Yummy without the carbs!

I love almonds! I love them raw most of all. I actually carry a small pouch of raw almonds in my purse all the time so I have a healthy and delish snack if I'm out and about and get the hungries. This way, I'm not tempted to grab something less than healthy for my picky body. I do best, health-wise, on a low intake of carbohydrates.
But what's a girl to do when she's wanting cookies? Everyone loves cookies, right? Every now and then we all probably crave a handful of cookies and a tall glass of (almond) milk.
So, here's one of my 'go-to' recipes that I whip up when it's cookie time.

Lower Carb Almond Cookies

• 2 cups almond flour
• Your choice of sweetened equal to 1 cup sugar (I use a blend of Truvia and EZ Sweetz)
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt ***omit if using salted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract


Preheat oven to 300°F
Using an electric mixer blend softened butter and sugar substitute until creamy, add in melted coconut oil and blend, then add in egg and blend. Add remaining ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon.
Form dough into walnut sized balls and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 5 minutes, and then press down lightly with the back of a tablespoon, then continue to bake another 18 minutes.
Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing.

* Depending on cookie size, this makes between 12 - 18 cookies, and will have approximately 1 - 3 net carbs each.

Maybe We Can Lure Spring In With a Yummy Cake!

It was a gray and dreary day here today...and I've been longing for sunshine and shorts, and the warmth to get into my car, put the top down and go for a ride with the warm breeze in my hair.
Suddenly, into my head popped a vision of a light, bright, airy and delicious cake that my mom-in-law made the first time she and I met.
It's called "Pea Pickin' Cake" and reminds me so much of warm days surrounded by family. Best of all, it's super easy!
*This is the recipe as she wrote it down for me...I don't have exact measurements of cans or product sizes, but whenever I make it, I just grab what looks right and it comes out yummy!!

CAKE:
1 yellow cake mix
1 small can mandarin oranges with juice
4 eggs
1/2 cup cooking oil

Beat all ingredients together until well blended, Use 3 greased and floured cake pans.
Bake in 350 degree oven about 25 minutes or until center of cake springs back when touched.

FILLING:
1 large cool whip
1 large can crushed pineapple with juice
1 small box instant vanilla pudding

Combine pineapples and juice with the pudding mix. Fold into cool whip. Spread between layers and on top of cooled cake. Refrigerate overnight.

My newest addition to Etsy!

I've been having so much fun crocheting sweet treats that don't add a single inch to your waistline! These are made from 100% pure love and cuteness, certified organic! LOL
Check them out...I can even customize them with your favorite "cake" & "frosting" -- and your choice of "sprinkles" or "cherry" on top.
Makes a great addition to a little girl's tea party set.

***Original idea was from Debi Y. -- I just began with a few less stitches at the bottom and increased a few on the way up, for more of a conical shape to the cake section of the cupcake, and then went down 1 hook size when crocheting the edge of the frosting so it would be tighter and curl up a bit. You can find the original pattern here on Debi's blog, "Hooks, Yarns, Crafts & Gardening"
~My Etsy Shop~

My homemade stitch markers!

I love using markers to mark my place when crocheting in the round. I made these, using paperclips, tiny pliers, and some beads, and clasps from old costume jewelry I had. I ♥ upcycling! I'll put a tutorial up this weekend if anyone wants to see how I did it. Let me know in the comments section.

Upcycled Scarves

My newest thing lately has been crocheting long, cozy scarves with small amounts of yarn leftover from other projects.
Want one? You can customize your color palette & length, to get a one-of-a-kind creation that's uniquely you. Once you let me know you want one, I can have it complete and in the mail within 5 days! $35.00 for adult sized, 25.00 for child sized.

Thanks to my friend "Food Floozie" for this fabulous recipe!

I found the original yummalicious recipe HERE and simply added a little of my own mojo to it by sauteeing a sliced up head of cabbage while the meat is cooking, then when I add the sauce into the meat, also stir in the sauteed cabbage, tossing it to coat it well. Don't just look at the one recipe at "Food Floozie's" blog, she has some amazing stuff there...you'll probably find yourself bookmarking one after another, after another...

Veggie Egg Rolls

Tonight we (as in, all 3 of us: Me, hubby, 19 year old son) made egg rolls together. It was a first time for us making them instead of ordering them from take-out. I have fish allergies so I rarely eat anything from Chinese take-out, for fear that even the meatless dishes are often flavored with fish sauce. So it has been YEARS...seriously, YEARS, as in more than a decade, since I've had an egg roll. Isn't that tragic? OK, so it's not exactly tragic, but it is just a teeny tiny bit sad.

Here's the recipe we made up:

Filling:

1 package of pre-shredded cole slaw cabbage (that way you've already got a little bit of carrot in there, and you don't even have to pull down the grater! Woo!)
3-4 green onions, sliced very thin, including a good portion of the greens.
1 can of water chestnuts, drained, and chopped up finely.
1 clove on finely minced garlic
2 T. canola oil
2 T. sesame oil

Mix the cabbage with the green onions, water chestnuts, and the garlic, then sautee in a medium-high pan in both oils until the cabbage is softening up, or about 2-3 minutes.

Whisk together:

1 T. corn starch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
a few shakes of red pepper flakes

Mix this into the cabbage mixture and sautee for about 2 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened a bit.

Now get to rolling:

We just bought a package of egg rolls wraps from Nasoya.

We filled and rolled according to instructions, and this made 12 egg rolls for us.

Then we fried them in the Fry Daddy set at 350 degrees for about 2-3 minutes. They floated up when they were perfect.

I served these with some dijon mustard that I made HOT by adding wasabi until it burned when I sniffed it! Hahaha!

I also made a sweet mustard (kinda like duck sauce...really just wanted the yin to the yan going on with the hot mustard.)
I did this by mixing a little dijon mustard with apricot preserves.

Dinner was a HIT! Everyone left the table saying we should do this again very soon.