DIY Homemade Lotion Bars

FINALLY! Lotion that actually feels like it’s doing something. I got this recipe from here and thought to make them myself, since I’m always searching for new hand creams to combat my winter dry skin. Finally something that works!

On her site, she links to a site where she got the original idea from, as well as a DIY kit that includes enough for a couple bars, some chapstick tubes, and tins to keep your lotion bars handy. Personally, buying a bunch of stuff in bulk from amazon is more cost-efficient (you can buy almost a pound of each ingredient for about the cost of the kit) and you can make them in whatever fun shapes you like.

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Kielbasa and Potato “Curry”

Ingredients

Kielbasa cut into 1” chunks (I use the Hilshire Farms kind)
Halved medium sized yellow potatoes
1 cup beef broth
1 shallot
1 tbsp Cornstarch
Cooking oil (olive, grapeseed, canola, etc.)
Herbs and spices, such as parsley, thyme, garlic, paprika, pepper

Directions

Steam the potatoes in a microwave so they are mostly cooked through (Wegmans sells potatoes in steamer bags) or use leftover potatoes that have been boiled before. Don’t cook them too soft because you don’t want them too soft or they fall apart when cooking with kielbasa. (But if they are, just add them right at the end).

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet (with a cover) and saute the shallots and garlic a minute or two. Add the kielbasa chunks and cup of beef broth. Bring to a boil and lower heat to simmer. If your kielbasa is uncooked, let simmer for a couple minutes. Add your cut potatoes and herbs and seasoning of choice. Let simmer until kielbasa is heated through and potatoes are soft (~5-8 mins, depending on rawness of ingredients). Remove kielbasa and potatoes, leaving the beef broth in the pan. Mix cornstarch with a bit of water and add about half to the pan. Return to a simmer, and stir frequently until gravy begins to thicken. If it does not, then add the rest and continue.

My thoughts

My little stew is a little bare of veggies, but there are tons of different ones that would go well with this, like onions (I don’t like onions), or carrots (I’m allergic to carrots), mushrooms, etc. This is a really easy recipe because it uses a lot of stuff that can be stored for “just in case” precautions.

I also choose to serve this over rice, so it’s like a curry-type dish, which is good in the case that your gravy comes out a little salty, the rice can better diffuse the saltiness.

Panko Coated Fish Fillets

Ingredients

White fish fillets
Japanese Style Panko Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp. onion flakes
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1.5 tbsp. paprika
3 tbsp. Wegmans pan searing flour
1 tbsp. flour
pinch of sea salt and pepper
2 egg whites

Directions

Rinse fillets and pat dry. Mix flour and spices in a ziploc bag. Coat each fillet with the flour mixture, dip both sides in the egg whites and cover with Panko crumbs. Heat a tsp of seasoned oil in a medium sized-pan. Add fillets when oil hot. Saute approximately 3 minutes each side or until fish flakes easily.

My thoughts

Amaaazing ad so easy to do! You can tweak the amount of spices to taste. Goes along well with various types of pasta, veggies, etc.

Strip Steak and Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients

Steak
10 oz. Strip Steak
2 tsp. butter
1 tsp. Wegmans pan searing flour
1 tsp. Wegmans basting oil
Salt

Mashed Potatoes
Potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter
3/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

Mashed Potatoes: Boil potatoes in water with a dash of salt for 20-30 minutes or until the fall apart with a fork. Drain well and return to low heat until all water dissolved. Mash with fork (or potato masher if you have one). Add milk, salt, and butter.

Steak: Pat steak dry and rub both sides with salt, and pepper pan searing flour. Let sit in room-temp for at least 30 mins.

Heat 1 tsp. of butter in a pan until melted. Add steak to pan. Cook 4-5 minutes per side (for medium) on low heat. Add other tsp. of butter to pan before flipping steak. When both sides are done, add 1-2 tsp. of basting oil over steak. Tilt pan and baste steak with pan juices for 1 minute. Remove from heat and rest for 8 minutes.

Empty most of the juice from the pan and add culinary gravy stock (again, from wegmans) to warm up.

My Thoughts

No thoughts. Just drools…. But seriously, considering it was the first time I tried making both steak and mashed potatoes I was greatly surprised. Although I was aiming for medium rare, I didn’t overshoot the timing too long. Both recipes are fairly simple, there’s just a lot of waiting time. Also sided with egg noodles.

Pan-Fried Pork Dumplings

Ingredients

30-40 dumpling wrappers
1 lb ground pork
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 c. cut shitake mushrooms
2 tsp. chopped scallions (the green parts)
1 c. finely chopped savoy cabbage
1 beaten egg
2 tbs. sesame oil
3 tbs. low sodium soy sauce

Directions

Mix filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix by hand until evenly mixed. Place dumpling wrapper on dry surface, flour side down. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling mix on the center, moisten edges with water, and wrap.

Heat 2-3 tsp. of sesame or olive oil in a large pan (with a cover) until very hot. Place 10-12 dumplings upright in the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes until browned on the bottom. Add 1/4 cup of water and cover pan. Cook until water is boiled off, about 6 minutes.

Extra dumplings can be prepared and frozen before cooking by placing on a flat plate and storing in the freezer until they harden, at which point then can be stored in a plastic ziploc or container. Food follow up

My Thoughts

Amazing! The soy sauce and sesame oil in the mix keeps the filling from over-drying and minimizes need for extra sauce—though it goes well with hoisin or gyoza dipping sauces (soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic usually).

Alternatively, for a vegetarian option, substituting the pork and egg for firm tofu or omitting it completely is also tasty.