Biatchy Mood Altering Cupcakes

I made bread...and cupcakes....lots of cupcakes....I needed therapy!

I have to admit that I have written and started several posts......but alas....they met the delete button....

they were just too sad, negative, moany and moody and should I say biatchy.....

NO...you say.....ME........biatchy.....NEVER......(do you hear my husband hysterically laughing...ya...I thought I did too!)

But we all know I eat my stress so why not my eat my moodiness?  I agree!

The bread was oh so yummy...I can report that Mr McDonald and his lovely wife ate a whole loaf with homemade strawberry freezer jam!  Lunch, baby, lunch! Ya'll know you could do the same....am I right?  Am I right?  You know I am right!

And the cupcakes were for Sissa's basketball banquet...I am not normally a cupcake kinda girl...don't get me wrong....I eat them....but my go to thing is cookies of any kind...'cept the raisin kind.....I'll take trifle or peach crisp or margarita pie or brownies or.....oh you get the point....

But since this is a pot luck garden variety dinner...I am making cupcakes....but I decided to make them special....and oh so gooooooddd!!!  Actually I am on my second batch...the first chocolate ones...well they had their little tasty  tidbit sink to the bottom....so we are at it again...with peanut butter this time...I think we have a winner!

I will post this biatchy mood altering recipe, because.....it is delish..and that is what I do...

I make the world a better place by making you and everyone else eat!  Eat! EAT!

Now....I hope you read my disclaimer.....I didn't say I would help you stay on your diet or tone up your thighs....nope...not me.....I will however, try to make it healthy...and still taste good.....now healthy to me...still includes bitter and cream....unhealthy means....preservatives and additives that you cannot even pronounce.

....we interrupt this show.....

So after hurrying to post this, decorate the cupcakes and make a casserole...and attend the banquet.....all on time.....I had to leave the post.

I know, i know....priorities!

The cupcakes were a hit, exact words were: "Mrs McDonald, these are the bomb!"

I will take what I can get!

Congrats to sissa...she was the bomb!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Surprise Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1-3/4 cups and 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 24 miniature peanut butter cups

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream the shortening, peanut butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.
2. Fill paper-lined muffin cups with 1/4 cup of batter. Press a peanut butter cup into the center of each until top edge is even with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted on an angle toward the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. 

I also made them with chocolate batter!  Sooooo good!

Chocolate Frosting recipe

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whip butter, stir in cocoa powder. Alternately add in powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed. To desired consistency, add more milk if needed.  Stir in Vanilla.

Eat and enjoy....your mood will soon be grinning and the world will be a better place....even if the man about a horse hasn't come callin yet.......

....

procrastination....

Here is a list of what I should be doing....


-blow drying my hair...so it looks like I actually care what I look like
-applying make up so I don't hear from my niece " are you okay?  You look pale?"
-3 baskets full of whites and towels to fold...it took me a day and a half to catch up laundry..and the last load...I threw it all in together...no matter the color...it was all about feeling accomplished and looking at an empty basket!
-scrubbing toilets...and I do mean scrubbing...those of you with boys...ya'll know what I mean!
-cleaning blinds that haven't seen a duster or a rag since um...well too long to think about
-vacuuming.....sweeping...mopping..I need a dog with the mctwins, it is never over...
-reading to my son...but he wants to watch oody dooo...who can compete...by the way that means scooby doo
-finsihung the quilts that I cut out five months ago
-figuring out something better for dinner then the tuna fish casserole that is lookin like the easiest....and by the way, it is not my mothers tuna fish casserole...
 - tax return
-finding the sister on my visiting teaching list that has no phone number or address.....(if you read this...please call...seriously!!!)
-400 crunches....the mommy muffin is getting dangerously close to be called a cake topper....not good
-get a massage...I did walk four miles today...
-talking about quilts, finishing a denim quilt for my oldest that I started twelve years ago
-baseboards
-upstairs windows
-finish painting the fourth wall of my bedroom...um....it's been that way for two years now..(hey don't be judgmental..I was looking for the perfect wallpaper...I have come to the conclusion that they don't make it!)
-hang the pictures in the hall that I tool down one year ago to touch up the paint
-study my RS lesson
-dust my room...ugh
- de-junk the boys bathroom...hello? did I just not do that last month?
- make a run to costco...diapers are dangerously low
-drop off DI stuff.....make my garage look a little less of a forgotten thrift shop

..and these are the things I remember...but here I sit...at my computer...blogging...about my list I should do...hmmm....

where to start?

hold that thought.....mctwin #2 crying...time to feed her bottomless pit!!!

For Sherri...Restuarant Style Enchiladas

This is so for Sherri...but I will let you share this oh so yummy recipe.....so easy...so quick and so truly better then a restuarant's....

I believe in quick and easy...with so many mouths to feed...it needs to be that way...or I loose energy and there is no one left to clean up! That is a bad thing!

...and....

I am starting to get a phobia about eating in restaurants...do we really know what they put in the food...do they wash their hands...do they spit in my food, because I complain....or made a face because I take issue with the cleanliness of their walls (and hello...have you seen kitchen nightmares on fox....I have gagged more then once!)

So I am searching more and more for our favorite restuarant foods so that I don't have to go out...

and oh yeah..

the whole not having a job thing...puts a damper on eating out....but who is complaining! As long as I have good food..

So Sherri here is your recipe for Restaurant style cheese enchiladas

• canola oil
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of salsa. (I used my canned roasted tomato salsa and please DO NOT use salsa made with fresh, uncooked tomatoes for this dish, it won't taste right.)
• 3 Tbsp of tomato paste
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted)
• Olive oil
• 1 lb of jack cheese, mild cheddar or longhorn or any mild yellow cheese, grated
• A handful of cilantro
• 1 cup of sour cream
• Half a head of iceberg lettuce

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large fry pan at high heat add 3 Tbsp of canola oil. Add a tortilla to the pan. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift up the tortilla with a spatula, add another tortilla underneath. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift again, both tortillas, and add another tortilla underneath. Repeat the process with all the tortillas, adding a little more oil if needed. This way you can brown and soften the tortillas without using a lot of fat. You do this process to develop the flavor of the tortillas. As the tortillas brown a little, remove from the pan one by one to rest on a paper towel, which absorbs any excess fat. Sauté up the chopped onion and garlic, then turn off the heat. Add 1 cup of salsa. Dissolve 3 Tbsp of tomato paste into 1 cup of water, add to pan. Add 1 cup of crushed fire roasted canned tomatoes. Taste. If the sauce tastes too vinegary, add a teaspoon of sugar. Put some olive oil on the bottom of a large casserole pan. Take a tortilla, cover 2/3 of it lightly with the shredded cheese, then roll up the tortilla and place it in the casserole pan. Continue until all tortillas are filled and rolled. Add sauce to the top of the tortillas in the the casserole pan. Make sure all are covered with the sauce. If not, add a little water. Cover the whole thing with the rest of the grated cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Serve with sliced iceberg lettuce that has been dressed only with vinegar and salt.

I know what you are thinking...the iceberg lettuce with vinegar...but it really adds a crisp flavor....

I also added  about 2 tablespoons of refried beans (the church dried refried beans that come in a ten can...they are the best!) to the enchiladas.....you could anything....mean onions....so good!!  You can't get them wrong!


This recipe serves about four so of course I tripled..or was it quadrupled...but anyways it was...it wasn't enough...it sounded like a pack of rabid wolves at the table!  They licked their plates clean....

I also added fresh tomatoes and fresh avocados for garnish.......

Is it midnight yet?  I think it is time for a snack...and um, I secretly made another pan of them......I have to be sneaky that way!!

Love yer guts!!

Who woulda thunk it.....

I so want to be a better poster.....among other things...

but holy moley...do ya think my family could cooperate?!

It is a resounding NO..... skull fractures, badly sprained ankles, separated shoulders, headaches, homework, climbing monkey babies, beautiful weather (every other day), dust and snow.....well you get the picture.....


But all is well....because I have learned to make dessert for breakfast, yes you read that right, dessert for breakfast is the only way to go.

Now before I share with you what I made, I have to share a secret with you, one that will go down to my grave without my kids knowing....um....because I made them eat this particular dessert....even if they said they didn't like it...eventually they all liked it...even the ones that won't admit it.

I HATED this dessert...or so I thought....

I can still remember the bright blue sky above me, the smell of the forest, the remnants of fish bait on my fingers, the dirt on my knees, and the yell of forty thousand kids...

well not forty thousand, but a goodly number....

I was camping with my aunt and uncle and their bazillion kids....hey I can say that...a few more and I will be even with them...

and my aunt made this particular dessert......for breakfast.......and I hated it.....and I sat there forever...because I wouldn't eat it.....I wouldn't even try it....silly girl I was.

Now the main factor was that it had raisins in it......I hate, despise and gag on any raisin that comes into vicinity of my mouth

And I don't keep that secret...AT ALL!!!  Many a fool has tried to get me to eat the little buggers...and well more then one has had to clean up or worse yet...beg for my forginveness.....

I admit there may be one or two that have yet to receive it...(I KNOW.....I am WORKING on it!).

Anywho...after that whole childhood eat it or else fiasco...and I can't remember if I ate it...or my aunt finally was disgusted enough with me to send me off....I MADE my kids eat it!

Isn't that justice!!


Have you guessed what it is yet?  Have you been racking your brain?


I bet Lisa can remember......


It is Rice Pudding.......did you think I would go there....

I did!  And it is so yummy!!!  I was ready for another bowl for...but it was so rich....that I thought I would save it for dinner....it didn't last that long!

I hope you like...don't be a lily livered yellow belly chicken....just try it....oh yeah...I didn't put raisins in it though...

I haven't grown up that much!

Obviously this little mctwin loved it!

RICE PUDDING

• 2 1/2 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups cooked white rice
• Pinch of salt
• 2 egg
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/3 cup  raisins...are you kidding me.......but I included it for you more mature folks

Bring milk, cream and rice to a low boil...just before it is a rolling, stir constantly so the bottom won't burn. In a small bowl whisk together eggs and sugar, slowly add half a cup of rice mixture to eggs, whisking to blend.  Add egg mixture back to rice mixture over low heat, do not allow to boil at this point. Cook and stir over low heat for ten minutes until thickened.  Take off heat and add vanilla, cinnamon and raisins if you must.

Enjoy to your hearts content and know that you sent your chillins to school with a hot breakfast...even if it was dessert.

I let my mctwins feed themselves...mmmm...happy campers were they (unlike me) I don't think they like raisins either, though Mack thinks I could of and should have added golden raisins, I can choke those down in bread pudding...when you twist my arm...but don't even try those gnarled fermented rotting in the sun thingys!

Let them eat cake...whatevah.....bread baby...BREAD!

Mack gave me permission to blog today..

Bless his heart!!!  I needed permission to rant and rave and scream....

but I can't and I won't.....it is to tender right now.....so instead I will share with you my favorite thing...

Bread!  Ye...eesss...I said it bread!!!  You name any kind of bread and we are personal friends.

You see I eat my stress...I don't drink it or hold it in....I should run it out...but I don't...I eat it...

and well bread fills up that spot mighty fine!

This is my aunt's recipe and oh my....it is so right!  I have yet to have a recipe outta of it and not have it turn out!

I have tried many a wheat bread recipe that I could play hockey with or use as a deadly weapon...but not this one.

The loaves rarely last through the end of the night (I already admitted I eat my stress....so why are you surprised that the bread is gone by the end of the day?!)

I have made bread bowls, orange rolls, plain ole rolls and even cinnamon rolls with this recipe.  My cousin swears (not really...she is really good and I don't think one of those words has ever rolled off her tongue!) by it for pizza dough as well.....and give it a few more raises  and punch downs, she says it is excellent french bread!

So that said, please try it...you'll like it.....you don't even have to eat it when you are stressed.

Wheat Bread

Mix 4 cups whole wheat flour with 2 tablespoons of yeast and four cups very warm water.  Mix until well blended, the turn off mixer and let sit for 10 to 20 minutes.  This is called proofing the bread....it works every time!

After the yeast mixture has set for ten minutes, mix in four cups more of wheat flour, 2 tablespoons dough enhancer or 1/2 cup gluten flour. 1/3 cup oil, 1/3 cup honey (or sugar) but I prefer the moisture that the honey gives. Knead in mixer for ten minutes. Let raise for at least ten minutes, but I have let it go for as long as an hour...and it is even lighter! (I am tellin ya, it is no fail!) punch down.  Oil your counter (vegetable oil) and plop that dough right down, let rest for a few minutes.  You can now cut into four medium pieces for four medium size pans or make into rolls...or whatever floats your boat.  If making loaves, just pat and mold into shape and place in greased pans (crisco here gals....not vegetable oil or butter..or the spray stuff) Cover with greased saran wrap (this is where you can use your spray oil) and then cover with a towel and let raise in a warm spot...about ten minutes or double in size).

psst.....(I have also made the dough in advance and stuck it in my cold garage overnight...then let it warm up in the morning to make cinnamon rolls)

I bake at 425, because it gives it a crustier crust (my husband's fav)  I also rotate it in my oven so that the tops and bottoms are getting evenly browned (I have gas...as in stove)

When you go to take it out, tap on it...it should sound hollow!!!

Take out and let cool...hahahha

are you kidding...you have to cut into it right now....while it is steaming hot and the butter (real) melts like...well butter and you melt because it is so stinkin good!!!

and this also insures you that you will get a piece before your kiddos..because even they will like this whole wheat bread! (I have made it with white as well!)

So enjoy...also you can click on the title for more inspiration....I read this and my day wasn't so bad and and the world was put back into perspective...well ...

after I called and cried with Mack's aunt, ranted via text with my sister and told my husband that they (can't say their names) were dumb asses.  Then I felt a little better!

Reason #1for goin back to the farm...

When I started this blog....I think I had a different idea in mind of where it would go...or at least where I wanted it to go...but it is becoming it's own beast...much like the rest of my life,

but I think that it is okay...

I was thinking that it would be more...oh I don't know really...

maybe some funny lines, good stories, good food...maybe some whimpering and wailing, some gnashing of teeth...but definitely some discovery of myself and of joy...plenty of joy
and of celebrating life....

so I hope you will forgive me if you are reading this...and I possibly get on a soap box....(read I am now stepping up to the podium) because as you may or may not know....

I have opinions.....

hahahahhahahahahahahahhaha

are you done yet?

of course you know I have opinions...I like to share them, but some of my long time friends...you know who you are!....ok and some family (I try to keep family to a minimum here.....they think they know me!) know that I have come a long way! and can successfully bite my lip......

I am still working on the game face though!

anywho.....

I have opinions...and I want to share some of them....now some of you will think it is all phooey....

and that is okay....my husband tends to fall in this group

and some may think I am crazy....my kids are in this fun little group...

but maybe, just maybe you will agree with me and start down this same path with me....

No promises it ain't to the looney bin!

But this is where my idea of what I wanted to blog about is changing.....

it may be that it will literally be about going back to the farm and why that is best.

So here is why.

I have been slowly cutting out processed foods and food high in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and I so mean slowly....

because it is hard....I realize that...especially when you have four million kids and you are on the go....

but I have been working on it....sometimes with kickin and hollerin, sometimes with a whack to the shin, or the thumbing of the nose, .but we are getting better about it. Like not drinking soda and juice as much (at least in front of me.....and um...my occasional "I must have a coke or someone will die! moment)...still a work in process,

you see that...I do need to get off the hard stuff!

or completely cutting out crystal light and any other forms of this drink....(aspartame is definitely not our friend...you should read...STOP! drinking diet soda now!)

I rarely buy processed cookies or the fruit snacks....

and make more of our snacks at home (hence, but mcmuffin that I call a tummy),

and much to the dismay of the little buckaroos....cold. processed. sugary. nothin but air. cereal....

oh you will still find a few on my shelves....like

raisin bran (there is now way in hell you will see me eat it...ever....and I do mean ever...

there may be a wheaties....no one likes them

and a cheerios...which the babies like, but alas...no more fruit loops or lucky charms....or sugar smacks (one of my favorites!)

we are goin cold turkey...

just kidding we didn't...I let the little kiddos eat em up...and I didn't buy any more....

not because we are without work and they are expensive (I only bought them anyway...when they were a dollar or less on sale and with coupons...)

but because they are definitely not healthy for us...

quick...but not healthy

satisfying....because of the sugar high...but not healthy

easy....but not healthy..

ok you get the point....

so in all this meandering I will get to the point.....

I have been doing my research...

and not only is HFCS...not good....and artificial sweetener...not good, but I started seeing this thing we call MSG.

Now I knew it wasn't good and avoided it when I saw it on the label...but oh you know what.....it is in every packaged product and canned good that you could possibly want along with fillers in meat....

so I am not going to drag you down the road kickin and screamin...I only do that to my kids...to learn more about MSG and the damage that it can do.

I will only post the info  here and totally here and why you want to look at this.

So in a way this is backing up my claim to go back to the farm, live naturally, cook everything, preserve what we can and enjoy the finer things of life.....from my front porch!

....and I would totally love to hear your thoughts on this and the 411 that you have on this subject....

I want to learn and what better place then from my friends,

love yer guts.....

Pour some Sugar on me

I have no pictures .....anymore....

my computer decided it was sick and tired.....it had a virus

And nothing could make it better.....

so everything came off .....

bummer.....but I thought I would share my buttermilk syrup recipe.....

it is so good.....I have it memorized....my kids ask for it......they would drink it....if I let them

I don't...but I do lick the pan I make it in!!! Waste not, want not!

It is basic and good......with no high fructose corn syrup.....yes it has lots of sugar......refined sugar...

but sugar is not our enemy.....I promise.....

and butter is our friend....I double promise......no hydrogenation there....that is bad

I have used this syrup to make the frosting for cinnamon rolls....I have drenched pancakes , waffles and french toast...and even...eggs with it.

Yes, I admit it.....I like syrup on my eggs and bacon! So I hope you like!

Buttermilk Syrup
2 c sugar
1/2 c butter
3/4 c buttermilk
2 t baking soda
2 t vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients except vanilla ans bring to a boil for seven minutes. Take off stove and mix in vanilla!
PS...I make my own buttermilk...easy peasy mac and cheesy

1 T vinegar to 1 Cup milk, let it sit for five minutes.