Category Archives: Food

Mall Nuts: roasted brown sugar cinnamon pecans {recipe}

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You know when you go to the mall and you turn the corner and the sweet amazing aroma of roasted nuts hits you in the face and it is heavenly?! My girls love those little snacks. I wanted to make some of those sweet treats at home for an after-school snack. Here is how I did it.

I took one egg white. I added 2 tablespoons of water and whisked it until it was foamy. I then added 2/3 cups of brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. of salt. I then threw in a 10 ounce package of pecans. I stirred until every pecan was covered.

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I then coated my crock pot with cooking spray and poured them in. I cooked them on low for about 3 hours and stirred them every now and then.

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When they were about done, I put them on a parchment paper line cookie sheet and put them in the oven for about an hour at 250 degrees.

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The girls said they actually tasted like those nuts from the mall. Mission Accomplished!

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Breakfast Pizza

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image.jpegI’m really trying to do better at making a variety of breakfasts and lunches for my children this school year. A huge time stealer of our time is mealtime. I made a menu of our breakfast, lunch, after-school snack, and dinner plans for each day. I was able to stick to it and found that each meal took up less time because there were no negotiations. One of the breakfast items was breakfast pizza. Here’s the recipe.

Breakfast Pizza:

1 refrigerated pizza crust

6 eggs

6-8 slices of bacon

1 cup shredded cheese

Cook the bacon. Set aside and crumble. Bake the crust until lightly brown. Scramble the eggs. Once all the ingredients are cooked, take the crust and layer the eggs, bacon, and cheese. Put in the oven at 350 degrees until cheese is melted.

This is a very hearty breakfast. It would make a great breakfast for test days. I hope you enjoy it if you try it!

 

 

After school snacks

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Tuesdays are long days around here. I wanted to make the kiddos a snack that would be a treat and would give them energy and keep their bellies full until close to dinner time.

These are little Monster no-bake balls. They are quick and easy to put together.

No-bake Monster Balls:

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 1/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup m&ms

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

mix it all together and form into balls.

Enjoy!

 

 

Vanilla Frappuccino Recipe {Low Carb}

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imageMy children are big Starbucks fans. If calories and carbs were of no concern to me, I would love it too! One of the drinks I really enjoyed during my last pregnancy was the Vanilla Bean Frappuccino. It doesn’t have any coffee in it and is caffeine-free. Of course, that was probably a contributor to my big weight gain with my son. Every time we go to Starbucks, I think about how tasty that drink was and how I will probably never get one again. I decided to try my hand at making a low carb version of my favorite Starbucks cold drink.

It’s not a perfect copy, but it is cold, creamy, and has a great vanilla taste.

 

Loved in the South’s Low Carb Vanilla Frappuccino

1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 Tbl.sugar free vanilla syrup

2 sugar substitute packets

ice

Put in all in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour in a glass and enjoy!

If calories were not a concern, I would have added 2 Tbl. of heavy whipping cream and a dollop of whipped cream on top. I believe that those additions would make it even more like that favorite coffee shop.

 

 

Coca-Cola Cake {Recipe}

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My oldest daughter has never really liked cake. She has almost always requested pie for her birthdays. A couple of years ago, I made a Coca Cola cake one day with some Coke we had left from a party.  My children LOVE Coca-Cola, so I figured this cake might be a hit.
It definitely was! For her birthday last year, my oldest daughter requested the first cake I can remember her requesting! This was the cake.
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Photo Credit: coca-colacompany.com

 

 

Cake Ingredients: 
1 cup Coca-Cola
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup softened butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
Place flour, sugar, marshmallows, and salt into a bowl and stir together. In a saucepan, add the butter, Coca-Cola, and cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Stir constantly.  Pour into the flour/sugar mixture. Stir well. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, and vanilla extract. Pour this egg mixture into the other bowl and stir until well combined. Pour into a greased 9×13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees until a toothpick comes out clean. It usually takes about 35 minutes. When you are within a few minutes of your cake being done, start on the frosting.
Frosting ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
6 tablespoons of Coca-Cola
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 cups of powdered sugar
In a saucepan, place 1/2 cup butter, 6 tablespoons of Coca-Cola, and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Stir until well combined.  Pour over the cake while it is still hot.
Enjoy!

Caribbean Rum Cake

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We had a beachy theme for my husband’s birthday since we both are having major beach withdrawals. He wanted a rum tasting party. So, to go along with the theme, I made rum cake. Now, he wouldn’t try it because it had flour and sugar in it, but the rest of the party-goers were all for it. The cake must be made well in advance because it has to soak up the rum butter sauce for at least 12 hours. It was an easy cake to make, but does take patience. The adults all loved the cake. I will tell you, that this cake was actually better one to two days after the party (so 2 to 3 days after it was made). It has a little bit of a sugary crunch on the outside and is very moist on the inside. I got the recipe from King Arthur’s website.  I am listing the ingredients, but go to their site to find out how to make it.

Ingredients

RUM CAKE BASE

  • 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup instant vanilla pudding mix, dry
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup white or golden rum
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon butter rum flavor (optional but excellent)
  • 1/4 cup pecan or almond flour, for dusting baking pan

RUM SOAKING SYRUP

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup white or golden rum
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 

If you try it, I hope you love it as much as the grown-ups at our party did!

 

 

 

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This site has an auction to help the Meyers family (The Freckled Fox), if you want to check it out.

 

Getting Ready for Shark Week

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When I was in the hospital with my first baby it was Shark Week. For years, we knew the start of school was right around the corner when Shark Week was upon us. For the past couple of years though, Shark Week on Discovery Channel has been in June. I wish they would’ve kept it the same time as always. Last year, I was planning all kinds of festivities to go along with the week. Then I realized I had already missed it. I was so disappointed! Since I know it starts this Sunday, I can use the plans I had last year.

Some cute ideas can be found at Community Table.

There are free printables at Pretty Providence

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Photo credit: Pretty Providence

Teachers Pay Teachers has a great little bundle all about sharks.

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Photo Credit: TPT

 

I bought a few things from Amazon. I got some shark plates, cups, and toys.

I know they sell shark fruit snacks at Kroger so I’ll be getting some of them.

On Monday, we will have a seafood dinner in honor of Shark week. I got the recipe from The Fresh Market. We’ve had it once before, and it is so good!

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Baked Blue Cheese and Lime Shrimp

Ingredients

2 lbs. 21-25 ct peeled & deveined shrimp
juice of 2 limes
1 stick unsalted butter
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
2 oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 tbsp. hot sauce
1 (14 oz.) box brown rice
– paprika, to taste
fresh parsley, to taste
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350º. Place shrimp in a single layer in a 9×13-inch baking dish; drizzle lime juice evenly over shrimp and set aside.

In a 4-quart pot over high heat, melt butter; add cream and bring to a boil. Add cream cheese, blue cheese and hot sauce, whisking until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over shrimp and bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven.

Meanwhile, cook rice according to directions on package; set aside and keep warm.

Serve shrimp and cheese sauce over cooked rice; garnish with paprika and parsley.

I’d love to hear if anybody out there plans on doing anything fun for Shark Week.

Keto Fried Chicken

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It will probably come as no surprise to anyone, but fried chicken is my very favorite food. I don’t actually remember my mom making it very often. I just know that it is one of my favorite foods. I like it crunchy and if I can get a little spice in there too, it’s even better. I rarely eat it. I probably went years without it. So sad! Then, my husband said, we can fry foods on keto. Eureka! I may be able to have fried chicken again.

So, one night we got adventurous. We coated the chicken breasts in egg. Then we dipped them in parmesan cheese.  We used the kind that comes in a cylinder on the shelf. Then we dipped it again and coated it again. We then put in into a fryer. We bought a small fryer for about $20 at Christmas time. We actually did all this outside because we tried this once before and it really makes a lot of smoke. Because the breasts we used were so large, (I guess those chickens had really been hitting the free weights hard) it took forever for them to cook. The next time we do this, we decided that we will make them into chicken fingers. That will make them more manageable and make them cook faster.

These are completely allowed on the diet because the have a lot of fat. Now, I still don’t eat them very often. I like them a little too much and go a little overboard. Also, while we can eat these kinds of fried foods on a keto diet,  I still prefer to eat healthier.

If you are like me, and get a hankering for some fried chicken while on a keto diet or even a gluten-free diet, then this is for you!!

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Keto Fried Chicken

2 pounds of chicken breasts or chicken fingers

1 1/2 to 2 containers of shelf stable parmesan cheese

Salt, pepper, any other spices to taste

6 eggs, beaten

In a medium to large bowl, beat the eggs. In a lasagna pan or large Ziploc, put the parmesan cheese and if you desire spices, add them as well. Drop your chicken into the egg, dredge in the parmesan mixture. Do this two times. When your oil is very hot, carefully drop your chicken into the fryer. The outside should turn a lovely brown. Use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Place on a paper towel covered plate to help pull out any excess oil. This takes time when using a small fryer. You may want to keep them warm in the oven until all of them are done. 

Enjoy!

If you try this, please let me know how you liked it.

“Magic”Cookie Recipe

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My family really likes cookies. Pretty much any cookie will make them happy. I made these cookies a few years ago and brought them to the pool. One of my daughter’s friends tasted them and declared they were “magic”. Why? Because they just made her instantly happy she said. Hey, it doesn’t get much better than that.

When we were all teaching in VBS a few weeks ago, she asked when I was making some more of those “magic” cookies. The next day I brought her a batch. Her eyes literally filled with happy tears.

I don’t know if anyone else will enjoy them as much as our dear friend does, but here’s the recipe to bring a little “magic” into your day!

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Loved in the South’s Magic Cookies

2 cups almond flour

1 cup Splenda

1/2 cup Torani sugar-free brown sugar cinnamon syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup lower sugar cranberries

1 1/2 to 2 tsp.  orange extract (depending on how orangey you want it)

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 stick  softened butter (the best butter is Kerrygold)

Mix the softened butter, Splenda, syrup, and almond flour together. Add the rest of the ingredients. Drop into small balls on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees until edges turn light brown. I baked them 8-10 minutes. Enjoy!

 

“Fried” Squash

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One of my favorite foods is fried squash. I always looked forward to the days at school when fried squash was a side item. One of our friends who has a farm brought us some squash that he’d grown. Since we stay away from regular flour, I decided to make these with almond flour and bake them.

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Oven Fried Squash

3 medium squash, cut into circles

1/2 to 3/4 cup almond flour

salt to taste 

Spray the squash with cooking spray, coat with almond flour. Place on cookie sheet and then in an oven that’s been preheated to 425 degrees. Bake, turning them halfway through. I baked them for about 15 minutes. 

Enjoy!