FULL TUMMIES TUESDAY: NO BAKE, LOW-CARB CHOCOLATE GANASHE CHEESECAKE

It's a late night post, but we made it in time (at least in my time zone)! Another great Full Tummies Tuesday recipe, No bake, low-carb chocolate ganashe CHEESECAKE!

Is your mouth watering? I know mine is! 

Here's the recipe:

NO BAKE, LOW-CARB

CHOCOLATE GANACHE CHEESECAKE

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST 1 ¾ cups almond flour 2 tsp brown sugar ⅛ tsp salt FOR THE CHEESECAKE 2 (8oz.) packages cream cheese 2 cups heavy whipping cream FOR THE CHOCOLATE GANACHE 2 oz. dark chocolate (chopped) 1 oz. semisweet chocolate (chopped) 3 Tbsp heavy cream

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla ½ tsp vanilla Pinch of salt

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DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray springform pan with baking spray. Make crust:  In a small bowl, stir together almond flour, brown sugar, and salt. Pour in melted butter and mix thoroughly. Press evenly across bottom of pan with your fingers. Bake crust for 10-12 minutes Place chopped chocolates in a bowl. Heat heavy cream to a boil in the microwave or on the stovetop, then immediately remove from heat and add vanilla and a pinch of salt. Pour over chocolate and let sit 30 seconds, then stir constantly until chocolate is melted. If your chocolate doesn’t melt completely, it’s okay, just pop it in the microwave in 15 second increments, stirring between until smooth Pour ganache evenly over baked crust and spread all the way to the edges. Make the cheesecake: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with the vanilla until smooth, 1-2 minutes. add the whipping cream and 1/4 cup sugar. Beat on high until blended. Pour cheesecake filling over crust, spreading evenly with spatula. Place cake in refrigerator and chill until set. Unmold just before serving. I have found that freezing just before unmolding makes a huge difference.

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  EAT & ENJOY!

Pushing Past the Pain of Infertility

It's been 17 years and I still face moments where the pain is as fierce as the very first moment I felt it. Grief. This grief is not the loss of one's life, rather, the loss of any chance at giving life to one. Infertility; that very personal, dreaded, and dream-crushing word that no woman wants to hear. It's an emotional journey that is completely indescribable. A roller coaster ride that starts its treacherous climb with denial, anger, sadness, and confusion, then peaks with hope, faith, perseverance, and strength, only to dip back down into denial, anger, sadness, and confusion.

I look at my life now and see the blessings of having gone through such pain. The amazing transformation of who I was then into the person I am now. The reality of my seemingly unbearable circumstance that I thought impossible to endure shed light to the intense strength God gave me to continue on, encompassed by my insatiable need for His.

I never lost hope of my life long desire to have a child, although, I came pretty close. Getting up and pushing through the pain with persistence every step of the way was anything but easy. Infertility tried to undo me but I would not be undone. At long last, my husband and I found ourselves in the middle of a whirlwind adoption. God's little miracle, our little blessing, was the perfect gift at the perfect time. Suddenly, it felt like those 11 years in waiting was just a blink of an eye.

Today, I look into the deep blue eyes of my daughter and feel incredibly thankful. Thankful for the opportunity to be called "mommy". Thankful that even though not an ounce of blood that runs through her veins is mine, God still intentionally created and purposed her to be my very own little  girl forever. Thankful that when I'm having one of those painful moments of grief all I have to do is look at her sweet smile and joy washes over me. Resilient joy.

There's beautiful peace in knowing I'm living my life by Design, not by default. And it truly is as it should be.

Michelle Clevenger

Full Tummies Tuesday - Mexican Casserole

Tuesday is quickly becoming one of my favourite days to look forward to! Hurray for Full Tummies Tuesday!! Today we have here my family's favourite recipe hands down, the Mexican Casserole! It's Mexican food, in an easy casserole. It doesn't get much better than that does it?

Please let us know if you make it, and how much you love it! (Because I guarantee you will!) Here's the how-to! (Full recipe below)

In a large bowl combine cooked ground beef, onion, celery, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, beans, corn, tomato soup, ketchup, mustard, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix together.

To layer casserole, place two tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13” dish, covering the entire surface. Top with about 2 cups of meat mixture. Repeat two more times.

Finish with remaining meat sauce on top. Sprinkle cheese over contents of casserole.

Place lid or tin foil over top of the casserole dish, and cook covered for 1h at 350°F.

Remove cover and cook another 15 minutes or until cheese bubbles.

Enjoy!!

MEXICAN CASSEROLE

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INGREDIENTS

1 ½ lbs lean ground beef 1 onion (chopped) 1 ½ C celery (finely chopped) 4 tsp chili powder 1 ½ Tbsp worcestershire sauce Ketchup (to taste) Mustard (to taste

Salt & Pepper (to taste) 1 - 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans 1 (14 oz) can cream corn 1 (10 oz) can tomato soup 6 large soft tortillas ½ C grated cheddar cheese

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DIRECTIONS In a large bowl combine cooked ground beef, onion, celery, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, beans, corn, tomato soup, ketchup, mustard, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes. Mix together. To layer casserole, place two tortillas in the bottom of a 9x13” dish, covering the entire surface. Top with about 2 cups of meat mixture. Repeat two more times. Finish with remaining meat sauce on top. Sprinkle cheese over contents of casserole. Place lid or tin foil over top of the casserole dish, and cook covered for 1h at 350°F. Remove cover and cook another 15 minutes or until cheese bubbles.

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  EAT & ENJOY!

Full Tummies Tuesday - Easter Bird's Nest Treats

Welcome to Full Tummies Tuesday, Easter edition!

It's almost that time of year again when we celebrate our Lord's resurrection! And of course, the time of year for chocolate bunnies, chocolate eggs... pretty much chocolate anything. So all in all it's a pretty awesome holiday!

Today we're sharing with you an easy and fun Easter snack to make with kids! We hope you can get the chance to try them at home and tell us how it went!

EASTER

BIRD’S NEST TREATS

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INGREDIENTS

1 pkg chocolate chips 6 C of cereal flakes (corn flakes, bran flakes, etc)

Mini Egg candies (candy coated chocolates, jelly beans, chocolate malts, etc)

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DIRECTIONS Pour the chocolate chips into the bowl and heat in increments of 30 seconds. I did the 30 seconds three times and it was perfectly melted and easy to stir. Pour in half of the cereal and stir until well coated. Pour in the rest and continue to stir until well coated. Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins. You can make them as big or small as you'd like. Put the candy eggs on top of the nest, but beware! Some of those candy eggs are sneaky and end up in your mouth! Put the muffin tin in the fridge for at least an hour to chill. No need to cover. They are ready when the chocolate has hardened and the best holds its shape. Now you can lick the bowl and spoon! Or if you're really nice, you can let your kiddos handle that part!

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  EAT & ENJOY!