Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

Hello Lovelies, wishing you the most joyous, beautiful, awesome Christmas you've ever had! May your day be filled with three of the most important "F" words.

......................FOOD . FAMILY. FRIENDS........................

Speaking of friends please show some love for this exquisite piece of Art created by a friend and fellow Artist. He took classic images and added his own spin on them, pretty clever don't you think?  You can check out more of his work, Strider Raven at monstersago-go.blogspot.com




Cherio!

Easy Peasy Yummy Recipes - Come Get Some!

I want you to meet brown sugar meatloaf, gnocchi in fontina sauce, baked sweet potatoes with ginger and honey, apple pie by grandma Ople,  and white chocolate cherry pecan cheesecake. There is more, 467 more recipes that I've tried, or saved at one of my favorite sites.

 
http://allrecipes.com

ARE

   

YOU

HUNGRY

     

YET???

 

http://allrecipes.com is the best thing to happen to my kitchen in years. If you are tired of chowing on the same old, same old checkout this site. I credit it with inspiring me to revive the Sunday meal tradition in our home. The site is thorough, with tons of recipes, step by step instructions, photos, videos, even reviews, and tips from fellow foodies. There something there for everyone. I love it. 

Take a minute to stop by plan, and a special meal for a few or your favorite people.

Bon appetit!

Guest post by Shanda Neighbors.

From Strength To Strength

Last year was a year that came wrapped in challenges and surprises.  Some of them good and some of them I wish I could forget.  Along the way though, I have grown stronger, wiser and that much more grateful, especially for the little things. Little things like watching the sunrise or watching a movie with my dad and son.  In actuality, these are not little things at all but the real substance of life and our most cherished memories.

My Dad (left) and Brother

 When My father fell gravely ill the latter part of 2013 I finally understood how precious and fragile our lives really are.  We are all here but by the grace of God.  My dad is doing better now but I am forever changed by his near death experiences and stories.  I am convinced that there are lessons to be learned in everything, even in the painful moments that are hard to get through.  It is because of those moments that we can appreciate happy moments and joyous occasions.  This year I will savor the good times,.... and when bad times come I will take away whatever I can learn from it.

Happy 2014 lovelies and all the best for the new year!

Cherio

Pie - A Little Slice Of Heaven

I found this pie recipe a little while ago on asgoodasgluten and I just had to share!  Just looking at this makes me sooooooooo happy....this is definitely my Thanks Giving desert.  Yum!

Apple Pumpkin Salted Caramel Pie
Ingredients: 
·1 GF Super Easy Pie Crust Recipe (I use a homemade blend of gluten free flours or Bob's Gluten Free All Purpose Blend)
Apple Layer:
·2 medium Honeycrisp apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
·¼ cup sugar
·1 TBS GF flour mix
·½ tsp cinnamon 
Pumpkin Layer:
·1 cup canned pure pumpkin
·¼ cup sugar
·1 egg, slightly beaten
·½ tsp cinnamon
·1/8 tsp allspice
·1/8 tsp ginger
·1/8 tsp cloves
·1/8 tsp nutmeg
·Dash of sea salt
Streusel:
·¼ cup packed brown sugar
·2 TBS GF flour
·2 TBS butter, softened
·½ cup pecans, chopped
Salted Caramel Sauce:
·12 individually wrapped caramels
·¾ TBS skim milk
·Dash of sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400˚. Prepare pie crust according to recipe. 

In a large bowl, combine all apple layer ingredients. Spoon mixture into prepared pie crust.

In the same bowl, mix pumpkin layer ingredients until well blended. Pour over apple mixture. Bake for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix streusel ingredients with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles course crumbs. 

Sprinkle streusel over baked pie, and then return to the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted into pumpkin layer comes out clean. 

Over a double boiler, combine caramels and milk. Stir frequently and heat over medium-low heat until mixture becomes a sauce. Stir in a dash of sea salt and drizzle over the pie. Let pie cool completely before topping with caramel and serving.

And there you have it, an amazing mouth watering desert.  I have a feeling that once I make this, it will be a happy happy Thanks Giving.

Cherio!

The Simple Things

phillyburbs

A few days ago my sister mentioned to me that my brother-in-law loved peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  Huh? For some reason this intrigued me. I had never had it or even heard of this combo prior to this so immediately after our conversation I made one. It took me less than 2 minutes to make and I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it.  It was so yummy!  

It kinda got me thinking about the simple things in life that we sometime overlook or take for granted.  How we may have all the ingredients, talents, possibilities right in front of us sometimes but somehow fail to enjoy or even realize what we have.  

Simple things like:

warm hugs,

               laughing until you snort

                                    The wind in your hair.

       The wag in your dog's tail when you come home from work

                                                                                      a good hair day

The sound of your hubby's key in the door....

                                             Watching a sunset

                       the feeling you get when you accomplish a goal....

                                                                                          breathing 

 the first bite of chocolate..........or any kind of pie

                    

                                               being pain free

I am convinced that the best things in life are free.  Enjoy them while you can.

Cherio!

All salads Were Not Created Equal

One of my favorite foods is salads.  No kidding, I love 'em!  Perhaps it is the fact that there are so many types and ways one could make a salad.....I don't know.  All I know is, I love variety and salads do it for me.  


And so this week I set out to find three salads that I have never tried before.  Salads that earned off the charts reviews.....and are not too difficult to make.   I like to keep it simple.  So here are the 3 nominees for scrumptious salads of  the week:  drum roll please.........


These first two by  www.thefoodiediaries.com will hit the spot for sure. So yummy!

Ingredients: baby spinach, mozzarella, roasted cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper,   onion, celery, cucumber and the dried cherry + pom concoction. 

Ingredients: fresh spinach, roasted butternut squash, cauliflower, grilled onion and sun-dried tomatoes, dressed in Newman’s Own Asian Sesame dressing. You have to try this!

Now this one had me at custard, not to mention the recipe is by miss Paula Deen.  Oh my goodness....this looks so pretty I almost didn't want to eat it. ALMOST. Am so happy right now...so happy.

Find the recipe here.

And there you have it, 3 delicious recipes that will bring you lots of happiness and mad satisfaction.  I guarantee it!

Cherio!

All Of The Pleasure.....None Of The Guilt

So, I was browsing the net for recipes and found one of the most amazing food blogs that I've seen in a while. I am so excited to share skinnytaste with you.  This site has excellent recipes that is not only tasty but low in calories and great for your health.  The food is so delicious, your family wouldn't be able to tell that its low fat at all.  Not unless you tell them. sssssssshhhhhhhhhh.

I saw the recipe below for Asian glazed drumsticks and I just had to try it. So d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s!!!!  Skinnytaste rocks!  Check the site out and let me know what you think.  

Asian Glazed Drumsticks

Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes 

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 2 drumsticks • Points: 5 ww pts

Calories: 213 • Fat: 4.7 g • Protein: 27.5 g • Carb: 12.7 g • Fiber: 0.4 g  

• 8 medium chicken drumsticks, skin removed
• Pam spray oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp Sriracha hot sauce (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 4 tsp agave nectar (or sugar)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp chives or scallions, chopped
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

In a heavy large saucepan, brown chicken on high for 3-4 minutes with a little spray oil. Add water, balsamic, soy sauce, agave, garlic, ginger, hot sauce and cook on high until liquid comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes. Remove cover and bring heat to high, allowing sauce to reduce down, about 8-10 minutes, until it becomes a thick glaze, turning chicken occasionally. (Keep an eye on glaze, you don't want it to burn when it start becoming thick) Transferchicken to a platter and pour glaze on top. Top with chives and sesame seeds and serve.