Wellness – LifeAccording2Ashley

Baking Mini Apple Pies

October 8, 2021 No Comments

My favorite way to make mini apple pies, I always get the premade graham cracker crusts. When I make the mini pie this may be a baking cheat but it makes life a little easier when trying to figure out how to make mini pies. Filling recipe inspired by my friend Vanessa Treus, who is a fabulous bakery in her own right.

Preheat for 375 Cook just the apples in the cust tins for 10 minutes and then add the crumble crust and bake again for 10-15 minutes more. You can make at least 12 mini pies if not more.

Filling
6 large apples, peeled and thin small slices
2 1/2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Oatmeal crust Crumble
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cups loosely packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Place the apples into a large bowl and then mix in the flour, cinnamon, and sugar. Use a spatula to mix everything once everything is mixed then add in the butter and vanilla extract. Make sure to take some of the liquid from the bowl and add it into the pie to keep everything from becoming dry.

Crust

Combine the oats, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use your hands or a fork to crumble it up. Sprinkle it evenly over the apples.

Wellness

Being single in your mid 30’s

May 3, 2021 No Comments

Being single in your mid 30’s can be a weird place to be especially when you are a woman. Growing up you watch all the romantic movies or TV shows where you see people falling in love, getting married having a family most of the time before everything happened before or in their early 30’s range. Well, real life isn’t that easy or even simple or happens so smoothly. Within this whole post, I am truly just talking from my perspective and how I have decided to go about things.

Sometimes that ticking clock or the stress of the timeline you get into your head when you are growing up can not only be scary but depressing once you hit your 30s and start to feel like you have fallen behind the pack. It’s never fun to look around see all your friends getting married, having babies, and then there you are not hitting any of those milestones. I know for myself; I’ve had a moment of anxiety or even just feeling like I’ve failed. Now do not get me wrong I am so happy for my friends who have found their person and have fallen in love with their little ones.

This last year, I have accepted that I need to let go of that timeline and accept maybe marriage and kids are not in the cards for me. This isn’t a “feel bad for me” kind of mindset but a calm acceptance of a changed timeframe. It is a learning of being content being single. This does not mean that content means “always happy” – I am not always happy being single, but I am content. Being content is a way better place to be in then being miserable and sad. When I say content there is a sense of peace for me that comes with the word.

I am determined to not be that single girl who becomes bitter or not happy for others, I celebrate all of my friend’s milestones and happiness. I realized the healthiest way for me to be ok with where my life currently is, was by letting go of what I view now as pipe dreams. Could they come about, could I find someone? Absolutely, that can happen and honestly, I hope I do find the “right guy for me” someday, but I do not want to get that feeling of fear that I need to just get with the next man who decides they want to be with me because there is always a chance they may not be the right one or even a healthy relationship.

Learning to be content with my current life hasn’t been an easy journey it’s been one that’s sucked at times but then every stage in life has sucked at one time or another. Right now, I feel lighter, I am enjoying just living my life, allowing myself to grow, being by myself, and finding the joy of being in my own skin. They say you can’t find love till you love yourself, but I guess the first step is to enjoy the alone time. Do I love my current single life completely no not really but I enjoy who I currently am and who I am becoming so if that means being single is part of that process that works for me. I do enjoy being single at times, no one ever fully happy being single I do not think but if you can find the joy in it then you are doing something right. I have zero desire to try to date, maybe part of that is a fear of not wanting to get hurt or afraid to trust, but another part of that is just being ok in my skin by myself.

I will tell you one of the worst things I hate hearing, “you’ll find someone when you least expect it” it’s such a fluff statement to me. It’s something people say when they do not know what else to say and want you to “feel better” about being single and I feel it gets thrown at you way more once you hit that 30 marks and you are alone with no sign of a ring or a future with someone. I do not need fluff statements; I do not need to be made to feel better. If I find a guy and something happens, I am completely open to it, but I’m not going to sit here and wish on a star of hope for Mr. Right to come along.

I am not sad; I am not depressed I do not feel a sense of poor me, I actually feel empowered now, a sense of pride for being able to get to this place. My own perspective is that for me at least this is a positive, healthy mindset and sometimes you just can’t figure out how to get to that healthy place until you let go of those hopes and dreams you may be stressing over. At least this was the case for me, this is what I needed to do to get to this content place in my life. I would much rather be single, and content than be single and crying thinking of the timeline that isn’t there at this current moment in time. The how I’m falling behind the mark or I need to catch up to my friend’s lives is gone from my mind. I felt like this at one point and it did suck for me it wasn’t the place or mindset I even wanted. Now do not get me wrong I am not in this place of “I am never getting married”, “I am swearing off men” no that is not the thoughts in my head or my goals. Would I love to get married be happy with a guy and feel loved absolutely, and if it happens, I will be thrilled but sometimes you have to be realistic that it may not, and it’s ok. Who knows where my path will take me but ill allowing time to do its thing and see where I go from here?

In the mid-30s and being single is an interesting place to be and I’m content in my interesting place and where the journey will take me.

Wellness

Easter Cupcakes

April 5, 2021 No Comments

I love baking it’s one of the joys in life for me to be honest, it is my happy place being able to bake for others is my type of self wellness at times. This year I decided to make two different types of cupcakes for Easter. A vanilla cupcake with brownie icing and a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream icing, best of both worlds in my option. I think the trick for me is to always have bright and fun cupcake wrappers. With the Easter cupcakes, I used multiple colors just to make everything look festive and bright.

I am the type who does not like to feel rushed when I am baking so I made the cupcakes on Friday night, I kept them in an airtight sealed container to make sure they stayed fresh. Which they will if you make sure to put them in the container as soon as they have cooled enough. Saturday I then made both types of icing, I worked on one type at a time to keep things as fresh as possible, once I had all of the Vanilla buttercreams on their appointment cupcakes I started to have some fun with decorating. Some I left with just the icing which looked so pretty I have to say, others I took a shredded coconut and a drop or two of green food dye and mixed together to make it looks like grass. Once I added my “grass” I took a couple of jell beans and placed them in the middle to give a cute little look. For some of the cupcakes, I placed a bunny peep in the middle of and for those I added a little extra icing to make sure the peep stayed in place on the cupcake. Then a couple got just a few jelly beans on their own, I always try to use different colors to give an extra pop. There are so many fun ways to make a cute and festive cupcake display for the holidays.

Below are my recipes for the vanilla and chocolate cupcake batter as well as the brownie frosting and the vanilla buttercream icing.

Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
Ingredients
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, have it at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup very hot water
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl and whisk together.
Combine the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in another bowl or I prefer to use a Kitchen Aid and whisk together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is fully combined.
Add the hot water to the batter and mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until combined. The batter should be thin by this point.
Fill cupcake liners half full, then bake for 18-21 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs when used to test a cupcake.
Cool completely before frosting.

Fluffy Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 cup Melted Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup Granulated sugar
• 1 Egg Large
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
In a bowl mix the flour and baking powder. Then place that to the side.
In another mixing bowl or your kitchen Aid, mix the melted butter and sugar until everything is combined. Make sure the sugar is completely combined with no clumps or when you get to the bottom of your batter you will be scooping a ton of sugar.
I then will add in the Vanilla extract next let that combine with everything for a little.
Once the batter looks good then I add in the egg, sour cream, milk, and mix until smooth.
Finally, dumpy the dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
Pour batter in cupcake liners, I tend to use a tool to allow for a cleaner tranfer.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or always double check by inserting a toothpick in the center to see if it comes out clean. I tend to wait until the edge is golden. Allow the cupcakes to cool down and then, frost each of them.

Brownie Frosting:
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2- 2/3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup whole milk
Make sure the butter is at room temperature you should let it sit out for a couple of hours before you start the process. First, add the butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy to your Kitchen aid or bowl. Once those items have combined well then beat in cocoa and vanilla. Finally, add enough milk until the frosting achieves spreading consistency. It should be a light brown color; I normally use the whisking attachment for the Kitchen Aid to make this frosting.

Vanilla buttercream frosting:
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Place the softened butter and the powdered sugar into the bowl with your Kitchen Aid. Whip until everything is fluffy and combined completely.
Then add in the vanilla and heavy whipping cream. Let everything mix together until the frosting looks nice and light and fluffy.

Wellness

Baking is Therapy

November 30, 2020 No Comments

For me one of the best ways to get me out of my head is to bake. Last week i was in a weird head place nothing seemed to work so i decided to do one of my favorite things… BAKE… right now its Christmas baking which is always the best kind of baking. I will make a bunch of cookies freeze them and then when it gets closer to Christmas i will make platters or tins to give out to people.

I made one of my favorite cookies right here, as my family likes to call them Thumb Prints. They are a Jelly filled cookie and i think they taste amazing. If you would like to try to make this cookie the recipe below, please let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 Cups All- Purpose Flour
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 sticks of unsalted butter ( let it sit out get to room temp before using)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Then i will use a couple different types of preserves such as Raspberry, Grape, Apricot or Orange. The different colors tend to make everything look so pretty. I normally buy a 13oz jar or each of the types i decide to use and then add as much as i feel is needed.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a non stick baking pan which i have and it is amazing.

Add the Butter and sugar into your kitchen aid, start at a low speed as it starts to mix together you can increase the speed, i will switch off my mixer at times to scrap down the bowl as sometimes the butter and sugar mix will stick to the sides of the bowl. As that is mixing in a separate bowl start to mix your flour, baking powder and salt together.

Then add in the vanilla and egg to the wet ingredients, I tend to speed up the mixer to make sure everything combines nicely before I start to add in my dry ingredients. You can either slowly mix your dry ingredients in or as i tend to do turn off the mixer then add all of the dry ingredients in. Turn the mixer onto the slow speed let everything mix together, i will switch off my mixer at times to scrap down the bowl to make sure everything is combining together nicely.

Once everything is mixed together bring your bowl over to your baking sheets. I will then roll the dough into small balls and set them on the sheet. I will let the dough set while i work on the second baking sheet this allows the dough not to be as sticky, so once i make the “thumb print” it will not stick. I do not actually use my thumb i found using the back of a clean teaspoon tends to work so much better to make the circle you really want. After you complete this step, you then add in the preserve.

Bake the cookies until the edges are golden, which is normally at least 15 minutes.

Let the cookies cool and then you can add additional powder sugar to the tops of the cookies.

Wellness

Stepping outside my comfort zone one small step at a time.

August 18, 2020 No Comments

The great outdoors-

This may sound strange to some, but I’ve never been an outdoors kind of girl. I do not enjoy the smell of wet grass, cut grass any type of grass to say the least. Growing up I was a girl scout and the worst thing in the world was when we had to go “camping” mind you it was in a cabin, but I still slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. My friends for years have tried to get me to go tubing down the Delaware Watergate, nope never has happened.

Now do not get me wrong I love flowers and the beach and clear blue water, give me any of those things and I will forever be a happy girl. When it comes to dirt and bugs, whatever else tends to deal with the outdoors. I am pretty much just a baby at the end of the day.

So, you may wonder what’s stepping outside of my comfort zone in regard to the outdoors. Well I will tell you and I am sure many will laugh. I have taken up walking, to me that is a big thing, just going on a walk that lasts a couple miles outside is something very new and different for me. I would have preferred a treadmill or elliptical of you would have asked me that question about a year ago. However, being outside walking up the hills, down the hills in my town, it’s something I’ve grown very fond of and it has become so freeing in a sense. It has become my time to clear my head to just listen to my music and challenge myself to walk a little further each time.

The idea of possibly doing a hike does not sound so scary anymore. Maybe I can finally do one without feeling like I’m going to not be able to do it or fall. Whether I figure out how to get over my fear of snakes, well that’s another story completely. what small step out of your comfort zone are you taking?.

Wellness

Keep Calm and Bake!

July 8, 2020 No Comments

One of the best ways for me to get out energy or when I’m really upset is to bake. I can throw my focus my mind into creating something delicious. Also, if you are doing any part of it by hand it becomes a workout. For me this is a perfect way of having alone time, not talking to anyone if I am not in the mood to but still do something that’s in a positive way. Whenever I am upset, I decide to try a new recipe something completely different then I have tried before.

This allows me to not think solely about whatever issue I maybe dealing with at the time. I can work on processing everything out but not overthinking because I have to make sure I’m adding in the correct amount of sugar or flour at the same time. Hand mixing cookie dough has become my favorite way to release aggression. Below is one of my most recent recipes, which turned out amazing Oreo cupcakes with an Oreo frosting.

The one trick I have learned is to never bake for myself. When I bake i will always give the desserts to others which in the very end gives me such joy. Do not get me wrong sometimes I wish I was just eating everything I was baking and maybe i will cheat here and there and eat a little bit. When i start the process it maybe creating something from a place of hurt or just so overly stressed but in the end, it becomes something that turns into great good. Seeing people enjoy the item I baked, fills my heart each time. It has become the perfect recipe of a healthy way to release whatever i am going through at the very least it has for me.

Cupcake Recipe below:
Cupcake Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups milk (I tend to use 2%)
Crushed 15 Double stuffed Oreo’s

For the frosting:
3 sticks (1 ½ cups) Unsalted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
13 double stuff Oreo’s, crushed
1–2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream.

Instructions:
For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
Next mix in the sour cream and beat until well combined.
Add baking powder and salt and beat on low speed, once you have everything mixed together add half the flour and the while pouring in half of the milk and mix just until the flour starts to incorporate.
Finally add the remaining flour, mixing on low speed while pouring in the remaining milk and beating until all the ingredients are well combined.

Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed

In a large Ziploc bag, crush the Oreos into small pieces using a spoon, your hands, a rolling pin or anything you really want. Fold the crushed Oreos into the cupcake batter.
I took a Pyrex Measuring Cup filling it with the cupcake batter and started to pour it into the cupcake tray. This allowed me to control how much I was putting into each section and caused such less mess for me it was amazing.

Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes depending on the type of stove you have so for mine I set my timer to 20 minutes and then judged from there. Test the cupcakes by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cupcake. Once the toothpick comes out clean, that’s your proof that the cupcakes are done.
For the frosting: Cut the butter into small pieces, I normally leave the butter out as I am making the cupcake batter to allow it to soften. If you have a kitchen Aid just use the paddle attachment, whip the butter for 3-4 minutes, check the paddle every once in a while, to see if you need to scrape down the butter that maybe on the paddle or on the sides of the bowl. You are going to want to beat the butter until it looks lighter in color or fluffier.

Then I will add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing on low speed until it’s incorporated into the butter. Slowly increase the speed to high and beat for 30-60 seconds. Repeat until all your powdered sugar has been added. I then let the mixer keep going after i added in all of the sugar while I started to crush the Oreo’s.
Put the Oreo’s in a large freeze zip lock bag and crush them. Add the crushed Oreo’s to the frosting along with the heavy whipping cream. Slowly beat the crumbs into the frosting then beat at a high speed for 60 seconds. I added the heavy whipping cream slowly and did not measure it out, I just added as much as I felt it needed a little at a time.

In a large piping bag fitted with a large closed star tip, pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes or you can take a spatula and spread the icing directly onto the cupcake in a circles motion if you do not have anything to pipe the frosting with.

NOTES:
You can you one family style double stuffed Oreo pack.
I basically just used a spoon and my hands to crumble the cookies until I was happy with the size of everything.

Wellness

A little dirt never hurt anyone

June 9, 2020 1 Comment

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would enjoy gardening, I do not like dirt, never have been an outdoors person. As I mentioned in a previous post I am trying to step outside my comfort zone. Before it was getting out for a walk which sounds crazy to some but to me it was a step hopefully in the right direction. I decided a little while ago I wanted my backyard to feel pretty for a change, this has also given me a great distraction during a really gloomy time.

I knew I needed a garden bed. It makes life a lot easier when you decide to finally get a little dirt under your nails. If you are like me who needs something very simple and easy without needing to figure out how to nail part A to section B then I have the garden bed for you make sure to scroll to the bottom to see the links I attached. The next step is figuring out what I wanted to plant, I have always loved colorful flowers. The bright vibrant colors just make me happy. I also wanted to try my hand at vegetables because why not this is the time to try new things and if i fail at least i gave it a shot.

I decided to make my own little what I have named the Italian garden. I bought some Tomatoes, Basil, Hot Peppers, Garlic and some spinach. I went to my local garden center and bought all the plants except the spinach which I ended up deciding to do a challenge and I got seeds. I planted the vegetables in the center of the garden bed, and then lined the edges of the bed with flowers. I did a combination of some seeds and then planted a couple plants as well. I fell in love with one type of plant called Celosia. There are so many different bright colors for this plant. How could I not get a couple plants. I also planted Marigolds seeds which are supposed to help keep bugs away.

The very last photo is the comparison of a month different with my garden box from when i first planted everything to now with everything growing a little. I can not wait to see how much my little garden truly grows.

Garden box: Price $33

Wellness

Let’s Talk Carbs

June 8, 2020 No Comments

Let’s talk carbs, as a jersey girl who comes from an Italian American household, carbs are a part of your everyday life. Bread and butter was the go to snack when you were waiting for dinner or you ate it with dinner. Sunday pasta days, pizza during lent on Friday’s. Now you may wonder, so if she’s been eating carbs since birth basically how on earth could she give them up because that’s basically what i did.

April 2019 I made the decision that I needed to change up my diet, and work to lose weight. I also found out due to the issues with my neck i really could not workout so focusing on what i was eating was all i could really do. The first month was the biggest struggle of my life, what could I eat, what should I eat, how many carbs were in xyz.

Everyone who stops eating carbs for different reasons, some due to an allergy some for diet or just a lifestyle/ health change. When i started down this no carb path it was strictly for diet reasons. I figured let me drop some weight, reset my body, get in a good rhythm of healthy eating and i can go back to eating my italian bread and butter whenever i want. Well I was so wrong with that mindset. What started out on a diet journey became a health journey.

Slowly the longer I was not consuming carbohydrates the better my body felt and then when i “slipped” and ate something like bread, pizza, pasta anything along those lines i would start to feel horrible. I would feel heavy and sluggish, something i never noticed before when i was eating whatever i felt like. Before i gave up carbohydrates i had arthritis flare ups in my ankle so bad at one point i thought i had actually fractured it. I went back to my doctor in january after giving up carbohydrates for almost a year at that point and she told me there wasn’t any sign that I even had arthritis in my ankle.

Now i am not saying giving up carbohydrates is the thing to do, because everyone is different and everyone works differently. All I am doing is sharing my experience and my perspective, this is what ended up working for me. If you haven’t figured out by now i’m not going back to the carb lifestyle, cauliflower has become my best friend. I love cauliflower pizza and it’s my guilty pleasure. If I want pasta I do like chickpea or lentil pasta which has a lot less carbohydrates. Sometimes when i need a break from everything i will do a meal or a day where i just eat vegetables, roasted or raw though i have always loved veggies even before i switched up my diet.

Within one year with only really exercising the last two maybe three months very lightly i was able to lose 32 pounds. Since hitting the one year mark I have continued to lose weight which is a really amazing feeling. If i can figure out what works best for me then i know anyone can figure it out for themselves.