Sinus Relief ~ Tea and other Tidbits

Despite meds, my sinus pressure has been horrible this time around.  We have too much moisture in the air.  I just got tired of depending on a decongestant pill.  I decided to go back to natural relief, and so glad I did.  Even though the pressure made it so unbearably uncomfortable to function, I ditched the pills and switched it up a bit.

I spent the day doing essential oil steams with oregano oil, and sipped this tea early in the day.

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh organic lemon juice
1/4 cup Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp. freshly grated organic ginger root
1/4 tsp. ground organic turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground organic cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground organic black pepper
1 teabag of throat coat (or Breathe Easy) teabag (organic) with one drop of organic food grade oregano essential oil

Boil all ingredients minus the teabag, add the teabag last, steep, strain and sip.

Notes:  I have always grated my ginger root into my tea infusers (photo above) and never had an issue straining out the tea from the bottom.  However, this recipe did not want to strain.  

I then poured it into a strainer with a coffee filter.  Same thing, but worked slightly better.  It just took much longer.  

Next round, I think I will make a homemade teabag for the spices and it would strain much easier.  

The tea is very spicy, FYI.  It worked great for relief of sinus pressure, along with doing steams too.  You just have to repeat until all symptoms are gone.  

Now Hubby is suffering horribly from sinus issues.  I told him to go to Urgent care after work and he did not.  He won't take the time for a steam nor tea either, so I sure hope he's drinking water at work.

Thursday it was cold, dark, and hazy all day.  No sun whatsoever.   Mr. Coyote made an appearance again, while we were grilling chicken kabobs (which were delicious, I should have taken a photo to share) on the porch.  Unfortunately, no shots fired.  It was heading across the highway (again). 

Friday, it was chilly and very foggy early morning.  It was also misting.  Moist air once again.

Guess what?  I found my lost flash drive.  So happy for that.

I have not found my full container of plastic rhinestones.  So far three kids have answered they don't have it.  

I washed up the ol' foot bath massage and gave it a good sanitizing with tea tree oil.  Then I enjoyed a foot soak of my own.  I sipped hot tea and read through old magazines.  

Freezer Meat Sauce ~ Lasagna ~ Utilizing Fresh Grown Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Garden Garlic and More

I'm always looking for good, healthy freezer friendly recipe.  It saves time and money in the long run, especially if the organic meat is purchased on sale, and I take advantage of vegetables from the garden and fresh herbs from the herb garden.

I made a trial run, using the alternative canned organic tomatoes to see if we'd like to make a few batches this summer when the tomatoes are ripe.  We found the sauce and lasagna to be very good.  I twist on the dish, but a healthier version.  Here is the how-to, on the meat sauce first.  Make a double batch, and freeze one for a later meal.  The recipe makes a 4 layer, 13 x 9 inch baking dish meal.  You could cut cut the size down to a 9 x 9 or 8 x 8 in, and freeze even more of the sauce.  I just have to figure out how many noodles I need for the smaller pan (for 4 layers).

The meat sauce could be used for other recipes such as stuffed spaghetti squash, spaghetti, stuffed shells, and many other recipes.

Meat Sauce:

1 lb. organic ground beef, browned in organic olive oil and drained

While you are browning beef, quarter 2 onions, place in a food processor, add 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (or 1 Tbsp prepared organic pesto and 1 Tbsp. homemade organic Italian Seasoning).

Add this mixture to the beef, along with:
2 cloves of garlic, minced.  Cook about 3 minutes.

Add:
6 fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped (or 4 cups organic canned diced tomatoes)

2 cups home canned crushed tomatoes (or purchase organic canned crushed tomatoes).

1 cup organic dry red wine (pick one you like to drink and enjoy the rest of the bottle at dinner)

1 cup organic chicken stock, or homemade chicken stock

1/4 cup home canned tomato paste (or organic canned tomato paste)

1/2 tsp. organic ground black pepper

salt

pinch of organic nutmeg

5 organic bay leaves

Stir in remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring of and on until thickened.


The "white sauce" for the Lasagna recipe:

4 Tbsp. organic butter
1/3 cup organic potato starch, 
1 1/2 c. organic milk
2 egg yolks, fresh out of the coop
1 1/2 cups organic shredded Parmesan and/or Asiago cheese
organic ground black pepper

In a saucepan, melt butter, add potato starch and let cook a minute or so, and drizzle in the milk by stirring with a whisk.  Remove from heat,  add a small amount of milk mixture to a bowl of whisked egg yolks, then add the egg mixture back to the milk mixture and return to the burner.

Just heat until a bit thickened, remove from heat, add cheeses and cover to keep warm.


To Make the Lasagna:

Butter a 13 x 9 inch pan.

Layer meat sauce, then white sauce, then cooked organic or non-gmo lasagna noodles, repeat up to 4 times with cheese on top.  

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes covered.  Remove foil, bake 30 more minutes (I added some organic mozzerella 15 minutes of last 30 minute cook time).  Remove from oven and allow to cool 30 minutes before serving.

I used a mix of the two cheeses and it was very good.  I also found a non-gmo potato starch from a health store.