Friday, 13 April 2012
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Summer is in the air!
Yummmmmmm.......
I wish you could smell my house at the moment, the smell of banana chocolate chips muffins is a wafting through the air. Yessss......
Okay, so I am still on the no 'poo routine.... but let me tell you.... it has been a tuff one to stick out. UGH, when I read that it will take your hair 4-6 weeks to adjust to the change I didn't realize how much they seriously meant that! BUT I will not quit, it would be so easy to.... the shampoo has been taunting me when I take a shower. But NO I say to that evil little bottle; and to myself, I can do this.
My hubby says it doesn't look bad, but to me it feels gross... like maybe my hair it going to transition into dreads. We had to go out on sat. night to a stag and doe..... I was walking around thinking..... everyone is looking at my hair. But I know I am my worst critic and Mike really wouldn't have let me leave if it was bad, he is a good husband. Maybe? Haha. Okay, okay! Well I have just passed the one week mark, I am washing it again today and I promise to post a picture when it is dry!
Also, are you loving this weather? It's summer in the middle of March, well at least on this side of town it is! :) :) :) YAY!
So those Eggless Banana Muffins that are making my house smell divine, you wanted that recipe right? Yes, I thought you did. Having no eggs in the house and wanting to bake can leave any of us in a jam. So I am happy to say these turned out FANTASTIC!
Lately I have been making Mikes granola bars at home instead of buying the icky store bought kind (I can say that now because the ones I make are DIVINE! Want the recipe? Maybe later, lol.). Well, yesterday I had to make him his snacks for the rest of the week and found myself with no ingredients for the granola, and no eggs for cookies.... or something? But I had banana's, yes, that was a start. So I googled eggless banana bread, found some recipes.... not really good rating's. Then I stumbled on this recipe for Strawberry Banana Muffins... Eggless!!! Hm.. but I didn't have strawberries, and I didn't have yogurt. So here is how I made them :)
Eggless Chocolate Banana Muffcakes
(oh, and I doubled the recipe; ya, it makes 36 and goes in the freezer for his lunches:)
Preheat the oven to 350 and line your cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
Melt the butter in microwave (I use defrost for like 30-50 seconds and it melts wonderfully and comes out JUST warm), and set aside.
In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients from chocolate chips to the salt.
In an other bowl mix together the wet ingredients.
Now add the wet to the dry, and mix oh so gently. You want the batter to JUST be mixed so your muffcakes don't come out dense.
Scoop with an ice cream scoop and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle rack. Mine baked in 25, but my oven kind of sucks. So make sure you check at 20 if you know you have a hot oven. Insert a tooth pick and if it comes out clean, they are done!
I can't wait to play around with this and invent new variations!
Hope you enjoy :)
I know I did, maybe a little too much.... and a little too many! Errr....
I wish you could smell my house at the moment, the smell of banana chocolate chips muffins is a wafting through the air. Yessss......
Okay, so I am still on the no 'poo routine.... but let me tell you.... it has been a tuff one to stick out. UGH, when I read that it will take your hair 4-6 weeks to adjust to the change I didn't realize how much they seriously meant that! BUT I will not quit, it would be so easy to.... the shampoo has been taunting me when I take a shower. But NO I say to that evil little bottle; and to myself, I can do this.
My hubby says it doesn't look bad, but to me it feels gross... like maybe my hair it going to transition into dreads. We had to go out on sat. night to a stag and doe..... I was walking around thinking..... everyone is looking at my hair. But I know I am my worst critic and Mike really wouldn't have let me leave if it was bad, he is a good husband. Maybe? Haha. Okay, okay! Well I have just passed the one week mark, I am washing it again today and I promise to post a picture when it is dry!
Also, are you loving this weather? It's summer in the middle of March, well at least on this side of town it is! :) :) :) YAY!
So those Eggless Banana Muffins that are making my house smell divine, you wanted that recipe right? Yes, I thought you did. Having no eggs in the house and wanting to bake can leave any of us in a jam. So I am happy to say these turned out FANTASTIC!
Lately I have been making Mikes granola bars at home instead of buying the icky store bought kind (I can say that now because the ones I make are DIVINE! Want the recipe? Maybe later, lol.). Well, yesterday I had to make him his snacks for the rest of the week and found myself with no ingredients for the granola, and no eggs for cookies.... or something? But I had banana's, yes, that was a start. So I googled eggless banana bread, found some recipes.... not really good rating's. Then I stumbled on this recipe for Strawberry Banana Muffins... Eggless!!! Hm.. but I didn't have strawberries, and I didn't have yogurt. So here is how I made them :)
Eggless Chocolate Banana Muffcakes
(oh, and I doubled the recipe; ya, it makes 36 and goes in the freezer for his lunches:)
- 1 cup Melted Butter
- 1 cup Sour Cream (Instead of 2 Eggs)
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 6-8 mashed up Banana's (med-large)
- 2 cup Chocolate chips
- 4 and 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 and 3/4 cups packed Brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons Raw Cocoa Powder
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1-2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Preheat the oven to 350 and line your cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
Melt the butter in microwave (I use defrost for like 30-50 seconds and it melts wonderfully and comes out JUST warm), and set aside.
In a large bowl mix together the dry ingredients from chocolate chips to the salt.
In an other bowl mix together the wet ingredients.
Now add the wet to the dry, and mix oh so gently. You want the batter to JUST be mixed so your muffcakes don't come out dense.
Scoop with an ice cream scoop and sprinkle with brown sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes on the middle rack. Mine baked in 25, but my oven kind of sucks. So make sure you check at 20 if you know you have a hot oven. Insert a tooth pick and if it comes out clean, they are done!
I can't wait to play around with this and invent new variations!
Hope you enjoy :)
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
No 'poo!
Oh, where to begin!
You know when sometimes life just gets a little too crazy, and it feels like you are standing in the eye of the storm; just waiting for the full force of its impact to hit you. Well the storm hit. I won't get into pesky details, we all have our ups and downs. Storms, rainy days and those wonderful spells of beautiful sun. Life is like the weather man, you can try to predict the weather that is about to hit; but most of the time we totally miss the mark. I guess that's Gods way of keeping us on our toes!
Oh, but this week has been fun so far.... and it's only tuesday! My "special" friend "bob" came to visit, which for the first few days is torture and pain (yes I have been given a prescription to help, but I would rather suffer then take a pill). I woke up sunday with a horrible cold that is accompanied by a nasty headache; my husband says my lips look like I just got shot up with botox (more like a botched botox!), thanks to my dripping nose.... and a little fever to add to this lovely concoction. Ohhh and yesterday our car broke down as Mike was leaving for work. YAY! Okay, that is all I am going to rant about :) I am now in my happy place listening to Dave Barnes - Nothing Fancy, if you have never listened to him.... well he is just amazing! He calms me :)
So the reason I wanted to write today was to journal about my quest to eliminate shampoo from my life. Yes, I am going to try out the no 'poo method and the recipe I used is here.
I then used a vinegar rinse, I used 4 c. boiling water to 1/3 cup vinegar; to add a little luxury to the mixture I added a drop or 2 of myrrh and some aloe gel from my plant. I then put 1 cup of that into a bottle and used it like I would a conditioner. Ha, this shall be interesting.
My hair, well it's still wet.... so we shall see how today goes. But boy does that myrrh make it smell sooo good. I will post a picture soon, kinda nervous... kind of excited!
Xo - me
You know when sometimes life just gets a little too crazy, and it feels like you are standing in the eye of the storm; just waiting for the full force of its impact to hit you. Well the storm hit. I won't get into pesky details, we all have our ups and downs. Storms, rainy days and those wonderful spells of beautiful sun. Life is like the weather man, you can try to predict the weather that is about to hit; but most of the time we totally miss the mark. I guess that's Gods way of keeping us on our toes!
Oh, but this week has been fun so far.... and it's only tuesday! My "special" friend "bob" came to visit, which for the first few days is torture and pain (yes I have been given a prescription to help, but I would rather suffer then take a pill). I woke up sunday with a horrible cold that is accompanied by a nasty headache; my husband says my lips look like I just got shot up with botox (more like a botched botox!), thanks to my dripping nose.... and a little fever to add to this lovely concoction. Ohhh and yesterday our car broke down as Mike was leaving for work. YAY! Okay, that is all I am going to rant about :) I am now in my happy place listening to Dave Barnes - Nothing Fancy, if you have never listened to him.... well he is just amazing! He calms me :)
So the reason I wanted to write today was to journal about my quest to eliminate shampoo from my life. Yes, I am going to try out the no 'poo method and the recipe I used is here.
I then used a vinegar rinse, I used 4 c. boiling water to 1/3 cup vinegar; to add a little luxury to the mixture I added a drop or 2 of myrrh and some aloe gel from my plant. I then put 1 cup of that into a bottle and used it like I would a conditioner. Ha, this shall be interesting.
My hair, well it's still wet.... so we shall see how today goes. But boy does that myrrh make it smell sooo good. I will post a picture soon, kinda nervous... kind of excited!
Xo - me
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Decadent Puff Pastry Pinwheels, Super Bowl left overs...
How was your Super Bowl weekend? Did you have fun, did you eat lots of yummy food? I sure did!! We had our lovely friends and their wee little one over for the big game. I personally couldn't care less about the Super Bowl. I just love the idea of having people over and having an excuse to make delicous treats. This was actually my first time having friends over for the game, and I went a little over board. Some how I always panic thinking I haven't made enough food. But apparently I made WAY too much.... our friend Pip said he was so full that he couldn't see because there was food up to his eyes. Lol! But if you like to entertain and you love to cook, you know what I am talking about when I say it's the greatest satisfaction knowing that what you put together was so enjoyed. It makes the the preparing, the slaving in the kitchen, the cleaning before and the mess after so worth the "this is amazing" expressions on their faces when they bite into the food you have prepared.
So you wanna know what emerged from my kitchen on Sunday???
*Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip
*BBQ Chicken Dip
*Stuffed Mushrooms drizzled with gravy
*Pizza Bites
*Puff Pastry Wrapped Lil' Wieners
*Bite Size Baked Brie Bites
*Roasted Smashed Potatoes served with bacon crumbles and sour cream
*Sweet and Sour Meatballs
*Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
*Sausage plate with: Hot pepperoni, Double Smoked Cherrywood Sausage and Ham Kielbasa
*Veggie Platter and cracker dish....
Wow right, there was only four of us! The boys were sooooooo happy! Food, beer and football... a guys dream right? LOL!
Well anywho, I had some left over stuff that needed to be used and I whipped up these Puff Pastry Pinwheels. Oh boy are they yummy! Not like I need to be eating anymore of this stuff after the feast we had this weekend. But the puff pastry had to be used....
Ingredients:
One sheet of thawed puff pastry
1/3 of a large Red pepper finely chopped
1/4 c. green onion chopped
1/2 c. marble cheese shredded (or any cheese you wish and I am sure you can use more or less if you wish)
3 strips of crisp bacon crumbled.
about a 1/3 of a c. softened cream cheese (just guessing, I didn't measure it at all. But you just want enough to spread a thin layer over the whole sheet of pastry.)
Preheat the oven to 400
Spread softened cream cheese all over the the puff pastry, sprinkle the red peppers, green onions, bacon and cheese. Now GENTLY roll the puff pastry like you would a jelly roll. Do not put too much pressure when rolling or you will push the filling out. Gently cut into 1/2 - 3/4 inch slices.
Put the parchment paper that came with the puff pastry onto a cookie sheet and put the pinwheels on the parchment paper. Bake for about 10-15 or until the puff pastry is puffed and flakey! ENJOY!
xo - me
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
I Think It Could Be Chili.... Soup :)
Today marked another snowy day in the Brantford area.
In a frying pan:
Ground beef (I am not sure how much I used, around 1-2 lbs)
1/2-1 tsp cheyenne pepper powder (The more you use the more spicy it gets)
Snow sure is pretty when you don't have to drive in it, it makes everything it rests on look so beautiful. I love, love, LOVE watching Sakari (pronounced SHA-car-ee) my Siberian Husky play in the snow. It is one of the cutest things I have ever witnessed. I love him so much, he is always bringing oodles of laughter into our home.
Onto why I am really writing today.... FOOD! Yep, I adore cooking, baking.... experimenting.... the kitchen is my playground..... BUT only when I am in the mood. :) Lol.
So yesterday I was faced with "I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight" headache. I was honestly drawing a total blank, so I just started throwing stuff together.... lo and behold it turned out AMAZING!
The ingredients:
Onto why I am really writing today.... FOOD! Yep, I adore cooking, baking.... experimenting.... the kitchen is my playground..... BUT only when I am in the mood. :) Lol.
So yesterday I was faced with "I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight" headache. I was honestly drawing a total blank, so I just started throwing stuff together.... lo and behold it turned out AMAZING!
The ingredients:
For the base of the soup:
2 Boxes campbells chicken broth
2 Boxes campbells chicken broth
1 Can diced tomatoes (preferably low sodium)
1 Large green pepper diced
1 Can white kidney beans (rinsed)
5 Cubes of frozen spinach
2 Tsp dried parsley, 4 sprigs fresh (or more if you wish) OR 2 cubes frozen parsley
1/2- 1 Cup water
4 cloves diced garlic
4 cloves diced garlic
In a frying pan:
Ground beef (I am not sure how much I used, around 1-2 lbs)
1/2-1 tsp cheyenne pepper powder (The more you use the more spicy it gets)
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp chili powder
3 Tbsp ketchup
A splash of soya sauce.
Add all of the ingredients for the base of the soup together in a large stock pot and simmer. Add all of the spices, ketchup, soya sauce and the beef in to the frying pan and cook until browned. Drain the fat, add the meat to the soup. Simmer for about 20-30 min so that all the spices from the meat flavour the soup, serve it up in a bowl and top with some cheese or sour cream... or both :)
You can add more salt if you wish, we are trying to cut back and didn't.... It is quite wonderful just the way it is. You can add more or less of anything you wish, this is just how my recipe turned out. I often forget my random creations and my husband loved this one so much I just knew I had to document it for future reference. I really hope you enjoy, it took next to no time to make and made about 10 servings. (Four I packed into ziploc baggies and laid them flat in the freezer.)
Thanks for reading and if you try this out let me know what you think!
3 Tbsp ketchup
A splash of soya sauce.
Add all of the ingredients for the base of the soup together in a large stock pot and simmer. Add all of the spices, ketchup, soya sauce and the beef in to the frying pan and cook until browned. Drain the fat, add the meat to the soup. Simmer for about 20-30 min so that all the spices from the meat flavour the soup, serve it up in a bowl and top with some cheese or sour cream... or both :)
You can add more salt if you wish, we are trying to cut back and didn't.... It is quite wonderful just the way it is. You can add more or less of anything you wish, this is just how my recipe turned out. I often forget my random creations and my husband loved this one so much I just knew I had to document it for future reference. I really hope you enjoy, it took next to no time to make and made about 10 servings. (Four I packed into ziploc baggies and laid them flat in the freezer.)
Thanks for reading and if you try this out let me know what you think!
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