Easter 2024

It snowed again this Easter in Arizona. (Well, it snowed at higher elevations.)

We left beautiful weather in Mesa to travel up the hill to windy Prescott Valley to see my parents. We arrived in time to enjoy a tasty lunch at the restaurant now in the location of a place my husband and I spent some of our dating days.

We got to walk around the Prescott Courthouse Square.

After a lovely nap, I frosted our Easter cake 

and gave my mom a haircut.

While it did snow Sunday, there was no snow on the roads, so I went for a short 5K run. 

It felt warm and fun until the snow picked up and kept hitting me in the face. 

Mom managed to make some quick cinnamon raisin biscuits before going to there early church service, and I whipped up some omelets. Some sweet strawberries made for a nice garnish.

We attended our old church and saw some special friends.

Then home for our now traditional lamb shepherd's pie that my husband makes.

It was a sweet weekend. Christ is risen; He's risen indeed!

Cranberry Relish Mug Cake

Got cranberry relish left over from Thanksgiving? Or maybe you're planning to make some for Christmas? (I'm talking about the ground up fruit stuff, not that gelatinous stuff that comes from a can--though it might work if you blended it. I don't know. I haven't tried.) Then make this delicious mug cake! With minimal ingredients, its comes together in a flash, cooks in the microwave, and is all yours!

Ingredients:

2 T applesauce
2 T milk
2 T cranberry relish
1 t vanilla
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking powder

Directions:

1. In a microwave safe mug, whisk together the wet ingredients.

2. Whisk together the flour and baking powder and add into the mug.

3. Stir to combine.

4. Cook for 1-1.5 minutes in the microwave. (This mug took 1.5 minutes in my microwave.)

Loosely adapted from this cranberry mug cake from Jim's Kitsch Kitchen

The Best Day

Sometimes I have a day I didn't know I needed. Saturday was that day.

As I headed out the door for my long run, the tag I put to help differentiate shoes caught my eye. "Live joyfully," it said. I thought, "Yes, that's what I want to do this season." Whether it was a Holy Spirit conviction, an intention (or both), I thought, "It's going to be a good day."

We had breakfast a little late, but my husband fixed pancakes. I REALLY like pancakes, so I could not complain. After breakfast, we chatted about priorities and ordered our Christmas cards. Then we headed out for shopping.

It takes a little bit to get from place to place in the city, but it felt like we had time. I tried on about four pairs of shoes at Big 5 Sporting Goods before picking a pair. With a coupon, they only cost $16. Woohoo! For walking/work shoes, these should do me just fine.

Walmart was crowded, but with my husband pushing the cart, it felt less arduous. We scored some things we needed (like shoe insoles $5 off because my mom gave me a coupon and another pair discounted for torn packaging) and some we didn't (sparkly nail polish and Christmas pajamas). We bought some gifts to contribute to a family in need. We considered more Christmas lights for our home (but ultimately decided to wait on them). We looked for some things we did not find, but they did not feel too urgent.

We came home in time for me to balance the budget and throw lunch together. I napped. We sat by the Christmas tree and crocheted and knit. I cooked a few things and we ate a dinner I made yesterday. We put together our gingerbread kit. It was a chill day, but a good day.

Sure, some things went wrong on Saturday. My husband and I started to get a little frustrated with other during our morning chat. We had to go back and forth across Walmart several times because we forgot things. Our Christmas card order was not ready. There were some sketchy people in the store. My husband's anticipated Amazon package didn't ever come to our house. We spent the day together, though. Chores did not weigh heavily. We had margin. We enjoyed our home. We enjoyed being together.

While not a momentous day, Saturday was a good day, a simple day, a sustaining day. Sometimes I look for big events for best days, but maybe best days are more about the small things, the little things, the time together that cements forever. Praise God for proof of that in Saturday.

Sour Milk Oatmeal Muffins

 

Have some milk that soured in your fridge? Whip up a batch of these beauties and store them the freezer for sustenance all week long!

Ingredients:

1 c rolled oats

1 c sour milk

1 c whole wheat flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/4 t salt

1/2 c applesauce

2 eggs

1 1/2 t vanilla

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, soak rolled oats in the sour milk for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Whisk together dry ingredients and add to the rolled oats and sour milk.

4. Whisk together applesauce, eggs, and vanilla, and add to the large bowl.

5. Stir until all ingredients are moistened. (Be careful not to over stir!)

6. Portion batter into 12 muffin cups. (I prefer to use muffin liners to make clean up faster.)

7. Bake 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Adapted from this buttermilk oatmeal muffins recipe from Lady Behind the Curtain

Apple Banana Baked Oatmeal

Yep! Still in it! Here is another great baked oatmeal with a fall theme!

Ingredients:

1 banana, mashed

4 eggs

1 c oats, blended 

1 t cinnamon

2 t baking powder

1 apple, diced

Directions:

1. Mash the banana.

2. Add in the eggs, and beat together.

3. Fold in oats, cinnamon, and baking powder.

4. Add diced apple.

5. Bake in a greased pan 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Healthy Red Velvet Overnight Oatmeal

It's been a long time since I posted an oatmeal recipe. I know! I still eat it almost every day. I just don't experiment as much, hence no new recipes to post. This time, though, I have something for you: a way to get in your fruits, veggies, carbs, and protein all in one. Feel free to portion this recipe to meet your needs.

Ingredients:

1 c water
1 fresh beet
1 c unsweetened applesauce
1 c rolled oats
4 T cocoa powder
2 t cinnamon
4 scoops protein powder* 

*I use the plant protein powder from Winco and each scoop is about 3 T.

Directions:

1. Pierce the beet. Place it in a bowl and cover it gently. Microwave 5-10 minutes, or until done. Let cool slightly.
2. Place the beet and 1 c water in a high powered blender and blend until smooth.
3. Mix together the remaining ingredients and divide portions based on your needs.
4. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Top with vanilla Greek yogurt, if desired for a true red velvet experience.

This recipe was inspired by Flora and Vino's red velvet overnight oats with raspberry puree and Rise and Run's red velvet superhero muffins.

Afghan 73

Well, this afghan did not turn out quite like I expected. To be fair, I didn't make it quite like the pattern, either. It was meant to use bulky yarn, and a size N hook. I had regular yarn and a size J hook. It was supposed to be 22 x 28 inches with a border. Mine turned out to be 40 x 51 inches, and I ran out of yarn to do a border. I aimed for Arizona sunrise color based on a color hex I found, but the stores did not have the exact colors, so I used what I could find. All in all, I am happy with this afghan, even if it turned out different. Now, the question is: Do I gift this, or keep it? I think it looks quite nice over the back of our couch, if I do say so myself!

Pattern: Quick and chunky crochet baby blanket pattern from Crafting Every Day

Yarns: Off brand black, Red Heart pumpkin, Red Heart saffron, Crafting Smart butter, and Red Heart turqua

The Flag Cake Tradition

Making flag cake for Fourth of July is a tradition in our family. When did it start? I couldn't really remember, until I went back through photo albums looking for evidence and found this:

(Yes, we once took photos on film and printed them to put in books!)

Officially, based on this photo, we have been making the cake for 26 years!

I can't remember exactly where we found the flag cake recipe, but by my best recollection, I discovered it in the weekly magazine insert that came with the Sunday newspaper (you know, the one with all the celebrity gossip and glossy photos). I believe the original recipe was a collaboration between Cool-Whip and Sara Lee. Kraft has since taken over the recipe. Whether we made it according to recipe or not that first time, I am not sure, but obviously, we made it.

What exactly is flag cake? It's pretty simple: pound cake made in loaf tins and cut into slices, which are laid on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, covered with blueberries, strawberries, and Cool-Whip, and then topped with more berries to form a flag. It's kind of like a trifle, but a whole lot easier.

We've changed the ways we have made the cake over the years. Most of the time, Mom makes her own special pound cake recipe. We switched from Cool Whip to Dream Whip at some point. (Technically, we could probably make our own whipped cream using heavy cream.) My brothers make their own versions of the cake with their family and friends. (I have helped make the cake with Mom, but never actually made it alone.) The components of the cake matter less than the tradition of making it.

How, when, and why we eat flag cake changes. We ate it early this year since we would not be with my parents for the actual Fourth of July. It's a tradition, though, something special my family does to commemorate times and seasons. For me, flag cake has special significance, as it has become part of not only celebrating America's birthday, but my return to Arizona. For as long as we live here, I'll celebrate, and even if, or when, we move away, we can still carry on, because sometimes repeating the simple things is what makes them the most significant, regardless of what they mean at that particular time. So with that, here's to many more years of the flag cake tradition and what it means to my family.

The Latest in Healthy Treats

 I am not going to jump on the "sugar is bad" train. It is good, at least it tastes good. Not always does it make me feel, good, though. Therefore, I like to keep some naturally sweet, and/or less sweet treats on hand for when I want something fun to eat, but maybe not something that will bring on a crash afterward. These snacks fit the bill!

Peanut butter protein balls (Natalie's Health)

No bake, and chock full of healthy ingredients! I substituted honey for the maple syrup, but otherwise made the recipe as is.

Protein cookie dough (Eating Bird Food)

I changed this one up a bit, using unflavored protein powder plus 2 t vanilla, substituting peanut butter for almond butter, omitting coconut sugar, and using regular chocolate chips. Not super sweet, but I cut it into rectangles after refrigerating and it was kind of like less sweet chocolate chip cookie dough Lara bars.

3 ingredient banana oatmeal cookies (Bucket List Tummy)

Whir two bananas and 1/4 c peanut butter in the blender. (I thawed some frozen bananas, drained them of the liquid, and used the Magic Bullet for blending.) Add to 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal. Form into balls. Squish and bake at 350 for 11-14 minutes. Simple, easy, and surprisingly satisfying!

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What are your favorite not too sweet treats? 

Please share in the comments section!

The Best Snack Ever

You all know I like oatmeal, and chocolate, and nighttime snack. But I've got a new recipe for you, one I've been making every week since we got that 50 pound bag of black beans. Simple, satisfying, sweet, but sugar free? This snack checks all the boxes. Don't knock it until you try it. Fudgy. Chocolate-y. Just right!

(Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie's Flourless Chocolate Blender Muffins)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c cooked black beans

1/3 c old-fashioned or quick oats

2/3 c unsweetened applesauce

1/4 c cocoa powder

1/4 c peanut butter

1 t vanilla

3/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1/8 t baking soda

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups. (I prefer to use coconut oil.)

2. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until mostly smooth. (There may be some lack of uniformity.)

3. Divide into 10 muffin cups and bake 20 minutes.

4. Remove muffin tins from the oven and let cool on baking racks.

5. Remove muffins and refrigerate until ready to eat.

*These muffins can also be frozen and thawed for later enjoyment.

Afghan 54

Pinterest is a great place to find baby blanket patterns. (Find my Projects board here.) The book of patterns my friend game me has been wonderful, but something I just want to search for something new. That is how this afghan came to be.

The pattern is baby bean by Left in Knots. The stitch is a variation of cluster and is repeated row after row. (I completed about 108 rows before edging in a single crochet stitch.) For the afghan, I used most of a Super Saver Jumbo skein of petal pink from Red Heart. The finished product measured 22 by 33 inches.

As for my hand, it lets me do about three rows of crochet a day, which is better than nothing when it comes to stress relief. The last shot of botox did not hurt much, but did not seem to help with the clenching and discomfort. The next step is hand therapy with a physical therapist. We'll see how that goes. This focal dystonia might just be something I have to live with.

Easy Chocolate Baked Oatmeal

A few Saturdays ago, I found myself in need of a creative outlet. It had been an exhausting week and my brain just needed to make something new. (I read this week that the best self-care tasks for my personality type, ISFJ, are simple tasks that provide sensory input. Hello, cooking!) I wanted to recreate my favorite chocolate applesauce stove-top oatmeal in baked form, but couldn't quite find a recipe. So I adapted this one from The Conscientious Eater.

These oats were soft, fluffy, and popped right out of the greased pan. If you're looking for a make-ahead or on-the-go breakfast, this might be it!

Ingredients:

1 c. quick oats
2 T cocoa
1 T ground flax meal
1/4 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c milk of choice (I used Almond Breeze's almond coconut blend)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grease a small loaf pan. (I used coconut oil.)
3. Stir together dry ingredients, and then add wet.
4. Pour mixed ingredients into the loaf pan and smooth with the back of the spoon.
5. Bake for twenty minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Chocolate Cinnamon Cantaloupe Oatmeal

You might have noticed that chocolate oatmeal is one of my favorite things. With the heat of summer, I've still been craving it, but well, it's hot, so not as enjoyable. This lovely combo is the best of both worlds, though. Sweet, spicy, warm oats topped with cooling cantaloupe:

I included cinnamon in this recipe (to sweeten the oats), plus a little ginger. Eating each bite of cantaloupe with a bite of chocolate yields just the right ratio of cold and hot, sweet, and not. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 1/2 c water
3 t dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t ginger
1/2 c (or more) diced cantaloupe

Directions:

1. Bring oats and water to a boil and reduce heat to medium. 
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa, cinnamon, and ginger.
3. Transfer oatmeal to a bowl, and top with diced cantaloupe.

Summer Produce Oatmeal

Have summer produce lying around? If you're rich in zucchini or summer squash, this is the recipe for you!

Yes, it's more chocolate, but chocolate makes for a good breakfast. Don't you think? You'll definitely think so after you try this oatmeal.

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 -1/2 1/2 c water
1/2-1 c shredded zucchini or summer squash
2 T dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cardamom

Directions:

1. Bring oats, shredded squash and 1 cup of water to a boil and reduce heat to medium. 
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Add more water if needed.
3. Transfer oatmeal to a bowl, and add desired toppings (yogurt, nut butters, chocolate chips, etc).

Salted Lemon Apple Oats

If you've perused my blog, you know that I'm into oats. It's hot and humid here because of Arizona's monsoon season, however, and lately a warm bowl of porridge hasn't sounded good. These, however, hit the spot.

If you're looking for a nice summer oatmeal recipe, this might be it. Fresh lemon + crisp apple + a nice topping of salt = summer bliss.

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 1/2 c water
1 apple, diced
1 T lemon juice
A sprinkle of coarse salt (I used red Hawaiian sea salt.)

Directions:

1. Bring oats, apple, and water to a boil and reduce heat to medium. 
2. Stir in lemon juice.
3. When oats reach desired consistency and apples are tender, transfer oatmeal to a bowl.
4. Top with a sprinkle of coarse salt and dig in.

Summer Festivities

If you don't think about the heat, summer is a pretty awesome time to live in Arizona, especially because we live close to Prescott, which was once the territorial capital. Old cities mean festivities!

Here a few festivities we've enjoyed lately: (Sorry for the poor photos)

The World's Oldest Rodeo! There's debate about whether or not Prescott really has the oldest rodeo, but I don't care because it's an awesome show! Pro riders come from all over the United States and world (one from Australia this year!) to compete, and points count towards the pro rodeo championship. Plus, the half-time (if you can call it that) shows are pretty cool. Wild Child performed the night we attended, and he jumped his motorcycle over a full truck and trailer! That takes skill.

After the rodeo comes the rodeo parade, a full two-hour affair with lots of horses, my favorite. Seriously this is one of the best parades I've ever been to. Someday I might go to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade or the Rose Bowl parade, but this is as good as it gets around here.

Cookout, fireworks, and flag cake! These are Fourth of July traditions in our home.

Cookout foods vary from year to year, but this year, it was hamburgers with sides of baked beans (one of my favorite cookout sides), lettuce, tomatoes, and veggies with homemade ranch dip. Yum!

Our city was the only one of the three cities in our area that had fireworks (due to the Goodwin fire). The show was pretty awesome with multiple mortars shot up at once, various shapes, sizes and colors of fireworks, and an intense grand finale. 

Flag cake is a layer of pound cake topped with a layer of blueberries and strawberries, whipped cream, and another layer of blueberries and strawberries to form a flag. We've made it every year since I was 9 or 10.

And this year, I got a candle in my piece of flag cake to celebrate a year of my adventures here. Here's to many more!

Chocolate Mole Oatmeal

After a long hiatus, oatmeal recipes are back! Plus, this post includes the debut of a new dish I've deemed "the oatmeal bowl." (Thanks to my dear friend Joanna for this lovely birthday gift.)

I've been eating oatmeal since the 30 Days series, but I didn't feel like posting about it. After two weeks out of town and the arrival of the bowl, however, I feel it is time. I'd been making my traditional cinnamon chocolate oatmeal (2 T cocoa powder + 1 t cinnamon) bowls topped with dashes of cayenne, chili powder, and sea salt before I left home and I liked it, but wanted to deepen the flavor to go throughout the oatmeal. A quick Google search for chocolate chili oatmeal turned up two chocolate mole recipes (oatmeal chili and easy cheater vegan mole sauce), and I decided to adapt and go with it.

I wouldn't say that the chili and chipotle flavors came through strongly in this oatmeal, but they did add a nice level of heat to the cocoa. This recipe would probably be better in the freezing winter than the steaming summer, but I've gotta show off the oatmeal bowl, so here we go:

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 1/2 c water
3 t dark cocoa powder
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t ginger
1/4-1/2 t chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Toppings of choice (I added a chopped red delicious apple, but other fruits, candy, and nut butter would also be appropriate.

Directions:

1. Bring oats and water to a boil and reduce heat to medium. 
2. When oats reach the desired consistency, stir in the cocoa, cinnamon, chili powder, ginger, and chopped chipotle peppers. 
3. Transfer oatmeal to a bowl, add desired toppings and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Apple with Maple Peanut Butter Drizzle

Hooray! I've reached my final day of oatmeal, and I wanted to celebrate with a special bowl of porridge. Enter pumpkin apple oats with a maple peanut butter drizzle.

The Oatmeal Artist has done pumpkin apple before, but what makes this bowl special is the maple peanut butter over the smooth, spicy, and warm porridge. See all that melted peanut butter gooeyness on top of the oats? Yum!

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
2 T pumpkin puree
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1 apple, diced
1 T peanut butter
1 t maple syrup
1 t coconut oil

Directions:

1. Combine diced apple, oats, and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, stir in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
3. Transfer oats to a bowl.
4. In a separate pan, melt peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Drizzle over oats and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Pie and Gingered Applesauce

The Oatmeal Artist has made quite a few swirl recipes, so I decided to try my hand at developing a swirl bowl for myself. In my bowl, I combined pumpkin pie and gingered applesauce.

Let me tell you, I am a fan! Creamy pumpkin custard plus warm, sweet gingered apple? Mmm! This may be a fall-ish recipe, but I argue that you can enjoy it anytime.

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 c applesauce
1/4 t ginger
1/4 t vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small sauce pan, combine oats and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low.
2. When oats reach desired consistency, separate oats into two pans. Into one pan, add the pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon. Into the other pan, add the applesauce, ginger, and vanilla.
3. Stir oats until all ingredients are mixed and warm.
4. Transfer oats to a bowl, making sure to keep sides separated. (I used a silicone spatula for this purpose.)
5. Swirl the flavors together and enjoy!

30 Days of Oatmeal: Throw It All In!

Ever have a little bit of this and that lying around? For this recipe, throw it all in!

Here, I added almonds, coconut, and raisins. And of course, I sweetened the base with cinnamon. I soaked all the ingredients in water the night before to yield softer, more supple add-ins. (Almonds, coconut, and raisins become especially hard after lying around the cupboards for awhile. Use your judgment about whether or not to soak your ingredients.)

Ingredients:

1/2 c quick cooking oats
1 c water
1 t cinnamon
1 T raisins
1 T dried, shredded coconut (I use Trader Joe's.)
2 T almonds

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low.
2. When oats reach desired consistency (add more water if necessary), transfer to a bowl.