gluten free finds: coffee cake in a mug

I have a 24/7 sweet tooth. Typically, I only need a few bites of something sweet to satisfy my craving. The solution? Mug cakes. I love them. You can make a variety of single serving recipes all in a mug! It's magic. The other night I had a hankering for coffee cake so I whipped up this little gem and am here to share the recipe :) 

Gluten Free Coffee {Mug} Cake 

Ingredients:

Cake:

·1 tbsp butter

·2 tbsp sugar

·2 tbsp applesauce

·a few drops of vanilla extract

·1/4 cup gluten free baking mix

·a pinch of salt

Struesel Topping:

·1 tbsp butter

·2 tbsp gluten free baking mix

·1 tbsp brown sugar

·1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a mug, soften 1 tbsp of butter (takes about 5 seconds). Add 2 tbsp of sugar and combine until well incorporated.

Next, stir in applesauce, vanilla...

...gluten free baking mix, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

Stir until combined.

You can use the back of your spoon or a small spatula to smooth the batter in the bottom of the mug.

To make the streusel, combine 1 tbsp butter, 2 tbsp gluten free baking mix, 1 tbsp brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.

You can use your fingers to cut the butter into the dry ingredients or just use a fork.

Combine until it looks like wet sand.

Pour the streusel on top of the batter.

Cook in the microwave for 50-80 seconds depending on the strength of your microwave. I cooked mine for about 65 seconds and it was perfect! If you're unsure how long to cook it, start with 50 seconds and then continue in 10 second intervals so you don't overcook it.

Enjoy warm with vanilla ice cream if you're really wanting to kick it up a notch. Bon appetite.

pancakes, parents, & a pup

My mom and I have shared a lot of things throughout my life. Shoes...scarves...jewelry...and medical problems. It’s how we bond really. One of the lovely medical mishaps that we have in common is gluten intolerance. So, when I told her about Another Broken Egg, she was dying to go! Instead, to save money and be able to stay in our pajamas, I suggested we make breakfast at my house. Who am I kidding though? I basically live in pajamas and probably would've gone to the restaurant wearing them. Either way, we met at my house on a Saturday and whipped up a delicious, gluten free breakfast for three!

Gluten free blueberry pancakes...the best.

Our helper for the morning. The sir.

Turkey bacon. Enough said.

Mom and dad dropped by the local Farmer’s Market to pick up some peaches before coming over. They were incredibly good! We initially planned on visiting the Farmer’s Market after breakfast, but it was raining so we chose to stay in our pajamas dry.

My parents know me well. Peanut butter and chocolate is necessary for my survival. They purchased this delicious treat before coming over. It was heavenly. 

Aren't they adorable?! Love them to death.

I am so thankful to live close enough to my parents to be able to plan an impromptu breakfast on occasion. What a blessing it is to have two Godly parents that urge me towards Christlikeness in all I do. Love you guys!

sips n strokes: a girl's night

A few girls from my small group planned a Sips n Strokes themed girl's night on the 5th that I originally wasn't able to make because of work. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I ended up staying in Birmingham, enabling me to come! For those of you who don’t know, Sips n Strokes is an art instruction studio that teaches you to paint step-by-step while sipping on drinks and snacking. Since many of us have been to a Sips n Strokes class before, we chose to instead have one at my friend Sarah’s house. There was plenty of food, wonderful friends, and an abundance of creativity.

Towards the end of the night we had a guess-the-number-of-M&Ms-in-the-cup game. Peanut butter and chocolate is my kryptonite. So, before knowing about the game, I ate two of the M&Ms. SMH. In my defense, Sarah's sister did the same thing. No biggie, subtract 4 from the total and we’re good. In the end, I didn’t come close to guessing the right number. I guess that's what I deserved.

I’m so thankful for these sweet women! God has blessed me beyond measure by placing them in my life and I’m thrilled to have been able to make it to girl’s night!

gluten free finds: another broken egg {mountain brook, al}

When I was younger, my parents used to take my brother and I out to eat for breakfast on occasion. I may have been bleary eyed and half awake, but I loved going. Not only is breakfast my favorite meal of the day but there was just something special about waking up early and going out to eat. As an adult, I rarely find myself getting up and making the trip out for breakfast. It's likely due to the busyness of life and that many of my breakfast's are eaten in a hotel room. Nevertheless, Kelly and I have been talking about getting brunch for a while now. We finally both had a free morning so we did some research and found the perfect place to go.

We chose Another Broken Egg, an adorable cafe in Mountain Brook, AL.

I browsed their menu online before going and saw that they had gluten free options! Needless to say, I was ecstatic!! I ordered the Gluten Free Jumbo Pancake with berries and Kelly got the Cinnamon Roll French Toast.

Both dishes were absolutely delicious. I'll likely become a local frequenter. I mean, gluten free pancakes? It doesn't get much better than that.

i amsterdam

My first international trip. AHHH. So.stinking.exciting. The flight there was fantastic. I had great passengers and an awesome crew. When we arrived, we headed straight to the hotel to nap for a couple hours before heading into the city.

Karleen, a FA on my crew, offered to come out and see the city with me, so we slept until around 3:00pm, hopped on a shuttle, and proceeded to take on Amsterdam.

Biking is huge in Amsterdam. There are devoted bike lanes and the bikers are nearly as fast as the cars. It's madness. Next time I'm there, I might attempt to join the masses, but I doubt they have electric bikes like they did in Vancouver. So I'd likely get run over.

Ahh...the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. Notice the crowd? There was a youth soccer game in front of the palace. And seriously, this was The Hunger Games of soccer. Every few minutes a kid would get knocked onto the cobblestone ground screaming and holding some injured area of their body. All that craziness and I only caught a goal on video. Bummer.

The Magna Plaza is a shopping center we went into for a little bit. The architecture of the building is stunning.

Karleen wanted to get her makeup done, so we stopped into Micabella Cosmetics Club for a quick makeover.

Speaking of beauty products, I have been looking for a Lush store for months and apparently had to go all the way to the Netherlands to find one! Unfortunately, they were closing when we got there, but they were sweet enough to allow me to look around for a minute before locking up.

I love that place and I can't wait purchase some of their products! I've heard especially good reviews of the Cupcake face mask and the Bubblegum lip scrub. Mmm.

Next, we went to the flower market which was gorgeous. It's the only floating flower market in the world which made it even more incredible.

After the flower market, we stopped by the Red Light District. I was truly at a loss for words. It is a sex-driven, sin laden society that is in desperate need of a Savior. The openness of the sexual sin is what's so jarring. That combined with seeing so many women prostituting themselves brought me to tears. I am heartbroken and deeply burdened for these people. Please pray for this culture of sex to be torn down and for many to come to salvation in Christ.

For dinner, Karleen's friend suggested that we go to Wok to Walk. It has fresh ingredients but is quick and cheaper than many other restaurants there.

I had a chicken rice noodle bowl that was delicious!

After eating, we went back to the hotel to rest for the night before flying back to New York in the morning.

View from my room.

I thoroughly enjoyed Amsterdam. It is a beautiful city with so much to do and see. Next time I'm there I plan to do a canal tour and maybe visit some of the museums. If I'm feeling really adventurous, I'll rent a bike and take on the streets.