What I'm loving....

Hello friends! These are some things I'm loving right now.....

These yummy HEALTHY brownies that are only 95 calories, 3 grams of fat and zero cholesterol a brownie, compared to a regular boxed brownie's doubly high calories, nearly quadrupled fat, and 60 milligrams of cholesterol. (If you use an 8x8 pan and cut the brownies in 16ths) 

(Recipe from Good Housekeeping)

INGREDIENTS:

      1 teaspoon(s) instant coffee powder or granules

         2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract

         1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour

         1/2  cup(s) unsweetened cocoa

         1/4 teaspoon(s) baking powder

         1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

         1 cup(s) sugar

         1/4 cup(s) trans-fat free vegetable oil spread

         3 large egg whites

             Preheat your oven to 350°F, and grease a 8'' by 8'' metal pan. Dissolve your coffee in the vanilla extract. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. In a bowl, whisk the sugar, vegetable oil spread, egg whites, and coffee mixture until well mixed. Then mix in the flour mixture. Spread it in the pan, and bake for about 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Eat and enjoy :)

            This recipe makes fairly dense brownies, but they are rich, and chocolatey, healthy and yummy. If you are looking for the chewy, extremely soft brownie...umm...don't make these.  :)

**My tips and changes:

- I used a glass pan, and it worked just fine.

- Also, on a couple of occasions I haven't had instant coffee, so I've used instant cappuccino mix that I had, and I've  used regular strong coffee. Both worked well. The strong coffee worked better. Of course, the instant coffee is the best.

- I used Smart Balance butter spread.

- And if you don't want to wait until the brownies cool to cut them, use a plastic knife. It works like a charm cutting warm brownies.

Adele's new CD. It's AMAZING. She is AMAZING. And you should buy the cd.  My favorite song on it is "Rolling in the Deep", but I'm sure you've already heard that song, so here's my second favorite,  "Set Fire to the Rain". It's mysterious and dark, and her voice is simply stunning. Also, in case you are a google nerd like me and are tempted to look up what the phrase "roll in the deep" actually means, rest assured, it DOESN'T mean anything naughty. It's a nautical term, which apparently supports the nautical theme of the song's lyrics. But that means nothing to me really....I just like the song.  :)

My sweet baby boy after he has had a bath, especially when my sweet husband is playing with him. The two together melt my heart. Since it has been so unbelievably hot lately, we have spent some time at the pool (I'm hoping to post pool pictures soon), playing in the water faucet outside, and playing in our kiddie pool. All of which mean that J-man requires a bath before bed. I love bath time, Jackson, well, not so much. But who can resist a sweet smelling freshly bathed baby! Not me!! (I'm hoping to post pool pictures soon)

Hope you take the time to to count your blessings for the things you love!

~Monica

Healthy Eating

I love to cook. Do you know that? I love it. I love to find yummy recipes and whip 'em up in the kitchen. I also love to see Adam happily scarf down what I've cooked. It's a great feeling. :)


Anyway, we both have been wanting to eat healthier. Not like super, diet, eat-only- cardboard, healthy, but we want to at least try to eat some meals that are better for you than the go to spaghetti and meat sauce. 


Sooo...before I grocery shopped last week, I scoured the internet for some yummy, healthier recipes. And found this site. Eating Well.


And these yummy recipes:


Maple Chili-Glazed Pork Medallions

Mary's Zucchini with Parmesan (side dish)

Quick Chicken Cordon Bleu

And Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes

So far we have eaten the twice baked potatoes and the parmesan zucchini. The potatoes were a HUGE hit! I used ground turkey, lots and lots of broccoli, and light sour cream. I was worried at first, that only one potato a piece for us wouldn't be enough. Boy was I wrong. Once I scooped out the potatoes, added lots of broccoli, meat, some sour cream, and some cheese, I had more filling than could fit in the potatoes. I stuffed the potatoes as high as I could, and we both had enough to eat. (BTW, I totally get that this isn't probably the "healthiest" of the above recipes, but with my modifications, I feel like it was a win.)


The parmesan zucchini was fantastic! Up until two nights ago, I had never cooked fresh zucchini. After realizing how easy it was, I can't believe I've never cooked it. Anyway, I did use fresh shaved parmesan cheese, which I think taste much much better than the powdery stuff.  We ate it with some baked chicken. Yummo! Overall, it was quick, super easy, and "healthier" than our usual sides of mashed potatoes and corn. 

I'll let you know how the other recipes turn out once I make them. For now, Adam, Jackson, and I are off to celebrate our niece's 3rd birthday! Happy Saturday!


Monica

curls, settlers, selflessness, and mac 'n cheese!

There was a little girl boy who had a little curl right in the middle on the side of her his forehead. 

It has happened.

Jackson's curls have made their presence known. 

The longer his hair gets, the more curls emerge. I absolutely love it. (Just thought you should know;)

Ok, on to other things. I just love weekends. I love lazy Fridays. When we are home, Adam and I do NOTHING all day. It is fantastic! And that is what we did this past Friday. Then on Saturday, during the day, we spent some time running errands in the beautiful sunshine. Saturday night consisted of the following:

Ahh...sigh..Settlers of Cataan. We love, love, love, this game. We have some really good friends who we wanted to introduce the game to, and thankfully they loved it as well. Can you tell?

We spent the night eating some grilled chicken and yummy macaroni and cheese (with spinach) that I've been wanting to make for awhile, and laughing, and eating ice cream, and laughing some more, and playing Settlers, and laughing even more. We had such a great time! Our friends have a little guy who is about the same age as Jackson, and the two of them played happily with their toys while we hung out. 

Our weekend ended with church today, and I have to share something with you that warmed my heart. We have a sweet lady whose parents are deaf, so consequently she knows sign language. She decided to use that knowledge to help others. Every Sunday she sits up front and signs the sermon to our few attenders who are hearing impaired. I've seen her sign to them before, but his morning, for whatever reason, I was overcome with thankfulness for her. Today's sermon was specifically on the gospel. That we fall short of the glory of God. We are all in need of a Savior, and because of Jesus, we have a right standing with God. Without that lady, that important message would not have been communicated to our hearing impaired.  My heart was touched. She doesn't have to give of her time and do that. And who knows the eternal impact she might have had today. I left so thankful for the people who serve at Wiregrass. Man, I love our church!

Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well! I'll leave you with that spinach macaroni and cheese recipe. It was yummy!

Baked Mac and Cheese with Spinach

Blessings,

Monica

Heavenly

Because I am seriously craving some chocolate.....I thought I would daydream about my absolute favorite chocolate indulgent. 


Oreo Truffles

Have you made them? Have you tried them? If you have, then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, then I feel so sorry for you :) You are missing out! 


Here is the recipe:


Oreo Truffles

**I would suggest using a food processor to mix the oreo crumbs with the (room temp) cream cheese. You will know when the contents have combined because it will turn into one big ball of  dark "dough". 


**Also, after I made the balls, I put them on sheet pans and put the pans in my freezer. I have a large bottom drawer freezer, so I understand that not everyone can do that. It is much easier to coat the frozen oreo balls in warm chocolate than trying to coat room temperature oreo balls. (They fall apart)


**When working with bakers chocolate, you have to be careful. The chocolate dries fast. So this is what I did:  I put a bot of water on the stove and heated the water until boiling. I melted the chocolate in a pyrex bowl in the microwave. Then I set the bowl of melted chocolate in the pan of boiling water. That way the chocolate stayed nice and warm (and melted) as I dipped the oreo balls in. 


Please go make these NOW! They are amazing and cheap!  (Well cheap unless you don't have a food processor, and want one for this recipe:) )


Happy eating!


Monica