praise and thanksgiving 1

On my drive to work today, I was listening to klove and they were having listeners call in for a day of praise.  It got me thinking... what is a praise in my life, and what am I thankful for.  If I started living every moment thinking of all that was going well, I would probably be a lot happier and much more content.  Of course, there are always the obvious... I am thankful for my husband, my family, my career, my house, etc.  But honestly, those are the standard responses anyone would say.  I want to really think about the small things that make my life better each day.  I thought this would be a great place to document and share... the little things that God has given me.

Today I am very thankful for Elana's Pantry Chocolate Chip Cookies!!  My mom makes us a batch almost every week {another thing I am thankful for} and we ADORE them!!  Honestly, they are better than any other cookie out there!!!  Now this may not seem like much of anything to be thankful for, especially for those of you who don't have food allergies.  But for us... this is BIG {and yummy}!!!

2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve
 

More pork leftovers... Tostadas!!

Well... the Kalua Pork that we made on Wednesday night has been put to some very good use! Tonight we used the remaining leftovers to make pork tostada's. This was a very similar recipe to the nachos. But this recipe we created on our own... this great idea was courtesy of my mom!

First, we took four corn tortillas and coated them with olive oil and put them in the oven to cook the tostada hard shell.



We didn't have a can of refried beans, so we made our own!! Then we chopped up some cilantro, onions and tomatoes.





We added the beans, pork, and cilantro mixture to the tostada. Topped it with some sour cream, avacado and cheese and called it good!! Super yummy and absolutely healthy!

Pork Nachos

When we went to Hawaii we stumbled upon some absolutely wonderful pork nachos at Brennecke's Beach Broiler in Poipu. We knew that we were going to have to try to make them again. And here they were. We used the left over Kalua Pork that we made on Wednesday night for this recipe. This was really easy and very yummy!!

1. First, turn your oven on to broil. Then put some of the bbq pulled pork in a bowl, so it'll be ready when you need it, which is in a couple of steps.
2. Make the pico de gallo. Mix 3 diced medium tomatoes, 1 diced onion, 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic, 2 finely chopped fresh jalapeños, ¼ cup chopped cilantro, and squeeze of lime in a bowl. Let rest for a half-hour, at least, so the flavors can combine.
3. Mix up the Cuban seasoning in a bowl: 1 tablespoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper, 1½ teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon Greek oregano.
4. Now, pile an oven-safe plate as high as you'd like with tortilla chips — the more the Mexier.
5. Top with refried black beans and shredded cheese.
6. Put under broiler until cheese melts. Watch carefully — you don't want the chips to burn.
7. Sprinkle generously with Cuban seasoning and pulled pork. Streak with barbecue sauce.
8. Top with sliced jalapeños and pico de gallo. Eat and repeat — as often as necessary.

If you want to see the original recipe go here

Onion Chicken in Balsamic Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 chicken leg quarters
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Combine the stock and vinegar and bring to a boil and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has thickened. Getting the mixture to thicken can take a very long time, so make sure to start this sooner than later. I added a little bit of Dijon mustard to the recipe to get it to thicken easier and give it some more flavor.
   
3. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and reduce heat to low. Allow onion to caramelize, stirring only enough to prevent sticking and to be sure that all sides are fully cooked. Add garlic and saute briefly.
4. Increase heat to medium. Add chicken hindquarters to skillet and brown on both sides. Remove chicken, onion and garlic and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
5. Pour half of the balsamic mixture over chicken and stir in the sun dried tomatoes. Continue to heat the balsamic mixture so that it will thicken even more. Cover dish tightly and bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until chicken is done and juices run clear. Use the remaining balsamic mixture as a glaze over the chicken
6. ENJOY!!

Modified slightly from allrecipes.com