It's the Coffee Talkin'...

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Avocado Recipe

Hi!

Hope everyone is enjoying Spring Break! For those of you who don't have to worry about school...I hope you are having a good week! :)

The other night Jess prepared us some super yummy avocado "treats" to go along with the turkey burgers I was making. I love that she likes to look up a recipe and add some things when I am making dinner. It always adds a great element and we all enjoy something new! Lord knows...my main goal is just to get something worth eating on the table! Ugh! I think it's from all the years of kids fussing about dinnertime. Breakfast and lunch too for that matter.

So here are few healthy benefits to the wonderful avocado...

I try to eat one or two a week. There are also TONS of great recipes to using these. :)

Monounsaturated Fats — These types of fats help control triglycerides in the bloodstream, lower blood cholesterol and control diabetes.
Folate — This water-soluble B vitamin promotes healthy cell and tissue development. According to the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, “This is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy. Folate is also essential for metabolism of homocysteine and helps maintain normal levels of this amino acid.”
Lutein — This is a carotenoid (a natural pigment) that protects against cataracts and certain types of cancer, and reduces the risk of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in adults 65 years of age and older. Avocados contain 3 or more times as much lutein as found in other common vegetables and fruits.
Oleic acid and Potassium — Both of these nutrients also help in lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of high blood pressure.

So...here is the yummy treats Jessica made for us. They were great on our burgers and yummy to dip in ranch.

Very easy to make...

Slice up your avocado...dip in flour...dip in egg whisked up...then dip in panko crumbs.

Bake at 450 for about 15 minutes until golden brown.

Wonderful! Let me know if you try it!

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Time Flies...

...been awhile since I have posted anything. Where does the time go?!

Two weekends ago we got to get away in Austin for a few days. Thanks you Presidents Day! I always LOVE being with my kids. No making the beds...staying up late and eating yummy food! :)

Tom is traveling a lot again...sad face...a week in Rockville, MD...now in Miami, home for a week then two more weeks gone again. Just keeping my fingers crossed for a few weeks off for a family trip this summer.

One can always wish... :)

Here are a few photos from our trip over to Lake Austin.

View from the condo we stayed in.

Some pretty houses all around us.

Texas trees...LOL

Josh & Jessica...ooops, let's try again!

Ahhhh...Hahahaha! Epic fail! :)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Shoofly...Don't bother me! :)

Anytime I ask my husband what he wants for dessert it is always chocolate chip cookies or Shoofly pie.

Here is our favorite recipe.

Tom's GrandMom gave this to me years ago. I have finally put in on my computer so I never lose it!

I also have saved the handwritten piece of paper she wrote this down for me on.

It's special.

She is no longer with us.

It's special. :)

It's a little different than your typical Pennsylvania dutch pie you get back east. It is stronger on the molasses flavor and I mix a little more of the dry ingredients into the wet because we don't like all the goo on the bottom.

Hope you enjoy!

GrandMom's Shoofly Pie

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup sugar

½ Tsp. Baking powder

1 stick butter

Mix until fine as meal...

¾ cup molasses

¾ cup warm water

1 egg

½ tsp soda

Beat until blended...

Add ½ of crumbs ( I do ¾ crumbs) to molasses mix, stir until well blended. Pour into pie crust. Sprinkle the rest on top of pie.

Bake at 400 for 10 minutes...then 375 for 35 minutes.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Bread

Bread...who doesn't LOVE it?! Hot...buttered... cold...toasted. With jelly...cream cheese...butter. Or with fresh garden tomatoes, turkey & cheese. Geez! It think it has to be one of America's (and beyond) favorite comfort foods.

Why can't we eat it everyday and not gain any weight?! I know...they have all this healthy stuff. Paleo bread, Atkins bread, less carb, no fat...whatever. Let's just have some bread!

Must be the Coffee Talkin'...

So tonight while cleaning up the kitchen after grocery shopping I was putting fresh bananas in a bowl and looked down in the bottom to find some not so pretty. Well...I could have peeled those suckers and put them in the freezer for Caleb to use in his Yonanas machine.
If you don't know what this is...it's an amazing little machine that some wonderful ingenious lady came up with...I mean, why can I think of these things?! She's probably a millionaire now! Gosh. Anyhow you put frozen fruit of any kind through this contraption along with a frozen banana and you have a very healthy dessert. It is really good. You can pick one up at Target. :)

Oh where was I...? Oh yes, the bananas. So instead of freezing them I decided some banana BREAD would be great! So I whipped all the ingredients out (poor hubby got home and had to wait for dinner because I was baking...sheesh) was pouring it into the pan and decided there just wasn't enough sugar...HA!

I added a "healthy dose" of cinnamon and sugar in the middle and added more to the top. Banana bread will never be the same in our house. Just use your favorite recipe and add a little sugary goodness.

And...make sure and have a cup of coffee with it!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Thunder & Lightning

Rain, rain, rain...that is how our new year is starting out here. It makes me want to stay in my jammies all day, drink coffee and bake something sweet. NOT a good way to start the year. UGH!

It's supposed to be more something like this...

Have you ever tried this DVD?! My girls got it for me a few Christmases ago and I have never made it past disc 1. Sad. Altho' I do console myself with the fact that the lovely Julian Michaels has never givin' birth to four children. It's not working is it? Oh yes...IF I worked out for 8 hours a day making videos and IF I had a personal chef watching what I put in my mouth every day...THEN I might look like this. So...I will continue to walk and eat as healthy as possible, but still enjoy...

Warm coffee cake on a cold rainy, thunder and lightning day! :)

AND a cup of coffee to go with...

After all...the coffee made me do it!

Less stress this way. haha

So hang on...my post is about thunder and lightning, not wonderful cake and coffee.

As I was trying to be a good wife and iron my husbands shirts for the week (I used to take them to the dry cleaners, but he doesn't like how they come out smelling...why can't they throw some downy in there?!) I was walking by our back window and saw a huge flame of fire not too far from us! My heart stopped and I froze! After un-freezing myself (if that's a word) I ran to the closet and hung up the shirts...because that was the most important, right? Ha! Then yelled at Jess to come see the fire...then thought I should call 911!...then heard the firetrucks...then ran for my camera. Whew! Need more coffee...

Come to find out later that the house was struck by lightning! (yes, I'm talking Tom into a lightning rod...because we got damage a few months back). We drove by the house last night after Bible study and there were still big trucks out there trying to get things cleaned up. (Not the trucks...the people driving the trucks...Sheesh!) The house looked so bad...I just felt awful...weird too, it was a single story home surrounded by two stories. How does the lower one get hit?! I might need to google this...

So...if you would just send a prayer up today for our neighbors. They are hurting from the devestation to their home and they lost their beloved family pet, a dog named Shelby. We are just thankful that no one was home and hurt. It is going to take some time to re-build...the community is taking care of their immediate needs, but the family has requested prayer. Thank you for doing this!

These pictures were taken after running for my camera and changing the lens...when I first saw the flames they were taller than the houses around it.

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Jaime & Esquire's Wedding 12-22-12

This weekend we were privileged to go to our nephew's wedding in Louisiana. It was a beautiful day and everything turned out so pretty. It was so nice to see some family we have not seen in awhile. Hope you all enjoy the pictures...there are quit a few...I toned it down because we took 150! :)

Congratulations Jaime & Esquire!