Introducing again...

So, after making the decision to end my family blog for now, I have now decided to start another blog..yep. This one, however, will be dedicated to all things baking/cooking, and i will post recipes and such over there. You can find it over there...sugar lane eats.

I want this blog to be mainly just me...again. I am excited about the new blog. If you feel like it, pass it along. I would love to have it be a place to share recipes..because as you know, the kitchen is the heart of the home! So, if you would like to contribute and such, let me know. I would love it! :)

And if I seem a little wonky and crazy in post today, I sincerely apologize, I am running on less than three hours of sleep, and really, why am I this blog when I should be taking a nap? In fact I'm going to do that right now!

Two Recipes...and results

First up, I talked with the good old doc on Sunday, and although my heart is normal, I do have some signs of a sinus arrhythmia, which translate into: taking a small pill every day for the rest of my life. On to the recipes! I'm not sure if I have posted one before...and I'm too lazy to check, so if this is a repeat, sorry! And if not, enjoy!

First up,

Black Bean Burgers

as most of you know, I have been trying to cut out most meat from my diet, these little ditties certainly do the trick. I can't remember where I found the recipe. But, my kids will eat this without complaint, so try it out!

"Meatless Burgers"

1 can Northern beans

1 can green chili's

2 medium green onions

1 cup bread crumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup corn meal

2 tablespoons oil

5 slice Monterey Jack cheese

hamburger buns

place beans in blender and process until slightly mashed. In a bowl, mix beans, chili, onions, bread crumbs and egg together. Form into patties...I have used the corn meal to help form the patties because they tend to be sticky. Pat each patty in the corn meal, making a coat..Place oil in a skillet on medium heat, and cook the patties on both sides until crisp. Place on hamburger buns and assemble. This recipe is essentially a base. You can inter change most of the ingredients. For instance, I use black beans instead of northern beans because I like those better. I made these last week, and didn't add the chili's or green onions, but I did have some red bell pepper on hand, and cilantro. I also added some seasonings, like cumin and pepper to give it more of a mexican feel. My daughter requests these. try them for a meatless and yet healthy and yummy meal!

Next, you are going to love me....Cookie Dough Cupcakes...yep cookie dough cupcakes. I found this idea on my new favorite food blog, Meet Me in the Kitchen you can find her recipe here. The only part of the recipe that I kept the same was the cookie dough part. I didn't like how much butter the other recipe used, and personally, I like my buttercream frosting, so...here is my take on this cupcake..and if you have a chocolate chip cookie lover in your home, I am almost 100% positive they will LOVE this cupcake...

For the Cupcake: either use your favorite Vanilla cupcake recipe, or box..or you can use mine here:

Vanilla Cupcakes:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room remperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla.

Preheat oven to 350. Line cupcake pan with paper cups. In a mixer, mix the butter alone for about 1 to 2 minutes, let it get light and airy. Add the sugar and this important, beat the sugar and butter together for 2-3 minutes. This will seriously help your cupcake out! (trial and error, ladies) Add the eggs one at a time, allowing the egg to mix for 30 seconds each time...again, this is an important step you don't want to miss! Add in the baking powder, and then gradually add in the flour and last, the milk. Seems a little weird..usually you alternate..but trust me, this recipe works! Add the vanilla, and mix until just blended...be careful not to over mix! (at this point, you could add chopped chocolate pieces in with this if you want a more intense chocolate flavor to your cookie dough palate.) Fill each cupcake paper with about 2 tablespoons of batter, or if you have a ice cream scoop, use that. I tend to under fill the liners, unless I have the large nut cup size..which Michaels is forever out of... Bake for 20 minutes or until the cake bounces back up if touched with your finger..let cool mean while....

Cookie Dough Filling:

4 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temp

6 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoon all purpose flour

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips..and sense I didn't have those on hand, I just chopped the chips I had into smaller bits..

Cream together the sugar and butter. Add in the flour and then the condensed milk with the vanilla. Mix in the chocolate. You can let the dough chill if you want too...I didn't and am glad I didn't...I will explain later....

Brown Sugar Buttercream

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1/4 cup or so of brown sugar

mix these together until the sugar is dissolved in the butter and then add:

About 2-3 cups of powder sugar, I'll leave it up to you. I like my frosting sweet, which is why i add more powder sugar, but some people like it not so sweet...Add about 2 cap fulls of milk (no measuring spoons needed!) and then add some vanilla. Another cap full. Mix that all together until you get the smoothness you want...add more milk if you want it extra smooth..and so on.

To assemble:

Cut a hole in each cupcake using a paring knife, I have also used the back end of a frosting tip..cut the excess cake off the top of your piece of cake you just cut. Fill a piping bag with the cookie dough filling..see, if it was chilled, it would be harder to work with, and I am all for easy steps! Place the top part of the piece of cake you cut back on the cupcake, hiding your filling, and then pipe on the buttercream, sprinkle with chocolate chips...sit back with a glass of milk and bite into heaven!!! :) Oh yeah, repeat the first couple of steps until all the cupcakes are done!

just quickly...

the results are in, and my heart appears to be normal. But they still haven't explained to me why it still hurts sometimes and why it skips a beat every couple of beats...but normal. Hopefully that means that i stressed out this week for nothing...

But thank you for your prayers! Seriously. I believe that it is because of the power of prayer that my heart is "normal" :)

Update...

Well, i went in for the echo cardiogram yesterday. A very long, very boring hour of laying on a bed. Why do they make ultrasound rooms dark, and warm? I wanted to take a nap! I haven't heard anything from the doctor's office yet. I called yesterday afternoon, but they have yet to call me back. So, I suppose I'm still in limbo. Which I hate. I just want to know! I want to move on from limbo, and from the uncertainty of the future...like tomorrow! I want to know what I can do so that I can live a very long time!

I have had a rough couple of days. From the emotions of not knowing, to the fear that this might not turn out so well, to the comfort of knowing that people who love me are praying for me, to disappointment...to peace.

Thank you for your prayers, for you love and support. Seriously, thank you. you will never know the extent of what your love has done for me.

Drama, thy name is EMILY

Okay, so I was all excited about this week. Could not be happier. I had a news resolution going on with supportive people (thanks Mindy for inviting me!) I was getting all my work outs in for my goal this month. I actually called a friend and had a great talk wit her (thanks Bri! because if you know me, you will know that I usually never call anyone..nope, not even family. It's a rarity. I don't know why...I just never call anyone!) and I had amazing comments posted on my blog..(thanks to you gals who read this little bit of me!) Things were looking, up, up, Up...and then yesterday happened. Let's see, shall I run through my day?

*woke up to the little man poking me in the and saying "ba, ba" a lot.

*got the boys ready headed out the door..forgot that L had a play date..again.

*while doing the Thursday errands, I noticed that my left side of my chest was feeling tight..shrug.

*started thinking more about my chest because it was not getting any better..started thinking immediately about what would happen if this chest thing was more than just a breathing problem..

*got to good old Wally-world (read the sarcasm..hate that place sometimes) get to the check out, super busy, was told to go to aisle 5, it was free. Not so, old Lady was there, demanding that they give her cash back from her check and stood there arguing over 5 cents. YEP, five cents! E tried to climb out of the cart..crying loudly that everything is "scary" and saying "DOWN" a lot. L trying to push buttons on the credit card scanner..

*come home, put away groceries, turn around E has dumped sugar all over the floor, and was sticking his hand in the shortening..

*chest still hurting, call the DR and made an appointment after scaring myself silly with all the articles online about chest pains..that was fun.

*Call my Dad in tears, freaking out, because it dawns on me that I have three grandparents who all had heart problems, two of which had surgery...really did not need the freak out..

*woke up this morning, noticed that the kids had managed to mess up the entire house while I was sleeping in, in fifteen minutes!

*turn around E is on top of my counter trying to get a piece of "dandy"

*go to make cupcakes, forgot to buy cocoa, run to dreaded Wally again..

*E has found his way back on to the counter...AGAIN

*E playing outside thinks it would be great to go down the slide while his brother is trying to climb up the slide..

*Me worried about my heart, again.

*go to the Docs, late as usual. Takes an EKG, takes an x-ray, waiting around for two hours.

*given Asthma meds to see if I just have a bronchiolitis thing..not helping me one micro second..

*told to schedule a echo cardiogram for next week, just in case it is not asthma..

oh yes, and the kicker, finding out that the good old kicker has enlarged about 50 % than where it should be. But everything else about the heart seems to be oookkaayy. Possibly.

*worried, and stressed.

See, lovely two days to end my week. So, I don't know if I'll accomplish my work out goals this month, at least not until I find out what is going on...

Babka Bread

I found this lovely bread over at purple foodie. It seriously is so yummy. And you can put frosting on it, but I like it better without. And just to show you guys how often I have made this bread, I have memorized the recipe! I've made it at least once a week for two months now!

Babka Bread:

6 tbsp butter, softened

6 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp yeast

3/4 cup lukewarm milk

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

Cream the sugar and butter together so that it is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the yolks, one at a time, mix for about 30 seconds each yolk. Add the vanilla. Add the flour one cup at a time. (I have found that you don't need the 1/2 cup, reserve it for when you knead the dough) in a bowl, combine milk and yeast. Whisk until the yeast is some what dissolved. Make sure your milk isn't too hot! it should feel slightly warm to the touch, and add that to dough. It will be kind of wet. Add a little flour and knead 2-3 minutes. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise 2 hours. yep, 2 hours. After the 2 hours, lightly dust your counter with flour and roll out the dough to large rectanagle..put butter, cinnamon and brown sugar on the dough, and then roll like you would for cinnamon rolls. You will have a really long roll of dough. Cut it in half and then, with a knife, cut down the middle of the dough, leaving the top somewhat in tact, and braid. Press the edges together. Place on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with nonstick..now, you can let the bread rise some more, or you can bake now..at 350. Bake for 20-25 minutes. I have tried this bread with chocolate as well. It's easier if you buy the bar chocolate and chop it into really fine pieces, and then sprinkle on the dough..we had cinnamon with it, and it was very yummy! :)

Light Recipes..even some vegetarian ones too!

here are some of the recipes I have tried in the past week and a half with my family. Just a side note about tofu, the kids haven't been enjoying as much as I do. But I figure it's takes what? 20 times for them to like anything out of the ordinary, right? So, keep on trying...

Tofu Taco's (found at this site )

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Chile powder

1/2 tsp red pepper sauce (like Franks)

16 ounce frozen extra firm tofu thawed

2 Tbsp olive oil

Note: Make sure your tofu is completely thawed because it won't crisp up if any moisture is left in the tofu..)

Preheat oven 350

mix the first six ingredients together. Drain the tofu and crumble. Add to the mixture and stir

Spread olive oil on a cooking sheet, and then add the tofu mix. bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Take out and stir, then bake for another 20 minutes, or until the tofu is crisp. Use for the filling in your tacos, or for any place that you add ground meat.

Crispy Chicken Nuggets or Tenders (from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger)

Cooking spray

1/2 sleeve whole grain saltine crackers (about 20 crackers)

2 1/2 cups corn flakes

3/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 large egg whites

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tbsp dijon mustard

Chicken, about 3 lbs

in a food processor pulse the cracker and cereal until a fine crumb (I used a ziploc bag, and a meat mallet) In a shallow bowl or plate, add the cereal mixture, the seasonings together and toss to combine.(i used seasoning salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder because that is what my family likes) In a large bowl, combine egg whites, yogurt and mustard. Add the chicken to the yogurt mix and coat each piece. Then, one at a time, dip the chicken pieces in the cereal mixture. Place on a prepared baking sheet, spray the chicken with cooking spray. Bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until the chicken is no longer pink.