Recent Happenings! May 2015

I haven't written any new post lately. We've been way busier than ever before lately, and really, I just didn't feel like I had anything worth posting about! But just to keep everyone updated I thought I would write a short post of recent happenings!

 

Our little guy (whom we call Chukar) is growing up so fast! He's been crawling for a while now and he has recently started walking back and forth along the furniture! He's got a mouth full of teeth and loves to eat everything! He really loves music and usually sings a long when I play the piano!

 

Last weekend we went and visited Marlin's PA family! We had so much fun with everyone and Arlene again out did herself with some deliciously amazing meals!

 

On Grandma Zimmie's porch

                                                     The three boy cousins

                                   (Elijah) (Stephen) (Little Marlin)

My Thoughts!

I have so many thoughts jumbled up inside of me right now! I'm not sure how to write them all down so that they make sense and help people to understand how I'm feeling and what I'm thinking! So I'll just randomly throw together all of my thoughts and hopefully they will make sense and be encouraging.
Recently I have been thinking a lot about the people in this world, namely the ones that aren't living for Christ and following his word! They really have no purpose in life other than to seek for pleasure that only last a season.
All I can say is I'm so thankful for my husband Marlin. I have a treasure in him that I never want to let go of! I've heard people's stories of living with their boyfriends/girlfriends. They cheat on each other and do things I would never even think of doing. They say they love each other but, it's obvious they don't know what true love is. Their flesh is not satisfied with who/what they have and they are always looking for something more, and something new to give them pleasure. What kind of a life is that?
I'm so sad and happy right now. I'm sad because my heart breaks for those people that don't have the peace and love that comes from Christ alone.
I'm happy because I have a heavenly marriage filled with laughter joy, peace, harmony and contentment. I hope that through my life others will see the wonder of living for God, and that it will draw them to the Father!
So basically what I'm trying to say is that first of all, I'm so thankful for the Father that has made life worth the living. His precious blood gives us victory to overcome the sins of the flesh and live a joyful life walking after the Spirit!
Secondly I'm so thankful for a husband that lets God's love flow through him into our marriage making our family happy and strong!

The End! 

Healthy Black Bean Brownies w/ peanut butter frosting

Recently I came across a recipe for flour-less black bean brownies! I had never heard of them before and maybe you haven't either so I decided to share them with you!!

First of all there are a few things you should know about my rendition of black bean brownies!

They are dense, chewy, best when they are completely chilled, best with peanut butter glaze, and best eaten with a fork!

They have such a strange flavor and taste! I am quite obsessed with them right now! I can't say as you will like the recipe because after all they are made with black beans and they are made with healthy sugar (maple syrup)! I may just be a weirdo because I like these strange fudgey brownies, but possibly you may like them as well!

This recipe is my own version of another recipe I found on Pinterest

The original recipe is very good too but I like mine better because mine is healthy, and it includes a peanut butter glaze!

Black Bean Brownie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed.

1/4 cup chocolate chips

3 Tbsp melted coconut oil

3 eggs

2/3 cup of maple syrup

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 1 tsp vanilla (I just dump some in)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350º. 

In a blender add the can of black beans. Blend, stir, blend, stir etc until you have the beans chopped up fairly well. Then add melted coconut oil and chocolate chips. Blend, stir, blend, stir. Mixture probably still won't be quite smooth yet since we are using a blender instead of a processor.

Add remaining ingredients and blend, stir, blend, stir until the mixture is smooth!

Pour into greased 9x9 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Bake until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Brownies are the best completely chilled.

Direction with a food processor

1. Preheat oven to 350º. In a food processor, combine the beans, chocolate chips and oil. Blend until combined. Add the eggs, brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, baking powder and salt; cover and process until smooth.
2. Transfer to a 9x9 square baking pan coated with cooking spray.

Peanut Butter Glaze

Add 3-4 Tbsp of butter, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, dash of vanilla, dash of salt, some maple syrup, and "healthy sugar" in a sauce pan. Melt all ingredients and stir until smooth. Pour onto brownies and chill. /glaze will harden 

after it has chilled.

Then enjoy your healthy black bean brownies!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Thanks for reading!