Toastie Pies - a La Hey, Lady Grey

Friends, and blog followers have been asking me how the organic/ healthy eating initiative I started a little while back is going.  I think this blog post is a good indication of where I'm at....  It's going... in that I'm conscious of it.  And it's definitely improved from where it was in that I do only use my Home Grown Box of produce, or on occasion store bought organic produce.  I have cut down on refined sugar, but have not cut out.

All in all, I'm happy with the small strides I've made, and am definitely eating healthier now than I was before I started the healthy eating kick.  And as of today, I have gone 6 weeks with no fast food.  Those who know me well know that this is a HUGE feat in and of itself.

The other pitfall I'm experiencing is that in recent weeks I've become quite a blog junkie, and have been especially following foodie blogs.  One of my faves that I've posted about before is Hey Lady Grey.  Recently she blogged about Toastie Pies and they looked way too good (and easy) for me to pass them up. 

 Picture from Hey Lady Grey

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

1 apple

2 slices bread (I used raisin bread)

Cinnamon-Sugar Spread

2 Tbs butter, room temperature

2 Tbs sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix cinnamon & sugar in a small bowl, then mix with butter. This will make a little more spread than you need, but it keeps in the fridge and makes a great breakfast spread for toast.

3. Peel and slice apple into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 1 min 30 seconds. Then set aside.

4. Cut crusts off bread. Then using your fingers (or a rolling pin) smush/squish the bread down to a pancake. Butter one side of each bread with plain butter. On the other side generously & evenly spread the cinnamon-sugar-butter mixture. 

5. Push the bread into muffin tins, butter side down (cinnamon side up). Fill centres with apple slices, then fold corners of bread over top to seal the pie. Don't be afraid to really squish it down so that the top sticks. Sprinkle top with a bit of granulated sugar.

6. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until tops of toastie-pies are golden.

7. Remove from muffin tins and serve warm with ice cream. Enjoy!

I Can't Live Without...

Recently I've been wanting to start a weekly "series" on the blog and was thinking of what I would most enjoy blogging about... and then it dawned on me today, as I was vacuuming the house.  I bring you, "Things I Thought I Could Live Without, But Really Can't..."

First item on the list is my Dyson Slim Vacuum.

Anyone who knew me when Jon and I were engaged knows that I was equally as excited about putting the Dyson Vacuum on my Bridal Registry, as I was to be marrying my best friend.  Mainly because I thought I would love the vacuum but thought that I'd never be able to justify the coin.  Ohh, but I was wrong.... Worth every penny!!  Luckily, a group of my mom's very generous friends went in together to get the Dyson Vacuum for my Bridal Shower.

The model we have is the Dyson Slim, which I love and really suits our lifestyle.  It's SO  light weight I can carry up and down stairs with one hand, but still fully functional.  We currently have, and will likely always prefer hardwood floors, because of Jon's allergies and the fact that we have a kitty, and once we have kids and a house, we're thinking we'll be adding a dog in the mix too.  That's A LOT of dust and dirt.  So, definitely no carpeting in our future.  Dyson does make a "pet" model which is supposedly amazing at getting fur out of carpets... but as I mentioned, there is definitely no carpet in our future.

All in all, it's such a functional vacuum... and stays completely true to the claim that it definitely does not loose suction.  All the attachments are super easily accessible, without having to bend down to floor level.  You can tell this vacuum was designed by a man.  It has a very "techy" feel to it.  Lots of little gadgets all over it, and I love every single one of them!!  The big plus for me is that I love not having to worry about vacuum bags!  It's nice to be able to see the clear canister to know when it needs to be emptied.  Jon's allergies have improved so much since we've got the vacuum...  It's night and day. 

Verdict:  LOVE LOVE LOVE, and you will too!!   

Grumpy Kitten

 

Do you ever just feel like you're up against a wall trying to make things work out?  I've been having a small string of bad luck recently and having a hard time getting through it.  Thankfully I am blessed with an incredible family, and such a strong and supportive husband to lean on.  I've been praying a lot and hoping I find the grace to get me through this.  My hopes are that maybe putting it out there will help take it away. 

What do you do to help you get through the grey days? 

"Hurricane" Earl

Those who know Jon well know that he's always had a thrill of adventure.  Most notably he loves checking out natural disasters... while they are occurring.  Immediately after the 2004 Christmas Tsunami that hit Southeast Asia, he headed down to Sri Lanka and ended up helping with the relief effort, and checking out the destruction that had occurred.  So, it was no surprise to me when he woke me up this Saturday morning to check out the destruction we were expecting from Hurricane Earl.  We woke up at 9 am and it looked just like a regular cloudy day.  When we left the house at 10am, there was still really not much going on...   We drove around the city and went to Halifax harbour.  There were a few broken branches and business signs knocked down, and the seas were rough for sure, but it still didn't really feel like a hurricane.  So then we headed up to Lawrence Town Beach, where they were predicting 30ft waves.  Although RCMP officers were blocking off the beaches and really dangerous areas we did still get a glimpse of some pretty crazy waves.  Definitely not 30ft waves, but I can see why the RCMP was blocking off the area.  We got out for a short bit, but I almost blew away so we decided to get back in the car.  :) All in all, although there was some damage and quite a bit of the city was left without power, it just felt like a heavy rain storm for us more than anything... Didn't even loose power.  Glad we didn't get what was predicted!!

Yummiest Book Ever!

One of my favorite bloggers, Bakerella, is writing a book about something from her blog.  She's actually quite famous and was on Martha Stewart talking about her Cake Pops.  I saw this idea on her blog a few years ago and altered it a bit to make what I call Cake Truffles.  Essentially the same thing, but I don't put mine on sticks, and I use chocolate instead of candy melts.  I always,  Santa always makes sure to have a bunch in all the stockings at Christmas time in the Lockeport Monahan house.  They're a huge hit!  Yum!

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