Easy Homemade Pickles

This was my first attempt at making pickles. Sometimes canning can be intimidating and so far everything that I have tried has turned out to be quite easy. I found two recipes that I liked but I couldn't decide between the two because they were quite different, so I combined them to make my own recipe! I am VERY pleased with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 5-6 cucumbers, sliced thin, peels left on
• 1 onion, sliced thin (I used almost a whole red onion)
• 6 cups cider vinegar
• 3 cups sugar (That was cut in half, but some people wont want it that tart)
• 2 tsp. celery seed
• minced garlic
• red pepper flakes (leave this out if you don't like a little kick)
• 6 pint-size mason jars

Slice the cucumbers and onion. Divide half of the cucumbers among the 6 jars, filling the jars almost half way full. Divide the onion among the jars. On top of the onion add about half a teaspoon each of minced garlic and red pepper flakes, more or less depending on your taste, to each jar. A little goes a long way with both of these ingredients. Finish the jars off with the remaining cucumbers. Don't be afraid to pack it in there, the liquid will run through it.

In a large sauce pan combine the vinegar, sugar, and celery seed. Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar is dissolved, this wont take long. Carefully pour over cucumbers in each jar, filling to the top but leaving about half an inch of room. DON'T FORGET THE JARS WILL BE VERY HOT!!! Carefully seal tight with lids and let cool before putting them in the fridge. Let sit for at least 24 hours before eating. These don't have to be processed, just keep them in the fridge. They will keep for a long time, if they aren't eaten first!

Tips:

• If you find yourself with not enough liquid, don't panic. Just make a little more! Its 1 part sugar to 2 parts vinegar. So if you need half a cup, just add 1/4 cup sugar to 1/2 cup vinegar. Easy fix.
• If you spill any of the liquid putting it into the jars, best done using a funnel, make sure you wipe it up and then wash the counter with soap and water. You WILL have ants, remember, ITS SUGAR! 

Enjoy!

Chicken Zucchini Poppers

I found this recipe on pinterest, like I do most of my recipes, and then I saw several of my facebook friends posting it so I knew that I had to try it. I changed the recipe a bit to my liking and you can do the same. They turned out so deliciously excellent. I dipped them in lite honey mustard!

Ingredients:

• 2c grated zucchini (leave peel on)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 3-4 Tbsp cilantro, minced
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• olive oil, for cooking
• 1 lb. ground chicken breast

Instructions:

• Toss chicken with zucchini, onion, cilantro, garlic, salt, and pepper. Don't worry if it seems too wet, its just from the zucchini.
• Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Use a small scoop or a heaped tablespoon to scoop meatballs into the pan. Cook 8-10 at a time for about 5-6 minutes on the first side. Flip and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown and the centers are cooked through. The center should be bouncy but not squishy. Remember ground turkey and ground chicken cook a lot faster than ground beef.
• Serve with your favorite dip.

The only thing I didn't like about this recipe was frying it in the pan. Next time I am going to try baking them. Enjoy!

Yields 20 poppers

Serving Size 4

Calories 204

Fat 11.4g (can be majorly reduced by baking instead of frying)

Carbs 3.2g

Protein 19.6g

Sodium 534 mg

Cloud Bread!

I was afraid on how this would turn out. No carb bread!?!? Yeah right!!! I am quite pleased with it! Here is the recipe. Make sure you follow the instructions carefully or they will not turn out right.

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 3 Tbs. cottage cheese or cream cheese (I used cottage cheese)
• 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 packet artificial sweetener (I use my monk fruit extract. You can use splenda or 1/2 a tsp. of sugar)

• Preheat the oven to 300.

• Separate the eggs.

• Mix together the egg yolks, cottage cheese, and sweetener until smooth. (This is where you add any kind of flavoring)

• In another bowl add cream of tartar to the egg whites and beat until they are fluffy and form nice peaks.

• Carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the whites keeping things fluffy. (I folded less than 10 times)

• Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray.

• Put dollops of the mixture into mounds that are the size you desire. They will not expand too much more than the size you make them.  One batch for me made 6 pieces. You can make them smaller for buns, sliders, or even sub for biscuits.

• Bake on the middle rack for about 25 minutes until nice and golden brown. 

I made 2 batches. I added garlic powder to one, and maple flavoring and cinnamon to the other. Get creative! 

 Cindy's Tips for the Perfect Cloud Bread:

• Make sure you understand what "nice peaks" look like. The whites should not move if you tip the bowl. At the same time don't OVER beat them. If you mess up, start again. This is a very inexpensive recipe.
• If you are going to mix any flavors in, mix it into the yolk mixture, not the whites.
• Loosen them off the pan as soon as they come out of the oven. Then move them to a cooling rack.
• They will be very eggy if you eat them right out of the oven. Wrap 2 per paper towel and stick in a ziplock in the fridge overnight. In the morning they will have more of a bread like taste.
• You can toast them but I recommend a toaster oven. It is doable in the upright toaster but they bend a little.
• Any flavoring I would only add liquids or powders, no chunks. It has to stay light and fluffy.

REMEMBER: THIS ISN'T BREAD!!!! So give it a chance. If you are truly wanting to make a healthy change in your diet this is great when you need a bread substitute. We all get cravings! Enjoy! Let me know if you have any questions!!! :)

Serving Size: 1 
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Calories 43

Total Fat 2.8 

Sodium 42.6

Carbohydrate 0.3 g

Protein 3.7 g

CANT GET BETTER THAN THAT FOLKS!!!

Pictured Below: Cloud Bread Ground Turkey Tacos

Back at it!

Hello my fellow bloggers! I know it's been awhile hasn't it!? Well I ended up having to get a new computer instead of putting anymore money into the old one. Sooooo lets play catch-up!

If you remember I had the gastric bypass October 14, 2013. Since then I have lost 181 pounds!!! I'm so proud of how far I have come and very proud of the person I am becoming, I am now working at Curves. Lane Bryant ended up closing. At the time I didn't understand why God was allowing all of that to happen when things were going so well. All I knew is that He had a good reason for it just like He always does. Its such a blessing working at Curves and I needed to be there anyway!

David has also lost a lot of weight. He has lost 54 pounds and counting! We have a bet going with our weight loss and he is about to win. I'm ok with it though. I just want us both to succeed at this. Combined we have lost over 200 pounds!!! We got this! With the help of God, each other, and the support from our family and friends, we just cant fail!

I know a lot of you are anxious for those new yummy recipes. Well they are coming!!! I promise I will have one up this week, so make sure you look for it!!