Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Gluten Free Sausage Balls

Hey there! It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven't been doing a whole lot of crafting here lately...the hubs was furloughed during the government shutdown, and we have been super busy with soccer as well. Thankfully both are over. 
We now have a few weeks to breathe before the holiday rush:o)
I have been doing some baking and sewing the past few days, and just happened to have my camera handy while doing so.
I had to go gluten free after my gall bladder surgery...crazy, but kind of good as well. I have had to make healthier choices since the surgery...you can't go wrong there!
Anyway, now that the holidays are approaching, I am trying to find ways to make some of my favorite cool weather foods into gluten free renditions.
I.love.sausage.balls.
I love the taste, but I think I love them more because my mother used to make them for us all the time. Especially when we were going on vacation. That was our staple breakfast car food. Memories:o) I actually do the same thing with my kiddos on long car trips...making memories of my own now!

Most sausage ball recipes call for Bisquick...Bisquick has gluten...boo! Now that gluten intolerance is more prevalent, there are more gluten free options available in local grocery stores. I found a baking mix at Publix that is gluten free...score!
So are you wanting to try your own?
Here's what you'll need:
2 cups of Gluten Free Baking Mix(I used Namaste)
2 cups of sharp cheddar
1 pound of your favorite sausage
Work the mixture in a large bowl with both hands. You will want to make sure that all of the baking mixture is thoroughly combined with the sausage and cheese. Your arms will hate you, but your taste buds will be thanking you very soon!
Roll out into little 1"-2" balls. Place on parchment paper...makes clean-up a breeze.
Bake at 350 degrees for around 15-18 minutes. 
The taste is slightly different, but not by much. They taste super yummy and are a great option for G.F. folks!

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween! Looks like ours will get rained out, but I have a back up plan;o)
Hugs!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Got to shut it down for now...

Sorry friends I have to close the blog for now due to personal circumstances. Maybe one day in the future it will pop up again. It has been fun reading the tea-leaves of RE, and then some, for the last few years.

Wish you all health and success whichever side of the fence you are on.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

A graph to digest...

Not able to put up a proper post, just more food for thought. THIS is why so many of us are bearish (and yet we have been confounded by the tardiness of the correction)...


Source : BCA Research

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Thoughts

The Averages powered up in September per Larry's numbers.

Not altogether unexpected. While not as strong as August, September this year was a lot stronger than 2012. Was this the last of the pre-approvals going through? Certainly there seemed to be a division later in the month with lower sales/list showing up.

We have also had some big sales. As I documented earlier in the month, there were two $7 Million + sales in West Van alone (and a slew of $4-5 M sales). One was to a local buyer and one to a HAM from what I can ascertain. These numbers certainly baffle me. To spend $7 M on a house, requires a net worth at least twice that, and at a tax rate of even 30%, that's over $20 Million of earnings!

How many people have that sort of income?

Then I remembered that some banks were paying their senior executives over $10 M every year as was Telus.

MOI ends the month at over 7 for SFH and 6 for Apartments.

The bubble is not restricted to residential BTW. I spoke with a  commercial realtor a few days ago and he said there is so much money in this town looking for a home, that yields on smaller, good retail and office packages have reached silly low levels.

The money is local professionals looking for diversification, Eastern retired money and of course hot offshore money. "If there is a tenant turn-over, the lost rent and expenses associated with tenant inducements and costs can bring the yield down to zero for that year. They just want a low yield in a tangible asset that can keep up with inflation. Of course if there is a serious recession in our city, there will be a LOT of unhappy landlords".

He explained that is one reason for the high turn-over of tenants in particularly retail businesses. "The rents are just too high". For example it is cheaper for a landlord to leave a unit empty until it finally rents, even to a weaker tenant , and lose the few % return while he/she waits RATHER than lower the rent much.  If you lower the rent say 10%, that could drop the value of your property significantly in this bloated market, where every dollar of return is accounted for in the price.

Whence go we? The pre-approvals must be done. The market now sinks or swims on it's own. I suspect the HPI will still come in lower for September (it will if compiled fairly by the REBGV IMHO).

We should know soon if this is the case. As for the blog, I will be going fallow for a couple of weeks. I have a few matters to attend to and hope to be done near mid-month. If all goes well, I will return with commentary and the numbers at that time. May throw stuff in the comments from time to time.

Have a great October.

Monday, September 30, 2013

The Yummiest Popcorn Ever

Today I share with you my favorite snack recipe, stove-top popcorn. 
We gave up microwave popcorn a long time ago. After we started eating cleaner, I began to think about all of the fake stuff that is in the microwave popcorn. I always felt sick after eating it, so I decided to start popping it on the stove.
It tasted a lot better to me after cooking it on the stove top and I didn't feel sick after eating it. Super bonus!
For a while I was using canola oil, but then I started using coconut oil.
That could have been one of my best decisions:o)
I HATE coconut, but I love what this oil does to the popcorn. It's delicious.
Coconut oil is actually one of the healthiest oils out right now.
When we have a bunch of kids over to play, this is my go-to snack, and they all LOVE it! Crowd-pleasing, cheap snack-ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!!

So here's how you make it.
What you need:
Large pot with lid
Popcorn kernels
Salt
(click on the above link to order..it's cheaper on Amazon than in stores)
 Measure out 3 tablespoons. The oil is in a hardened state, but melts quickly.
Turn your stove on medium high. The oil will melt in just a few seconds.
 Pour 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels into pan, and cover with a lid.
 Once you start hearing the kernels popping, you will want to stand over the pan. I hold the lid while scooting the pan back and forth across the eye of the stove to keep the kernels from sticking to the bottom...usually about every 15-20 seconds.
There will be rapid popping kernels for about 25-30 seconds and then it will slow down to about 5-6 kernels per second. That's when I remove the pan from the heat, and let it sit for about 30 seconds. You don't want it to sit too long on the heat because the popcorn will burn and then your house will stink..no fun! Been there, done that!!
 When you remove the lid, this is what you should have.
Dump the popcorn in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. The salt will stick to the popcorn, and it's wonderful!
Let me know if you have tried it! I want to know if anyone else loves it as much as us!