An American Housewife

Fourth of July Cupcake Liners and Cupcake Decorations to table decorations, window clings and more

2013-06-19T15:43:00.000-05:00

I admit, I get so busy I am usually looking at the present day's 'to do' list the morning of. It's no wonder holidays sneak up on me! If you are planning on decorating or baking for the July 4th holiday... plan now. Either visit your local stores for decor before they are all sold out of red, white and blue, or order online with plenty of time to spare.

Here are some quick idea's I found on Amazon that I really loved.

The first is CUPCAKES! Who doesn't love cupcakes? Whether you are making a low carb, sugar free cupcake or a full sugar, yummy traditional version, it's the decorating that grabs people's attention. Easy when you start with this affordable option, which includes 100 Patriotic Baking Cups With Picks.

Kicking it up a notch, it's only a few dollars more, but this option has a little more flashy liners and 4 eye-catching cupcake picks for easy decorating that makes it look like you took hours.

Includes 24 cupcake cases and 24 decorative toppers in 4 designs
Perfect for an american themed party
Coordinates with meri meri stars and stripes party range
Designed in England
Contains standard size cupcake cases that are oven safe and greaseproof

Hosting a back yard event? Decorating is quick and fun when you have bunting, a banner and a table cloth to start you off!

4th of July Flag Banner, Bunting and Table Cloth Plastic
plastic flag bunting
plastic flag table cloth
plastic flag banner

And this is the easy (and cheap) decorations my kids always like to 'help' with when they were toddlers; the window clings!

Require no adhesive
Easy to install, remove and reuse
Package contains 1 sheet of an assortment of red, white, and blue designs in various sizes
Sheet size: 18"x12"

Whatever your plans are - just a heads up that if you wait until the weekend before the Fourth of July, most of the red, white and blue paper goods and decorations will be picked over so get to your local stores soon!

What do I do with Zucchini? Everything! Twelve (12) Recipes for Zucchini

2013-06-17T08:13:00.002-05:00

Actually.... let's do 13 zucchini recipes! I did a simple search of my recipes using zucchini and had so many wonderful choices that I ended up posting 13 instead of 12. We can just call it a 'baker's dozen' of recipes since a baker's dozen is 13 (allowing for one of the bakery items to break, etc) and having a back up.

With gardens starting to give us a plentiful harvest of this very versatile, awesome vegetable, here are 13 idea's to use up some of the long, green, yummy squash offerings of the summer.

Caramelized Zucchini with Garlic

ZAPPLE PIE (faux apple pie - you'll never, ever know it isn't apple!)

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Zucchini or 'squash' noodles (faux pasta)

Zucchini Jam

Chicken, Zucchini and Feta

Easy Zucchini Casserole

Sauteed Zucchini and Cabbage

Grilled Zucchini

Zucchini Pancakes or Patties

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Grilled Zucchini with Cheese

Chocolate zucchini cake

Bundt Pans available through Amazon:

A perfectly delicious, perfectly perfect, grilled steak marinade

2013-06-11T12:34:00.003-05:00

This morning I'm doing a few 'prep' tasks in anticipation of the mini family reunion we are hosting this weekend. As I looked up my steak marinade recipe on my website I just chuckled, as what I wrote the last time I posted it is almost exactly what I would write had I been posting it today for the first time.

Apparently when I posted this in February of 2012 I was expecting visitors that weekend. Once again, we are expecting visitors so without further adieu, I give you our family favorite steak marinade.

The sizzle of a steak hitting the iron grids of a hot grill is a beautiful sound. We plan to do a lot of grilling this weekend and next as we have two different groups of visitors coming and grilling out for dinner is not only easy and delicious, but makes conversation more simple. You can chat and laugh while standing over a grill much easier than trying to hold up your end of the conversation while running around your kitchen trying to read recipes, get things measured and mixed correctly and watching things in the oven, microwave and stove at the same time.

Grilling is just... good. And here is a steak marinade to get you started.

Steak Marinade

1/3 c soy sauce
2 T canola oil
1 T brown sugar
3/4 t garlic, minced (about 1 clove)
1 t ground ginger
1 t seasoning salt (like Lawry's)

Mix all ingredients, whisk until blended and cover your favorite steaks with it. I find it easy to use a gallon sized Ziploc baggy - place 4 or 5 steaks in it, add the marinade, flip it over a couple times to cover the meat and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to about 3-4 hours. Turn often to make sure the meat is marinated evenly. Grill as usual to your favorite level of 'done'.

I like to mix the ingredients in a baggy, add the steak, and not have to dirty any bowls or utensils

Marinate at least 30 minutes but no more than about 4 hours unless you like your marinade flavor strong in your meats.

Cooking for a Crowd: Cheesy Chicken Casserole, Macaroni Salad and Punch for 50

2013-06-10T12:07:00.004-05:00

With a lot of irons in the fire this week, I'm hoping to keep up with a couple new posts on An American Housewife; housewifebarbie.com however, I need to be honest and realize my super Mom powers are meeting their match this week! One of the hundred things things I'm juggling is preparing for a mini-family reunion of sorts. Although we are not expecting 50 people and I'm not serving the items listed below, I wanted to post them because as I searched my own site for recipes for a 'crowd' these popped up from some posts I did back in 2008.

Punch for a crowd

2 cans frozen limeade concentrate
2 cans frozen lemonade concentrate
2 cans unsweetened grapefruit juice
2 cans pineapple juice

Mix and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Just before serving add:

3 quarts ginger ale
1 prepared ice ring (or a lot of ice cubes if you didn't get a ring made)
1 quart water

Ice Ring for punch bowl

Make an ice ring using at least one of the punch ingredients so that as it melts it will not dilute the punch. Use a bundt pan or an angel food cake pan for a ring or if you don't have one, just use a bowl or pan (making sure the bowl can be frozen)for a solid circle.

Mix up the fruit juice ingredients a day in advance. Pour into pan and freeze over night. You may add cherries and sliced pineapple to the ring before freezing. If you want them to float symmetrically, set a timer for 1/2 hour and rearrange fruit before it freezes to hard. (To remove ice ring from pan, set pan in warm water in your sink until it loosens or place a hot, wet towel on the backside of the pan.)

Macaroni Salad for 50

3 pounds cooked ham, cubed
3 pounds macaroni, cooked and drained
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag frozen peas, thawed
6 cups chopped celery
1 large chopped onion
1 5-3/4 ounce cans pitted sliced ripe olives

Macaroni Salad Dressing:
1 quart mayonnaise
4 ounces Western brand salad dressing*
1/8 cup vinegar
1/8 cup sugar
1/2 cup light cream
1 teaspoon onion salt
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Make dressing in a separate bowl. Combine all ingredients and pour dressing over salad. Refrigerate.

*I thought this was an interesting addition but it's certainly not a must have. You can leave it out and just use an additional 1/2 cup of mayo if you'd like.

Cheesy Chicken for 50

20 cups diced cooked chicken
10 cups chopped celery
4 bunches chopped green onions
16 ounces chopped green chilies (canned)
2 - 6 ounce cans sliced pitted ripe olives (drained)
4 cups slivered almonds
4 cups mayonnaise
4 cups sour cream
10 cups crushed potato chips
10 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine the first eight ingredients with 4 cups of the cheese. Mix well and spoon into four greased 13" x 9" x 2" deep baking dishes. Sprinkle with chips and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25 minutes or until hot.

My taste test of Provident Pantry® Freeze Dried Orange Pieces

2013-06-09T09:07:00.001-05:00

Sometimes my posts come from something I am currently eating or drinking; that is where this idea was born. We have a stocked storage pantry with foods that are for long term emergency storage. (Long term meaning; at least 5 - 10 years. Being prepared for power outages, flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes and more is just a part of life for us.) Last week I was craving vitamin C. However, we had no oranges or citrus fruits in the house. No problem. I knew I had bought a can of freeze dried orange pieces - which I had not opened nor tried previously, so I decided this would be a good idea to take a can out of storage and give it a taste-test.

Although there are few different brands of freeze dried oranges on the market, the one I had purchased was Provident Pantry® Freeze Dried Orange Pieces. A large #10 can (think; restaurant size) although shaking it, you can tell it's not packed to the top and you have to keep in mind freeze dried foods are extremely light so the weight of the whole can is only about 6 ounces!

Opening up the can I saw it was about half full. It had settled in shipping so that was understandable. I wasn't happy to see there was a lot of powder in the lower 1/3 of the can, but that is also understandable as the orange pieces are so delicate in their freeze dried state.

My personal thoughts upon reviewing the product was that there were many full sized pieces of oranges, so that was a plus. They reminded me of the look and feel of a styrofoam peanut or even a can of pork rinds. The pieces feel like packing peanuts and are crisp to the touch.

Eating them dry as a snack was my initial plan. They had a good flavor and I could taste the tang of the citrus and the taste of real, fresh oranges. Reconstituting the pieces wasn't in my plans but I did so to see what a piece would look and feel and taste like. Reconstituted with water for a few minutes, they reminded me of small Mandarin orange pieces you buy in a can of liquid at the store. If you like 'little canned oranges' then you would like these. I preferred them dry and right out of the can!

While not crazy about the powdered product, it didn't go to waste. By mixing the powder with water I found it made an instant orange juice drink that was perfectly fine to drink and extremely healthy as there is no added sugars. It was like a pulp orange juice drink.

Here is the product description I found for them on Amazon; Fresh orange segments are flash frozen, dried, and packed for long-term storage to allow you the nutrition and great flavor of this fruit anytime. It's delicious even straight from the can. Net Weight: 6 oz. The Provident Pantry® Freeze Dried Orange Pieces is packed in a # 10 size can (approx. 8/10 of a gallon) with an oxygen absorber.

My final thoughts are that for every day use they are far too expensive for a family - and it would be more affordable to simply keep fresh oranges on hand. However, for emergency storage, hiking, camping or road trips, I love this product and this idea.

I think they resemble packing peanuts or pork rinds

Very light, airy and crisp with a tang

Flip Flop Sandals Cake for Summer

2013-06-03T07:12:00.004-05:00

This may look like a photo of flip-flop sandals but if you look closely you will see the flip-flops are sporting a couple ropes of licorish and a little frosting to hold them together. Yes, it's a great summer cake idea; sandals!

Resting on a bed of graham cracker crumbs for sand, this is an oh-so-cute cake I haven't posted or mentioned since 2009. Originally I found this recipe years ago when I subscribed to Taste of Home magazine. It's already 2013 and time to repost this one! Where has the time gone!?

Flip Flop Sandal Cake

1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon meringue powder
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
Pink, blue, yellow and green paste food coloring
Candy buttons
4 pieces red rope licorice
Graham cracker crumbs

Line a 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake according to package directions. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Trace flip-flop pattern onto waxed paper; cut out. Arrange pattern over cake; with a sharp knife, cut out. Flip pattern and cut out a second flip-flop. Discard scraps. Transfer cakes to a covered cake board.

For frosting, in a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar and meringue powder. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, combine the shortening, butter, milk and vanilla. Beat in sugar mixture.
Tint 1 cup frosting pink; frost tops of cakes. Tint 1 cup frosting blue; frost sides of cakes. Insert licorice ends into cakes to form straps of flip-flops.

Tint 1/4 cup frosting yellow. Using a #4 round tip, pipe decorative lines on top of shoes. Using a #17 star tip, pipe rosettes where straps meet. Tint remaining frosting green. Using a #352 leaf tip, pipe leaves around rosettes.

To finish, press candy buttons into sides of cakes; sprinkle cracker crumbs on board to form sand. Store in the refrigerator.

Cucumber Margarita's

2013-05-30T08:20:00.001-05:00

I first posted this recipe back in 2009. It sounds... interesting, but to date, I still haven't made these. Originally I got the recipe and put it in my files back in 2005 when I saw it in Coastal Living but even though I really, really like cucumbers, I just can't get myself to drink them. Silly, I know.

I am wondering if any of my readers have made these? If so, please let me know what you think!!

Cucumber Margarita
Makes 4 servings

12 slices fresh cucumber
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
4 ounces (1/2 cup) Cointreau
6 ounces (3/4 cup) tequila reposado
6 cups ice
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
Lime slices

Combine cucumber and next 4 ingredients in a blender; process until smooth. Pour into glasses. Top each serving with a tablespoon of Grand Marnier, and garnish with lime.

Sauteed Cauliflower and Bacon (with a twist; a cabbage twist!)

2013-05-30T08:12:00.000-05:00

Cauliflower and Bacon with cheese and onions... so good!

Since last year, this is one of my favorite ways to eat cooked cauliflower. Originally I got the original idea for this one from Dana Carpender's book but she also used rice, and Vege-Sal so I started to tweak it and ended up with a dish that became a favorite. It's very quick and easy and the flavors work together quite well. I still continue to 'tweak' it.

Two weeks ago I made this using cabbage instead of cauliflower. Very good! I made it twice this way. The first time was to use up a partial bag of shredded cabbage mix I had bought to make cole slaw. I just poured in what was left in the bag and cooked it as usual. Very, very good! So good in fact, later that week I used a head of fresh cabbage, chopped it up and made a small version of this recipe for my lunch.

Last night I made this dish again - this time using raw cauliflower pieces - but it was not ran through the processor. It was just cut in bite sized pieces, and I added about a cup of shredded cabbage for a cauliflower/cabbage mixture. Again... a hit. So use cauliflower, cabbage, or a mixture of both. So good!

Feel free to halve this recipe or just estimate the amounts you wish to use based on your preference for the amount of bacon and onion.

Cauliflower and Bacon

1 small onion, chopped
1 stick butter
4 cups of raw cauliflower or cabbage (see my explanation above)
6 strips bacon, cooked until crisp and then crumbled
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 c Parmesan cheese

Cook the onion in the butter until it's soft and translucent. Add the rice and cook until the onion starts to get golden and the cauliflower just gets tender. Add the rest of the ingredients and warm through. Season to taste.

Cooking the cauliflower and onions (this was the recipe above halved)

Add the rest of the ingredients and warm through while stirring

Vegetable Ranch Squares (a cold vegetable pizza appetizer)

2013-05-29T08:45:00.000-05:00

I've been making this recipe since the summer before I was a Sophomore in High School - over two decades now. I've made these in a jelly roll pan the last few times I've made them. I don't think the pan really matters a bit.

Vegetable Pizza Squares (Vegetable Pizza - an Appetizer)

2 - 8oz. cans refrigerated crescent rolls
2 - 8 oz. packages cream cheese (*I don't care for the taste of fat free, but you can use it. I love the 1/3 fat though as it tastes great.)
1 c mayonnaise
1 (1 ounce) package dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
Assorted Vegetables: about 1 cup chopped; broccoli, cauliflower, carrots (shredded) green and red bell peppers... whatever you like/have on hand.

Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a 9x13 inch baking sheet. Seal the edges with your fingers to form the crust. Bake crust for 12 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove and let cool.

In a bowl, mix with electric mixer until smooth; cream cheese, mayonnaise and dry Ranch dressing mix. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust.

Sprinkle broccoli,green and red bell pepper, cauliflower, shredded carrots, and other veggies over the cream cheese layer. Chill, slice with a pizza cutter, and serve.

Milk Chocolate Cake - Similar but not quite Red Velvet Cake (low carb and sugar free)

2013-05-22T08:35:00.000-05:00

This is the recipe I said on Twitter I wanted to 'get around' to posting but life was getting in the way! This morning I have my coffee in hand and am determined to get it typed out.

This is an interesting recipe to me. Mainly, because it's basically like most low carb and sugar free cakes that are loosely based on the traditional Red Velvet, however this one had no butter in it. Instead, it uses 1/3 c oil and 1/2 cup sour cream. I pondered that for awhile when I was mixing it. I even debated putting in a 1/2 cup butter instead of using oil; because frankly, I have never made a Red Velvet Cake in 30 years that I didn't use butter as the main source of fat and I have never seen a true Red Velvet Cake that used oil. In the end, I went with the oil and didn't improvise that - although I did improvise a few other things. I always do. I hope you do too - play with your food. Make it your own.

My opinion of this recipe is that it makes a very, very delicious cake. It does not have the traditional Red Velvet flavor that it should - but I think that is because bakeries, Sam's Club, Costco and companies like Pillsbury and Duncan Hines have ruined the name Red Velvet by releasing products that are little more than chocolate cake with a lot of red food color in them. The flavor of those products are not Red Velvet Cake. But I digress. This is a very good cake that is just a smidgen under what I would call "milk chocolate" flavored. But good none-the-less and worth making again.

Milk Chocolate Almost Red Velvet Cake
(low carb and sugar free)

1 c Oat Flour
1/2 c vital wheat gluten flour
1 c Almond Flour
1/3 c cocoa powder
1 T baking powder
1 c Splenda
1/2 c Erythritol
1/2 t salt
8 eggs, separated into 8 whites and 4 of the yolks
1/2 t cream of tartar
1/4 c cold water
1 T vinegar
1 t baking soda
1/2 c sour cream
1/3 c oil of choice
2 bottles (1 oz ea.) red food color
2 t vanilla
1 t liquid sugar substitute of your choice

Grease 2 round cake pans. Flour with almond flour or oat flour. Preheat your oven to 325. In a large bowl whisk or stir the dry ingredients; oat flour, vital wheat gluten flour, almond flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, splenda and Erythritol and salt. Set this aside.

In another bowl whip the 8 egg whites to soft peak. Sprinkle in cream of tartar and continue whipping on high until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

In another bowl mix the cold water with the 4 egg yolks. Add oil, vanilla and liquid sweetener.

In a small cup or bowl, mix the sour cream with 1 T vinegar and 1 t baking soda. Add the food color to this and stir well. Mix this sour cream mixture into the egg yolks.

Mix the sour cream/egg mixture into your dry ingredients and beat. Add 1/2 of the whipped egg whites to the bowl and beat about 1 minute. Add the last half of the egg whites but fold in by hand, with an 'over' motion to incorporate the egg whites but not break them down. Divide batter into 2 cake pans. Bake 20-30 minutes until they are done in the center. Let them cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and cooling complete.

Use your favorite sugar free frosting to fill the center and frost the tops.

This recipe freezes well.

*Note*
I chose a frosting that used egg yolks in it in order to use up 2 of the leftover 4 yolks from the cake ingredients. If you wish you can use this one too.

2 egg yolks
2/3 c Splenda
1/3 c Erythritol
5-10 drops liquid sweetener
1/4 c cream, heavy
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 c (1 stick) butter

In a microwave safe bowl beat the egg yolks and Erythritol.
In a small cup or bowl mix the cream with the splenda. Slowly pour this into your egg yolk mixture, whisking well by hand. Microwave this mixture 1 - 1 1/2 minutes, removing every 30 seconds to whisk well. When it's very hot and small bubbles are formed in the mixture, stop cooking. (Do not overcook! Also, do not cook the entire 1 1/2 minutes without stirring or you are liable to get scrambled eggs.) Whisk smooth again and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the liquid mixture down the side of the bowl into the butter while continuing to beat. Add vanilla and liquid sweetener to taste.

Frost your cooled or chilled cake. This freezes well.

You might also be interested in the products;

Revisiting the healthy, sugar free, wheat free, chocolate chip cookie!

2013-05-20T07:54:00.003-05:00

Have I posted this one before? You bet I have. Who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? Even if you can't have wheat or sugar? I thank Dana Carpender for the inspiration behind this one. I knew my husband would love some chocolate chip cookies but I also knew he was serious about wanting to do 4 weeks of no-sugar and low carbs. Thumbing through my copy of 500 Low-Carb Recipes, I spied this one and even though I didn't have all the ingredients it called for, I knew I could improvise. (Ok readers, what do I always say? Play with your food! Improvise! Use recipes as a guide and then make them your own!)

Sugar free, Wheat Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 c butter
1 1/2 c Splenda
1 1/2 t black strap molasses (yes it's molasses but it's it's the lowest sugar/carb and it helps for flavor)
2 eggs
1 c ground almonds or almond flour
1 c vanilla flavored why protein powder
1/4 c wheat bran (or oat bran)
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 small package sugar free chocolate bars or sugar free chocolate chips
(I banged the mini candy bars with my rolling pin to break them up into pieces and crumbled them into the dough in place of chocolate chips)

Preheat your oven to 375. Beat the Splenda with the butter and molasses until well mixed. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. In another bowl stir the ground almonds, whey powder, wheat or oat bran, baking soda and salt. Add this to the butter/Splenda mixture about 1/2 cup at a time to incorporate.

Stir in the nuts and chocolate chunks. Drop by tablespoons onto a sprayed/greased cookie sheet or parchment paper. Form into nicely shaped rounds and flatten a bit with your hand. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, let cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes and then remove to a rack or counter to cool. The original recipe said each cookie yields about 3 carbs.

The dry mix; almonds, whey powder, oat bran, etc.

Forming into rounds (a bit sticky)

Great with coffee... My husband dunks his in half & half.

You might be interested in some of the products I use from Amazon as well;

My Very Best Cole Slaw Recipe

2013-05-13T17:20:00.001-05:00

Since my recipe blog has been around since 2006, I've posted this before, but I decided to re-post because I truly think this recipe tops all of the restaurant cole slaws I've had. I had a chance to compare again, as I had a couple bites of a very good cole slaw last night with dinner when we ate 'out' for Mother's Day. Since I'm not doing sugary foods right now and cole slaw traditionally has sugar in it, I only opted for 3 bites; enough to compare the restaurant version to the one I make at home. My homemade version won. Any time I need to prepare a side dish for a bbq, event or summer dinner and want to make cole slaw, this is the recipe I turn to time and time again. Since the mid 1990's this is my all time favorite way to prepare cole slaw. It's very similar to the taste of KFC's or Long John Silver's versions and just so good with everything from BBQ to Burgers, from Fried Chicken to Fish... well, anything!

You can use a sugar substitute of your choice instead of sugar and if you do not have buttermilk, you can sour 1/4 cup milk with a bit of lemon juice or vinegar and let it set until the chemicals react and you see it get thick. Also, if you want to skip chopping the cabbage, you can buy the cabbage/carrot mixture pre-packaged at the store to equal about 6-7 cups of shredded or finely chopped cabbage. It will be dry at first mixing but after it chills for 2 hours it will have formed its own juice. Stir well and serve cold.

The Best Cole Slaw

1 head finely chopped cabbage
1 medium carrot, grated
1/3 cup granulated sugar (optional: sugar substitute equivalent)
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1½ T white vinegar
2½ tablespoons lemon juice

Combine everything but the cabbage and carrot and whisk until smooth. Add the cabbage and carrot. Chill 2 hours and serve.

Green Beans with Almonds

2013-05-10T13:24:00.001-05:00

This is one of those sidedishes you don't really use a recipe for, but just throw together when you need something quick and easy to go with the meal. The other night we had crab stuffed salmon and I love green beans, broccoli or peas when we have seafood. The thought of caramelized butter with fresh garlic and green beans just sounded perfect so that is what we had.

Like most foods of this sort I will tell you to "play with your food". It doesn't matter if you want to use whole almonds, sliced almonds or blanched almonds. Use what you have on hand. Also, the amount of salt and pepper and the amount of garlic you use is completely up to you. A little bit of garlic for those that aren't sure and a lot of yummy garlic for those of that are!

Green Beans with Almonds

Green beans, fresh or frozen
Olive Oil
Butter, real
Garlic, fresh peeled and minced or in a jar
salt and pepper
almonds
optional: a dash of brown sugar or brown sugar substitute

In a saucepan on the stove over medium high heat, place your green beans with a bit of water. Cover and steam or simmer until just tender and still bright in color. Drain if there is any extra water. Add a bit of olive oil and a pat of butter to the pan and stir fry style the beans. Add your garlic. Start with a small amount if you aren't a big garlic lover; perhaps 1/2 teaspoon or 1 small clove. This will give barely a hint of garlic flavor to about 2-3 cups of fresh beans. I would suggest about 2 or 3 teaspoons. If you wish, add a dash or sprinkle of brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. The brown sugar will give it a caramelized hint in flavor and is delicious but not necessary. Keeping the heat at about medium, stir every minute or so until the beans start to show a little golden brown. Do not over cook or your beans will be whimpy and your garlic can turn bitter if burned. Now you can toss in the almonds as is - or - remove the green beans to a serving dish. Add the almonds to the pan and toast them over medium heat until just starting to turn golden and then serve over the beans. Serve hot.

Homemade Sugar Free Salted Nut Rolls

2013-05-08T20:53:00.000-05:00

Even though we are doing low-carb and no sugar right now, it's always good to have something to snack on, especially a 'sweet' treat. I decided to make a 'candy bar' of sorts as I knew my husband would appreciate having a snack like this on hand for when those cravings hit. (Regular readers might remember a favorite candy of our family is the Salted Nut Roll, which I posted here.)

PLAY with this recipe. Low carb and sugar free recipes work completely different for people based on the exact brands used, temperature outside, humidity level, etc. This recipe started out to be a Twix recipe - but the caramel I wanted to make didn't work so I switched it up and ended up with this instead (more on that below). I used Xylitol and Erythritol because I was trying to make caramel initially but you can certainly use all of one and not the other if you wish. If it's just a little too dry add a little splash of heavy cream. Too moist? Isn't a problem unless it won't hold shape, in that case, add some confectionery texture sugar substitute or a little more vanilla whey powder. Again... play with it a little if you need to.

In the full sugar version of my Salted Nut Rolls, you use powdered sugar, marshmallow creme and bagged caramels.

3 c powdered sugar
1 - 7 oz. jar marshmallow creme
1 t vanilla
1/4 t almond
1 - 14 oz. bag caramels, unwrapped
3 T water
3 c salted peanuts and/or cashews, chopped

For a sugar free version I tried to make a sugar free caramel from a recipe using Xylitol - which I was pretty sure wouldn't work - and it didn't. I know Xylitol has no crystallizing properties so getting a nice warm, brown, thick, caramel from it was going to be tough, but I was willing to try. It didn't work but I was relentless in my quest so I tried again. No. Xylitol will not make caramel and I admitted defeat.

I ended up flipping through recipe files until I fell upon a homemade Snickers candy bar and then adapted the filling to that, played with it a bit and ended up with a Salted Nut Roll! Individually the ingredients weren't that special but together? Tastes almost exactly like the store bought Salted Nut Roll candy bars. YUM!!!

Salted Nut Rolls

1 jar Smucker's Sugar Free Caramel Topping (you'll only use about 1/3 - 1/2 of it)
1 small can 'party peanuts' which are the salted kind, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 - 1/3 c butter (a little more than 1/4 but less than 1/3, LOL)
1/2 c xylitol
1/4 c erythritol
1/2 c vanilla whey powder (I use Nature's Best Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla)
1 c cream cheese
1/2 t vanilla extract
1/2 t almond extract
10-20 drops liquid sweetener

In a saucepan melt the butter and add the xylitol, stir until disolved and clear. Add the erythritol, stir until dissolved then add whey protein. Cook for about 2 minutes, remove from heat and beat in cream cheese and flavorings. Let cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. It should be like playdoh - so you can work it into a shape with your hands.

Divide the dough evenly to about 16 pieces. You can roll them into circles, small 2 inch long logs or shape into squares. Place them on wax paper or parchment, refrigerate again while you prepare the caramel and nuts. In one bowl, place about 1/2 of the jar of caramel topping. I use the topping in the glass jar sold by the ice cream toppings and not the syrup sold in a bottle by the chocolate syrups because the ice cream topping version is thicker. If you use the syrup it's going to be thinner, more runny, more messy and you won't have a layer of caramel - but they will still taste really good anyway. Place the nuts into a baggy and hit gently with the edge of a rolling pin to barely crush/chop the nuts. You can use a processor, but be sure to barely pulse as you don't want them 'fine'. Place these into a 2nd bowl.

Remove the white center dough from the refrigerator and using your fingers (messy) or a fork, dip and roll in caramel, then roll in nuts and then place on wax or parchment. When you are done with all the pieces you can either serve as is, or individually roll them in bits of plastic wrap to store. Keep these in the refrigerator or freezer. They don't freeze solid in the freezer so that is where we keep them.

I individually wrapped ours for ease of 'grab-and-go' or packing them in a lunch

I use;

Smucker's Sugar Free Caramel Topping
Nature's Best Isopure Zero Carb Creamy Vanilla
Erythritol Natural Sweetener

Amaretto Almond Cake - And the Sugar Free Amaretto Almond Cake Version!

2013-05-07T18:48:00.000-05:00

There must be something about the month of May that makes me crave this cake. I knew I had posted this recipe once before and sure enough, I found it in May of 2010! This is a cake everyone who tastes it, seems to love. As a matter of fact, one of my daughter's friends loved it so much she took half the cake home once!

This time around my craving was in vain, as we are currently doing no sugar and lower carbs. But a craving can be given into if you find a way... right? Well, I did. Perhaps not the greatest way, but a huge improvement as I adapted it by making it sugar free and 'lower' carbs - although still not officially a true low carb dessert. It could be - if I ever tweak a low carb yellow cake recipe enough to use, but so far I don't love love love any of the yellow cake recipes enough to try it on this one. So I opted for the store bought Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow Cake Mix which still has 34 carbs per serving but at least it's sugar free. I left out the amaretto liqueur due to the sugar content and instead, doubled the water and almond flavoring. The pudding was sugar free of course and in the glaze, I used granular Erythritol instead of sugar. (Erythriol, sugar free cake mix and bundt pan links to purchase from Amazon below the recipe if you are interested).

Amaretto Almond Cake

1 cup chopped almonds
1 box yellow cake mix (optional: sugar free)
1 box (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding mix (optional; sugar free)
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup amaretto liqueur (optional use water instead)
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional: double if using water and not Amaretto)

1/2 cup sugar (optional: Erythritol or Xylitol with a bit of liquid sweetener drops)
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup amaretto (optional to leave out and use water)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (double if you are not using Amaretto)

Heat oven to 325. Grease and flour a 10" tube or Bundt pan; sprinkle chopped almonds over the bottom and set aside.

In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, water, amaretto and almond extract. Beat on low speed with electric mixer about 30 seconds until dry ingredients are moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat 4 minutes.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until done - approximately 1 & 1/2 hour for bunt/angel food style pan. Cool cake 10-15 minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely and place on cake plate.

For glaze, in small saucepan, combine sugar, water and butter and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and gently boil 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and cool 15 minutes. Stir in amaretto and almond extract. Punch holes in cake from top to bottom with wooden pick or skewer. Slowly spoon glaze over cake until entirely absorbed. *I opted to boil the amaretto with the sugar syrup to boil off the alcohol and lessen the strength of the amaretto flavor so all family members and the kids friends could enjoy the cake without a strong amaretto alcohol flavor.

You might also be interested in;

13 Dip or Appetizer Recipes just to Get you Started!

2013-05-05T08:54:00.000-05:00

Cinco De Mayo! Got last minute guests coming for a drink and/or appetizer?

Since 2006 I've posted about a hundred appetizer or dip recipes that you could use. I grabbed a random few dip recipes to post here to make it easy to glance through the list and see if there is something that looks good to you.

If you want to dig a little deeper, feel free to use the labels for 'appetizers' on the right hand sidebar. At the end of the page just hit "older posts" for the next page.

Layered Taco Dip
Last Minute Bean and Salsa Dip
Homemade Guacamole
Hot Shrimp Dip
Fresh Vegetable Squares (like Pizza but fresh and raw with a Ranch Dressing layer)
Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers
Gouda Stout Cheese Dip (Try with Guinness!)
Jalapeno Poppers in WonTon skins
Banana Pepper Cheese Ball or Dip
Hot Sausage and Cheese Dip (can be served in a bread bowl)
Fresh Vegetable Dip with BeauMonde Seasoning (a classic)
Cream Cheese WonTons

Easy and Quick Layered Taco Dip for Tortillas

2013-05-05T08:43:00.004-05:00

Here is a dish that is ever-so-popular at almost any get together... and there is a good reason for that. It tastes good. People like it. It's SO fast and easy to throw together - it's good to keep a can of refried beans on hand 'just in case'.

I have made this numerous times and of course - use what you have on hand and improvise if you know your family or friends don't like something.

Layered Taco Dip

1 can refried beans
1 can black beans
1 16 oz container of sour cream
1 c chopped lettuce
1/3 c chopped onions - your choice
1/2 to 1 jar of salsa
1 package of three cheese blend
chopped tomato
black and green olives

Spread the beans on a serving platter or covered pizza round and top with rinsed and drained black beans. You can bake at 325 degrees for about 10-15 minutes now - and top with the rest as a cold topping OR finish layering the ingredients (sour cream, onions, lettuce, salsa, cheese, tomato and olives) and heat it all. Serve with sturdy tortilla chips.

Pinata Cookies for Cinco De Mayo (or any time)

2013-05-03T07:18:00.003-05:00

Last year at this time I wanted to share with everyone this recipe that was ALL over the internet, but I found it and linked from the SheKnows site ( Pinata Cookies). I wanted to share it again this year because I just happen to think it is the coolest Pinata Cookie ever!

If you by chance haven't seen the M&M stuffed cookies, they are a multi-colored sugar cookie with a second for the back side and sandwiched in between them is a third cookie with the ears and feet cut off and used to hide the goodies inside.

Photo from the link above at SheKnows

Cinco De Mayo or Pinata Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup butter
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
5 cups flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
Mini M&M candies
1/2 cup powdered sugar (frosting)
2 teaspoons milk (frosting)

Cream sugars with butter. Beat in eggs. Add oil. Combine dry ingredients together, and then gradually add them to the mixture. Mix in vanilla and almond extract.

Split dough into five, even-sized balls and one smaller ball (this will be the black one). Add food coloring to each of the dough balls until desired color is achieved. Gel food coloring gives you more intense colors than liquid.

Use a container the same approximate width of your donkey/burro piñata cookie cutter, and line it with plastic food wrap. Split all of your colored dough balls in half (except the black) and begin layering the dough in the container, starting with the black dough on the bottom. Alternate the colors so that you end up with two layers of each color by the time you're done.

Cover the layered dough and freeze for four hours or overnight.

Remove the dough from the container and unwrap from the plastic. Cut slices, approximately 1/4-inch wide. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.

Immediately after you take them out of the oven, use your burro piñata cookie cutter to cut the cookie shapes. Working in sets of three, be sure to cut two burro piñata cookies in one direction and one burro piñata cookie in the opposite direction. (Just flip your cookie cutter over.) That way, when you go to assemble them, the finished cookie will look "pretty" on both sides -- because the baked, bottom sides will be hidden.

Create the hidden pocket. For the middle cookies in each set, cut off the ears and legs, and cut out the center where the M&M's will go. I used a small square cutter, and made three cuts to get a narrow rectangle. Try to work quickly, because as the cookies cool, they are more likely to crumble or break. Let them cool on the baking sheet before you move them and remove the excess, outer cookie.

To assemble, take the first piñata cookie and lay it upside down so that the baked bottom is facing up. Outline the center of the piñata body with a "frosting glue" mixture of milk and powdered sugar. (I used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and two teaspoons of milk. If you put it inside a Ziploc bag and cut off a tiny tip of the bag's corner, you can pipe it onto the cookie easily.)

Put the middle cookie on top of the frosting glue and add the M&Ms to the open center. Put another outline of frosting glue on the middle cookie and place the opposite-cut piñata cookie on top (so that the pretty side is facing out). Let these sit and harden for at least 30 minutes before you stand them upright. This recipe will make six to eight piñata cookies.

You might also be interested in these products;

Pork Chalupas in a Bowl

2013-05-03T07:03:00.002-05:00

Cinco de Mayo is this weekend! Are you making a Mexican themed meals? Our family likes a wide variety of foods but one that I know will go over perfectly every time, in almost way, shape or form is... Mexican influenced foods - at any time.

Recipes are GUIDES but many times, not to be followed exactly. Mexican recipes are like that. Adjust to things you like or don't like. Things you have or don't have on hand (within reason of course). Originally this had a bone-in pork loin roast and less than half the flavoring it needed. I tweaked the flavors, used a boneless pork roast and although I listed the RoTel tomatoes to look for at your grocery - if you can't find it then use diced tomatoes and add your own lime and chilies accordingly. Adjust all the spices to your family's preference. Have fun with it!

Pork Chalupas in a Bowl

1 pound dried pinto beans
2 1/2 lb. boneless pork loin roast
12 oz. chopped green chiles
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoon chili powder
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth
2 cans (10 oz) RoTel brand style diced tomatoes with green chiles, lime juice and cilantro
8 taco salad shells (or use a Non-Stick Tortilla Shell Makers)
1 small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
Toppings: shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, pickled jalapeno slices, halved grape tomatoes, sour cream, chopped avocado

Rinse and sort beans according to package directions. Place pinto beans in a 6-quart slow cooker; add roast and next 6 ingredients. Pour chicken broth evenly over top of roast.

Cover and cook on HIGH 1 hour; reduce to LOW, and cook 6-7 hours. Or, cover and cook on HIGH 5-6 hours. (Crock pots and slow cookers made since about 2000 cook much faster and on a higher heat than older crocks.) Remove bones and fat from roast; pull roast into large pieces with two forks. Stir in diced tomatoes and green chiles. Cook, uncovered, on HIGH 1 more hour or until liquid is slightly thickened.

Heat taco salad shells according to package directions; place shredded lettuce evenly into shells. Spoon about 1 cup pork-and-bean mixture into each shell using a slotted spoon. Serve with desired toppings.

You might also be interested in:

Review: My Mr. Coffee Frappe Machine - I honestly use it almost every day

2013-05-02T09:01:00.002-05:00

I love hot, strong coffee but I also love delicious iced coffee drinks. However, purchasing small appliances isn't something I have extra money to spend on, nor do I have room in my kitchen to store them. Luckily, last year I won a Mr. Coffee Frappe Maker - which I hadn't even known existed. Since then, I've used it almost every day and at least 2-3 times a week so this morning as I logged into my site I decided to post something other than a recipe. I decided to tell you about this machine that has a permanent place on my kitchen counter. (This is not a sponsored post or review, it's just me telling you about something I really do own and use.)

I will put the product description below for anyone who likes to read the fluffy version. This part is going to be me talking. At first I was intimidated! I make good coffee drinks using my blender and leftover brewed coffee, but this was a machine that brews your espresso shot and blends your iced drink all in one push of a button.

You place about 1/2 cup of water in the top, use a small 4 inch coffee filter and fill with your coffee grounds. Shut the top. In the blender portion you place your milk (liquid), ice up to the line, sweeteners or flavorings you wish to use and then you place the top on, click it into place on the base and push a button.

The green button lights up and the coffee in the top half starts to brew, hot and fresh.

You can see the espresso shots (strong brewed coffee) going into the blender container.

When the green light starts to flash (about a minute later) it is warning you it's about to start blending. It does all it's own blending - pulsing to let the ice settle for a second or two and then pulsing again. After a few pulses the green light goes out and you are ready to remove the blender and pour your drink into 2 (or 3) serving glasses.

They give you a book of recipes with the frappe maker, but I only used it and measured ingredients the first time I made it. After that it became a 'trial and error' to find my own favorite drink. I like to use sugar free vanilla or peppermint flavor, with almond milk, a dash of half and half and I top it off with a swirl of whipped cream and a thick straw.

I also found one of my favorite drinks is a peppermint 'smoothie' without coffee. I skip the brewing step and add the ingredients (peppermint, vanilla, ice, almond milk and half and half and some splenda) to the blender portion and use the blend button to pulse and mix my drink myself. It's amazing at crushing the ice smooth. This drink (with whipped cream and sprinkles) is a favorite of my daughter's as well as she doesn't like the taste of coffee in her drinks and prefers a plain vanilla frappe or plain peppermint.

Their product description from Amazon;

The Mr. Coffee Frappe Maker is an all-in-one appliance that allows you to create frosty frappes in the comfort of your own home. A cross between a coffee machine and a blender, this easy-to-use frappe maker brews and blends delicious chilled concoctions all at the touch of a button.

Along with freshly brewed coffee and ice, you can add in any favorite extras, including milk, whipped cream, ice cream, chocolate-milk powder, and more. The unit's "pulse" blending button offers ultimate control over the consistency, while its sleek jar supplies a generous handle for easy serving. To top it off, garnish the beverage with whipped cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, or chocolate shavings, and enjoy. Whether for yourself or to entertain guests, you can now make a delicious frappe from home. Even better, the unit's small footprint takes up minimal space on the counter for easy, everyday access.

A Quick and Easy Process

You'll never have to hassle with the inconvenience of having to use two or more machines to create the perfect frappe again. The Mr. Coffee Frappe Maker brews and blends in just three minutes, ensuring you get the same great results every time. The dishwasher-safe blending jar and brew basket make clean up easy. To get a delicious frappe, simply follow these three easy steps:

Add your favorite coffee or espresso and water to the top of the machine and your favorite ingredients in the blending jar
Press the Frappe button to start the process
Enjoy your delicious drink

Make a Variety of Beverages

The recipe book has more than 20 delicious recipes featuring a wide variety of easy-to-make drinks that are easily customized to your specific taste. From coffee- and tea-based drinks to adult alcohol-based frosty frappes, you are sure to find the perfect recipes to make the whole family happy. You can also avoid the fattening ingredients used by many coffeehouses by using sugar-free substitutes and fresh ingredients to truly make each recipe your own.

You can create endless varieties of icy, blended coffee drinks in the comfort of your own home with this one machine. It lets you eliminate costly trips to the coffeehouse and put dollars back into your pocket. The Mr. Coffee Cafe Frappe provides a quick, easy, and affordable solution for frappe lovers.

Features and Specifications

Brews and blends at the touch of a button
Removable brew basket
20-ounce dishwasher-safe blending jar
Pulse button to control consistency
Three minute blend-and-brew cycle
Includes book with 20 recipes

Available in retail stores or on Amazon:

Sauteed Zucchini and Cabbage

2013-04-30T12:27:00.002-05:00

Zucchini and Cabbage - So good together!

If you visit my blog often you'll know I'm not one for doing photo shoots or half the time, even remembering to take pictures of the food I make. This is one dish my daughter (or anyone else reading this) is lucky I took a picture of because it smelled SO GOOD we couldn't wait to eat it. It was just a quick side dish I threw together at the last minute to go along with the meal, but it ended up being the highlight. My husband isn't crazy about cabbage - ok, that is putting it politely. Let's be honest. My husband hates cabbage. He eats it every so often in my cole slaw or as a light topping to fish tacos but that is it. He had seconds.

I didn't measure anything - you'll see why you see the ingredients. I can 'guesstimate' for you but you really need to just throw this together using the amounts you need for the number of people you are feeding. Play with your food.

Sauteed Zucchini and Cabbage

Olive Oil
Butter, real
Sliced zucchini
Fresh grated cabbage (bagged mix from the store works great)
Fresh, minced or chopped garlic
Onion, sliced (optional)
Salt and pepper

In a saucepan on the stove over medium high heat, cover the bottom in a light layer of olive oil and add about a tablespoon or two of butter. Add 1-2 zucchini's that have been sliced into coins or on the diagonal. Saute until just starting to turn golden on one side and flip them. Now add about 1/2 - 1 t fresh garlic, salt and pepper, a handful of fresh cabbage and if you wish, a bit of sliced onion. Saute until golden brown and just starting to caramelize a bit, giving it a nice color and also that 'almost sweet' hint that caramelized vegetables have. Serve hot!

A handful of zucchini and a handful of cabbage in hot olive oil and butter

Golden brown - just about perfect to remove, plate and serve

Low Carb Bagels

2013-04-29T12:21:00.006-05:00

So many of my posts end up online because it's what I'm eating at the time. That is part of the reason I don't do extravagant photo shoots like many 'food bloggers' - I don't consider myself a food blogger. I started this site back in 2006 to store my recipes so the "point and shoot" pictures are what you get. Half the time we eat the food before I even think 'Oh, I should have taken a picture!'. That is why you get this lovely photo of my lunch today... on a paper plate. Because I had just finished doing dishes, decided to grab a quick lunch and there was no way I was going to dirty another plate!

Now that I've rambled on a bit, let me get to the point. The POINT is I've posted about this particular product before, but I truly like it and although I don't do a lot of product reviews (make most things from scratch) - I really suck at making good low carb, sugar free BREAD items and haven't perfected a good bagel recipe yet so this is what I'm using in the meantime. And? They are good. Really good.

Here is the photo I used last year when I first posted this low carb bagel recipe using Pizza & Bagel Flour I bought online (because I can't find anything similar locally). It's a dry mix manufactured by LC Foods. It's diabetic friendly, low carb, sugar free, high fiber and high protein. It's made with high gluten flour so it works well for pizza, calzones, bagels and pizza rolls. I've only used it for bagels personally as it's about $7 - $8 per package so I don't splurge on it all the time!

When I ordered this mix a couple months ago, I thought it would come with a bagel recipe enclosed. It does not. So I went looking for one. I found a basic bagel recipe for it online and then improvised to personalize it. We like onion bagels the best in our home, so that is the kind I decided to make.

Please note one issue I had with this recipe; I made the decision to use a small amount of sugar to proof the yeast. Because the yeast eats the sugar and because I used so little of it, I didn't feel bad in the least using sugar in this recipe and of course I don't have any health issues that mandate I can't do so.

Low Carb Bagels

1 Pizza and Bagel Flourmix
1/2 t instant dry yeast
1 1/2 t sugar or a sweetener with no sugar alcohols
scant 3/4 c warm water
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t canola oil
Seeds or flavors for a bagel you like; dried minced onion, poppy seeds, onion powder, garlic, etc.
1 pot of boiling water and a pinch of baking soda will be needed later

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, sugar and warm water. Stir and let set to proof while you mix the rest. In another bowl place 1 2/3 cups of the bagel flour mix, salt and oil. Mix well - it will be very dry. Add the yeast mixture, but don't add all of it. Depending on your humidity level, the temperature and the exact measurements of your cups, the amount needed will change. Pour most of it in, but not all. Start to mix. It should come together as a dough ball, pulling away from the sides. It will be a little sticky, but will be forming a ball. Use a little more water OR a little more of the flour mixture as needed. When it's a sticky dough ball, scrape all onto a lightly 'floured' surface with more of the bagel mix. At this point I wanted a light onion flavor so I added about 1/2 teaspoon onion powder to the surface so it would be kneaded into the dough. You could add things you want.

Knead well, sprinkling additional LC bagel mix on it until it's no longer sticky and forms a nice ball. (See image below). Now divide the ball into 3 pieces and each of those into 2 so you have a total of six (6) dough pieces. Roll each into a ball, punch a hole in the center with your finger or a wooden spoon. Form a circle and place on a non-stick baking pan or parchment. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area to rise for 1 hour. They will double in size. After an hour, bring a pot of water to boil and preheat your oven to 390 degrees. (400 degrees if you don't have a digital oven). Add a pinch of baking soda to the water. Place each circle in the water to boil for 15 seconds per side. Place back on the baking sheet. At this point, top your bagels with seeds or whatever you wish. I reconstituted dried, minced onion for ours. Sprinkle if you wish with a topping (or leave plain) and bake for 12 minutes until starting to get golden brown. Remove from oven, let cool and serve with cream cheese or whatever you like on your bagels. Makes 6.

You might be interested in the product I used as well as some other items they carry;

Low Carb, Sugar Free, Corn Syrup Free
Diabetic Friendly, Low Sugar Product, Soy Free
Net carbs. 2g Protein 11g Fiber 7g per 1/4 cup
Serving size 27.2g-1/4 cup
Package size 227g Approx. 2.08 Cups

They have a LOT of items - here are just 4 of them;

Cinnamon Buns
Country Biscuit Mix
Snickerdoodle Cookies
Hamburger Rolls

Ingredients: contains a proprietary/patent pending blend of wheat protein isolates, resistant wheat starches, flax seed meal, and vital wheat gluten.

Warning: Processed in a facility that uses nuts

Raspberry dressing from seedless jam

2013-04-29T07:47:00.002-05:00

Salad Greens with Raspberry Dressing (made from jam!)

I originally posted this back in 2008 or 2009, but this morning it caught my attention because I have sugar free jam on hand and looking over the ingredients in this recipe, if I cut down on the lime juice a bit I can make this a nice light dressing that is sugar free and lower carb. If you missed this one the first time around, here it is again.

The salad greens are important to the presentation, so if you can, don't chop up Ice Berg lettuce or even just romaine. Use a nice, pretty mixture.

Salad Greens with Raspberry Dressing

3/4 c lime juice
3/4 c seedless raspberry jam
3 T oil
3 garlic cloves, pressed
3/4 t salt
3/4 t ground red pepper
1 bag (4 cups) mixed salad greens

Process first 6 ingredients in a blender until smooth. Cover and chill 2 hours. Drizzle over salad greens.

Honeyville Almond Flour - Free Shipping

2013-04-28T19:07:00.001-05:00

I don't normally post at night as I usually update in the morning but I'm putting this here because I am an idiot and just wasted $4.49 and as a reminder to myself I'm putting this on my website.

We are starting up low carb and sugar free again, so today I placed a couple orders online for items I have a hard time finding locally or cost too much locally. One of the things I like is Honeyville's brand of almond flour. It's a finer grain than other brands and it's much better than the almond flour I grind myself. It's expensive - so it usually takes me two days to convince myself to spend the money and order it (hitting that 'send' button is so hard for a frugal person like me!) but in the end, I do, and I did. I was down to half a bag, so I knew I needed to purchase more.

I order straight from Honeyville's site, where their price fluctuates a little but is currently $35.99 and shipping is $4.49. The order was placed this morning. Done. Over.

But I just whipped up some brownies (in the oven as I type this) and as I walked out of the kitchen it hit me. Amazon. I bet I could have saved on shipping through Amazon. Sure enough - there it was. The exact Honeyville Blanched Almond Meal Flour, 5 lb. bag that I ordered... but with free 2 day free shipping. Darn!! I could have saved almost 5 bucks. Be smarter than me. Check Amazon before hitting that send button!

Zucchini or 'squash' noodles! Great for a buttered comfort food or better yet? No Pasta Lasagna!

2013-04-27T17:06:00.001-05:00

Do you need:

Something new to do with yellow squash or zucchini?
A different kind of side dish?
Faux noodles for a low carb diet?
All of the above?

Noodles and pasta are a favorite since my childhood; it's a simple food but just so good. Here is a faux noodle idea that you can make this way (like buttered noodles) but my favorite way to use these is in a vegetable based, pasta-free lasagna. Just make the lasagna like you normally would but use thin strips of uncooked zucchini or yellow squash zucchini in place of the noodles.

Faux Noodles

Yellow Squash
Butter
Salt and Pepper

Wash your squash. If you wish to scoop out the seeds first, slice in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the center seeds (see photo). Using a potato peeler, peel your yellow zucchini squash into thin strips. Boil a pot of water on the stove and immerse your 'faux noodles' into the water. You only have to boil about a minute as they are so thin. Remove, drain very well, pressing down a bit as it will hold a lot of water. While hot, add your toppings. Can use alfredo sauce, spaghetti sauce, etc. but I like mine with butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Slice your yellow squash into strips

I like to clean my squash out with a spoon to remove the seeds

Boiling just like pasta