A Healthy Summer Recipe

This fine Monday morning... I'd like to share a healthy, yummy, easy, and family favorite lunch recipe with y'all! Now, don't be scared. I know this sounds like it might be gross, or maybe a little too adventurous, but it is quite the opposite, trust me! Also, feel free to play around with different seasonings to suit you and your families tastebuds. *winks*

***Note: This was one of my cooking class recipes that I adapted, so I will include the pictures of the process and final dish that I sent in!***

Chickpea "Chicken" Salad

What you will need:

•   2 cans cooked chickpeas/garbanzo beans (no sodium added) 
•   1/4 cup red onion or green onions, diced  
•   Diced celery stalks (approx. 1/2 cup) 
•   Pickle relish (approx. 1/4 cup) 
•   1 tbsp mustard (optional)
•   1/2 tbsp garlic powder (or just to taste)
•   1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 
•   1/2 cup cashew sour cream or vegan mayo
•   Flaked sea salt, to taste 

How to prepare:

• Open and drain the garbanzo bean cans, then use a potato masher, food processor, or fork (I use a fork) to mash them and break them up.
• Next, finely dice the onions and celery. 
• Combine the onions, celery, pickle relish (dill), mustard, and seasonings with the mashed garbanzo beans in a large bowl.
• Add the cashew sour cream or vegan mayo
• Stir to mix the ingredients, then finish with salt. 

How to serve: 

• Serve the chickpea salad on Romaine lettuce, on sandwich bread, along with crackers, or with tomato slices! 
• Enjoy

This recipe is super easy to throw together for a fresh summer-y lunch. Or a quick and light dinner. It would make a perfect, healthy picnic option. The recipe can be easily customized or doubled for larger families! 

I hope you are able to try this recipe sometime and like it! Don't be afraid to try it even if it does sound different, who knows, you might just find a favorite go-to recipe! 

What is your favorite summer food to have for lunch? 

Do you think you will give this recipe a try? If so, did you like it??

 Comment below! 

Give Thanks

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. My family always has such a good time, and over the years, we have made tons of happy memories together on Thanksgiving! Most of them, are happy memories, but I do seem to recall a time where my dad accidentally spilled a whole pot of hot oil ALL over my Auntie's tile floor! That made quite the mess to clean up!!! 

Today, I'm going to give you a peek into our Thanksgivings on Winds of Faith! (I might even share a Thanksgiving recipe with you lucky ducks!)

The meal is one of the most important parts of Thanksgiving. *winks* Most of our meal is made up of recipe's that are our family traditions. We usually have fried gluten in place of turkey (in case you don't already know this about me, I'm vegetarian. I have never eaten meat...) This year, we are trying something a little bit different. We ordered a stuffed vegan "turkey" roll from a place called The Herbivorous Butcher. I'm crossing my fingers that it is good.

Other dishes we will have is my Mom's famous green bean casserole, dinner rolls (my Mom is just a flat out good cook!), stuffing, mashed potatoes (made with love, by Nannie), cranberry sauce (my cousin's specialty), cranberry relish (my younger cousin's specialty), roasted brussel sprouts, crock pot mac and cheese, and a broccoli rice and cheese dish (Auntie's family recipe!).

For dessert, we are having pumpkin pie (Fun fact about me: I don't like pumpkin pie, I'm weird), cherry pie (now I love cherry pie), pecan pie, and blueberry pie (no sugar added!)

Wow! Writing all that delicious food down makes me hungry! I can't wait to eat it all tomorrow! Today, I get to be apart of the baking!!! 

Some other things we do on thanksgiving is each person will write down some things they are thankful for on little pieces of paper and they are hung around the room until after we eat, then they are passed out around the room to be read aloud. 

We like to decorate the table for thanksgiving, and by the time we are through, it is a masterpiece! 

The day after Thanksgiving, my Auntie (she's awesome!) puts on a scavenger hunt/escape room type activity. We go all over the property finding and solving clues along the way! The prize at the end is a shopping trip into town for Tractor Supply Co.! Last time I bought a pocket knife! :)

The night after Thanksgiving, we've made it a tradition to camp out up in the woods! Camping out is so much fun, even if it is a little chilly outside. Last time we camped, we heard owls that sounded like a bunch of monkeys! We might not camp this year, due to the weather, we'll see. 

Thanksgiving is such a time of giving and thankfulness. I am very blessed and thankful to be able to celebrate it with my amazing family! Thanksgiving is also a time to remember the pilgrims who first came to America. All of their struggles they suffered, facing so many hardships. I can only imagine how truly thankful they felt on that first Thanksgiving after the harvest in October 1621. Their feast lasted three whole days! There were 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims who first celebrated Thanksgiving. (Just a little trivia for ya!)

We have so much to be thankful for. Every day is a precious gift, one that we should continue to thank God for. Just like God brought the pilgrims through so many trials when they first came to the New World, He is still working like that in our lives and in the trials we face today. Thank Him.

Now, out of all of the recipe's, there are so many to choose from, but I wanted to share one with y'all. The one I chose is this very yummy blueberry pie! With no sugar added! This is a recipe from the cookbook Incredible Edibles by Erin Hullquist, but my Auntie adapted this recipe, making it even better! 

~~~

Blueberry pie

1 can (12oz.) white grape concentrate 

12oz. water

4 Tablespoons Minute Tapioca 

5 Tablespoons cornstarch 

1 can (15oz.) crushed pineapple (we use Dole brand) (Don't drain the pineapple juice)

4 cups (16oz.) blueberries 

2 frozen pie crusts

-In a saucepan, mix white grape juice concentrate, water, Minute Tapioca, and cornstarch.

-Let sit for 10-15 minutes 

-Add blueberries and crushed pineapple, then heat up over medium high heat. Stir frequently until thickened

-Spoon into curst and bake on 325 for 30-40 minutes

-Serve at room temperature with whipped topping

-Enjoy! 

Psalm 136:1

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? What can you thank God for today? Are you going to try the blueberry pie recipe? Comment below if you liked reading this post! 

Happy Fourth of July!

Today is July 4th, which means it's the Forth of July! So, since today we are celebrating Americas independence, this post is going to be a little bit different. I will talk about how my family celebrates the Fourth. It might be a little random, but lets have fun with it! *twirls sparklers* 

The Reason For Our Celebration! 

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved of the final wording for the Declaration of Independence. We celebrate the Fourth of July like a birthday for The United States of America's Independence.

We Celebrate With Daytime Fireworks! 

Fireworks are super awesome to watch! We have daytime fireworks like small parachutes that we chase after. All different kinds of fireworks that spin, spark, fly, snap, crackles, and pops. (And yes we are still talking about fireworks and not cereal!) 

We Celebrate With Good Food And Cake!

My mom, my auntie, and my nannie always make the yummiest food ever! Especially on special occasions! And our tradition is this AMAZING FLAG CAKE!!! The recipe for the cake we always make for Fourth of July is at the end of this post! Be sure to try it sometime! But this cake does come with two warnings: 1# You will have a very hard time stoping once you start devouring it! And 2# My family tries to eat healthy food and this is an exception to the healthy eating rule. This cake is not considered "healthy" at all (even if it does have raspberries and blueberries on top.) But it is so worth a little tiny cheat day! :D

We Celebrate With Friends And Family!

All of Winds of Faith come together for this celebration! We have a blast! (if you know what I mean:D) We also invite our friends and church family. 

We Celebrate With Music! 

I'm not in charge of the music, but I hear we have quite a few Patriotic songs on a playlist that we will play while we shoot off the nighttime fireworks!

We Celebrate With Nighttime Fireworks! 

My dad and uncle have lots of fun shooting off the fireworks, while the rest of us sit in lawn chairs to watch the show! And at the very end, we have a grand finale! Fireworks are just so cool! (Or hot, get it?!?) (I'm really into the jokes today, aren't I?) (I'm not even trying!)

*******

Speaking of Jokes, want to hear something funny? Something that I get teased about?!

Me: "When is the Fourth of July?" 
Sister: *looks at me funny* 
Sister: "ON THE FOURTH OF JULY!" 

Duh! I know, but let me explain... I was wanting to know how many weeks until the fourth of July. I guess I should have been more specific. Now I get teased about it at my house, and it gets told to everyone else as a blond joke! 

*******

Here are some Fourth of July quotes/sayings I found on Pinterest...

Here's some Patriotic pictures I found on Pinterest...

Here's some picture of fireworks I took...

*******

Ok! Now for the amazing, birthday worthy, Fourth of July cake! 

We got this recipe from Barefoot Contessa:

• 18 tablespoons (2-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• For the Icing:
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• To Assemble:
• 2 half-pints blueberries
• 3 half-pints raspberries

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 18 x 12 x 1-1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

Enjoy!

What was your favorite quote/picture? How do you celebrate Fourth of July? Do you have family traditions for Fourth of July? How about other holidays? 

 Do you like cake? If you do, are you going to try this recipe? 

Was this post fun to read? 

Are you doing Camp Nano this July? I decided to give it a try! So far it is really exciting! I might end up opening a page to post Camp updates on my writing projects. Would you guys like to read about my Camp NanoWriMo experience? 

Anything big happening this July? Is this to many questions? :D 

Lets talk in the comments!!!