A Plain Leaving #ourgoodlifebooklist

I have a guilty pleasure.  It is reading books about Amish living.  I love them. I also love movies about the Amish (remember Witness and Plain Truth?) and can hardly wait for the next one. A Plain Leaving by Leslie Gould is the first in a series about a set of sisters who are Amish.  Jessica left her church three years ago and hasn't had contact with her family because she had been shunned, one of the harshest punishments the church can place on its members.  However, her dad did come to visit her, unbeknownst to the family.  So when he unexpectedly passes away, it is a shock to the family to see that he has requested that she comes to his funeral, complete with her address and cell phone number. Coming home is the most difficult thing Jessica has done.  She knows what to expect but the reality is brutal.  To make it even more difficult, Jessica realizes that she still has feelings for Silas, the man she left behind.  Seeing Silas was more difficult that she realize

My new toy!

sponsored I dreamed of owning a convertible ever since my aunt and uncle showed up at my house in a Corvair in the 60s.  That sleek car was so pretty and I knew that one day I wanted to have one of my own. Fast forward to 2010, a year after my cancer diagnosis. My outlook on living has dramatically changed to living for the here and now, the future was just one second away.  I purchased a beautiful red convertible and a license plate that said, "Ta-Ta."  Such a cute play on words.  Those plates still make me happy! That convertible was traded in eventually and then we bought a used BMW roadster that we played around in. Loved that little perky car!  When we made the decision to downsize and move to St. Charles, all our "toys" were sold. No more convertible in my life. I missed the fun, the feel of the wind in my hair, the sense of being alive.  A cancer survivor feels these moments intensely and I was truly missing it.  I started to talk about getting a con

Fall with the Boys! #chewy.com

I received these treats for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.  Well, and Truman and Wilson's.  Our dogs noticeably love fall.  It is easier to get them outside to play, they love going on walks and actually beg for more.  Truman even likes wearing his Halloween scarf.  I am sure it has to do with the geese that come and live on our lake and the cooler walking weather.  Whatever it is, when they return home, the first thing they do is run to the treat can.  Why?  Because they are madly in love with Fruitables Whole Jerky.  Don't just take it from me, look at what the chewy.com website has to say:  Open a bag of Fruitables treats and you will immediately smell the difference. At Fruitables, they make treats that taste as good as they smell. Warning — Fruitables Whole Jerky may cause your dog to drool, tremble, howl, and show a sudden increased interest in everything you are doing — don't worry, these reactions are perfectly natural!

The Essential Instant Pot Cookbook #ourgoodlifebooklist

I received this book to review from Blogging for Books in exchange for this post, but all opinions are my own. I like to keep up with the new food crazes, cooking methods and cool restaurants like most food bloggers do. I have had some friends ask why I haven't posted any instant pot recipes. Let me tell you why. I am afraid of it. I can remember when the lid burst off a pressure cooker in my grandmother's kitchen. It sounded awful and it made me cry. I didn't want anything to do with a pressure cooker. Nothing. Until now. I had heard so many good things, read so many good reports of the Instant Pot working beautifully, that I ordered one. In the box it stayed. For a few weeks. Finally, I brought it upstairs where it had been hiding in the basement. I told my husband, I want to try this but I am afraid. So he tried it. All went well. VERY WELL. Another month has gone by and I still haven't tried it for myself. Still not convinced it won't blow u

Pumpkin Mug Muffin #SundaySupper

I'm going through the process of changing how I eat.  I am taking 58 years of eating one way abandoning it forever, because I know that it is bad for my body. That still doesn't mean I don't crave pumpkin muffins.  Because I do. So, how do I live a quality of life that includes these special foods and still do what is right and good for myself?  I look for a good substitute and I believe I have created one in the form of a pumpkin mug muffin. The macronutrients on this baby are good for how I am healing my body, which is basically a keto style diet.  Low carbs, medium proteins, and high HEALTHY fats.  For one muffin, this has 222 calories, 1 g carb, 7 g protein and 20 g fat.  This is without any kind of topping.  I can deal with this! Pumpkin Mug Muffin (for one) 2 T almond flour 1 T avocado oil (coconut oil works great, too!) 1 egg 2 T pumpkin puree 1 T Swerve (a granulated sugar substitute) 1/4 t baking soda 1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

Baked Salmon #FoodBloggers4FL

Do you remember last week when a group of food bloggers banded together to spread love and cheer to our food bloggers in Texas?  We have reunited to do the same for those in Florida.  We had such a great turn out and we absolutely love that you were so kind in sharing our mission! Florida was recently hit hard by Hurricane Irma.  The southern part of the state, especially the Keys, are reeling from the impact.  The Caribbean was also devastated. I have fond memories of my time in the Caribbean, so my heart truly aches for them. These Florida charities are considered top notch, if you are looking for a place to donate. Volunteer Florida -  https://www.volunteerflorida.org/irma/… Miami Diaper Bank -  http://www.miamidiaperbank.com/?fref=gc&dti=1935898469984009   Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida -  http://www.harrychapinfoodbank.org/…   South Florida Wildlife Center -  http://www.southfloridawildlifecenter.org/how_you_can_help… Heart of Florida United Way -  htt

Fall Printables for Your Home

Happy Fall! I know you want to shout for joy and decorate your home with all kinds of wonderful things and I have the perfect solution: Fall printables! I just love all these fall printables for your home! Aren't they gorgeous? And you can print them off by visiting each site and paying a little visit to the host.  I love that you can decorate your home with a few inexpensive but impactful decor! Fall Florals by the Craft Patch Fall Subway Art by Thirty Handmade Days Autumn Greetings by House of Hawthornes Fall Chalkboard by Worthing Court Autumn Printable by LandeeLu Fall Poem by Lil’ Luna Au-tumn by Lil Pad Cottage Wellies Fall Art Print by Craftoholics Anonymous Fall Subway Art by I Heart Naptime Hello Fall by Simply Designing Pumpkin Spice by Yellow Bliss Road Always Something to Be Thankful For by Burlap and Blue Be Thankful by Lolly Jane World Where There Are Octobers by Nemcsok Farms Isn't it hard to pick your favor

Shrimp Stir Fry with Cauli Rice #SundaySupper

Even though the two of us are retired, we still manage to work full time outside the home and have part time positions that we love.  With our work and all the activities we are involved with, we like to have a quick but delicious and nutritious meal that we can go in those special times. This shrimp stir fry is perfect because the ingredients are fairly flexible.  If you have vegetables, cauli rice and shrimp, you can make this!  We like to purchase frozen cauli rice and keep it in the freezer for those busy nights.  The kind we like you can microwave right in the bag, another convenient measure. When I was young, my mother used to make steamed cauliflower and cheese.  We didn't have it often but I loved it when we did.  Now cauliflower is such a versatile dish that we mash it and treat it the same way as we do potatoes and rice.  How delicious is that! Shrimp Stir Fry with Cauli Rice 1 bag of jumbo shrimp 1 bag of frozen cauli rice assorted vegetables 1 T

Fall Bucket List

Now that fall is finally around the corner, close enough to touch, I wanted to share this bucket list with you of activities you can do with a family, by yourself, or even with a group of girlfriends! It is always so much fun to do activities centered around the seasons. When I made this list, I was thinking about all the fun things I got to do as a kid and some of the things I got to do as a young adult, and the things I am getting to do now, as a middle aged woman. I can tell you this: there is no better time than the present! Take a look at this list and tell me, what are the top 5 things you would like to do this fall?  If you would like a printable that you can check off, just go here and print as many as you like! Share with your friends and do some of the activities together! Be sure to Count Your Blessings along the way!

Grilled Ribeye #FoodBloggers4TX

My heart just aches for the citizens of Texas who are going through such soul breaking issues right now. Please know that I pray for you all every night and have participated in a number of fundraisers to help.  Some lovely food bloggers I know decided to show support by posting recipes today from all over the USA. We want to give you a way to help by sharing this list of reputable charities that are helping in Texas. Houston Food Bank http://www.houstonfoodbank.org Salvation Army - Houston http://salvationarmyhouston.org Samaritan’s Purse https://www.samaritanspurse.org/disaster/hurricane-harvey/ American Red Cross http://rdcrss.org/2vNygmj The Texas Diaper Bank https://texasdiaperbank.networkforgood.com/ Save The Children http://www.savethechildren.org/.../Hurricane_Harvey.htm The Houston Humane Society http://www.houstonhumane.org Here are a list of bloggers who are affected by the storm.  If you could go through the list and leave a comment of

Bacon Wrapped Pickle Spears #SundaySupper

It's my favorite time of year, and a lot of it is due to the fact that it is college football season. Our family loves our Missouri Tigers and every year we look forward to cheering them on.  The season opener was this past weekend, and doesn't this look like a fun day? We won 72-43 and broke a few school records in the process.  It was a great game to witness.  I am so looking forward to the next few games! The Tigers came out with the Texas flag to show support! Our greatest fun at these games is meeting up with friends and family for a tailgate and having some good times together. We try to match the food with the team (for example, we love to eat chicken when we played the Jawhawks) and then we love to try new recipes. That's where these pickles came in.  I saw these passing by a tailgate last year and put them on my list to try. So here you go! Bacon Wrapped Dill Pickles 12 pickle spears, about four inches in length 12 bacon slices (thin sliced w

Dairy Free Homemade Ice Cream #CooktheBooksClub

When I learned that we would be reading and cooking from Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, I was so excited. I literally have read this book hundreds of times.  Although many might say this is their least favorite of the Little House books, it is most definitely my favorite. To start, the Wilder girls and women were not pushovers. Mother Wilder was strong, capable and smart, and her husband recognized this. I loved seeing this model of a marriage. The girls bossed around their brothers (just like I did my own little brother!)  Plus, there is the FOOD.  Oh my, the food scenes in this book are delightful! This is where I found my inspiration for today's recipe: Almanzo ran after Royal to the ice-house. They dug a block of ice out of the sawdust and put it in a grain sack. They laid the sack on the back porch and pounded it with hatchets till the ice was crushed. Alice came out to watch them while she whipped egg-whites on a platter. She beat them with a fork, till they w

CauliRice Pudding #TasteCreations

I love cauli rice so much that I wanted to see if there was a way to make a sweetened version of it. Could I find a way to put it in a dessert?  Say, like, rice pudding?  My husband loves rice pudding and I would love to find a healthier version for us to eat. I decided I wanted a "cooked" version to make it seem more homemade.   Here's what I landed on: CauliRice Pudding 2 c cauli rice (I bought the premade, frozen version) 1 t cinnamon 1/2 c Truvia 1 c coconut milk If you use the prepackaged version of caulirice, you will want to cook it a bit. I usually add a little of the milk to the contents of the bag and microwave it for about 1 minute. Taste the caulirice, you will want it to be a bit soft. Combine the cauli rice and coconut milk together.  Add Truvia and cinnamon. Let rest for 15 minutes.  I learned this entirely by accident.  This allows the cauliflower to absorb more of the flavors of the milk and cinnamon. Add to a medium sized pot and bring

Gluten Free Waffles with Lemon Cream Cheese Topping #WaffleWeek2017

It's Waffle Week again, and I am here with a fabulous group of bloggers to bring you all kinds of deliciousness that is waffles!  You might remember that I came up with Waffles Gone Wild from last year.  It was very well received, so I wanted to think of something you would like as much! I am always looking for ways to reduce my carb intake and I discovered these waffles a couple of years ago.  I keep playing with the recipe and here's what I have discovered that is consistently good, all the time. Gluten Free Waffles with Lemon Cream Cheese Topping 4 eggs 1 t vanilla 1 T Truvia (or sugar) 1/2 t baking powder 1/2 c almond butter Cream Cheese Topping 4 oz cream cheese, softened 1/2 t lemon extract 1 T almond milk Preheat waffle iron. I use an electric one. Process all ingredients in a blender.  Let rest for 5 minutes. While resting combine the cream cheese, lemon extract and milk until smooth.  Set aside.  Coat waffle with butter or cooking spray. Ladle i