Crock Pot Left-over Spaghetti Soup

I love left-overs.

But more than that I love turning left-overs into another meal, so we have more left-overs. 

Today we had left-over spaghetti but I knew it wasn't going to be enough for all six of us, that's when I decided to turn it into soup in the crock. 

Sound kinda gross to you.....or like a bunch of crock?? :) 
It's actually really good! 
It's not uncommon to find recipes with pasta in soup, so this is basically the same thing.

The awesome part, this only takes 2 hours in the crock pot!

Crock Pot Left-over Spaghetti Soup

What you will need:

Left-over spaghetti

1 can corn

1 can stewed tomatoes

2 cans water

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

2-3 tsp. basil

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried onions

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Throw all of the above in your crockpot and cook on High for 2 hours.

My "highly expressive" hubby said it was "Good, real good" ;)

Linked to:

Pallet Chalkbard Sign - Frugal Decorations for Fall #2

A few days ago I decided it was time to give the mantel a Thanksgiving makeover. In fact since we had moved in the new house it has not been properly attended to. As I was unpacking I would stick something up there wondering if maybe it would work, when one day I looked up at my mantel and realized what a hodge podge array was staring back at me. Mercy! 

A fall Thanksgiving makeover was definitely a good reason to change the present state of my mantel. Once I got the ends situated I realized I had a HUGE hole in the middle and nothing to place there, a mirror would be nice but I don't own one. That's when I headed outside to look at my pallet pile. I selected four pallet boards and placed shorter boards behind them on each end and nailed them together....this is rustic decorating right, so it's okay that some of my nails only went halfway in and then had to be nailed over. 

Rustic, rustic, rustic! :)

That day I was Thankful for Thanksgiving in the most literal sense because it was that day that I made a terrifying discovery. Realizing I needed a larger hammer one of my daughters ran into the addition we are tearing down on one end of the house. It was then that she heard water 

gushing.....
pouring....
spewing.

I hurriedly called my hubby, who works nearby, and asked him to rush home. Then I got my wits about me, threw on my welders gloves and ran out to the water source by the road and quickly turned the water off. 

I was proud of myself.

The pipes had frozen in the addition and we're pretty sure that water had been spewing for 24 hours, let's just say I'm dreading that water bill come mid December!

Had I not been making a sign for Thanksgiving we would not have went into the addition that day and made the discovery!!

Right then and there I decided to give thanks for everything.....as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

I was thankful for the water spewing.
I was thankful for the blowout poopy diaper our youngest gave us...AFTER we turned the water off (I use cloth wipes and need water for them).
I was thankful for our van that was overheating on the way to town to get the cap to fix the leak.
I was thankful for our van that was low on oil and needed an oil change.
I was thankful for the older man that crossed lanes on the bridge and sent us onto the side of the road, praise the Lord he didn't hit us.

And not surprisingly when I got home that night (All 6 of us safe and sound, alive, and breathing) I grabbed the sign I had nailed together out of pallets, brushed with chalkboard paint and wrote a message on it.......

WE
GIVE
THANKS

This blog post is linked to:

Firewood Welcome Sign - Frugal Decorations for Fall

As much as I would LOVE to go into all the fancy stores and buy fall decorations, it's just not in our pocket book. Goodness, I'd be happy with shopping for decorations in Dollar General, but that's not happening either. And I am totally cool with that. In fact I'm glad I can't because it totally gets my creative juices flowing.

A little bit of nature.
A little bit of browsing through catalogs.
A little bit of chalkboard paint & burlap.....

That's my Inspiration.

We have recently moved so in between organizing and unpacking I really didn't want fall/Thanksgiving decorating to fall through the cracks. 

A couple of weeks ago I decided to spruce up the front porch. I noticed some firewood in a shelf in my Pottery Barn catalog and on the ends they had painted Ho! Ho! Ho! for Christmas, that's when I decided I could bundle up my own firewood on my porch, wrap it all up in burlap and paint the words welcome on the ends!

The girls helped me find the right sizes of firewood and I laid my burlap fabric strip on the park bench. Once I had the amount of logs I needed I tied the burlap tight.

The only paint I had on hand was chalkboard and I couldn't even place a paint brush so I fingerpaited the letters on. We had some pumpkins given to us at a local pumpkin patch and Voila ~ Fall decorating on a dime, using nature as inspiration.

I hope this inspires you as well.

#4 ~ Ways to Make Money at Home

Zazzle is another wonderful way to earn money at home.

You can open up a Zazzle store for free. If you enjoy photography or perhaps you are rock awesome at graphic design then Zazzle is for you. But don't be timid, even if you feel like a novice it's worth a shot. With websites like PicMonkey graphic design is now easier than ever.

If graphic design is not your thing you can purchase already made graphics on websites like Ebay and Etsy, many times for only $1, then you can put these on hundreds of products on Zazzle as long as it's allowed by the sellers. 

Here are some examples below of products that I offer in my Zazzle store.

Vintage French Bird Song Music Postcard by CottageHomestead
Check out other Vintage Postcards at zazzle.com

Vintage Pink Shabby Roses Coffee Cup Coffee Mug by CottageHomestead
Print your picture on a mug at zazzle.com.

If you do open up a Free Zazzle store it's easy to share your custom made products on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. If you have a blog they offer html code for a blog panel that you can add to the side of your page.

Vintage Red Bicycle Poster by CottageHomestead
Check out Vintage Posters online at zazzle

Have you already heard of Zazzle? If you have a Zazzle store be sure to share the link in the comments below.

Yeehaw!!! Swanson Premium Whey Protein Giveaway

I first discovered Swanson Vitamins from my grandmother. She faithfully makes purchases from their catalog. And there is no question why, their prices can't be beat and the products work!

You can read in detail about the Swanson Premium Whey Protein Powder by Clicking HERE.

So it was no surprise to me when I started the Trim Healthy Mama Diet, you can read my story here, that the Swanson Whey Protein powder was recommended. I love the fact that it contains less than 1 gram of carbs and there is no extra fat. It also has a very pleasant vanilla flavor which I love. If I want to add cocoa to it I can, but there are times I just want the vanilla, I love the versatility.

Me on the left is before I started Trim Healthy Mama, and me on the right (with my handsome Hubs) is 2 months into the program. Or new way of life shall I say! I am 31 lbs. lighter and 2 dress sizes down. I would like to also mention that the skirt in the pic is too big, thanks to a belt I can still wear it!! :)

Swanson Whey Protein has been a big part of my journey. From the amazing Fat Stripping Frappas that are mentioned in the book to yummy smoothies. I also like to make Gwen's Cookie Dough Dip and add Swansons protein to it, sprinkle on a few almonds and enjoy it for a snack when I feel like "cheating." The protein helps me feel full and gives me energy so there are no concerns about over-indulging.

When i first purchased the whey protein I was a bit leery about plopping down $25.99 for it. In the picture I thought it was one of those smaller canisters like you get at the Health Food Store. But when my UPS man delivered the box I knew by the size of it that this was no chintzy can!

It's HUGE!!! 

You can imagine my excitement when Swanson so generously offered one of my lovely readers a Huge canister for themselves. With shipping that is a $30.99 value!!!

Good Luck to you all!! I hope that you will find the Promo Simple Giveaway form user friendly. At this time the giveaway is only open to the US. Have fun & tell your friends!!!

#3 ~ Ways to Make Money at Home

Swagbucks is another way I earn online. I have for sure made a couple hundred with them. You can get cash if you want with Swagbucks (via PayPal) but the best deal is the $5 Amazon gift cards for 450 swagbucks.

I then use these Amazon gift cards to buy medicine for my family, grocery items that are super cheap using the Subscribe and Save, or Christmas gifts for my children and friends. Those Amazon gift cards have ALWAYS come in handy.

I don't spend a lot of time on Swagbucks, now you certainly could if you wanted to. Here's how I do it, I simply use their search engine every day to earn anywhere from 6-30 swagbucks, I take the daily poll (takes a second and can be fun), and if you have time you can even earn bucks playing games.

If you make online purchases you can do so through Swagbucks as well and earn bucks back from purchases you are already making.

You are not limited to earning Amazon gift cards, there are plenty of gift cards to choose from. You can even cash in for PayPal cards, so there are plenty of options.

Hope you have enjoyed day #3 on ways to earn income at home, join us tomorrow for another fun idea to bring in income for your family.

#2 ~ Ways to Make Money at Home

The second way to make money at home is opening up an online Jewelry Boutique. This is 100% free to do and the company is called Kitsy Lane. You can find the link to sign up by clicking here.

It really is fun and hassle-free because Kitsy Lane runs the website, fulfills all orders, and even sends out newsletters to your customers on your behalf.

You can customize your store with your profile pic, and custom pick the jewelry that you want to offer. The awesome part is you make 25% on all orders. You even earn that on purchases you make for yourself as well.

Maybe you're thinking "What kind of jewelry is it??" "Will I like it?" I'm going to post some of my favorite Kitsy Lane pieces below and provide a link to my store so you can see how I designed it. I named my store Aibreann, which is pronounced Ab-rawn, it's one of my favorite Irish girl names. :) 

Aspen Silvery

by Debra Shephard

Christian Ring

by Tiger Mountain

Bianca Ring

by KL Collection

Kimberly Earrings

by Isette

(These Kimberly earrings are my absolute favs!!)

There are SOOO many other lovely pieces but you can peruse my Aibreann Boutique Store to see them all.

They have a new flash sale every week and you can even hand select which items you would like to go in your flash sale.

Another exciting feature they offer is Pinterest buttons, so you can easily pin your favorite pieces which will link back to your own store. Promoting is definitely made easy with Kitsy Lane.

You can also link the store to your Facebook and Twitter so you can really reach a broad range of customers.

Have fun and let me know if you open up your own Kitsy Lane store!!!

Legitimate Ways to Earn Money at Home

Over this next week I am going to share different ways you can make money at home. Some of these are very small earnings but if you dabble in them, they all add up and can be a true blessing when they cash in. $20 here and $20 there is nice for the gas tank, to get a few groceries, or whatever you need to get you by until your paycheck comes in.

I will share a new way to make money at home every day in this series so you can try them out one at a time. When I find little ways to legitimately earn money at home I spend early morning or late night doing the "tasks" needed so I can spend my daytime hours with the kiddos, homeschooling,  and house chores. I'm sure you will find a system that works for you.

The first way to earn from  home is getting paid to read emails. This is so simple, you will earn $.02 for every email you click on and click confirm, this small step takes just a few seconds everyday and eventually it really adds up. You must have $30 in your account before you cash in and once you do they will cut you a check. I am up $20 and my mother is around $25 so she will be cashing in soon.

The company is called Inbox dollars and the cool part is you get $5 just for signing up, who wouldn't like a free $5!!!

Now reading emails isn't the only way to earn from Inbox Dollars you can also use their search engine (like you would use Google) to earn money, take surveys, and earn from referring friends as well. You don't have to buy anything to earn from Inbox Dollars, you will earn more if you do but it is not required at all. I have never purchased anything and like I mentioned above I am already up to $20.

A simple task you do every day builds up over time, once you cash in that $30 I'm sure you won't be complaining!! :)

Stay tuned tomorrow for idea #2 to earn an income at home. Remember that when it comes to earning money online you never want all your irons in the same fire.

Trim Healthy Breakfast

Well I'm smiling over here with 31 lbs. lost so far with Trim Healthy Mama and I thought I'd share my breakfast this morning.

I love having a couple of eggs in a Low Carb Mama Lupe wrap with some salsa, but my Wal-Mart quit carrying them. To improvise this morning I made Homemade Gluten-free Low Carb wraps from this Blog (Sheri Graham). While they may not take the place of Mama Lupe's they were still very yummo with cheesy eggs, turkey bacon, and salsa.

I like to bake my bacon, hey that's fun to say. Bake my bacon.....okay moving right along. I bake it at 350 for 14 minutes. I think the trick to yummolicious turkey bacon is to cook it until it's VERY crispy, tastes more like real bacon. My brother says it tastes like Dog treats......(Hmmm, how would he know?) anyways I beg to differ.

When I scramble my eggs I add 1 slice of cheddar cheese torn in bits while they are cooking, and lots of pepper!!

Yes that is a bulletproof coffee above! On the Trim Healthy Mama facebook group I saw Pearl mention if you have a Heavy S breakfast keep the butter and coconut oil to 1 tsp. per cup of coffee. 

Hope your day is fab!!!

~Marie

On my way to becoming a Trim Healthy Mama

Or as my husband likes to call it "Trim Hot Mama"

I am so excited about my new lifestyle I could just skip through the living room, oh yeah I've been doing that. :) That burns calories, which means I'll lose even more weight, it's a win-win situation.

I ate so good on my pregnancy with my 4th child, lots of protein and good foods and I had very minimal weight gain, after I had her I went back down to my then pre-pregnancy weight. Where I was still in a size 18.

I let all those bad foods back into my life and crept back up to a little over the 200 lb mark and I was not so thrilled with myself. I made 5-6 attempts to lose the weight trying the 30 day shred, cutting back, walking more.......none of it lasted over a week.

I had noticed when the Trim Healthy Mama book came out several months ago but I just did not have the funds at the time, knowing what I know now, I should have made it happen then. Talk about a life-changer.

When it came up in my facebook newsfeed again I read Gwen's testimony and after I read her testimony I couldn't buy the book fast enough. You can find the book here: Trim Healthy Mama. Trust me it's worth EVERY penny!!!

I devoured that book for an entire day, kept notes in a journal, made out a food list, got the groceries that night and started the next day on July 6th. NO. TURNING. BACK.....EVER. I say that because of the way I feel, I feel awesome. After just a few weeks of being on "the plan" my 7 year old niece looked at me said, "Aunt Phallin, you look  younger". This 31 year old will take that!!!

The way I felt before was like I lived in a fog, tired, fatigued and miserable about how I looked. While I still have 30-40 lbs. to lose I'm pretty excited about the size 14 that I'm sporting.

These kind of pictures are always so humiliating, but they truly show the progress. The second picture was just a week of being on the Trim Healthy Mama plan and I was amazed at the swelling that had went down in my neck and face. The science of this eating plan will transform your life, truly. 

I haven't been in a size 14 for a few years so I am super thrilled about that. I haven't been in a size 10 since my wedding day and I'm tellin' ya that size is right around the corner! YEE-HAW! 

Can I get an Amen? :)

If your like me and you've made several attempts to lose weight with  no luck you owe it to yourself to see what's so amazing within the pages of  Trim Healthy Mama. 

So far I have two friends that have started and both have only been at it for a week to two weeks and together have lost around 17 lbs. WOW!

Oh yes let me just mention some of the added benefits I've been experiencing on this eating plan. Some of those benefits include, amazing almost baby-soft skin, like WOW!, more energy, hair and nails that are growing at an incredible rate of speed,  and a hubby that can't keep his eyes off of me (I'll take that)!

If you buy the book and decide to get started I've included some products below that I use faithfully on this eating plan and wouldn't want to go without.

This stuff thickens food and helps you feel full!

Wonderful basic protein powder without all that extra nasty stuff inlcuded.

I love xylitol because there is no after-taste like there is with stevia.

There are some amazing muffin recipes in the book that use this flax seed meal. So yummy!!!

STOP! and let me tell you what the Lord has done for me....

I feel like the title of a sweet little Children's Bible song is appropriate for my blog post today. Because when God does something awesome for you it's pretty hard to keep it quiet. 

I guess you could say last week for us was like a Job week. Thankfully we have our health and our children and a roof over our heads so I needn't complain but everything was going wrong. And I think just the fact of it all happening at once felt overwhelming. 

We believe the transmission on our van is going out, at first it was grinding and sometimes when we are driving up hills it doesn't seem to want to make it up.

The lawn mower we were borrowing wouldn't start after multiple times of hubby trying to get it going.

While my husband was out of town the refrigerator quit working. 

And while we are out of debt (thank you Lord) the stack of bills that week and needs just seemed unconquerable. 

A few days before all of this happened I saw in my facebook news feed the advertisement for this book: 

Overwhelmed: Hope and Help for the Financially Weary

I knew I needed that book. I prayed to the Lord, "Please let me make an ebay sell today so I can buy that book" He answered. I bought it, read it, WOW! The testimonies in those pages were amazing to say the least and absolutely the encouragement I needed for my Job week.

Makes me think of the song by the Isaacs..."Stand still and let God move".

The book really opened my eyes and helped me realize that I can't fix my problems on my own. God allows them for a reason and He'll fix them when He's ready. To Him alone be the Glory.

Back to the refrigerator.

I kept everything in a cooler for about a week and really it wasn't that difficult. I was thinking, "I can do this for awhile." I like camping. :) I continued to check craigslist for a good deal on a fridge and the cheapest I could find was a dorm fridge for $50-$75 (which I was considering). Something is better than nothing.

All that week the Holy Spirit reminded me of the Scripture in Philipians 4:19 "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus" 

I checked craigslist for the umpteenth time and noticed a basic fridge for $35. The ad said it worked but just needed cleaned. An awesome friend with a truck agreed very last minute to take my hubby to go get it (a good hour away). 

Once they got there and loaded it hubby asks, "So what do we owe ya?" The lady replied, "Absolutely nothing, I want you to have it" He was in shock. I know it was just $35 but it was $35 we really didn't have.

When I saw the fridge and realized it was a vintage retro fridge...I just about cried......for tears of Joy. You see I love retro, and adore vintage. The inside of this fridge boasts a beautiful retro blue design and lovely chrome handles on the outside. She needs cleaned, but she's a beaut!

And that's when I was reminded of another Scripture verse in Psalms 37:4, " Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."

Not ONLY did he supply my need but in so doing he gave me the desire of my heart. A much smaller fridge that fits so much better in my little farmhouse kitchen.

If he knows the very number of hairs on your head there is no doubt he can replace your fridge for free with a retro one you adore. I don't deserve it, I am so very thankful, so very thankful for what the Lord has done for me.

Love them chrome handles!

Original egg holder in the door, the pretty blue door above opens up to store butter.

Look at that super cute icebox!

Cottage Farmhouse Living Room Makeover

I really felt like my living room had no rhyme or reason. And while I love eclectic decorating, it IS the epitome of me, my hubby said it was looking Eclectic hippie, and no offence to hippies, I just wanted a different style.

As much as I adored my green vintage sectional sofa it was not practical for our family of 6. It came apart so easy and my children thought it was so neat that they could split them up in two rows to make "theater seats". While I love their creativity and ideas, our living room is so small that it was a bit impractical. :)

Recently I stumbled upon The Old Painted Cottage and her blog was a HUGE motivator in my living room makeover. In fact I used her living room as my inspiration  While my makeover is nothing compared to hers, I am really satisfied with the outcome.

Last year our tax return went to paying for the new baby, new bed, you can read my article about our amazing bed here, paying off the rest of our debt, and a new (used) vehicle. This year we budgeted some of it to a new couch. 

We are not finished but I thought I would show you all my progress thus far.

And here is the finished product, while there are two of my children in the before picture I would like to assure you that I did not get rid of my girls, they just so happened to not be around when I snapped the after pic. :) 

Let me tell you a little about what we did here

• New wall color is Glidden's Natural Linen (I just love the name, so soft and comfy sounding). Exactly what I wanted.
• The trim: Wal-mart's Table Linen White
• The sofa is a chaise sofa by Ashley. I really wanted a white couch (I know call me crazy, especially with four kiddos, but....I new that wasn't possible so I opted for a neutral color sofa and I purchase a $20 Queen size blanket to throw over it, this can be easily washed again and again. (I already have once) :) But not because of the children.... I do have a couple rules. No one is allowed to eat on the sofa...AT ALL and you can't sit on it if you've been playing outside, clothes must be changed. We had those rules with the vintage green sofa and it stayed very nice and I was able to sell it.
• The front door is brushed on chalk board paint, if you are considering doing this it took three coats and was done in a day. Super easy. In chalk I wrote I Corinthians 13:4 "Charity suffering long, and is kind..." When chalkboard writing be sure to dot your I's and cross your T's. I say that because I forgot to cross my T in charity and long arms hubby fixed that for me. :)
• The clock is something I adore and I'd like to thank my brother for talking me in to getting it. I bought it at the strangest of places, if you ask me. A furniture rental store. I don't shop those places but happened to be in one searching for a sofa in a small town and it was one of my only options. The bad part about those rental places is they don't like to come down on the price. So I paid full price for this very large tin clock. My brother was like, "Aren't you going to buy it?" That was just the encouragement I needed....hahaha. 
• I had the Live, Laugh, Love sign already and the home interiors mirror candle sconces, these were moved from my kitchen.
• The door was lovingly made by my Amazing husband as a Christmas/anniversary gift. Our anniversary is on the 29th of December (I know weren't we crazy, two love birds wanting to marry in between college semesters).  This door belonged to the old rock house my Daddy grew up in. Hubby inset old tin off the barn in the door and wood burned our names, childrens names and birthdays, and wrote 'Livin on Love' on it. I cried huge grateful tears with this gift. I love gifts made by hand that take time and thought. They mean so much.

So there you have it. Still a work in progress. As I thrift store and flea market shop I am hoping to find some end tables to paint black, and a bookcase or armoire. 

Are you working on any makeovers in  your home?

~Marie

Linked to Liz Marie Blog

Natural Medicine Cabinet ~ Mountain Meadow Herbs

It has been a very rough winter with flu and sickness for us. Our family enjoys a real food diet, we purchase eggs,milk, and meat from our nearby dairy/farmer and I make all of our meals from scratch, with the occasional dinner out.

We have had the flu on and off for four weeks and our immune systems really needs a boost. We drink lots of herbal teas from the Bulk Herb Store. And they really help, but I truly felt our bodies needed a BIG boost. Herbal tinctures can provide that because they are a strong condensed form of the herb. 

I had been eyeing Mountain Meadow Herbs for a while and decided to place an order for some Immune Boosting Tinctures. Here is what I purchased:

*Winters Tonic Package

This package was a great deal because it combined three of the bottles I needed at a lower price, it included Winter Immune-Booster, Infant Immune Booster, and Herbal Respiratory. It was important to me to have the Infant Immune booster for the baby and since I am nursing I would need to take the Infant Immune Booster instead of the basic Winter Booster. My hubby and older children can take the Winter Immune Booster. I really liked the fact that I can take something to boost MY immune system with no dangers to the baby while nursing. Sometimes us nursing Moms can be limited with what we can take.

*European Elder Berry

This is another wonderful natural immune booster and I threw it in my order for good measure. Those times when the sickness seems to really have us down I wanted something extra.

*Liquid Calcium

Again as a nursing Mom it is so important that I get enough calcium but over the counter calcium seems to never work and does not really absorb into your system. This liquid calcium is derrived from herbs and plants, one of the best ways to get calcium for our bodies. This is now a part of my daily regimen. 

Every Wednesday Mountain Meadow Herbs runs a special bargain, this is a great time to try out some of their Herbal Extracts.

They are also offering a free 1 oz. bottle of Liquid Calcium with their special code posted on the main page of their site. This is an amazing deal!!

If you have ever considered trying Herbal Extracts I highly recommend Mountain Meadow Herbs. They are not limited to Immune boosting extracts they offer extracts for many ailments and illnesses, they specialize in herbs for men and womens health, pregnant Mommies and children.

What do you use to boost your immune system?

I am an affiliate for Mountain Meadow Herbs, when you make a purchase through my links I earn a small referral percentage of the sale.

Those who wish to sing.....

This was one of our kittens from a few years ago and I really liked this Swedish Proverb: "Those who wish to sing, always find a song"

I hope your day is filled with singing.

~Marie

Coconut Oil Oatmeal Muffins

I make these oatmeal muffins a lot. They come out of my favorite Betty Crocker that I grew up with....the 1971 version.

If your tired of your morning bowl of oatmeal this muffin is like a bowl of oatmeal on the go and tastes oh so scrumptious! My kids always gobble them right up, and I do too, not gonna lie.

When I received my jar of  Tropical Traditions Virgin coconut oil I knew I had to try it out in these. Oh mercy, I don't think I'll make them with any other oil again. Here's the recipe so you can try 'em out too.

Coconut Oil Oatmeal Muffins

1 egg

1 cup milk (I use almond or raw milk)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup coconut oil 

1 cup quick oats

1 cup of flour (all-purpose or wheat)

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

Mix all together and fill muffins cups about 2/3 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Enjoy hot or cold.

The best oil Ever!

If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you

Salted Coconut Oil Brownies

Who wants brownies? 

(Raises hand as high as possible like an eager child in a classroom....) "I do I do!" Would there be any other answer if brownies were in question?

I am loving my Tropical Traditions gold label coconut oil (more like getting spoiled with it). So I decided to try making brownies with it. Oh mercy! So glad I did that!

So was hubby. 

I made these yesterday and today I got this text, "Just a reminder to let you know how awesome your brownies were yesterday"

That translates to..."Please make more brownies...TODAY!" 

:)

And of course I did.

These are SUPER easy and SUPER yummy.

Salted Coconut Oil Brownies

Original Recipe found here

Here's what you will need:

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

(I just put it in a saucepan on the stove on med. heat for a couple min, don't over heat)

1/2 cup cocoa (I add an extra tablespoon or two for good measure)

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Mix all these ingredients together and spread in an 8" square pan that has been greased with coconut oil. Spread the batter in the pan, then take a good pinch of sea salt and sprinkle all over the top of the batter, I do this a couple of times.

Bake at 350 for 20 min. Don't overbake, these turned out perfect at 20 min. Mmmmmm

If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.

Tropical Traditions Gold Label Coconut Oil Review & Giveaway

Oh. My. Word. I am in love, okay my hubby has no need to worry...I'm just in food love. If that makes any sense. :)

Tropical Traditions so kindly sent me a free jar of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut oil and offered to give my readers a jar too. One lucky person will get a FREE 32 oz. jar of Gold Label coconut oil in a week. Are you excited yet?

Have I ever used coconut oil before? Yes

Have I ever used Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin oil? No

Is there a difference? Yes

Wow! WOW! WOW!

I have to admit I was a bit leery at first, I mean I just had a hard time imagining that this oil would actually taste good in my baked goods like pancakes, muffins, and even brownies. Boy was I in for a surprise. The flavor, texture, and moisture is phenomenal. I was expecting a dryer baked good but what I got was a yummy baked treat that was absolutely amazing.

But don't take my word for it, you've got to try some of this stuff out for yourself. We've got a super easy form below by PromoSimple that makes entering very.....well, simple. 

This week I will also be sharing recipes I have been making with my coconut oil so you can try them out too.

If you are in a toot and want to go ahead and try Tropical Traditions oil there is a link on the right of my blog that will take you to their website.

Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Our Giveaway is open up to US & Canadian residents.

Please be sure and complete the required entry of Subscribing to the email newsletter, you will need to click on the link, it will take you to the Tropical Traditions newsletter sign up page, after you sign up, check the box that says you have subscribed. You will not receive any eligible entries if you do not subscribe to their newsletter. Thank you! All other entries are bonus entries to increase your chance of winning. Have fun and tell your friends.

Disclaimer:  Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, 
and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any 
obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return 
for the free product.