Easter Memories

I can’t believe that we are at the end of March and preparing for Easter weekend again! Last year 3 of my 4 kiddos were able to be with us for Easter. It was a special time with all three of the grands together for the first time! This year I will have only 2 of them plus a sweet daughter-in-law and 2 of the grands.

Recently I found a few pictures taken during my college days…senior year to be exact. I was a Home Economics major, and at the time, we had to spend 6 weeks in the Home Economics Residence. I happened to be assigned during the spring…including Easter. This picture was taken on Easter Sunday 36 years ago! I have been able to reconnect with 2 of my housemates through social media! We all got along very well and have lots of happy memories of those 6 weeks!

If you’ve been ready this blog for any length of time, you will know that I got my love of baking from my dear mother. I also was the recipient of many of her small kitchen gadgets when she decided she needed to give up her own kitchen. I know that kitchen gadgets are not meant to last very long. They are items we often receive as gifts for bridal showers and are often replaced before too many years of marriage have passed. However, I do still happen to have a few items that belonged to my mother years ago. They were very well made way back then (early 1970s) and have withstood the test of time. Mom bought these two particular items from a very dear friend of hers who was a school teacher during the year, but needed work during the summer. At least one summer she sold kitchen items…Pampered Chef, perhaps?  I have no idea what company made these amazing tools, but they have lasted and lasted and lasted…like the Energizer Bunny, maybe? It is time for me to replace them, though, because they are finally wearing out. You can see the crack in the spatula to the left and the broken handle on the one on the right.

 For several years, our Easter dessert has been pavlova. This year will be no different! I have all the ingredients written on my grocery list! You can find the recipe here. Be sure to give it a try! Your family will love it!

Family Happenings and Blueberry Scones

It’s been a crazy last few weeks which has contributed to my negligence in writing another blog post! I’ve been mentally writing this several days, and have really tried to get it here on the blog. This is the second time that I have sat at the computer to try to complete a post. I keep getting interrupted! You’d think that with just 2 of us in the house the majority of the time that I should be able to do this without interruption.  Guess I’m just not doing it at the right time. Maybe now I can get it done!  🙂

Here is what’s been happening with the family.

For Father’s Day this year I decided to replace our old tried and true automatic drip coffee maker. The old one was a gift to us for our wedding 29 years ago! I think that it is the last of the small-appliance-wedding-gifts that we received. I have burned out more crockpots, toasters, and hand mixers than I can count. The large appliances are are anywhere from 15 years to 25 years old, but the coffee pot has stuck around for 29! But not the carafe! We’ve replaced that more times than can be counted, too!

My sweet Little Man is rapidly approaching his first birthday! His latest accomplishment is crawling!! Time for my girl and her man to baby-proof the house!

Little Miss Mia is loving summer by playing outside in her pool and by jumping on the trampoline. She is doing pretty well as a big sister to sweet little Gracie Mae! Both the girls and their mommy are adjusting to life without Daddy for awhile as he serves our country. We pray daily for him while he is gone.

We are just 18 days out from the Big Day for my officer and his lady! I have my dress and shoes; the venue for the rehearsal dinner is reserved and menu chosen. I’m working on the center pieces for the tables and finalizing the number for the caterer. I can’t believe that this wedding is just around the corner!!

For a few weeks I found myself falling off the THM wagon and realized that I was just not feeling well. Three weeks ago I got back on that wagon and have worked hard to keep the bad carbs out of my diet. It always amazes me how much better I feel when I eat the THM way!

I discovered this recipe not long ago and knew that I had to give it a try. The original recipe called for strawberries, but last week a friend gave me lots of blueberries! Using blueberries instead of the strawberries made a wonderful scone! Try it yourself using any of the berries. You will be glad that you did!

Easter Weekend and Berry Breakfast Crisp

Hello, everyone! I am finally taking the time to sit down and write a new post…this time including a new recipe!

But first—Easter weekend! I was thrilled that Barbi and her sweet little family were able to drive here for Easter! They not only got to spend time with us all, but they got to meet Baby Gracie! The only disappointing part of the weekend was that my 2Lt was not able to be here since he is still half-way across the country in training!

Here are a few obligatory pictures from the weekend!

This morning I decided to have something different for breakfast than my usual sunny-side up eggs and fruit. I have been trying hard to get back on track with eating in a healthy manner since the guys brought in lots of sweets and other carbs over the weekend. And of course, I served our traditional Pavlova for Easter dessert!

This recipe makes one serving. It calls for baking it in the oven, but I used the microwave for about one minute. Either way is just fine.

• 1 cup mixed berries (frozen or fresh)
• 3 tbsp. low-carb flour blend (I used my own flour blend of oat, almond, and flax)
• 1 tbsp. unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• dash of salt
• 1 tbsp. sweetener (I used Pyure)
• 1/2 scoop protein powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp. coconut oil, melted

Place the berries in the bottom of a small baking dish. Mix remaining dry ingredients in a small bowl and then stir in coconut oil until it is a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over the top of the fruit. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes, or put into microwave for about one minute or until the berries burst.

Serve topped with about 1/4 cup Greek yogurt.

Family News and Bacon-Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Three weeks have passed since I last posted here. I can’t believe it has been that long! I seriously try to write more frequently, but it seems like 3 weeks is the norm these days! Here is what’s been happening on the home front.

Last week we did indeed get the freezing temperatures that I was afraid of. Most of the gorgeous blossoms that I showed in the previous post froze when our spring-like temperatures dropped into the 20s for several nights in a row. Our plum trees had bloomed a few weeks earlier than the peaches and were already showing tiny plums. They also froze and turned black in the freezing temperatures.

We had a bridal shower for Ben’s lady. I am so glad my sister was able to come for it! And we had a birthday party for Little Miss Mia’s daddy! She really wanted to blow out all the candles by herself, so he had to discourage her!

But the best news of all was that my girl’s man came home safely from his deployment! I just love this picture!

Now for the recipe! I had never made stuffed chicken breast before this try, and the guys loved it! It was not as hard as I had thought it might be. I didn’t follow a recipe, but just went by what I have read online about stuffed chicken breasts. I am sure that there are people out there who know tricks to make it easier!

• 3-4 boneless chicken breasts
• 4 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2-3 tbsp. heavy cream
• several large hands full of fresh spinach (sorry! I didn’t measure!)
• salt and pepper
• 12-16 slices of bacon

Carefully slice open the chicken breasts making a small pocket in the side of each.Be careful not to slice all the way through. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine the two cheeses and the heavy cream and mix well. Lightly steam the spinach to soften. Squeeze all the moisture out of the spinach and stir it into the cheese mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into the chicken breasts. Wrap each chicken breast with bacon, using about 3 slices per piece of chicken. The amount of bacon will depend on the size of each chicken breast. Place wrapped chicken in a slightly oiled pan. Bake at 350 degrees until juices are no longer pink and the bacon looks crispy, about 40 minutes. Again, baking time will depend upon the size of the chicken breasts. Thicker pieces will require longer baking time. Serve with a green salad on the side!

 

 

 

Vegetable Chicken Soup

I’m finally back writing an entry on the blog! I can’t believe that it has been about 3 weeks since I last posted. It is partly because we have been enjoying a wonderful spring this winter! Seriously! I know that the groundhog saw his shadow, and thus said that we would have 6 more weeks of winter, but he totally forgot to tell the birds, the bees, and the flowering trees! The song birds have been serenading us every morning for weeks now, and all our fruit trees are blooming! The last time we had such an early spring was in 2007. That ended disastrously when we had 3 nights of killer frost in mid-April. We lost all our fruits that year!

My sweet little grand girl has been practicing to be flower girl at her Opal Gen’s (Uncle Ben’s) wedding in July.

And sweet Little Man has learned to sit up all by himself!

Now about that recipe… Many people here in my area of the south have been sick lately. Thankfully, the sickness has not found my house! One of my friends was sick last week, so I decided to make her some chicken soup. Since I had some extra veggies in the fridge, I added them to the mix as well. A few spices added in made it a very tasty soup!

1 quart chicken broth

1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1/2 medium onion, diced

4-5 medium sized mushrooms, cut in fourths

1 c. or so of cut green beans (I used fresh ones, but canned would be fine)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. each  turmeric, chili powder, garlic powder (use whatever spices you desire!)

Combine everything except the chicken in a large pot and bring the broth to a boil. Simmer until the veggies are tender. Add the chicken and heat through. Check flavor for spices and adjust to your own desires.

Low-Carb, Gluten-Free “Tater” Tots

So here we are in the third week of January…already! In some ways January always goes slowly for me. Even though the days are getting longer, to me,  January seems like a dark and dreary month. Having cold, rainy, cloudy days lately hasn’t helped! It doesn’t matter if the temperatures have been reaching for 70…if it is rainy, it is dreary and depressing!

But in spite of the weather, I’ve had happy family moments. This happened the other day! I love how these pictures  turned out! Can’t wait to make some prints.

On Friday (another dreary, rainy day), the hubby walked in the door with these! Day was made!

Ben had to leave yesterday for AF training, and he won’t be back until the end of May…saddness! However, he tends to make the best of things, and the other day he had fun with Little Miss Mia.

I made this basket out of old t-shirts about 2 years ago. Mia uses it for some of her toys and books. Ben decided it would be a great pack for carrying Mia! She was thrilled! Yesterday afternoon when she and her parents arrived for Sunday dinner, Mia walked in the front door and announced, “Hello, Nemmie! I’m home!” I tell ya, my heart just melted!

Yesterday afternoon I got to FaceTime with the Little Man! He is so adorable! I can’t believe that he will be 6 months old soon! I didn’t take a picture of him while we were FaceTiming because I am not skilled at doing that. (Last time I tried it, I cut off the person I was FT with!) However, Barbi shared this picture of him a week or so ago. He is getting chunky!

For dinner tonight I realized that I needed to use some cauliflower that I had in the fridge. I searched through some of my THM recipes and decided to create my own version of tater tots. If you follow THM or other low-carb eating styles, you already know that cauliflower can be used in place of potatoes. These made a great side dish for salmon and a green salad!

• 1/2 large head of cauliflower
• 1-2 eggs
• 2-1/2 tbsp. almond flour (add more if mixture is too wet)
• 3/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or to taste)
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Cut the cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and place in sauce pan with a small amount of water. Bring to a boil and gently cook until fork-tender. Drain the cauliflower, and then squeeze it to remove excess water. **Take the time to do this! You want to get rid of as much moisture as possible! I actually got an extra cup of water from mine after I had drained it! Use cheese cloth or a strainer…whichever works for you.

Chop the cauliflower into tiny pieces. You can mash it or put it into a food processor and gently grind it. DO NOT over-process!

Put the cauliflower into a mixing bowl and add all the other ingredients. Season to taste, adding more spices if needed.

Using an ice cream scoop, shape the mixture into balls. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet and fry balls until golden brown.

This makes about 10 “tater” tots

 

She Said, “Yes!”

No recipe with this post, just good news from my 2Lt and Citadel grad! We are super excited to announce that there will be a wedding in 2017!

I’m thankful to Julia’s mom for sharing this reenactment picture of the proposal!

As we close 2016, we look forward to the blessings coming in 2017. We will now have a wedding as well as a new grandbaby!

And I promise new recipes will be coming in 2017, too!

Of Chicken Soup and Missing Forks

I can’t believe that we are 10 days away from Thanksgiving! And finally, we have weather that actually matches the season. We’ve had temps in the 80’s for weeks on end and little to no rain since July. We are finally having night time temps in the 40’s, and we actually got 1/4 inch of rain yesterday. I know that isn’t much, but we’ll take it!

One of my favorite activities with my children when they were small was the time spent reading aloud. I loved reading out loud to my kiddos! We read book after book each morning after we had our Bible time and before we started our school lessons. One of the series of books I read was called  The Borrowers by Mary Norton. It was a fun series to read. I thought of these books recently when I discovered that some of my forks are missing. Seriously, why should my forks be missing? It makes absolutely no sense at all unless my house is infested with borrowers! Years ago, my parents bought me 12 place settings of my flatware. They did it over time…a place setting for my birthday, another one for Christmas until I had the complete set including the serving pieces. Over the summer, I began to think that I was missing some forks. I mean, really…there were only 2 of us living here for over 3 months when Sam was deployed, but I noticed that I didn’t have all the forks. I  searched other drawers thinking that someone had put them in the wrong place, and that gave me one of my dessert forks, but the dinner forks are short by 4. Instead of 12, I have only 8. And even the 2-piece child set of spoon and fork that I used with my own children, and carefully saved for my grand babies is now missing the fork. It was not missing the fork 3 months ago! It has to be the borrowers, I tell ya!

One more thing before I share the new recipe for chicken soup. This, ya’ll!!!

I am beyond excited to have a new little pumpkin join the family in April!!

Ok, now to the recipe. I found this recipe in our local paper a few weeks ago. It is actually supposed to be chicken in a sauce to serve over pasta or rice, but as I read the recipe, I realized that it would make a wonderful creamy chicken soup…and it did!

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 large shallots, chopped

2 c. chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. minced fresh oregano (I used dried)

1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme (dried)

1/2 c. cream cheese

1/2 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese

2 c. roughly chopped spinach

1/2 c. chopped tomatoes

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sear the chicken for several minutes on each side, or until browned and just barely pink in the center. Remove to a plate and set aside.

Saute the shallots for a few minutes until they start to become tender. Add the broth and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the cream, oregano, and thyme. Heat until the edges of the sauce start to bubble. Stir in the cheeses until they melt. Stir in spinach and tomatoes and lightly simmer until the spinach wilts.

Return the chicken to the pan and allow it to heat through. If soup is too thick, add more chicken broth. If it isn’t creamy enough for you, add more heavy cream. Adjust flavors to your taste with salt and pepper!

 

Roasted Cauliflower

Last week was a whirl wind of activities! We learned that our deployed son was coming home! Now, we were already planning for his return, since we had a window when he told us he was coming. However, that window closed and he was still on the other side of the world. So when we got the new date, I didn’t tell a soul for fear that it would change again. It didn’t, and I finally got my hug!

Then the next day I was totally surprised to have my 2Lt show up at my door!!! It seems that everyone in the family knew he was coming except me. That’s ok, because I just love surprises like that!! He came to surprise his girl who was playing in her first university symphony orchestra concert. He had to tell her though, because she already had plans for the weekend!

I just love having my family come home, and my heart was almost full!  I was totally missing my girl,  but I am thankful that she and Sammy should be here for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait to squeeze that little man again!

This recipe was originally created for potatoes, but I used it last week with cauliflower. It turned out great, and the hubby loved it. It could be used as a potato substitute or as a veggie side dish.

1 large head cauliflower

1/4 to 1/2 c. water

1 tsp. garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic)

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 c. dried parsley (I used dried cilantro since I had no parsley)

1/4 c. butter, melted

Cut the cauliflower into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe dish. Add the water and cover. Microwave until mostly tender. Strain the water and gently squeeze the cauliflower to remove any extra water.

Lightly spray the dish and return cauliflower to it. Sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and parsley or cilantro over the top of the cauliflower, and gently stir to combine. Pour the butter on top of the mixture.

Place in a 350* oven and bake uncovered until cauliflower is tender and slightly golden, about 30 minutes.  Enjoy!

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Overnight Oatmeal

I’m back!!! I am finally taking the time to share a new recipe with you! Sorry it’s been so long…no real excuses…just haven’t done it. Oh, well! Here I am!

First a few updates on the family…I miss this little dude terribly! I hate that he and his parents live so far away!! I can’t wait to see him and his mommy at Thanksgiving! Grammy will do a whole lot of spoiling!!

I also miss this “baby!” He’s been on the other side of the world for over 3 months now, and could possibly be home THIS weekend!!! I can not wait!!! I know that a 3-month deployment is not considered very long, but in the eyes of a mama, it is terribly long!

This little munchkin is growing up so fast! I love that she lives nearby and that I can see her almost everyday! She loves trying to say new words and is quite the little yack-back.

We got the news on Saturday that my dear Aunt Margie passed away out in South Dakota. She had recently turned 88 years old. Although her hubby was not much of a traveler, he didn’t mind if Aunt Margie traveled, so she and my Aunt Kay would often drive across the country to come south and visit with my mom, their older sister. I am so thankful for those visits! My children have wonderful memories of visits with their great-aunt! Aunt Margie was the 8th of 10 children born to my grandparents. I can’t believe that only the youngest 2 are left! I miss all my aunts and uncles, and of course, my own mom who passed away 9 years ago next week. They were a special bunch and had great love not only for their own families, but also for all the nieces and nephews. This picture is of Aunt Margie, Uncle Jim and me at a family reunion back in 2008.

Last week I had a most embarrassing moment when I locked not only my keys but also my phone and wallet inside my van at the gas station! Now, I’ve been driving since I was 15…got my “Cinderella License” at that time and could drive by myself from sunup to sundown. In all these years I have never locked my keys in my car…until last week. Thanks to some extended Citadel family members, I was able to get the situation taken care of…but that’s another story!

Now to the recipe! I love oatmeal on cold mornings, and we have finally gotten cooler mornings here in the south. It has taken several weeks longer than normal, but I’m happy that it is finally here!

This recipe is just amazing! And if you forget to make it the night before, you can easily cook it in the microwave in the morning. It makes a great E breakfast if you follow THM.

1/2 c. old fashioned oats

1-1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder

2 tbsp. peanut butter powder

1/8 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sweetener (I like Pyure)

2/3 c. almond milk

1/3 c. plain Greek yogurt

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium-sized cereal bowl. Add the almond milk and yogurt and stir well. Feel free to add a little more almond milk if the mixture looks like it is too dry. Cover and put in the fridge overnight.

In the morning, stir the oatmeal and zap it in the microwave to warm it up. Add more almond milk if needed or top with low-carb spray whipped cream. Enjoy!