Tina The Storyteller

When I took my doctor's advice and decided to go low carb, I immediately lamented nachos, pizza and popcorn.  I am happy to report that I have found an more than acceptable substitution for nacho chips.  While I was cruising Pinterest, I found this recipe for Low Carb Nachos from Peace, Love and Low Carb .  They are excellent! We generally have our nachos vegetarian style so here's what I do when we have them. For the carb loaded ones, I take a can of refried beans and spread a little on each chip, because honestly, I hate having nachos and not getting the good stuff on them! Then I place them on a baking sheet (sometimes I cover it with parchment or tin foil so I don't have to clean up afterwards). Then I sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.  Pop under the broiler until the cheese is melted and voila! That's the basis of the meal then there are condiments served alongside the nachos including guacamole, salsa, black olives, sour cream, and fresh lettuce or t...

I'm thankful for Physician Assistants.  Sometimes, they make it easier to get the care I need. I'm thankful for my awesome husband who does sit ups with me! I'm thankful for my little girl that rides with me through snow to study God's word. I'm thankful for new recipes and a willingness to try new foods. Especially considering the old ones were slowly killing me. I'm thankful for Thursdays because they are the start of my weekend. I'm thankful for books to read. What are you thankful for?

This is probably one of the easiest dishes that I make for our family. Which is ironic, because the BBQ pork that I grew up with generally involves commandeering an entire pig and roasting it for well over 24 hours in a special roasting box that a few friends would share amongst themselves. In comparison, my dish may seem like a blaspheme to some. I pull out the trusty crock pot, spray it with cooking spray and plop in a Boston butt or pork shoulder or what every slab of pork I can get that looks like that.  Not tenderloin or chops, but a roast from the pig.  I might put a cup of water in the bottom. No salt, no pepper, no seasonings at this point.  I turn on the pot on low for about 10 hours.  I try to stay home so that I can baste it with it's own juices through out the day, but it's fine if you can't do that. At the end of the cooking time, I pull it out.  It should be falling apart.  I then remove as much fat as possible and then pull the me...

I wanted to write to you all day, but I didn't have a book that I finished, which is what I normally write about on Mondays, so I was thinking all day about something else that I could review for you. Alas, I came up blank. Now it's evening hours and here I am still wanting to write to you.  About what, I'm still clueless, so you'll have to excuse me if this blog post gets a little windy or if you get to the end of it and wonder what I was really talking about. February seems to have proven itself a very busy month.  We had a death in the family, a funeral in the church, numerous birthdays, very little cake, doctor's appointments, get together's and every day life going on around here.  Today, Hannah had some friends over.  You see, I loved sleep overs as a child, but I HATED the fact that I was always the first one asleep.  So we had a mixed up sleep over today.  The girls wore their pajamas all day, the sleeping bags were out, there was junk food, and I...

You know what, no matter how tasty something is, if it can't be properly digested by your body, it's like eating death.  I have to come to terms with that. Unfortunately, my death comes in the form of carbohydrates aka fruits, some vegetables, refined sugars, wheat, potatoes, rice.  Pure death.  And so I may get some of those old Mr.Yuk stickers and start labeling my food

I am thankful that I was able to celebrate another birthday!  Yeah! I am thankful that we have access to medical care in this country.   I am thankful for my family. I'm thankful for a warm house and a cozy bed. What are you thankful for?

Yesterday was my birthday! I almost had a store bought cake, but luckily, my husband ran out of time before he could be one. Lucky for him, I've been craving this pineapple cake that someone made at a church we used to go to.  It was awesome.  She told me that it was just angel food cake mix and crushed pineapple.  But my need for a recipe drove me to the internet and I found this cake Source: allrecipes.com via Tina on Pinterest on Allrecipes.com I went out and bought pineapple, cake mix AND a carton of heavy whipping cream.  Here's what I found important for next time... Make sure that you mix this in a bowl BIGGER than you think you'll need.  The mix bubbles and expands, kind of crazy actually. Make sure that you spray your pan really good. Angel food cake generally does not use spray because the cake needs to climb up the sides, but this isn't really angel food cake. I cooled my cake upside down in the pan, supposedly it prevents it from fal...

My grandfather, Tolson Cleveland Heatley, died a week ago.  I didn't go to the funeral, I wasn't with my family as they dealt with all the things that happen when the patriarch die.  I was at home, wondering what to feel and how to express myself. TC was someone that I didn't know, though he definitely left a mark on me.  As a child, my brother and I would go to my grandparents humble home and spend time there exploring their farm, catching bugs, wrestling with my youngest uncle, being kids.  His home in the late seventies and early eighties was a place of freedom.  We would sit under the small grove of oak trees and shell beans, take naps in the hammock and gather as a family.  My mother and her brother and sister would sometimes challenge us to a cow patty fight in the field, in which no one ever wins.  I would chase after my brother and uncle, wanting to be able to do what they could do.  I would gaze in wonder up at the pear tree that had th...

  I Am a Follower is a book that I can totally support. This collection of Sweet’s thoughts on the modern church and what our responsibility is as a Christian is right on. Sweet does an excellent job of explaining the downfalls of leadership style of church and puts forth a viable option. And it all boils down to “Hear and Obey.” We need to become a people that can hear God and then obey Him. It’s how we can make disciples and it’s how we truly become followers of Jesus.  This book is written by a professor, so you won’t find lots programming ideas or practical implementing steps, what you will find is the truth and the simple call to step away from the way things are being done and to follow Jesus. The fact that Sweet is a professor becomes evident near the end of every chapter, in that there is lots of great information, but most of it is re-emphasizing what has already been said.   I Am a Follower is extremely encouraging, I highly recommend it if you are ...

I found this quote while reading the other day and thought I'd share~

I'm thankful that my mom got to celebrate another year of life this week! I'm thankful for a loving husband and sweet daughter that exercise with me, even when exercise is walking in place downstairs for 15 minutes. I'm thankful that I can no easily do 10 sit ups a day.  Don't mind the fact that I try to do more than that each day, ten are now easy. I'm thankful that my birthday is coming up very soon! I'm thankful that I have a fresh bag of coffee and a weekend in front of me to enjoy it. I'm thankful that my cute kitty is silly.  This morning she got puffy because of one of Hannah's toys, silliest thing ever. I'm thankful that I have people in my life that are willing to laugh when I laugh.

I'm still loving on Pinterest this week.  Yesterday, our dinner was completely inspired from Pinterest.  I made Split Pea and Ham Soup as well as 30 minute rolls .  They were both great!  You can click on them to go visit the original recipes. Here's how my day went, I pulled out the crock pot in the AM, rinsed off a package of split peas and dumped them in.  I diced up some slice ham and added it in, then added a diced onion, no celery which the recipe calls for mainly because I just didn't have any.  Then I added five cups of water and 2 teaspoons of bouillon.  Put the lid on, set it on low for eight hours and proceeded to clean the house, wash clothes and fold things.  About 45 minutes before I wanted to eat, I started working on the rolls.  They are called 30 minute rolls, but it would be more realistic to call them 45 minute rolls, but really who is going to make rolls that take 45 minutes when you can get ones in 30. ...

I am thankful for good friends! I am thankful for fun times of laughing and playing with my Christian brothers and sisters. I am thankful for God's ability to heal. I am thankful for a husband that loves me and knows that I love him, too. I am thankful for a little girl that is finally learning to read. What are you thankful for?

Yes, I know it's not Tuesday any more, but I like the sound of Tasty Tuesday and I really wanted to share this recipe with you all. With three of us, we rarely eat an entire plate of biscuits.  I almost always cut the recipe in half, but last night, even with cutting the recipe in half, I still had a ton of biscuits left over.  I began to wonder if bread pudding was an option.  I did some googling and came up with this biscuit bread pudding from Homesick Texan .  I wanted to pin it, but Pinterest doesn't always recognize all the things I recognize.  So here are my photos and what I did in adapting it  Doesn't that just look tasty?  It was, very tasty.  I liked it.   Here's a close up so you can see all the nummy fruit. I greased the pan and then crumbled the biscuits in it.  Poured over two cups of milk and let it rest.  I then proceeded to beat two eggs and add a half cup each of brown and white sugar.  I al...