Crafting Coupons & Chocolate Week!

Honestly, I’ve had so much fun on Etsy the past month it really can’t even be considered work! The people who sell on Etsy are so friendly and helpful and the forums are full of good info and support, everyone wants to help each other succeed, can you believe it?!? It’s been such a breath of fresh air to know that there are others out there hoping for the best for others, even if you are their “competition”. In the past month I’ve had an item of mine selected for 2 treasuries and have been mentioned on a couple blogs, besides my own, haha. So I just want to give a quick thanks to SweetThangs, who chose my Bliss Cookie Jar picture (though she now admits she would have chosen Death By Chocolate Cookie Dough had she seen it first) to highlight during her “Chocolate Week” series! I’d love to thank those that added me to their treasuries as well, but I didn’t realize they they only stay up for 2 days, so they are gone now. But hey, I’ll take the 15 minutes of fame with much gratitude!

I also wanted to remind all of the hobby crafters out there to take advantage of the weekly coupons for Michael’s and Joann’s, as they are readily available for printing online, no need to buy the newspaper! I often forget about them myself, so I figured someone else out there might appreciate the reminder too.  Just type in “michael’s coupon” or “joann coupon” in a search engine, you’ll see a couple links for it right away. Just make sure to check the date on the coupon, as dome of the links may lead you to older coupons that are no longer valid. I personally will be heading out to buy some scalloped circle punches. I plan on printing my Bliss Candies logo on some pretty scrapbook paper (which I have a ton of), then punching it out. Later I can use a little double stick tape on the back and seal up individually packed items with these, like my brownies and bars.

So if you happen to have a lot of scrapbook paper around, using a shaped punch is a great way to dress up a gift or package, to seal your letters, even make a set of special tags or labels as a gift for someone special! Double stick tape is just one option, you can also try using a paper-hole punch and some ribbon or twine to make gift tags.

A Great Site for Low-Carb Recipes & Easy Fruit Dip

I personally think each person, each body, is a little different.  Some do well on a “balanced” way of eating, others do well on “eat whatever I see” way of eating (so jealous of my husband), yet others respond well to controlled portions of protein.  I, on the other hand, find that I do best on a low-carb and low-sugar way of eating.  If I want to be really diligent, I also go as natural as possible, sticking to core/base ingredients and making things from scratch at home, so it is not riddles with preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, starches, and all of the other hidden ingredients that most mass produced foods have.   The low-carb/low-sugar way of eating works well for me in two ways; I actually do lose weight on it AND I am not nearly as lethargic after eating.  I find that when I mix my carbs with proteins I get extremely tired after eating, which is why the Suzanne Somers eating philosophy works really well for me.

So, all that being said, where do I go for inspiring recipes for my meal planning?  Because let’s face it, sometimes low-carb is a bit challenging, especially if you are not very creative.  I personally go to lowcarbfriends.com, which has a TON of recipes on their forum, as well as comments and feedback.  You can even rate the recipes you try.  The other site I go to is basically a “vault” of all the recipes submitted by those who have followed the Suzanne Somers way of eating.  For those of you who are not familiar with her way of eating, it is not necessarily low-carb, but rather not mixing certain foods together and keeping to whole grains and natural foods.  So as you look through the recipes just keep in mind that they are not all “low-carb”, but the vast majority of them are.  In fact, most of my recipes come from here and I love making my own dressings vs. store bought, they just taste so much better!  I’ll have to share a couple with you in another post, as I swear, some days all that gets me thru is a couple good reuben rolls with homemade 1000 island dressing, YUM.

Oh, and if you are looking for an easy fruit dip, give this one a try!  I had it tonight with baked plantain chips (not low-carb I know, but I love them) but it would be good with pretty much any fresh fruit.

Easy Fruit Dip: simply blend together 2 parts cream cheese to 1 part sour cream, then sweeten with splenda or your preferred sweetener to taste.  That’s it!

Don’t throw out that junky suitcase, pets need a bed!

up-cycled suitcase made into a cat bed

As I was looking for pet beds for my puppies on Etsy, I saw the CUTEST re-cycled/up-cycled cat bed make out of an old suitcase! Now I don’t know about you, but as soon as I saw it I was like “I have an old suitcase in the garage!”.  For once it’s a good thing my parents are packrats! By looking at the picture I assume it’s a matter of un-hinging the 2 sides and then taking the power tools to it to drill a few holes and then screw in some legs from the hardware store or from the flea market. If you don’t have an old suitcase I’m sure there are plenty to be found at all of the flea markets or garage sales going on right now! I tell you what, these babies have lots of character and it sure beats paying a ton of money for all of those commercial pet beds!

For those who have 2 cats, try stacking them by putting a smaller suitcase bed on the top, like bunk beds! How cute would that be?!?! Yup, I hear “hubby, I have a project for US!” coming on real quick here…

Oh, and speaking of recylcing, seeing as that is the theme of this pet bed, how about using those REALLY old towels as a cover for bed pillow? Come on, you know you have one and even if you can’t sew just wrap an old pillow inside the towel, or don’t use a pillow at all and just put the folded towel into the suitcase, kitty and puppy will love it either way!

How My Life Changed Over a Couple Weekends

This past weekend we attended the funeral of my husband’s 11 year old cousin, who has been battling Leukemia over the past 2-3 years.  Funerals are always tough, but I think even more so when the person is so young.  You know, you think about all of the memories he/she didn’t have a chance to make yet, the experiences that they should have been able to take part in but never got a chance to, etc…  It’s at these times that I really have to take stock of who I am, what I am doing, and why.  Is it worth it, am I looking at the “big picture”, how about just letting the little things go and not sweating the “small stuff”?  At times things just seem so out of focus ad it’s good to get re-centered every so often.  And no, you do not need to wait for something drastic in life to happen before you do so, but often times that IS what leads us to take action.  We are all saddened by his death but are comforted in knowing we will see him again in heaven.

The other thing I have learned this past weekend comes from spending a weekend up at our new house.  We are sort of living at 2 houses right now, as we are waiting until the end of the school year to complete our move.  But in the meantime, we have taken up a truckload of stuff, as well as a couple car loads here and there.  We spent last weekend and Memorial Day weekend up at the new house, just trying to unpack and situate what we can before the last of it goes up.  I have to say, I love the fact that it is not cluttered and is clean and really we don’t have a lot of distractions to overload our senses.  We did have the laptop so we could watch movies, but no computer or tv or gaming consoles etc…  It was just ourselves with a couple packed outfits and toiletries, a bed to sleep on, couch to sit on, and a few simple meals.  We spent time just hanging out and relaxing as a family, reveling in the cleanliness and peace that it brings, and soaked up a lot of sun while listening to birds and feeling the breeze!

And I have to say, after 2 weekends of that, I actually do NOT want a computer upstairs!  At first I thought it would be a good idea so I could get work done upstairs too, but if we did that then I’d always be working, just like now!  I have a hard time walking away from the computer, as there are so many things to do and research and blog etc… but there’s so much more to life and I’ve been missing out a little, so I’m looking forward to balancing out my life a bit better.  There are so many projects that I would love to tackle, for me, for the kids, for the family…but there never seems to be time as the computer is a constant distraction.  If I’m forced to go downstairs to use it, I’ll think twice before sitting down in front of it.  Besides, it’s good to separate work life from home life, especially for those that work from home.  And as a person who constantly has to be doing something, like me,  it takes a great amount of discipline to walk away from the “office” for the night!

Low-Carb Salmon Burgers with Citrus Slaw

Salmon Burger with Citrus Cole Slaw

As with any way of eating, there are always a few “Staples” that one has on hand, and for me it is the sauces and veggies.  I never did name the sauce used for my Fish Tacos, but I figured now would be a good time to do so, and I decided to call it Creamy Citrus Dressing, as really that what it is to me and I can’t think of another name.  So for this dish you’ll need the sauce recipe, just click on the Fish Tacos link above, and then the Salmon patties/burgers below, which come together in a snap!

And for those who really don’t like the Creamy Citrus dressing (how could you not?!?) the alternative dressing to this is pretty tasty on the salmon patty itself (and of course with buns for those not low-carbing it), though not sure how it tastes mixed with the slaw.

Low-Carb Salmon Burgers/Patties recipe:

• 1- 7oz. can of skinless and boneless salmon-drained
• 1 Tbls Hellman’s mayo
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• juice of 1 lemon wedge
• a little salt and pepper

Directions:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and blend well.  Don’t worry if it seems a too moist, it will form a crust and dry up a little on the pan.
• Heat a pan over medium heat, add a little olive oil or butter.
• Form the salmon mix into 3-4 patties, just like hamburger patties.  Add them to the pan and cook for a few minutes, until a brown crust forms.  Flip them over and cook until a crust a forms on that side as well.
• Serve on top of cole slaw (shredded cabbage) that has been mixed with the Creamy Citrus dressing.
• Alternative Dressing: mix about 2 Tbls of mayo with 1 tsp of dijon mustard and the juice of 1 lemon wedge.  Mix well and then adjust to your liking.

Low-Carb Garlic Cheese “Bread”

Finished Garlic Cheese "Bread"

This has got to be one of the simplest low-carb recipes out there, and really tasty too!  I find that different brands of string cheese turn out differently, and by far I think the kind from Sam’s Club tastes the best for this.  This makes a great snack, or try dipping this into spaghetti or pizza sauce, yum!  While you’re at it, make up a couple for those around you as well, or they will end up eating yours…who doesn’t like cheese, right??

The trick to getting the right “crust” at the bottom is to use a pan that is not too slippery and DON’T use any sort of spray or greaser.  In fact, I use one of my oldest pans for this where the non-stick coating is now non-existent, this creates a nice burnt crust, just the way I like it!

String Cheese cooking on the pan

Low-Carb Garlic Cheese “Bread” recipe:

• string cheese (how ever many you want)
• garlic powder
• dried oregano

Directions:

• Put a pan on the stove and warm it up to medium heat, maybe a touch higher.
• Un-wrap the cheese sticks and lay right onto the un-greased pan, allowing it to cook for at least a few minutes.  When they are getting close to done the bottoms will look burnt and the cheese will just about lose all of it’s “round” cheese stick shape.
• Right towards the end sprinkle on some garlic powder and dried oregano, take off the pan and eat immediately while hot.

Snapshot of Bliss Candies in the works

Besides packing for our move, taking care of liquidating some of store stock (less to move you know), taking on the new hobby of book-binding (I love pretty journals!), I’ve also been working hard at developing my Bliss Candies store and it’s offerings….so torturous, I know. So here’s a quick snapshot at some of what’s been taking up my evenings, Enjoy the “eye candy” !

Some of my creations for Bliss Candies

Back to Lo-Carb and Garlic Mashed Broccoli Recipe

Garlic Mashed Broccoli with Grilled Chicken

Well, I fell off the low-carb bandwagon about a yr ago, so I guess it’s about time I get back on! I was doing so well to, had lost about 30-35 pounds before I got tempted back to the carb-side. It’s a struggle though, as I am the only one in the house that is a low-carber, the others have great metabolisms and can eat anything, or perhaps age just hasn’t caught up to them yet. In any case, I’m going to give it a good effort again! To help things along (for you and me) I’ve made a category section just for low-carb recipes. Now keep in mind, I’m a low-carber, NOT a no-carber! So if you are on an extremely restrictive no-carb diet (which I just can’t imagine for myself), then please adjust the recipes accordingly.

Here’s my philosophy, and really it reflects how I eat and my level of self-control- if I can go 2 meals a day without a bite or 2 of carbs, I’m good to go. A bite or two meaning that I may have a added a little during the cooking process for thickening or flavoring, but not really for the purpose of just eating it (a little flour, cornstarch, french friend onions, etc). If I can go a 3rd meal like this, more power too me, as I know a carb-full meal is usually just around the corner. It can’t be helped, my family loves certain Asian dishes, and it would be almost un-human to eat it without rice or noodles. Plus, as a passionate baker I have to try all the goodies for quality and to adjust recipes etc…so don’t worry, I get my share of carbs! As I go on this journey (yet again) I’ll be sure to post some of the better recipes, the ones I hold onto dearly as they get me by when I’m craving a carb replacement like nothing else.

Below is the recipe I always go to when I need a replacement for mashed potatoes and don’t have cauliflower on hand. Have you ever noticed how expensive fresh cauliflower can be? It’s too bad, as there are TONS of great low-carb recipes using cauliflower that I love…like cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower lasagna, scalloped cauliflower, mashed cauliflower, cauliflower “potato” salad (my favorite!!), cheesy cauliflower/veggie and bacon soup, ….but I digress.

Garlic Mashed Broccoli Recipe:

• 3 handfuls of fresh Broccoli – approx. 3-4 cups
• 1 Cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Tbls Sour Cream
• salt and pepper
• Shredded Cheese-optional

Directions:

• Combine the first 3 ingredients in a pot, bring to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is very tender.
• Once the broccoli is done cooking, take the pot off the stove and drain the liquid.
• Mash the broccoli, season with salt , pepper and sour cream and finish mashing. You can add in some cheese if desired.

A Candy Bar Disguised as Yogurt!

That’s right, you heard me! My seemingly “healthy” yogurt (well and really, all yogurts are pawned off on us as being “health” food) threw me for a loop when I decided to actually ready the nutritional label. I was SHOCKED that it had MORE sugar in it then a Snickers bar…and I should know as hubby keeps some in the freezer! Now I know obviously that yogurt is less fattening, but honestly, sugar can be just as bad and will turn into fat is you don’t exercise. I for one and not an physical exerciser, I’m simply a mental one. Then I also see that it has high fructose corn syrup in it….no thanks. For those of you wondering what the heck I bough, the name rhymes with “go-play”, it’s a popular brand, won’t take you lnog to figure it out.

So before you stock up on yogurt the next time you are at the grocery store, make sure to peek at the label! I’m going back to Dannon for myself (low sugar and no HF corn syrup), it’s good and I certainly don’t feel as guilty eating it! Besides, I love their flavors and that’s the brand I use for plain yogurt when I’m making my Fish Taco sauce, which goes well with so many things! Speaking of that sauce, just found out this weekend that it goes really well this Rice, Pepper & Pea Salad my sister in law made, so good! I’ll post the recipe for that soon!

A Cheap & Decorative Way to Stash Your Clutter

Decorative & Functional Cigar Boxes

I’m always envious when I go to the homes of others, always so nice and clean.  Makes me where….where IS all of their stuff hidden?!?! Granted, we have more clutter then most, but we are working on slimming down a lot, especially now that we are moving!  But even with moving, I know that there will still random “stray” stuff at the new house, just hard to avoid with 5 people who aren’t the greatest at being neat.

So a while ago I realized that some people actually HIDE their clutter in nice looking boxes strategically placed on their book shelves, underneath end tables, etc.  Well, we don’t have end tables where you can slide a box underneath and all of those nice looking boxes always seem so expensive at the stores, I’m on a budget here!  This past weekend though I found 2 great items, one in the garage while we were cleaning it out, and 1 while I was perusing on Etsy for a birthday gift for a male friend of mine.  I know, how could I not know what’s in my own garage, right?  It’s a long story, but essentially it was buried underneath all of my parents stuff.

So, what did I find??  A wicker CHEST! Now, it’s not pristine, but certainly still in good shape and usable and I KNOW my dad got it second hand, as it still had a hand-written price label on it of $15.  Our family loves to cuddle up with blankets on the couch, so a wicker chest would be a perfect place to stash those in the living room.  Heck, even all of the board games we own would go great in there, just so many uses for something large like that PLUS it looks nice as a decoration.

Now my second find of Cigar Boxes is more for small items, but wow, would they look great stacked up somewhere!  I’m thinking the living room, some for the bathrooms, the bookshelf, for craft items and tea bags, all sorts of things and places!  I’m amazed at how inexpensive these are and each brand has it’s own look and design, like a piece of artwork.  Now this type of recycling I can handle!  They have more “manly” ones such as the ones pictured above, but there are also many Victorian inspired designs and yet others with more intricate detailing.  They come in all sorts of colors, some are made of wood while some are made of super sturdy cardboard.  Some are embossed, some have decorative papering, etc…

I found 2 great shops on Etsy that sell these, and actually just purchased a random lot of 12 boxes for a mere $25, and that includes the shipping fee!  Functionality, character, affordable…how could you go wrong??  Even if you were to pick out the specific ones you wanted, versus the random lot I chose, they are still cheap!  To see some examples and price ranges try going to the Etsy shop named Cigarboxes or Evilmommy.  Now I’m sure there are many other places to get these, but Etsy is where I first found them and I prefer to support the home crafters