Peace

2012 was a very challenging year for me personally. I began the year as I always do, with a Daniel Fast. The following months were filled with nothing but struggle and I couldn't understand why- was it because I shorted my fast by 2 days? Was I not praying enough? By July I hit the bottom...I hate to say rock bottom because it's so cliche....but really that's about where I was dwelling.

Luckily for me I got to do a redo. I'm surrounded by a great support group of people who allowed me time to completely fall apart. After a month of this, my mom asked me to take a class to become a reiki practitioner. I have always been interested in learning, but when she mentioned it, in my funk, I didn't think it was the right time. Still, she encouraged me to go and thought it would really help me...so I went.

I can't really describe what the class did for me, how it changed me on a profound level, I can only say simply that it helped me clear my head and reconnect with myself. I began to learn what was important to me, and what I had to let go. I learned to slow down and meditate. You have to understand...these were things I've wanted for years and never knew how, it amazes me still to think how it just happened when I needed it most. I am ending the year in the most incredible place, knowing more about who I am and what I want. I feel peace. And to think that I needed my life to explode before finding it...but as I reflect back on 2012 I am extremely grateful for the gifts it has brought me.

Here is a little information to learn what Reiki is..

Reiki… What is it?

Reiki is an ancient Japanese relaxation technique that offers you physical well being and has a positive effect on your emotional and spiritual equilibrium. There is a gentle laying on of hands while a client (fully clothed) rests on a padded table or chair. Energy flows through the hands of the practitioner to the client using seven basic hand positions. Reiki stimulates the bodys natural ability to self-correct and restore balance.

It is energy work.

All cells in the body have one common task: They produce energy. The foods we eat, the environment we live in, the chemicals we ingest (medications, caffeine, nicotine, etc.), and emotions we carry have a direct effect on the balance of the body’s energy flow. When this cellular energy becomes unbalanced our body does not work at its full capacity. Illness and disease are results of this imbalance.

The use of Reiki can help bring the body’s energies back into proper function to help the body work in a more natural and efficient manner. Reiki influences the physical part of the body to create a more harmonious and balanced state, through a ripple effect, but is not a direct physical influence. Resistance in the physical body can influence the effectiveness of the benefits of Reiki. Non-resistance in the emotional body can connect to the physical body creating open communication for improvement.
Source

I wish you all Peace in 2013! 

Hiatuses

Guess who's back.

 

Back again.

 

MEEEEEEEEE!!!

 

It's been a minute but I am looking forward to cooking and baking and blogging and baking again!!

Coca Cola Cupcakes

Writing the title of this post just now made me wonder - do people still say "Coca Cola" ?  I always call it Coke...but I thought if I called these Coke Cupcakes you maaaaaay get the wrong idea.  So~ Coca Cola Cupcakes they will be! 

I finished my 21 day fast!  And what better way to celebrate than with cupcakes.  I didn't have ingredients handy for many of the cupcakes on my to-bake list, so I had to improvise with what I had.  The result- yummo!  I enjoyed this cupcake, it's very very light, which is important in a January cupcake isn't it though?

Please do follow the link to the recipe I adapted from - Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper cupcakes.  It looks absolutely wonderful!

Coca Cola Cupcakes

adapted from this recipe

1 box chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 stick melted butter
2 eggs
1 cup Coca Cola
1 tsp cherry extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients together well.  Pour into prepared, lined, muffin pan and bake for 15 minutes.  Tops will spring back when lightly touched.  Place on cooling rack until completely cool and frost with your favorite frosting.  I used a fat free meringue, recipe to follow soon!

Resolution 2012

2012 - No more excuses.



Guacamole

As mentioned in my previous post, I am fasting.  I'm doing the Daniel fast, the same one I did last year, and it went so well that I know not another year will ever pass without me starting every January the same way.  I am in my final week now, the fast is 21 days, and let me say- it can be extremely tough!  On the 23rd, my first day off the fast, I will be drinking coffee, which I had to give up, and eating PIZZA! 

But that's all I can write about that now or else I'll just be torturing myself.  For now, I'm doing my best to have variety and keep it interesting with the fruit, veggies, and whole grains that I am allowed to eat.  This guacamole really hits the spot, especially on days where I struggle the most.

Guacamole

recipe from allrecipes.com

3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Blend everything together either in a food processor or stir together if you prefer it chunkier.  I made this batch too smooth, so the next day I took the leftovers and added in a cut up avocado and tomato.  This is the best guacamole recipe!

Game Day Pizza Dip

Yesterday I was quite content with spending the day in my PJ's.  In the morning I found myself lounging on the couch, checking facebook on my phone, when I saw a post from the Pioneer Woman that her show on the Food Network was about to start.  I was watching Modern Family on my dvr so I missed the first half of her show.  Then I went and let my pup out and missed the ending too!  When I came back Ms. Paula Deen was on, making this pizza dip.  I decided at once we needed it for game day, and by we I mean hubs because I'm fasting.  So I threw on some clothes, ran to the Publix, and got all the ingredients.

This smelled soooo good when I was making it, I don't know why I tested my willpower like that.  But rest assured, I WILL be making this for the Superbowl!  I just watched Paula make it and did what I remembered, changed it to hubs tastes too.  Here is the original recipe.

I started out sauteeing turkey sausage crumbles, turkey pepperoni, red and green peppers, and onions.  You can use your favorite pizza toppings, Paula had mushroom and bacon as well to hers.

Then add in 2 blocks of cream cheese.  You should probably soften first so you don't end up with this like me:

Add in a generous sprinkling of Italian seasoning with the cream cheese.

Then throw it in a pam sprayed casserole dish and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  That's it!  So easy.

Paula also made breadsticks from pizza dough which I'm sure would set this over the top, I just toasted some garlic bread and cut it into strips. 

Halloweenie

I swear, I've posted nearly every day in my head.  Imagine my alarm when I sign on and there are hardly any posts!  Where'd they all go?  Oh yeah, never left my head.  I have been cooking and taking pictures so one of these days I'm going to get around to putting up some more fabulous recipes!

In the meantime, some Fall/Halloween favorites I found on Pinterest:

Candy Corn Jello Shots

Creative idea- 2 bundt cakes=1 pumpkin!

Happy Halloween!!!

57 days until Christmas!!  :o)

Chicken and Herb White Pizza

Anyone else addicted to Pinterest?  Eh?  Eh?  I am completely addicted.  I even have the iPhone app and everything, any spare moment I have I'm looking at other people's pins and repinning as my own.  I haven't tried anything out yet, with all the fun recipes and crafts on it I can't wait!

I'm kinda stuck in a dinner rut - get home from work all tired and not feeling like cooking, I often find myself making the same things over and over.  I'm tired of the same things!  Today after work I went straight to the grocery store, picked up a Cooking Light, found a section called "Dinner Tonight" and said SOLD!  And I'm so happy dinner tonight was pizza!  I walked around, grabbed the ingredients for tonight and tomorrow's slow cooker dinner and came home to throw this marvelous creation together....it was fabulous!   I didn't follow the recipe 100% - I only found pizza dough in the bread aisle, not the refrigerated kind the recipe calls for.  And fresh pecorino Romano cheese?  While I'm certain tastes amazing, was not in this girl's budget.  I got store brand packaged shredded mozzarella.

I just looked over the recipe and see that they say it serves 6---teehee...hubs and I ate the whole darn thing.  Who eats just one pizza slice I ask you!?

Chicken and Herb White Pizza

Recipe Adapted from Cooking Light

1 premade pizza dough

Cooking Spray

1 Tbsp Butter

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 Tbsp all purpose Flour

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup reduced fat milk

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1 1/2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken breast

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1Tbsp chopped fresh chives

1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 450.  Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic, cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add flour and pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly with a whisk.  Gradually add milk, stirring constantly.  Cook 3 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir until cheese melts.

Spray pizza dough with cooking spray and place on baking sheet.  Spread white sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2 inch border.



Top with chicken and onion.  Bake at 450 on bottom oven rack for 12 minutes or until crust is golden.  Sprinkle with herbs.

YUM!!!!

Cornbread

Thank you for the bake sale ideas!  I ended up making pumpkin cream cheese muffins, chocolate covered cherry cookies, and apple pie bars.  Yeah ~ I tend to go overboard when baking, especially if it's for other people!

A while back I mentioned that I wanted to create my own versions of recipes that I have at restaurants.  Today I did something easy to start out..  One place I always used to go to while living up north was Boston Market.  I loooove Boston Market!  I could go in and just eat the mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, and cornbread..but I wouldn't feel right eating nothin but carbs like that so I throw in some chicken and make the ultimate decision - mashed potatoes or mac n cheese!?!?  Excruciating, that decision is.

But oh!  The cornbread is so delicious too..I love a slightly sweet cornbread and that's hard to come by.  This time I totally fess up to cheating.  Know what I did?  Yes, I googled.  "Boston Market Cornbread recipe"  And this is what came up.  The reviews were good so I gave it a go.  Result?  It's really really good.  Boston Market?  Pretty close but not there yet...I thought it could use the slightest more milk I think.  The recipe calls for 2/3 cup...heck I may throw a whole cup in next time and see how that goes.  And one more thing ~ it calls for softened butter.  My butter was soft but I mixed with a spoon so it didn't get dispersed as it should have, could be another reason that the moisture wasn't 100%. (I know you are saying - Uh..yeah!  Duh!) Would I make this again?  Hellllllls yeah!  Enjoy!

Boston Market Cornbread

recipe from Food.com

Ingredients

2 (8.5 oz) boxes jiffy corn muffin mix
1 (18 oz) box butter recipe cake mix
5 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 butter (softened)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all dry ingredients.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into greased cupcake pans or mini loaf pans.  Bake at 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool slightly in the pan, until they pull away from the side a bit)  Remove from pan and serve warm.

Note: I made 6 jumbo muffins, 12 regular size, and 2 muffin tops with this recipe!

You gonna eat the rest of your cornbread.

Tell him to get his own damn cornbread.  He can't have my cornbread.  There'll be consequences and repercussions!

A Question for the Masses!

We are having a fundraiser bake sale for the American Heart Association at work.  Lots of people have offered to bring in cookies, cupcakes, and brownies.  Which leaves me to wonder what to bring in myself - turtle topped rice krispie treats?  Banana bread? 

What is your favorite thing to bring or eat at a bake sale?

Progression

 This is what I like to call....................Progression.

I've really been having a hard time with blogger lately, anyone else?  I can't format and it's hard just to type a post and have it lined up right.  Then to highlight some words is a beast in and of itself.  

I'm going to get this sorted out, and when I do I have a wonderful oatmeal raisin chew recipe for you.  Even non Oatmeal raisin cookie lovers enjoy this cookie!

Charleston

Last week I was in the mood to go out and take some pictures with the nikon.  I have never taken any classes or lessons or even read a manual on taking photos.  I don't change the settings on the camera and all I know how to do is zoom in/zoom out!!  AND forget photoshop.  And so now I share a few untouched unsophisticated shots from around my city!

Pasta Aglio E Olio

 

Pasta Aglio E Olio

recipe from food.com

• 1 lb spaghetti, pasta (uncooked)
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
• 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 4 tablespoons fresh minced garlic, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• salt and black pepper

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 20 mins

1. Bring about 5 quarts of water to a boil with 3 teaspoons salt; add in the spaghetti and cook only until firm-tender; drain but RESERVE 1/2 cup pasta water.
2. Start this when you are boiling the pasta; Heat about 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat in a skillet.
3. Add in 3 tablespoons garlic and about 1/2 teaspoon salt with black pepper to taste; saute stirring often until the garlic is light brown (about 6-8 minutes) remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon minced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, parsley, lemon juice and about 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking water; mix to combine.
4. Transfer the drained pasta to a large serving bowl; toss with remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil and the remaining reserved cooking water.
5. Add in the garlic mixture; toss well to combine.
6. Season with more black pepper and salt to taste if desired.
7. Serve immediately with grated Parmesan cheese.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/pasta-with-garlic-and-oil-aglio-e-olio-159894#ixzz1ReIdfoTk

I'm having one heck of a time with blogger, I think it's rebelling against me because of too much time off!

Pasta Aglio E Olio - with garlic and oil.  So simple yet I searched high and low for the perfect recipe.  This one from food.com maybe the winner!  I enjoy the addition of the lemon juice and red pepper flakes - gives it a really nice kick.

Independence Day

I hope everyone has a fun, safe 4th of July!

Beach Tablescape

I was just "gently reminded" that I forgot to post pictures of my tablescape that I blogged about a short while ago.  Sorry!  The heat, and blah blah excuses excuses!

I was going with a beach theme, and buying the deocrations from afar, here in Charleston, and the party was in Indiana.  Clearly, I didn't think that one through well enough, because I had to bring all those breakables and bulk on the plane with me.  I've never been much of a bag checker when traveling, but I was forced to because I had to bring 2 bags to carry everything.  I didn't want the bottles to break, so my decorations were carry on and my clothes went to the depths of the plane somewhere...and luckily arrived safely with me in Chicago.

One thing about buying decorations from afar, I didn't realize how big the table was.  It ended up being much much muchier than I imagined, so everything got spread out on the table and it didn't turn out like I thought it would in my head...but it still turned out pretty good I'd say.

I bought a fishing net, sand colored tablecloth, along with some marshall's finds - the blue bottles, near the sea sign and sand dollar.  A little Target representing in the flowers, and then got the sea glass and shells from a craft store.  (I'll have to do an update later on where I got the fishing net and little anchor decorations, because I'm blanking right now!)