Harvest Fun

I must blog today.  The past four days has been full and fun and now it is all winding down.  I am very ready for a day just at home tomorrow. Today was "one of those days." I need to go back to a peaceful place!  That is why I am going to tell you about our "first day of fall festivities!"  It was such a peaceful day.  We had so much fun and it truly felt like fall to me.

Here we go....

First we made fall breakfast cookies and I found the recipe here.

The boys were very excited about these and so was I!  They made the house smell spicy and warm. MMMM....

They were healthy too!  Organic raw coconut, raw local honey, gluten free oats, and raisins just to name a few of the ingredients.

The boys devoured these.

After breakfast we got down to our crafting.  I chose to have them make Craft -Stick Scarecrows from Little Family Fun

Here is Cody staring his scarecrow.

Corbin gluing on hair.

Cody and his finished scarecrow.

Agggh! Scary!

Corbin wanted to make a mean scarecrow.

AGGGH! Scary!  Cody and I were being silly.

After craft time I had an abundance of Roma tomatoes I had to deal with.  I have been reading an awesome cookbook: The Homeade Pantry - 101 items you can stop buying and start making by Alana Chernila.  She had a great idea for roasting tomatoes with garlic and Italian herbs and then freezing them.  You have a ready made base for your sauce for when you want savory marinara in the winter time!  I love the idea so that is what I did with our tomatoes.

Yummy! This is perfect because since I can't eat our tomatoes now I can still enjoy them later when they are allowed (after my ALCAT diet is done).

Once the tomatoes were roasted then I got back to work with the kids. 

Next we were making edible harvest spiders! I got the idea from Sprinkled with Flour. It was hard to abstain from these too but of course the kids enjoyed them.

Cody loved dipping his "spider legs" pretzels in chocolate.

Peanut butter on the Ritz crackers holding the "legs" on.

He always wants to make a silly face now.

Sweet Corbin.  He wanted more M & M's so he gave his spider compound eyes.  He said "Mom they really have that you know."

I can't stand spiders but I do love peanut butter and chocolate.  They each made more than one spider of course!

In heaven.  He enjoyed the taste of his spider with compound eyes......heheheheheh.

The rest of the day I spent doing a little last minute cleaning and some fall decorating.  My favorite!  We ended our day with a candlelit dinner of Beef Stew.  Hearty and full of fall!

I could actually eat this.  It was from my ALCAT diet. I personally like our family favorite crock pot version of stew better but I was certainly thankful to end the day with a hearty stew like this.

Happy Fall Friends!

~Blessings~

Ooh Babycakes!

As promised I told you I would tell you about some really yummy gluten free cinnamon and sugar donuts I made.  I have to tell you this creation was inspired by my friend Jessi.  She made them for me first and although I am not sure the recipe she used they were delicious! I thought about them for two weeks after I had them, that is - until I made my own!

In order for me to make these just like my sweet friend did I needed to get a mini donut maker.  Thankfully I had a gift card to Kohl's and was able to buy one during one of their HUGE sales (that they have all the time.)

This little guy has been so much fun!  We made these for movie night the first time and we about gobbled them all up before we even sat down for the movie. 

Before I show you more pictures that are going to make you drool and your stomach growl I will share the recipe with you.  This is a recipe I can't take credit for but I did adapt it a teeny bit for the donut maker. I found the recipe which was created by Nicole Hunn of Gluten free on a Shoestring here at Living Without Magazine's site.  Check out the recipe and then come back paaleeease!.  I will share with you what I did differently. 

• I did not make the cinnamon milk, I just used plain milk.
• I used a scoop and put the batter into the donut maker.
• I dipped the donuts in coconut oil before I coated them with cinnamon and sugar.

(Aren't I ingenious? I changed it up so much!)  Just kidding.  There are not usually many things I change about Nicole's recipes.  They are just plain good.

Here is what I started out with:

Then:

Whala! Bing Bang Boom~ Mini Donuts!

Aren't they cute?

Now it's time to dip them in melted coconut oil.  You can dip one side or both.  I just did one side.

Just ignore the fact that I accidentally focused the camera on my wrinkly hand!  It certainly was meant to be! I know you're more interested in donuts.

Time for cinnamon and sugar...

Oops, ignore THE hand again.

Heaven, I'm in Heaven.

And now for a bite...

Look how light and fluffy these are.  You would never guess they are gluten free.  The crunch of the cinnamon and sugar on the outside and the moist crumb of the donut make them delightful.

I hope you enjoy these.  If you don't have a donut maker maybe you can find one at Kohl's when they have their 95% off sale!  These certainly didn't last long around our house.  I really savored each bite because I am soon going to be cutting out sugar from my diet for about 3-6 months.  For health reasons.  I would never choose to willingly give up such a divine part of life ~ sweets. It should only be temporary and short depending on the results. Have fun and let me know how your donut making goes.  What other gluten free creations can you come up with for this fun little machine?


~Blessings~

Victory! Gluten Free Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Can I tell you? I have been craving muffins for some time now.  With this new lack of gluten in my diet, muffins aren't easy to come by anymore.  Sure, I can go buy gluten free muffins but there is nothing like a homemade, fresh out of the oven, warm muffin making the house smell all good. I miss baking in a big way!

Last weekend I took a gluten free cooking class and learned some tips and tricks to gluten free baking along with some yummy recipes.  It was such a blessing to me.

In the cooking class one of the recipes that we made was a poppy seed muffin that was really good.  I couldn't wait go home and make some on my own but change it up a bit. First of all I needed to add a whole grain flour to the basic flour mix she gave us.  The original recipe didn't have any whole grains in it and it was nutritionally void. The idea behind the recipe from Terry (who created it) is that these are not something you eat very often.  She found a good mix of flours that works and wants to stick with it because GF baking is a tough job. She bakes daily for her restaurant and it is a treat for us gluten free folks to have a homemade muffin or basket of fresh baked bread with butter on the table while eating out. I am grateful for her basic starter recipe to be able to adapt it to use in ways that fit our family.  Something she kept saying was "a recipe is a guide not a rule book."  It is so true but you have to have a good basic recipe to start with.  And now I have one!

While I can't share her recipe with you I can share my recipe that I created from her base recipe. 

These are really yummy muffins. Please try them.  They have a slight coconut taste and are lightly sweet.  You can add any fruit like dried cranberries, raisins, fresh mangoes or peaches, strawberries, raspberries, etc.  Another note is that if you want to cut back on the sugar content you should be able to substitute half amount honey, banana or applesauce. This substitution would probably work for the oil too.  *I have not tried the applesauce or banana yet but plan on it next time. If you try it, let me know how it works out. Pretty please?

Gluten Free Blueberry Coconut Muffins
Adapted from a recipe by Terry Meihaus

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour mix (choose your favorite)
1 cup coconut flour (this flour is so nutritious for you)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum (if your all purpose flour doesn't have it in it already)
1 cup sugar (or half sugar subsitute like honey as mentioned above)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk (can be almond or soy milk too)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. gluten free vanilla extract
12 oz. fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray (with gluten free spray) 24 muffin cups or you can use cupcake paper liners.  Whisk dry ingredients together.  In separate bowl stir wet ingredients together (not blueberries).  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.  Do not overmix. Fold in blueberries.  Bake at for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.   Cool for 10 minutes on wire racks.  Makes 24 muffins. 

Blessings!

Boston Brown Bread

Recently, when visiting the library I came across and fun looking cookbook that ended up having some really good recipes in it.  I found a recipe for Boston Brown Bread in the book and just thinking about this bread brought me back to my childhood. 

I remember going to the store with my mom and it was a huge treat for us to be able to buy a can of brown bread from the store. I couldn't wait to get it home, pop it out of the can, slice it, warm it up and top it with some cream cheese.  Yummy! It would still be a treat to do this today but I can't bring myself to spend the 4 or 5 dollars on this ~ especially when I can make it at home now!

Boston Brown bread is delicious and very unique in how it is cooked.  It is steamed in tin cans!  The texture is chewy and dense and it has a slightly sweet and nutty taste.  It tastes amazing warmed with butter or cream cheese on it.  I like to serve it to my family because it fills them up and is fairly healthy.

I made this the other day and it tasted just like I remembered it!  Actually better because it was fresh and no preservatives.

You have to try this you will love it.  Maybe it would be something fun to do with the kids too?  Everyone here thought it was cool how it steamed.

Here is the recipe:

Boston Brown Bread (from a book that I unfortunately did not write down the name!)

1 c. yellow cornmeal

1 c. rye flour

1 c. graham or whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

3/4 c. molasses

1 1/2 c buttermilk

1/2 c. raisins (optional)

Grease 2-3 16 oz. tin cans (cans that you saved from canned veggies or fruit) Set aside. Place a rack in the bottom of a very large stockpot (the kind you would uses for canning.) 

In a large bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flours, baking soda, and salt.  Stir in the molasses and buttermilk and mix well.

Fill the cans two-thirds full, cover with foil and place them on the rack in the stock pot.  Add hot water half way up the sides of the cans.  Cover the pot and heat to boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours or until the breads are firm to the touch and a long skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Check the water level occasionally to keep at the half way point.

Let the breads cool.  Unmold by by running a knife around the breads,  If the bread us stubborn, invert and give a few good shakes and it will come right out.

I doubled this recipe because I knew my family would love this. Sure enough they gobbled up all 5 loaves and asked me to make some more.

Banana Crumb Muffins

In honor of my friend Susie who is in town I thought I would post a recipe that she gave to me.  I actually made these over the weekend because I had three over ripe bananas.  I do like banana bread too and I have a great recipe for that that I will share sometime but I like to change it up and make these muffins too.  I usually love these straight out of the oven because the crumb top is a little crisp and the muffin is warm.  The recipe makes about 10-12 muffins. I like to use them for quick breakfasts too.  Try em' you'll like em'.

  A lot of my family recipes I have in this format (4x6 photo) and I print them at Costco 4x6 size and store them in my picfolio albums. They are my family recipe books.  I am working on getting all my recipes in this format.  This idea is just one of the many things you an do with Storybook Creator Plus 3.0.

Oatmeal Waffles

At our house we love breakfast.  I especially love sweet breakfast food but do enjoy savory as well.  It just depends on my mood.  Usually Steve chooses savory. Corbin follows suit after me and prefers sweets too.  Even though he prefers sweets he can eat like a whole package of sausage!  Off course I don't let him but he would if he could.

I am always on the lookout for yummy breakfast recipes.  We cook bigger breakfasts about one or twice a week. The rest of the time it is cereal, oatmeal or eggs with cheese and toast.  Sometimes bagels too. I have a good stockpile of delicious breakfast recipes of which I will share over time here but lets start with this one I just added to the collection.

Oatmeal Waffles

I stumbled across this recipe in Corbin's Clubhouse Jr. magazine.
This is a good recipe because Corbin can help.  I love having him cook with me because I can teach him math at the same time and he loves to help and taste test.

I usually make a double batch of these and freeze what we don't eat.  Then I can have pre-made healthier waffles that I just pop in the toaster for quick breakfasts when we have a sweet tooth.

Oatmeal Waffles
1 1/2 cups of flour
1 cup oats
1Tlbs. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
6Tlbs.  butter, melted
2Tlbs. brown sugar

In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a small bowl, mix eggs, milk, butter and brown sugar.  Add to large bowl.  Stir until blended.

Slowly pour batter onto preheated, lightly greased (I dont usually grease it) waffle iron.

Serve with butter and syrup or strawberries and whipped cream!

He's Alive Buns

I like to try and do fun stuff with Corbin that has to do with the up and coming holiday.  Sometimes it's crafts, sometimes it has to do with cooking but if it a Christian holiday I always try to find a way to incorporate the TRUE meaning of the holiday into our creative session.  When I saw this recipe in my MOMS of all Seasons newsletter I knew I had to try this with Corbin this year. My friend Michelle M. created the recipe and shared it in the newsletter.  They are called He's Alive Buns and they are really yummy!

Here are some of the ingredients.  Forgive the photography skills here, I had to take this one quick because Corbin couldn't wait to get started.

First you pop open the biscuits.  You'll need to flatten them out a bit to fit the whole marshmallow in the middle.

Wrap the biscuit around the marshmallow and seal it shut.

Then the goodness begins!  Dip the biscuit already laden in butter in more butter! Melted butter of course.  After that, dip it into a cinnamon and sugar mixture, coating all sides.

As you can see Corbin had to lick his fingers.

Have I told you that cinnamon and sugar brings me great joy? LOVE it!

Cook them according to the biscuit package recommendations.  Here is my dear son waiting patiently.

He's Alive, He has risen! The tomb is empty. Praise God.  Now I must tell you that this photo does not do these buns justice.  They are ooey gooey on the inside and bottom and crunchy and crusty on the outside.  If I had my Macro Lens then I could have gotten a much better shot of this decadence.

My family gobbled these up and I wont tell you how many I had.

The Recipe

1 package tube biscuits

1 package large marshmallows (you only need 8 though)

3Tlbs melted butter

1 tsp. cinnamon

5 or 6Tlbs. sugar 

Take each biscuit out and stretch and flatten it enough to fit the marshmallow inside.  Wrap the biscuit around the marshmallow and seal really well.  Dip the biscuit in melted butter and then dip it in the cinnamon & sugar mixture.  Lay on a foiled line cookie sheet about 1 inch apart.  Cook according to biscuit packaging.  Eat them when they are warm.  You wont be able to just have one.

Luke 24

The Resurrection

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!  Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again,' "  Then they remembered his words.