Thankful Thursday

Today I am so thankful that the storms we experienced last night in and around St. Louis only took property, not lives.  Though the sirens were sounding last night in our area, what we experienced was not too bad, but people to the north and southeast of us got hit a little harder.  Please say a quick prayer for them today.

What are you thankful for today?

Tasty Snack Tuesday - Cinnamon Bun Smoothie

I actually made this last night for dessert, but it was so good I have to share it with you today.... and I will probably be making it again tonight!

This is probably about the closest you can get to a liquid cinnamon roll without ingesting upwards of 1000 calories.  This makes one huge shake, and if made with the almond milk I use, you're looking at around 170 calories.  You can't beat that, and this is seriously so delicious.

Cinnamon Bun Smoothie

1 banana, preferably sliced and frozen for at least an hour
1 cup milk of your choice (I am in love with Trader Joe's Unsweetened Vanilla Almond)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, more if you're me
1 teaspoon maple syrup
1 cup ice, more or less for thicker/thinner shake

Combine everything and blend until nice and smooth either in your food processor or with your immersion blender.  Enjoy!

I feel kind of bad that I don't have a picture for you, so how about I share a little piece of my happiness with you today -

This little silly guy came out of his room laughing, and when I turned around to see what he was doing, he was exactly like this - one arm pulled out of his onesie, asking for "help?"  He makes me laugh every day, and is growing too, too fast as he quickly approaches age 2.

I have to share a quick story with you that might make you laugh - yesterday I took James to Once Upon a Child (a gently-used kids' consignment store, if you're not familiar with it, similar to Kid to Kid if you have that where you live).  He needed some cheap sandals since we suddenly have beautiful weather, and after we found those, I browsed the clothing racks for a moment.  I was looking for cute little-boy rompers - you know, they fit like onesies, but have a shorts bottom?  Well, I for one think they are just really cute.  I knew that used 2Ts wouldn't fit James, so I went looking in the 3T section.  I couldn't find ANY.

And then it hit me..... those cute rompers don't come in size 3T because little boys at that size wear normal things like shorts and t-shirts.  I had to laugh at myself over this, though I was a little sad.  He will always be my little nearly 9-pound baby, and yet he's not..... oh well, every day brings even more fun, even if that has to mean growing a little more each day.

If you are in the midwest, you know we are getting some seriously beautiful weather.  James and I have a busy day planned to be out in that awesome weather, and hopefully you get to enjoy it too!  So go make this smoothie and take a nice walk and enjoy the day!

Recipe from Fit Sugar

Savory Sunday - Cheddar Beer Mustard Pull-Apart Bread

This one is for Liza!

I made a few delicious items this week, but this bread was seriously tops.  I might even like it more than the red velvet cake I made a week ago (yes, dear husband, I said that).  I'm usually one much more for all things sweet, but occasionally I want something nice and savory.  I had saved this bread recipe literally a few years ago, back when I was still a bit afraid of working with yeast.  But alas, those fears were conquered long ago, and I am now a fearless bread-baking machine!

I don't even have words to perfectly describe this bread other than as a flavor that is so beyond any flavor your mouth may have ever experienced.  In short, its amazing.  Amazing.  The cheese and mustard are perfect together, and there is a slight hint of stout flavor - and if you have read my blog before, you know that I am NOT a beer-drinker.  I have tried, people.  I have really tried to like it.  I just don't.  But used in baked goods?  Oh yeah.  Naturally, I didn't take picture during the actual process, so if my instructions seem unclear, please consult the original link found at the end of my post.  She has an excellent tutorial.  Here's the recipe the way I made it:

Cheddar Beer Mustard Pull-Apart Bread

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup dark beer, or whatever you like to drink
2 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (1 packet)
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, preferably room temperature

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I think spicy brown mustard would also be good if you like it)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
few dashes black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter with 1/4 cup of beer.  Once melted, remove from heat and add the remaining 1/3 cup of beer.  Set aside to cool to around 115 degrees F.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.  Once cool enough (you just don't want the butter-beer mixture approaching 140 degrees F, which would be death for your yeast), add the beer mixture to the flour mixture, stir until the flour is moistened, then add the eggs and stir til fairly combined.  Fit the bowl onto your stand mixer with the dough hook and knead for a few minutes.  Transfer to a lightly greased bowl and allow to rise for about an hour in a draft-free place.

Toward the end of your rise time, make the filling for the bread.  In the same saucepan that you used earlier, melt 3 tablespoons of butter.  Once melted, remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of mustard and the Worcestershire.  Set aside.  In a bowl, toss the cheese with the mustard powder, paprika, salt, and pepper.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Now is also a good time to butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan and turn it so that it is standing up on a short end, straight up in the air.

After your dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured surface.  Roll it out to a 20x12 rectangle.  Brush the mustard filling evenly onto the dough.  Next, slice the dough from the long side into 5 12-inch strips.  On the first strip, sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese evenly across the dough.  Place a dough strip on top and repeat until you have "cheesed" each strip and you now have a stack of 5 strips.  Using a very sharp knife, carefully slice your stack into 6 "decks."  After each slice, transfer the "decks" to the loaf pan (see why its a good idea to turn the loaf pan into a standing position?).  Allow the dough to rise again for about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  After the 45 minutes, bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes (30 was good for me), until puffy and golden brown.  Allow to cool for a good 5 or 10 minutes, then turn the bread out of the pan and try not to scarf down the entire loaf, which is pretty hard because, thanks to the way you "stack" the bread slices in the pan, each piece will just pull right off - makes it really hard not to continually pull a slice off.... well, if you're me, anyway.

Please make this bread.  You will not be sorry.

I hope you're getting ready for a great week.  We finally started getting some truly beautiful weather this week and it has been AWESOME.  I think that spring is finally here!  This is going to be a big month.  My baby, yes, still my baby, turns 2 on April 21, and we'll probably make a big birthday weekend of it with a trip to the zoo that Saturday, and then, unbeknownst to James, we will be taking a train ride on the day of his birthday at the Museum of Transportation.  The kid is obsessed with trains, so he should love it.

Also this month, I'm planning to suck it up and select a day to take my certification exam for ACE.  I've been studying a lot, but I'm pretty terrified.  I could use some prayer with that.  I have to keep reminding myself that God will not set me up for failure.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me, right?  RIGHT.

Have a great week!  Back soon :-)

Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

Fit Friday - Peanut Butter!

Yes, peanut butter.

So, I know I usually have a butt-kicker of a workout to share with you on Fridays, but I'm changing it up this week.  Today we're talking about peanut butter.

I will freely admit that when I'm browsing Pinterest, and I see those "make your own" this or that food posts, I tend to pass right over them.  Seriously, why would I want to grind my own flours, make my own butter, cheese, yogurt, whatever?  I can just buy those at the grocery store!

Well, the answer is simple - when you make it yourself, you know what goes into it.  Now, I'm not going off on you-should-make-everything-yourself, pre-packaged-is-really-bad-for-you, you-should-buy-everything-organic.  I myself use my fair share of artificial sweetener, I search for and then buy the cheapest real butter I can find, and cheese?  I've read a few posts on how to make it, and its not for me (the yogurt one I would be willing to try, just.... to try it!).

But peanut butter?  Hear me out.

Peanut butter is such a healthy-fat-super-food.  Now of course, like with anything, you don't need to go on a peanut butter binge, but seriously, its so good for you.  Its full of healthy, unsaturated fats, and has lots of protein as a bonus!  I love, love, LOVE peanut butter, and thankfully all other parties in my household do as well - my husband, son, and dog.  Sometimes if its still a couple of hours before dinner and I feel myself getting pretty hunger, I'll grab a spoonful, drink some water, and I'm good to go until mealtime.

I was really intrigued by this post about making your own peanut butter and adding in various spices to make it something different.  You'll remember from this post and this post that I adore chai-spiced anything.  So I started thinking, what if I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and a smidge of black pepper and salt to pure peanuts and pulverized it in my food processor?

The answer is the lovely picture you have above - delicious spicy peanut butter that has no added oil or sugar!  And OH IS IT EVER DELICIOUS!!!  So, here's a recipe, but there's not really much need, and you'll see why:

Peanut Butter

16 ounces dry roasted unsalted peanuts (or ANY kind you want)
add-ins of your choice - salt, vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa powder, chai spices.... experiment!

Add ingredients to a food processor and pulverize away - you'll need to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides.  Now just be patient!  Your peanuts will go from a gravel consistency to a thick paste, to smooth flowing delicious Heaven in your mouth!

I would recommend storing this in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  The natural oils that are released when you process the peanuts can go rancid.  Here's the good news though - this peanut butter does not stiffen up like other natural peanut butters when refrigerated.  It maintains its smooth loose consistency.

Humor me and give this a try.  I promise you its delicious and so easy.  Now, we still buy regular Jif.  Its perfect for making certain items that need the added stabilizers.  But when you just want a pure peanut butter fix?  This stuff is tops.

Inspired by Love Veggies and Yoga

Thankful Thursday

I've seen these types of posts on many other blogs, and I think its time they were added to mine.  I don't know about you, but on a daily basis, I have a LOT to be thankful for, and sometimes, like when you're having a rough day, if you can just think of a few things you're thankful for, it can really brighten your day.

So here we go!

Today I am thankful that yesterday, just after 9am, when I started getting a nasty migraine, I had the option to call my husband to come home and relieve me from my mommy duties so I could rest it out.  I know that a lot of people might not have that flexibility, and as someone who gets hit HARD with migraines when they do happen, I am so thankful that I had an "out."

And on a lighter note, I am super thankful that the powers that be over the exercise program Insanity saw fit to schedule a certification workshop less than 10 miles from our house next month!  We're calling it my "very strange taste" Mother's Day present, but yep, on May 11, yours truly will officially become an Insaniac!  I can't wait!

So come on, what are you thankful for today/yesterday/this week?  I bet you've got something!

Tasty Snack Tuesday....on Wednesday

I hope you're having a great week!  I can't believe its already Wednesday!  The first week of April!  And I can't believe that this little guy will be 2 this month:

We were out and about yesterday, and I had been wondering if, now that he sits forward-facing in his carseat, he would fall asleep in the car or not.  Well, you can probably deduce from the picture that the answer is yes!  We were almost home, it was about 2pm (aka nap time), he took one last look at me and then those eyes were done!  He was completely OUT as I transitioned him from the car to his bed, where he slept for nearly 3 HOURS.  This mama got some good study time in yesterday!

Yesterday I made 2 pretty tasty, very healthy snacks.  They were both protein shakes, and I don't have pictures, but I will share the links and recipes with you!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries Shake

1 cup sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons Hershey's dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup milk of your choice (I used almond)
1/2 a ripe frozen banana
ice
optional - 1/2 scoop of chocolate protein powder or 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, both of which will give you a protein boost (I used protein powder, it was awesome)

Combine everything in either a food processor, blender, or (my personal easy favorite) use your immersion blender.  Blend until smooth, adding ice to the consistency you want.  And in case you're wondering, YES, an immersion blender will definitely cut right through crushed ice - I can't vouch for whole cubes.

Recipe adapted from Gazing In

Chocolate Protein Frosty

3/4 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
ice
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (again could sub Greek yogurt for the same protein boost)
2 tablespoons Hershey's dark cocoa powder
cinnamon to taste - optional, but I love turning simple chocolate into Mexican chocolate

Blend away and enjoy!  This recipe is said to be exactly like sipping a Wendy's chocolate frosty.... I originally followed the recipe exactly as it was written on the original site, and I did not get this feeling.  Make no mistake, it's delicious - I just didn't think it was truly like a frosty.

Recipe adapted from Meals and Moves

Look what I got....

3 years ago exactly, on April Fool's Day no less, Chris and I got engaged on a weekend trip to Hershey, Pennsylvania, and to remember it, he came home with my favorite flowers, orchids!