink Green Smoothies every morning.  So delicious and good for you.  I've found most of my recipes HERE

Green Smoothie Collage

Other clean eating recipes and cooking:

Clean Eating Collage
Clockwise from top left:  Citrus Grilled Chicken (you must try this!), Clean Rice Saute (veggies and TJ's Organic Brown Rice), Salad with Salsa Chicken, and more Salsa Chicken with a salad made with chick peas, avocado, tomatoes, kidney beans and cilantro and lime.  So good!

Now on to the Getting Fit: Well, about 2 years ago I set out to get fit and healthy.  You can read about it HERE or  HERE.  I was doing my favorite Zumba and GPP classes faithfully.  I was happy and healthy.  I've always had some random back problems which were manageable, but a bit frustrating nontheless.  Well back track to last November and I woke up one morning with my left hand numb.  It was the weirdest thing.  It progressivly got worse, and moved up my arm.  I had no idea what was wrong.  Then the upper back/neck pain started.  I went to my Chiropractor for treatment and ended up seeing him 3-4 times a week for a few months.  Finally, when I really wasn't improving, he ordered an MRI.  After getting the results, he suggested I see a neurosurgeon.  I had to wait two months for my appointment with the neurosurgeon (what?, I know crazy).  Anyway, the neurosurgeon confirmed what everyone thought, and what my MRI results suggested:  4 bulging discs in my neck (two moderate, two severe), with one pinching a nerve (the cause of the numbness and pain in my arm/hand), bone spurs, and degenerative disc disease. 

Jealous?  🙂

So…..next week, May 22nd to be exact, I am going in for surgery.  I believe the surgery is called: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.  More informtion found HERE

So, the Getting Fit part of my life has been seriously lacking the last 5-6 months. Cue sad music!

I'm not really a quitter….but I sure feel like it in the getting fit department!  I should be back to regular activity soon, right? 

I do get to have one last Getting Fit adventure before surgery next week!  I'm heading to the BLEND Retreat this weekend and I couldn't be more excited!  Who knows how much I will get to participate, but just being there will be awesome! 

I can't wait!

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Okay, well this post has been long enough.  Just wanted to update on the Cooking, Crafting and Getting Fit party of my life!  Happy Thursday y'all!

 

Ali

Low Fat Lemon Zucchini Bread

Cooking / Food and Drink / Recipes

Lemon Zucchini Bread Banner

I had a large zucchini left over from my Bountiful Basket a few weeks ago, that needed to be dealt with.  I thought making zucchini bread might be the perfect way to use it.  I searched the internet for a low fat recipe and came up with this ONE.  I actually had all the ingredients on hand, which NEVER happens!

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Recipe
The only change I made was to double the amount of yogurt I used, as the dough seemed a little dry. It came out perfectl!  So good and really moist!  I especially loved the hint of lemon from the zest!  Delish!

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Question for you:  Have you every made Zucchini Bread?  Do you have a fave bread recipe?  Feel free to share in the comments!

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

 

 

 

Ali

{Tortellini Caprese Skewers}

Cooking / Food and Drink

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One of my favorite appetizers to make!  So good and so easy!

I made these for the Blogger Potluck that Janetha hosted over the weekend (more on that Thursday!).

I buy the Buitoni Cheese Tortellini at the grocery store, and pair it with fresh mozzarella, basil and cherry tomatoes.

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I alternate the ingredients on skewers and drizzle with a basil vinaigrette.

I don't have an exact recipe for the basil vinaigrette.  I just combine equal parts white or balsamic vinegar, along with olive oil.  I add in chopped basil and salt and pepper to taste.

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Give them a try!  You will love them!

Ali

{Weekend Wrap Up}

Cooking / Family / Food and Drink / Health & Fitness / Me / Recipes / Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?  Did you make it a good one?

My weekend was pretty good!

As usual, my weekend begins the moment I am done with work at 4:30 pm on Friday!  Right after work, I hit up GPP for THIS Leg Shredder workout.

Oh my.

My legs were officially shredded.

I took my first official ice bath when I got home.  It was much needed!

I woke up Saturday morning, feeling a little under the weather.  Second weekend in a row.  Carl thinks it is a combination of too many workouts and lack of sleep during the week.

Definitely a possibility.

We had plans to get together with our tailgating group Saturday night, to go over the fall schedule of football games, plan fun tailgating themes and stuff like.  Really, it was just an excuse to get together!

I volunteered to make a pasta salad and bring an appetizer.  The appetizer I chose, was this one:

Sweet Corn Salad

Corn Salad with Queso Fresco  served with tortilla chips.  It was soooo good!  I highly recommend it!

Sunday, Madison and I went to the Utah Arts Festival with my friend Millie.  We had a great time!

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I will post a separate update about the Arts Festival. 

After the Arts Festival, Madison came home with me and stayed for dinner:
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Petite Turkey Meatloaves  with Creamy Cauliflower Puree , steamed asparagus and watermelon.  So delicious!

One of the best sites for healthy recipes is Skinny Taste.  I swear, every recipe I have ever tried from that site, has been amazing!

That was our weekend in a nutshell.  Not too exciting, but fun nonetheless!

What did you do for fun?

Leave me a comment and let me know!

Ali

{Healthy Dinner}

Cooking / Health & Fitness / Me

Some of you know that I have been on a bit of a fitness quest for the last year.  You can read about my story HERE, but here is a photo that shows a before/after:

Anyway….along with Zumba, I started doing GPP about 3 months ago as well.  I fell in love with it.  I even recruited Tyson and Carl to join along with  me.  They are loving it as well. 

In my quest to get more fit, I have been trying to eat more fruits and veggies, AND more protein.

This was tonight's dinner:

Roasted Asparagus and Broccoli

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Roasted Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes and more Broccoli

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Paired with Turkey, wrapped in bacon

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After a GPP workout, and Zumba class = 880 calories burned….it was the perfect meal!

What is your "go to" healthy meal?

Please share!

Ali

{Pinterest Recipe Love}

Cooking / Recipes

I LOVE Pinterest.

Love.

One of my favorite things about Pinterest is the FOOD.

So many FABULOUSLY SCRUMPTIOUS recipes!

My husband works the night shift.

He and his workmates each take a turn bringing in a meal to share each night.

My Hub's night is Wednesday.

I try and find something new and fun to cook each time.

Enter Pinterest!

Did I mention how much I love Pinterest?

Oh, I did?

Okay.

J

I thought I would share with you a few of the recipes I have found via Pinterest

Who knows, you might try them and like them so much, they make it in to your weekly recipe rotation!

Hot and Spicy Braised Peanut Chicken

This dish was soooo yummy! Everyone loved it!

A lot of ingredients, but so worth it!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This dish was FABULOUS!

Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Love!

Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas

This was a super easy recipe for Fajitas.

The chicken was a tad dry, but I'm sure this was chef error!

Would make this again!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Okay, this soup was so good!

LOVED IT!

Mexican Stuffed Shells

This was one of the best things I've ever eaten!

I'm not kidding.

I can't even tell you how good it was in a blog post.

According to my hubs, I even got a marriage proposal out of this dish!

Thanks Maeghan! 😉

Make this!

Just do it!

Buffalo Chicken Potato Casserole

This casserole is in the over right now.

I'm a HUGE fan of Franks Red Hot

Love it!

Can't get enough!

Excited to see how this dish turns out!

Have you used pinterest as inspiration for dinner ideas?

What are your fave recipes?

Would love to know!

 

Ali

{Dessert in a Jar}

Cooking / Crafts / Holidays

Happy Monday!

Did you have a great Easter?

I hope so! It was a beautiful day in Salt Lake City yesterday.

GORGEOUS!

Sometimes we have snow on Easter.

Like last year, when we were camping.

Not fun.

Anyway…..

I was assigned dessert this year for Easter.

I'm not a huge dessert eater, but I do LOVE to make dessert.

Weird, huh?

Typical of me.

You might remember I made THESE for St. Patrick's Day, last month.

Since I already had the jars, it seemed obvious.

Make more dessert in a jar.

Duh.

So I did!

First up, Strawberry Shortcake in a Jar.

Angel food cake, topped with Strawberries & Sugar

Cool Whip mixed with Vanilla Frosting

And a dusting a graham cracker crumbs

Easy

And, because my Dad loves Carrot Cake

I did Carrot Cake in a Jar

I made Carrot Cake Cup Cakes

Sliced them, added a slice to the jar

Topped with Cool Whip mixed with Cream Cheese Frosting

A dusting of graham cracker crumbs

And repeat!

I added THESE CUTE printables to the lids

And called it GOOD!

We spent the afternoon at my parents' house

Easter egg hunt for the kids (minus Tyson who is in California at school still)

Dinner outside on the deck

And a last photo of Grandpa with Erin and Madison

I hope you all had a very blessed day!

And if you haven't tried making dessert in a jar

Go for it!

So fun!

You will love it!

Ali

{Best Pizza Evah!}

Cooking / Food and Drink / Recipes

 

I'm not even kidding!

This is the Best Pizza Evah!

It's hard to believe.

The first time I made it, my husband and I loved it.

But, maybe we were just super hungry?

Or we hadn't had pizza for a while?

So

I made it again.

And it was the Best Pizza Evah

AGAIN!

Weird.

I swear, it is even better than any pizza I have had at ANY restaurant.

I promise.

First off, you start with this bread dough recipe

It is AMAZING!

A game changer, if you will.

I just roll it in to pizza dough

Yeah, I know…It's not perfectly round.

Go figure

The day I decide to photograph the BEST PIZZA EVAH for the blog

Nothing goes right

It kinda looks hideous

But it doesn't matter

The taste is …

Well, heaven!

After rolling out the dough, I brush on a mixture of olive oil and the Rossa Maria Dipping Blend

Throw the pizza dough on a baking stone in the over until it just starts to brown

Then take it out of the oven and add the following ingredients:

Pesto, Parmesan Cheese, Tomatoes and Mozzarella Cheese

Put it back in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is crisp

(or however you like your crust!)

I know it doesn't look like much

But I promise you

It is FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!

We have eaten this almost every Friday during Lent (no meat)

Sooooo Delish!

Give it a try!

I'd love to know what you think!

Ali