brunch.

brunch today included sweet friends, sweeter fellowship, and these amazing smoked salmon deviled eggs. my husband will do 'most anything for deviled eggs, and i do like making that man happy. 

next time, a fresh sprig of dill.  but with mimosas and my grain-free cinnamon rolls (recipe coming soon!), they were heavenly.  now if only i can get the hang of peeling the little boogers.  for the life of me, i can't make more than half of them look pretty... despite trying every trick on the www.  :)

a little Christmas sweetness

these Butterscotch Haystacks are the cure for grey-winter-day blues!

 find the recipe here!

and if you're still in need of a sweet treat, it's not too late to bake these:

 for which you can find the recipe here!

next week we'll be good, and we'll be posting some delicious ways to feed healthy cravings in the new year.  for now, sweet heaven!  :)

toll house cookies on steroids

take a classic, tried-and-true staple dessert like Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies.

add snack-tastic ingredients like pretzels and potato chips (yep, you read that right.)  we took it a step further and added caramel bits.  you've got THE cookie that'll top all the others at your holiday cookie swap.  if you're gonna be naughty... (santa'll never know.  promise.)

the only thing to make 'em better?  add bacon.  of course.

before you bake these (remember, double the recipe and freeze half the dough for indulgence at a later date), create your own pinterest board called "world's biggest cookie swap," and pin this recipe. 

allrecipes.com is partnering with cookies across america, nestle, and ladies' home journal to help fight kids' cancer - every board created generates $1. go here for details!

 

(oh, and you can view the cute lil' video here at allrecipes!)

disclosure: i received a gift of Nestle Toll House Semi-sweet Chips from Nestle.  All recipe opinions are my own.  :)

hugs, and happy CHRISTmas baking!!

discovery.

discovery in words.

seeing.

 

 

it strikes me that learning to stop and behold my Papa's beauty through creation is a lifelong journey; it is a battle against busy, a battle against hurry, a battle against the "more" habit.

 

it is a concerted effort to believe that what is in front of me is all that is essential in the moment, and that each moment is a gift.

 

this week He gave us opportunity to embrace the moment in a place that has captured our hearts. we'll share more later; for just at this moment, we're living in the essential of now.

 

if you can run away, and you want to run to a place where seeing is knowing more of Him, go here.  :)

 

 

grain free dutch babies with spiced fruit compote {paleo breakfast ideas}

some of my sweetest "comfort food" memories are centered on breakfast. we do breakfast for every meal, and winning my willing, yet selective, family over to bread items that are grain-free is a dubious process.  my baker-boy (who is also a natural born hunter and thanks to his papa, helps keep us stocked with venison, thereby spoiling us rotten) is a fan of from-scratch, but he's not above making a mean box-mix-pancake on any given day.  i always give in and have one or two, but i always regret it later with that post-pure-carb-let-down.

when he asked for this dish tonight that we used to make often, i took it as a personal challenge to find a grain-free alternative that would knock his socks off.  :)  guess what?  everyone went back for seconds.  check and mark.

grain free dutch babies

 

(a variation of a recipe from unrefinedkitchen.com)

1/3 cup butter

8 eggs

1 cup coconut milk

1/3 cup arrowroot

1/4 cup chestnut flour

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp lemon extract

1 packet stevia (or 6 drops lemon flavored liquid stevia)

preheat oven to 425 degrees.  as oven is preheating, melt butter in a 9x13 glass baking dish until it just starts to brown. (careful!  it goes from brown to burnt quickly!)

blend remaining ingredients in a blender, beginning with eggs, then adding remaining ingredients.  blend for approximately 45 seconds to one minute total.

carefully pour batter over browned butter in the baking dish, and bake at 425 degrees for approximately 23 minutes.

top with spiced fruit compote and sprinkle with finely chopped, toasted nuts (we love hazelnuts!).

spiced fruit compote

3 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 cups frozen peaches

1 cup frozen blackberries

2 tablespoons maple sugar 

melt butter in a medium saucepan.  stir in ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon to bring out their flavor.  add maple sugar and peaches, stirring to coat.

allow peaches to simmer approximately 20 minutes, or until peaches are soft juices begin to thicken.

gently stir in blackberries and simmer just until soft (you want blackberries to retain their "pop" and not break down).

serve over frozen yogurt or waffles or grain free dutch babies!

of course, we had to serve these with our favorite maple-sprinkled-bacon.  and cream-laced coffee.

and now, it almost feels like autumn will come.

Progresso Recipe Starters

As part of my journey with the Allrecipes.com Allstars, I had the opportunity to try out a new product from Progresso called Recipe Starters.

let's be real here: those of us who love to cook and are proud of it don't like to admit we use "premade" products.  it's kind of a pride thing.  but also being real, life is busy and sometimes taking the little ones to the pool and getting the dirty pit boys' bathroom cleaned up and actually taking a shower and making it to swimming practice and a cross country meet on time are more important.  :)

that's where a pre-made ingredient might come in handy.  although more and more i lean toward clean eating (and really make it a whole-family goal!), i do also allow for days when we break the "norm" and go for something different.  when we eat clean, there is room for dinner out or a pasta dish (although i did eat this over spaghetti squash, which was oh-so-good and much lighter on the palate!)

this is the Progresso Recipe Starter Meatballs Stroganoff - a beef stroganoff recipe from allrecipes.com that we made with (yep!) pre-made meatballs.  it was fast, it was easy, and our kids didn't leave one bite for leftovers.  the addition of fresh garlic was a perfect touch.

what shortcuts to you have for busy weeknights, to keep dinner at your family table?

disclosure: the information and free Progresso Recipe Starters products were provided by Progresso through the Allrecipes Brand Ambassador Program.  all opinions are my own.  :) 

i am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.

Products received from advertiser are only used for experienced-based reviews on dancing with my father. this blog was written in support of progresso and their progresso recipe starters campaign.