Cause Sometimes You Feel Like a Little Chocolate

I'm on a diet and I love to bake.

What am I supposed to do there. *Sigh* So, the no candy deal hasn't been a problem. Maybe that's why it was so easy for me to give it up. I'm not gonna lie. Today at the grocery store that Twix bar looked mighty tasty. Especially after a 3 mile run this morning. I didn't give in to that craving for chocolate BUT what to do?

In search for something to satisfy this sweet tooth and not throw off my diet I came across a chocolate cake. I see the words Chocolate and Cake and I can't help but get interested. I've made lots of cake in my day and this one seemed simple enough. So, I got my two little helpers and we made a cake.

Quick, simple and tasty! If you are craving some chocolate, whip up this cake and enjoy. Just for your info., if you cut this baby up in 12 pieces each one is 6 Weight Watchers Points Plus. Now that's something I can feel good about. :)

This is not a measly little piece. It's nice chunk of chocolatey goodness.

Chocolate Cake for the Health Conscience
1 spray cooking spray

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa, powder
1/2 cups sugar, granulated
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp table salt
1 1/4 cups fat-free skim milk
3 large egg whites
2 Tbsp regular butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cups water, boiling
1 Tbsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 9- X 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.


In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt; mix well with a fork to combine.

In another large mixing bowl, combine milk, egg whites, melted butter and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, mix on low speed until blended; gradually beat in boiling water.

Gradually add flour mixture to milk mixture and mix on low speed until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan, on a wire rack.

Sift powdered sugar over cooled cake before cutting into 12 pieces. We topped ours with fat free whipped topping and banana slices. Yum!
 
Source: Weight Watchers
 
And please don't mind the dust, our blog will be under construction in the coming weeks. Thanks!

Menu Monday

Another week gone, and we are almost into February!  Can you believe it?!  I can't.  Time seems to be flying lately.  We had such a busy week last week.  My baby boy turned 1, and I have been trying to get him to sleep in his crib for naps.  I'm also weaning him, so let's just say it's been a very challenging week.  He is starting to get the hang of things, but I think it's gonna take some more time.  I can't wait to get my bed back and not sleep in one position all night long. 

Anyhoo...Here's my menu for the week.

Monday
Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Tuesday
Crockpot Chili

Wednesday
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Thursday
Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Friday
Sweet and Sour Chicken

Saturday
Pizza!

Sunday
Pot Roast and Mashed Taters and Gravy

Happy Monday!!



Moni's Menu

Monday
Mexican Casserole

Tuesday
Ham Fried Rice

Wednesday
French Dips (A request from Ben.)

Thursday
Spinach Bacon Mushroom Quesadillas

Friday
Spaghetti

Saturday
Tuna Noodle Casserole

Sunday
Meatloaf

Have a great week!!!

Passing on the Good Stuff...

Is it Friday already?! Wow, this week flew by for some reason. I just wanted to link up some recipes I tried this week. Both were delicious and easy. I love delicious and I'm very fond of easy. :) I guess with the Chinese New Year being this past week I was feeling like some Asian food. Anyway, just in case you are doing your grocery shopping this week, here are a couple of recipes to try.

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken


We tried these last night. Both kids loved them as did the Hubs and I. These are from Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen. You can find her blog and recipe HERE.

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef



A friend linked me up to this recipe. It's a knock off of P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef. I haven't been to a P.F. Chang's in years and I'm not sure I've ever had their Mongolian Beef. This was pretty easy and tasted good. The kids love these dishes over rice. This recipe come from Food.com. You can find the recipe HERE.

Just so you know the recipe says to deep fry the meat, I just stir fried it and it was fine. No need for the excess oil. I also used a commenters suggestion and marinated the meat in soy sauce and Hoisin sauce for an hour or two.

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful weekend. We have date night tonight and lots to do tomorrow! See ya!



Digi Day

Happy Tuesday! I have a few layouts for your this week. There is a lot going on over at JessicaSprague.com. I know I say that a lot, but it's a hopping place! There are some amazing classes going on right now. Mainly the Digital Art Journaling Class. I honestly didn't know what digital art journaling was but I've seen some beautiful work come out of this class and I'm hoping to get my "hands" dirty this week and get into it.

Hopefully I have some samples for you next week. :)
Here are my recent layouts.

I love this profile photo of Abi staring at dad. She's really trying to figure out what dad is putting in her mouth. She didn't enjoy her first experience of food. She likes it more now. Full Credits Here.

Here are my three kiddos. This is a collaborative kit called 12 Days of Christmas done by Jessica Sprague and Heidi Swapp. I love the vintage Christmas feel to this kit. Full credits HERE.

Nancie Rowe Janitz has decided to sell her products at JessicaSprague.com. She was the owner of ScrapArtists.com and just recently closed shop. She wanted to focus more on designing and less on running a store. We're excited because we get to benefit from her beautiful work. Check out her store here. Full Credits.

Alrighty, that's it for today. Hope you have an awesome Tuesday! Any crafty plans today? We would love to know! :)

Menu Monday

Happy Monday! It's pretty cold and dreary here in Missouri. It's been such a weird winter so far. I keep waiting for a bunch of snow, but not much yet. Last week I stuck to my menu pretty well. I guess that's what a diet will do to you. Blah. The good thing is we try to eat "normally" but watch our portions and our snacking.

The "no candy" deal is going well. I've only craved it once and caught my self habitually reaching for a candy bowl another time. Weird, how we do that. Other than that it's been pretty easy and I like to think about all the calories I've saved by giving up candy. I've been running about 9 miles a week for the last couple of weeks. My official half training starts next Monday. I'm nervous but plan on continuing on. That is my goal update.

Anyway, on to the Menu.

Moni's Menu

Monday
Chickpea Curry (A Pinterest Find)

Tuesday
Ranch Chicken

Wednesday
Mongolian Beef over Rice

Thursday
Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken (Pinterest)

Friday
Date Night. Woohoo!

Saturday
Homemade Pizza

Sunday
Roast Beef and Mashed Potatoes

Have a Great Week!!

Just Pinned

So if you haven't heard of the Pinterest craze, then I'd say you might be a little bit out of the loop. That's okay though! If I said you weren't missing out, then I'd be lying. Pinterest is like a giant virtual pin board where you can pin any photo of anything you want. I have planned some dinners using Pinterest, planned a birthday party using ideas from Pinterest, and even organized my home. I have found heartfelt thoughts and humbling stories. I can't talk enough good about it. If you need inspiration in any shape or form, go to Pinterest. With that said, it can be addicting. Moderation in all things is the key to Pinterest. ;)

Anyway, this week I saw a pin for a Green Smoothie. I've made these before but I thought I'd check out this new recipe. I'm soooo glad I did. It is super super healthy and tastes very very good. It's a treat and a meal in one. I just can't go wrong there. So, I thought occasionally we could share some of the things that caught our eyes on Pinterest and then if anything catches your fancy you can link up to it from here.

You can also find my Pin board HERE and Erica's HERE. Feel free to follow us. :)

Just Pinned:


I'm serious about this smoothie, it's serious Yum. :) Find it HERE.


This is a darling garland. There is no specific tutorial for this, but I'm sure it could be easily figured out or googled. :)


This is from Howdoesshe.com. I love this blog. She has tons of great ideas. There's a tutorial for this easy blanket.


This is gorgeous! It's made from tissue paper. Credit to Tatertots and Jello.


This is from kopycat.com. It's supposed to be like Kozy Shack rice pudding. I've said it once but I'll say it again, I love love love rice pudding. Yum!


Erica pinned this and I love it! I need this in my house. Credit to theinspiredroom.net.

Check out our pinboards for any links. I hope you have an awesome Friday and an even more awesome weekend!

Crepe Paper Heart Garland

I was strolling through pinterest and saw a whole bunch of cute Valentine's Day garland ideas.  I saw this one, and thought I could do this.  She didn't have instructions, just said what it was and took a picture.  But, my elementary memory came to me and I remembered all those time wrapping little squares of crepe paper around the eraser of the pencil, dipping it in glue, and then sticking it on the construction paper.  Well, this is just as easy.  Just add a little ribbon and there you have it! 

Here's what you need:
Cardboard
Ribbon to whatever length you want it
Crepe Paper
Glue
Pencil
Scissors

I obviously used cardboard.  I thought it would hold the weight a lot better.  And I had tons of it laying around from Christmas packages.

First of all I made a heart that I liked on regular paper.  I cut it out and I traced it on some cardboard.  I then cut out my hearts and poked 2 holes in each each heart and laced my ribbon through them. 

Then it was time to cut squares out of the long strips of crepe paper.  Fast and easy if you triple or quadruple the layers of paper. 

If you don't remember how to do this I will show you.  :o)  Just put your pencil right in the middle of your square.

And then fold up the square so it wraps around your pencil.  Then you'll dip it in glue.

And then press it onto your cut out shape.  Bring up the pencil and the paper stays there all cute and stuff.  Keep doing this until it looks just the way you want it.  I didn't glue over the ribbon, so if I wanted to move the hearts I could.  The crepe paper hid it pretty good.

How cute is this?!

Here's the finished product.  I think it turned out so cute.

Sorry for the horrible lighting on this one.  We don't have much sun today.  But you get the idea.  It's cute, and Valetinesy.  Is that a word? 

If you are really into the crafting mood then you can make The Heart Felt Wreath I made last year.  I have made a few more since then just to go around the house, and I LOVE them!  I just love Valentine's Day.  Always have.  And it's not cause of the treats and presents, it's because my birthday always follows the day after.  :o)

Have a happy day!  And let's pray we get clobbered with snow today.  

Snowflake Sugar Cookies

I love sugar cookies! I love everything about them. I love to mix of the dough, taste it, roll them out, cut them, bake them, and most of all decorate them. It's just fun. I can be basic or creative with these. I like mine really thick and soft. Oh baby. :)

This time I took the long approach. First I outlined each cookie with a thicker frosting in blue. Then I thinned my blue frosting and flooded my cookie to get the smooth blue finish. When that had set up, I piped on the white with a Wilton tip #4. I added some silver candy balls and there you have it, a beautiful sugar cookie. There is just something fun about eating a decorated sugar cookie!

You can see some waiting for the white in the upper left corner.

Lot's of yummy goodness!

You can find my favorite sugar cookie recipe HERE. We've shared this recipe before.
Here is a Wilton tutorial for the technique I used.

And here is a fun blog called Bake at 350. She mainly uses this technique with her cookies. I've shared this blog before. So fun.

Thanks for dropping by! Happy Tuesday!

Menu Monday

Another week gone.  Are you kidding me?  Time needs to seriously slow down.  Pretty soon i'll be 30, and i'm not liking the sounds of that.  My baby boy will be 1 in a matter of weeks, and it's just so so sad that he is not a tiny infant any more, but a BUSY toddler. 

So, I hear we might finally get some snow in these parts this week.  I hope we do.  I have been wanting some so bad.  It's January.  It's supposed to be cold and white.  That's all there is to it.  So, I put a couple comfort warm foods on my menu this week.  Pray for snow!  I have to have it.

Erica's Menu

Monday
Ranch Pork Chops and Mashed Taters

Tuesday
Baked Potato Soup

Wednesday
Mac and Cheese and Hotdogs

Thursday
Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Friday
Chicken Enchiladas

Saturday
PIZZA!

Sunday
Cheddar and Broccoli Soup in bread bowls


Moni's Menu
So last week I had a couple of new recipes on my menu. We tried the Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas and they were pretty good. They were quick and easy. Definitely my type of recipe. I've linked to it if you want to give it a try. I have a few more new recipes this week. Ha! Wish me luck or better yet, wish the fam luck.

Monday
Lil Cheddar Meat Loaves

Tuesday
Stuffed Peppers

Wednesday
Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Thursday
Turkey Chili

Friday
Navajo Tacos

Saturday
Hearty Cheese Tortellini

Sunday
Ranch Chicken

Have a wonderful week! :)

Fluffy Brown Sugar Cookies

*sigh* These cookies.  THESE cookies are the bomb diggity!  :o)  As you know, I've been dieting.  Well, let's just say the diet went out the window yesterday for these babies.  This recipe made about 3 dozen cookies.  The first dozen went in the garbage because I didn't bake them long enough.  I got it down the next two batches.  They were seriously one of the best cookies I've ever had.  The brown butter icing just added to the perfection.  I will be making these again and again.

Fluffy Brown Sugar Cookies

2/3 c. butter, softened

1 1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 c. flour

1 c. sour cream

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add in eggs 1 at a time.  Add in vanilla and mix until light and fluffy.  In a separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.  Mix it alternately with sour cream to butter mixture.  Mix well.  Using a cookie scoop or whatever works best for you, spoon cookie dough onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-14 minutes.  You want the cookie to not shine.  If it still looks shiny and gooey then bake it a little longer.  You want them to stay fluffy once they cool.  Once they've cooled make your icing.

Brown Butter Icing

1/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat until it starts turning a golden color.  Keep your eye on it, because you don't want to burn it.  Stir it often.  Take off the heat once you get to that point.  Add in your sugar and stir it together.  Add in milk.  If it's the consistency you want it then leave it.  If you want it runnier add a little more milk.  Eyeball it!  Mine was great with no changes at all.  Ice your cookies and try not to eat them all. 

Source-Cafe Scrapper

Here's an update on my diet so far.  It's going better than I expected.  I've been staying on course with the exercising.  I fall to the wayside once in awhile on the diet.  I can't help it.  I love me some sweets!  I've lost a total of 3.9 lbs.  I can't see any difference yet and I can't wait til I do. 

All of my other resolutions are going good so far too.  I'm actually impressed with myself.  2012 is gonna be a great year.  I can feel it!

Have a happy Thursday!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

These are a fun quick little cookie to whip up for a special occasion. I love peanut butter cookies and a little kiss on top makes these perfect. My favorite recipe for these you can find on the back of your bag of Hershey's Kisses. Seriously, if you want a peanut butter chocolate fix today these can be ready in no time. Just make sure you give some away because I bet you can't stop at one! :)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

48 HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Milk Chocolates

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Granulated sugar



Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates. This part is perfect for the kiddos.

Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into the center of each
cookie; cookie will crack around edges. You have to do this quickly. If you let the cookies set up then they will break when you try and put your Kiss in. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Source: Hershey's Kitchens

Enjoy!!!



Menu Monday

Hi! Happy Monday! I'm excited to be back in my kitchen (although I thoroughly enjoyed being cooked for). I'm always on the look out for new tasty recipes. I like to change the menu up and try new things. Thank goodness for the web. I love when recipes are rated. It almost gaurantees a good recipe. I've had many a meal turn out blah-se using a recipe from a cookbook. I like experimenting in the kitchen but sometimes the family isn't so fond of it, if you know what I mean. ;) Anyway, hope you have a wonderful week!

Monica's Menu

Monday
Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas (Kraft Foods)

Tuesday
Lil Cheddar Meat Loaves (Taste of Home App)

Wednesday
Chicken Posole (Auntie)


Photo by Erica :)

Thursday
Tacos (Yum!)

Friday
Grilled Cheese with Soup

Saturday
Chef Salads

Sunday
Pepper Steak over Rice (Mother-in-law)
I'll have to get you this recipe. It's one of my favorites. :)

Erica's Menu
Sorry for all the carry over meals on this weeks menu.  I have had a sick baby, and haven't been able to do a whole lot except hold him and rock him.  I'm perfectly okay with that.  Hoping he can start feeling better soon, and I can start cooking more for my family.
Monday
Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Tuesday
Biscuits and Gravy

Wednesday
Sauerkraut and Hotdogs

Thursday
Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Friday
Chicken Enchiladas

Saturday
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup

Sunday
Ranch Pork Chops

And there you have it!  Have a great Monday!

Resolutions -- Part 2

This is my year. For some reason I'm feeling very optimistic about things to come. My father in law is battling cancer right now. We are hoping and praying for a miracle. This shock to our family has put a little fight in me to live. Live each moment and each day as if it could be gone in an instant. Much much easier said than done. But I think it's worth a try. I love Erica's goals and she has inspired me to not be so selfish in my goals and think of others too. There are a hundred saying and quotes on living but this one caught my eye.

 

My main goal this year is to GET HEALTHY. There are so many aspects to that so I have come up with some small goals to hopefully get me to my main goal.

#1 Run a Half Marathon (Physical Health)
I have always wanted to do this but have never been able to get past the mental thing. When I'm at my most painful moment while running my mind easily talks me into the fact that "I can't do this". I've always started this goal only to give up later. That really bothers me, because I try hard to teach my kids to be persistent and to never give up. I hate a quitter yet I keep letting myself down in the running department. Well, this is my year. The stars have aligned to get me to my goal. I'm not prego, I have a kidless chunk of time in the morning to train, and I have a supportive husband and friends. Now it's just me. I have to get past the mental deal.

So, I'm signing up for The Oz Half Marathon in Olathe Kansas. I've been running and training starts January 30th. Scary and exciting! I'll be keeping you updated on my training. Along with this race I plan on running the Ragnar Relay Race in Utah and a 4th of July 10k in Idaho. I'm excited.

#2 Goodbye Candy (Physical Health)
In the meantime with all this running I'm hoping to shed the rest of this baby weight along with my previous two pregnancies. I'm not brave enough to share my starting weight like Erica. Let's just say my goal weight is 145. Ha ha! She has always been the skinny sister. Really though, I have come to a point in my life where I'm past being skinny. I just want to be healthy. That is my goal.



To help me with this endeavor I've given up candy for the year. I'm not one to totally deprive myself. I don't think that is helpful in the long run. I could never give up all sweets. I did want to give up something and I knew candy was doable. So, since midnight January 1st I haven't had candy and I'm not even sad about it. :)

#3 Remember Important Dates (Mental Health)
I'm really bad at this and it makes me feel terrible. I love my family and friends and I really want to be better at letting them know. My mother in law gave me a calendar with all the birthdays on it and I've already bought my first card of the year. At the end of the year, if I've remembered everyone's birthdays I'll feel pretty darn awesome. :)



#4 Daily Prayer (Spiritual Health)
I believe in God and I believe He knows that. I'm just hoping to tell Him a little more often.



#5 Finish 3 big Scrapbooking Projects (Creative Health) <--- I made that up. :)
Ugh. These projects have been weighing me down for awhile. I have two options, let them go or get them done! One being Maggie's 1st year, can't let that go, that could be a relationship changer! :) The other is my Project 365 from 2009. Seriously. It will drive me nuts half done, so I guess it's a mental health thing too!

Well, that's it! I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now but I have a run under my belt today and on I go. I plan on giving you updates through my training and as I complete projects. I love this life we live. Sometimes it really bites but overall it's so worth it. I want to live because I can and I'm here. What an amazing gift we've been given. To create, to love, to be, to live. Lucky us. :)

Resolutions-Part One

This really scares me to post my resolutions.  It means that I have 1,000's of people holding me to them, and I really don't want to fail.  So, maybe that's a good thing!  Maybe for once I can really follow through with them.  So...here...goes!

Number One-Become a healthier me!  This also means I want to lose about 20 lbs.  I don't want to be a twig, but I do want to get rid of my AWESOME muffin top! :o)  I had my husband take a picture of me in the outfit I'd like to fit in, and let's just say, it was very comical.  So here I am posting in front of all of you that my starting weight is 148 lbs.  I will weigh in weekly, and keep you up to date on how things are going.

Number Two-Be more loving and patient with my kiddies.  I hope I'm not the only person who needs to work on this.  Having a chatty, hyper pre-teen and 2 toddler boys just really wears on me and I find myself losing my patience a lot more lately.  I want to be more like Michelle Duggar.  Not the 19 kid thing, but that patient thing.

The sweetest things...most the time.  :o)

Number Three-Train and Run a 10k!  This is the one I think I'm mostly excited for.  I trained for a 5k, and still haven't ran an official 5k marathong  *Tee hee*  I said, "marathong."  You know what I mean. I'm for sure gonna run the 4th of July Fun Run here in my local town.  Monica, and my two cousins, said they would run it too, so I am hoping everyone follows through and we can kick some butt! 

I've downloaded the Bridge to 10k on my iPhone.  I love it!

So so funny!

Number Four-Read the entire Book of Mormon.  I just can't seem to get into it.  I've tried numerous times to do this, but give up after the first couple weeks.  I'm gonna do it this time.  You'll see!

How cute is this?  I want mine to look like this!

So there you have it!  I will keep you up to date with how things are going.  Stay tuned for Monica's list of resolutions.  Exciting!  Have a great Wednesday.

Digi Day

After 20 hours in the car it's so nice to be in my home again with my stuff and my space. We had such a great time being home for the Holidays, being with family, and of course all the delicious food! Oh man. Today I am back on track and like Erica I have some goals this year. You'll be hearing more about those later this week. :)

While trying to recover from Christmas I had to fit in two scrapbooking pages. Luckily it's easy for me to occasionally sit down and get lost in my craft. Anyway, I'm excited for a whole new year of adventures and memories that need documenting. A babies first year is perfect, there is so much to document. So these two layouts are about our sweet Abigail. She is 6 months old now! Crazy. She is such a joy and we love this happy girl to pieces. She is definitely easy to scrapbook. :)

This is our favorite smile. Right now I'm loving my iphone and instagram. I almost always have my phone with me so I'm able to capture things I probably wouldn't have before. The instagram photos are a beautiful 4x4 and print so nicely. Love it. Full credits for this layout HERE.

Isn't is the best smile? It sure makes me happy. Full Credits HERE.

Well, we are glad to be back blogging. We are hoping to have some fun changes this year to our blog. Thanks to all our faithful readers and welcome to our new followers. We love sharing with you!

Menu Monday

Happy New Year!!  We hope you all had a great Christmas!  I've missed blogging, and can't wait to get back into the swing of things.  I actually made a few New Years resolutions this year and I am determined to stick to them. 

I will be posting only my Menu this week, because Monica is headed back to Missouri as I type.  We had such a great time spending time together.  Won't see her again until this summer!  :o(

Anyhoo...Here's my menu for the week. 

Monday
Foil Packed Chicken

Tuesday
Sour Cream Noodle Bake

Wednesday
Biscuits and Gravy

Thursday
Crockpot BBQ Chicken and Baked Potatoes

Friday
Tacos

Saturday
Bean and Cheese Quesadillas

Sunday
Breakfast Casserole

And there ya have it.  What's on your menu this week?  I am starting a diet, but don't want to put my family on it too, so i'm just gonna do the portion control for dinner time.

Have an awesome week!