Cooking Tips:

• Add a pinch of sugar while cooking any green leaf vegetables. This will help maintain the bright green color.
• Remove the stems from chilies before storing them. This will keep them fresher for a long time.
• To keep coriander and other leafy greens fresh longer, wrap in newspaper and place in a perforated container in the fridge.
• If the milk begins to boilover, quickly sprinkle a little cold water over it and the overflow will subside.
• If dried herbs are used in a recipe, crush them first to release their fragrance
• To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes.
• After boiling noodles you should immediately put cold water in them to separate it otherwise it is going to become sticky.
• Garlic skin comes off easily if the garlic flakes are warmed a little before peeling.
• When you bake cookies and they come out too hard, simply put the cookies in a bag with a piece of bread overnight .

My Real Women of Philadelphia Commercial!!

"Holy crap I'm going to be in a national commercial!" was the first thing I said when I got an email from  Mcgarry Bowen. They are producing a commercial for Kraft's Philadelphia cream cheese contest "Real Women of Philadephia" and wanted to use my video! ME!! Little old ME!!!

 I was so HONORED that they would choose one of my video's to help represent the enitre online community of FABULOUS women over there at http://www.realwomenofphiladelphia.com/

So for that I say THANK YOU PAULA DEEN, KRAFT, & EQAL for this awesome opportunity!!!!

The commercial begins airing tomorrow on numerous stations so keep an eye out for yours truly!!! This contest is so full of wonderful surprises! I've had so much fun "spreadin a lil love"!

Here's a sneak peak of the commercial......

Tenga bora( Thekera Tengar jool)

Ingredients:

4-5 handfuls of split red lentils,washed and soaked in water for an hour
5-6 pieces of thekera( kokum), soaked in water for an hour
2 pinches of turmeric powder
salt to taste
Oil for frying the bora (fritters)
a pinch of sugar
1/2 tsp mustared seed
1 whole red chilli
1 tsp flour

Directions:

• Drain the water and grind the lentils
• Heat the oil.
• Mix the ground lentils with salt and fry some bora( fritters).

• In another pan, heat the mustard oil and add 1tbs mustared seeds, turmeric powder, chilly and salt according to your taste.
• add the thekera pieces (which were soaked in water)
• Add the water in which the thekera was soaked, along with another glass of water, and simmer for a minute.
• Mix the flour with a little water to make a light paste and add to the pan.
• Now add the boras (fritters) to the pan and cook for 10 minutes .
• Finally, it is ready to serve with rice.

Musi Kathalor sabzi( jackfruit curry,assamese style)

Ingredients

• Cut small size raw Kathal / Jackfruit in small bite size pieces around 2 cups.
• 1 medium size potato
• 2 onions chopped in chopper
• 1 tsp. of Garlic and ginger minced
• 3 tbsp. of Oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp of Turmeric powder
• 1tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• ½ tbsp of red chili powder
• 1 red chili raw
• 2 tejpata / Bay leaves
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 tsp garam masala powder

Directions

• First boil the pieces of jack fruit and potato for 5 to 7 minutes in a cooker without covering
• In a non stick pan add oil
• Add panch furan
• Add red chili, garlic, ginger and bay leaves
• Now add chopped onion
• When the mixture turns light brown add pieces of jack fruit and potato.
• Fry them in the same pan with the onions salt, turmeric and red chili powder, cumin powder and sugar.
• It will take 5-8 minutes;

• Now add 1 cup of water and let it cook for 10 minutes.
• Add garam masala powder
• It is ready serve to everyone with roti or steamed rice.

Richard's Tacos Recipe

My husband has been making these tacos longer than I've known him. They are a crowd pleaser - everyone we've made these for loves them. Over the years, they have affectionately become known as "Richard's Tacos." His recipe is based on his Mom's simple American cheese and corn tortillas recipe that he grew up eating as a quick snack. He added the ground beef to make it more like an entree. They are simple beef tacos that once dressed with cilantro, tomato, avocado, salsa, and hot sauce, are so tasty, it's impossible to eat just one.

Richard's Tacos Recipe

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Salt and pepper
10 corn tortillas
Shredded cheese (optional)

1/3 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1 medium tomato
1 avocado
Salsa
Hot sauce like Tapatio or Tamazula Mexican Hot Sauce
1 can of black beans

Brown the ground beef over High heat. Season with garlic powder (optional) and then salt and pepper to taste. Drain off any fat.

To prepare the garnishes, chop a small bunch of cilantro leaves, then slice a tomato and slice the tomato slices in half. Hold off on slicing the avocado until just before serving the tacos.

Heat the black beans in a small pot over Med. Low heat.

Heat a large skillet or the griddle (smooth) side of a Nathan's Reversible Stovetop Grill and Griddle, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, to Medium heat and put 3 or 4 tortillas on it to warm up so they can be folded in half without breaking apart. Check them every minute or so and turn them over when they start to get soft. When soft, put 2 tbsp of beef filling onto half of a tortilla, along with a small handful of shredded cheese if you want, and fold the other half of the tortilla over it to make the taco. Press the taco with a spatula to secure the fold.

Once all of the tacos are folded, let them sit for 3-5 minutes to let the tacos brown. When they start to brown, flip them over and cook the other side for 3-5 minutes until it is browned. When done, take the tacos off of the skillet or griddle and put them in a covered dish to keep warm while you make the other tacos.

When the last batch of tacos is on the skillet or griddle, prepare the sliced avocado. Cut the avocado in half along the pit, open and remove the pit. Use a knife to make slices in the avocado half. Use a spoon to scoop out the slices. Put them on a plate and sprinkle a little salt on them.

Serve the tacos with cilantro, sliced tomato, sliced avocado, salsa, and hot sauce (Richard's choice is Tapatio), along with black beans on the side. Makes 10 tacos.

Vanilla Mango Sorbet Recipe (Vegan)

I created this sorbet as a replacement for the coconut milk ice cream we had to stop eating because of Sam's food sensitivities. I wanted something creamy and thought mango might be the right way to go. I added vanilla to compliment the mango, and it does nicely. This sorbet is creamy, scoops well, and isn't too sweet. It is currently my family's favorite sorbet.

Vanilla Mango Sorbet Recipe

2 ripe mangos
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar -OR- 1/3 cup light agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Peel the skin and remove the pits from the mangos. Cut the mango pieces into small squares and add them to a medium-sized pot. Add the water, agave or sugar, and vanilla and heat to boiling over High heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Let the mixture cool in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and then pour it into a blender and "liquify" it. Add the mango puree to an automatic ice cream maker to make the sorbet (I run the ice cream maker for 16 minutes). Makes 1 pint (2 cups) of sorbet.

Maple Baked Squash and Apples Recipe (Vegan)

I grew up eating my Mom's baked acorn squash "boats" with brown sugar and butter, and it was one of my favorite side dishes. My brother and I used to scope out the squash boat with the most brown sugar and claim it before the other one did. In my family, I still make the squash boats occasionally, but with olive oil and salt (instead of the butter) and brown sugar. The problem is that Sam will usually only eat the brown sugar with a minimal amount of squash. So I created this dish using either acorn squash or butternut squash and an apple, with olive oil, salt, and maple syrup because it's easier to eat and it's guaranteed with this dish that Sam will eat more squash and apple than sugar. The apples add an "apple pie filling" flavor to the dish that I especially love.

Maple Baked Squash and Apples Recipe

1 acorn squash or small butternut squash
1 medium-sized crisp apple like a Fuji or Honeycrisp
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9x12 pan with non-stick cooking spray. Cut the squash into sections, scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon, and remove the shell, leaving just the squash meat. Cut the squash pieces into 1 inch squares and add them to the pan. Peel and core the apple and cut the apple pieces into 1 inch squares like the squash, and add them to the pan distributing them among the squash. Drizzle olive oil over the squash and apples, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Next drizzle pure maple syrup over everything, like you did the olive oil. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the aluminum foil and bake for 10 more minutes. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Steak and Roasted Cauliflower Spaghetti Recipe

I created this dish when we stopped eating spaghetti sauce due to Sam's tomato sensitivity and my tomato, onion, and garlic sensitivities. I wanted to come up with a hearty and complete spaghetti dish for my family. I added the Roasted Cauliflower taking a chance, not knowing if it would work in a spaghetti dish. Amazingly, it blew us away with how good it works. We all love this recipe.

Steak and Roasted Cauliflower Spaghetti Recipe

3/4 lb beef top sirloin steak (boneless)
1 package of whole mushrooms (8 oz.)
1 medium head of cauliflower
1 handful of dry spaghetti (enough for 2-3 people)
Shredded parmesan cheese (fresh)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Roast the cauliflower using this recipe. You will need 1 hour total cooking time for the cauliflower, so don't start cooking the mushrooms, steak, or spaghetti, until the 30 minute mark.

Cut the raw steak up into small bite-sized pieces, removing most of the fat. Put the steak pieces into a medium-size mixing bowl and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Mix together the steak and olive oil, and set aside.

Wash and dry the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms and set aside.

At the 30 minute mark of the cauliflower, spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, heat the skillet to High heat, and add the sliced mushrooms. Let the mushrooms sit without moving them for a couple of minutes to start browning. Drizzle a little olive oil over the mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste, then saute the mushrooms, stirring every couple of minutes until they are all nicely browned. This will take around 15 minutes or so. Remove the mushrooms from the heat and put into a covered dish to keep warm.

At the 40 minute mark of the cauliflower, start a large pot of water on High heat to boil for the spaghetti. When boiling, add the spaghetti and a dash of salt, and follow the package's cooking instructions. Time your spaghetti to be done when the roasted cauliflower is done, so the pasta can be drained and added directly to the skillet with the beef and mushrooms at the end.

At the 50 minute mark of the cauliflower, spray the large non-stick skillet again, heat it to High heat, and add the steak. Add salt and pepper to taste and saute the steak until all of the pieces are cooked through and browned. This will take around 6 minutes.

When the cauliflower is done, reduce the skillet heat to Med. and add the mushrooms to the steak in the skillet, along with the cooked spaghetti, and stir/toss until everything is well mixed.

Plate up the spaghetti with the beef and mushrooms. Add a serving of the roasted cauliflower on top of that, and add freshly shredded parmesan cheese over the whole thing. Serves 2 adults (and one small child) using the quantities above. If you use more spaghetti to serve 4 people, you would want to add more steak and mushrooms, but as long as you use a large head of cauliflower instead of the medium, one would probably still be enough.

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe (Vegan)

Roasted cauliflower, a/k/a "cauliflower popcorn," is not an original idea of mine. I first discovered it at RecipeZaar here. And Julesong based hers on a recipe she found in a book. I made a couple of revisions to her recipe (less salt, more oil) and my family loves this dish. We eat it once a week or so. It's very kid friendly in that you can pick it up and eat it like popcorn, and it gets carmelized in the oven so it becomes sweet and crunchy. Here is how I make it:

Roasted Cauliflower Recipe

1 medium to large head of cauliflower
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry a head of cauliflower. Cut the florets into bite-sized pieces. I usually will take a large floret and quarter it, a smaller floret and halve it, or the little ones I leave whole. Put all of the cut cauliflower into a medium sized mixing bowl.


When it is all cut up, sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt over it, and add a tablespoon of olive oil over each corner and one in the middle (5 total). Gently mix until all of the oil and salt is equally distributed over the cauliflower.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and pour the cauliflower onto the cookie sheet. Spread out the cauliflower over the entire sheet. Put it in the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and use a spatula to turn all of the cauliflower pieces. Do this every 15 minutes for 1 hour total roasting time. The cauliflower will be browned and slightly crunchy when done. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Real Women of Philadelphia Contest!!

Well folks...it has come to an end...The Real Women of Philadelphia contest given by Paula Deen and Philadelphia cream cheese! I've been participating since the start of the contest almost 2 months ago. Wow how time flies when you're doing what you love!!

If you aren't familiar with this contest here's a recap: Paula Deen is looking for four fabulous home cooks to be the women of "Real Women of Philadelphia" Not the state but the cream cheese! Each week contestants had to come up with an original video recipe that used cream cheese based on certain categories like side dishes, appetizers, entrees & desserts. Two contestants are chosen each week which will result in 16 women total who will fly down to Savannah, GA to meet Paula and cook their recipes live. Out of the 16 winners 4 will be chosen (one from each category) Those 4 receive $25,000, star in their own cooking show, a cookbook, publicity tour and a few other fabulous prizes!!

Sunday marks the end of the contest and I must say I had a freakin blast!!! It's been so long since I've had the chance to just play around in my kitchen and create recipes! I've met some fabulous everyday women who share my love for cooking and created a very impressive binder of prize-worthy cream cheese recipes that I can't wait to try out!!

I still have a chance of winning dessert week, as I submitted 4 videos for this last round. There were a TON of great, yummy videos submitted for this last round. Those ladies are really bringing their A-game!! We'll see what happens, it's like winning the lottery, you can't win if ya aint in it!

Here are all of my cream cheese infused recipes that I submitted during my 2 month cooking venture!!

 I'll get around to posting the recipes this week but you can find the videos of me making these on my youtube channel for now!

Thanks so much Paula & Kraft for such a fabulous, fun contest!!

Apple Pie Parfait

Dessert Fruit Burritos

Philly Princess Berry Blondies

White Chocolate Raspberry Key Lime Bars

Stuffed Banana Cream Pecan Blondies

Supreme Pizza Potatoes

Buffalo Onion Rings

Smokey Sausage and Spinach Potato Soup.

 Served in Potato Bowls.

Diva 'Dillas

Juice Finger Jello Recipe

Finger jello recipes using juice are very common and they all have pretty much the same ingredients and the same quantities. Finger jello is a regular part of Sam's snack diet. Grape is her favorite flavor, along with black cherry. This is the way I make it.

Juice Finger Jello Recipe

2 cups 100% fruit juice, divided
3 packets gelatine
2 tbsp light agave nectar -OR- sugar (or 3 if juice isn't very sweet on its own)

Pour 1/2 cup cold juice in an 8x8 square pan. Sprinkle gelatine evenly over it and let it sit for a few minutes to be absorbed by the juice. In a small pan, heat the remaining 1-1/2 cups juice and agave or sugar until it starts to boil. Add the hot juice to the pan and stir the mixture until the gelatine is completely melted and dissolved. Refrigerate for 2 hours, then cut into squares. Pick up a square and eat it with your fingers. Finger jello stores in the refrigerator.

Mini Freezer Pancakes Recipe (Vegan)

I created this recipe for Sam to eat with breakfast a few times a week with maple syrup. It took me a long time to get this recipe just right (notice the odd sugar measurement and the addition of vanilla). I make mini pancakes so she can just pick them up and eat them (finger food) and I freeze them so they last a while, although she especially loves them fresh off the skillet. I also regularly make these with rice flour. You can make normal-sized pancakes with this recipe, too.

Mini Freezer Pancakes Recipe

1 cup unbleached flour
2 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

1 cup water or vegan milk
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Heat a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to Med High heat. Use a tablespoon to spoon 4 or 5 mini pancakes onto the skillet at a time. Pancakes will bubble, rise, and lose their shine after about 1 minute 10 sec. Flip them and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and let cool on a sheet of wax paper. Makes 24 mini pancakes or 6 regular sized pancakes.

When they are cool you can lay 9 at a time out on a paper size sheet of wax paper, stack the sheets, then put in a large Ziploc bag for freezing.


If using rice flour to make these pancakes, use the following instead of the unbleached flour above, and grease your skillet really well:
2/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup white rice flour
2 tbsp binder (potato starch, tapioca flour, arrowroot powder, etc.)

Baked Taquitos (Chicken or Beef) Recipe

A while ago I decided I needed to figure out how to bake taquitos because I'm not much of a frier, and we love Mexican food and needed an alternative to tacos. I also realized that taquitos are a great kid food for Sam because they are easy to hold and eat. I thought if I could keep the rolled up taquitos together somehow on my cookie sheet, I could bake them after spraying them with cooking spray. Then I came up with the idea of using aluminum foil strips to twist around the taquitos to hold them, and my recipe came about. Taquito night is one of my favorite dinners at home.

Baked Taquitos (Chicken or Beef) Recipe

For chicken filling:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper

Butterfly the raw chicken breasts so they are not so thick and tenderize them using a fork to prick them. Heat a non-stick skillet, sprayed with cooking spray, to High heat and cook chicken for about 7 minutes per side or until browned and fully cooked. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes or so, then use a fork and shred/chunk the chicken. Put chicken aside.

For beef filling:

3/4 lb extra lean ground beef
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
Salt and pepper

Brown the ground beef over High heat. Season with garlic powder (optional) and then salt and pepper to taste. Drain off any fat. Cool the ground beef and put aside.

To make taquitos:

10 corn tortillas
Aluminum foil cut into ten 1/2" x 8" strips
Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large non-stick skillet (do not spray) to Med. Low/Low heat. Put 3 or so tortillas on it to warm up so they can be rolled without breaking apart. Check them every minute or so and turn them over when they start to get soft. When soft, take a tortilla and put filling onto one end of it (2 tbsp beef or a small bunch of shredded chicken - eyeball it to make meat last for 10 taquitos). Note: if the tortilla breaks apart while rolling, that means it was not soft/warm enough to use. Roll filling up in tortilla and wrap a strip of aluminum foil around the middle of it and twist it to secure.


Place taquitos on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray. Every 4 taquitos, spray the tops with the cooking spray. When all of the taquitos are on the cookie sheet and sprayed, put it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. When done, remove the tin foil strips before serving. Serve with guacamole, refried beans, and salsa to dip in. Makes 10 taquitos.

Rice Cracker Recipe (Vegan, Gluten-free)

This recipe is posted for my friend Laura who loves these crackers. I stopped making them a while ago due to Sam's starch and milk (of any kind) senstivities, and my sensitivity to rice flour. I created this recipe to have great rice crackers to put hummus on since we were cutting out wheat at the time. My family loved these crackers when I used to make them. They store well in a large Ziploc bag in the pantry until they are all eaten.

Rice Cracker Recipe

1-1/4 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch or tapioca flour (Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup rice milk

Olive oil non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together with a fork. Add the olive oil and cut it in with a fork until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the rice milk and mix thoroughly.

Separate the dough into 2 equal parts. Spray 2 cookie sheets with olive oil non-stick spray. Put a ball of dough on each cookie sheet in an elongated shape like a football. Cover with a big sheet of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll out dough to a very thin sheet (almost transparent) covering the whole cookie sheet. Use a pizza slicer to cut columns and rows of small square crackers (1" x 1" or so). Use a fork to prick holes in each cracker. Spray the crackers with the olive oil non-stick spray and lightly sprinkle with salt.


Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Take out the lightly browned crackers (you will have to break them apart along the seams for some of them) to cool on a table top and put the rest of the crackers back in the oven for additional 10 minute increments until all of the crackers are lightly browned. This will take approximately 1 hour of baking time total. When crackers are all cooled, put them in a large Ziploc bag and store them in the pantry.

Vanilla Muffin Recipe (Vegan)

I created this recipe for Sam to have with her breakfast a few times a week. I make this recipe regularly with wheat flour and also with rice flour. Using a jar of squash baby food in the wet ingredients makes the muffins moist and adds a small amount of protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin C which is nice since they do not have milk or eggs in them. Also, the squash is mild enough it doesn't add a particular flavor to the muffins so the vanilla and anything you "add in" still stands out. These muffins freeze well.

Vanilla Muffin Recipe

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 (4 oz) jar squash baby food + 1 jar water -OR- 1 cup water or vegan milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Add ins:
1/2 cup blueberries, dried fruit, or nuts
1/2 tsp pure orange or lemon extract
For donut muffins add 1/2 tsp nutmeg and omit the vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and your "add in" and mix together thoroughly. Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray. Use a tablespoon to spoon batter into pan. Makes 12 muffins. Bake for 13 minutes.

If using rice flour to make these muffins use the following instead of the unbleached flour above:
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 tbsp binder (potato starch, tapioca flour, arrowroot powder, etc.)

Also, with rice flour, use 2 jars of water with the squash baby food instead of 1 jar.

Carob Brownies Recipe (Vegan)

I developed this recipe when Sam started reacting to cocoa/chocolate. We love chocolate in this family, and these carob brownies have been filling the void for us nicely. These brownies are rich and moist and they freeze well. The carob powder can be replaced with cocoa powder for chocolate brownies.

Carob Brownies Recipe

1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup toasted carob powder (Bob's Red Mill brand)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Batter will be thick. Spray a 9x12 pan with non-stick spray. Spread batter evenly into pan with a spatula. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.

If using rice flour to make these brownies use the following instead of the unbleached flour above:
1 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp white rice flour
2 tbsp binder (potato starch, tapioca flour, arrowroot powder, etc.)

If using agave nectar and rice flour to make these brownies use the following instead of the sugar above:
1-1/3 cup light agave nectar
Also, use 3/4 cup safflower oil and 3/4 cup water instead of 1 cup each
Bake it at 350 degrees for 25 minutes instead of 375 degrees
And generously spray your baking pan

Basic Cookie Recipe (Vegan)

This is my favorite cookie recipe I've created. It is extremely versatile in that you can add chocolate chips, or dried currants (my favorite), cranberries, raisins, or nuts to it and have a different experience. The cookies are crispy and chewy and not too sweet. They also freeze well.

Basic Cookie Recipe

1-1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup "add-in" (choc. chips, currants, cranberries, raisins, nuts)

1/3 cup + 1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together dry ingredients. Make sure to get all the lumps out of the brown sugar before adding the "add in." Add the "add in" to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Use a tablespoon to scoop out a ball of dough and roll it into a ball in your hand. Place the ball on the cookie sheet and press it with your fingers to make a flat circle like this:


Arrange cookies in 3 rows of 5 across. Recipe will yield 15 cookies. Bake for 15 minutes.

If you want to make cookie bars, spread the batter into an 8x8 baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Use the back of the spoon to spread the batter evenly and press it firmly into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Wait for it to cool before cutting into squares.  Makes 16 cookie bars.

If using rice flour to make these cookies use the following in place of the unbleached flour above:
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp white rice flour
2 tbsp binder (potato starch, tapioca flour, arrowroot powder, etc.)

My Natural Skin Care Regimen

Radiant, Nourished, and Toned!!

My never-ending quest to get perfect skin

I think that after almost 30 years I finally understand my skin. This year we've developed an understanding and I FINALLY "get it". I get her! She hates store bought skin products.  Why couldn't the bitch just tell me that from the beginning! It could have save me sooo much money and embarrassing break outs!

Anyway, I had a love/hate relationship with my skin for a long time. Sometimes she behaved and sometimes no matter what products I tried that girl just did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.  Since the start of this year I have been trying natural skin care products, just trying to find something that give me lasting results (longer  than 2 weeks which is what store-brought items tend to do!)

I must say that I am LOVING all natural skin care and don't have any plans of changing up the game plan anytime soon! I'm completely hooked! My skin has never glowed this much. EVER! Even after I swore off fried foods and drank tons of water.

Having balanced skin makes you look healthy, happy, and refreshed. I'm so happy to finally have something that works! I now have control of my skin instead of it being the other way around! .....Whoa that was such a commercial line LOL

 So here is my current skin care regimen: (all of these products can be found in good ol' Walmart. Although you will probably have to go to a health food store to get the cocoa butter soap)

Cleanser- Cocoa Butter Soap with tea tree and olive oil. 
Exfoliate- Coffee Scrub
Moisturize- Olive oil and aloe vera. Aura Glow body oil (when I have it)
Tone- Green tea wash or Apple cider vinegar
Anti-Aging- Castor Oil
Dark Circles and Bags - Potato juice

I love trying natural skin care remedies so if you have a favorite, let me know!!!

I'm Currently  Searching For:

1.  A good skin-tightening mask
2. A good black-head peel
3. A good skin brightening spray