A wonderful surprise and Diabetic chocolate chip cookie recipe

Since next month is my Dad's birthday and our first Easter without him I told Barry I would love to fix a big supper at our house for us, my Mom, and Brother.

Barry, my husband, is a wonderful husband. He tries his best to lift me up and encourage me. That's why a surprise gift as this one should come at no surprise :) This week I got a knock at the door and it was the UPS man. I'm always happy to see him, but I hadn't recently ordered anything that would warrant a visit from him. I looked at the box and it was in my name and very heavy. The girls and I were excited as we opened it! Here is what was inside......


This is my dream mixer!!! A Kitchenade! I have been wanting and asking one for years. I called Barry in a panic was telling him all about my big surprise that landed on our doorstep. I heard snickering on the other end of the line and he told me it was my Easter gift. He told me he knew I wanted to make a big supper for our family and he wanted to lift me up during the "firsts" that we are going through. This is why I love him so very very much!  He told me he thought this would help and make things easier on all the cooking I planned to do.

I wonder sometimes how the Lord blessed me with such a wonderful husband and best friend.

So my first recipe was Chocolate chip cookies. I tried to make this diabetic friendly and a bit healthier than the average cookie. Here's the recipe:

3/4 Cup of Splenda (This is the actual measurement of Splenda. Not back of the bag equal to measurement)
3/4 Cup of Splenda brown sugar (This is the actual measurement of Splenda. Not back of the bag equal to measurement)


1 Cup of butter 1 tsp Vanilla
1 Egg
2 Cups of whole wheat flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Package of sugar free Hershey chocolate chips

First, preheat your oven to 375. Then cream together the Splendas, butter, Vanilla, and eggs. In another bowl mix your dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add those as you continue to mix. One batter is thick...add the chocolate chips in. Cook for 10 and let cool. 10 minutes is the perfect setting for chewy cookies. I have had 4 people try them and none could tell they were low sugar.

From my figuring this comes out to about 9 grams of carbs per cookie and .3 grams of sugar..yep not even a gram!!! Here's the final product............



My last picture is of St. Patrick's day fun. I decided to make breakfast in bed for Barry and the Chickaroo Sisters. Think this would be perfect for those Cat in the hat days...just sub the sauage with ham.

Stuffed Apple Recipe

In May I was diagnosed as Type II diabetic. At 173 pds I really needed to make a change and lose weight. At the time I was told that I could control mine with diet and exercise. So I started making changes in my diet. I went on a very very very low carb diet, virtually no sugar, cut out all sodas, swapped to whole grains (as they break down slower and do not spike your glucose levels), added extra protein, and just added more veggies/some fruits to my diet. The result is...today I am no longer diabetic (though I am considered prediabetic) and I am now 129 pds!

BEFORE


MIDWAY THROUGH DIET



AFTER




So I would really love to bring more low carb/sugar recipes to the blog. I promise all will be tried by me and approved yummy...by me! So here's my first recipe :)










LOW SUGAR STUFFED APPLES

Remember apples are great for diabetics...in moderation. They are a great source of fiber and fiber is great for glucose levels (as it breaks down slowly Vs. spiking or a drop in levels. I find that when I eat something that spikes my levels...a drop will usually happen after a certain length of time and it's very fast. It causes me to have dizzyness and shakiness. So fiber is great helping balance this out). I came up with this one after reading a cookbook and really wanting apple pie. I then thought of the stuffed apple recipes I have read about, but never tried. I figured the Oatmeal must have a little "crust" type texture and taste. In the end my whole family loved this recipe and it really does taste like an apple pie!!!!

4 Apples cored and hollowed
2 Packets of plain instant oatmeal
1 Tablespoon of Cinnamon (or to your liking)
1/4 cup of Splenda
3 Tablespoons of butter
Dash of salt

Mix oatmeal, cinnamon, splenda, and salt in bowl. Once combined add 2 Tablespoons of butter and mix with hands. You then want to stuff your apples with this mixture and place, in pats, the remaining Tablespoon of butter. Place apples in a round cake pan and fill with about a half inch of water. Place in the oven on 350 for about 30 to 35 minutes.


This just gives you that apple pie taste, but without all the headache of having a high glucose reading. As I said...moderation is key...so this is a once in a while treat.

Can a balloon reach Heaven?

Good Afternoon! I really love being able to jump right back into blogging, so I am going to attempt two posts today.

First, I will start off by showing some pictures of my Chickaroo Sisters. As some of you know, my Dad past away on October 8 of last year and the girls were very close to their PawPaw. They have missed him terribly. This weekend so many new and exciting things happened and the girls just really wished they could tell him. Lilly Rose's tooth fell out Saturday night and Emma Kay had her first official day of Sunday school (she is normally in the nursery). Just exciting times for my girls. They wanted to know if a balloon could reach Heaven? I told them I believed it could and so we set out to write a message to PawPaw. With a frog balloon and a sharpie..they were able to write their messages and send them in the air via our back yard.  Here's a few pictures.......





I really think releasing the balloon helped my girls in so many ways. I know we have had years to know my Dad was terminal with his illness, but I honestly thought he would pull out of his last hospitalization. It does seem sudden to us. The girls are in an inbetween feeling. I praise the Lord for their faith in him and that has helped so much in the healing process. They know that PawPaw is in Heaven, but there's the other side of things...they just visited with him days before. He was smiling, picking at Lilly calling her Mermaid (his pet name for her), and Emma was feeding him animal crackers. To them PawPaw was going to be o.k. and he would get to come home soon.

The thing is...I know how they feel. I'm 33 and there are still times that I forget he is gone. There are times when there is something I want to tell him and I pick up the phone to call him. What brings me comfort is of the Lord's promise that there are no good byes when it comes to his children. We will all see each other again. I think MercyMe's song "Homesick" sums up a loved one's passing perfectly. I also have comfort that he was in a lot of pain and is no more.

So until their heart is healed...I will try to find little ways to brighten the girls' day and keep their memories of their PawPaw.

Frugal Ritz Cracker Recipe

Hi Guys! I decided to move my blog back to here and skip Wordpress. I really missed being on Blogspot. I hope to post on a regular basis. As you can see I have posted several of the posts from my Wordpress blog over to here and will continue each week until I can get all posts over here.

I look forward to being back on Blogspot and getting to read everyone's blogs again! Until then here is a frugal recipe and picture of  my girls. In Him, Crystal



3 Table spoons of your favorite mayo.


1 Sleeve of Ritz crackers.

1/4 to 1/2 cup of extra Sharp cheddar cheese. I think you could use any kind you love, but the sharp really worked well here.

**If desired a few sprinklings of your favorite herbs or powdered flavors.**



Simply spread a thin layer of mayo across your Ritz cracker and lay on an ungreased baking sheet. At this point you can add onion salt, paprika, garlic powder, etc. I would use light sprinklings if you decide to do this and the combination of onion salt with red pepper..tastes just like Chicken biscuits You may also skip this step and the crackers are still just as delicious!



Sprinkle with cheese and then set under the broiler for 2 minutes or so. I would keep the door open and keep an eye on them. The mayo will soak into the crackers, the cheese will melt and become bubbly, and the crackers will become a bit more crisp due to being under the broiler.



Afterwards, just serve up on a dish. You can also put these in a ziploc freezer bag, store in the fridge, and pop into a microwave when needed. I would set them on 5 seconds top because they will heat very fast in a microwave and you don’t want them to become gummy.



They are creamy, sweet (when used with a Ritz), cheesey, and a ritzy frugal snack.



Now for my Girls! I took this photo last weekend at a local park.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Bouquet Recipe

What you will need:


2 baskets of fresh strawberries

1Microwavable bowl of milk chocolate (can be found in baking section.)

Toppings (Your choice! For mine I used sprinkles, shaved white chocolate, and macadamia.)

Florist foam

Container for your bouquet

Wilton candy sticks

Wilton candy treat bags

Some type of material for decoration and to tie the treat bags closed.

Wax paper



First, wash and dry your strawberries really well. Next place your microwavable bowl of chocolate in microwave and follow directions. Once you have your chocolate ready..you are ready and from here it is easy peasy



I spread wax paper across a baking sheet and spray a dab of cooking spray. I then start to dip the strawberries into the chocolate and I hold them by the leaves..which I leave on for decoration. I dip and then sprinkle on my topping.

Once e done with your topping….just set on wax paper, finish filling your sheet, and set in freezers to harden.



After they have hardened, I say roughly 3o minutes, I began to insert the stick in the top of the strawberry. The perfect spot is right in the middle of the leaves and then wrap in the Wilton candy treat bags. These bags do not come with ties and I had some left over tulle used for the girls’ tutus…so this was perfect to cut in strips and tie at the bottom. I then placed two disposable bowls upside down and stacked on each other..inside the tea pot. I then placed a small circular piece of florist foam on top and inserted the strawberries on sticks. Just start arranging from the outside in.



This one I made for the ladies at church, but I also made some cute little mason jar bouquets for my Mom, Barry’s Mom, and Barry’s Grandmother. These were just adorable and so much cheaper than the fruit bouquets you see on TV. I got a lot of compliments from each of them and his Grandmother was the first to taste them…she gave them two thumbs up

Cream Cheese Poundcake Recipe

First off…go to your recipe box and just throw away all your other pound cake recipes. That’s my first instruction to this recipe




I have tried for years to find a great recipe and make a great pound cake. I always end up in failure and my cake is entirely too dry. Earlier this week I was reading Cook’s country magazine on my Kindle (you can get a free 14 day subscription) and ran across this recipe for a Cream cheese pound cake.



Looking at it I thought it looked a little difficult, for my baking experience, and the ingrediants looked a little pricely. It turns out it was not hard at all, I would suggest this recipe to a beginner baker, and when you break the ingrediant list down to cost…it’s really not all that expensive. You have most of the essenials in your pantry already and the cost to add to those the other ingrediants..you have just broke it down to the cost of a really nice pound cake at a local bakery. Only you get fun of making it, enjoying time with your kiddos, and all the compliments, of course It also just seems like if you make it yourself…you have less calories. I’m sure this isn’t true, but I’m just going to go with that.



Here’s what you will need:



3 Cups of cake flour (I used Swan from Winn Dixie)

1 Teaspoon of salt

4 large eggs, plus 2 large yolks at room temp. (I actually did not use mine at room temp.)

1/4 Cup Milk

2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract (The Winn Dixie brand is BOGO this week!!)

3 Cups of sugar (Used Dixie brand. They were on sale at Winn Dixie for 1.99 for a 5lb bag)

3 sticks of unsalted butter (Used Winn Dixie brand)

6 oz of Cream cheese (I used the Winn Dixie brand. It also needs to be soft and I just left it at room temp. for an hour.)



First, pre heat your oven to 300 and start to work on creaming.



In a big bowl cream together sugar, butter, and cream cheese. In another bowl beat together (I use a hand mixer) eggs, egg yolks, milk, and vanilla. Then add this mixture to your creamed mixture a little at a time.



In another bowl (I know this is a lot of bowls…lol..well worth it) mix flour and salt together. Once you have that mixed together add it, in three parts, to your creamed mixture. Once all is well incorporated…you are ready to pour into your well greased bundt cake pan (I greased it with unsalted butter and the cake four.) Once poured in your pan…tap on counter several times to get the air bubbles out.



You bake it in the middle rack for exactly 90 minutes. Do not bake no more or less. I know it will look a little gooey on top, but trust me…it is done. I made the mistake of letting mine cook a little longer, due to this, and it was just a little more brown on the bottom than I prefer.



This is the best pound cake I have ever tasted in my life! I’m not just saying that because I made it, either. Barry and my girls gave it a 10. They have NEVER given any of my pound cakes a 10! I hope you guys enjoy!



Cream Cheese Pound Cake Triffle Recipe

If you were wondering what to do with that left over pound cake (I posted earlier under the Frugal recipes tab) or just jazz it up. This is the perfect recipe for you!




Yesterday we had a picnic at our church and I made a pound cake the night before. During the process of making it I decided that 2 extra ounces of cream cheese would be great..so I added 8 insteand of 6. Well, there’s a reason they call for only 6 and it made my pound cake a little too tangy for my taste. I let it sit overnight and wondered what I would bring to the picnic.



Lilly Rose and I were browsing through some of my Facebook pages and one had this beautiful Memorial day triffle on it. She really wanted me to make it and I decided to try the ingrediants with my pound cake. To my surprise it worked out to be a great match with each other Although, I didn’t get a recipe for this triffle..I believe they used a angel food cake with theirs. So feel free to use any cake you like, but this is a great way to use up any extra pound cake you have.



Here’s the ingrediants:



1 Pint of blueberries

1 lb of strawberries

1 16 oz tub of whip topping

Little over half of your Cream cheese pound cake or cake of your choice.



Just start the layer out with cake, then spread your whip topping, layer with strawberries…leaving spaces for your blueberries (Use a clear bowl and try to make the layers pretty…I didn’t quite accomplish this), spread berry mixture all over the layer, and just repeat. Once you are done with your layers…put a little dollop of cool whip in the middle some berries on top of it and lay your strawberries across the top really pretty. You can kind of do a domino type style with them and then just sprinkle your blueberries about.



You can use one tub of cool whip on this (if it is the 1 lb kind), but I think I may use 2 next time. I think it could have used more white in the layers.