Cauliflower Fried Rice

When Kyle first decided to go on the Keto diet it seemed pretty easy. However, ever since we went off of it in July for family vacation, it has been so hard to stick to. 

For one, I am having trouble thinking of what to eat that will satisfy my picky eater. A lot of the substitutes include things like coconut milk or other things that are just not going to happen. 

I've been trying to slowly branch out more and try at least one or two new recipes a week. Thank you pinterest! 

I had seen this idea floating around for awhile, but since Kyle's not a huge fan of cauliflower I had been reluctant to try it. I have been completely craving comfort food this week so I decided to try it. 

 
 Original Recipe

Of course, true to fashion, I changed up the recipe to best suit our taste.

 

Step 1:

Grate a head of cauliflower. If you have a food processor I would suggest doing it that way! 

It wasn't too bad without one and I only had one casualty!

 

Look at all that cauliflower!

This made a ton!

 

Step 2:

Chop up 1/2 a small onion and 2 cloves of garlic

Saute in a tiny bit of oil

 

Step 3:

Add in cauliflower and flavor with soy sauce.

Cook approximately 5 minutes or until tender. 

 

Step 4:

Push vegetables to the side making a hole in the middle.

Crack in three eggs and scramble. 

Once the eggs are cooked, mix all together. 

I served it with strip steak. 

Hubs actually ate a ton of this and even said that he almost couldn't tell it wasn't regular fried rice. 

Our version wasn't quite as healthy as the original, but it was definitely better than regular fried rice. 

P.S. I wish I had known how to make homemade fried rice years ago. That stuff is so simple and yummy! 

Hurricane Days

Hurricane Days are the Southern version of Snow Days

When I was younger, they were the best things ever! 

We got off of school,

We hung out with our friends,

We had Hurricane Parties,

and Mrs. B always made homemade funnel cake!

While I was in college I never really worried about hurricanes. None came close to my middle of the state location. 

Now I'm back in South Florida, right in time for hurricane season.
Although a lot of preparations were made for Isaac,  he really didn't do much here.
However, Kyle and I were given a chance to just spend some time together along with the perfect excuse to be lazy.

On Saturday night we went out to dinner and saw The Amazing Spider Man! It was really nice to go on a date night because we haven't had the chance since we moved.
On Sunday, we braved the strong winds and rainy weather to go to church. However, when we got there no cars were in the parking lot. It had gotten canceled and we didn't know it! Whoops!
We did go out later to lunch with the family.

I've been working on watching all the episodes of Once Upon a Time and took the opportunity to finish season 1! I can't wait for the next season to start!

I then started Grimm! Such a different twist on the fairy tale concept, but I love it!

It stormed all Sunday and Monday!
I couldn't help but laugh Monday morning when I looked out my window. One of the trees in the back had fallen down from the wind. The lawn guy was fighting against the wind trying to pull it back into position. He finally got it only for it to fall down later that day again!

 

Kyle didn't have to go into work Monday and I ended up soaked when the rain suddenly started again while I was bringing in groceries!
I decided the world was telling me it was a pj day, so we laid around doing nothing the rest of the day!

  

I Just Met You, and This is Crazy

But here's my cute blog. Sponsor me, maybe?

 

I know I'm a fairly new blog, but I figure I might as well dive in. 

I'm now offering ad space!

If I've already swapped with you, no worries, I already transitioned your button over!
I'm offering 4 different sizes including a swap size. 

Check out my sponsor page for more info! 

High Five for Friday {7}

 

1. I finally made it to the DMV and had my name changed on my license! 

It surprisingly didn't take too long!

 

2. I got this cute print made into a picture and put in on an awkward shelf in our kitchen. I love it!

 

3. Spent time being crafty and sent out my postcard for Postcard Pretties!

 

4. I had a horrible time getting a picture of this since there's no light in our office! 

Here's my little corner. I just made that adorable banner and couldn't be happier. 

I used eye hooks, twine, and mini clothes pins. It only took a matter of minutes to complete!

  

5. My Father-in-law's birthday is today. I made this cute jar and filled it with chocolate.

Linking up with Lauren: From My Grey Desk Blog

And for my freak out moment of the week:

 

I don't do bugs well. This thing was chillin' on the ATM when I was there at like 9am! 

Needless to say, I about had a heart attack picturing this thing flying at my face while I deposited a check!

Kyle said it was a moth. I don't think moths should be allowed to be so huge and hairy...

Clearly I've Been Trying Too Hard

As hubs is doing dishes while I lazily lean against the counter watching him, he breaks off mid-sentence, stares at me, and says, "You're so pretty."

Of course, being female, my first thought is, seriously? I let my hair do whatever the heck it pleased, didn't bother with makeup, and was wearing an old plaid button up with shorts.

Then I took a step back and realized that this really means that I have the most amazing husband in the world. 

Someone who looks past my not always attractive outer appearance to see who I really am. 

I am beyond thankful for having such a wonderful man in my life.

Clearly this is a sign that I should sleep in more and quit getting ready in the mornings. Right?

Organization: Pinterest Style

Since we moved I'm taking the opportunity to put to use some of those great organizational ideas I'm always pinning! Here's what I've done so far!

 

Original Idea 

Turn all of your hangers backwards in January. Whenever you wear something hang it back up with the hanger the right way. At the end of the year, anything that hasn't been turned around should be gotten rid of! 

I had been wanting to do this, but spending the time to switch all of my hangers when I knew we were going to be moving didn't sound like fun. When I hung all my clothes back up I decided to give it a try. In January I'm planning on going through it.

 

 Original Idea

Hang a tension rod under your sink and hang spray bottle by nozzle. 

This is seriously genius!  One: It clears up the space under my sink. Two: I don't have to search through my bottles for the correct one. It's right there! Three: The rod is only $4. Go do this!

Original Idea

Hang scarfs by shower rods on hanger.

Love this! All my scarfs are in one place and I can easily slip them off of the ring without undoing anything. Only annoyance is that they tend to slid to one side or another. Clearly I need to buy more scarfs to remedy this issue!

Next on my list, shoe hangers and a dry erase calendar!

Linking up with Melissa, Amber, and Sarah!
 

Hillbilly Babies, DIY Weddings, and Malfunctioning Macs

My mac is back!! My hard drive had to be replaced, but thankfully they were able to save everything for me!

I was able to get my new layout design up and running! I wanted something simple that flowed throughout the whole page.

What do you think?

My interview went extremely well. However, there is now a hiring freeze in place in my county. Hopefully it'll be lifted soon. I need a job!!

Here are some of my favorite posts from my blog sponsors this week!

50 Shades of Bedtime: Heather talks about co-sleeping with her adorable son Ben.

Mr. and Mrs. Chastain: Sarah talks about her gorgeous DIY wedding in this multi-post story. Her wedding was simply stunning. I definitely envy her all of her creative ideas!

Just Stuff for Fun: Jamie hosts a love bracelet giveaway

In other fun news, my laptop has been highlighting/deleting text as well as inserting the cursor all on it's own accord. Macbooks are not supposed to be able to do that! It has been a pain in the butt. Even more frustrating because I can't figure out how to fix it.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

And the phone call that turned it all around.

Some days just seem to be like that, nothing goes the way you plan.

This morning I work up crazy early so I went back to sleep, only to sleep through my alarm clock. I hate waking up later than I plan!

Comcast knocked on my door for something with the last tenant who lived here! They never changed their address and not only are we getting their mail, but now were having people come by!

After spending the morning running errands I came back home ready to eat. I heated up some leftovers and as I turned to go eat the entire bowl fell out of my hands. Potatoes, carrots, and chicken covered in Italian dressing flew everywhere, including our hall rug. 

I cleaned everything up, spot shot the carpet hoping to avoid ants and started again.
The next time I came in the front door the entrance way was completely covered in ants, despite the raid that had been sprayed. Where are you coming from tiny ants!!!

While I was waiting for my pan to heat up I decided to check my email. My computer was frozen. Restarted it and went to put my quesadilla on the stove. Came back to the gray screen of death! I frantically start trying to figure out how to fix it since I literally was planning on backing it up today so we could reformat it this weekend. At this point I smell something burning. I freak out and run to the kitchen where my quesadilla is black.

My computer flashes rapidly between these two pictures and the normal apple.

Two lunches and a computer down...

I call my dad since he had problems with his Mac recently to see if he has any idea what to do. Of course, as my luck would have it, he has no idea. Now my poor laptop has an appointment to see if it can be saved and if it's even worth it at this point to fix it. 

I had to drive my laptop to my parents so my dad could take it in since I wasn't able to. It starts pouring. I then spend two hours waiting for my realtor to be available to give her a check that I've been trying to get to her since we moved. 

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

Until....

I got a call from an amazing elementary school down here for my first job interview!
Hopefully all goes well and I'm employed before school starts!

Homemade Crockpot Bread

When I first saw this pin I knew that I had to try it immediately. For one thing, my crockpot is my favorite appliance by far. If I could make everything in it I totally would. Second, I love making homemade bread. This artisan recipe I made the traditional way before and while I loved the bread I really didn't have the materials to do it properly. Plus, having to create the steam scared the crap out of me! 

If you haven't heard about Artisan Bread in Five you're missing out. Their dough is so simple to make and can be refrigerated for up to two weeks. The recipe makes four pounds of dough, enough for four loaves. I decided to only make enough for one loaf as a tester. 

Whole recipe can be found here

Ingredients (1 Loaf)
3/4 Cup Lukewarm Water
3/4 Teaspoon Granulated Yeast
3/4 Teaspoon Morton's Kosher Salt
1 5/8 Cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

 

Mix first three ingredients together in a large mixing bowl that has a lid. 

Isn't my little helper so cute! She was so excited to see how big the dough got!

Dump in all the flour at once and stir with a large spoon. Stir until all the flour is incorporated. 

At this point the dough will be very wet and much rougher than typical dough. Don't worry, it's supposed to!

 

Place the lid on the bowl, but don't seal. You want the gases from the yeast to escape!

 

Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for at least two hours. After this time, it will have begun to fill up the bowl and you will see bubbles throughout the dough. Allow it to settle, the top will be flat. Do not try to punch down!

At this point the dough can sit in your fridge for up to two weeks. You can use it immediately, but it is easier to work with once it has had time to chill. I let mine sit over night.  

Sprinkle flour, lightly covering the top. 

Take a one pound piece of dough and form it into a ball. Place on parchment paper. At this point the crockpot recipe states that you don't need to let it rise. Mine took much longer to cook that what the recipe said and I believe it might have been because it was still cold going in. Next time I'll let it sit out for a bit first. 

Place in crockpot. Cook on high for an hour. Mine ended up taking two. Bread is done when it feels firm to the touch on top. It will be a pale loaf.  (Apparently I was way too excited about eating this bread! I didn't even realize that I stopped taking pictures after this point until I went to upload them!) Place loaf under broiler from about 5 minuted or until it reaches the desired color. Mine was a little pale and soft still because I took it out too early.   Eat and enjoy! It was a much denser loaf than I was anticipating, but still really yummy!

I had to go back and take this picture the next day!

A trick I learned: Don't cover loaves with crunchy crusts because they'll get soggy. Just stand up on the side that you cut from! I don't know how long that'll last, but it's been a day here in humid Florida and it still is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside!

Linking up with Melissa, Amber, and Sarah for the Pinterest Project

High Five for Friday {6}

The lighting was terrible!!

1. My little brother graduated from college!

2.We love Sonic! My youngest brother went to Sonic and brought us back some!

 

3. We went to downtown Disney with my brother-in-law. We got ice cream at Ghirardelli and it was gigantic. Hello Espresso Chip!

4. I saw these cute no sew hair bows from The Pinterest Project and found this tutorial! They are so simple and can be worn on a headband as well. I'm already in love. Now if only my hair would get long enough that I can do the cute hairstyle these came from! 

5. I've been babysitting our niece most afternoons this week. Coloring and The Swan Princess are clearly the best ways to spend an afternoon.

My brother stopped by one day and her shy side came out. She spent almost an hour hiding behind our couch poking her head out whenever she thought we weren't watching her.