A Day in Montana, and a new cake recipe

Montana summers are absolutely the BEST! Perfect weather and it's so beautiful. We're just two miles from Bitterroot Lake so once we're done with the B&B and work we'll take a couple hours and escape to the Todd's lake house and enjoy the summer. We will kayak, swim, tube and of course water ski. It's such a blessing to have the lake house and utilize whenever.
Lately we've been spending a ton of our afternoons at the lake house. We celebrated Chet and Dylan's birthday on the lake. Here's a few photos of the lake:

I have made this black bean chocolate cake a couple times now and it's so good. It's gluten free, super easy to make and you'd never know the main ingredient was black beans. Try it out, you wont be disappointed. 

Black Bean Chocolate Cake (Gluten Free)

1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed) (15 oz),
5 large eggs,
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract,
1/2 tsp salt,
6 tbsp butter (I use coconut oil), softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I substitute with stevia, truvia or agave enctar)
6 tbsp cocoa  powder, 1 tsp baking powder,
1/2 tsp baking soda,
1 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9 inch cake pan and dust with cocoa powder.

Place the beans,  eggs, vanilla, sugar and salt into blender or food processor (I used my food processor). Process or blend on high until beans are completely liquified.

Add the remaining ingredients and process on high for 2 minutes until everything is well incorporated.

Pour into your prepared pan. Bake 30-40 min until the top is slightly rounded and firm to the touch. Do not overbake. My center actually still looked a tiny but underdone but remember that it will keep cooking a little even after you take it out.

Cool for 10 min and then invert onto a plate. Dust with powdered sugar (or frost with homemade cream cheese frosting).  Serve and enjoy!

Float Trip and Chicken Taco Chili

 This weekend nick and I joined our friends for a little weekend getaway to the Illinois river near Tahlequah. This was my first float trip and it was awesome!! We packed lunches and had ice chests full of drinks to sustain us through the 5 hour float in 100+ degree weather. We made it through the day with only a few minor cuts and bruises, well except for Travis who decided to swing from a tree and land in less than three feet of water. His knee does not like him too much right now. The day was spent floating, swimming and spending time with friends. I cannot think of a better way to spend my Saturday. Here is a picture of the group we floated with!

Prior to the float trip, I decided to try a new recipe that I found on skinny taste. Nick was a little skeptical at first, but after the first bite we decided the recipe was a keeper. Something you need to knowabout me is that I love crock pot meals. It's so great to come home from a long day of work and have a home cooked meal waiting for you. And that is exactly what this meal is– Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili. This meal will be great during the fall. You can find the original recipe here: Skinny Taste - Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili    I made a few changes and this is the recipe that I used.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 16-oz can black beans
• 1 16-oz can kidney beans
• 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
• 10 oz package frozen corn kernels (optional – I did not use)
• 2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes w/chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 24 oz (3-4) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• chili peppers, chopped (optional – I used chopped green chiles from a can)
• 1 small can of olives (optional)
• sour cream or mexican cream
• shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

Combine beans, onion, chili peppers, corn, tomato sauce, cumin, chili powder and taco seasoning in a slow cooker. Place chicken on top and cover. Cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours (I cooked on low for 4.5 hours, then it was on keep warm for another 4 hours while I was at work). Half hour before serving, remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to slow cooker and stir in. Top with fresh cilantro, cheese and cream.

It's even better the 2nd day and would be great with cornbread.

I was a little worried about making chili on a hot summer day, but it ended up being perfect because we had a random afternoon thunderstorm which cooled the outside temp a bit. One minute is was bright and warm, then it started pouring down rain with thunder and lightning. Gotta love the Oklahoma weather.

Hope you enjoy.

-Court

Bald Mountain Hike

One of the many hikes we like in our area is bald mountain. It's very steep and it's a such a good workout. We start the hike directly from the B&B and once you get to the top of the mountain it's a 360 degree view of Marion and the valley we live in. You can see Bitterroot Lake and it's gorgeous!
Yesterday I did the hike with Chet, Rick, Dylan and of course Gus. We packed a picnic lunch and ate on top of the mountain while enjoying the view of Bitterroot Lake.

What to do in the dead of winter…..especially when snowed in

I never thought I would crochet or knit, but I sure have changed since I got married. I also said I would never move out of California or marry a guy in the military, but both those things happened and I’m the happiest girl in the world. Oh yeah, and the third thing came true too, I love to crochet. We have snowstorms to the point that you’re snowed in (that happened only twice though) and you get pretty creative by thinking of ways to stay busy. One example is crocheting. My mother in law and my mom taught me the basics of crocheting and then it took off from there. I started teaching myself, using pinterest and you tube ideas and I’ve sold quite a bit of stuff.

It’s actually very relaxing, therapeutic and fun at the same time. It’s definitely more of a winter hobby, because during the summer time I’m way too busy. I love to make gifts for people and as you can see in the photos I’ve made a lot of baby items, and NO I’m not pregnant, not yet at least. Of course that’s in our plan but I was having so many friends that were having babies and I wanted to give them a gift that was unique and different from any other gift.

I’ve made men and women beanies, women headbands with flowers, a circular throw blanket, scarves, flowers, baby beanies, baby throw blankets, baby sweaters and booties, baby mary jane shoes, diaper cover and such. My latest project was a little teddy bear that I gave to a friend of mine at her baby shower. I totally recommend learning how to crochet and possibly making it your new hobby. I think you’ll be surprised how much you enjoy it. 

Sunday Funday with Fresh Whip and Catfishin'

I had a friend tell me the other day that I cannot spend my entire Sunday catching up on laundry and cleaning the house, so I took her advice. We normally go to church Sunday morning, but Nick was on a guys camping trip so I didn't want to go alone. I started my Sunday by reading my One Year Bible and drinking coffee on the deck [what a great start to my day]. By the time Nick arrived home I had already finished a few of the boring chores, so it was time for fun!



As an afternoon snack, I made some fresh whip cream to go with my fruit salad. I absolutely love fruit when it is in season–it makes me happy. For homemade whip cream, you only need three ingredients and it tastes amazing.

Ingredients: 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp of sugar (I used splenda, since I am not eating sugar right now) and 1 tsp of vanilla.
Beat all ingredients in a bowl until whipped, then serve. I put the extra in my fridge and it should last a week or so.

Apple Crumble Pie

I have made this apple crumble pie several times before, but I just made it again last night for the Hangar Church dessert. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe so I thought it would be a good one to share with ya'll. Enjoy!

Filling:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tbs flour

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

5 cubes peeled granny smith apples (five good size apples)

pie shell

Topping:

½ cup sugar

½ cup flour

½ cup butter

For topping, combine sugar, and flour; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside. In another bowl combine the first four ingredients of filling. As apples are chopped, spoon a spoonful of this dry mixture onto apples to keep them from browning as well as to incorporate this mixture. Do this as each apple is chopped. When all apples are chopped, pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle topping evenly over pie. Crimp edges. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 375; bake for 40-45 minutes. Cover crust edges with foil or a pie covering during last 15 minutes of baking.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Chicken Jalapeno Poppers

We are starting out with a great recipe for summer grilling. Nick and I love BACON–seriously it's awesome! The chicken jalapeno poppers, as we call them, are great as an appetizer or they can serve as the main dish for a meal.

Ingredients:
6 jalapenos
cream cheese (1/3 less fat works great)
2 chicken breasts
enough bacon to wrap about 12 jalapenos halves
tooth picks
seasoning (we used original meat magic)

Directions:
Cut the jalapenos in half lengthwise and remove all seeds (I use a small spoon) and rinse under cold water. Careful not to touch your face after removing the jalapeno seeds. If you cannot handle much of the heat from jalapenos, you can soak the halves in salted water for 30 minutes.

Cut the chicken into 12 small pieces and season with meat magic. Set all ingredients out to begin the stuffing/wrapping process. Take a jalapeno half, add cream cheese, then chicken breast and wrap with bacon, followed by a toothpick to secure the bacon. Repeat until all jalapeno chicken poppers are wrapped in bacon.

You can either grill on a BBQ or cook in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until bacon starts to crisp up.

I even ate them the next day for lunch. These are scrumptious.