Cauliflower Cheesy Bread Sticks

Are you trying to stay away from bread or foods that include white flour? Probably not unless you are on some kind of low carb diet. But if you are, I have a solution for a substitute by using riced cauliflower.

I have never been a believer in all the smack about making pizza crust, mashed potatoes or anything else using Cauliflower. No matter what I have made with cauliflower, It taste like cauliflower. Period. You can not substitute a veggie for bread. Sorry, it just can not be done.

However, I came pretty close when I decided to give cauliflower bread sticks a try. I do believe you can make anything good if you add enough cheese to it. 

It was a Sunday afternoon and I had nothing else to do so I experimented with a recipe and made Cauliflower Cheesy Bread Sticks. 

We used them as a side dish to our dinner that night. Nick gave them a shoulder shrug but not a full thumbs up. However, after eating a couple of them dipped in marinara sauce, they were a hit. We had enough leftover to use the next day and heated up well in the toaster oven.

Here is the recipe:

• 2 Cups frozen riced cauliflower (one bag).
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese for topping.

1. -Cook or microwave the cauliflower as directed (you want it to be soft).
2. -Mix all the ingredients together and add to the cauliflower. 
3. -Spread onto a cookie sheet and form into a rectangle. (Do not add the topping yet).
4. -Bake 425 for about 25 minutes or until it turns brown. 
5. -Add 1/2 Cup cheese on top and bake another 5 minutes. 

My thoughts:

They were pretty good. I would make them again. I would change the recipe to just one egg because I thought they were a little too eggy. Also, I would have maybe cooked them a little longer to try and get crunchy edges. 

The original recipe can be found HERE. 

How My Job Search is Going.

Everyone keeps asking how my job search is going.

I am happy to announce that I have been offered a part time job at a local Plasma Center.

The bad part is that it’s part time. I have talked to them about my need for full time and they plan to work on granting me that soon. 

The pay is less than half of what I used to make but at least it gets my foot in the door and some experience with my Phlebotomy training. 

I accepted and I start the first of February.

I am not as excited as I thought I would be. I’m scared and nervous. This is going to be so much different than what I’m used to. 

I also do not feel the support from others. 

When I mention I found a job, their face perks up. When I mention what and where, their face drops and they usually say something like, “oh, ew” or “why”. supposedly, plasma centers have a bad rap around here.

This makes a part of me feel less proud while it makes the other half of me want to go for it harder.

I am trying to keep a positive mind and do the best I can do. I want to be a great employee and do my job at it’s best. 

There is more going on too with my job opportunities, but I am not ready to talk about that on my blog just yet.  Let’s just say “While one door closed on me, two more have opened”.  

Stay tuned...

Receiving Blanket Inspired Crochet

If you have seen pictures of new born babies or have had babies of your own then you have seen the most used receiving blankets in the USA. The famous blue and pink blankets are part of the Kuddle-Up line from the health care supply company called Medline. These flannel blankets are soft, warm and absorbent. This is the first fabric that touches the baby’s skin once it comes into this world. They are gender neutral so there is no arguments with boys wrapped in pink or girls wrapped in blue. They date back as far as the 1950’s.

I confess that the only thing I have ever stolen in my life was the receiving blanket my daughter was wrapped in and the little hospital tshirt and beanie she was required to wear during her stay. Now days parents can dress their babies in anything they want too on the first day of delivery. In the early 90’s, all I needed to pack for delivery was an outfit for her to wear home. It was a frilly light blue dress and silk booties. 

The other day I was in the mood to crochet another baby blanket to sell in my shop. I needed three skeins of yarn but I did not have three of the same colors. The only full skeins I had available were a blue, white and pink. Then the idea struck me to crochet a hospital receiving inspired blanket. I pulled out a note pad and wrote down how many rows and stitches I needed to work for each color to somewhat mimic the popular receiving blanket.   

Two nights and four tv programs later, I pulled it off. I think a baby will be cute wrapped up in this blanket as it exits the hospital just days after birth. This blanket is the perfect size for car seats, laps, and strollers. It may even become a child’s favorite cuddle blanket that will last for years.  

Feel free to visit my Etsy shop at LiLiDi or on the page tab at the top of my blog. 

Growing Mushrooms

Do you like to eat mushrooms? I like mushrooms. They are great in spaghetti, on pizza, in salads and even sauteed and eaten as a meat substitute on a sandwich. You can find mushrooms in a lot of Mexican and Chinese dishes.

I think I am the only one on my side of the family that will eat mushrooms. My brother says they are fungi and he ain't eating nothing like that. 

Nature proved his “fungi” remark correct because I am apparently growing eatable mushrooms in my front yard. As I was finishing up my walk the other day, I noticed my butterfly tree had this funny looking stuff growing up the stalk. 

It looked soft like rose petals and shaped like ears. I hope my neighbors don't think I’m some mad scientist growing ears in my front yard. 

I was curious so I had to snap a photo and do a Google photo search. It came back as a “Wood ear Mushroom”. Also known as a Jew’s ear or Jelly ear. Wood Ears can be found in just about all Chinese cuisine and eaten regularly in China. They do not loo appealing but have a great taste. 

I think I remember seeing something like this in my hot and spicy soup before.

I had to snap a few photos but left it alone. I have no intentions of cutting it off the wood to make any meals with it. I will leave that up to Ku fung chu.

Vintage Bocce Balls

I have this old Vintage set of Bocce balls. They are made out of hard wood and are dented, chipped and have taken a beating. They were brought over from Italy by my husbands Grandfather back in the early 1900’s. We are thinking around the 1920’s. So these balls are almost 100 years old. This Bocce Ball set is the one thing I really wanted after my father in law passed away. There was just something about the old wooden look of these balls that made me want to take them out of hiding and display them. I also wanted to keep them in the family.

 

They looked great in their old withered shape but I wanted to condition them so they will last for many more years. I used coconut oil. I put a thin coating of coconut oil and gently gave them a rubdown, then I took a cloth and wiped them clean. This brought the dark leathery look back. The best thing about using coconut oil is that it does not leave them greasy or oily.

I‘m not real sure if I like them better with the oil applied or not. It sort of took away from the distressed character. If I decide to keep them in the best condition, I will need to apply the oil at least once a year. The wood will eventually dry back out. 

Before and after

Bocce Ball is a yard game. One person will throw the small ball called a Pallino (target ball) then each team takes turns throwing a large ball. The goal is to get as close to the small ball as possible even if it means knocking someones else's ball out of the way. Points are gained. You can have a team of two to four. 

We have a newer Bocce set that we keep in our camper. We like to play Bocce Ball on the beach. It attracts new friends as teams are made. They are also wooden and the same weight and size as the vintage set, but the new sets come in vibrant colors. A beach trip is the first time I ever learned about this game as I saw many people playing it on the sand.

I found a wire basket to display this old vintage set. They sit on my hearth with a story behind them. I would have loved to play with this set along side of my late grandfather in law. 

Air Fryer Cobbler For One

Have I told you how much I love my air fryer? Of course I have. Like, only million times! When I received my air fryer for my birthday last year, I have used more than my oven! You can literally cook anything in this thing that you can in an oven and in half the time.

As I was eating breakfast, I got to thinking about all the ways to use my air fryer. Yes, I might be a little obsessed. 

Then I got to thinking about moms cobbler. I make moms cobbler every year at my New Years dinner and it’s always a crowd pleaser. It is so easy and only calls for a cup of this and a cup of that (that's what my mom says every time I ask for a recipe). 

I started craving some cobbler but did not want to make a whole one. So I decided to try making a single serve by breaking down the ingredients to fit in a cup. In 15 minutes I had a tiny tasty mouth watering blueberry cobbler. 

So if you have an air fryer an oven proof dish like a ramekin, then I am sharing the recipe with you. I will also tell you at the end how to make the *regular size one in the oven for those that do not have an air fryer. Now, grab an apron and lets get going....Just kidding, you will have this made before you can even tie an apron.

Single Serve Air Fryer Cobbler

Turn on the air fryer at 350 degrees and set timer for 17 mins (that's 2 minutes to preheat, 15 minutes to cook).

• 2 Tablespoons butter.
• 1/4 cup self rising flour.
• 1/4 cup sugar.
• 1/4 cup milk.
• 1/4 cup fruit.

-Melt butter and ad to a bowl, mug or ramekin.

-In separate bowl mix flour, sugar and milk.

-Pour mixed batter into the butter (do not stir into the butter).

-Add fruit (again, do not stir).

-Place ramekin in Air Fryer and bake for 15 minutes. (If you do not think it’s done enough, just bake for another 3 minutes.)

Caution: Will be hot.

Top with ice cream (optional).

*For the regular size cobbler.

Make the same way but with one stick of butter and 1 cup of everything else instead of 1/4.

Put in a 2 quart casserole dish and bake at 325 in oven for 1 hour.

What a Day!

Warning: This post is not for the squeamish.

I admit. I love the sun....Ok most of you know that....I have always kept a tan during the summer months, weather it be by tan bed or beach chair. 

I rarely sunburn, and when I do get a sun burn its minimal. But the sun evidently has been damaging my skin. (Ha, and I thought it was just old age).

I see a lot more brown spots and freckles now that I have turned 50 than when I was 49. Seriously. 

Well, let’s ignore the brown spots for now. I found a red spot. Yes, among the age sun spots and new freckles, I noticed a teeny tiny red spot on my forehead. It would get a little scaly at times and sometime would shine through my make up. There was just something about this tiny spot that drew my attention to it every time I looked in the mirror. 

So I had it looked at last week. They did a biopsy to make sure it was nothing cancerous and sent me home with care instructions and a band aid. 

I got a call yesterday to let me know that the little red spot was indeed a form of cancer called “Basil Cell Carcinoma”. This is the less serious form of skin cancer but still needs to be removed. So they took me in today to get the job done.

I am never sick and I’m healthy so this was a little traumatic to me. I mean, “what a day”.

They did some cutting and digging and sent me back to the waiting area until they made sure they got it all. 

After about a 20 minute wait, the nurse comes in and says “we need to take you back again and cut out some more, we did not get it all”. So after a little more chiseling, I was sent back out to the waiting room. After another 20 minutes the nurse arrives again and says “good news, we got it all that time. Now you will have wait for about 30 minutes and we will get the surgeon to stitch you up”. 

I waited 45 minutes.

.

.

.

.

.

.

The stitches are on the inside and glue on the outside. 

I never listened to people when they stressed for me to wear sunscreen. I will take it more serious and take more precautions when I’m out in the sun for now on. Sunscreen will be my friend. A tan is not worth the trouble. I will also be scheduling a full body check once I get a job and my feet back on the ground. 

Speaking of job. I finally got a call for an interview next Monday. I hate that I will go looking like Frankenstein but it is what it is. Stay tuned about that and wish me luck. 

New Shop Look and QVC

I finally got my house back in order after the Christmas and New Years celebrations. I am ready to start decorating for Valentines Day. January can just fly by if it wants to. I am not a fan of Winter. Though we do get most of our snow in February and March, at least I know that Spring is just around the corner.

I have been busy crocheting some new items for my Etsy Shop. I have changed it up a bit. I used to have a lot random crochet items for sale. Many were hard to duplicate for those who wanted a different color or size. I get sore eyes from crocheting colors I do not like. I get bored and tired of looking at it. My favorite colors to crochet with are more earthy tones. Some may call it drab but I enjoy it much better. Just something about the cozy warm feeling of natural colors.

So, I have decided to just sell more “basic” items. Things that will be easy to whip up for a custom order. There is no fancy frill, lace or ruffles. Just plain basic items that can be used every day. This also allows me to use better grades of yarn. 

Along with new items, I even changed the look of my shop title and logo. So please head over there and check it out. Let me know what you think!

LiLiDi on Etsy

Today, I will be rushing home after church service in time to make a phone call.

I will be calling into QVC at 12:20pm today. I will be talking to Marie Osmond about my success in losing 50 lbs on Nutrisystem. Though the call only last about 3 minutes, I am always nervous and forget what I want to say. I have even tried jotting down some key words to help me out but I usually never think to look down at them. I am too busy watching the TV screen. It will be fun though and always an honor. There will also be other success stories calling in. Some of them I have met at photo shoots. They are all genuine and a pleasure to be around.

Nutrisystem will be on QVC for 24 hours with some great values. If you want to lose weight before summer, this will be a great time to get a great deal. 

Tune into QVC January 5th at (or around)12:20 

to hear me speak about my success with Nutrisystem.

Welcome to the 20’s

Happy New Year! We are living in the 20’s now. I have seen a lot of photos on social media of my friends bringing in the new year dressed like the 1920’s. They are wearing pinstripe suits and flapper dresses. Looks like a lot of fun.

We didn’t party it up on New Years eve. We went out to eat at a little pub and was home by eight. We did however, manage to stay awake to bring in the new year. My party starts today as we do our annual new years dinner for family. We have the traditional foods like pork, black eye peas and collard greens. I also added mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and cobblers. My house smells like Sunday dinner at the Golden Corral. 

This year I have decided not to make any resolutions or set any goals. 

Resolutions are rarely kept and goals are made as a one time event. Once a goal is met, you usually will pat yourself on the back and move on to something else. Instead, I will be going into the new year with simple “plans”

Plans to continue maintaining my weight loss.

Plans to Stay Healthy,

And plans to better myself.

Sure I will set goals for myself throughout the year as they come. I usually will give myself a daily, weekly or monthly goal to accomplish something that needs to be done. Totally random. My brain works better that way. I have tried keeping notes, planners and to do list but I fail at them all. 

I have some exciting things happening in then next couple weeks. I have been asked to be an ambassador for another company. I can’t say who it is right now but I will be sure to let you know as soon as it has been approved and dotted lines have been signed. I am still an ambassador for Nutrisystem too and I have a task to do with them in the next few days. 

I hope the new year brings me a new job and new beginnings. 

As I sit down to dinner today I will remember where I came from and stay excited for where I'm going.

I pray for all of my friends, family and foe that everyone will have a happy and healthy New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!