So we moved from The mountains is NC to the beach in MD.  As I get older I find I really don't like packing and moving.  I told my family we need to find our forever home and make sure out daughter likes it because I don't want to do this again.
As organized as I felt we were, the day the mover came, the realtor and new owners show up to do a walk thru, their daughter comes along, the cat is in his carrier, a neighbor stopped by, etc, etc.  chaotic to say the least and the movers are handing things to each other and moving my organized boxes from place to place.  Well to say the least my boxes were put on a truck, left my house and were put on a larger truck with other families.  So much for any organization while packing.
They decided today, during a blizzard that they would deliver our cargo.  So a few hours and frozen hands and feet later, it didn't happen.  They couldn't get into the storage unit and went home.  We will try again in a few days when things thaw out a bit.  Until then, we are nice and warm at my families condo.
Stay warm!

Low Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

Cinnamon swirl crumb cake

Cake:

6 ounce vanilla fat free yogurt

1/4 cup skim milk

2 eggs

1 Tbl vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups reduced fat biscuit mix

1/3 cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

Topping:

½ cup brown sugar

2 Tbl light butter

½ cup reduced fat biscuit mix

1 Tbl cinnamon

2 Tbl confectionary sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use non stick spray on a 9 inch round pan.

In a large bowl whisk yogurt, milk, eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth.  Add 1 cup biscuit mix, combine, add sugar, combine then add remaining biscuit mix and combine completely.  Pour batter into prepared pan, but, reserve 1 cup batter and stir in 1 ½ tsp cinnamon.  Drop cinnamon batter by teaspoonfuls cover batter and swirl into mixture.

In a separate bowl prepare topping excluding confectionary sugar.  Sprinkle over batter.

Bake for approximately 25 – 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Cool completely.  When cool, shake confectionary sugar over top of cake.

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What is in a label?

We're trying to be more health conscious this year  and  my  daughter is taking a fit and well class in college, so we are reading labels a lot.  Well, I pulled a few items from my pantry that I thought were "healthy" and let me tell you, I was wrong.

1.  Whole berry cranberry sauce. It's fruit, it has to be good for you. But it has high fructose corn syrup and corn syrup. Two times!!

2.  Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce.  Again with the sugar and smoke flavorings.  Did someone hold the sauce over a campfire? Blow cigarette smoke into it? How is smoke flavoring natural??

3.  Tuna fish.  Contains soy?  HUH?? I don't get that, but they are nice enough to notify me that the can contains fish!

4.  Pumpkin spice flavored jello instant pudding.  I like to sprinkle that into my coffee as flavoring.  It contains disodium phosphate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, BHA and other things.

So, we will try to buy things that are easily pronounced.  I have chemicals that I can read easier!

Mint Cookies

Just a reminder, if you can't afford mint cookies from the girls, here's my recipe for Mint Cookies:

1 cup mint chips or candies ( I used 25 Andies candies)
18 ritz crackers

In a microwave safe bowl, melt candies for approximately 1 minute and stir until smooth.  Microwave @ 20 second increments if not completely melted and smooth.

Dip ritz crackers into melted chocolate.  Flip and completely coat cracker.  Place on a piece of waxed paper to harden.

Makes 18 cookies that will be eaten as fast as you make them!!

Enjoy!

Milk Hand Scrub

This time of the year my hands are dry, so I created this recipe.  It works for me.  I do it at night or before I wash the dishes. After I have the warm olive oil on my hands I put dish gloves on and wash the dishes.  When I take the gloves off, wash my hands and they are so soft.  So enjoy yhe recipe and let me know if it works for you!

Milk hand scrub 

2 Tablespoons oatmeal

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp milk

Place oatmeal in a food processor and pulse until grainy.  Place into a bowl, mix in baking soda and add milk to make a paste. 

Rub on dry skin, leave on for 10 minutes and wash off with warm water. 

Rub warm olive oil into your hands when done.

You can double the recipe.

Stuff I've learned

One thing I've noticed and learned about me, I eat more when stressed and create recipes and bake when I'm happy and/or content.  I am consciously trying to bake healthier things.  Less sugar, less fat.  I can use applesauce and yogurt in place of oil.  I tried pumpkin pie mix in place of oil when I made brownies.  DON"T DO IT,  You can totally taste the pumpkin and it was nasty.  I love pumpkin, but not that way.  Now if you use it in a vanilla cake or blondies, that may be perfectly fine but I haven't tried that yet, so if anyone has a recipe like that, please share.  I love to try new things.  I have quite a few hundred recipes I've written.  My binders are overflowing!  Now it's to the point where I have so many, it's hard to find the one I'm looking for, so I create the recipe all over again, find the original & they're close.
And about the hot fudge cake, when it cools, it has cake on top, like a pudding filling in the middle and a thinner sauce on the bottom.  Very good.  I've made it a few times because it's so quick and easy and I've had it cold and hot, so it's good either way.
Well, ta-ta for now & enjoy!!