Catching Up and Greenville Honey Company

Wow! I can’t believe that so much time has passed since I last wrote a post!! We have been super busy around here getting our honey company up and running that the blog has been sadly neglected!

The most important news is a new grandson! Precious little Milo Joseph joined the family on April 22! He is a little sweetie!

In March we said, “See you later” to our second Blue Star. He is on the other side of the world for awhile, so he is constantly in our prayers for safety. Soon we will be saying, “See you later” to our 3rd Blue Star.  When he heads for the other side of the world we will have 2 of them gone at the same time for a while. Being a military mom is hard, but I am super proud of all 4 of our Blue Stars!

Much of our time is spent getting our honey business running. Since we lost our cleaning business last summer, we have taken the hobby of bee keeping and made it our new business. Be sure to visit our website here. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

We have been selling most of our products at the Greenville State Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and the Mauldin Farmers Market on Tuesday evenings. We have some of our products in several local small businesses, and we have sold some on line! We are excited about this new venture and are always adding new products to our line! Check us out!

Chocolate Smoothie with a Twist

Happy New Year and welcome to 2017! I know, I know…I am 12 days late on that greeting, but at least I’m here now writing a new post!

Last weekend we experienced winter. And it is now over and spring is here, at least for a few days. We had ice, snow, and sub-freezing temperatures for 3 days last week. Today, we are pushing 72 degrees! Tomorrow should be the same as today; Saturday will drop down into the 50s, but then we should have about a week or so with temps in the mid-60s every day! I just love life in the south!

I sort of fell off the proper eating path over the holidays when the hubby and others who shall be nameless brought delicious tasting, but oh-so-bad-for-you foods into the house! I am working hard at getting the sugars out of my system and eating right once again.

Although I was brought up in the south, there are some southern foods that I just never got a taste for. Black-eyed peas and collard greens make a traditional New Year’s Day meal, but not in my house! Okra is another southern staple that I just never enjoyed. However, now that I am trying to eat the Trim Healthy Mama way, I have discovered the health benefits of this southern veggie. If you are like me and need a little convincing that okra really is good for you, then read this article. You will be impressed!

The new THM cookbook has a few recipes in it using okra. I have made the brownies with it and was very impressed. Last week I discovered the chocolate smoothie! If you have the cookbook, you will find the recipe on page 415. Today I added a few drops of peppermint essential oil. Oh, my word! Ya’ll, this is amazing! If you didn’t know that there is a cup of okra in the smoothie, you would never guess it! I like it so much better with the peppermint than without!

Since I did change up the recipe some, I will share it with you here.

• 1 c. water
• 1 c. frozen, diced okra (I actually thawed mine some.)
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2-1/2 tbsp. Pyure sweetener
• 1 tsp. coconut oil, melted
• 3-4 drops peppermint essential oil
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 10 ice cubes
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Put everything in the blender except the ice and protein powder. I added the peppermint oil to the coconut oil first, and then added it to the remaining ingredients. Blend well…very well! Add the ice and blend again. Add the protein powder last and blend one more time.

Give it a try! You won’t be disappointed!

New Recipe Coming Soon!

A friend reminded me the other day that it’s been a while since I shared a new recipe here. I guess time has gotten away from me! I promise I do have a new recipe to share. I’ll give you a hint…if you like chocolate-peanut butter cups, you will like the new recipe!!

In the mean time, enjoy this recipe for pumpkin snicker doodles!  We all love pumpkin at this time of year!

Happy Birthday to Us!

This week is the 6th year mark for the blog! Over these last 6 years, we’ve written 383 posts and have had over 20,500 views. I guess that’s not too bad for a middle-aged mom! Ha!

I am thankful for each of you who have stayed with us and have faithfully been reading my posts. I do hope that you have found some recipes that your family enjoys!

A friend shared this picture the other day, and I thought it very appropriate for us. We love sharing recipes, and most of them come with stories!

We’re on Face Book!

We are slowly but surely updating the blog. This week, my girl created a Face Book page for the blog. You can find us at The Cookbook Experiment. Give us a ‘like’ and then share with your friends!

This link should take you to the page.

When I publish blog posts, I will share them on our new page as well as on my personal page.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

I discovered this morning that I am only 39 views away from the goal I had set for the end of 2015. I’m only 2 months behind…oh, well. I guess I shouldn’t have set such a lofty goal of 20,000 total views! This year I will be a little more realistic! Oh, and this is post #375! I guess that’s not bad for 5 years of blogging.

I also saw this recipe today and thought I would share it here with you. It looks so amazing!! I definitely need to give it a try. I think you all will enjoy it too!

Taryn over at Joy Filled Eats has created this dessert. I am new to following her blog, but if this recipe is any indication of her creativity in the kitchen, I will be making quite a few of her others!

Skillet Trout

Since the hubby and I have been eating the THM way, I have been serving more fish and chicken than red meats. Hubby usually likes almost any kind of seafood. Me? Not so much. I remember as a child when my family would do the occasional meal out. Dad and Mom loved the local fast food fish place. I am pretty sure that my brother and sister did as well. However, I just could not bring myself to order fish. I would always order chicken strips instead. Yes, I was that child. I still order chicken at a seafood restaurant. I do like a tuna wrap once in a while, but that’s about the extent of my seafood consumption.

A few weeks ago I was able to buy some fresh trout at a fairly decent price. When I get deals like this, I will freeze individual portions to make it easier when the time comes for cooking it. Last night I pulled out the trout and then proceeded to search for some trout recipes. I found several and combined them using some of my THM knowledge gained over these last months.

The hubby has always enjoyed fish breaded and fried. The breading, though, is usally full of carbs. Knowing this, I decided to experiment using psyllium husk flakes as my breading. It worked quite well! Whole psyllium flakes have 10 grams of carbs in 2 tablespoons. However, those carbs are all dietary fiber! This means it is really zero carbs! Tim’s trout turned out nice and crispy and well-seasoned!

2 tbsp. whole psyllium flakes

salt, basil, garlic powder,  and onion powder to taste

2 tbsp. or so of Dijon mustard

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 filet of trout (4-6 oz. maybe?)

coconut oil for frying

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet. Combine the psyllium flakes with the seasonings on a plate. Mix well and set aside. Combine the Dijon mustard with the lemon juice and spread half of it on one side of the fish. Set the fish on the psyllium mixture to coat well.

Place the fish, seasoned side down in the skillet and fry for about 5 minutes. While it is frying, use a pastry brush to apply the remaining mustard mixture. Sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture over the fish. Gently turn the fish over to fry on the second side, about 4-5 minutes. Remove pan from the heat, cover and let it rest for about 3-4 minutes or until the fish is done all the way through.

Serve with a green leafy salad!

Crustless Hamburger Pie

Ok, so I have been AWOL for the last few weeks. So sorry about that. My stay-at-home-mom status changed about 2 weeks ago when the need arose for a new church secretary. I’ve been helping out in our church office each morning for a few hours. It is a fun change although a bit challenging since I’ve not had any formal secretarial training! My college degree was in education, and I was a teacher in traditional schools for 7 years and a home schooling mom for 20. However, I am enjoying learning something new even if it means getting out the door (properly dressed!) by 8:40 in the morning!

I was looking for a new ground beef recipe the other day and found several for hamburger pie. I did a little combining and came up with this one that the family enjoyed. While one recipe called for ground beef, other ground meats can be used as well. Next time, I will probably try a combination of ground beef and sausage. I really liked the way it all held together without a crust. Pair it with a green leafy salad, and you have a delicious THM meal!

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained

1/2 c. tomato sauce

2 tbsp. ground flax

1/2 tbsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 egg, beaten

Combine all these ingredients and stir together well. Pour into a greased 9-inch baking pan. A pie dish works well, too.

For the topping combine the following ingredients:

2 eggs, beaten

3 oz. softened cream cheese

3 tbsp. heavy cream

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Whisk the topping ingredients well and pour over the meat mixture. Spread about 3/4 c. grated white cheddar cheese on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the center is firm and the top is lightly browned. This recipe serves 4. Double it for a larger family!

Candy Bar Smoothie

I came across a recipe the other day for a milkshake similar to the smoothie recipe that I am going to share here. It is winter and still cold even here in the south, so I don’t care to drink too many milkshakes!  I tried this recipe this morning making it thinner like a smoothie. It was the perfect mid-morning snack since I ate an early breakfast today and  needed something to hold me over until lunch.

1/2 c. low fat cottage cheese (or plain Greek yogurt)

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 tbsp. sweetener  (Might need more if using Greek yogurt)

3/4 c. almond milk

1 tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tbsp. peanut butter flour

1/2 to 3/4 tsp. caramel flavoring

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth! Adjust the taste to your liking by adding more peanut flour, cocoa powder, or caramel flavoring.

If you prefer your drink thicker like a milkshake, add about 7-10 ice cubes to the mix and blend well.

Ham Bone Soup

I can’t believe that we are 3 weeks into the new year already! 2016 is going to fly by if these 3 weeks are any indication.  The hubby and I have done fairly well in getting back on our THM eating plan. He even did a one-week fuel cycle and noticed that his belt was looser when he finished the cycle. Believe me, this is a great NSV…non-scale victory!

I had served a spiral ham over the holiday period and saved the bone in the freezer. Since we have been experiencing below-freezing temps here in the south this week, I thought it was the perfect time to bring out that ham bone and make some soup. I didn’t have a recipe, so the amounts shown are just estimates.

To keep this recipe in the S category, leave out the beans.You can also add any  non-starchy veggies that you have on hand. Making soup is a great way to clean leftovers out of the fridge! Adding the beans would put it into crossover territory, which is fine if you are not in weight-loss mode.

1 quart chicken broth

1 pint beef broth (this was left over from our Sunday beef roast!)

1 ham bone with meat parts still attached

2-3 stalks celery

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 medium onion, diced

1 c red radishes, cut in half

1 zucchini, sliced and then quartered

1 c chopped carrots (amount per serving is not significant enough to make this an E)

1 can white or red beans (makes the soup a cross-over)

salt, pepper, and other seasonings to taste

My ham bone was still frozen, so I put it in the crock pot with the broth on low setting overnight.  In the morning, I pulled the meat off the bone and cut it into bite-sized pieces. I put all the meat back into the crock pot and added the remaining ingredients.

Put the crock pot on low for about 4 hours. Adjust seasonings and serve! Ours was ready by lunch and was the perfect meal for our 20-degrees day!