So...two recipes
No, not for spam. That's what I'm doing, not what I'm cooking.
Two recipes. One for nom, one for not.
I'm not a big fan of chicken salad but I finally found one I adore:
Chipotle Chicken Salad
Dressing: 2/3 cup of sour cream (whatever fat content you want)
1/3 cup of minced, fresh cilantro (if you can't stand cilantro use Italian parsley)
1 T of minced chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce (Hispanic section of the store)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced
4 tsp fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Salad: 4 cups of shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups of cubed, skinless cooked chicken breast
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 - 1 cup of peeled, diced avocado
1/3 cup of thinly sliced red onion (I've used green onions, too)
1 can, drained and rinsed of black beans
Mix the dressing together in a largish bowl until combined then toss the other ingredients in until coated. You can leave out the lettuce and add it separately if you're not going to be serving the whole thing. It's also great without the lettuce, scooped up on tortilla chips or eaten with Wasa bread.
The next one is for a body powder.
I sweat. Like a lot. So I'm rather addicted to baby-type powder. I've mentioned this before. My apartment looks like it's used to process and cut cocaine if I don't vacuum and dust regularly. The trouble with baby powder is you smell like you're wearing baby powder. Plus it gets everywhere! I use the cornstarch based powders, not talc. Have for years. Off and on I've tried making my own but without the use of tri-calcium phosphate (which is an anti-caking agent) or baking soda (which may deodorize and freshen but feels like sand on your skin) cornstarch has a tendency to pack down and not flow very well. I discovered that if you blend several different ingredients that look identical but are really different and have different physical structures, you get a nice fluffy free flowing powder, suitable for babies and adults alike! Plus, I think because of the amount of essential oils that I put into it, it's not so invasive and doesn't blanket my entire apartment as fast. *G*
Body Powder
1 cup arrowroot
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup tapioca starch
(these are all available in 1 lb bags in most large grocery stores and are fairly inexpensive)
1 cup kaolin clay (available in most health food stores and readily available on line)
1/3 cup marshmallow root powder
1/3 cup slippery elm bark powder
(These last two aren't absolutely essential but they make a nice soothing, healing powder. They're probably available where you'd get the kaolin.)
You can combine and use as is or you can add essential oils (or fragrance oils if they're specified for use in body care products and not for candles, etc.)
My blend (smells fresh and doesn't interfere with any perfume I'm wearing:
75 drops of lavender essential oil
18 drops tea tree oil
7 drops of coriander essential oil
(100 drops total of essential oils for adult use or 50 drops for children/babies. For fragrance oils you're going to want to start at 50 drops and work your way to what's pleasing to you.)
I dump all the powders in my food processor then use the spout at the top to add the oils while blending. If you don't have a food processor it's best to mix your oils in about a cup of the powder then sift it into the main mixture. Then sift it one more time to blend properly.
Two recipes. One for nom, one for not.
I'm not a big fan of chicken salad but I finally found one I adore:
Chipotle Chicken Salad
Dressing: 2/3 cup of sour cream (whatever fat content you want)
1/3 cup of minced, fresh cilantro (if you can't stand cilantro use Italian parsley)
1 T of minced chipotle chili canned in adobo sauce (Hispanic section of the store)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 clove of garlic, grated or finely minced
4 tsp fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
Salad: 4 cups of shredded romaine lettuce
2 cups of cubed, skinless cooked chicken breast
1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 - 1 cup of peeled, diced avocado
1/3 cup of thinly sliced red onion (I've used green onions, too)
1 can, drained and rinsed of black beans
Mix the dressing together in a largish bowl until combined then toss the other ingredients in until coated. You can leave out the lettuce and add it separately if you're not going to be serving the whole thing. It's also great without the lettuce, scooped up on tortilla chips or eaten with Wasa bread.
The next one is for a body powder.
I sweat. Like a lot. So I'm rather addicted to baby-type powder. I've mentioned this before. My apartment looks like it's used to process and cut cocaine if I don't vacuum and dust regularly. The trouble with baby powder is you smell like you're wearing baby powder. Plus it gets everywhere! I use the cornstarch based powders, not talc. Have for years. Off and on I've tried making my own but without the use of tri-calcium phosphate (which is an anti-caking agent) or baking soda (which may deodorize and freshen but feels like sand on your skin) cornstarch has a tendency to pack down and not flow very well. I discovered that if you blend several different ingredients that look identical but are really different and have different physical structures, you get a nice fluffy free flowing powder, suitable for babies and adults alike! Plus, I think because of the amount of essential oils that I put into it, it's not so invasive and doesn't blanket my entire apartment as fast. *G*
Body Powder
1 cup arrowroot
1 cup cornstarch
1 cup tapioca starch
(these are all available in 1 lb bags in most large grocery stores and are fairly inexpensive)
1 cup kaolin clay (available in most health food stores and readily available on line)
1/3 cup marshmallow root powder
1/3 cup slippery elm bark powder
(These last two aren't absolutely essential but they make a nice soothing, healing powder. They're probably available where you'd get the kaolin.)
You can combine and use as is or you can add essential oils (or fragrance oils if they're specified for use in body care products and not for candles, etc.)
My blend (smells fresh and doesn't interfere with any perfume I'm wearing:
75 drops of lavender essential oil
18 drops tea tree oil
7 drops of coriander essential oil
(100 drops total of essential oils for adult use or 50 drops for children/babies. For fragrance oils you're going to want to start at 50 drops and work your way to what's pleasing to you.)
I dump all the powders in my food processor then use the spout at the top to add the oils while blending. If you don't have a food processor it's best to mix your oils in about a cup of the powder then sift it into the main mixture. Then sift it one more time to blend properly.