Cake Mix Samoas cookies

 
It was a Wednesday evening and all I wanted to do was bake but, problem was I didn't have many ingredients on hand. I had cake mix ,no powder sugar, only a few eggs, vegetable shortening and no butter. Then I remembered that on the box of cake mix their  always advertising that you can make other things with the cake mix. So why not give it a try. I know I wanted to add coconut and I wanted to use chocolate. The more I thought about it the more macaroons came to mind. Funny thing is after I had one of the cookies Samoas girls scout cookies came to mind. So I guess you can say I was inspired by a macaroon but my cookie is more like a samoas girl scout cookie. In my opinion. So today I'm going to share with y'all my cake mix samoas cookies. Let me know what you think and send me a picture if you make them.

Cake mix samoas cookies

 Cookie base:

 Chocolate cake mix (I used Duncan Hines but you can use whatever)

2 eggs

1/2 cup cooking oil or coconut oil


Topping:

about 1lb of melting chocolate

1/4-1/2 cup shredded coconut

1-4 tablespoons coconut oil

About 20 pieces of caramels

 Mix together the cake mix, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup cooking oil or coconut oil and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. The dough will be thick but don't worrier it's fine. Roll about a tablespoon of dough into a ball and line a cookie sheet . bake for 10-11 minutes at 350.

Melt the caramel pieces in a double boiler or in the microwave. Add the shredded coconut and mix well. Sit aside.

When cookies are cooled prepare a double boiler to melt the chocolate. Add chocolate to the double boiler and add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil at a time to thin the chocolate. Once melted dip or cover the bottom of the cookies with the chocolate. Place the cookies on a pan with covered side faced up and freeze for about 5 minutes. When hard flip cookies over and top with caramel covered coconut. Drizzle with remaining chocolate and refigerate to allow chocolate to set. You can also drizzle with caramel.

The "married " question

 I'm not the type of person who expresses my deep feelings today however I wanted to share a feeling I have towards that one question. What's the question you ask? It's the are you "married" question. The one where someone asks you " are you married"? Which you reply with "no".  Then they begin to ask you "Are you looking to get married"? "How old are you"? You don't want to wait too long. Or "Oh so are you in school"? In the Muslim community where I live most people my age are married with kids or the ones how aren't get asked this question on a daily. When you are my age and aren't married they think something is wrong with you. I don't understand why a man can be in his 30's and not married but when it's a woman she must have something wrong with her. Or she must be  very picky. Why can't I simple be waiting to I'm ready to be married and make that commitment. Marriage is a big step in life that's not something you simple jump into. Marriage is something your suppose to be committed to for the rest of your life. There are a lot of things that a person must have before they are ready and if I  don't have some of those things why look to get married. In the end the marriage will most likely end. It hurts every time someone ask me that question. I feel less like a young women and more like a little kid. You begin to question the way you have chosen to live your life. Now however I'm at the place where I get mad whenever I get asked this question. It's to the point where I just want to scream at the person who asked the question. I have to remind myself that this is Allah's plan for me and I have to except it and the ones around me have to except it. If it was meant for me to be married a long time ago say 16 then I would have been. So before you jump to ask the are you "married" question try to think about your Muslim sisters feelings and thoughts about the matter. I ask Allah to for give us if we have wronged one another with this matter.Amen I ask Allah to make the ones how are looking to get married journey easy for them.Amen Insha'Allah I will be back next week.

Project Ele by Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nukels

Author: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels

Pages: 231(ebook) 338(paperback) 

Stars:  ****

Overview: Millions have died and many more are dying. To preserve the human race project ELE is put into place. Since the earth is heating up fast people are sent to F.E.M.A shelters. Willow is a 15 year old girl who must adapt to her new life inside the shelter. She has to make new friends,work full time, and have her first relationship. After coming across some interesting things Willow and her friends begin to have strange abilities. Willow and her friends sat out to solve what these new abilities means but there may be a price to pay. 


My review: Willow is a like able teen who finds out that living inside won't just be a joy ride. She most work now and go to school. This book had some funny points and a small amount of sad points. The book totally took a turn that i didn't see coming. The ending makes you feel that you need to read the next book who you will be kind of lost. I gave it 4 stars because I'm not sure if I like it or not. while there was a point where I could not put the book down and was laughing out loud the turn it took was just kind of different in my opinion. I think the ending is what made me confused and I don't know why. The ending kind of left you hanging I guess that's why their are more books to be read.

Islamic apps that I love

Today wanted to share with you all some Islamic apps that I love and find helpful. I have an android phone so I don't know if these apps are available for other devices.

    Important lessons by Fawaid apps
This app contains 18 lessons that every Muslim should know. It is from the work of shaykh Abdul Azeez Ibn Baz. One lesson this app contains is about the 6 nullifying acts of ablution. I love this app because it compacts some important lesson in one place that you can take along with you. It's right at hand for quick reminders.

  Are we forced or do we have free will is a ebook.It is a booklet translation Sharh Hadeeth Jibra'eel by Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saleh al-Uthaimeen. It explains the 4 levels of Eeman(faith) in the Divine Decree, Allah's Will, Allah's Decree, and many other things. I find that this ebook breaks down the understanding Divine Decree in a why that makes it clear. Nice app to have if your on the go and want to read a book but don't want to carry a book with you.

This app is by AbdurRahman.org
It provides you with Islamic knowledge according to Quran and sunnah.
They once had a website that I would read from but the website is no longer working.

 This app has daily Duaa's and Azkar that are simple. I love that it has duaa's that you can say after Salat, in morning, ones for the evening and others. There is even a little star that you can click to add a dua to your Favorites and you can access that dua without going through all the others. There is even a missed Rakah that shows you with pictures the correct procedure to do if you missed Rakahs in Salat.













These are just some of the Islamic apps I love. I would love to hear what apps you have/ love so  leave a comment. Till next time Assalmualkium

United we spy by Allay Carter (book review)

Author: Ally Carter
pages: 293
Stars: *****
Overview: Cammie and her friends finally know why the Circle of Cavan has been hunting her. Now with that knowledge the spy girls and Zach must track down the leaders and stop they before they implement a master plan that will change Cammie and her country forever. The Gallagher girls have grown up. Cammie's memories are still a little foggy but that does not stop her ability to stand for what is right and what she believes in. Cammie and her friends go through a roller coaster of attacks and emotions. It starts  off with Cammie and her mom undercover tracking one circle leader. Only to be attacked by the unforgettable Catherine Goode. This is the start of many more attacks from Circle members. In the mist of it all Cammie and her friends must decide what they want to do with the rest of there lives. Because graduation is right around the corner.

 My review: I absolutely love Ally Carter writing. You hang on by every word and never want to put down the book. But you have too. From the start of the book to the end I was excited to see what was going to happen. Each character grow up to be strong girls/guys. I have grown with this book and I love how each year the girls grow as well. United we spy had a lot of action that kept you wanting more. Big secrets where reviled that I didn't see coming. Special moments are going to happen and sad ones where you think people are going to die. Page 285 holds one of my favorite quotes from Zach "I will never see you again". I wont tell you why I love it so much or who he was saying it too,but when you read it you might get why I loved it. But to be honest I don't really know why this made me laugh so hard. Read the book and you will fall in love with the Gallagher girls all over again.

 If you read this book let me know what you thought and InshaAllah I will back with another post. Assalmualkium
 


 

Ramadan 2015

  The Prophet(SallAllahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
 "The five daily prayers,Jumuah to Jumuah and Ramadhaan to Ramadhaan will expiate what is between them, as long as the major sins are avoided."[Bukharaa]

And he said:" He who fast Ramadhaan believing in Allah and hoping for his reward, Allah will forgive what has proceeded from his sins. He who stands in prayer in the month of Ramadhaan believing in Allah and hoping for his reward ,Allah will forgive what has proceeds from his sins. And he who stands in prayer on the night of power believing in Allah and hoping for his reward, Allah will forgive what has proceeded from his sins." {Bukharaa and Muslim}
 
  The month of Ramadan is near or may have started depending on when you see this post. The last 3 weeks or so my local Masjid started doing classes and having lectures based on Ramadan. There where I believe 2 guest speakers Moosaa Richardson and Omar Quinn. They broke down and explained the meaning behind fast,where it is located in Hadith, information about topics that people are uncertain about, etc. If you are interested in hearing the talks you can hear them on spreaker. 

    How have I been preparing for Ramadan? I have been preparing for Ramadan by fasting, planing out what to eat for suhoor, and what meals to make for iftar. Having a plan for what to eat for suhoor and iftar makes it easy to get in and out of the kitchen quick. Fasting is not about beginning in the kitchen cooking for people its about becoming closer to Allah. Its abut taking the time to study. About helping others ie. feeding the poo.About reading the Quran and trying to have an understanding of it. Its about late night worship.


    Insha'Allah I plan to do more of all these things and more. Insha'Allah this ramadan is peaceful and brings some happiness to us all. May Allah answer all of you duaa's. may you all grow stronger in you deen and emman.  Assalmualkium

Garden past and present

What gives you a little bit of peace in your day? For me gardening and doing yard work along with some other things gives me a bit of peace. I have be gardening for a couple years now and each year I learn something new. Whatever I learned/learn about gardening comes from books,YouTube, searching the web and trial and error. Each year I get a little bit better and a little more brave.

Last spring/summer I had one of my best seasons. I planted carrots, bell pepper, basil,parsley, and lettuce. I used seeds for all of them this time around. The bell pepper plant was a gift from my grandma and it came with 3 pots and seeds. After the bell peppers grow I planted them into the ground outside. This was something new I tried as I have only planted in containers. Three plants produced 4 bell peppers. Since I started late in the season that was all the plants produced. I did have problems with spiders so I sprayed the plants with Epsom salt and water. I also cut some cardboard and wrapped it around the base of the plant so that the spiders couldn't climb up.

The basil and parsley also grow well but the parsley ended up dying. A carrot did end up growing but it was later in the season and there was only one. I still have had no success with lettuce so did is one that I want to master. In the pass successes I planted hot pepers and tomatos And it worked out great.

This season I plan on planting squash,cucumbers, hot pepers, and carrots all in containers this time around. I want to try vertical gardening for the squash and cucumbers but we will see. If any one has tips for growing lettuce,squash,, or cucumbers i'll love to hear it.