Return of the Blog

How do you start a blog post after a 2 year hiatus? I've been wondering that for the past month after I decided it was time to return to blogging. And the only conclusion I've come to is to start off with what's gone on since I stopped blogging in 2013. Here are a few highlights from the past 2 years:

• Sweet P turned 4, then 5 and in two weeks she'll be 6. WHAT?!#^!@ How did this happen?
• Sprout turned 2, then 3 and provides constant comic relief for our family.
• Bud (our 2nd sweet baby boy) joined our family in July of 2014 and we are now a family of 5!
• We started homeschooling at the elementary level - Sweet P will finish our Kindergarten curriculum in a few weeks and she learned to read last fall!
• Sweet P has tried cheerleading, basketball, soccer, choir, art classes, dance classes, gymnastics and continues to love AWANA.
• Sprout started soccer two weeks ago and is now the coach of the green team (according to him).
• Bud army crawls, rolls over and sits up. He's super close to full blown crawling, but I'm not rushing him.
• TK & Uncle EZ moved to Iowa last summer! (yay!)
• Auntie Rosita didn't move to Iowa, but she did become an Ambassador for Noonday Collection & we are SO proud of all she has done with that company.
• Gammie, Nana & Papa Ray Ray still live in their respective areas, although we're slowly (and hopefully but surely) convincing Gammie to move to Iowa.

Much of our life continues to be the same or similar to what it was 2 years ago despite all the changes that have occurred! I'm not exactly sure what the blog will look like from here on out. Most likely a little bit of writing, a little bit of recipes and a little bit of crafty kid projects. I also plan to chronicle our homeschooling journey for the next year to share what we do with friends & family. 

For a long time I didn't miss blogging. It'd gotten to the point where I wasn't doing it for me and it wasn't fun for me anymore. It took too much time and felt very forced at times. My blog had moved from a space for me to write to something else and I'm not sure I liked that something else. So why did I return to blogging? Well, I told the Farmer a few weeks ago that I've felt like I've been in survival mode for the past 2 years and have put a lot of my own interests on the back burner to care for our home & our children. Now that we've gotten to a point where 2/3 of our children are a bit more self-sufficient, I've decided to return to a few hobbies and those include writing and crafting. So here I am. It's been a slow process of getting started again and while this feels awkward and silly, ya gotta start somewhere. So here we go.

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IMM: Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Muffins

It's taken awhile, but I finally did it. I finally made a Gluten-Free Banana Muffin we ALL like. It CAN be done! These are super simple, super quick and delicioso. But don't take my word for it - go make them! 

The Recipe: Gluten-Free Vegan Banana Muffins
What you need: 2 ripe bananas  1 c almond flour 1 c oats 1/2 tsp baking powder  2 tbsp coconut oil 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water) 1 heaping tbsp almond butter 1 tbsp honey (optional - omit for vegan version) a few shakes of cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use muffin liners or grease muffin tin. 
Mix flax with water and set aside. Mash bananas into mush. Stir in almond flour, oats and baking powder. Add coconut oil, almond butter, honey, cinnamon and flax egg. Stir until well-combined. Pour into muffin tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Yields roughly 24 mini muffins.
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IMM: Garlic Home Fries

These are a family favorite around here and tonight we paired them with baked sandwiches and oven baked broccoli. Let's just say it was a little hot in the kitchen tonight! 

The Recipe: Garlic Home Fries

What you need: 4-6 medium sized Russet potatoes 1-2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1/2 tsp paprika 1 tsp rosemary 2 tsp Rustic Tuscan Seasoning (Costco) 1 tbsp minced garlic
Dump everything into a gallon sized baggie or air tight container. Shake until potatoes are well coated. Let it marinate for about an hour. 
Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and dump your potatoes onto the foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Serve. 
These are great leftover in an omelette or in a burrito. They are super simple and taste AWESOME. Kinda wish we had some leftover!
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