National Coffee Day!

Who knew? 

It's National Coffee Day. How have YOU spent this magical day? 

Krispy Kreme is giving away a free Cup of Coffee today with no purchase necessary! It's actually very strategic of them. 

Any sane person would drive up to get a FREE cup of coffee, see the HOT donut sign and buy one twelve hot, gooey donuts. Cheers to Krispy Kreme and their strategic marketing.

In lieu of National Coffee Day (and every day the weather has reached over 75 degrees this summer), I made a cup of iced coffee. Which is also free. If you make it yourself. With your own ingredients.

Iced Coffee

1 6oz cup of coffee, chilled

1/3 cup skim milk

2 TBSP of your favorite creamer
5 ice cubes

Mix all ingredients, insert straw (not shown), to keep your teeth from getting stained as you drink. Trust me, this is a real thing.

I bought this nifty glass carafe from Home Goods for $3.99 and it holds 8 cups of coffee. Each week I brew 8 cups, throw it in the fridge, and its a cinch to make iced coffee every morning.

And right now I'm "lurv-ing" Coffee Mate's Brown Sugar Maple Latte flavored creamer. Mmmm, its like maple syrup in your coffee. Me and Will Ferrell in the movie Elf would get along nicely. Because of his love for maple syrup. And his love for singing. And Christmas.

Happy National Coffee Day! 

When life gives you limes...

I've had one of those weeks. The kind where you wake up, think everything is going to be great, and you go to lunch on a Monday, and then your whole life gets flipped upside down.

The kind where life hands you limes. Not lemons per-se. Limes. Because you see the sweet silver lining, but its still darn tart. 

So with the limes life handed me, I made Guacamole. 

Because I love it and it makes me happy. And life is pretty tart right now and I could use a lot of happy.

This is creamy, zesty and crunchy and will fill your stomach up with sunshine. And happiness. And guacamole.

Guacamole

3 very ripe avocados (press peel with your finger it should give a bit but not go through peel).

2 small tomato, seeded and diced

1/4 Red onion, diced

1 lime, juiced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 Tbsp Jarred Jalepenos, diced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in a bowl. Scoop avocado out of its peel. Using a fork, or potato masher, mash all ingredients, mixing as you mash until it reaches the desired thinness/thickness you want--(I love a thicker guacamole.)

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith develops perserverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

All in a Whisper...

I came across a verse this weekend while away on an amazing retreat at The Cove.  It was about Elijah, as he was trying to run away from the Lord. He felt defeated, and alone, and scared. And God came to him.

"The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave." 1 Kings 19:11-13

Sometimes when we are looking for God to appear in our lives we look for the earthquakes or strong and mighty winds, BOLD occurances of His mighty existance. There are often times when the Lord can seem absent, and it can be far too quiet and lonely for our liking. And that's when He comes. In a whisper. A gentle whisper, to let us know He has not left us, and that He has a plan for you and me.


May you stop for a moment today and listen for God's whisper to your heart.

Pappadew Veggie Sandwich

Have you ever had Panera Bread's Medditeranean Veggie? Me too! And I can't get enough of it!

So much so, that I decided to make my own version. And fall in love with it, instead. And save some moolah in the process.

So, after carefully reading and finding all most of the ingredients listed on their menu, I made a sandwich that will change how I eat lunch forever. Or at least for the next couple of weeks until I get sick of it.

First, I must introduce you to the Pappadew:

He's jarred, he's sweet and he also has a zip at the end after you bite him. Him and his friends will cost you $7.00 a jar (ugh) but it will be worth every penny. Because these guys are fun to eat by themselves, or on any other sandwich you may or may not be making.

Pappadew Veggie Sandwich

2 tablespoons of your favorite hummus. (I used HT garlic hummus)
2 slices of tomato
Salt and Pepper, to taste
2 large slices of cucumber
2 mediun slices of Onion
Dash Cilantro
2 tablespoons Pappadew Peppers, diced
1 slice pepperjack cheese, or 2 tablespoons Feta Cheese
1 Roll, split in half

Assemble sandwich. Spread hummus on inside half of roll. Add tomato, sprinkle with salt & pepper, add cucumber, onion, cilantro, pappadew peppers, and cheese.

Eat, say mmmmmm. Eat some more...

"For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 4:15

Hummus Dolloped Cucumbers

I like the word "dollop". It makes a sound in your head like "plop" when you say it. It also reminds me of the Daisy sour cream commercial..."it starts with a spoon and a dollop, a dollop, a dollop, of Daisy."

So, anywho, moving along to what is soon to be your new favorite party hors d'oeuvre (or appetizer for all you non-fancy folks.)


I found this recipe idea on my new favorite Tasty Kitchen website from blogger The Realistic Nutritionist: Avacado Hummus Cucumber Bites.

And I lurve hummus and cucumbers. I usually dip cucumbers into my hummus. And then I sing in my kitchen about how good it is. But what really got me excited about these is the fun and fancy way you display them.

I made these for a baby shower this week and decided rather than making my own hummus and adding avacado, I would take a short-cut. I am a lover of short-cuts when it comes to food.

Short-cuts make me think of my little sis. And this one time when we were in highschool me and we decided to race back to our beach house. And she took a short-cut to beat me. And then I yelled "SHORTCUTS MAKE YOU FAT". And she stopped and looked at me and laughed. Well this shortcut doesn't.(Make you fat). It makes you skinny and happy.

Hummus Dolloped Cucumbers:

Take 1 cucumber, and peel it. (I like to only remove some of the peeling for an added crunch and dramatic effect.)

Take your favorite hummus- these are my 2 fav brands: Sabre and Harris Teeter (yes, its new and tasty!) I love these because both brands put these yummy little treasures in the middle of their hummus:

For these cucumbers (as you can see by the empty container), I used the HT version with pine nuts. I scooped a little dollop of plain hummus from the outside of the container on a spoon and slid it onto the cucumber with my (clean) finger. Then I picked up a little treasure pine nut and seasoning from the middle of the container and placed it on top of the hummus dollop to make it fancy.

These were a huge hit at the shower. Everyone wanted to know what they were and what was on top of the cucumber and commented on how pretty they were. It really does change the flavor some how. I think its in the "dollop-ing". It somehow makes the hummus become a fluffy poof of chick-pea heaven in the middle of your cucumber bite.

I highly reccomend making these for your next shindig.

Busy Morning Buritto

I have a confession. I love breakfast! But I never have time to sit and leisurly eat breakfast while enjoying a steaming cup of coffee. Nope. I reserve that time for sleeping. Because it makes me feel good. And less tired.
So, when I am cooking breakfast, it has to be quick, and something portable I can eat in the car on the go. (While safely holding the wheel at 10 and 2, yes, of course.)

And lately I have been craving McDonald's Sausage Breakfast burrito. I decided to whip up my own version this morning, but a far less greasy-make-you-feel-sluggish version. And it's full of spinach! So you get points for being healthy and it counts as a 3 mile run. (Right?)

Busy Morning Burrito

1/4 cup spinach (I used frozen, either is fine)
1 egg
2 tablespoons pre-made salsa
2 tablespoons shredded cheese
1 small tortilla shell
Dash Red Pepper flakes
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1/2 tbsp butter

Sautee spinach in butter over med-high heat until spinach is tender, add red pepper flakes while cooking. Crack egg into pan and scramble egg and spinach around, until egg is no longer runny (unless you like that sort of thing). Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Assemble burrito: On Tortilla shell, place egg and spinach mixture in middle. Layer salsa and cheese on top. Fold into a neat little burrito.

Wrap in aluminum foil or paper towel to eat as you run out the door.

Printable Recipe

Oh--remember my post about the Chalkboard wall preview? Well we finished it! And it has been a super fun thing in our house to leave notes on, write menus (yes I know thats cheesy), and such.

And even to draw pictures of pigs on, whereby your husband will later come along and rename said pig after your very fat and snorty dog, Roxy:

*no, we did not hang the outlet crooked. This is user error of the camera*