FREE Gluten Free Gourmet Cookies

Do y'all use Sneakpeeq?  It's new to me but so far I have been elated with the program.  It's similar to Ruelala and Groupon (there's a great deal on Bruggers there today too!) in that it has daily deals that last a limited period of time.  The way it works though is you have to "peek" at the prices to see what kind of great deal they are offering.  You have about 20 peeks/day at first and using them up eventually earns you more peeks/day. 

Right now if you join, you automatically earn a $10 credit!

And these yummy GLUTEN FREE cookies are just $8 (plus shipping).  So you will get them for FREE (before shipping) when your credit is automatically applied!

Don't want cookies, they also sell a fun variety of housewares and clothing.  A few weeks ago I snagged four coupons for a FREE pint of Talenti gelato or sorbetto for just $7 (that includes what I paid for shipping).  The coupons are valued up to $5.99.  But per coupon, I paid just $1.75!  I can't wait to enjoy some yummy gelato when it warms up around here.

Let me know if you find anything fun from Sneakpeeq, too!

Fat Free, Gluten Free, Egg Free, and Dairy Free Cupcakes

When shared with your favorite toddler, trust me, they taste ah-maz-ing. 

I won't lie.  It was one of those projects that I thought would be quick and ended up taking about a dozen hours.  True story.  I did not use a pattern and sewed it all by hand.  Nothing was complicated.  At all.  But holy heck was this a time sucking project.  And I swore up and down that I would never attempt a felt food project again.

Seeing the fun that my Godson had playing with them though...  Makes it all so worth it. 

Next up I want to make sushi.  Because like most things in life, as time passes, so does the painful memory.  And I've convinced myself 46 other projects are a life necessity.

The pink and green with a lemon is my favorite. 

Waste Not, Want Not

Instead of a list of excuses why I've been absent from blogville, I'm just jumping back in with an easy little post.  I have missed y'all, though!

Ever have leftover whipped cream after holidays and family gatherings?  I do every year and end up just throwing it away.  Until this year.

Now I know that whipped cream is not a big deal.  Or it's not to me anyway.  But it is really nice to top a hot cup of cocoa or even coffee (If you've never tried it, you must!  So decadent) in the long cold winter months.  So I hate to throw away something that I might really enjoy in the coming weeks.

So after I was done using the vanilla bean whipped cream on apple pie, I re-whipped it to get it nice and stiff again.  Then scooped it into a zip top sandwich baggie and cut off a corner.  I piped little dollops onto a cookie sheet pan and popped it into the freezer for an hour or two.  Once frozen, I tossed the little frozen whipped cream puffs into another zip top baggie and back into the freezer.

I won't use these to top pie or berries as it will lose some of it's umph once defrosted.  But instead, I plan to take out a little whipped cream puff now and then to top cocoa or coffee.  Sounds like a good treat after spending an hour shoveling my car out of the snow!

Raspberry Nectarine Tart With Fresh Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream

I thought this was delicious.  But I like sweets with fruit.  I once had a friend tell me that he didn't consider it desert if it didn't include chocolate.  So I guess you have to decide if you care about chocolate that much.  As you might have noticed on this blog, I don't really like chocolate outside of a chip or a brownie. 

I made up this recipe as I went along but it's this super easy tart crust.  Fruit.  Here I used nectarines and raspberries.  And then you need some sort of sweet liquid with cornstarch.  And that's it, y'all!  Easy as pie.  Or tart in this case.

It must have been yummy because not a single slice was left.  A sign of a successful recipe.

For fun, I added the seeds of one vanilla bean instead of vanilla extract to my whipped cream.  A first for me and I thought it was extra fabulous.  Though I don't think a single person noticed the vanilla bean specs, I knew they were there!  I'm not sure you can really see them on these terrible quality blackberry photos but trust me, the seeds are there. 

Can you see the teeny tiny vanilla beans?  They're there...I promise!