Chocolate Donuts

I made these on Valentine's Day. Some of these ingredients I usually try to avoid. However, I loved them! I will not be making again them for a long, long time (do to the fact that I ate just about all of them while Kimball was at work). I didn't have a donut pan so I used a bite-sized Bundt pan. It worked just fine.




Chocolate Donuts

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbs butter. Melted


Glaze

2 Tbs Butter, Melted
2 Tbs corn syrup
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbs heavy Cream


Directions

-Preheat the oven to 325°.

-Grease baking pan.
-Combine all of the dry ingredients.
-In a separate bowl beat buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients.
-Add melted butter to the batter. Mix well.
-Spoon batter into baking pan and cook 18-22 minutes (if your using a 6 donut pan, start checking around 10 minutes)
-Remove donuts from pan and cool on a cooling rack.
-Mix all of the glaze ingredients together.
-Once donuts have cooled, dip them in the glaze. Let glaze set. Dip again. Let glaze set. Dip again (3 dippings).

Baked Custard

This is so rich and flavorful. Eat it plain or top it with your favorite fruit and whip cream. Everyone will love it!

1 cup Whole Milk

1 cup Heavy Cream

1/4 cup Honey or other sweetener

5 egg Yolks

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

-Warm milk and cream gently over low flame.

-Beat honey with egg yolks.

-Slowly add milk and cream mixture to eggs, beating constantly.

-Blend in vanilla and pour into individual custard cups.

-Place in a pan of hot water and bake at 325° for about an hour, or until a knife inserted into the custard comes out clean.

-Chill well.

{recipe from Nourishing Traditions}

Someday...Monday

Hello! Here we are again. Happy Monday!

I was excited to find this (thanks to my friends Pinterest board.) My microfiber couch is yuck! Really, it is in much need of cleaning! I am going to give it a good scrub today.

Find how to clean your microfiber couch HERE

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

I shared this recipe over at HowDoesShe. It's a good one! If you can't have dairy or gluten, no problem. Use coconut flour and coconut milk kefir (in place of yogurt). You will love them!

Start by cutting your chicken. Try to make your pieces close to the same size.


Marinate your chicken in the yogurt mixture. Marinate at least 4 hours and up to 4 days.


When your chicken is done marinating, you can roll the pieces around in flour individually, or use a plastic freezer bag. Fill it with flour and shake until the chicken is coated.


Next, is the frying. The oil is hot enough when it starts to have small bubbles. I tested out a few nuggets to make sure it was hot enough. Adjust your heat as needed. Your oil should NEVER smoke.


Place nuggets on a drying rack to cool. Make sure you put a cookie sheet underneath to catch any dripping oil.


Salt to taste. Serve with you favorite dipping sauce.





Homemade Chicken Nuggets

3 pounds Chicken Meat
2 cups Plain Yogurt (add more if needed)
1 Onion, chopped
2-3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp Paprika
1-2 pinches Cayenne pepper
1 1/2 – 2 cups Flour
1/2 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp Ground pepper
2 cups Coconut Oil or oil of your choice for frying

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into nugget-sized pieces.

2. Place chicken in 9x13 dish and mix in the yogurt, chopped onion, garlic, paprika and cayenne pepper. Put in fridge for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 2 days.

2. When done marinating, place chicken in a colander and drain off the excess yogurt and onion/garlic pieces.

3. Add the flour, sea salt, ground pepper, and chicken pieces to a large plastic freezer bag, zip to seal, and shake until the chicken is completely coated.

4. Set your skillet or large saucepan on medium heat and add the 2 cups of oil.

5. The oil is hot enough when it starts to bubble — but not so hot that it’s smoking. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and fry for 3-5 minutes on each side, until dark golden brown.

6. Using tongs, remove chicken nuggets from the pan and place on a cooling rack, on a plate, or cookie sheet lined with a paper towel.

7. Add sea salt to taste.
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A Slip Shop Giveaway

****Giveaway has ended****


I love the giveaway I have today! It is for a slip of your choice from A Slip Shop.

They are so cute!

Visit Kaity and Ann's shop.

Look around. You will fall in love :)

If you want to purchase a slip, use the code SHAYSHIP to get free shipping.

To enter the giveaway, like Raising Dieter on Facebook and leave me a comment. For an additional entry, like A Slip Shop on Facebook and leave me a comment. Good Luck! Winner drawn next week.

Butterscotch Brownies

I loved these! And there is a reason why I don't make treats like this very often...I eat them. All of them. They are delicious. If you can't have dairy, use coconut oil instead of butter.

*They really taste like Butterscotch. I promise!* :)

3/4 cup Butter

3 cups Brown Sugar

3 eggs, beaten

2 1/4 cups flour

2 tsp Baking Powder

3/4 tsp Salt

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup Pecans or Walnuts, chopped

1 cup Flaked Coconut

-In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat; remove from heat and cool.

-Blend in brown sugar and eggs.

-In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt; add to first mixture and blend well.

-Stir in vanilla, nuts, and coconut.

-Spread in greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes.

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Meet Kathryn! She has a variety of recipes on her blog! She has many food sensitivities and has begun an adventure of cooking with traditional foods.

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I am currently a student and will graduate in June as a certified Nutritional Therapist Practitioner. Growing up I dealt with eczema, acne, stomach pain, digestive issues, and depression/anxiety at different times in my life...Turns out I have food intolerance's to gluten, dairy, and soy. I enjoy being in the kitchen and use this blog mainly to post nutrient dense, properly prepared, whole food recipes (although you'll find some treats as well.)

Sourdough Pancakes

I bought my sourdough starter from Cultures from Health. Pancakes are a great way to use up some of your extra starter. I love Bisquick pancakes, but I know I can easily adjust to sourdough pancakes.

2 cups Sourdough Starter

1 Egg

3 Tbsp Sugar (Rapadura, Sucanat, Honey, etc.)

2 Tbsp Oil

3+ Tbsp Milk, Coconut Milk, or Water

1 tsp Baking Soda (optional, makes the pancakes fluffier)

-Mix together sourdough starter, eggs, sugar, oil, and baking soda.

-Use the milk/coconut milk/water to thin the batter to a pancake batter consistency.

-Heat the griddle to moderate heat and grease with coconut oil or butter.

-Use 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

-Cook until golden brown and then flip. Cook until golden brown on each side.

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Someday...Monday

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? I have had a sick Samantha :( It's hard when kids are sick.

Today's Someday...Monday is something Kimball wants to do. We watched this video a lot over the weekend. He wants to try it (we don't rock climb). My response, "Not in my lifetime... I'm pretty sure I would pee my pants." It's a fun video to watch though.

New Things

I got new glasses.

Dieter got a new horn on his bike.

And Samantha was able to ride in the stroller like a big girl.

Enjoy your weekend. It has been surprisingly warm where I live. Love it!

Butternut Squash Fries

These are so yummy right out of the oven... you might have them all eaten before they make it to the table. :) Some of my fries got a little overdone, but they were still delicious.

1 Butternut Squash

4 Tbsp Coconut Oil (you can also use olive)

Sea Salt and Pepper

-Using a sharp knife, cut squash in half lengthwise.

-Cut in half again (lengthwise) and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.

-Peel off the skin.

-Cut each quarter in half lengthwise, and keep cutting until they are the size of fries.

-Put all the squash in a bowl and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

-Lay the fries carefully on two cookie sheets; allowing for plenty of room around them.

-Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. They are down when brown and barely crispy.

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Tomato-Cheddar Strata with Broccoli

I found this recipe in one of the Country Living Magazines. It was really good! I even made my own ricotta cheese (I'll post that recipe someday). I used sourdough bread for this, but you can use whatever bread you like.

4 1/2 cups 1-inch Bread Cubes, about three-quarters of a French loaf

Butter, for greasing dish

1 1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese

1 cup halved Grape Tomatoes

1 cup Broccoli Florets

2 Tbsp Parsley

8 Eggs

3 cups Milk

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1/8 tsp Ground Pepper

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese

-Place bread in a buttered 9x13 baking dish. Top bread with 1 cup cheddar, tomatoes, broccoli, and 1 Tbsp parsley.

-In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, salt, milk, and pepper. Pour egg mixture over bread and gently press to soak every cube.

-Add dollops of ricotta over top. Add remaining cheddar.

-Cover and refrigerate for several hours or up to overnight.

-Remove strata from refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 1 hour.

-Bake at 350 degrees until strata is puffed and lightly golden brown, about 1 hour.

-Let cool 10 minutes.

-Garnish with remaining parsley.

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*Don't Forget to enter the Making Memories Giveaway. It ends tomorrow and I don't think anybody has entered*

Guest Post: Things I Love

Happy Valentine's Day!

Becca is here guest posting today. She was one of my best friends growing up (her twin sister was the other). You can visit her blog HERE (it's one of my favorites.)

Hi there! I was so surprised when my childhood friend Shay (and fellow awesome blogger) asked me to do a guest post on her blog. I immediately started brainstorming ideas.....Should I write about my love of Valentines day? How about my struggle with raising a son with Aspergers? What about my love of clothes? How much it sucks to love clothes when I'm poor? ha. FINALLY I decided to do a list of things I LOVE (in honor of V day of course). Since I love so many things I love I thought I would narrow it down to things I use on a daily basis. Are you excited? You should be. Here we go!!!!!

I love EYELINER. My favorite eyeliner right now is called penultimate eye liner in Rapidblack. It's goes on so easy and it has that liquid eye liner look that I love. Thanks Mac for making awesome makeup :)

Another makeup item I love is a PAINT POT in Bare Study (by Mac too of course). It adds the most beautiful shimmer and keeps your eye shadow in place so you don't get a smudged line on your eyelid throughout the day. If your looking for a more gold-ish color I love Rubenesque (my sister in law wears this one all the time, plus it's has an awesome name. I can't help thinking of a pleasantly plump painted woman-gotta love art history).

My last makeup item I use almost every day is my Too Faced EYE SHADOW in Natural Eye. I looked forever for some natural looking browns and golds that still had some shimmer to it, and then I came across this at Sephora. I love it so much!

ANTHROPOLOGIE ACCESSORIES. I'm one of those girls that looks online at clothes ALL THE TIME, but unfortunately for me I hardly ever get to buy them. One thing that I do splurge on sometimes is some earrings and headbands. They have the most beautiful intricate accessories at Anthropologie that make any (cheap) outfit look better and more expensive.

I'm a sucker for DARK NAIL POLISH. It's my go-to polish when I want to feel pretty. Plus I feel like it goes with all of my clothes. My favorite nail polish is called "I'm with Brad" by Sephora. It's a little bit pricey but I think it lasts longer than O.P.I and it goes on so smooth :)

I love INSTAGRAM. At first I couldn't figure out what the big deal was was. It felt like just another thing I would have to keep up on. But seriously, I love seeing my friends photos throughout the day, and I love the filters that make me look better :) If you have an iphone you should get it. Do it. Now.

I love the AMAZON KINDLE app. Ebooks are seriously the best invention ever. I can't remember the last time I actually bought a real made-out-of-paper book. What's even better is the .99 cent books. They might be a little lame but love me some teen romance. If you want any suggestions let me know. I've seriously got you covered (In a pathetic need-to-get-a-life kind of way).

That's my list for now....Thanks Shay for letting me do this! I had a blast :)

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Someday...Monday

Hi Friends! I didn't realize Valentine's Day is TOMORROW. Kimball asked me what we wanted to do on Tuesday, and I said, "For what?". Terrible, I know!





I got searching on Pinterest for a very yummy (and not-so-healthy) treat that Kimball would love and I found these donuts. They look so delicious.




Find Donuts Here

My New Apron

I have a new apron and I love it! I had Angelina make it from Shop Ruby Jean. You need to visit her blog! She creates the cutest aprons. If I had unlimited money, I would buy every apron she makes. I love them!

We are not photographers in my family, (I'm sure you've already discovered that from my not-so-good pictures of food) but here are some pictures...





Now I will have so much more fun cooking! Enjoy your weekend!

Sweet Almond Biscuits

These were so good! Dieter has been asking for them everyday since we had them! I made them to go with Beef Stew, but they ended up sweeter then I thought they would be. They were still delicious, but not a biscuit you would dip in soup. I love my Vitamix, but I don't think it does a very good job blending nuts. I think a food processor would be better. You could also use walnuts instead of almonds in this recipe.

*The recipe calls for dehydrated almonds but you can use normal almonds that are not dehydrated.*

3 cups Crispy Almonds (soaked 12-24 hours, then dehydrated until crispy.)
3 Egg Whites
2 TBsp Coconut Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
4 TBsp Honey
4 TBsp Butter, Ghee, or Coconut Oil
1/2 tsp Sea Salt

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
-Blend all ingredients until smooth. The almonds will turn into almond butter.
-Grease a baking sheet and use a tablespoon to drop batter 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
-Bake for 12-15 minutes.
-Makes 12 biscuits.

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Moms Crazy CookingToday's Creative BlogThe Thrifty HomeAsk AnnaKeeping it SimpleC.R.A.F.T.Skip to my LouThe Girl CreativeNourishing TreasuresEverything Under the MoonAn Original BelleThe Healthy Home EconomistTodays Creative BlogChef in TrainingTip JunkieCoastal CharmA Bowl Full of LemonsHope StudiosSimply Sugar and Gluten FreeRuth's Real FoodRecipe RoundupSweet and SavoryLearning the Frugal LifeGrowing HomeNot Just a House WifeReal Food ForagerCreative ChaosCooking Traditional FoodsFrugally SustainableRuby JeanCrazy for CrustThe Southern Product QueenTales of a Trophy WifeCrystal and CoSomeday CraftDomestically SpeakingBlue Cricket DesignSew Much AdoWe Are That FamilyRaising HomemakersBeyond the Picket FenceHandyman Crafty WomanLil LunaMomnivoresGluten Free HomemakerThat Stuff of SuccessKelly the Kitchen KopDay 2 Day JoysLinda's LunacyBeyond the PeelMade Famous ByTessa the Domestic DivaChatty ChicsSomewhat SimpleBeyond the Picket FenceThe Shabby Creek CottageHouse of HepworthsThe Diaper Diaries Thrifty 101Delightful OrderBear Rabbit BearWhile He was NappingChic on a Shoestring DecoratingFingerprints on the FridgeTomorrow FarmShabby NestFun to CraftFinding FabulousMy Romantic HouseLovely Crafty HomeNot Your Ordinary RecipesAllergy Free CookeryCooking at Cafe DMom TrendsOne Artsy MamaLiving WellLiving Life IntentionallyBe Different Act NormalEasy Natural FoodOur Simple FarmThe Crafty Blog Stalker

My Memories Giveaway

**GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED**

I really like scrapbooking, but I haven't made time for it in years. Lately, I have been buying a photo album and sliding pictures into it (it's fast).

I was excited when I was contacted to review this product! The giveaway is for the My Memories Digital Software.

I made these pages real fast one night.





The software offers pre-made templates- just add your pictures. Or you can make your own pages (I did that above). There is a variety of paper choices, embellishments, and shapes to add. You can print pages seperately or print them in an album. You can have alot of fun with this!

If your interested in buying this software use this code, STMMMS41041, for $10 off the purchase and an additional $10 off at My Memories Store.

To enter the giveaway, visit My Memories and tell me a product you like.
For a 2nd entry, like Raising Dieter on Facebook. For an 3rd entry, like My Memories on Facebook.

Good Luck! Winner will be announced next week.