Al & I are on a new diet - Help your diabetes.  We have changed a lot of the way we eat.

It's Christmas Eve and Al is in an eggnog mood.

I found a few recipes, and came up with my own for something we can have to drink.


Almond Milk Eggnog

6 cups vanilla almond milk
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
rum flavoring to taste (2-3 Tablespoons for us)

Mix it up in a blender or with a mixer.

Serve it up - put leftovers in the fridge.

Merry Christmas!

Last night I went to the store after work.  I picked up a bunch of stuff.  I probably had 30 items in my cart.  I try to be polite.  There was a woman that was behind me with one thing.  Just one.  I looked at her 3 different times to let her go in front of me, but she was too engrossed in her phone.  She never looked up.  I didn't let her go in front of me.

Sometimes we need to take a break from our phones and look at what is happening around us.

Today I took krumkake to work.  Some people call them prezzells.  Doesn't matter the name - they are delicious.  The top one is the regular recipe, the bottom I made them vegan.  I enjoyed the vegan ones better.

Here are the recipes.

Krumkake

1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 c.)
1/2 cup softened butter
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour

Beat sugar with butter.  Add eggs and continue beating.  Add in dry ingredients.  Place a heaping teaspoon of dough on iron.  I cooked mine counting to 30.

Vegan Krumkake

1 cup sugar (I used 3/4 c.)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 vegan eggs which is:  2 Tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 
           6 Tablespoon of water
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour

These are fun cookies!

Last week I had a couple of "grandma" events with a couple of little boys.  They weren't my grandkids, but they made me feel like they had the confidence of a grandma in me.

One little boy told me that his mom was "abusive".  He was always afraid she was going to hit him.  In fact, he could only see his mom with another adult present.  How sad.

I asked him if he wanted to read a book, or have me read to him.  He said his teacher was the only one that had ever read to him.  I asked him if he goes to the library.  He said only at school.

How thankful I am that my mother read to me!  Especially as a teenager, when she wanted all six of us to have an hour of quiet time.  How wise she was.

The other little boy thought his family had left him.  Well, they had left him, but they thought he was asleep and they went on a walk a couple of blocks away.  

He came bawling like mad to the front door, my family left me!  I'm all alone!  OK.  Come in.  He had a monster book and he could tell me everything imaginable about these monsters.  I had my phone.  I was playing a little Pokemon.  When he saw Pokemon, he was really excited.  His family plays Pokemon.  

It had been a while and I told him we better see if his family was back.  His mom answered the door.  She had gone to kiss him good night, and he was gone.

At least he felt comfortable enough to go next door when he was alone.  

Pretty sure I forgot to post this.  I think Miss J made this 5 years ago!  She is 17 and might not want to see this again.  It was very creative.  I think I was watching some grandkids, trying to think up things for them to do.  I always have lots of felt and thread.

I have creative grandchildren!

Seems like a new trend in cooking is the Instant Pot.
I've had one for over a year, but have been afraid to use it.

I went to a class at Kitchen Kneads and got many recipes that my family enjoys.
They also showed how to use the Instant Pot and it is no longer so scary.

Our family's favorite is:

Chicken & Rice

2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into pieces (or a pound of hamburger)
2 t. oregano
1 onion
chopped cilantro & parsley
1 can tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup capers
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 cloves garlic
3 T. sugar
1/4 c coconut oil
6 cups chicken broth (or beef with the hamburger)
4 c basmati brown rice

Brown the meat with the onion, green peppers and garlic on saute.   Add everything else. Close the lid.  Put the pressure on high for 20 - 25 minutes.  Let it "rest" for 10 minutes.  Release the pressure and it's ready to eat.

I have found that HALF of the recipe is plenty for dinner and leftovers.

Going through some old pictures and found this cute "present"

I LOVE it, even more now than in 1988.

I got to tend these cute guys.  Belle is 4 and she is full of life.  She is always entertaining.

Rhett is 5 months old and he is a snuggler.  I held him almost the whole night.

These two have a lot of energy and they wore me out!

Our family is so blessed to have these two.

2018

What! It's the middle of the second month of 2018 and I haven't posted one thing.  I've thought of a lot of things to post about, but I haven't done it.  

I've been going to Saturday cooking classes at Kitchen Kneads and I took a class from Chef Brad as well.  It has gotten me excited about cooking more.I want to be more healthy.  I want to use more grains.  It will be good for my family and me.

I found some cinnamon chips at Kitchen Kneads.  I thought it would be interesting in some bread.  I used the artisan bread recipe and added a couple of handfuls of chips.  They burst!  and make the most wonderful little pockets of flavor.  We had it toasted.  A friend at work made french toast with it, and loved it.  Guess there is always something new.

                      Happy 2018!