Here at the Hearth and Caravan Homestead we love Japanese Culture and food. We had searched for a good recipe for a Japanese favorite, Korroke, which is a fried potato croquette. We found a few recipes and tweaked them to come up with our own simple to follow recipe. As we were making them, we decided that korroke is basically fried shepherd's pie!  

Beware: You do not want to use runny mashed potatoes. You want firm mashed potatoes! Firm I tell you!

Also, I hate reading a book before I get to the recipe on blog posts, so we'll hop to it. 

Ingredients:
1 cup prepared mashed potatoes. We used instant, made with chicken broth instead of water. Always use broth if you can--it  tastes so much better.
1 cup cooked, crumbled ground beef. Season simply with salt, pepper, onion powder, and quite literally a dash of Mrs. Dash.
2 Eggs
Flour
Panko
Oil for frying

Directions:
Mix 1 cup prepared mashed potatoes with 1 cup ground beef. Add 1 egg to the mixture. Drop heaping tablespoons of mixture into flour. Coat and shape into ovals. Beat the other egg and dip or brush your floured ovals. Dredge in Panko. Don't be afraid to use a LOT of Panko. It really helps hold everything together. If you're feeling ambitious, you can repeat those steps and dip in everything twice for additional stability (we skipped doing that). Fry in an inch of oil at 350*. One side should brown in about 30 seconds. 

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See full blog post HERE that includes a comprehensive list of all natural ingredients that can help you make all these recipes and more.

Lip Balm 3 Ways

Tinted Lip Balm
1/4 tsp beeswax pellets
1/2 tsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp olive oil OR sweet almond oil
1/2 tsp cocoa powder or hibiscus powder or mineral makeup 
A drop of honey
5 drops essential oils (Here's how you can get them)

Melt beeswax and coconut oil together. Add remaining ingredients, working quickly, and pour into a small pot. Makes 1-2 lip balms. ​
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All-Natural Lip Plumper ( I am obsessed with this stuff!)
1/4 tsp beeswax pellets
1/2 tsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp olive oil OR sweet almond oil
1/2 tsp cocoa powder or hibiscus powder or mineral makeup 
A drop of honey
10-15 drops Cinnamon Bark essential oil (Here's how you can get it)

Melt beeswax and coconut oil together. Add remaining ingredients, working quickly, and pour into a small pot. Makes 1-2 lip balms. ​
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Glitter Roll On Lip Gloss
1/2 tsp. Sweet Almond Oil
Glitter
3 drops Citrus Fresh essential oil (Here's how you can get it)

​Add glitter to small roller bottle and top with sweet almond oil (or olive oil). Shake well and enjoy! May need to roll back and forth a few times to get glitter started.

See full blog post HERE

DIY Toy Surprise Bath Bombs

Ingredients:
​1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Citric Acid
1/2 Cup Epsom Salts
1/2 Cup Arrowroot/Corn Starch
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon Water
20 Drops Essential Oil  (Here's how you can get them)
​
Directions:​
​Mix together all ingredients. Divide if desired to create color/fragrance layers. We used yellow/green and lemon/lime in ours. Gently press enough mixture into your mold into your mold of choice to fill halfway. Add surprise toy and cover with more bath bomb mixture to cover and enclose toy. Place in the refrigerator to help coconut oil harden and bath bombs set, about an hour. Store in a cool, dry location. 

​See full blog post HERE

DIY Geode Bath Bombs

​Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Baking Soda
• 1/4 Cup Citric Acid
• 1 Cup Epsom Salts (divided)
• 1/4 Cup Arrowroot/Corn Starch
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Oil (melted and divided)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Water
• 10 Drops Essential Oil  (Here's how you can get them)
• Round Bath Bomb Mold
• optional Natural Dye

Directions:
Mix up 1/4 cup epsom salt, baking soda, citric acid, and corn starch (or arrowroot) and stir well. Add in 1.5 Tbsp. coconut oil, 1/2 Tbsp. Water, and essential oils. Fill in molds and press well to compact. Try to make the shape a bit concave to keep that "geode" shape. Chill in the fridge while you're making the geode topping.

Geode "Topping":
Take 3 small bowls and add 1/4 cup epsom salts to each. Add natural dye to each bowl, starting with a small amount, then medium, then large. (1 drop, 3, drops, 5 drops of the same color, to make 3  of the same color from light to dark)

After mixing up your 3 colors, add some of the lightest color to your bath bomb and top with melted coconut oil and spread out over the bath bomb. Add the medium next, and the dark, last, leaving a space in the middle, each time coating with a bit of the melted coconut oil. 

Place in fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.

See Full Blog Post HERE

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​

​Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Baking Soda
• 1/4 Cup Citric Acid
• 1 Cup Epsom Salts (divided)
• 1/4 Cup Arrowroot/Corn Starch
• 3/4 Cup Coconut Oil (melted and divided)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Water
• 10 Drops Essential Oil  (Here's how you can get them)
• Round Bath Bomb Mold
• optional Natural Dye

Directions:
Mix up 1/4 cup epsom salt, baking soda, citric acid, and corn starch (or arrowroot) and stir well. Add in 1.5 Tbsp. coconut oil, 1/2 Tbsp. Water, and essential oils. Fill in molds and press well to compact. Try to make the shape a bit concave to keep that "geode" shape. Chill in the fridge while you're making the geode topping.

Geode "Topping":
Take 3 small bowls and add 1/4 cup epsom salts to each. Add natural dye to each bowl, starting with a small amount, then medium, then large. (1 drop, 3, drops, 5 drops of the same color, to make 3  of the same color from light to dark)

After mixing up your 3 colors, add some of the lightest color to your bath bomb and top with melted coconut oil and spread out over the bath bomb. Add the medium next, and the dark, last, leaving a space in the middle, each time coating with a bit of the melted coconut oil. 

Place in fridge to set for a few hours or overnight.

You saw my version up top, but watch Young Living's Quick and beautiful version right here:

1 teaspoon (5ml) Jojoba Oil
2 Drops Lavender Essential Oil  (Here's how you can get them)
2 Drops Cedarwood Essential Oil
2 Drops Rosemary Essential Oil

Ingredients:
​1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Citric Acid
1/2 Cup Epsom Salts
1/2 Cup Arrowroot/Corn Starch
4 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1 Tablespoon Water
20 Drops Essential Oil  (Here's how you can get them)

Directions:​
​Mix together all ingredients. Divide if desired to create color/fragrance layers. We used yellow/green and lemon/lime in ours. Gently press enough mixture into your mold into your mold of choice to fill halfway. Add surprise toy and cover with more bath bomb mixture to cover and enclose toy. Place in the refrigerator to help coconut oil harden and bath bombs set, about an hour. Store in a cool, dry location. 

1/4 tsp beeswax pellets
1/2 tsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp olive oil OR sweet almond oil
1/2 tsp cocoa powder or hibiscus powder or mineral makeup 
A drop of honey
5 drops essential oils (Here's how you can get them)

Melt beeswax and coconut oil together. Add remaining ingredients, working quickly, and pour into a small pot. Makes 1-2 lip balms. ​

Makes 1
1/4 tsp beeswax pellets
1/2 tsp coconut oil
1/4 tsp olive oil OR sweet almond oil
1/2 tsp cocoa powder or hibiscus powder or mineral makeup 
A drop of honey
10-15 drops Cinnamon Bark essential oil (Here's how you can get it)

Melt beeswax and coconut oil together. Add remaining ingredients, working quickly, and pour into a small pot. Makes 1-2 lip balms. ​

1/2 tsp. Sweet Almond Oil
Glitter
3 drops Citrus Fresh essential oil (Here's how you can get it)

​Add glitter to small roller bottle and top with sweet almond oil (or olive oil). Shake well and enjoy! May need to roll back and forth a few times to get glitter started.