Things That Make My Heart Happy...

Things That Make My Heart Happy

~ Crisp Fall mornings

~ Cuddles with my little girl

~ Exploring

~ Traveling

~ A fresh blanket of snow Christmas morning

~Butterflies

~Listening/watching my hubby play with L

~ Long walks

~ Organization

~ Clean Kitchen

~ Curled up in bed with a good book

~ Listening to L squeal/giggle/make R2D2 sounds

~ The crunch of dry leaves

~ Enchanted forests

~ Good friends

~ Delicious baked goods

~ Sandy beaches with the warm sun on my face

~ A successful meal experiment 

~ Board games with the family

~ Changing colours

~ Movie nights with my hubby

~ A mug of hot beverage in hand whilst sitting outdoors under the stars

~ Aurora Borealis 

~ Boot and sweaters

~ Dressing up like a pirate

~ Singing

~ Date nights

~ Traditions

~ Watching L explore and discover

~ Writing

~ Fireworks

~ Clean eating

~ A weekend away with my love

~ Playing with clay

~ Being creative

~ Being a mommy and wife

These are but just a few things that make my heart happy. Were I to list them all, there would not be room enough. Each day is better having some of these elements a part of it.

What makes your heart happy?

The Growing Green Monday Feature: Frosted "Because life is SWEET"

Monday has come again. I've sure started looking forward to Mondays, when I get to share with you another amazing local business. I hope you have as much fun reading about them as I do writing about them. 

Today I bring you a special treat, FROSTED "because life should be SWEET"! Located in Elkwater, Ab, Toni Quincey, creator and owner of Frosted, creates her whimsical, fun, bold, and absolutely DELICIOUS cakes and cupcakes! I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that these creations not only look amazing, they taste amazing too. Before I was gluten intolerant I'd had my fair share of these decadent desserts. They appeal to, and satisfy I might add, the sweet tooth in us all. 

For those of you in the Medicine Hat area, you may remember Frosted from the Medicine Hat Farmers Market last year. Toni had her regulars who would stop by just to say hi and always left with some sort of goodie in hand. One just couldn't resist! I was just recently pregnant at the time and would hang out with Toni at the market, with a pan of her homemade cinnamon buns (and not normal sized cinnamon buns….GINORMOUS cinnamon buns) sitting on my lap while I ate them, right out of the container. Oh they were a pregnant woman's dream come true! Buttery, soft, sweet, and absolutely perfect (excuse me while I clean the drool off my keyboard). You're missing out until you've tried one of those cinnamon buns. But I digress….

Ok, back to cakes and cupcakes. Toni is exceptional in the kitchen, working her craft. She effortlessly manoeuvres around her work space, chatting and laughing while she "whips up" her soft, fluffy cakes from scratch. Without missing a beat she juggles, what seems to be, a thousand different tasks all at the same time. Mixing her own fondant from scratch, mixing her own batters from scratch, mixing her own frostings from scratch, building, sculpting, covering, decorating, frosting, and next thing you know, voila! You have this marvellous masterpiece sitting in front of you! And Toni never seems to break a sweat. She's so relaxed and laid back and completely comfortable in her environment, that you immediately feel likewise while watching her bake and create. Maybe it's her Feng Shui, I don't know, but whatever it is, it's like watching magic happen. I never tire of watching Toni in the kitchen. Is that creepy?

How is Toni so good at what she does? Well, she grew up around cakes. Toni's mom was the local "cake lady" in the town where she grew up, and made everyones' Birthday and Wedding cakes. When Toni was old enough, her mom let her 'decorate' her first rabbit. Toni recalls that day, "I had globs of icing on everything, not pretty, but tasty. I guess you could say that it runs in my veins. Once I learnt about fondant, and all the fun you can have creating with it, I was hooked..." (and thank goodness for us).

"…my first cake was a 2 tier, fall pumpkin cake for a ladies retreat. I still remember how the ladies oooo'd and ahhh'd over it, though I didn't think it was as great as they could get on TV (Toni is very modest and humble). But the next day I made a Panda birthday cake, and it was so cute no one wanted to eat it!" But for Toni, it's not just the outside that has to look great and taste great, she loves to make the cake taste like heaven! Mmmm…if this is what heaven tastes like, sign me up!

Whatever flavor you want, Toni makes it from scratch so its just right. No box mixes, no preservatives, just pure ingredients.

Toni and a cupcake tower she designed and made

"Now it is just pure joy seeing people's faces when they see their cakes. The bright colors, and designs.  Once I finish one, I can't wait for the next one to start!" - Toni Quincey

For pricing on Frosted's cupcakes and cakes, please contact Toni directly.

Her phone # is 403-893-2236, or you can email Toni at toniquincey@frostedsweets.net

For your next big event, if you want something special, something original, something amazing, something delicious, and of course, something sweet, you know who to call. Frosted will take care of you!

Frosted is also giving you the chance to save on your next order! As a special only found on the Growing Green blog, for you and you alone my dear readers, be sure to give Toni the PROMOCODE: FROSTED and you will receive 10% off your order of cupcakes or cakes. Order soon as this special expires December 31, 2012.

You won't be disappointed!

Once in a while, we all must indulge….just a little. Everything in moderation :)

Till next time!

Stuffed Zucchini

Tis the season for experimenting with all the wonderful fresh veggies that harvest is bringing forth. I've never been one for trying new things with veggies in the past. They were meant to go as a side dish to an entree, not BE an entree. Or so we're taught to believe. This is so untrue. Veggies can be the star of the dish if you so choose. This will become more a reality from now on for us, as my husband and I have decided to cut out the vast majority of meat from our diet. We're not going to become full vegetarian, but we are going to try to only eat meat maybe twice a week, and one of those two days will be of the seafood variety, and cut back on our dairy intake. More on this later.

However, this dish I made before our new decision, and it was so good, I'll probably make it again on one of our meat nights. 

I was given some lovely garden vegetables from a friend, (as we don't have a garden ourselves) and so, excited as I was, I had to use them right away. They just looked so delicious! I wanted to try something new with the zucchini that I'd never done before. Thus this dish came to be. (This recipe is not my own. I found it online but tweaked it to my own needs. For full list recipe and directions, see bottom of this blog) oh yeah, did I mention this dish was made in the microwave? Cause it was! But don't worry if you don't have a microwave, this can be done in the oven just as easily. Just allow for longer cooking times :)

Stuffed Zucchini

Start off with a couple medium, fresh zucchini. Slice them in half length wise

 Scoop out the pulp

Brown your lean ground beef (I used TLC Farms ground beef) then add your chopped onion 

The recipe calls for bread crumbs, but I went the gluten free route and used some oats instead. 

Add your egg, sauce, salt, pepper, and cheese and mix together  

 Fill your zucchini cavities with the mixture

Top with more cheese

 Viola! Delicious stuffed zucchini!

Hayden enjoying his supper. mmm…so delicious!

Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients

4 medium zucchini (I just used 2 as there are just the two of us. We ate the leftover meat mixture the next day.)
1 lb lean ground beef (I used TLC Farms ground beef)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used 1/4 cup of rolled oats)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided (I just used marbled cheddar)
Additional marinara or spaghetti sauce.

Directions
cut zucchini in half lengthwise; cut a thin slice from the bottom of each with a sharp knife to allow zucchini to sit flat. Scoop out pulp, leaving 1/4 inch shells.

Place shells in an ungreased 3-qt. microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Remove from the heat; stir in the egg, marinara sauce, bread crumbs, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup cheese.

Spoon about 1/4 cup into each shell. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 4 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Microwave 3-4 minutes longer or until a thermometer inserted into filling reads 160 degrees and zucchini are tender. Serve with additional marinara sauce. Yield: 4 servings.


It was a fun meal to make and so simple. Hope you enjoy!
Happy Eating!

Gluten Free Garlic Cheddar Muffins

borscht and a garlic cheddar muffin

Today felt like a soup day, and you can't have soup without a biscuit of some sort. Well, I suppose you can, it just wouldn't be as fun :) As I've gone 100% gluten free, traditional biscuits would not do. I went to my ever faithful gluten free cupcake book and turned to the "Savory" muffins. There they were, shining out at me like a beacon. Garlic Cheddar Muffins. Done. When I asked Hayden, it took him a mere 1.38429 seconds to agree. ;) Thus the challenge to try this new muffin was mine for the taking. 

I've become more willing to try making new things as of late, and was actually quite excited to try this out. They sounded delicious (and tasted delicious). Not only are these muffins gluten free, they are refined sugar free as well. (For the list recipe and full directions, see the bottom of this blog.) 

Hayden was the first to bite into one of these delectable morsels and I was given two thumbs up of approval. Phew :) After three at supper with his soup, he took a break, then came back for another one as a bed time snack. I'm glad he likes them cause there's still more. These will definitely be a repeat in our house for sure. Enjoy!

the ever faithful cupcake book this recipe is found in

First things first. You need some almond flour. 1 1/4 cups to be exact

Stir in 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 free range eggs from TLC Farms and 2 Tbsp of oil whisked togetherd

2 cups of firmly packed cheese and 3 cloves of garlic

combine the wet and dry ingredients

Add the cheese and press the garlic. Mix together

(If you don't have a garlic press, I recommend the Pampered Chef one. A.MA.ZING!)

Fill your cups! Roughly 1/4 cup in each

Bake at 350 degrees for roughly 18-23 minutes. These baked for 20 minutes

End result….delicious!

GARLIC CHEDDAR MUFFINS

gluten and refined sugar free

1 1/4 cup blanched almond flour (meal)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 Lg eggs (I recommend TLC Farms free range eggs)

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups firmly packed grated cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

3 medium cloves garlic, pressed

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners (Be forewarned. I did this and when they were warm half the muffin stuck to the paper. However, once the muffins completely cooled and had been in the fridge, they no longer stuck to the paper at all. I would suggest maybe using a non-stick muffin tin and no paper liners but it's your call)

In a Lg bowl, combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and olive oil. Stir wet ingredients into the almond flour mixture with a large spoon until thoroughly combined, then stir in the cheese and garlic.

Scoop 1/4 cup of batter into each prepared muffin cup.

Bake for 18-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then serve.

Happy Eating!