Lucky Leprechaun Surprise Chocolate Mint Mug Cake

You remember that mug cake I made the other day? Well, I can't seem to get them out of my mind. I've been making different flavors, and thought I'd better share this one with you before Saturday.

Mint-flavored chocolate cake with a hidden green creamy surprise inside - all in a lucky 7 minutes. (Had to add a couple of minutes in there to make the creamy goodness!) You'll want to try this any time of year, but it also serves as a nice green treat for St. Patrick's Day. (So does a salad and other veggie greens - be sure to get some of those in!)

If you are looking for other gluten-free St. Patrick's Day goodies, I do have an Irish "Spotted Dog" soda bread and these fantastic clover cookies from last year. I've had my eye on some of the other gluten-free soda breads in the food blog world, though, and they do look amazing. Some of them are even vegan, so I'll have to give them a try at some point!

I'm also thinking I may give Stephanie's dijon corned beef a try in the crockpot this year - she says it's not slimy and I believe her. You can't beat the ease of a crockpot meal!

Projected time, start to finish: 7 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

Cake:
1 large egg
4 Tbsp. Pamela's baking mix (not bread flour blend)
3 1/2 Tbsp. pure organic cane sugar
3 Tbsp. milk
2 1/2 Tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil (tip: warm to above room temp to make it liquid)
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pure mint extract (I used mint in this case, not peppermint, but peppermint would probably work fine)

Cream filling:
2 Tbsp. cream cheese
3 tsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. egg white (from egg in mug)
1 drop green food coloring

Grease inside of large microwaveable mug. Crack egg into mug first because you'll need 1 tsp. of the egg white for the cream filling.

In a separate small bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg white and green coloring until smooth. Set aside.

Add remaining cake ingredients to mug and mix with a fork until everything is incorporated very well.

Drop cream cheese mixture into middle of cake batter.

Microwave on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Enjoy!

This morning the girls and I had some excitement about our birds - not one but TWO chipping sparrows were flitting about under the feeders and among the branches outside our dining room windows. We hadn't seen chipping sparrows (house sparrows are what usually visit us) since last year, and we don't see them very often when they are around. I guess spring brought them back for a while.

I hope you have found beauty in your day today.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Shells Today

My daughters spent some time outside today. It was a beautiful day and perfect for all sorts of pretend play. My oldest wanted to sweep the patio area off first, so my youngest occupied herself with placing their newest shells from the beach last summer into a deliberate line on top of our deep freezer. She was so intent on her method, I just had to capture some of it. Of course, I also loved the colors she chose (with help from big sister) to wear today.

I hope you are finding beauty in your days!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Bee in the Redbud Tree

We have redbud trees blooming all around us. The redbud tree we own is a strange tree - it has tiny pink buds slowly cropping out and one little bitty branch with green leaves starting up. The photo above was taken of one of our neighbor's redbud trees, which is blooming larger flowers so far and no green leaves. Most of the other neighborhood redbuds are doing what our neighbor's are doing ... leave it to my redbud tree to bloom to its own drum.

It's lovely to be surrounded with such pink beauty at the moment. When you walk outside, you can smell the sweetness of the blooms. So can the bees - they were covering this tree as I took photos.

I love winter. Fall and winter are my favorite times of year. But when such beauty crops out in the spring, how can you not love this time as well?

Find beauty in your week!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Banana Mug Cake

Mug cake. The amazing desserts/snacks that you can mix in a mug, then "bake" in the same mug. All under 5 minutes, from start to ready. I'm in.

I recently saw Jessica's chocolate mug cake recipe on ATX Gluten-Free and had to try it (with a few very minor adjustments) after pinning it. It just kept calling my name. It was very, very good. Very. It was a quick fix for the girls as a special Friday after-school snack.

It wouldn't be wise to make mug cakes as often as I'm tempted to after trying that chocolate one, but I was intrigued and wondered what other flavors I could come up with? (I'll be playing around with them for a while.) My husband cares for chocolate the least of cake flavors, and he loves banana. I'm also on a bit of a warmed bananas kick these days. Why not? I played around with it and had success. Delicious, easy success. It was even fluffy.

While I felt one mug of cake was a little much for one person (I felt pretty full after eating one), my husband had no trouble eating his mug - and topped his with vanilla ice cream as well. He was a very happy man. I do suggest giving the mug several minutes to cool before diving in - the cake stays hot pretty much the whole time. Unless, of course, you top yours with ice cream.

Projected time, start to finish: 5 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

4 tbsp. Pamela's baking and pancake mix (not bread mix) (or other GF baking mix w/baking powder)
4 tbsp. (packed) pure dark brown cane sugar
1 large egg
3 Tbsp. milk of your choice
2 Tbsp. mashed banana
1 Tbsp. organic extra virgin coconut oil (warmed past room temp to get liquid state)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Grease inside of large microwaveable mug and mix all ingredients very well with a fork. Microwave 1 minute and 30 seconds. (It will look like it it is overflowing but if you use a large mug it shouldn't. It will shrink back once cooling.) Let cool several minutes.

Enjoy!

My daughter also made another beautiful Bendaroosproject that I had to add to the photos because the colors went together so well. She made a lovely flower - and had no idea when making it that the colors were actually similar to a real banana flower.

I hope you are finding beauty in your day.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Trying to Hide

I hope you've had a beautiful weekend and will continue to find beauty in your surroundings this coming week!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Bendaroo Sundaes and Lazy Days

This week has been a little rough on me, physically. I was feeling better last week and I think I did too much. I thought I was taking it easy enough but I obviously wasn't. I paid for it this week with what felt like it must a somewhat of a relapse. It's very frustrating to be someone who has had adrenaline addictions and not used to slowing down and being forced to from a sickness you had as a teen.

I was talking with a family member the other day and she pointed out that I've probably never truly forced myself to really relax and take a break. I contracted mono (the nasty illness that remains dormant in your system for life once having it and decided to reactivate in my body about six months ago) right after my graduation from high school. I had one of the worst cases the doctors had seen and was super-sick for about two months. I took it easy and then moved 22 hours from home to attend college, where I promptly became an individual who studied hard academically, partied hard and became a workaholic to top it off. Perfectionism was also the name of the game.

Fast forward a few years to becoming a workaholic newspaper reporter in a high-stress job working a minimum of 60 hours a week. After I quit my job when I was pregnant with my oldest (due to pregnancy complications), I didn't even truly "do nothing" when I was on two months of strict bedrest due to preterm labor beginning at 28 weeks. I dutifully stayed on my left side those two months ... making phone calls and typing on my laptop while I freelanced some corporate projects. I didn't sleep when the baby slept unless I was ready to pass out from exhaustion.

Did my body ever truly recover from the first case of mono? It seems it's being forced to now. As you can imagine, it's hard for me to "do nothing." I get a burst of energy and feel I'm being lazy and must tackle the mounting pile of laundry, projects that are on the back burner, recipe ideas I've written down ... you get the idea.

Today, I enjoyed the tasty Bendaroossundae my oldest made for me. I enjoyed the beautiful colors my daughter chose to create it. I love the curve of the spoon she made. (We have a lot of Bendaroos projects around our house. She's been perfecting her Bendaroos art for a couple of years now.)

Today, I'm doing nothing. I'm typing this post and getting back in bed. I'm sleeping and watching some shows. Reading some books. (Then I'll make pizza for family movie night, but use frozen pizza crust.) Watch a movie with my family.

I have to learn how to still take it easy when I'm starting to feel better, so I don't overdo it and I can truly recover. I do think these posts about beauty in my day are helping, and I want to continue them.

My girls just started spring break. With the exception of some doctor appointments, we are doing nothing. Nothing. We are reading books, watching movies and lounging. Being lazy. They can play outside and I can take photos. We are sleeping in as late as we want to. We might try out some recipes, but I'm going to try to keep it relaxed.

And eat lots of Bendaroos sundaes.

Find beauty in your weekend, and savor it.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Butterfly (2)

The dust and wind settled down overnight and let us see the mountains again. The wind blew in a cold front with freezing temperatures, so I'm remembering my walk through the neighborhood watching for signs of spring the other morning.

Here's another angle of the pretty little butterfly from the other day. I hope you have a beauty-filled weekend!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html