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Monday, March 23, 2015

Decorated Garlic Infused Oil Bottle & Recipe


I cook with garlic-infused olive oil quite often. It's healthy, tasty and ... expensive.

Making it yourself can save a lot... to buy... more garlic and olive oil. It's so beneficial cooking with it and it's a big budget helper. It takes just 6 smashed cloves of garlic to one cup of olive oil.

I confess, I've bought the pre-made infused oils and vinegar off the shelf; but only on sale.


I saved the used bottles to hold my own home-made. I opted to change the look of the plain "what is in that?" bottle by decorating it.

Cradling the bottle with rolled towels I drew an outline of a head of garlic in permanent marker.


Then painted it.


Still somewhat plain and too simple... I chose some decorative writing from this stencil by The Crafter's Workshop "Grow" # TCW 531S.


I sprayed adhesive on the stencil and wrapped it firmly onto the bottle while applying a green iridescent embossing paste.


The little design became a visual label for what's stored inside.


Super easy and quick little bottle dress up! I'll do this for the infused vinegar recipes too!



Do you make your own infused olive oils?











I'm updating the post to for the requested recipe I use! :)


Garlic Infused Olive Oil

Ingredients: 

(Stove top simmer method) 
6 Cloves of Garlic to 1 Cup of Olive Oil

First, use high quality olive oil. Getting it on sale can help keep the cost down.
Second, the garlic needs to be cooked to remove bacteria and the threat of botulism.

Start by peeling and chopping garlic, then add some oil in a pan to saute the garlic with medium heat for about 5 minutes. A steady sizzle without browning will avoid bitterness. Lower heat to medium low and add cup(s) of oil to infuse, allowing a slow light boiling of the oil for another 5 minutes. Make certain it doesn't burn. Lower heat to low and simmer 15 minutes. (This is to ensure any health threatening spores are killed.) Turn off the heat and allow the oil and garlic to cool.

Once cooled, strain the entire contents into an airtight container, making sure no garlic pieces are in the oil. (Any remnants could spoil the oil.) Store the oil in the refrigerator for use. It lasts quite a long time chilled.

(Tip: Those cooked garlic pieces can be used in a recipe right away! I like to make a garlic herb butter for hard crusted bread to use it up... Garlic bread goes great with many main entrees!)




(Slow cooker method)
1 Head of Garlic to 1 cup of Olive Oil

You can leave the skin on using this method, and I do, to hold the cloves together. I cut the heads in half and put them into the cooker using high heat the first hour, then medium heat for another 5 hours. This allows the natural garlic oil and it's healthy benefits to release into the olive oil while killing bacteria.

Shut off the cooker and allow the oil to cool. Strain well into airtight bottles/containers. I've stored this method in a bottle in my cooking cubby up to a week without any health risks. (It usually gets used up within that time period.) You can refrigerate or store in a handy place for cooking.



Garlic Infused Vinegar

Ingredients: 

6 Cloves of Garlic to 1 Cup of Vinegar


Garlic infused vinegar is a lot easier! Because vinegar is acidic, it kills the bacteria spores in garlic and you can simply add the cloves into it. White or apple vinegar gives the best garlic infused flavor, but I've used it in wine vinegar too.

Peel the garlic and smash it to release the oil and drop into your container. Or you can use a wooden skewer to put through the cloves and push it into a bottle. Pour vinegar in and that's it!

You can leave the cloves in as long as you wish. The longer the better without bitterness. As you use the contents, just add more vinegar to top it off. It lasts a very long time.  If the garlic changes color, it's normal, and nothing is wrong. It's a pickling process. (You can remove the garlic and start with another batch anytime.)

(Tip: The pickled garlic can be eaten... add it to a salad vinaigrette!) 


The initial cost of the ingredients for the oil and vinegar recipes can equal the cost to ONE or TWO prepared store bought. The savings is huge and you can control the flavor you desire.







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59 comments:

  1. what a cool way to make that bottle look awesome xx p.s. your email made me cry xx

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  2. Thank you, sweetie! You're not supposed to cry... Smile and laugh!!! ~ Hugs! :D

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  3. I love personalized things. Your garlic olive oil bottle turned out very cute. Stopping by from Inspire Me Monday. hope you have a great week!

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  4. Vicki And JenniferMarch 24, 2015 at 9:48 AM

    Hi - we just discovered you at Do Tell Tuesday link party! We absolutely love your "new" bottle - super creative! If you get a chance we would love for you to link up with us at our Something To Talk About Link Party!

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  5. Marie@The Interior FrugalistaMarch 24, 2015 at 9:52 AM

    That's a great idea Robin! I'm afraid I don't make my own infused olive oil or vinegar and wait for my favorites to go on sale. I'd save a lot of money if I did. Love your personalized bottle. Hmmm, perhaps a future post sharing your recipes? *hint* *hint*

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  6. Creatively HomespunMarch 25, 2015 at 7:13 AM

    I second Marie's request!!! RECIPES? :-) Yum!! I've always wanted to do this myself, and never really found the inspiration.... this is perfect!!!!! Thanks for sharing at the Marvelous Monday Party... I look forward to those recipes! and Ill be pinning this one for sure!!

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  7. Thank you ladies!!! I headed right over! :)

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  8. LOL! I should have posted the recipe with it! I just updated this post to include it. I wrote it off my head, because it's so easy. I didn't make it this morning to have photos, but can the next time I make a batch. Thank you for the alert; it does make perfect sense to include it.

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  9. I was a goof not to include the super easy recipes. I'm glad you like the idea of making your own. It's really inexpensive and you get to control the flavor. Hope you enjoy doing this. The infused olive oil is delish for bread dipping. Add your favorite seasoning to it in a dipping bowl. (I like cracked pepper, oregano, basil and feta cheese bits mixed together then dip some crusty artisan breads into it.)

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  10. Creatively HomespunMarch 25, 2015 at 2:17 PM

    Yay! Can't wait to try it! Ty!

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  11. Love how your bottle turned out!! Thank you for sharing with us at VMG206 Brag About It!

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  12. Wonderful bottle and recipe, too! Thanks for sharing these great creations at Together on Tuesdays :)

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  13. I dont know which I like more, actually both, but the bottle is really nice, it looks like one you would buy from Home Goods. Love using olive oil especially infused with garlic!!



    Thank you for sharing on The OHMGWW this week.
    W appreciate that you have shared your blog with us!
    Have a great week, Karren

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  14. Robin, Just popping over to let you know that your beautiful Stenciled Decorated Garlic Oil Bottle will be featured at our next Brag About It link party - Monday at midnight! Congratulations!
    ~Laurie

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  15. I think this is beautiful. What a way to make sure you can tell your bottles apart! Visiting from Be.You.Tiful link party.

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  16. Pam@over50feeling40March 26, 2015 at 12:53 PM

    Great idea! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!

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  17. Robin! This is brilliant. I love your practical approach to painting the bottle. It's beautiful and no doubt looks great on the counter. And of course, I love garlic-infused oil, but that goes without saying. I lived in ITALY for so many years... Hugs to you and hopefully see you back at the party this weekend. Rose

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  18. This is really cool! I love infused oils but I never knew how to make them. I love the way you decorated the bottles. You always have a creative spin on everything. I hope you're having an awesome week. As always, thanks so much for linking this up to our Something to Talk About Link Party. We look forward to your posts each week! Hugs, CoCo

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  19. Love this and so very glad that you shared it on Making Memories Mondays! :-)
    Cathy

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  20. BEAUTIFUL. I love it. Pinned to Crafts also. Best wishes, Linda @Crafts a la Mode

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  21. What a great idea! I haven't made infused oils in a long time...we just got an oil and vinegar shop downtown and I have been quite addicted to shopping there. But that means I have plenty of bottles on hand and I'd love to try this. I absolutely love your decorated bottle. Pinning and sharing! I'm visiting from the Home Matters link party but if you have a free moment, I would love it if you shared it with us at #FoodieFriDIY too...I think everyone would love this!

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  22. Deborah from MommyCrusaderMarch 27, 2015 at 1:11 AM

    What a great looking bottle! I love how quick the project was! Thanks again, for the fantastic inspiration.

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  23. Looks great! I have never even heard of garlic oil. I am not a garlic fan though. Thanks for sharing at #HomeMattersParty

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  24. Wow! I've never infused my own olive oils but I think I'm going to try it! I usually buy them from the Oil and Vinegar store but they are so pricey!

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  25. This is really cool. I love it. Julie
    #wordlesswednesday thanks for linking up

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  26. Glad you liked it and stopped in! Thanks so much, Laurie!

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  27. So happy to see you, Lisa! Thanks so much!

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  28. It's healthy and tasty. I use it quite often and so happy to share it. Thanks so much for liking the entire post, Karren! ox

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  29. Woo hooo!! Thrilled to pieces! Thank you, Laurie!!!

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  30. So glad you like it! For the rosemary and thyme oils that I make, I'll do the visual labels just like the garlic. This is so much fun and a really cheap way to make kitchen decor and cooking come together. Thank you for hosting and visiting :)

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  31. Thanks for hosting and stopping in, Pam!!

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  32. Oh you lucky lady!!!! I haven't even visited the beautiful country and you lived there... sigh...
    Thank you so much for the kind compliment, invite and visit!

    Mangi sano!

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  33. Infused olive oils are so delicious, but expensive. I'm so glad you like this one.
    Thank you so much for hosting and coming by. LOVE your link up! I may miss this coming week with unexpected events right now, including a funeral tomorrow. But I do look forward to visiting you!

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  34. Aww, thank you, Cathy!!! So happy you're hosting!

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  35. Oh my, Linda! Thank you!!!
    I'm stopping back on Sunday to catch up with your link up. Thank you for stopping to see me.

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  36. The best thing about making your own is controlling the flavor and adding what you like most. They are so healthy and tasty. I just picked up fresh thyme and rosemary for my next batch (awesome for poultry dishes). I use so much that I may need to use wine bottles!
    Thank you so much for your kind visit and invite! I'll definitely share there! ox

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  37. Super easy, Deb!
    Thank you for hosting and visiting!!!

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  38. That's ok. Garlic is not for everyone so it's very understandable. But I do thank you so much for hosting and stopping in! :)

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  39. No way!!! Thank you so much Cathy!!! I'll come back and see you and Tammy on Sunday when things settle down here. I am so excited for the feature!!!

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  40. You are going to be so happy to make your own, Stacey. The savings for a few batches equal one or two bottles of store bought. AND, you can make the flavor they way you like it. I don't recommend using too much garlic or herbs because the simmering DOES bring out the flavor. Garlic tends to give a bitter taste if too many cloves are used.


    Have fun and let me know how it turns out. I'm changing the size from the original oil bottles to wine bottles. Summer is coming and I make a lot more salads. If you use these infusions, you may want to do the same. I've been saving wine bottles and a local wine/liquor store gave me three boxes of empties from tastings. I have a lot to work with! Thank you so much for stopping in! Hope you enjoy your new healthy project! :)

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  41. Thank you for hosting and visiting!! :)

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  42. I need to do this instead of buying in fused oils and I love your decorated bottle. Makes it look super expensive! I found you from Link Party Palooza.

    Kati

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  43. The best thing about making your own is controlling the flavor and adding what you like most. Saving money is always good too! :)

    So happy to see you, Kati! Thanks so much!

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  44. This is so Mediterranean. I love it! You are featured this week on Funtastic Friday. I hope you can make it again this week.

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  45. I am so thrilled, Sherry!!!! Thanks so much!!! ox

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  46. I used to make infused oils too. Love them!Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop. xo

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  47. Thank you for hosting and stopping by, Katherine! :)
    oxo

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  48. Robin...such a great project. I pinned and am sharing. Have a great week.

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  49. This looks so incredible! Loving it! Pinned and tweeted. Thanks for being a part of our party. I hope to see you tonight at 7. Lou Lou Girls

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  50. I'm so happy for the pin and tweet, Kim! You're so sweet!!!

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  51. What a great idea! My husband loves infused oils and my Mum makes her own all the time. The personalised touch really makes this! Thanks for linking up at Mum-bo Monday, this week's party is now live, I hope to see you there!

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  52. I knew you were a whiz with DIY home decor, now you handle cooking too? The garlic infused olive oil sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday linkup last week. Sorry I am late in pinning. Sharing on FB too.

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  53. I'm so happy you related to this, Kelly. Thank you so very much.
    I promise to stop by with or without a project. Love your link up that shares so much creativity! :)

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  54. You're so dang sweet! I'm actually a cook...my restaurant experience is... hence why I don't get to eat out much. Hubby and family say they prefer I make dinner to going out. That's not fair. I deserve to eat out. :)
    I started the blog based on home improvement and my wonderful blogging friends don't know the real me and cooking is a the largest part of my existence at home. I'm so glad you like the post. Good olive oil and garlic is a healthy benefit and I do include them in a lot of my recipes. This is just a fragment of my everyday life. Thank you so very much for pinning and sharing! I'm so excited that you shared!
    To be honest... I prefer to hold a sander and a hammer in my hands more than a spoon and spatula! oxo!

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  55. This looks so great (and garlic olive oil sounds wonderful)! Thanks so much for sharing at Idea Box! I will be featuring this post tomorrow (April 2).

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  56. That's so cool. I love to cook and my boys say the same thing, they would rather eat at home than pay for restaurant food that's not as good. It's a wonderful compliment and it saves us a lot of money but a lot of work too.

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  57. Hi Robin, I just wanted to let you know you are going to be a feature this week...I love this project! And when I stopped back I noticed that you are part of the Northeast bloggers network...so I guess we are both on this side of the country! I'm in CT. :) Hope to see you again for the party tonight...we go live at 9 pm EST!

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  58. This is awesome! Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness link party :)

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