A Day With Caleb

I love to keep Caleb and lately have been blessed enough to get him just about every Saturday. He comes early in the morning and when his Mommy gets off from work she comes and picks him up. He is learning his A B C’s and loves to sing. Yesterday while shopping I could tell that he was singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He brings such joy to my heart.

My sister Donna and her husband David came yesterday to get their “Cheetos Hug”. Caleb loves Cheetos and he also loves to hug. After Donna and David left, Caleb took a nap. He looked so angelic sleeping that I had to take his picture.

The funniest thing happened about an hour after I took these pictures. I go in to peek at him and in his sleep he had slid out of the bed. Now toddler beds are only a few inches off of the floor so he wasn’t in any danger of hurting himself. When I found him he was standing on the side of the bed still asleep. hahaha

I of course picked him up and put him back in the bed.  After his three-hour nap Grandpa had come home from work and they had to feed the hounds. Caleb loves to feed the bassets.

After the hounds were fed we all sat dog at the table for dinner. For some reason dinner off of Grandpa’s plate tastes so much better. He laughed so hard while he was eating Grandpa’s mashed potatoes and porknbeans. Grandpa pretended to be offended that Caleb was eating his food. Of course Caleb saw through it and ate even faster. hahaha

His favorite dog is Buford and he calls him BoBo. BoBo is very patient with Caleb and loves him just as much. They watched a Christmas Music video together while on the couch.

Can you tell that Caleb loves BoBo? Can you tell that Mommy bought him a Basset Hound shirt in support of the hounds? Can you tell that BoBo is a very patient dog? Boy is that dog patient. Well this was just one day with Caleb. I can’t wait to spend many many more with my little man.

Spicy Cheeseburger Soup

I threw this together tonight and was so pleased with it. I had seen a recipe in a cookbook a while back that had tons of high carb ingredients in it. I changed a few things and added Rotel tomatoes to try to get rid of my stockpile of them. Remember this?

It is hard to believe but my husband has eaten all of those cans of Hormel Chili all by himself. It is true. They are gone. I am just waiting for a good deal on coupons for them and then he will be a happy camper again.

I know you want me to shut up and get on with the recipe. Okay here goes.  Look for nutritional information to follow.

Spicy Cheeseburger Soup

1 pound ground beef, cooked and crumbled

1 can beef broth (I used Swanson)

1 can Rotel Tomatoes (I used Original)

2 Tablespoons Minced Onions

1 can Campbell’s Cream of Cheddar Soup

3 cups Cheddar Cheese, finely shredded

In a sauce pan add all ingredients but cheddar cheese and cook approximately ten minutes to heat and blend flavors. Stir in cheddar cheese until completely melted. Serve warm. Serves 6.

My sister Donna is always asking me to provide information on carb count. She is also a Diabetic and is following a low carb plan too.

This is what I got from using the Recipe Calculator at this site.

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp

Nutrition Facts
6 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		515.4
Total Fat		39.5 g
	Saturated Fat	20.4 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	14.3 g
Cholesterol		126.2 mg
Sodium		1,135.7 mg
Potassium		482.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate		10.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.6 g
	Sugars	0.0 g
Protein		29.1 g

Cream Cheese Brownies

I made these last night and am in Heaven. These were the most amazing moist treats that I have experienced since becoming a Diabetic. I have spoken openly about how I have lost 91 pounds now by following Dr. Bernstein’s Complete Diabetic Solution Plan. The best thing about his plan is that I have kept my A1C down and am completely without medication to control my Diabetes. That was my goal the entire time. I feel wonderful.

I highly recommend becoming a part of his community over at his message boards. He has one for recipes and I recently found this recipe there. You do have to be a member to access the recipe but it is free to join. Give it a try. What do you have to lose other than weight and bringing your A1C down?

I found the original recipe here.  http://www.diabetes-book.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1148644552

Since they are not sure who the originator of the recipe was I don’t mind sharing the recipe here. But please check out all of their many other recipes and message boards for support on getting healthy. I am a firm believer in Dr. Bernstein’s plan on controlling your Diabetes.

Low Carb Cream Cheese Brownies

Topping
8 ounces cream cheese  
1/4 cup Splenda  
1 egg  
1 tsp vanilla extract  
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese until extremely smooth & add splenda, add the egg & vanilla extract: mix well. Set aside.
 
 
Brownies  
1 cup butter  
3 tbsp oil
1 1/4 cups Splenda  
2 tbsp vanilla
9 tbsp cocoa powder  
4 large eggs
1 cup ground almond flour  
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
dash salt
 
Oven-350*F
Butter a 9″x13″ pan, set aside.
 
In a large saucepan, melt the butter, oil & chocolate over very low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, cool slightly.
Stir in the Splenda & vanilla.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in almond flour, baking powder & salt; mix well.
Spread into the prepared pan.
Carefully spoon the cream cheese filling over the brownie base; lightly swirl filling to create a pattern. Bake approximately 25 minutes or until set. Test with a toothpick for doneness.
Cool completely then cut into squares.
 
Makes 18 square at 2.6 carbs per square

Be Thankful

A coworker of mine has been going through some rough times lately. Through everything she has smiled and kept looking at the positives.  She has posted this in her office to remind her that she has much to be grateful for. The author is unknown but it makes me think everyday when I see it. She has now accepted a new position and will be leaving me soon but she promises to keep in touch. I want to share this with others so that they may realize that they have so much to be thankful for.  Libby this post is dedicated to you.

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

 Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

 Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

 Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

 Be thankful for your mistakes.
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made the effort.

 It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.

 Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

Chicken Stroganoff Without The Noodles

This is another recipe that I found on Ravelry. We enjoyed it but I think next time I will use Cream of Chicken Soup instead of the Cream of Mushroom Soup. It came out with a nice sauce over it. Mike ate 3 chicken breasts so I guess he really enjoyed it.

You can find the original recipe here. http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/crockpot-love/283460/476-500#499

Chicken Stroganoff Without The Noodles

1 pound frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 Chicken Breasts)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use Cream of Chicken)
16 oz. carton sour cream
1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Put frozen chicken in bottom of crockpot. Mix soup, sour cream, onion soup mix and pour over chicken,. Cook on low for 7 hours. Makes 6 servings.

Carnitas

I know that I have mentioned that I love www.ravelry.com and yes I am going to talk about that site again. They have many message boards that discuss more than just knitting. I joined a crockpot message board there and got many new ideas for eating low carb. Not all of the recipes are low carb. I have to pick and choose. I found this recipe there and both Mike and I love this. You can find the original recipe here.

http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/crockpot-love/283460/1301-1325#1308

I ate the pork wrapped in a low carb tortilla with salsa and cheddar cheese. Mike ate his with mashed potatoes and white beans. Either way this recipe is one that I am sure I will make often.

Carnitas

1 3 lb.(ish) pork shoulder roast (fresh – not smoked)
2 bay leaves
1 C.  chicken broth

Dry Rub:
1 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
1/4 t. cayenne
1 t. cumin (ground)
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/4 t. cinnamon

I usually double or triple the dry rub because I like my food to have a lot of flavor but the above is the base recipe and it gives a good indication of the ratios of each spice. I also usually grind in a whole bunch of fresh black pepper, but I never measure that.

Combine the spices and salt together in a small bowl. Remove all wrapping and netting from the pork shoulder roast and rub all of the dry rub into every nook and cranny of the meat. I suggest doing this on a portable cutting board so you can dump any of the dry rub that falls off into the CP along with the meat. Place dry rubbed meat in CP with bay leaves and chicken broth (don’t pour the broth over the meat, though! You want to put the broth in first.) Cover and cook on low 6-9 hours. The beauty of this recipe is that the longer the cooking time (within reason), the better the end product.

Little Stinker

Caleb was a skunk this year for Halloween. He was so cute. He loved getting all dressed up and loved getting the candy even more. After the second house his little legs were flying to get to the next one. His mommy said that he liked it even more when the people gave him the candy to put in his bucket himself. I can’t get enough of this kid.

Mommy dressed up as a punk rock star and daddy went as his typical everyday red neck self. haha

I am sure that Caleb is wondering when he can get dressed up and go again. I can’t wait to see him at Christmas this year.

Chicken With Gravy

This recipe came about entirely by accident. While searching a message board for crockpot recipes I found several that I wanted to try. I read the ingredients to my husband and he chose the chicken recipe. The problem is the next morning I thought that I could remember the recipe without looking it up and I put the ingredients for the roast recipe on top of the chicken.

I had cooked it about two hours when I realized the mistake but it smelled so wonderful at that point that I didn’t stop it. Mike and I were really pleasantly surprised at how good this was.  We will definitely be making this at least twice a month.

I had never placed my chicken into the crockpot frozen before but many of the posters on the message board were discussing how the chicken would come out as it had been baked and not mushy or over cooked if it were frozen when placed in the crockpot. This was so true. I will always place my chicken breasts in the crockpot from now on.

Chicken With Gravy

4 boneless chicken breasts, frozen

1 can of Cream of Chicken soup (I used Campbell’s)

1 soup can full of a very dry Sherry

1 envelope of Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix

Place frozen chicken breasts in the bottom of the crockpot. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 7 hours.

Who Knew?

Caleb must be reading my blog. I am on vacation this week and I kept Caleb two days this week. Yesterday he went to his bookshelf and brought me a book. He crawled up in my lap and had me read it to him twice.  I have been dreaming of the time when he wanted me to read to him and couldn’t believe the book that he chose.

Anyone who has read this book knows that I cried through the ending. Yes, I cried through the ending twice while my innocent little grandchild sat cuddled in my lap listening to his grandma read. It was the most precious afternoon.

I will miss him so much next week when I go back to work. I have treasured our time together this week. He is such a good boy and so smart. He watches everything and repeats anything that he sees you do.

I knew that he liked Elmo so I brought up Youtube and for 45 minutes he sat on my lap watching videos. This one is his favorite. He just sings along with it at the top of his lungs. Of course grandma had to sing along too. That is the way it goes with Caleb. EVERYBODY sings. lol

He also liked this one.

I am not supposed to get Caleb today but will tomorrow. I miss him so much I may have to go pick him up once the Structural Engineer from the Insurance Company leaves. Remember the flood back in August? Well it caused structural damage under the house and my house is currently being supported with enormous jacks. It never ends around here.

OK I just spoke to Caleb’s mommy and I am going to get him. I can’t do without him today. It just seems wrong. Cya.

 

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I am torn between giving my opinion on this book or not. I know that is being made into a movie and I can’t imagine anyone wanting to see it. My daughter recommended that I read it. The first five chapters really draw you in and you can barely put the book down. Then something strange happens.

Half way through the book things shift and it actually seems as if someone else is writing the book other than who wrote the first half. The book begins vaguely jumping around and jumping forward very quickly. It loses its momentum and has some tragic things occur.

If you are someone who hates to have a book ruined if you plan to read it then stop now. I am going to give spoilers. The book is about a 14-year-old girl who is raped and murdered on her way home from school. The girl is the one actually telling the story as it unfolds after her death.

She tells of seeing her family and friends mourn her death and how she tries to communicate with them to ease their pain. All of this was very heartwarming and I really appreciated this first half of the book told from her eyes.

Then the book gets weird. She has a friend from high school that can see her and feel her and she takes over this friend’s body. She goes back to her old high school sweetheart while in this friend’s body and he automatically realizes that it is Susie and not the friend. They have sex.

Now the fact that they are using the friend’s body to me is rape. She gets violated at the beginning of the book and then later she violates her friend’s body. This is something that I could not overlook or accept. From this point on I hated the book.  What was your opinion?