Plan with Me~ October 2014~ Part 1

The month of October was a super busy one for us.  

I made layouts for my planner, but due to traveling to a church conference and a quick visit to family, I didn't do much in them.

I'd still like to share them anyhow with my planner friends and I did eek out a bit of creativity in them as far as scrapping is concerned.  

At my local scrapbook shop I found some Illustrated Faith Scrapbook paper that I cut out and used in my planner.  

Oh how I love it! 

Added some chipboard cutouts and some washi...

This cute little sticker came from the clearance section of Hobby Lobby for my weekly view.

I was going for a vintage traveling theme.

Since I didn't do much planning that week I decided to scrapbook some pics in of my sweet sister and my nieces and nephew since 

we got to spend some time together. 

 As much as I loved traveling and visiting with friends and family,  there is nothing like hanging your hat in your own home and having your own bed to sleep in.  

Home Sweet Home!!!

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Have a Lovely Day!  

November Intentional Gratitude Challenge

Sometimes gratitude can seemingly be elusive!   It's easy to get overwhelmed with a complaining spirit and to be self centered, isn't it?

Join me for the month of November where I daily post something I am grateful for over on my facebook page.  From the small minutiae of every day life to the greater miracles in life bestowed by the Lord... there is SO much to be grateful for!

Please leave a comment here on the blog, over at the facebook page or share your grateful status on your own personal facebook page.

I'll post my entire list at the end of November and hope you will too!
Don't forget to hashtag #intentionalgratitudechallenge!  

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Have a Lovely Day! 

Flaxseed Wraps

Every so often I want to jump up and down in excitement and thank fellow bloggers, online recipe originators and low carbers for the wonderful work they do in sharing.  It is incredibly awesome!  I belive in giving credit where credit is due, and I believe this recipe originated in the book Wheat Belly.  I found it over at Spark People.  

The ingredients are minimal and there is no need to turn on your oven since these are cooked in the microwave.  They are quick to make, dense, heavy, and hold up to the folding of a wrap.   For those that are cutting carbs it's absolutely great! 

3 Tbsp flaxseed 

1/4 tsp baking powder 

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil 

1 egg 

1 Tbsp water

Salt and Pepper Grinder

(Pam spray or oil) 

Mix together, flaxseed and baking powder in bowl, mixing till baking powder is well distributed.  In seperate bowl mix together coconut oil, egg and water.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir together with a whisk.  (If you don't mix it well enough you'll get some eggy spots as you can see)  

Grease a regular dinner plate with Pam spray and spread batter on plate.  

Microwave for 2 minutes and check doneness in center.  Microwave as needed till done.  

I hope you enjoy this as much as I have! 

 If you'd like to try another low carb bread substitution click on over to my post on Oopsie Bread.  

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Have a Lovely Day!!!

The Country Cook

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Worship Wednesday~ Psalm 23 with Shane and Shane

Have you heard  Shane and Shane's new Psalms 2 Album?   

I've just downloaded it from Itunes and am really loving it.  

 It's wonderful for contemplative worship and I love that it is inspired by various Psalms in the Bible. 

I love how our relationship to the Lord is compared to that of a Shepherd and His sheep who commit full trust and reliance on the One who is watching for their safety. Psalm 23 (both the scripture coupled with the song) have really been ministering to me lately and I've wanted to share it on the blog for quite a few days now.  The Shane's music has ministered to me in so many ways over the years and I am truly grateful for their music ministry.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  

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Have a Lovely Day! 

Low Carb Chili

With the leaves turning color and the colder weather upon us, it's the perfect time to make a big pot of chili!  

This recipe came from a super guy, Michael,

 who straight talked me into controlling my diabetes by diet and gave me the tools to make it happen.   I'm grateful for his inspiration and advice! 

 I've tweaked it a bit by adding olives in place of the traditional beans used in chili.  

Even my carbivore husband loved this!   It's going on my menu for next week.  Again!  

Low Carb  Chili

2 lbs ground beef
10 green onion stalks, choped
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 teaspoons chili powder
3 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
8 oz can of no-sugar added tomato sauce
4 tomato sauce cans water 2 cans black olives, drained and cut them in half

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic in a large pot. Drain well.
Add chili powder, cumin, cayenne, paprika, salt, tomato sauce, black olives and 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil then turn the heat down to a low simmer
Cover and simmer.  Since we aren't using any flour for a thickener, we're relying on the liquids reducing and thickening naturally.  When your chili starts getting a bit dry add the third cup of water and simmer that down.  You'll want to simmer, add and reduce until you've used your 4 cups of liquid and the chili is your desired.  I simmered for a few hours.

Per Serving:
5g carbs, 18g fat, 25g protein, 283 calories Your macros will vary according to ingredients used.
Note: I had to add quite a bit more seasonings for my taste buds.  I also added quite a few whole peppercorns.    My secret ingredient was adding 2 chipotle peppers (canned at 1 carb each)  to give it a smoky flavor.
These little gems are SOOOO good!  

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Have a Lovely Day! 

What courage looks like in Every Day Life

This blog has been moved over to my new home so make sure to click here!

Have a Lovely Day!   

Rasberry Hot Breakfast Cereal~ Low Carb and Grain Free

Remember those sweet little packets of Oatmeal that were so handy and good?  This rivals those!

I was trying to convert an ordinary muffin recipe to Low Carb and made a mistake... and this was the result.

The fact that it is grain free and won't spike your blood sugar is another reason you have to give this as shot.

1 Tbsp Butter
4 Tbsp Almond Flour
2 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Tbsp Water
2 Fresh Rasberries, cut in small pieces

Place butter in your mug and heat in microwave till barely melted.  

Add almond flour, heavy whipping cream water and raspberries.

Heat in microwave till bubbly. 

Add sweetener of your choice.  

You can reduce water to 1 Tbsp if you prefer a thicker cereal.

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Have a Lovely Day!!!