30 Kasım 2012 Cuma

Jeremy's Christmas Journey Guest Post

To contact us Click HERE
As part of the blog tour for the new book, Jeremy's Christmas Journey, I invited author, Scott Johnson to share a few thoughts about how this story came to be.
  "Jeremy’s ChristmasJourney is a story about a boy’s struggle to find faith in Christ. He isparalyzed and experiences many of the struggles and challenges that come from adisability. At the beginning of the story he is very down and doubtful. OnChristmas Eve he has a remarkable journey that changes everything. Hisextraordinary experience allows him to hear the testimonies of notable biblecharacters that transforms him on multiple levels. Ultimately I hope readersand listeners will draw closer to Christ and understand His importance in theirlife through the book and music.

The story itself has also experienced a remarkabletransformation from a short story for my family to enjoy at Christmas time, toa novel and musical CD. I feel very blessed to have penned the story and lyricsof Jeremy’s Christmas Journey.Sometimes I read parts of the story or hear the lyrics of the song and askmyself “Did I really write that?” It is a surreal experience." --Scott Johnson 


Author Bio:
Author Scott A. Johnson spent most of his childhood in Utah,where he gained a love for creative writing. Recognizing his potential at ayoung age, his teachers and family encouraged him to explore his developingwriting talents.

Scott continued to craft imaginative and original stories through his teenageyears, including original short stories that are beloved by his family. Hepublished his first book, "Nutrition: A Word of Wisdom," in 2009, andhas published more than 200 health and fitness articles in various online andprint publications.

Scott, his wife and four children reside in beautiful Utah County where theyenjoy the mountains and outdoors. Scott is regularly asked by his children toshare an original story, and he gladly obliges.

Tour Page: http://thebookbug-hogan.blogspot.com/p/jeremys-christmas-journey-blog-tour.html
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA6TjiPsQFQ
CD Slideshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsLuchCashI&feature=youtu.be

·        Website:http://optimallifecoaching.wix.com/authorscott
·        YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSs6arOr68ooFehnQeucXYA
Purchase Links:
·        Barnes& Noble 
·        CedarFort 

Jason Wright Stops by Rachelle's Writing Spot

To contact us Click HERE
I have a special guest today for my Thursday Thought!

I hope you enjoy this video message from NYT Bestselling author Jason Wright.I'm currently reading his latest book, The 13th Day of Christmas. Jason is a talented writer who inspires and enlightens.



Visit Jason's website for more info http://jasonfwright.com/ 
and
http://www.the13thdayofchristmas.com/

Marva Ferguson has a very personal Christmas tradition that happens every December 26. As an aging widow, the tradition means more to her now than it ever has. Her newest neighbor, nine-year-old Charlee, loves Christmas too. But her family has fallen on hard times and things get worse when Charlee becomes critically ill. Then, on December 12, Charlee makes a wonderful discovery. A mysterious note is delivered that promises twelve days of gifts and stories that will reveal the truth behind the beloved Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. As the days go by, the gifts hint at a possible lost lyric. Was there once a 13th day of Christmas? And if so, could its magic change or save a life? If Marva knows something about the letters from the Elves, she s not telling. However, you don t live as long as Marva Ferguson and not have a secret or two including a whole lot of faith in your apron pocket. Filled with laughter, tenderness, and hope, The 13th Day of Christmas invites us to see how an old Christmas favorite can turn into a true Christmas miracle.
 Every year, we love taking our kids shopping to buy gifts for children their ages to teach them about giving. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

This week's food coupons were not very good :-(

To contact us Click HERE
After a few weeks of great deals after Christmas, I was disappointed to find just one measly little insert in this week's paper. .....

Also, at Meijer this week their main sale was the '10 for $10' sale that they do every couple months. Usually there are at least  a few items in this sale that make it worthwhile to use your coupons, but this week all the items are Meijer brand items.

Hopefully the food deals pick up again next week!

Back from vacation........Back to coupbloggin'!

To contact us Click HERE
CVS has some great deals this week on paper products and razors. Check out the ad HERE!


Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief is on sale for $4.99 (Yowzers!)
--After a $4.00 ECB reward, the final price is 99 cents. If you use the 75 cents off colgate coupon from this weeks paper, it can be yours for only TWENTY FIVE CENTS! There is a limit off 2 per household for this deal, so if you use two coupons you can double your savings.




Glade air freshener spray is on sale, at half off, for $1.00 a can. I couldn't find any coupons for it, but it is still a great price even without the coupon.



Schick Hydro products are ALL on sale, AND there are mega savings to be found in this week's Sunday paper. Check out page three of the CVS sale's ad......see how they tell you exactly which coupons to use? How convenient......


However, the ad failed to mention that there are also $4.00 coupons available to save on Schick Hydro Silk women's razors and carteridges, as well as $4.00 coupons to save on men's Schick Hydro 5 Power Select razors -------> ------->

Meaning that after ECB reward reimbursement AND $4.00 coupon application, both items can be yours for only $1.99!

The best part is that there is a SIX item limit in this sale. Buy multiple papers and cash in on this great deal!

29 Kasım 2012 Perşembe

Jason Wright Stops by Rachelle's Writing Spot

To contact us Click HERE
I have a special guest today for my Thursday Thought!

I hope you enjoy this video message from NYT Bestselling author Jason Wright.I'm currently reading his latest book, The 13th Day of Christmas. Jason is a talented writer who inspires and enlightens.



Visit Jason's website for more info http://jasonfwright.com/ 
and
http://www.the13thdayofchristmas.com/

Marva Ferguson has a very personal Christmas tradition that happens every December 26. As an aging widow, the tradition means more to her now than it ever has. Her newest neighbor, nine-year-old Charlee, loves Christmas too. But her family has fallen on hard times and things get worse when Charlee becomes critically ill. Then, on December 12, Charlee makes a wonderful discovery. A mysterious note is delivered that promises twelve days of gifts and stories that will reveal the truth behind the beloved Christmas carol The Twelve Days of Christmas. As the days go by, the gifts hint at a possible lost lyric. Was there once a 13th day of Christmas? And if so, could its magic change or save a life? If Marva knows something about the letters from the Elves, she s not telling. However, you don t live as long as Marva Ferguson and not have a secret or two including a whole lot of faith in your apron pocket. Filled with laughter, tenderness, and hope, The 13th Day of Christmas invites us to see how an old Christmas favorite can turn into a true Christmas miracle.
 Every year, we love taking our kids shopping to buy gifts for children their ages to teach them about giving. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

This week's food coupons were not very good :-(

To contact us Click HERE
After a few weeks of great deals after Christmas, I was disappointed to find just one measly little insert in this week's paper. .....

Also, at Meijer this week their main sale was the '10 for $10' sale that they do every couple months. Usually there are at least  a few items in this sale that make it worthwhile to use your coupons, but this week all the items are Meijer brand items.

Hopefully the food deals pick up again next week!

Back from vacation........Back to coupbloggin'!

To contact us Click HERE
CVS has some great deals this week on paper products and razors. Check out the ad HERE!


Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief is on sale for $4.99 (Yowzers!)
--After a $4.00 ECB reward, the final price is 99 cents. If you use the 75 cents off colgate coupon from this weeks paper, it can be yours for only TWENTY FIVE CENTS! There is a limit off 2 per household for this deal, so if you use two coupons you can double your savings.




Glade air freshener spray is on sale, at half off, for $1.00 a can. I couldn't find any coupons for it, but it is still a great price even without the coupon.



Schick Hydro products are ALL on sale, AND there are mega savings to be found in this week's Sunday paper. Check out page three of the CVS sale's ad......see how they tell you exactly which coupons to use? How convenient......


However, the ad failed to mention that there are also $4.00 coupons available to save on Schick Hydro Silk women's razors and carteridges, as well as $4.00 coupons to save on men's Schick Hydro 5 Power Select razors -------> ------->

Meaning that after ECB reward reimbursement AND $4.00 coupon application, both items can be yours for only $1.99!

The best part is that there is a SIX item limit in this sale. Buy multiple papers and cash in on this great deal!

salted caramel apple crumble bars.

To contact us Click HERE

Hands down the best apple crumble I have ever eaten.

Usually, the apple filling of apple crumble tastes so bland. I mean, you taste apple apple apple but that's pretty much it. It's monotonous. And because green apples are not exactly on my favourite foods list, it was so hard to find an apple crumble I actually liked. Plus, most store bought apple crumble have soggy crusts.

You know what they say, if you can't find one that you like outside, make it yourself.


These bars have an apple filling so rich and flavorful that they threw me totally off guard. I also liked that the filling wasn't too liquid and messy. All my previous disappointments with apple crumble lowered my expectations for a really good rendition of this dessert. What sets these bars apart is the salted caramel sauce. Most recipes just mix the apples with brown sugar as the sweetener. That's okay, but not enough for me. Salted caramel sauce adds a ton of caramelly flavour without making the bars too sweet. I'm not partial to green apples but they worked really well here.

I rarely make such a big pan of dessert. I usually divide recipes that call for 9 x 13 inch pans by four to fit in my loaf pan. Strangely, instead of being disconcerted from such liberal use of butter, I enjoyed portioning out an entire cup's worth of it. It was also fun to drizzle caramel sauce over such a large surface area. Your movements become a lot less restricted.


I was initially worried that the base would become soggy because of the juices of the apples so I pre-baked it for 15 minutes, until the top was a light brown. The crust of my bars managed to escape the soggy horrors even 12 hours after baking. The original recipe also instructed to divide the dough into half- half for the base and half to crumble on top. But I found that such a ratio left the bottom with such a thin layer of dough. I think it's better to divide the dough such that the bottom crust takes 3/4 of the total amount.

Another change I did to the recipe was to omit the vanilla and cinnamon from the dough because I wanted something straightforward to go with the very complex apple filling. Personal preference. I used brown instead of white sugar in the filling, and used less too.

If you need a life-changing apple-crumble-hater-converting apple crumble recipe, here you go. And you're welcome.


Salted Caramel Apple Crumb Bars
makes a 9 x 13 inch pan's worth
recipe slightly adapted from here

This caramel sauce recipe uses less heavy cream and makes up for the missing amount with evaporated milk, a dairy with lower fat content. As such, the overall fat content in this sauce is lower and is able to remain liquid and pourable even when refrigerated.

For the salted caramel sauce:
1 cup sugar
100ml heavy cream
100ml evaporated milk
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt

For the apple filling:
5 cups diced apples (green ones are preferable)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cornstarch
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice

For the crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the salted caramel sauce: Combine the heavy cream and evaporated milk in a small bowl. Heat the sugar over medium-high heat in the bottom of a large saucepan until the sugar has liquified and turns into a deep amber colour. Make sure you swirl the pan occasionally to promote even caramelization of the sugar. Off the heat, slowly stream in the milk mixture while whisking quickly to prevent the caramel from bubbling up too much and overflowing. Add the butter and and salt and stir to combine. Cool the caramel completely before using. I suggest that you make this the day before.

For the crust: Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add the cubes of cold butter and on low speed, mix until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add in the egg and mix until the dough starts to clump together.

Take 3/4 of the dough and press it into the bottom of a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan evenly. Chill in the fridge or freezer while you preheat the oven to 350F. Store the remaining 1/4 of the dough in the fridge as well while you prepare the apple filling.

For the apple filling: Combine the diced apples and lemon juice in a large bowl and toss to coat the apples. In another bowl, mix the flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice together. Pour this mixture over the apples and carefully combine.

Bake the crust for 15 minutes or until the top is lightly browned. Pour the apple filling over the crust and drizzle over the salted caramel sauce. You will only need 1/2 to 3/4 cup. Crumble the remaining dough over the apples and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the crumble topping has browned and the apples are soft. Cool completely before slicing.

Creamy & Rich Hot Chocolate {Vegan}

To contact us Click HERE
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It's been surprisingly warm here in Oklahoma, but last week we had a cold day so I made me and the kids hot chocolate after school. I forgot how much we love hot chocolate! 
To make my hot chocolate extra creamy I use SO Delicious coconut creamer - I always have some in the fridge, it's a must have around my house! If you don't have coconut creamer, which I really really hope isn't the case, feel free to sub in more milk.
This is just a basic hot chocolate recipe that I've been making for several years now, but here are a few variations if you want to make life more exciting:
Orange Hot Chocolate: Add some orange slices and 3 or 4 strips of orange rind to the milk before heating. Remove orange slices, but not peel, before serving. Garnish with orange rind.
Mint Hot Chocolate: Add a few drops of mint extract into each mug before serving.
Mexican Hot Chocolate: Add in 1/2 - 1 Tbsp. cinnamon and 1/4 tsp. chili powder to milk before heating. (Everyone likes different levels of heat, so adjust cinnamon and chili powder to taste)
*You may also like this vegan hot chocolate from The Tasty Alternative
  • 1 C Milk Alternative, I used coconut milk
  • 1 C SO Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer, original
  • 1/2 C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 Tsp. Honey, optional




1. Pour the milk and coconut creamer into a small saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, then stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Stir until melted (there may still be small particles of chocolate chips, I love that!). Add more milk if it's too sweet or honey to sweeten.
3. Serve with coconut whipped cream if desired.

28 Kasım 2012 Çarşamba

Jeremy's Christmas Journey Guest Post

To contact us Click HERE
As part of the blog tour for the new book, Jeremy's Christmas Journey, I invited author, Scott Johnson to share a few thoughts about how this story came to be.
  "Jeremy’s ChristmasJourney is a story about a boy’s struggle to find faith in Christ. He isparalyzed and experiences many of the struggles and challenges that come from adisability. At the beginning of the story he is very down and doubtful. OnChristmas Eve he has a remarkable journey that changes everything. Hisextraordinary experience allows him to hear the testimonies of notable biblecharacters that transforms him on multiple levels. Ultimately I hope readersand listeners will draw closer to Christ and understand His importance in theirlife through the book and music.

The story itself has also experienced a remarkabletransformation from a short story for my family to enjoy at Christmas time, toa novel and musical CD. I feel very blessed to have penned the story and lyricsof Jeremy’s Christmas Journey.Sometimes I read parts of the story or hear the lyrics of the song and askmyself “Did I really write that?” It is a surreal experience." --Scott Johnson 


Author Bio:
Author Scott A. Johnson spent most of his childhood in Utah,where he gained a love for creative writing. Recognizing his potential at ayoung age, his teachers and family encouraged him to explore his developingwriting talents.

Scott continued to craft imaginative and original stories through his teenageyears, including original short stories that are beloved by his family. Hepublished his first book, "Nutrition: A Word of Wisdom," in 2009, andhas published more than 200 health and fitness articles in various online andprint publications.

Scott, his wife and four children reside in beautiful Utah County where theyenjoy the mountains and outdoors. Scott is regularly asked by his children toshare an original story, and he gladly obliges.

Tour Page: http://thebookbug-hogan.blogspot.com/p/jeremys-christmas-journey-blog-tour.html
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA6TjiPsQFQ
CD Slideshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsLuchCashI&feature=youtu.be

·        Website:http://optimallifecoaching.wix.com/authorscott
·        YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSs6arOr68ooFehnQeucXYA
Purchase Links:
·        Barnes& Noble 
·        CedarFort 

This week's food coupons were not very good :-(

To contact us Click HERE
After a few weeks of great deals after Christmas, I was disappointed to find just one measly little insert in this week's paper. .....

Also, at Meijer this week their main sale was the '10 for $10' sale that they do every couple months. Usually there are at least  a few items in this sale that make it worthwhile to use your coupons, but this week all the items are Meijer brand items.

Hopefully the food deals pick up again next week!

Back from vacation........Back to coupbloggin'!

To contact us Click HERE
CVS has some great deals this week on paper products and razors. Check out the ad HERE!


Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief is on sale for $4.99 (Yowzers!)
--After a $4.00 ECB reward, the final price is 99 cents. If you use the 75 cents off colgate coupon from this weeks paper, it can be yours for only TWENTY FIVE CENTS! There is a limit off 2 per household for this deal, so if you use two coupons you can double your savings.




Glade air freshener spray is on sale, at half off, for $1.00 a can. I couldn't find any coupons for it, but it is still a great price even without the coupon.



Schick Hydro products are ALL on sale, AND there are mega savings to be found in this week's Sunday paper. Check out page three of the CVS sale's ad......see how they tell you exactly which coupons to use? How convenient......


However, the ad failed to mention that there are also $4.00 coupons available to save on Schick Hydro Silk women's razors and carteridges, as well as $4.00 coupons to save on men's Schick Hydro 5 Power Select razors -------> ------->

Meaning that after ECB reward reimbursement AND $4.00 coupon application, both items can be yours for only $1.99!

The best part is that there is a SIX item limit in this sale. Buy multiple papers and cash in on this great deal!

peanut butter pretzel chocolate cake.

To contact us Click HERE

This cake consists of chocolate cake with a crunchy pretzel disk in the middle, glued by peanut butter frosting. This is probably my third or fourth time making this chocolate cake. In between, I've experimented with many of what most consider to be the "best" chocolate cake recipe ever. So right now, this chocolate cake is no longer my favourite, but I chose it because I wanted a cake that was spongey and not too rich, because of all the frosting and pretzels I was going to pile on later. While I admit that I was looking for something not so heavy in taste, this recipe would benefit from using brown sugar instead of white in the cake batter. It would really bring out the flavour of chocolate better. I tried a different recipe for peanut butter frosting this time, but it ended up being too stiff. I would fall back on this one, which is fluffy and easy to spread.

I had a lot of issues with the pretzel disk. I thought I could take a pretzel crust recipe and bake it in a round. When it cooled, I would pick it up and plonk it onto the center of the bottom layer of cake, with a dab of peanut butter frosting to hold it in place. If it had went the way I planned, I would be overjoyed. Jump-over-the-moon happy.


When I made it according to what I had imagined, the pretzel disk downright refused to hold together. I could barely pick it up. I crushed the pretzels even more finely and tried again, with more butter. Didn't work. Finally, I decided to use an egg white. It made perfect sense- egg whites are natural binders. So I added one, disproportionately so, I'm afraid, and although I ended up with a product that stuck together so perfectly I could hold it like a frisbee, the excess moisture from the egg white made the finer pretzel crumbs soggy. I was lucky I didn't bother to crush all the pretzels I used into powder form- I still had a significant portion of them in medium pieces. Those pieces managed to retain their crunch. All in all, I was rather happy, because now I know that the secret to keeping that pretzel disk together is to use egg whites. The correct amount of egg whites, more accurately. Then, you would have a crunchy cohesive crust without having to crush the pretzels to smithereens.


In case you are wondering about those spheres of black on the top of the cake, those are salted caramel chocolate cake balls. My cake baked up unevenly with a skewed dome and I had to trim off quite a fair bit of cake. Not wanting to waste that much cake, I crumbled the extra cake and mixed in a bit of salted caramel sauce, just enough to form the cake into balls. Salted caramel sauce is indeed very handy to have on hand. Almost too convenient, in fact. I can barely stop myself from going to the fridge with a spoon in hand to have a mouthful of the sweet-salty amber liquid.

27 Kasım 2012 Salı

Muffins With Individualized Toppings {Grain/Dairy/Soy/Refined Sugar Free}

To contact us Click HERE
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About once a week I make some kind of breakfast cookie, cake, or muffin for my family to eat on throughout the week. Last week I made these breakfast cookies from Against All Grain. And after 5 or 6 days of eating them with breakfast when I told them, "we still have breakfast cookies in the freezer" they moaned and said, "What else do we have?"

So this week I decided to make something that would make everybody happy all week long - muffins with individual toppings! It's a win-win for me because everyone can be happy while I only have to make one muffin recipe. Not only do we have variety, but I can make muffins with less sweet toppings for me and the hubby to enjoy and sweeter topping like chocolate chips and raisins for the kids :)

Here are the toppings I used, but feel free to use whatever you and your family like:
-Walnuts with coconut palm sugar
-Frozen Blueberries
-Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips
-Raisins


  • 1 1/4 C Blanched Almond Flour, Honeyville Brand
  • 3/4 C Arrowroot Flour
  • 1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder (click here for grain free recipe)
  • 1/4 Tsp. Sea Salt
  • 1/4 Tsp. Cinnamon
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1/3 C Unsweetened Applesauce
  • 3 Tbsp. Earth Balance Coconut Spread (or coconut oil)
  • 1/3 C Almond Butter
  • 1/2 C Honey
  • 1 Tsp. Gluten Free Vanilla
  • Toppings Of Choice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or spray with cooking oil. Set aside. 
3. Mix together all the dry ingredients... almond flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until they are one beautiful flour.
4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the coconut spread, applesauce, honey, and almond butter until well combined.
5. Add the eggs to the wet ingredients, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Then add the vanilla.
6. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until well combined.

7. Evenly divide the batter into 12 baking cups. Add toppings. If using frozen fruit, lightly coat in arrowroot flour before dropping into batter.

8. Bake 17 - 20 minutes or until nicely browned. Cool completely.

Jeremy's Christmas Journey Guest Post

To contact us Click HERE
As part of the blog tour for the new book, Jeremy's Christmas Journey, I invited author, Scott Johnson to share a few thoughts about how this story came to be.
  "Jeremy’s ChristmasJourney is a story about a boy’s struggle to find faith in Christ. He isparalyzed and experiences many of the struggles and challenges that come from adisability. At the beginning of the story he is very down and doubtful. OnChristmas Eve he has a remarkable journey that changes everything. Hisextraordinary experience allows him to hear the testimonies of notable biblecharacters that transforms him on multiple levels. Ultimately I hope readersand listeners will draw closer to Christ and understand His importance in theirlife through the book and music.

The story itself has also experienced a remarkabletransformation from a short story for my family to enjoy at Christmas time, toa novel and musical CD. I feel very blessed to have penned the story and lyricsof Jeremy’s Christmas Journey.Sometimes I read parts of the story or hear the lyrics of the song and askmyself “Did I really write that?” It is a surreal experience." --Scott Johnson 


Author Bio:
Author Scott A. Johnson spent most of his childhood in Utah,where he gained a love for creative writing. Recognizing his potential at ayoung age, his teachers and family encouraged him to explore his developingwriting talents.

Scott continued to craft imaginative and original stories through his teenageyears, including original short stories that are beloved by his family. Hepublished his first book, "Nutrition: A Word of Wisdom," in 2009, andhas published more than 200 health and fitness articles in various online andprint publications.

Scott, his wife and four children reside in beautiful Utah County where theyenjoy the mountains and outdoors. Scott is regularly asked by his children toshare an original story, and he gladly obliges.

Tour Page: http://thebookbug-hogan.blogspot.com/p/jeremys-christmas-journey-blog-tour.html
Book Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA6TjiPsQFQ
CD Slideshow: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsLuchCashI&feature=youtu.be

·        Website:http://optimallifecoaching.wix.com/authorscott
·        YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSs6arOr68ooFehnQeucXYA
Purchase Links:
·        Barnes& Noble 
·        CedarFort