Steeped Tea

So I had the pleasure of testing out a few of Samara Bressette-Lay's steeped tea flavours. I had the hot yoga - an earthy blend that just tasted so great when I wanted to relax, the cinnamon hearts which brought me back to valentines day when I was younger, this one I definitely would like to taste over and over, the lemon chiffon which was soothing and so delicious, the lemon honey bush which I definitely thought was great and the earl grey de la creme which was amazing with a little almond milk. I can honestly say I loved all of these flavours and am excited to try more. Samara's facebook page is www.facebook.com/samarassteepedtea and her website is www.mysteepedtea.com/queentea. I am definitely a tea lover and trying to cut back on my coffee is easier when I have my tea. Thanks so much Samara for the samples!!!!

Where does the time go?

Wow is all I can say!!!! It has been forever!!!!! I have realized I am not a good blogger, or that at this time in my life I just can't find the time. I know that most people have given up on me but I eventually will get going again. I get so much inspiration from other peoples blogs and find it almost relaxing to write my thoughts, even though they may not make complete sense lol! Life here has been amazing, crazy, busy, and fast all at the same time. Baby Jillian is now almost 9 months old, I can hardly believe it! She has brought so much joy to this household, everyone loves her. She is definitely a mammas girl and I am loving every minute of it.
I have started up a protein bar business and sell them at the gym, of course they are unbaked and I use only the best organic or natural ingredients I can get. This just kind of fell into place, Jim had asked me to make some for some hockey players so I said ok I will give it a whirl. I ended up making the most amazing tasting bar (I have a hard time eating protein bars as I don't like any of them) that I have ever had! I figured if I loved them other people should like them because I was the biggest critic. Sure enough we sampled them out and people loved them! This was so super exciting for me as I love to cook and feed people and love when they love what I have prepared. Seriously God helped me with this recipe because I would never have thought of it on my own. So we have been busy making bars after gym hours, see I needed something else to fill my time ;)
Our garden is now in full swing! Everything is growing and it is just so neat to see how a tiny little seed turns into such great produce! If ever you needed proof there is a God just look at how things grow. My parents have been super busy with farming and teaching the kids to get their butts outside to work (sometimes it works).
The kids are doing great, Kristjan is almost 11 now, Rick is 9, Jessica is 7, Jacob is 6, John is 3 and Jillian 8 months. I am finding that Kristjan is such a huge help, I almost feel bad that he is the go to guy for getting things done. I decided to sign him up for golf lessons so he could have his own thing. Rick and Jacob are busy with dirtbike racing which Jim loves, and Jessica has been doing dance and gymnastics. John is a busy little bee all on his own! Man is he a busy kid!!!! I love his excitement and seriously everyday he does something that I just think awe I wish I got that on camera. The kids wanted to start taping him everyday and create a you tube series of What did Johnny do today, and seriously I am sure everyone would watch him.
Well I have gone on long enough and think that I hear children so I better run. Hope you all have an amazing summer!!!!!!!!!!

Jill

Whew where has time gone????

Wow it's June already!!!! It's hard to believe how fast time is flying by, pretty soon school will be out and the kiddos will be home for summer break. A lot has been happening around here, the first major exciting change is that my mom and dad moved here from Ontario. Man alive am I ever lucky!!!!! I am absolutely loving having them here and enjoying every second of their company. With that comes the start of our farming career!!!!! We have had 156 babies join us, baby chicks that is!!! Johnny calls them his cutes, although the 6 older ones don't look quite as cute anymore. We will see how this venture goes, although I don't know yet how to explain where the chickens have gone to the younger ones........
The weather here has been TERRIBLE!!!!!! We have had so much rain and wind that my garden is completely under water! We are going to have to dig up another location and plant there but haven't done so yet. I cannot wait till we get the crops in as fresh garden veggies are the best!!!!! I am also cooking for another young guy so have been cooking up a storm and haven't had time to blog in FOREVER!
Well I guess I better get back to looking after the kiddos, my 10 min is up ha ha.

jill

This is soooo much harder than I remember!!!!!

Well I cannot believe I haven't even been able to post for over a week!!!!! I am having such a hard time with sickness this pregnancy, you would think by now I would be a pro. I just had the flu yesterday and am only starting to feel a little better tonight. I am so thankful to have my mom and dad here, they have been such a blessing as I would have had no idea what to do with Jim gone and me so sick. God knew that I would need my parents and that is the only explanation how they got here so fast!!!!! I am having all day sickness with this little baby, it doesn't ever seem to end. Hopefully that means it is super healthy!!!! I haven't felt like myself in I don't remember how long so I just hope and pray that I can get back to feeling somewhat normal soon. I have enjoyed not cooking for the past few days as my mom has been cooking for us and I am loving every second of it. I will return the favor as soon as I can!!!!! I really truly love cooking but when everything makes you want to throw up the enjoyment is no longer there.
This baby is going to be worth every ounce of sickness I have to go through there is no doubt in my mind, I just need to keep looking at that picture. Well off to bed I am up far too late!!!

Night,
Jill

Easy Peanut Butter Cookies!!!!

So today we had a couple extra friends over and I had some hungry kids.  I needed a quick snack to whip up so I made my super easy 3 ingredient peanut butter cookies! They taste amazing and are so easy to make.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup all natural peanut butter (the no sugar kind as my kids call it)
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1 egg

Mix together then form into round balls, place on cookie sheet then press down with a fork and bake at 325 until they change color and turn a golden brown. If you want you can also add dark chocolate chips, either way they are delish!

Jill

Oh NOOOOO!

Well I have not been very good at making new recipes, I have been feeling so awful I can't even describe it!!!!! This pregnancy is so different from the rest, I am literally taking anything and everything I am allowed and nothing is working. Hence the reason why I have not been cooking up a storm, nor cleaning up a storm like I originally had hoped to be while Jim is away. I am hoping this will pass soon enough so i can get back to feeling normal again. I did however make a lasagna the other day and the kids just loved it. So here is my recipe!

Lasagna

3lbs lean ground beef cooked and rinsed
1 big jar tomato sauce (I used an organic tomato and basil)
1 500g tub cottage cheese
3 lg eggs
1 tsp oregano
1 cup shredded cheese
6-8 cooked brown rice lasagna noodles

Mix the cooked ground beef with the tomato sauce, put a thin layer on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Place a layer of cooked brown rice lasagna noodles on top. Mix cottage cheese with eggs and oregano and place on top of the noodles. Sprinkle cheese over top then add another layer of noodles. Top with ground beef and sauce mixture and bake at 350 for an hour.

So easy and so yummy!!!

Jill

Salad Please!!!!

So I am really into salads for some reason, all I crave is SALAD ahhhhh! I am going to start trying to find the perfect salad dressing recipe. We don't buy salad dressing as it's full of preservatives and garbage oils etc.... But I am also such a saucy person, I LOVE any dips, dressings, or sauces. I really haven't been feeling like doing much of anything during this pregnancy. I am feeling absolutely exhausted and sick but hey suck it up buttercup life goes on!!!!! If anyone has an amazing salad dressing, or salad recipe that you would like to share that would be awesome! I am not into those fruity types but love pretty much anything else.
Johnny just turned 2, which is so hard to believe. I was just thinking how this was the longest I had gone without being pregnant lol. We are super excited about it but I am already noticing an expanding belly which is far too early for that. I guess my stomach knows where to go ;) Jim is gone for a month so I am hoping to get creative in the kitchen but that may be too much to ask lol. I made Johnny my favorite cake for his birthday and he loved it!!!! He just smiled as we sang, it was the best ever! We got him a melissa and doug puzzle that makes sounds and he loves it.
Well Johnny is up to his usual sneaking into the bathroom to steal the plunger or get into the toilet water so I better run!!!!!!!!!!! Have an awesome weekend!!!
Jill