Author Archives: samanthaandmy5

Double Chocolate Cake {Keto}

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I’m trying to experiment with new recipes at least a few days a week.  I also have a new obsession with avocados. I used to think they were so gross, but now they are among my favorite foods. Now I eat one almost every day.   Avocados are super nutritious and are one of the approved fruits for the keto diet.

 

Anyway, I was trying to make an avocado chocolate pudding the other day. After letting it refrigerate for a couple of hours I tasted it. It was not flavorful. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either. I decided that I didn’t want to waste it, and would see if I could make a cake with it as part of the batter to add moistness. The cake I made turned out to be delicious, and I am so glad that I didn’t waste that avocado.

Keto Double Chocolate Cake

1 avocado (mashed)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 cup Stevia (or sweetener of your choice)

1 egg

1 cup of Torani Sugar-free syrup (I used Belgian Cookie)

1/4 cup of softened butter

2 cups of almond flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. meringue powder

1/2 cup of Lilly’s sugar-free chocolate chips

Directions:

Mash the avocado. Add wet ingredients together. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients a little bit at a time.  Lastly, gently add the chocolate chips in and stir until combined.

Pour into a greased baking dish or cake pan. Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick put in the middle comes out clean.

Let completely cool before trying to cut it.

This would be a lovely cake for a special occasion like VALENTINE’S DAY!

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Educational Sites Worth Visiting

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As a homeschool parent, I am always looking for websites to help bring lessons to life, to enrich, or to explain in better ways all the things we are learning. Some of my favorites right now are Khan Academy, Mensa For Kids, and the History Channel. There are so many websites that are truly wonderful, but I want to share why I am particularly impressed with these three right now.

While my children do not yet realize it, we are going through the top eleven pieces of art recovered by the Monuments Men. The first questions of our second-semester art were: “Is art important? Is art worth protecting? Is art worth risking a life to save and why?” They each had to write out their responses to these questions, and we will revisit their responses at the end of the semester after we watch the movie. Khan Academy has been a tremendous help as we learn about these works of art. I just put the piece of art we are studying into the search area and a video with two professors explaining the piece of art comes up. It also has a quiz to make sure that the information is understood. I especially enjoyed the lesson on the Ghent Altarpiece. They explained so many tiny things that I would never have even noticed and most certainly not understood the importance of without the lesson.

 

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photo credit: Khan Academy

 

Mensa For Kids is another great site that we are currently using for our science lessons. It presents the lessons and has great questions for review. It also includes other sites to visit that help teach the lessons as well. I am fairly picky when it comes to science and find this site to be a very comprehensive one for the lessons we are covering.

Obviously, the History Channel is a great resource for teaching history. Personally, I learn best visually and auditorily so watching things on History Channel is very helpful.  We are currently learning about the slavery and the Civil War.  Roots has been remade and is on the History Channel. Their website has a full guide to help students as they watch the show. It is very comprehensive and has many other sites to visit. It also has thought-provoking questions. There are activities that are suggested to help the viewers explore their own roots and to understand the time period better.

We are very excited to have discovered these sites and to be learning more from them every day.

Caramel Chocolate Cookies {keto}

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IMG_3500IMG_3501It’s been awhile since I’ve shared a recipe so I wanted to do that today.

My husband and I were looking for a treat, so I decided to whip up a batch of cookies.

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

1 stick of softened butter

2 cups almond flour

1 1/2 cup stevia

1/4 cup salted almonds (chopped)

1 bar of unsweetened chocolate (chopped)

1 Tablespoon of caramel extract

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking soda

Mix all the ingredients together. Place in small spoonfuls on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until lightly browned (it took mine 7-8 minutes).

Enjoy!!

 

 

 

 

Dream On

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I have a saved Zillow search for certain kinds of houses. These homes share one major quality. They’re all on the water.  Lots of homes come through my email, but I found my actual dream home in my inbox the other day. As I scrolled through the pictures, I actually got a little teary. This home has EVERYTHING I could ever want or dream to have.

This home is gorgeous! It’s on the water. It is picturesque and romantic. It has a history. I think I long for something with roots. I want something with a story. I think that’s why I have a fascination with antiques and cemeteries (I don’t think I’ve ever told you all about that). I love a good story.  As I look through the pictures, I can imagine so many different conversations. I imagine all the things the house could say if it could speak.

 

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photo credit: Zillow

 

 

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photo credit: Zillow

 

 

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photo credit: Zillow

This search is really a dream search. I will probably never move from my landlocked home. I will probably never have the kind of money it would take to buy and maintain my dream home. So I will continue to dream of the stories of the past in the homes I find in my inbox.

 

Love It {ClickList}

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During our vacation to Hilton Head, we used ClickList at Kroger for the first time. We almost always shop at Kroger at home, but I prefer to wander through each aisle looking for inspiration. During vacation, I just want to get back to the beach or pool. We signed up for ClickList and started a list before we left. The day before we left, I finalized and paid for the order. When we arrived in Hilton Head, we just drove to the store, parked in the designated area, called the number to let them know we were there and VOILA, the groceries were loaded in the car! It was truly awesome! One of the neatest things is that if an item isn’t available then they will give you the larger size or a better brand at the same price. They will ask if you’re okay with the changes. We always were. The employees were really awesome and super friendly.  I would highly recommend this service, especially on vacation!

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Dauphin Island

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We had already planned our annual Hilton Head trip and a trip to Disney World for 2017 when we decided that we needed to have one trip that included our eldest daughter. We didn’t want to spend a bunch of money and we had a very specific timeframe. I read that Dauphin Island, Alabama was voted one of the “must visit” islands by Southern Living. We looked at VRBO for a few days and then decided upon a newly constructed home right on the Gulf. The home was called “The Sea Turtle” and we loved it.

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A few things make this island very unique. There are no major stores on the island. There is a small grocery store that is more than sufficient for almost everything you need. Wal-Mart is over the bridge and is quite far. One big trip to stock up on major supplies should be enough. There are very few restaurants on the island as well. We ate all but one meal at home. The kitchen in the house was very well equipped and provided everything we needed to make meals at home.

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We rented a jet ski one day and had a wonderful time riding around the island. Some of the family enjoyed fishing. We all had a great time playing in the sand.

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Everyone we met while we were there was so nice! Our neighbors even brought us extra fish they caught. This was yet another special thing about the island.

By far, the neatest thing that happened was that a sea turtle laid her eggs under the house.  The volunteers with Share the Beach Dauphin Island came to the house and were amazing! The mama turtle had gotten confused due to the lights under the house being on. (On a side note: we thought we had turned them all off, but someone must have flipped a switch upstairs and accidentally turned them on again.) She was found in the ditch in front of the house. A huge group of people moved her, and she was put back into the water. Her eggs hatched on September 3. If you visit the Share the Beach: Dauphin Island Facebook page you can get a glimpse of her babies. We can all say that this was such an exciting thing to witness.

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This vacation was one of the most relaxing ones we had in a long time.

 

Merry Christmas

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I hope that you and yours are having a wonderful Christmas. We hosted Christmas Eve dinner last night after our Christmas Eve church service. Today, we went to both sides of our families. We’ve been so busy but I’m hoping that in the next few days we have some time to reflect and get ready for the new year. Merry Christmas to you!!

Making Christmas Easier

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I am one of those crazy people who loves to wrap gifts. I like everything about it: the tape, scissors, paper, folding, etc. I know I’m a little strange.

One reason people don’t like wrapping is because it can get overwhelming. I asked around and found that most people wrap all at one time. I do not. I wrap as I buy. I also pick one paper design for each family. My husband’s side and my side have completely different wrapping papers. Our family of seven has several different papers but all in a specific color scheme which changes year to year.

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These little things help me easily see which present goes to which house and which ones stay right here. I also keep them in two different sections. As I wrap as it comes in, this makes it easier to tell where it goes.

I’d love to hear any other tricks or tips how you make this season a little easier!

 

Pirates and Pals Voyage {Disney World}

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IMG_2491IMG_2962IMG_2966We wanted to try something new on our last trip to Disney World. David just loves all things pirate, so we thought the Pirates and Pals Voyage would be a great thing to try. We were not disappointed.

It started out with an optional scavenger hunt with a prize out of the treasure chest for those who completed it. Then we moved into a room where we got to meet and get pictures with Captain Hook and Smee.

The room was loaded with desserts. We were able to eat them there and take them on the boat as well. Everything was yummy and was certainly like party food.

Later, we were separated into two groups and then we boarded the boats. Our guides were pirates as well. We sang songs and played trivia. We were then able to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the lake. We also were able to catch part of the Electric Parade on the water. When we returned to the hotel, a very special guest was waiting for us. Peter Pan was there to see how we liked our trip and to take pictures. David had the best time. The rest of us did too. I would highly recommend this excursion to anyone but especially those with little ones who love pirates.

Cheese Dip {Recipe}

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Punctuality is a trait that many people lack, especially in my family. I have major issues with time. It drives me to near insanity to be late and almost equally crazy when people are more than just fashionably late. One thing that exacerbates the situation is hunger. For Thanksgiving this year, I decided to try to alleviate at least part of the irritation by making a cheese dip for those who were on time and were hanging around for everyone else show up. Everyone in my family loves cheese and almost everyone likes a dip of some kind. This was easy to throw together. My family has already requested it again.

Cheese Dip (Keto, Low Carb)

1 block of cream cheese (I used the jalapeno kind)

1 small can of diced jalapenos (juice and all)

2 small blocks of hot pepper cheese (shredded)

1 small block of cheddar cheese (shredded)

Mix all the ingredients together. Put into a baking dish and sprinkle about 1 cup of shredded cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and hot in the center (it took about 20-25 minutes).

I served this with Stacy’s Jalapeno Pita Chips. It can be eaten with veggies and any meat as well to keep it low carb or keto.

Enjoy!