Gevalia Coffee Promotion: FREE Coffee Maker or Blender

So Gevalia Coffee has this deal going on:

For $9.99 you pick 4 boxes of a nice selection of ground coffee or tea and you get FREE shipping and a FREE coffee maker. Click HERE to go to the site with this option.

OR

For $19.99 you pick 4 boxes of a nice selection of ground coffee or tea and you get FREE shipping and a FREE blender. Click HERE to go to the site with this option.

They are doing this to get people enrolled in their automatic delivery program. However, once your order arrives just cancel it. 

I don't need a blender or coffee maker but they could be good presents for a birthday or Christmas. Plus the price of $2.50 per box of 8oz ground coffee (with the $9.99 promotion)  is actually a great deal.

Oil Cleanse Challenge: Amazing Results Thus Far

I was inspired by a blog to dry out the oil cleanse challenge. I want to switch everything I use from household cleaners, and shampoo, to natural products that I can make at home thus controlling what goes in them. I have used proactive for many years and it works great but can get expensive and I wanted something more natural.

I'm on day 2 and guess what... my skin feels AMAZING! I have really oily and uneven toned skin. My skin feels moisturized, gradient, and silky smooth. They say that cleaning with these oils will not leave your skin feeling oily and its true.

Basically you need 2-3 ingredients:

Castor Oil ($2.98 at Walmart)
Grapeseed or Sunflower Oil (Grapeseed oil was $3.97 at Walmart)

Optional 3rd ingredient: essential oils of your choice. I love tea tree oil and it is a natural antiseptic thus why it is used in lots of acne products.

Mix the ingredients in this ratio:

Normal Skin: 20% Castor Oil to 80% Grapeseed/Sunflower oil
Oily Skin: 30% Castor Oil to 70% Grapeseed/Sunflower oil
Dry Skin: 10% Castor Oil to 90% Grapeseed/Sunflower oil

I made a very small batch to test this out first. I did the oily skin ratio. So I mixed 1/3 of a tablespoon of Castor Oil with 2/3 of a tablespoon of Grapeseed Oil.  I just roughly estimated this.

 Then I added 1 drop of tea tree oil which is some powerful stuff. I paid $10 for 1 oz at my local health food store. This stuff is very concentrated and can be used in virtually anything used on your body and hair. This will last me a very long time.

I stored my mixture in a tiny plastic container.

Before I went to bed I washed my face with regular soap to remove any makeup. Then I dabbed the oil mixture around my face and massaged it into my skin. Next, I took a washcloth, ran it through hot water, squeezed out the excess water, and placed it over my face until it got cold. The heat will open up the pores on your face which will allow the oils to carry away any dirt or bacteria. Castor oil is known to clean out pores. Then I ran the washcloth through hot water again and used it to wipe off the excess oils from my face. Very simple.

I didn't know my local health food store also sold Grapeseed Oil. I'm not sure how the Pompeian brand would compare, especially since it is marketed as a cooking oil. I dont necessarily want food grade items, I want pure, potent, and naturally processed products. Oh well. It seems to be working awesome anyways.

I paid $16.95 to gather these ingredients and this will last me months if not years (compared to $19.95 a month if your getting proactive).

View the original blog post which has more information on the subject by clicking HERE.

If you decide to try this out please report your results. I would love to know.

Best Hamburgers I ever Made

I finally am learning how to cook meat properly by following cooking times instead of waiting for it to just look really brown. Yay! No more dry, crusty, flavorless meat. My husband is really happy about this. Seriously though, do not over cook your meat. It is ok for beef and pork to be kinda pink. Plus the flavor is just 100 times better.

Anyways, here are the best burgers I have ever made in my life. Mine are cooked medium. I know that to get medium I cooked these 3/4 inch thick burger patties for 3-4 minutes on each side. Obviously adjust the cooking time according to your meat preference.

Ingredients:

3 lbs 80% fresh ground beef

1/2 of a really big red onion chopped up

BBQ sauce. I used a smoky bourbon flavor but next time I'm going to try and make a apple cinnamon BBQ sauce that I found on the internet. What makes these burgers so good is the sweet and smoky flavor from the BBQ sauce. 

Sliced Cheese. I used a cheese blend of cheddar and mozzarella. But use what you like.

Bacon. I used an applewood smoked bacon. Again I was trying to incorporate some sweetness which goes great with the BBQ sauce. Or try a maple or brown sugar flavored bacon.

Hamburger Buns

Olive Oil & Basting Brush

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Dice up the red onion and saute in 2 tbs of olive oil until soft and translucent. Set aside to cool down a bit.
Cook your bacon. Cook it on a medium heat setting and do not touch it so much. Flip them over only once. Just let it cook until it gets a nice brown color on the cooking side and then flip over. Whatever you do, don't crank up the heat or you will burn the bacon quickly. Once done, set on some paper towels to drain.

Add the cooled onions to the ground beef and mix. Divide the meat into patties that are 3/4 inch thick. The 3 lbs I had gave me 7 burgers.

Cook on medium high heat for 3-4 minutes for medium rare.

After the first 3-4 minutes flip the burgers to the other side. Then top the cooked side of the burger with a slice of cheese and slather on the BBQ sauce. While your waiting for the burgers to finish cooking toast the hamburger buns in the toaster.

Once the burgers are cooked through to your liking, its time to assemble the hamburger. I took a slice of bacon and cut it in half. Then I put it in a cross formation on top of the burger. Delicious!