Easy caramel sauce~caramel yogurt

To say I love caramel would be an understatement.  I have tried more than a handful of times to make a healthier caramel.  Some turned out okay, some I burned and stunk up the house. Then I came across this recipe and I have yet to mess it up.

True story; when we moved from Kansas to Arizona this summer my younger children actually made caramel in the car.  They took some sugar packs from the hotel room and decided to pour their bottle of water on the sugar packs in the console.  Since we were busy with unpacking and such, I didn't notice it until it caramelized; hard as a rock, sure smelled good though.

Grocery shopping one day, I seen in the yogurt section some greek yogurt with caramel and thought that sounds so yummy.  I looked on the ingredients list, fructose was the number one thing listed. Not good. I thought I can do this, one more try.  I was pleased as punch with the results.

Here's how

5 tsp of xylitol

2 Tbs of butter

3 Tbs of heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1/8 tsp of sea salt

Combine xylitol and butter in a small pan on low/med heat. Stirring often until a nice brown color

It will smell heavenly, if you burn it you will know. I wasn't very good at keeping track of time, so maybe 4-6 minutes.  Just watch it CLOSELY!

Add cream and stir constantly for one minute. This causes the mixture to bubble.

After a minute remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.

The longer you let it sit the thicker it gets.  If you don't use it all up place in the fridge, may need to reheat in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.

I chopped up some 85% chocolate with my pampered chef  chopper.

Ta-da! It really doesn't take that long to make such a yummy snack.

Here's another look for you to drool over before you go make your own.

If you were wondering, I did get the caramel cleaned out with a lot of elbow grease and mutterings under my breathe.  

Note: I use Fage Greek 0% yogurt

   

Very easy fish tacos

Taco Tuesday meets brain food!

Very simple to make fish tacos

Ingredients:

2 pounds of flounder (thawed)

taco mix (recipe below)

Taco toppings of your desire

coconut oil
Taco seasoning: 1TBS chili powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper
or use 6 tsp of the bulk taco seasoning recipe

1. Start by heating a large pan with the bottom covered in coconut oil.
2. I used kitchen scissors to cut the fish into even strips 
3. Place thawed fish in pan and cook on Med heat for about 10 minutes
4. Put taco seasoning on and stir.  Turn temp down to low and simmer for another 10 min.
5. That's it. Place on lettuce "shells"

Here is our favorite salsa recipe from the Pioneer Woman.  I just omit the sugar.

Homemade bulk taco seasoning

Every time I make tacos, I have to make my own seasoning.  I decided it would be better to make a bulk of it to save for future uses.  This recipe yields around 12 servings for 1-2 pounds of meat.  Simply scoop out 6tsp each time

Mix together

3/4 Cups Chili powder

3 tsp garlic powder

3 tsp crushed red pepper

3 tsp oregano

2 TBS paprika

6 TBS cumin

1/4 cup sea salt

2 TBS black pepper

Peppermint buttercream frosting

                   Craving something Christmas-y.  How about an easy peppermint flavored frosting.

I took this lovely creation and paired it with Special Agent Brownie Cake (THM book, pg383) I also added 1/2 tsp of peppermint extract to the cake mix.

Ingredients

1 Stick of butter room-temp (1/2 cup)

1/4 c. powdered xylitol

2 Tbsp heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp of peppermint extract

First thing is add butter to mixer with powdered xylitol and blend for about 4 minutes, scraping the sides occasionally.

Then add heavy cream and peppermint extract.

Mix for about 2 minutes.

Put it on what-ever floats your boat.

 Here's my finished product


Note: If you like a thicker frosting, you may want to double the recipe.

Why Should I Trust God?

 The very beginning of this year I sat resting in our living room listening to the radio.  The song "Oceans" by Hillsong United came on, as I sat listening to the words, knowing that it was a really good song and very powerful. Not knowing how those words would transform my life.  I thought, "whoa, God I don't think I could I sing that.  Those are some mighty powerful words.  You would have to be a really brave, strong Christian to sing that to You God!"  Almost as soon as the words were thought, the Lord spoke to me.  He said, "make this song your prayer to me." I knew it was God speaking and I knew I had better.  As I sat repeating the lyrics, "spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. (say what!)Let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander.(This sounds hard!(Whine, whine))  And my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my savior."    I just had recently found out we were expecting our 7th child and immediately my thoughts went to please let nothing bad happen with the baby.  In my prayer I said I would trust, so trust I am going to do. The next day my husband lets me know that in a few months he will be without a job........

  Trust is something that doesn't come easy for a lot of us.  We all have been let down or hurt from someone we trusted. We all have probably done the same thing to others, sometimes unintentionally. When I think about trust, I think about the movie Meet the Parents, we want to Let God in on our circle of trust, but then we point our finger at him and then point back at our own eyes to let him know we are watching.

  What are we exactly suppose to put our trust in?

1. God's Love

          But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.  Psalm 13:5

          I trust in the steadfast love of God for ever and ever.  Psalm 52:8b

      

      2.  God's Name

            Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.  Psalm 20:7

             For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.  Psalm 33:21

             Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Isaiah 50:10

             And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.  Psalm 9:10

      3.  His Word

           Then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me, for I trust in your word.  Psalm 119:42

   How long are we suppose to trust?

          Forever! 

           Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.  Isaiah 26:4

    

   How?

         With all our heart!

          Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5

   When?

       All times!

        Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.  Psalm 62:8

  If we trust God what will happen?

1. We will be like Mt. Zion.  

           Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.  Psalm 125:1                                               

     2. We will be strong.

          Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.  Isaiah 12:2  

      

       3. We will be blessed. 

           Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust.  Psalm 40:4a

      4. We will have hope, joy, and peace.  

           May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

   I believe the reason we don't trust Him fully is, we don't fully understand God's love (my friends, that's a blog for another day. :))  Everybody knows John 3:16.  So simple.  Just think about it.

  Looking back I see God's fingerprints over this whole year.  Remember, we were expecting baby #7 and hubby was about to be without a job.  We did a lot of trusting, believe me it was HARD, but it was also very exciting!  I am glad for the experience, we grew spiritually, and that my friends is pure joy!

  Yes, my husband got a job with the same company, only thing was it is another state.  Still trusting

Sugar free chocolate cheesecake with cookie dough crust

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake

That is a lot chocolate in the name!

This was always my go-to recipe for Christmas and other get-togethers.  Since I started to follow THM I needed to change a lot of my recipes around.  Still taste good just healthier. If you are following THM this would be a heavy S, so go lightly on your serving size or share.

First I started with a chocolate chip cookie recipe.  Or you could use your favorite recipe.  Follow directions. Once mixed use half of the dough (used the other half later and made some cookies) and place in a greased spring form pan. Bake until golden brown 12-15. Set out to cool completely.  

dough before baked in picture above.

While that's cooling, pull out one block of cream cheese to soften. Place mixing bowl and mixers in the freezer.

For the rest of the recipe you will need:

One block of cream cheese (softened)

One cup of cold heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered xylitol

2 oz of unsweetened baker's chocolate

1/2 tsp of stevia (my favorite stevia)

After dough is cooled, start by mixing heavy whipping cream with powdered xylitol until fluffy.

Next, place softened cream cheese along with stevia.  Mix well. Scraping sides.

 Once mixed add to cooled crust.

Place in fridge for 3-4 hour, best if over night.

Or you can be like me and "have" to try a piece right away.  But believe me it is soooo much better the next day