Sweet Giveaway!

I'm re-posting this just in case anyone missed it and would like to enter to win! Winners will be announced tomorrow so leave your comments today! And good luck!

This post was long time coming. But I wanted to try out a few of the wonderful products NuNaturals sent me before I wrote about them. Stick with me because there's a giveaway at the end!

Here's what they sent me:

oat

Wow, right?! It arrived in August and, since school started up on the 11th, I had to do my experimenting on the weekends because who the heck has energy to do anything other than teach during the week--oh, yeah, YOUNG people. Hmph.

Ok, I tried the liquid Stevia syrup--the simple and the cocoa and the cocoa mint- and the oat fiber. I shared a few of the items with a friend at school and she's been using them too.

To be honest, I am not a fan of Stevia in drinks. I'd rather use organic sugar to sweeten my beverages. However, my friend has been enjoying the Stevia in her drinks. And I do know other folks who also enjoy it.

BUT, when it comes to baking, I am a fan.

I used the oat fiber and then the simple syrup to sweeten my oatmeal chip cookies and they turned out lighter!

I used the oat fiber and simple syrup for banana bread. It was the best I've made in a while!

I used the oat fiber and then the simple syrup and the cocoa syrup to sweeten some chocolate zucchini brownies. I used the cocoa syrup to make a coconut oil icing for the brownies too. They were delish!

I shared all recipes at school and everything got TWO THUMBS UP!

Now, here's where it gets good for y'all! NuNaturals is letting me give away---

ONE bottle of Cherry Vanilla Stevia Liquid--

a 50 pkt box of NuStevia Powder packets--

a bottle of the Cocoa Syrup--

 a bottle of the Simple Syrup

AND a FREE BONUS PRODUCT!

WHAT?!

Yep!

AND- the giveaway is open WORLDWIDE!

WHAT AGAIN?!

Yep! All you need to do is comment either here or on my Facebook page that you'd like to be entered in the giveaway and you'll be in! (They cannot ship to PO Boxes). 

Of course, it would be a nice gesture if you wanted to head over to their Facebook page and give them a 'Like."

You can also get discounts from their website (www.nunaturals.com) and, by using the code: BLG1214, you can get 15% off your entire order.

I'll run the giveaway for the week and let y'all know next Saturday who the FOUR lucky winners are! 

Have a great weekend!

Recipes and Memories

Can go hand in hand. Did y'all know that?

For example, whenever I make chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings or a cake or homemade bread/biscuits, I remember my grandmother- my mother's mother. It's certain that I do not come anywhere near the quality of her making/baking, but the memories that come with the preparation of these (and a few other) recipes almost make up for their lacking in that area. The times spent in the kitchen with my grandmother have always been some of my most favorite memories.

Then there are the times when I (used to) make Rice-A-Roni (the San Francisco treat...haha) or sautee mushrooms and the memory of the first time I had those with Aunt Betty. I had never heard of Rice-A-Roni (Mother made everything from scratch just like Grandmother did) and I said that I didn't like mushrooms. Aunt Betty was always the one who tried to get me to try something I'd never had before just to see if I liked it. I've been eating mushrooms ever since. It also reminds me of the first time Deanie made Rice-A-Roni years ago...it was crunchy. Ha! None of us have used Rice-A-Roni in so many years that I don't even know if they make it anymore, but what fond memories I have because of it.

Every time I burn something or a dish turns out badly, I am reminded of the husband's mother. She was a writer; a poet; a walk-the-walk Christian; a lover of the arts and PBS and Christmas. She was not a cook. But she did it anyway- regardless of the end product's taste, looks or appeal. 

My attempts at homemade lemon cake and Christmas eggnog brings back memories of my dad's mother. She, too, made everything from scratch. Her lemon cake was to die for. I remember her eggnog at Christmas. It wasn't the kind that we kids could partake of, but the adults used to crack us up arguing over whether or not there was enough alcohol in it. Not usually won out. Though most of my memories of GrandMoore center around reading, creating, and playing games, anything lemony and with rum will take me right back.

Making the homemade goodies at Christmas- fudge, cheese and olive balls, sausage balls, etc.- bring back memories of my mother making these wonders every single year. Our table would be filled with every kind of Christmas delight you could possibly think of and I loved walking around and around that table taking one of everything over and over again. I make these same treats every year and revel in the memories of Christmases past.

Saturday morning breakfasts of French toast or scrambled eggs with cheese or grilling out take me back to my dad being in the kitchen or grilling. He loves to cook to this day but, when I was growing up, he mostly did it on Saturday mornings and/or evenings. And I loved it when he cooked. I know he had a special recipe for the French toast but I can never get a straight answer from him. I mean, it's a straight answer, it's just never the same answer. His cheese eggs I can make, they just don't taste as good. And nobody grills as good as my dad. Although my brother does get close.

There are so many memories that center around food in our family. But I believe that most of the fondness comes from the preparation time instead of the actual food itself- although the food was always incredible. It was the time spent with some of the most special people in my life. People who made a difference. People who taught me how to appreciate the value of conversation and taking time to do things the right way. People who taught me to value, appreciate and take pride in a job well done. People who showed me the inner strength, compassion, independence and unconditional love of the women in the family (yep, even my dad who was taught the very same thing by his dad). People who taught me the value of a family. The love of a family. The never-ending support of a family.

Teachable moments were never missed in my family.

Where do your recipes take you?

My First Time EVER

I put up my first EVER spaghetti sauce yesterday with tomatoes from the garden! WooHoo!

I was so scared of doing this. I just knew I was going to mess it up. But, all went well and, at the end, I got the pinging of the lids! Let me tell you though, I did not rest easy until I did hear that pinging.

Want to see all the pictures? Me too. But I was paying such close attention to what I was doing, I forgot to take any! I had to be careful. I have this horrible habit of not reading the directions through before starting a recipe. You can imagine what interesting results that has resulted in over the years.

And you'd think I would have learned my lesson by now. But, no.

Anyway, the jars look like this:

And as soon as I do this again, I will (hopefully) be comfortable enough to take some photos!

This time I used directions that my friend Julie at Healthy, Wealthy and Wise: Not...but learning sent me. Next time, I'm using the suggestions sent by my friend Kim at My Field of Dreams. I'm just waiting on more tomatoes now.

I've also tried a couple of new recipes this week---homemade Nutella Rice Krispies and Cherry Cookies.

For the Nutella Rice Krispies (which I found at the Cupcake Project) I used a recipe I got from NuNaturals for homemade nutella! What?! Yep, that's right.

RAW Healthy Homemade Nutella

8.9 oz jarred white beans, rinsed and mashed with a fork or in food processor (I used a box of 365 organic Cannellini beans, no salt added)
3 or 4 TBS cocoa powder
6 packets NuNaturals NuStevia NoCarbs Blend (I used this but I have to wonder how it would be if I used the liquid Stevia from NuNaturals---like the vanilla and the cocoa?)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp oil (Shocker! I used coconut oil)
2 TBS ground flax
pinch of salt
sprinkle of cinnamon
up to 1/4 cup liquid to thin (I just used water...but have to wonder how coconut milk would taste)

Mix everything together! I just used my mixer but I'm going to use the food processor next time. The recipe says to use it as a spread OR spread it out on a cookie sheet and put it in the freezer to be cut into chocolate strips. I'm definitely going to try this next time.

I really liked this recipe because it doesn't use hazelnuts. I don't like Nutella and I think it's because I am not a fan of hazelnuts.

Nutella Rice Krispies

1/2  cup honey
1/2 cup Nutella (the last time I made these, I used Trader Joe's Almond Cocoa spread and wanted to eat every dang one of those things)
4 cups Rice Krispies (I used Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal because it's organic and gluten free)

Combine the honey and Nutella in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds.
Stir. If the honey and Nutella are not hot and thoroughly combined, you can continue to microwave for ten seconds at a time and stir until they are. (I don't use the microwave much so I did this in a saucepan on the stove top). Mix the cereal into the bowl and stir, making sure to coat all of the cereal.

Spread mixture into an 8x8 glass baking dish and refrigerate for at least three hours.
Cut into squares and eat!

The cookie recipe was found right HERE and I actually followed the recipe word for word. Except when I didn't read the directions first and didn't add the dry ingredients to the cereal in the food processor---Oopsy! They turned out good anyway! 

Oatmeal Flax Carob Cherry Cookies

 
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup Erewhon Rice Twice cereal

1 cup Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Gluten Free cereal

1/4 cup arrowroot flour (I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose, gluten free)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups rolled gluten-free oats
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1 cup unsweetened dried cherries, chopped
1 cup unsweetened carob chips

"Fit a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Meanwhile, put the coconut palm sugar in a blender and process until powdered. Add the powdered palm sugar to the butter and beat for 2 – 3 minuets on medium high. Add applesauce and egg. Beat until combined. Mix in vanilla.

Add the Erewhon Rice Twice cereal to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until very fine. Add the brown rice cereal, arrowroot flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt. Pulse to combine." (This is the step I messed up on- I put the cereal in the processor and then into the mixer. On top of the cereal I put in the rest of the ingredients mentioned in this paragraph AND THEN read that I was supposed to put it all in the food processor).

"Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in one addition. Beat until combined. Add oats and flax meal. Stir to combine. Add dried cherries and carob chips and mix just until combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to evenly portion the dough. Space two inches apart. Roll the balls of dough and then flatten them out. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes until the edges just start to get light golden brown. Let cool until set on the baking sheet, about 8 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature."

 

If you try any of these, let me know how you like them! 

 

There's still plenty of time to enter one or both of my TWO giveaways! Just click the buttons at the top of my sidebar!

NuNatruals Giveaway!

WooHoo! It's a NuNaturals giveaway!

I am so excited to host this giveaway! I won a NuNaturals giveaway from Patrice at Everyday Ruralty and it was great! I do use Stevia  from time to time so I was quite happy to win!

They have quite an assortment of recipes on the NuNaturals site. One I can't wait to try is the homemade Vegan Nutella Sauce! Oh, and the Chocolate Coconut Sorbet! Oh, and the Vanilla Coconut Custard! Oh...LOL Let's just say that there are a lot of recipes I'm ready and willing to try! 

Here's the deal: FOUR (4) readers will win ONE (1) bottle of each of the Lemon, Orange and Peppermint flavored Stevia Liquids!

Is that AWESOME or what?!


And, if y'all visit www.nunaturals.com you can get DISCOUNTS on your order(s). When you get to their checkout page, just enter the DISCOUNT CODE --  BLG1212  and receive a 15% DISCOUNT on your ENTIRE ORDER. This discount remains  EFFECTIVE UNTIL  DECEMBER 31, 2012 .

Online ordering customers may also receive FREE SHIPPING to the CONTINENTAL U. S. on all orders exceeding $35.00 after discounts.

NuNaturals will ship the winners their prizes directly. They cannot ship to PO Boxes and need full name, specific address and email address.

Just fill out the Rafflecopter and you're all set! Good Luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway