Thursday, April 30, 2009

Foaming Vanilla Honey Bath

Sunday May 10 is Mother's Day. Cleopatra was known for nourishing her skin with milk-and-honey baths. Mix up this modern-day beauty bath for your Mother or for yourself! Relax in a soothing bath. Honey is nature's silky moisturizer and guaranteed to sweeten your mood!


Foaming Vanilla Honey Bath
1 cup sweet almond oil or light olive oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Watkins Natural Liquid Hand Soap (your choice of fragrances)
1 tablespoon Watkins Double-Strength Vanilla Extract

Place oil into a bowl; then carefully stir in remaining ingredients until fully blended. Store in a clean plastic bottle and shake before using. Add to running bathwater.

Original recipe from the National Honey Board, adapted using Watkins liquid hand soap and vanilla.


Eleisia
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Thursday, April 16, 2009

My Testimonial for Watkins Pain Relief Spray


Watkins Pain Relief Spray
This fast-acting spray with the pain-relieving properties of Watkins Liniments and the penetrating vapor of Breathe Easy Relief Mist contains menthol and camphor and provides quick relief from sore muscles, aches, and arthritis pain.


My Testimonial

I use this pain relief spray on my feet. Sometimes my shoes cause a throbbing pain on the ridge on the top of my foot near my big toe. I can't sleep if the throbbing continues. A few sprays to this area and the pain is completely gone.

Pain Relief Spray, 4 fl oz/120 ml, # 02350

Eleisia
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Watkins Gentle Pore Scrub Available Now

Gentle Pore Scrub Now Available! — Save $2.00!

Complete your beauty regimen! Use Watkins Gentle Pore Scrub with Watkins Daily Cleansing Cream (20500), Divine Day Cream (20502) and Nourishing Night Cream (20503) and you have an unbeatable facial care system!

Finely ground apricot seeds gently exfoliate, while natural extracts work to moisturize and replenish your skin. Reveal vibrant, healthy skin, naturally!

Essential Ingredients

Apricot Seed Powder: Finely ground from the seeds of an apricot, this powder acts as a light exfoliant.


Seaweed Extract: Seaweed is found to be stimulating and nourishing to the skin. Seaweed extract also seems to be effective on acne.
Derived from: Numerous seaweed species.

20501 Gentle Pore Scrub (4.2 oz), Regularly $10.99 — Special Price $8.99!
Special price during April

Eleisia
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes
Serve pancakes with warm applesauce seasoned with Watkins Cinnamon. Top with a dollop of sour cream.

3 large potatoes (about 2 pounds/908 g)
1 egg
2 tbsp/30 mL all-purpose flour
2 tsp/10 mL Watkins Onion Flakes
1/2 tsp/2.5 mL salt
1/4 tsp/1.2 mL Watkins Black Pepper
6 oz Canola oil, for frying

Wash and pare potatoes. Grate on coarse grater into large bowl filled with ice water; let stand 15 minutes. In medium bowl, beat egg with whisk. Add flour and remaining ingredients; mix well. Drain potatoes; pat dry with a clean dish towel. Measure about 4 cups/1 liter of potatoes. Add to egg mixture; mix well.
Slowly heat 1/8 inch/3 mm oil in large heavy skillet or electric fry pan until very hot but not smoking. For each pancake, drop about 1/4 cup/60 mL potato mixture into oil. Do not crowd. With spatula, flatten against bottom to make a pancake about 4 inches/10 cm across. Fry 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until golden and crisp. Drain well on paper towels.
Makes 12 pancakes, 2 per serving.
Note from kitchen: These pancakes should be fried as soon as mixture is made to prevent potatoes turning brown.

Homemade Samoas Bars and Thin Mints

I love Girl Scout Cookies! I particularly like the Thin Mints and the Samoas. I can't eat just one. I found these recipes for the homemade version of each luscious cookie.

I love the look of the original Samoas Girl Scout Cookies, but making them from scratch can be a little bit time consuming. This is because the dough must be rolled out, cut out and then each of the cookies has to be handled individually for topping. The results are well worth it but we don’t always have time to make a labor-intensive recipe - no matter how bad a craving for Girl Scout cookies gets.

Bar cookies are the perfect solution.

This is basically a shortcut recipe that still delivers all the great Samoas flavor without some of the more tedious parts of cooking making. These bars have a buttery shortbread base that is topped with the caramel-coconut Samoas topping and chocolate. The bars should be cut after the topping has been applied, and even though the shortbread has a melt-in-your mouth quality to it, the topping holds the bars together well. I recommend using a large knife or a pizza cutter to slice up the bars easily and neatly.

Since Samoas have chocolate on the bottom and a chocolate drizzle on top, I kept that same look for my bar cookies. If you want something a bit simpler skip the dipping in favor of a drizzle.





Homemade Samoas Bars

Cookie Base
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp Watkins Vanilla Extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

First, make the crust. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan, or line with parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly, like wet sand. The dough does not need to come together. Pour crumbly dough into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until base is set and edges are lightly browned. Cool completely on a wire rack before topping.

Topping
3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
12-oz good-quality chewy caramels
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp milk
10 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Unwrap the caramels and place in a large microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir a few times to help the caramel melt. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula.

Put dollops of the topping all over the shortbread base. Using the spatula, spread topping into an even layer. Let topping set until cooled. When cooled, cut into 30 bars with a large knife or a pizza cutter (it’s easy to get it through the topping).

Once bars are cut, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. Dip the base of each bar into the chocolate and place on a clean piece of parchment or wax paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off and drizzle bars with chocolate to finish. Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. Makes 30 bar cookies.

Note: You can simply drizzle chocolate on top of the bars before slicing them up if you’re looking for yet an easier way to finish these off. You won’t need quite as much chocolate as noted above.



These crispy cookies are easy to make at home and taste even better than the “real” thing. The dough is made in advance, rolled into a log and chilled. This allows the cookies to be sliced off easily into rounds so there is no need to fiddle with a cookie cutter.

Once baked, they are dipped into a dark chocolate coating. I recommend getting a good quality dark chocolate to work with, starting with a bar and chopping it up. Semisweet chocolate chips work pretty well, too, although you might need to add an extra tablespoon of butter if your chocolate doesn’t get thin enough to ensure a thin cookie coating.

The cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for several days, but they taste great when frozen and last for weeks in the freezer.

Homemade Thin Mints

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
6 tbsp Watkins Baking Cocoa Powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/3 cup milk (any kind)
1/2 tsp Watkins Vanilla Extract
3/4 tsp Watkins Peppermint Extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, add in the milk and the extracts. Mixture will look curdled. Gradually, add in the flour mixture until fully incorporated.

Shape dough into two logs, about 1 1/2 inches (or about 4 cm) in diameter, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 1-2 hours, until dough is very firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Slice dough into rounds not more than 1/4 inch thick - if they are too thick, they will not be as crisp and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cookies will not spread very much, so you can put them quite close together. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until cookies are firm at the edges. Cool cookies completely on a wire rack before dipping in chocolate.


Dark Chocolate Coating
10-oz dark or semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

In a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate and butter. Melt on high power in the microwave, stirring every 45-60 seconds, until chocolate is smooth. Chocolate should have a consistency somewhere between chocolate syrup and fudge for a thin coating.

Dip each cookie in melted chocolate, turn with a fork to coat, then transfer to a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to set up for at least 30 minutes, or until chocolate is cool and firm.

Reheat chocolate as needed to keep it smooth and easy to dip into. Makes 3 1/2-4 dozen cookies.

Eleisia
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Free E-Associate Web Package for April

Great News!

During April, Watkins is offering a special promotion for new associates. Become a Watkins Associate this month and receive a Free E-Associate Package - A $64.95 Value!

Watkins associates usually pay $64.95 to set up a personalized WatkinsOnline website but if you sign up in April there is no set up fee. There is just a $19.95 monthly hosting and maintenance fee to start your own business on the web.

The internet provides a valuable advertising tool for your Watkins business. Customers from anywhere in the US and Canada can order from your WatkinsOnline website

So take full advantage of the benefits that the E-Associate Program offers:

  • A customized web site you to quickly and easily place your Watkins business online to work for you 24 hours a day.
  • A Watkins Online e-Associate Home Page. As a Watkins Online e-Associate, you can place stories and testimonials on your page for the general public as well as articles/training you can make available to your downline.
  • Your site is a gateway to everything available at WatkinsOnline, including online shopping for you and your customers, recipes, and the career opportunity section.
  • Your site provides you with the security of knowing that customers, prospects and Associates who come to WatkinsOnline.com through your site will have your ID number pre-filled on any sign-up form.
  • Your own e-mail account with the WatkinsOnline.com domain name.
  • Online access to your account information, including management reports and real-time volume queries.
  • Secure website with brand identity and a professional design.

When registering as a new Watkins associate in April, if you’d like your own personalized WatkinsOnline website, you will be asked for a credit card to charge the $19.95 monthly web hosting and maintenance fee . If there is no credit card received, the e-Associate web package will not be activated. As a new Associate, you also have the option to not accept the E-Associate package when signing up.

If you’ve been considering the idea of becoming a Watkins associate, sign up now! Just go to WatkinsOnline and click on the link “Join Us.”

Eleisia
http://www.watkinsonline.com/eleisiawhitney