Gingerbread Cupcakes

Nov29

I love this time of year! Christmas time is so magical! This year even more so for me thanks to Jacob! Im looking forward to all things Christmas. Next week one of my best friends is hosting a Christmas party and requested I bring gingerbread cupcakes. Not wanting to disappoint I did my research, combined and tweaked some recipes and came up with these moist, delicious cupcakes featuring Epicure’s gingerbread spice!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/2 molasses
1 egg
1 1/3 cups white flour
1 teaspoon real vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons Epicure Gingerbread spice

*Allow milk, butter, and egg to come to room temperature before beginning

METHOD

Cream butter and sugar together in mixer. Add in egg, milk and vanilla.

Add in molasses. Mixture will look chunky.

In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and Epicure gingerbread spice.

With mixer running at low speed add dry ingredient mixture to wet. Once added mix throughly on med/high speed for 30 seconds. Use a spatula to scrape down sides and mix for another 10 seconds.

Fill 12 paper lined muffin tins 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven – 350 degrees.

Allow to cool on wire rack before frosting.

I frosted mine with cream cheese frosting and used a tiny fresh baked gingerbread man to decorate!

I hope you enjoy these as much as my friends do! ❤️🎄❤️

We Choose Huggies!

Nov29

I was recently given the opportunity to review Huggies little movers diapers. Influenster sent Jacob a complentary package of little movers diapers for testing and review purposes. It’s safe to say they are now our go to diapers!

When Jacob was born we tried Huggies but found they didn’t work well for him as he constantly wet through the sides! As the months passed and Jacob’s little body shape changed the brand of diapers we were using no longer kept him dry! We were happy to give Huggies another try and quickly learned the Little movers line was exactly what we were looking for!!

I’m happy with these diapers as they lock away wetness and keep Jacob dry during his constant crawling & furnature walking adventures! They also work well at night.

I also appreciate the fact these diapers are unscented and are very gentle on my little ones delicate skin! Jacob never gets redness or diaper rash with Huggies little movers! To me that is a huge factor when making my diaper choice! I also like the fact I can buy these diapers in a huge box at Costco and save a bit of money.

I highly recommend giving these diapers a try if you have a little mover on your hands!! Thanks Influenster for giving us that chance to share our opinion on Huggies little movers!

A Little Life Update

Nov23

Hi friends! I’ve missed you! Jacob is napping so I thought I’d take a few minutes and say hello! I’ve been busy chasing my tiny terror everywhere! He’s small but he can move!!

Last week I did something I’ve been considering for a long time, I signed up with Epicure as an independent consultant. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am about this. I’ve been using and loving Epicure products for a couple years now. Any of you who follow me on Instagram know how often I share my creations featuring Epicure spices, blends, and cookware! I love that their products are low/no sodium, healthy, gluten free, and many are certified non-Gmo! I also love that it’s a local, woman run company! I look forward to sharing my Epicure adventures with you all!

Erica McGavin with Epicure – check out all Epicure’s awesome products here!

On the home front we had a koi pond emergency this past Saturday. We aren’t sure what exactly happened but the pond drained from 5 feet to 1 foot over night. Needless to say we had our hands full trying to relocate and save our fish! Between the raccoons, heron and leak it’s been a tough year for those suckers! Rest assure they are safe… They will be spending the winter in our hot tub. We had to quickly seal the jets with pond tape but it’s done and they are as happy as can be! I bet we have the only indoor pond on the block!

I was lucky enough to receive free passes for The Westcoast Christmas show this past weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed browsing, shopping and seeing Santa!

The weekend prior we got to check out the Langley Christmas show and I picked up some great local products!

We’ve also been busy celebrating Kevin’s birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary! Seriously where does the time go??? Wherever it goes, we’re exhausted!

I hope everyone is happy and healthy! ❤️

He Made Me Cry

Nov13

I cannot believe my tiny baby boy is almost walking. I can’t believe how fast he’s learning, growing, and evolving into a little boy. Though he’s 9 months old it feels like he was born yesterday. I blinked and my tiny baby is a power to be reckoned with. He has a mind of his own and keeps me extremely busy!!

On Halloween we realized how excited Jacob was by all the lights. Every time he sees a Christmas tree he gets so excited. Tonight while at Costco he got super excited over a little 4.5 foot tree! Given his reaction we couldn’t not buy him one. So $125 later he has his tree. When we turned the lights on he got so excited he squealed and waved his arms. His reaction made me cry. Happy tears. I love Christmas and I can’t wait to share this amazing time of year with my son! ❤️

Maple Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Oct2

It’s officially October meaning we are fully submerged in Pumpkin everything!! I admit my pumpkin season started in August…don’t judge me!

I decided to bake some maple pumpkin spice muffins because warm fresh baked muffins are a crisp Fall morning necessity. These muffins don’t require a fancy mixer or a lot of time! They taste great with butter or better yet pumpkin butter. Feel free to get creative and toss in a few walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips etc! I left mine plain and served them with pumpkin butter.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cooking oil

1 cup cooked pumpkin (without spice)

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp maple extract (vanilla also works)

Method

Mix dry ingredients (except sugar) into a large bowl.

Crack egg into small bowl and beat until frothy.

Combine egg with remaining wet ingredients in bowl with sugar, stir to combine.

Once wet ingredients are well combined add them to dry ingredients, stiring to combine.

Once combined divide into 12 standard greased muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees or until toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.

Once baked allow muffins to cool on wire rack.

These muffins are quick, easy and bake up light and fluffy. They are not overly sweet and are fantastic with pumpkin butter, peanut butter, jam, etc!

Enjoy!

Naturebox Review

Sep17

I’m a big fan of healthy, fun snacks so when I got my free Naturebox I was super excited to bust into it!

Naturebox is a monthly subscription box that ships right to your door. You can choose 3 or 5 snacks and add on premium snacks like turkey jerky for an additional fee.

Naturebox allows you to pick your own snacks each month from a huge list of snacks. They have something for every type of snacker! Sweet, salty, crunchy, soft. Nuts, cookies, dried fruit, crackers, popcorn, etc.

It took me a while to pick out what I wanted to try but I finally settled on Prailne pumpkin seeds, Peanut butter yum yums, Harvest nut mix, Sweet and Salty nuts, and Whole wheat strawberry fig bars.

It is safe to say I enjoyed all my selections but the Harvest nut mix was my favourite!

I am a huge trail mix fan and the flavours in this mix were delicious! I loved the corn and the cracker sticks! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a slightly salty, crispy snack.

My second favourite selection was the Praline pumpkin seeds.

These are sweet little bites of crispy goodness! They are a very Autumn feeling snack thanks to the pumpkin pie spice. They cured my sweet tooth without breaking the calorie bank!

My next favourite snack was the Sweet and Salty nuts.

I am a big fan of nuts on salads and these mixed sweet and salty nuts where perfect for that!! They weren’t overly sweet or salty, as Goldilocks would say “Just right!”

Next I tried the Peanut butter nom nom’s.

Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about peanut butter!! Very amorous is how I feel for those who don’t know!! These were tasty little treats but ring in at 100 calories each! It is hard to eat just one as they are like soft little cookies but 100 calories each seemed high to me.

My final snack was the Whole wheat strawberry fig bars.

I enjoyed these and think they would make a great snack to grab to keep in my bag for those days we are out and about longer than expected. They packed a big fig flavor and the whole wheat made them feel more healthy than a traditional fig cookie.

Over all I really enjoyed my Naturebox sample box and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys healthy snacking. A box of 5 full size snacks will run you $19.99 a month and you can cancel your subscription anytime or order your box more frequently as you choose. In my opinion the price is totally fair given the high quality, full size snack you receive.

I’m definitely looking forward to picking next months snacks!

Check out Naturebox here!!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies With Maple Frosting

Sep13

It’s almost the middle of September! Pumpkin season is in full swing!!! I decided today was a good day for some Fall inspired baking! These cookies are pillowy soft and delicious but the maple frosting is the show stopper!

Ingredients 1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon instant coffee

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp pumpkin spice liquid flavouring (optional)

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Method

Combine pumpkin, egg, oil, sugar, vanilla, and, instant coffee, liquid pumpkin flavouring in medium bowl.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and pumpkin spice in another bowl.

Stir wet ingredients together and use a fork or whisk to combine dry ingredients.

Combine wet and dry ingredients, stiring just to combine.

Drop by spoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to fully cool before frosting.

To make the maple cream frosting simply combine the following ingredients.

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup light cream cheese

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vanilla coffee creamer

1 teaspoon maple extract

I used my immersion hand blender outside on the patio but if you don’t have a sleeping baby just toss them in a mixer!

Frost cookies and enjoy!

Note: This is the liquid pumpkin spice flavouring I used. It’s available at baking stores, online and micheals crafts.

My Quiet Friday

Aug28

I’ve decided to get back to sharing more of my life on the blog as well as the recipes and reviews.

I think sharing more about my eating, exercises, and life in general helps keep me more accountable. Plus who doesn’t want to see more of this little charmers face?!?

Today was a quiet day. I cancelled plans with a friend and just embraced the rain and being at home. I got lucky this morning and once again was blessed with a beautiful double yolked farm egg for breakfast.

I long to own my own farm with my own chickens!

This evening I took some “Me time” to make a beautiful Fall center piece for our coffee table. I was inspired by the ones I saw yesterday at Homesense.

While I liked the above store version I felt I could make one myself! My brother helped me build the Wooden box out of reclaimed wood. I love how it turned it!

My other productive activities today consisted of cleaning, vacuuming, and baking a Zucchini chocolate chip loaf.

I love this time of year. Fall is well in it’s way and I long for cozy blankets, candles, cuddles and tea. I adore the fall decor, seasonal scents and the pumpkins everywhere!!

I look forward to sharing my Fall season with you!

Argentinian Chimichurri Flank Steak

Aug27

Kevin and I have decided to seek out one new dinner recipe a week to cook together and share. This week we thought the recipe for Chimichurri flank steak in this weeks Weight watchers weekly looked good!

We made the marinade last night and let the steak marinade a full 24 hours prior to cooking. I really enjoyed the flavors of the marinade but Kevin found the red wine flavor a touch over powering. We both agreed we would double the garlic next time!

As stated above this is not my recipe. It is a Weight Watchers recipe.

Ingredients
1 Small bunch parsley
4 Cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon fresh oregano
1 1/2 Teaspoon salt (I used 1 teaspoon)
1/4 Teaspoon pepper
1/4 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 Teaspoons olive oil (divided)

1 Pound lean flank steak
Cooking spray
Salt and pepper pinch

Method
24 hours in advance prep and marinade the steak.

Combine first 8 ingredients and purée in a food processor until relatively smooth.

Place 3 tablespoons of Chimichurri into a small bowl and add 1 tsp olive oil.

Rub mixture over steak and allow to marinade for 24 hours. Refrigerate remaining Chimichurri after adding remaing Olive oil.

When ready to cook preheat grill to high heat. Wipe off marinade, pat dry and season steak with salt and pepper. Spray grill with cooking spray. Grill steak for 5-7 minutes per side, flipping once. Cook to medium rare. Remove from heat and allow to rest. Drizzle remaining Chimichurri sauce over steak and serve!

I would recommend this recipe to anyone looking for a flavorful healthy steak recipe.

David’s Tea Peanut Butter Cup Review

Aug23

I was given a sample of David’s tea new upcoming fall flavor, Peanut butter cup. I was pretty excited about this new flavor given how I feel about Peanut butter. That feeling is smitten incase you were wondering.

This new flavor will be released at the end of August with the rest of the Fall line. It’s definitely worth a try if you like peanut butter!

This peanut-ty little number is a herbal fruit infusion and is chock full of nutty flavor. Sorry I couldn’t resist! It does have nuts though. Almonds to be specific, along with apples, cococa peel, chocolate chips, safflower and a bit of “flavoring”. It smells amazing before, during, and after steeping.

I was surprised just how spot on the peanut butter flavor was despite not having peanuts as an ingredient. I tried the tea straight up to experience the full flavor prior to adding my cream. Yes I add cream. I’m one of those!
I would recommend anyone who loves peanut butter to give this tea a try. The chocolate was subtle but I thought that it worked well. I will definitely be adding this tea to my fall favorites list.

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