New Blog

Look! I started a new blog for all my gluten free recipes :) I promise they will be great recipes even for those who can eat everything - since my husband is in that category.

Gluten Free @ 23

A day at the park

We took Reagan on her 1st park walk on Saturday... she shook like a leaf when we stepped out of the car but got over that as soon as soon as she saw people. She is a super friendly puppy - gold star for Reagan! 

The park near our house has a war memorial where we found some wonderful quotes from Reagan's namesake, the best President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. 

This is a wonderful park - there is a community garden, a museum of old southern homes, stores, and a school, a war memorial, and a great path for walking. Definitely a new favorite place of our new home here! 

Love this! The community garden had a picture frame on a pole - Michael took a great shot of Reagan and her momma :) 

At Long Last

At long last I am the momma of not only one but two babies! :) 

Originally we named what we thought was a her Tonks...which we are in the process of renaming since I found out she is in fact, a he. Michael and I can't keep calling him a her. I think we have decided on Gilderoy in honor of one of our favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts professors! He is a playful little booger, poor Reagan is trying to take a nap right now and he  keeps trying to attack her. I'm not a cat person but this little kitty is  pretty wonderful :) 

Our sweet baby Reagan

We bought Reagan from a shelter; therefore, we have no idea what kind of puppy she is. After taking her home and having her two weeks we think that this little girl is most definitely mixed with a Jack Russell Terrier. She has started to spring around like crazy. She loves to cuddle, eat my mum plant, and play with her kitty. At long last I have a puppy - my heart overflows with joy! :) 

Best friends... for the most part

A bend in the road

This week is a week of lasts… we are moving to Mcdonough, GA next week! So excited to say the least! I get to be an hour from my family, we are moving into a beautiful God given home, and we are getting to be a part of an awesome church family!

So this week is my last:

1. Last time posting my updates for my Mobile Team – YIPPIE!

2. Last time fighting the crazy Lynchburg drivers trying to get to work…no more stopping before jumping on the highway. Seriously WORST DRIVERS EVER!!!

3. Last time going to church with our most loved DRC youth – this is very very very sad. Leaving them is so hard because I love them so much…but we are going to drown our sorrows in a pizza party and fun games tonight! J We at least they are…no pizza for me! I’m just have to survive off of the good pizza vibes from everyone else

4. Last time having our Target date before church…roaming through the isles looking for great deals – which are normally found ever Wednesday. Hey, we will save some money on this “last”

5. Last time having to shut the doors because of our smoking neighbors! Praise the Lord! J

6. Last time washing dishes in our ridiculously shallow sink – I get soaked every time I do the dishes. I should just wear by bathing suit and dive in.

7. Last time talking sitting at Autum's desk having our fun conversations. This girl has made work so much more bearable - I love her and I'm really going to miss her.

8. Last time dealing with anything Liberty work related! (insert the most happy dance ever – something that looks like this… Happy Dance

9. Last time waking up in the first place Michael and I call ‘home’ together – it’s been a good place for us

Last times are very nice… they make you thankful for the good times and honestly the things you learn from the bad. All and all this has been a good time here in Lynchburg – yes I’ll be the first to say I have not been the happiest here – but lately I have been able to see the blessings through it all. God has bless Michael and I with a wonderful group of kids at DRC that we have grown to love dearly, blessings of wonderful friends, and keeping us fed, clothed, warm and quite honestly not in need of anything here. There have been many pearls added to my sting :)

Looking forward to a new adventure in Mcdonough – to the people we will meet, the new friends we will have, the ministry with the youth at Avalon church (I can’t wait to get started with the girls ministry there), our new home and all that comes with keeping an actual house, and our new PUPPY!!!! (Finally this dream will come true! Puppy love)

"When I left Queen's my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I am going to believe that the best does. It has a fascination of its own, that bend, Marilla. I wonder how the road beyond it goes - what there is of green glory and soft, checkered light and shadows - what new landscapes - what new beauties - what curves and hills and valleys farther on."

— L.M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables)

Here I come new world and new life! My road is curving and I am fascinated to see what lays beyond it – I will have the eyes to see it, the heart to love it, and the hand to gather it!

"There is so much in the world for us all if we only have the eyes to see it, and the heart to love it, and the hand to gather it to ourselves--so much in men and women, so much in art and literature, so much everywhere in which to delight, and for which to be thankful."

— L.M. Montgomery

THE END IS COMING!!

I am a survivor of the Virginia Earthquake of 2011.

HAHAHAHAHA

I cannot help but share with you these funny pictures.

Note: People are not dying, buildings are not crumbling, buildings are not burning down, and nothing is falling from the sky – but some of the pictures make it seem that way.

This was my face :) "Earthquake?! AWESOME!!!!!"

Yummy Gluten Filled Desserts

Yes, I'm gluten intolerant... but I do love my husband so much that I will make him these delicious gluten(poison...at least for me) desserts!

So what to do when the bananas start going bad... those brown spots do show up way to fast! Must look that up... how to keep bananas fresh longer. The other option is to buy smaller bunches of bananas but where is the fun in that? Brown spotted bananas give me the opportunity to experiment with banana desserts! Like so:

Banana Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients (thanks to Gina Neely)

Batter:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large ripe bananas, peeled, and mashed
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, (reserve some for garnish)
• I added chocolate chips because everything it better with Chocolate add 1/2cup of chocolate chips

Directions

Batter:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 1 (12-cup) muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter and the sugar. Beat with a hand-held mixer until combined. Add the sour cream and the vanilla extract. Slowly beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Incorporate the dry mixture and wet mixtures together until thoroughly combined. Add the bananas and walnuts, being careful not to over mix. Using an ice cream scoop, fill each cupcake liner 3/4 way full. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops turn golden-brown and when a toothpick, inserted in the middle of the cupcake, comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack and let cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

- 1 cup of butter

- 1 1/2 cups of sugar

- 2 eggs

- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2/3 cup cocoa

- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1 cup chocolate chips (these taste amazing with chocolate chunks)

1. Heat the oven to 350

2. Beat the butter, sugar, eggs. and vanilla until light and fluffy .

3. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt and add to butter and beat until well blended.

4. Mix in chocolate chips

5. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or just until set

6. ENJOY! Because...according to my gluten eating husband they are amazing!

Great find

Oh how sad it has been making cookies, cakes, and other glorious desserts for my lovely husband and our friends... every single one of the desserts laden full of, yes you know it, gluten. More often than not I get myself into trouble and eat a spoonful of those desserts... just a taste of cookie dough, a spoonful of brownie batter, a piece of cookie fresh out of the oven. I pay for those uncontrollable moments later but I feel so deprived!

Looking into baking g-free is daunting. You have to use 3 different flours, weigh them, sift them, ect... all and all not worth all the effort it would take. And a lot of the time it just doesn't turn out.. there is something said for al-purpose flour! So I have just stuck with pudding and ice cream here lately.

Here is Candace thinking how much she just wants a cookie..like a normal person

Enter Betty Crocker Gluten Free Baking Mixes and their g-free recipes!

So wonderful - I made g-free sugar cookies on Friday night! Glorious cookie heaven in my mouth...the angles were singing, my taste buds were dancing... it was great to taste a cookie again without feeling like I was going to die later! I made gluten free sugar cookies with thier yellow cake mix (g-free)... they were great! I added 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and a tablespoon of sugar to the mix to make them more snicker-doodle in nature and they were AMAZING!

So Happy FACE!

The new gluten-free girl...that's me!

So...after much pain and suffering for weeks and months I have discovered my gluten allergy..intolerance...or maybe celiacs. (I'm too cheap to go get tested and I'm not willing to put gluten back into my system) I would feel so sick after eating - full bloated - pain in someone just touching my abdomen - what was wrong with me? I would feel like I ate three thanksgiving dinners after eating a 1/4 cup of oatmeal or a 6in. Subway sandwich. So I called the person I knew who would be able to diagnose me... Mindy! My wonderful, fun, beautiful, all-knowing, grandmother (I just can't call her a grandma because she is Mindy - not your average grandmother :) Who promptly told me I needed to exclude gluten from my diet - test it out and see how I feel in a month. So with much sadness I cut out gluten... after figuring out exactly what gluten is.

Gluten (from Latin gluten "glue") is a protein composite in foods processed from wheat and related species, including barley andrye. It gives elasticity to dough, helping it to rise and to keep its shape, and often giving the final product a chewy texture.

"Helping people get super duper sick...well people like me"

So the weeks and months have gone by without me having a single piece of bread, pizza, sandwich, ect. It's been tough but I have to say I do not miss that sick feeling! Lately I have been pretty bad at being gluten free- almost like I want to prove that I can have some. Let's just say it's not a good idea - my body makes me pay for my stunt later normally within a couple hours and sometimes days afterward.

After an incident this past week of a tongue swelling, throat closing, severe stomach pain (I partook in Michaels birthday cake and a lick of banana bread batter...to be blogged about soon) I have decided that I am going G-free...no more stupid mistakes. After learning more about being gluten free and what gluten does to your body if you are intolerant of it I am actually hurting my body when I eat gluten...causing my body to attack itself. Gluten is everywhere...unexpected places like bacon bits, vinegars, salad dressings... So It's a learning experience.

Welcome into the world of Gluten Free Candace! I'm making my statement, making it real, I'm going G-Free!

This is a great website for those who are interested in cooking gluten free (like myself) and maybe those of you who will have me over for dessert or dinner :) *wink*

Gluten Free Girl

So here begins my journey of being a G-Free girl.

Birthday Weekend

Birthdays are a pretty big deal in my book - it's your day, your week, heck your month! :) At least, that is how I feel about my birthday. So I try to pass that birthday spirit to others! So in honor of Michaels birthday we took a trip to Washington D.C.! Nothing like the one waystreets, stressful traffic, and parallel parking to celebrate ones birthday. haha But in-between theturning on the wrong roads and taking 30 minutes to get back to wherewe started we had a wonderful time exploring D.C.Our first stop was on Friday night where we walked around the National Mall, ate a yummy Texas BBQ dinner, and watched the sun go down by the Jefferson Memorial. Here are some pretty pictures of our 1st day.

Saturday we enjoy a Starbucks breakfast... of course mine had to be gluten free so I had a Kind Bar and a venti iced coffee with skim milk while I watched Michael enjoy a beautiful blueberry muffin and a breakfast sandwich. Oh to eat gluten! On to the zoo - where we drove around for a good while trying to find parking. Nothing like a "free" (paid for with our tax dollars) zoo! We love zoos so we loved walking around looking at all the animals - I think I was a lioness in instead of a puppy... that is reasonable right?

After the zoo we ate at a Mediterranean place - DELICIOUS!! My top two places I want to go for my food experiences are Greece and Paris - what wonderful food those Europeans eat! I got a chicken kabob greek salad.

Finally our last stop was the National Mall again where we stopped in the American History Museum. IF you have never gone there...GO! It's amazing, enlightening, heart-breaking(the war museum is extremely interesting but heart wrenching) , interesting, and just plain fun! We actually stopped in the gift shop this time...thankfully we were not bamboozled in buying anything but we had a great time playing with all the pop-up books!

(We were lost quite a bit...darn one way streets!)

On our way back home we stopped at Moo-Thu. You MUST go here if you are on 29 near D.C. It's homemade ice-cream from the dairy farms around the shop. AMAZING ice cream - I had banana and cinnamon and Michael had cinnamon and butter pecan. I love ice cream and this was a great find!

Find out more here: Moo Thru

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake (Not Gluten Free) :(

Here it is... Michaels 23rd birthday cake! I have to say I love his birthday not only because I get to celebrate the amazing man he is to me but also because I get to try my hand at creating a new cake! Cakes are only for special occasions in our home so it's exciting when this time rolls around again. After thinking of different and fun cakes to make (last year it was Chocolate Cake with Oreo Cookie Cream Cheese Icing)

This year it's THIS! Doesn't it look like chocolate goodness, heaven in a chocolate cake, give me death by chocolate! Not going to life this taste like all of the above and more. So if you have a chocolate lover in your life or maybe you are the chocolate lover - try this cake!

Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake with Glossy Chocolate Icing

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• 2 cups hot water
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Glossy chocolate Icing

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 Preheat oven to 350 with rack in the center.

2 Spray two 8" round cake pans with nonstick spray.

3 Whisk dry cake ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

4 Combine water, oil, vinegar, instant coffee granules, and vanilla in a large measuring cup.

5 Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until combined- a few lumps are ok.

6 Divide batter between the two pans (about 3 cups each), then bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (35- 40 min).

7 Cool cakes for 15 minutes on a rack, then invert them onto the rack.

8 Leave upside down until completely cooled before frosting them.

9 To make icing, melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.

10 Stir in sugar, cocoa, and salt- the mixture will be thick/grainy.

11 Combine cream, sour cream and coffee granules in a large measuring cup, mixing until smooth.

12 Gradually add cream mixture to chocolate until blended and smooth.

13 Cook until sugar has dissolved, and mixture is smooth and hot to the touch.

14 DO NOT BOIL.

15 Take mixture off the heat, and add vanilla.

16 Cool at room temperature until spreadable (up to three hours).

17 If it isn't getting thick enough to be spreadable, put in the refrigerator until thick enough to spread.

18 If it gets too thick to spread easily, warm gently in the microwave until it's just right (20 seconds or so, repeat if necessary).

19 Stir well, and ice cake, frosting first layer, then placing second layer on top, and icing the top and then the sides.