Finally made Bora Bora Fireballs...and yes it lived up to it's hype

Bora Bora Fireballs are awesome! Here is the recipe. I just wanted to share the pictures my brother in law took and mention a few changes.

Toasting the coconut was easier than I thought. If you haven't done it (like me) you just toss it in a pan and toast over medium heat. It is easy to burn so you have to watch it closely.  I used Bob's Red Mill unsweetened coconut. If you aren't Whole30 I would still recommend using it or else the fireballs will turn out way to sweet. 

I also used a whole Jalapeno and 1.5 teaspoons of Cayenne. I'm not a huge fan of spicy but my friends coming for dinner were. It actually turned out perfect. I enjoyed them without my mouth on fire and even the 3 year olds snacked on them.  

Spacing is critical. I put mine to close together and they didn't crisp up because of all the juices. The above picture shows the appropriate amount of spacing! I served it with a large salad and sauteed yellow squash. 

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke!

Green Bean turned 3 over the weekend so we made a pork shoulder in Husband's new smoker. Its hard to believe something this good was actually healthy. All I did was rub it down with Bryan's Black Mountian BBQ rub from his cookbook. Then it cooked in the smoker for 10 hours with hickory chips. We wrapped it in tin foil after cooking for 4 and it turned out nice a juicy.

BBQ Rub

6 T Salt

6 T Chili Powder

4T Paprika

2 T Black Pepper

1 t Tyme

1t celery seed

1 t garlic

2t oregano

4 t allspice

I mixed it all up in a mason jar for storage. 

Whole30 Day 1 and 2, a Change Up with Steak recipe plus Addition of Twitter

2 down, 28 to go!

Day 1
Eggs, Green pepper, Coffee
Fried Sweet Potato, Egg and Spinach with Balsamic Vinegar
Hamburger Wraps


Day 2
Eggs, Carrots, Coffee
Leftover Hamburger Wraps
Steak and Fried Sweet Potato


So I know these meals are complaint but maybe a bit boring, low on veggies and to much sweet potato. I'm going through a little detox and since I have done a Whole30 before I thought I would ease the transition with some sweet potatoes since they help with the headaches. Since I'm trying to lose weight I'll be cutting back from here on out. Plus I used them all up. Its easy to cut something out when you have run out. I find it easier to make one decision at the grocery store than to fight temptation in the house. Even though if Sweet Potato are your only temptation you are doing pretty good in my book.

This steak is brought to you courtesy of the frying pan. I salted them and let them sit for about an hour. Then I tossed some homemade clarified butter and cooked 6 minutes (3 each side) on medium high. It was awesome!

What 1 lb of butter gives you if you wondered. Which brings me to...

I've never used twitter before but I figured I would give it a shot. My internet can be slow so it can be hard to knock out a blog post in a reasonable amount of time. So I'm opting for short updates via Twitter! There is a follow me button at the top of the blog on the right. You never know what will happen next as I figure out this blogging stuff..

Getting Ready for Whole30 Round 2

Well I did it. I ate my way through Alabama. And I enjoyed every.moment.of.it. 

In what seemed like a bid to have cake every day, I started out at the bakery that did my wedding cake. It was a sweet memory lane. That was the beginning of the end. I won't bore you with the details but there were plenty of carbs, alcohol, creamy sauces and not nearly enough veggies.

I even got a college favorite, a vanilla frappuccino, with two extra shots of coffee. They looked at me like I was crazy. It was still to sweet but I enjoyed it. 

Now I am enjoying my hard boiled eggs, sliced up raw green pepper and black coffee as I knock out another Whole30. I have my list of favorite things to get from the store. I have motivation. I have the husband on board. So here we go...

Memorial Day

 Can you tell we weren't in West Texas? I don't think the kids had ever seen so much green. 

One Down, One to Go

The first wedding of the summer was a blast. Turtles and Green Bean were the perfect flower girls.

Enjoying some leftover Tangerine Blossom Wedding Cake, Chocolate Grooms Cake, and Chardonnay after the ceremony. Surprisingly no weight was gained despite eating off plan for a few days. 

We had a western themed rehearsal dinner where Husband and I thought it would be a good idea for the guys to wear belt buckles. They never let me get a picture of them all together so this one will have to do. My dad, 3 brothers, Husband and brother in law all donned them for the party. Want to guess which ones was Husbands? 

  

While at home my sister introduced me to this pear cider. Now I'm usually a Woodchuck girl because the Thirsty Thursday Bar I went to in college had it on tap. I hate beer and it was the only cider on tap so I acquired a taste for the 802 Dark and Dry or the Pear. This blew Woodchuck out of the water. ACE also makes an apple but I didn't get a chance to sample it. 

Zucchini, Green Pepper, Onion Sauteed with Pan Drippings from Steak Added. Amazing! 

We have been eating pretty clean since getting back and are gearing up for Whole30 round two starting in one week on June 12th!  Green Beans turns 3 during our Whole30 so that will be our challenge to staying strong. My favorite holiday (4th of July) also will fall before the 30 days are up. I'm not sure I could bring myself to eat a non-compliant hot dog anyways. But I'll be on the hunt to make those events special and complaint. I'll write a post about our impressions from our 1st Whole30 and what we want out of our next Whole30. 

107 degrees. Poor Sam finding the only shade in the yard.

So for now, I'm getting ready to go out of town for a 4 day kid free weekend. It will be fun to be back with all my girls from college and celebrate the marriage of NatNat and Gabe! 

Kiddie Pool is Out and Working!