Did I hear someone just say, "Chocolate?"

Ingredients for Chocolate Muffins.

Batter in muffin pan, ready to bake.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Who doesn't like chocolate?  When I saw this recipe for Chocolate Muffins in the Weight Watchers Cookbook, 2006 edition, I knew it was one I had to try.  The greatest difficulty lies in eating only one!

CHOCOLATE MUFFINS

1 1/2 cups flour

1/4 cup cocoa

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup skim milk

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 teaspoons butter, melted

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

- Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

- Combine milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.  I used a measuring cup for this.

- Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients, stirring just until blended. Do not overmix.

- Pour evenly into a 12-cup muffin pan, sprayed with nonstick spray.  I just line my muffin pan with foil cupcake liners.  It makes for easier cleanup and removal from the pan.

- Bake for 20 minutes, until cake tester tests done.

Working to get better focus on my pictures!

Next, friend - or foe?

Have a super Monday, and thank you for reading.  I love your comments. 

Food for the Soul....

Books from each category on the UMW Reading List

Oops! A bit out of focus with the UMW Program Book and Prayer Calendar.

Church activities fill much of my time, especially participating in the United Methodist Women.  I have served as an officer in both my local church and the District.  It was because of my love of books and reading that the first district office I served (two terms) was as Secretary of Program Resources.  There are five categories from which books are to be chosen if participating in the reading program - 

Education for Mission, Spiritual Growth, Social Action, Supportive Community, and Leadership.  In addition, we are to read Response, the UMW magazine.  

The first picture shows books that I will read during this year.  Hopefully I will read two or three times this many for the reading program.  While I purchased the initial five books for myself, our church is blessed to be able to have a budget item allowing for purchasing many of the books on the reading program, so I will be able to readily find others to complete my reading goals.

The second picture shows the program book - Walk With Wholeness - and the Prayer Calendar for 2012.  Each of these is new for each year.  Walk With Wholeness is filled with program ideas for UMW meetings throughout the year.  The Prayer Calendar emphasizes a different mission focus each day, as well as mentioning the missionaries with birthdays on that given day.  

Currently, I am serving both my local Unit, plus the District, as Co-ordinator for Spiritual Growth.  One special emphasis which I mention at this time of year is the Call to Prayer and Self-Denial.  Prayer and giving have long been vital to women's organizations in the church.  One way that United Methodist Women members combine prayer and giving is during the time of Call to Prayer and Self-Denial.  This year's theme - Time for Change:  Technology - actually indicates what our special offering will support this year.  Access to information technology will be improved, and projects such as computer literacy, information technology training, English as a second language classes, and career enhancement and job-seeking skills will be supported.

It is also my responsibility to plan our District Day Apart, to be held this year on March 10.  I will probably be mentioning that again in future posts.

So - just communicating that there are other things that I enjoy besides cooking and eating, lest you think I spend all my time in the kitchen.:-)

Next - Did I hear someone just say, "Chocolate?"

Thank you for reading and commenting!  Have a blessed day!

Chilly weather....

From our backyard on Friday morning; the "field of greens" is shivering.

Our street as I went for the newspaper; wind chill made the temperature feel like 12 degrees!

It has to be time for making chili!  Is that cocoa I see?

Ground beef, chopped onion, and garlic browning.

Tomatoes, tomato juice, kidney beans, and spices added, and ready to cook.

                                         Served with grated cheese and sour cream.  Remember that Bran Bread?

We have had our first "snowfall" of the season.  It didn't linger, and all sign of snow was gone by mid-afternoon.  Local schools were on a one-hour delay, which was a help, I'm sure.  Our county is large, and some areas received a bit more snow/icing than we did where we live.

That kind of weather just seems to call for Chili.  Now, I have made lots of chili in the past, even to benefit Chili Cook-offs.  For this one, however, I combined parts of two different recipes - one in the First Place, 1997 reprint edition and one from Betty Crocker, 1986 edition.

CHILLY CHILI

2 # ground beef (I use 93/7)
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can (15-oz.) diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 quart tomato juice
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons cocoa
dash of cinnamon
2 cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (this removes some of the sodium)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt (you may prefer more; we just go light on the salt)

- Brown ground beef with onions and garlic; drain off any fat.
- Add remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
- Enjoy with toppings of your choice.

For those of you who are interested, the china above is Strawberries and Cream by Villeroy and Boch, no longer available.  If you are able to see it, there is a green footed dish with some lime jello with pears, an appropriate side for the chili today.  It is Nouveau Green by Colony, no longer available.

Next - Food for the Soul

Thank you so much for reading and commenting.  Have a great Saturday!

The "Staff of LIfe...."

Gathering supplies for making Bran Bread.

Add all dry ingredients to the food processor.

After adding liquid, pulse 30 times to knead the dough.

Place dough in oiled bowl.

Let rise; punch down; rise 30 minutes longer.

After second rising, turn out on floured surface; pat into rectangle.

Fold into thirds.

Let rise until doubled.

Bake until nicely brown, with a hollow sound when lightly tapped.

Slice and enjoy!:-)

Bread has been called the "staff of life" for centuries.  There are many kinds of yeast breads that I have baked through the years, but this is the first time for me to bake Bran Bread.  You will notice there are some usual ingredients missing: no eggs, no milk, no sugar, no oil/fat.  This bakes into a dense loaf, and the Man of the House proclaimed it "hearty!":-)  The recipe comes from the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook, 2006 edition, p. 67.

BRAN BREAD

1 envelope active dry yeast

1 1/3 cups lukewarm (105-115 degree F) water

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup + 2 Tablespoons wheat bran

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt 

- In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

- In a food processor, combine the all-purpose flour, wheat bran, whole-wheat flour, and salt. With the machine running, scrape the yeast mixture through the feed tube just until the dough forms a ball.  Knead the dough by pulsing until it is smooth and no longer sticky, about 30 times.

- Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray; place the dough in the bowl.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles in volume, about 1 hour.

- Punch down the dough.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place about 30 minutes.

- Punch down the dough; lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour.  Turn out the dough; pat into 

an 8 x 12-inch rectangle.  Fold into thirds, lengthwise, pinching the seams to seal, and form into an 

8-inch loaf.

- Spray an 8 x 4 -inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.  Place the loaf in the pan, seam-side down.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise until the dough is about 1-inch above the rim of the pan, about 1 hour.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

- Lightly brush the loaf with water.  Bake on the center oven rack until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped lightly on top, 45-50 minutes.  Remove from the pan and cool completely (preferably overnight) on a rack.

In regards to the amount of salt mentioned in this recipe, we have had the habit of reducing our sodium intake for a number of years, and I don't ever use the amount of salt called for in the recipe.  Also, the bread dough did not ever reach the point above the edge of the pan that the recipe suggests, and I even added another hour.  

Thank you to those of you who are reading.  I love your comments.

Next time - Chilly Weather.

Tune in....

Selections from the fall

                                                               Tunes for the spring/summer.

One of my favorite activities is singing in the chorus at our local senior center.  We are blessed to have a very talented director and accompanist, and those of us who sing enjoy one another's company.

I consider this part of my community service because we go "on the road" to perform at various sites. We sing at nursing homes, assisted living homes, rehab centers, other senior centers, and also at special community events.

A memorable selection from the fall was "Football Hero."  The director had a helmet and jersey, and at each location, someone was chosen to play the part of the football hero.  At one place, the Man of the House was asked to put on the helmet and jersey!  As planned, he was "pursued" by some of the members of the chorus.  This part of the program always elicited laughter from those in the audience.

We will begin our rehearsals soon for our spring/summer program, and we already have some dates on the calendar for our performances.  We have had a break of several weeks in our rehearsals, and I am anxious to put my soprano voice into action.:-)

Tomorrow - The "Staff of Life."

Thank you for reading.  I love your comments.

Just a recipe....

Happy Wednesday to everyone who is following along!  I hope this is a good day for each one of you!

As I mentioned in my previous post, today is "just a recipe."  That means I neglected to take pictures of my progress through the preparation and serving.  I think we were just too hungry to consider that.:-)

This is not a new recipe in that versions are probably readily available in many places, but it is one that I have found helpful through the years as I have had to consider the "battle of the bulge."  It comes from "First Place Favorites," 1997 reprint edition.

HOT CHICKEN SALAD (can definitely use TURKEY)

2 cups diced chicken
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1/2 oz. slivered toasted almonds (I toast mine in a non-stick pan on top of the stove)
1 Tablespoon grated onion
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, tabasco
1/2 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 oz. grated reduced fat cheddar cheese

- Toss together all ingredients except cheese.
- Spray a baking dish (8x8 size) with non-stick spray and add chicken salad.
- Top with cheese.
- Bake at 375 degrees until cheese bubbles, 15-20 minutes.

Serves 6.

Enjoy!

Hope you "tune in" tomorrow!

Thank you for following along.  I love reading your comments.

Snow?

Taking position atop the mantle for the winter snow. (What?)

Joining my friend on the other end of the mantle.:-)

Snowman friends waiting for that winter cup of tea.  Are there plans to fill the popcorn bowl?

Snow.  That's what many of us anticipate with the coming of winter.  In this area, however, snowflakes seem to be few and far between.  

When I was teaching, one of the first crafts for us to finish when we resumed school in January, would be lots and lots of paper snowflakes for room decoration.  Many winters, those were the only snowflakes we would see.

In our area of East Tennessee, in the valley of the Smoky Mountains, a snowman-building snowfall is not a common occurrence, so our "snow" comes in the form of the decor that has replaced the red and green of Christmas.

Some of you who are reading may live in areas that never see snow, and you may not miss it at all.  Others may live in areas that may depend on snow for part of your livelihood in the winter months.  Some of you may live where you are having the expected snowfall of the winter season, though I imagine those locations are few this particular winter, from what we keep hearing on the news.

At our place, the weather has allowed us to enjoy the growth of the fall planting in the garden on into this month.  For that we are thankful - but - it surely would be neat to see some snow!

What about where you are?  Has this winter been "normal" for you?

Thank you to those of you who are following.  I love reading your comments.

Tomorrow - Just a recipe....