Sunday, April 12, 2009

Here I am!!!



This pic was taken on March 29th. I do not remember where we were going but I do remember the outfit. Oh wait! I remember now! We were going to Home Depot to check out new bathroom and kitchen fixtures and refrigerators. Okay...

Anyway, Happy Easter! To all who are celebrating. We are having a ham (cooked in the crockpot) greens, potatoes, and cheesecake for dessert. We are also taking a couple of loads of stuff to the new house. So... we aren't actually REALLY celebrating, but then again... we are. I remembered to purchase a little bit of Easter candy for the family. I got a sugar free chocolate bunny. Thomas got a set of small Reese brand peanut butter bunnies. Pete got a package of yellow Peeps (which he actually likes).

So there I am. My back has been hurting something fierce. Don't know why. I haven't been lifting things that were too heavy or over-doing. That's a fact. I should have had way more done than I have. But I digress... My sugar is just a taddy high, but it usually is this time of the month. Hopefully I'll feel better in a few days. I haven't really been bad, as far as diet, just still not exercising. But who has time? We did order pizza for supper last night. I had Spinach pizza with bacon and shrooms. I love the Spinach pizza from Papa John's. It's really good. Maybe not so good FOR you, but good tasting, that's for sure. Anyway, it is one of their lower caloric choices but that didn't really go into my choice. I chose it because I love it. And I'm not going to get down on myself for it. I've been working hard and I deserve a treat every once in a while. So there! :-)

Hope you are all having a lovely holiday. See you guys later (soon, I hope).

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Southern Dump Cake for Diabetics

I love Dump Cake. It's so yummy. And it's a true Southern Tradition. I'm not sure when it originated or who thought of it first... but who ever it was was a genius.
However... being diabetic makes it kinda of an off-limits item. It's not really even very good for you if you aren't a diabetic.

However... thanks to more sugar-free items becoming available on southern grocery store shelves, one can enjoy a less unhealthy version. Which myself and my family actually liked better than the original. So... instead of posting a picture of myself today or anything like that, I thought I would share this recipe with you all:

Ingredients
1 box Pillsbury's Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Reduced Sugar cake mix
1 20 ounce can Comstock More Fruit Light Cherry Pie Filling
1 20 ounce can Dole Pineapple Tidbits in juice (no sugar added)
1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, your choice of nuts. Or use large shred coconut (sometimes called coconut chips)
1 stick light butter, melted. Or use equivalent amount (half cup) of other nutritionally sound oil such as mild olive oil, walnut oil, or avocado oil. I used light butter this time, but I intend to play around with it and see which ones work best. My guess is that different oils will work better with different fruits... not so?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

This is the way you put it together:
Spread the cherry pie filling in the bottom of a 13x9 pan. I use a heavy glass baking pan for this. Pour pineapple tidbits (or crushed pineapple) on top of the cherries. Sprinkle the entire box of cake mix evenly over the top of the fruit. Sprinkle the chopped nuts, or coconut chips (if using) over the top of the dry cake mix. Now drizzle the melted butter (or alternate oil) slowly over the dry cake mix and nuts. Note that you must not stir this dessert at any time. Trust me. It will all work out. Layer your items and put on the middle rack of your preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how high or low your oven burns.

This was a beautiful Dump Cake and more delicious than the original. The fruit tasted "fruitier" and "brighter", not as cloyingly sweet as the regular kind of Dump Cake. The cake mix didn't taste any different than any other full-sugar store bought cake mix I've ever had. I would encourage anyone and everyone to make this version of a Southern Classic. I would not recommend eating it every day... but if you know you are going to eat one anyway... why not have this less dietarily offensive version?

I will be experimenting with this recipe. The cherry and pineapple version is my very most favorite, but Thomas has just asked if I could make an apple version. I think that might be my next try. Apple Walnut Dump Cake anyone?