Thursday Treats: Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nope you read that right, Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I personally, don't have an issue with gluten, but my fiance's mom came over for dinner [I served the balsamic chicken and the roasted broccoli recipes that I've posted.] yesterday, and she has Celiac Disease, so she can't process gluten. I wanted to make something for desert, that she could eat... and hey, I LOVE EXPERIMENTS, especially baking ones, so I tried my luck at gluten free chocolate chip cookies... and know what? THEY DIDN'T SUCK! And I think she appreciated it.

 Ingredients:

* 3/4 cup of softened butter

* 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar

* 1 egg or egg subsituite

[Note: I used egg-beaters instead of eggs because they're less fattening, and I developed a taste for them because my grandpa used to love them.]

* 2 1/4 cups of gluten-free baking flower

[Note: The brand I used was Hodgson Mill, and it worked pretty well. I've also heard good things about King Arthur Brand, but my store didn't carry that one.]

* 1 tsp baking soda

* 1 tsp baking powder

* 1 cup chocolate chips

[Note: I used dark chocolate chips because I think they're tastier]

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees

2. In a medium-sized bowl, cream butter and sugar.

 2. Add egg and stir till blended.

3. Add the gluten-free flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir/Mix till it's all well blended. 

 4. Stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Drop teaspoon sized cookies onto the prepared baking sheet [use pan to grease it or whatever] and bake for about 8-10 minutes. [I baked mine for 8]

The recipe made me about twenty two cookies. This is just one tray of two.

 6. Let cookies cool before taking them off the sheet. 

The cookies were really good. I couldn't really taste the different between them and regular chocolate chip cookies. They might have been a tad bit saltier than regular chocolate chip cookies, but the salt mixed with the dark chocolate tasted amazing.

I refrigerated mine overnight before serving them, and I think that made them cool off better and taste better. 

This has made me want to try to bake other gluten-free recipes, so this gives me excuses to invite his mom over for dinner, just so I can experiment with such things. 

Anyhow, enjoy :)

Influenster: Vox Box Surf's Up

Influenster is a website, which allows you to use your own social media to review products. You sign up for it, you can review products from different categories, and eventually when you have enough of a score from your activities in the website, it may qualify you for a Vox Box.

About two weeks ago, I got a pre-survey asking me to answer some questions in order to qualify me to review a Surfs Up Vox Box, I guess I had what they were looking for because I soon got another email saying they were going to send me the box.

I was surprised I got picked for a Vox Box since I sort of forgot that Influenster existed, although during winter, I got really bored, and I think I reviewed at least 200 different candy products on their website and some gamer products, so maybe that's why they chose me. Who knows, I'm not complaining.

This is the Surfs Up Box, I GOT IT FOR FREE FROM Influenster. I DID NOT PAY FOR THESE PRODUCTS, they were sent to me to give a fair review. 

The first look at the box.

The info sheet that comes with the box stating the value of and what each product is.

First off, were two coupons for Jamba Juice Smoothie Kits. One is for a free package, and the other saves me a dollar on the smoothies.

I recently introduced my fiance to Jamba Juice because he LOVES milkshakes, and we wanted to find a healthier alternative to milkshakes, and I've always liked Jamba Juice.  We both like Jamba Juice, so I'm actually interested in buying the smoothie kit and the juice needed to make the smoothie. I may pick it up tomorrow,when I go to Kroger to buy the food I need to cook dinner for Justin's mom on Wednesday.

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun lotion, this sample is worth $3.00.

My favorite summer activity is reading books on my kindle, at the pool. Justin and I also like frequent water parks like Wet & Wild or Schlitterbahn New Braufels/Galveston Island.  We're both pretty good at remembering to put on suntan lotion.

But, you spend a day at a water park, with all the walking around and the crazy water rides, we do sometimes get burned, so this is a product that will be very useful for us. I especially like how it's a travel size, so I can just throw it into my bag, and leave it in a locker, for times after a water park.

First Aid Shot Therapy, worth $3.00.

This product is "an FDA compliant liquid pain relief [drinkable] shot. Common uses for FAST are headache/migraine, sore muscles, back pain, and hangover headache."

I don't drink enough to get hungover, but I do get awful migraines, especially in summer, so next time I have a migraine, I'll try this to see if it works any better then my usual pill regime.

It probably tastes awful though.

Sinful Colors Nailpolish in Ocean Side, worth $2.00.

I've owned many Sinful Color polishes, in the past. For the low cost, they're very good value, and there's a huge variety of colors to choose from. 

However, some of the colors do stain your nails yellow.

I've never tried this one, it is a pretty blue color though. It reminds me more of the sky though, not really ocean water. 

Cover Girl Bombshell Curvaceous by Lashblast Mascara, worth $10.00.

I love mascara, especially seeing as I have nonexistent eyelashes. 

This formula has two parts. The first part volumizes and curls your lashes, and the second part intensifies them.

I've owned lots of Cover Girl mascara, in the past, the original lashblast used to be my go to mascara for several years, and I was always pleased with the results.  I look forward to adding this to my mascara regimen.

I'm also happy I received the mascara as opposed to the other "hot ticket" item, which was a shampoo and conditioner combination.

So... I paid nothing, and got products worth $18.00, and unlike the last Vox Box I received, I'll probably use all the products in this one.

If you want to join Influenster, all you need to do is go to their website, sign up, connect it to social media, and review products, and then maybe you'll get your own Vox Box.

Or, I have 5 invites I've never used and I can invite you to join my team, which means our reviews and stuff would chain together, and we'd earn points together towards things like Vox Boxes and what not... If you're interested in that, just leave your email address, and I'll send an invite to you.

Munchie Monday: Roasted Broccoli

The sky has darkened, at least, four shades since I got into the shower, and came out of the shower, which means, we should be getting a thunderstorm, I LOVE SUMMER THUNDERSTORMS.

Anyhow, moving on with my recipe posting.

And as I typed that sentence, it started pouring, which is good, it's been dry in Tejas lately.

Today's recipe is a side dish. Again, my fiance has the tastes of a five year old... actually I think five year olds probably eat more vegetable then him. He basically only likes broccoli and carrots... and mashed potatoes, which hardly counts as a vegetable. 

I used to make broccoli au gratin, which was really good, but when you cover vegetables in cheese, it sort of takes the nutrients out of the vegetables and adds about a hundred or so calories... Therefore, I began to look for a broccoli recipe that I thought Justin would eat, that wasn't covered in cheese, and I found this recipe for roasted broccoli, which only has maybe 65 calories per serving, IF THAT. 

Ingredients:

* 1-2 heads of broccoli 

[or more if you want, just double or triple the ingredients...]

[Note: I buy organic broccoli, but regular broccoli works too]

* 2-3 Cloves Garlic

[Note: I just buy minced garlic from the supermarket, it's usually by the vegetables in the product section.  1/2 a teaspoon equals one clove of garlic.]

* 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil [EVOO]

* 1 tsp salt

* 1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

1. Drizzle the EVOO over broccoli, add garlic, salt, and pepper. Then hand-toss it to coat all the broccoli with the mixture.

2. Transfer the broccoli to a baking dish. ***OPTIONAL: I sprinkle either Garlic Powder or a Garlic and Herb mixture over the broccoli before I put it into the oven***** and transfer it to the oven.

3. Roast for 20 minutes.

There you go, EASY PEASEY LEMON SQUEEZY [as my first graders would have said] roasted broccoli that's simple to cook, and delicious.

Just those three steps, and you have a delicious, and fiance approved veggie side dish. 

Justin likes this dish so much that he requests it all the time, and it really is delicious... Something about broccoli and garlic JUST MAKES SENSE.

Enjoy :)

Tasty Tuesday: Basalmic Chicken

I've decided to expand this blog. Since, my district doesn't seem like it wants to pay me anytime soon, therefore, my subscription box addiction will have to be put on hold until probably... July?

 Then there's my Pokemon addiction, and my quest to get all Eeveeloutions, but I beat Pokemon X, months ago [with a team of all Eevees], and Pokemon's remake of sapphire and ruby aren't going to come out until probably fall... THOUGH I AM EXCITED about that, since ruby/sapphire are two I haven't played... I HAD ruby, but the game cartridge was fucked up and wouldn't save my game, so that never went anymore... Plus, if you're hankering for a pokemon fix, there's always Twitch Plays Pokemon, they're on black and white now.

So what can I blog about?

Let's see...  my new-found interests include cooking recipes my fiance will actually eat that are reasonably healthy for you, therefore  I've decided to post random recipes.

My fiance has the tastes of a five year old. He doesn't like healthy foods or vegetables, and his favorite meals include burgers, grilled cheese, and milkshakes. We used to live entirely on a diet of frozen lean pockets and lean cuisines, but in the past few months, we've decided to venture down the path to cooking, in hopes of eating healthier, especially since we have a wedding in... 270 days!

My goals... to find decently healthy, and EASY recipes that my fiance will eat, and I won't go crazy cooking since I lack talent in the kitchen department. 

So all these recipes are fiance tested and fiance approved.

The first recipe I'm going to post is EASY balsamic chicken, each piece of chicken has 170 calories.

Note: I DID NOT INVENT THIS RECIPE, I don't know where I found it, I literally transfer any recipes I like into a word document entitled: FOODS JUSTIN WILL EAT.  It was from a google search, but I don't know the exact website. 

These are the ingredients needed:

2-3 Skinless and Boneless Chicken Breasts

 [Note: I ONLY buy organic hormone free meat because when I got cancer, the doctor told me to stay away from hormones, and since a lot of meat is hormone-treated, I prefer to buy free range hormone free organic chicken and beef, this is a personal preference though]

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1 tablespoon olive oil

[Note: I tend to buy organic EVOO, which is extra virgin olive oil, a lot of recipes call for EVOO, though I don't know what the difference between VOO and EVOO is.]

1 and 1/2 teaspoon Italian Spice 

[Note: You can probably use whatever spice you prefer... like oregano or basil, etc, I just use Italian since it mixes everything together]

2 garlic cloves minced

[Note: I just buy minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon is equivalent to 1 clove of garlic. I think it tastes better, and it's less effort than me mincing garlic myself. You can usually find it by the fruits/veggies in a  supermarket. I USE THIS IN EVERYTHING.]

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

cooking spray

[just to spray the pan before you stick it in the oven]

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, put vinegar, oil, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt, and paper, mix it until it all combines.

2. Put chicken in a Ziploc bag. Pour the vinegar mixture in bag with chicken, seal bag,and spread marinade all over the chicken.

3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to Overnight.

[Note: I find that the longer you refrigerate it for, the stronger the taste it. I have refrigerated it for 30 minutes, 24 hours, and 8ish hours, and I thought the taste was better when it was refrigerated for the longer periods of time, although it is still good after 30 minutes, just the flavor is weaker.]

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, spray a baking dish with cooking spray. Place the chicken in the baking dish and pour the marinade all over the chicken. Cover the chicken [I usually don't cover it, I haven't had any issues]. Bake for 35-40 minutes [I tend to go for 40 since it's chicken].

5. Let sit for 5 minutes, and then serve it.

There you go... EASY TO BAKE, Balsamic chicken breast.  It's really delicious, and really simple to make. 

Enjoy.

And, whenever I cook, Gandalf the Gray watches me.

Ipsy: Pretty in Paradise, June 2014.

 It's the time of the month again.. No not THAT time, but Ipsy time.

For those of you new to the party, Ipsy is a subscription box bag, that comes to you in a pretty pink bubbly mailer, once a month, for ONLY ten dollars.

It contains 4-6 products, samples, and full-sizes, that are supposedly picked for you based on your beauty profile. I don't know how accurate that beauty profile is because I do get products I'm not that into, but along with those, there are usually a few products I really like.

To join, you sign up on their website... you're usually put on a waiting list, but sometimes you can skip that whole process if you just connect them from to your facebook profile and then block them from ever posting.. at least that's what I did back in December.

This month's theme was "pretty in paradise", or products to use over the summer to make you feel summery. Although, I live in Texas, where it's summer, all the god damn freaking time.

Laneige BB cushion foundation samples... worth? The full-size is worth $34.00 and comes in three diferent shades: light, medium, and dark.  The sample is worth... I don't know. 

Let's go with $12.00. I asked my fiance, the math teacher to convert ounce into grams of the sample, and then calculate the total based on what the final product costs.

I'm surprised a sample like this is worth that much money. 

This is not a product for me. I don't even know what BB creme is, although obviously, it's a foundation, regardless, I just don't do foundation. My skin is oily and prone to breakouts, especially after operation hysterectomy [not that it was much better before], so putting anything on my skin, like foundation clogs the pores and adds to my face looking like craters of the moon. This will end up in garbage collection on Sunday.

Nyx Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel. This is a full-size product worth $5.00. Every Ipsy subscriber received on of these in their bag this month. I think there were two colors sent out.

This is it just put on my hand.

Here it is blended on my hand. It gives a nice subtle pink glow/glitter, which I like. I am not a huge fan of lip product, but if I do wear lip product, which is very rare, I prefer something like this.  So this product is a win for me.

Be a Bombshell Lash Out Mascara, all full-size, worth $15.00.

I honestly can't tell you how awesome this product is or anything, but I do love me some mascara, especially black mascara, with my nonexistent eyelashes, and I always enjoy having tubes of mascara in my makeup collection, so I never run out. This product is a win for me.

Jesse's Girl Black Eyeliner, also full size, worth $7.00 [well really $6.99, but who's counting a penny?]

Black Eyeliner is one of my MUST USE makeup products, so again, I can never have too much eyeliner, so this is a win for me.

It has a really nice and thin tip, which I find is always helpful when I'm trying to pretend like I know how to put eye makeup on.

Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray, worth about $2.25. I'm excited to use this product because I have crazy curly and wavy hair and I'm always looking for products to make me hate my hair less, so I'll be interested to see if this can tame my nest. 

Though, coming from NJ, and spending ALL my summers at Wildwood and Seaside Heights, I can tell you, with confidence that the beach/ocean DO NOT make your hair wavy. It dries your hair out and makes it look limp like seaweed with a texture like sand. So, I'm not quite sure why people think beach=AWESOME HAIR. 

But anyways...

My Ipsy bag this month has a total of: $41.25

And I ONLY paid ten bucks for it.

Ipsy has a great bang for your bucks. 

I was very pleased with this month's bag. I have no complaints. Granted, I won't use the foundation sample, but everything else is stuff that I'll eventually find a use for.

So check out Ipsy, if you think it's up your alley :)

Julep: Memorial Day Mystery Boxes

In honor of Memorial Day, Julep released a slew of mystery boxes. There were ten of them, and they each ranged in price and ranged in theme. The most expensive was around $45.00 and contained nailpolish and a clutch, the cheaper ones were around $10.00

Me, being a cheapskate, went with a fifteen dollar themed glitter box with one add on.

Here it is, in all its' glory.

One thing that appeals to me about Julep is that I LOVE MYSELF A MYSTERY BOX. They tend to have one every 1-2 months, and they all have different themes, some are just because, others may be based on a holiday like The Shamrock Mystery Box back in March.

Granted, with a Mystery Box, you're totally probably going to get repeats of colors that you already have in your ever-growing Julep collection, but as I've mentioned before, I don't really mind the repeats. I donate them to friends or the daughters of friends for them to enjoy. 

 

For example, I gave a bunch of doubles to my friend Andrea, and her daughter Audrey, and before a T-ball game, Andrea sent me a picture of Audrey with her nails all painted a different color with the caption "a Jamie manicure", so I know the extras go to good use :)

Recently though, Julep has offered different Mystery Boxes with the promise that there will be no repeats amongst all the different box offerings. Granted, that doesn't mean boxes are repeat free, but it means you can order two different boxes without the worry that you'll have the same exact colors in each. So, that's something.

Moving On:

My ONLY add-on was Blakely, bombshell polish. I had seen this color on numerous beauty blogs, and thought it was gorgeous. Blakely was from the July 2013 Maven Bombshell box. Prior to... let's say... Decemberish, of this year, I never bothered to log into my Julep account to choose whatever box I wanted for the month and just got whatever was with my profile [which was usually too boring for me once I actually saw it], or else I probably would've gotten this when it was offered.

Blakely is a purple turquoise molten color.

This is my best attempt at showing the purple/turquoise molten color because words escape me to describe it. [On my nails is Flora from the April box]

It's is a gorgeous color. I am so happy to have this color in my possession. It's going to be a tough call between this and Phia for my next manicure [and I also really want Sera eventually].

Anyhow, moving onto the box itself.

This is the inside of my tiny mystery box that I paid ten dollars for. It was a really cute box, and would've been great to regift something to someone, but Justin and I scarcely have room for extra things in our already OVERRUN by three cats apartment.

I have no fucking idea what the extra for this box is... Toothpicks? Bun holders? Cuticle Stabbers? Either way... NOT INTERESTED.

from l to r: Kamala, Missy, Roz.

Kamala, classic with a twist, is a color I actually don't think I have, which makes me happy. It's sort of sand colored with silver glitter? It sort of reminds me of being on the Jersey shore, at night, seeing the moon shine on the sand, before wandering off to the Wildwood boardwalk to ride the Nor Eastern. 

Sigh, I miss living in Jersey, sometimes.

Missy, IT Girl, is a color I know I have. I've even worn it before. I think it might be my third or fourth copy of that color. It's bright silver, like the color of a mirror. It goes on thick, and one coat usually works pretty well for it.

Roz, IT Girl, is a cranberry glitter polish. It seems more magenta to me than red, but it's a pretty color, and I don't recall it being a repeat for me. I even checked all my previous posts labeled "Julep" and it's not a color I own. I think it'll be a great fall color.

So I didn't own 2/3 polishes in my myystery box, so not too bad.

Anyone want their own Missy polish?

So... Going by Maven Prices, which puts every polish at a value of $11.00... I paid about fifteen dollars for this box, so the total value NOT including those useless cuticle sticks is, $33.00, so I got double in value, what I initially paid.

Personally, I like Julep's Mystery Boxes, but they're not everyone's cup of tea, and I respect that :) Eager to see what the next one will be.

Julep: June 2014, The Three Wishes collection.

School's out for the summer, which means, I spend at least two hours of my day, sitting here, and reading books on my kindle. The latest summer read is The City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare... The entire Mortal Instruments series is one of those book series that's so badly written, but quite enjoyable to read, especially at the pool. Though, I do admit, The Infernal Devices series, which is sort of the prequel to the Mortal Instruments series is an enjoyable read. 

After my tryst at the pool with my kindle, I went and checked the mail, to find I had to pick this up from the office:

I wasn't quite sure what it was. I ordered one of the Memorial Day Mystery Boxes from the sale over the holiday weekend, so I thought it might be that.

I opened the box and under layers of brown paper was this:

My monthly Maven box from Julep alongside with some random extras I added. I didn't pay a cent for the box, I just used some Jules I stored up since I have nothing better to do with them since they can't apply towards mystery boxes.

Julep is mainly a nailpolish subscription box service. I've been a member since last March or April, so I'm grandfathered into their old subscription service, which is I pay $19.99 for a monthly box of products based on the profile I choose for that month.

They've recently vamped their service for NEW members. There are two options now: 

My Maven, which is $24.99/$19.99 [with a three month subscription] and you can customize a box for $40+ of products.

My Maven Luxe, which is $39.99/$34.99 [with a three month subscription] and you can customize a box of $60+ of products.

I don't know anything about their new services, but I do like the idea of complete customization, and have thought of converting over, but haven't since I still like the box I get every month.

I have a special relationship with Julep, they were my FIRST ever subscription box.  I'm very attached to them.

A closer look at what was inside my box.

I did add on three products this month. So, let's start with those. 

Julep also had a promotion, if you added on three products, they would send a fourth product, for free.

Mae, was my free product. It's from the bombshell collection. It's sort of purple gray periwinkle color with a satin finish. It sort of reminds me of the color of the sky during a stormy summer afternoon in Texas. 

from l to r: Hope and Cameron

Cameron, Boho Glam, is a repeat for me. I got it in my February box. It's a silver purple glitter color with a stardust finish. I've worn it. My prek girls loved it. 

One problem I find with duos that I add on is that they nickname the duos... Something like: Winter Lights, and I don't actually look at the colors that are in that duo, I just think it looks cool and order it.

But...

I don't really mind repeats. I either give them to friends, or the daughters of friends.

Hope is IT Girl, and a satin finish white color. I don't really wear white nailpolish, that much, but I think in winter, with a shade of silver or gold glitter, it would look quite festive.

from l t r: Sienna and Tracy

These are actually both repeats for me. But again, it's my own fault for not actually looking at details of sets before I place orders.

Sienna, Classic with a Twist, is the color of silver mirror glass with a gold tone. It's a pretty color.

Tracy, IT Girl, is blue silver sparkle.

from l to r: Veronica and Marjorie.

These were both new colors for me.

Veronica, classic with a twist, is a darkish rose pink color.

Marjorie, IT Girl, is dark orange.

They both remind me of the colors of a pretty sunset.

Onto my Maven box.

This month was the Three Wishes collection, and I really wanted to upgrade to the entire collection of nailpolish, but my FMLA ass couldn't afford it. I'm hoping some of these colors will go into future secret stores, and I can get them then. 

The add on this month was Pixy Stix, which are one of my favorite childhood candy, so I was quite pleased with this. I just wish I had gotten a blue one, instead of two purple because the blue flavor is my favorite.

I went with IT GIRL this month because I really liked the colors moreso than my usual profile which is "classic with a twist." I also had no reason to want the Base Coat or Top Coat that came with my usual.

from l t r: Phia, Jennine, and Savoy.

Phia is my favorite. I don't even know how to describe it. It's a light purple silver orchid glitter color. I can't wait to wear it.

Jennine is also gorgeous. It's a turquoise Stardust finish polish with light green and dark blue glitter in it. I also can't wait to wear this one.

Savoy is a silver gold chrome color. 

Overall, I am very pleased with this month's box.

Granted, I got a lot of repeat colors, but that was mostly my own fault.

So anyways, I love nailpolish, and their polish is very high quality and very good lasting ability, and this comes from a completely hands-on prek teacher.

So if you're so inclined, check Julep out.