Weight Watcher Friendly Double Chocolate Cupcakes

These are SO yummy! And for only 3 or 3.5 points, a nice little chocolate indulgence :)

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

2 T butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 c. plus 2 T 1% buttermilk
1/3 c. water
1 T white vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. miniature semisweet chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl, cream butter adn sugar. Add egg and egg white, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Stir in buttermilk, water, vinegar and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to batter just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups coated with cooking spray 3/4 full. Bake at 375F 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

YIELD: 14 cupcakes (I make 12 and they are 3.5 WW points each; 3 if you make 14).1 (if making 14) = 139 calories, 2 g. fat, 1 g. fiber

A couple pictures!!

Wow! It could have been so much worse!

What a weekend!!

Friday night we were waiting for Doug to get home. It was late and he barely made it, but called about 10 to say he made it in the nick of time, was going to unload his truck and head home.

About 10:30 he called to tell me he was in an accident. He was turning left at an intersection with a green turn arrow. A drunk driver blew through the light coming the other way and hit him head on. Doug is OK. His pickup is totaled UGH.

The police arrested the drunk driver and then searched his truck and found a loaded gun. Before the police happened upon the accident, the man was yelling at Doug not to call the police. Thankfully they happened upon the accident just minutes after it happened and thankfully this man did not freak out and start shooting!

Doug called me and I went to get him and took him to the ER. We spent 5 hours there to find out his spinal xrays are fine PTL! We got home about 4am.

Saturday morning Doug was stiff and sore in his neck and upper back. My entire body was sore. Five hours in the ER chairs did not bode well for me. I think I feel worse than Doug!

He's at the doctor right now for follow-up and hopefully to get a full-release to return to work in the morning.

He's going to wherever it is they towed his pickup to clean it out and take pictures. All the boys want to go along LOL.

Saturday and Sunday was spent doing a few errands and relaxing around the house.

Isaac was in a bowlign tournament on Saturday. As of Saturday evening his team was in first place. Not sure how the Sunday teams bowled or what his placement is now, though.

I hope your weekend was better than ours :)

Yummy comfort food! It is SO cold here now. We didn't school today, so I spent a little more time making some soup and bread bowls. YUM!

Hearty Potato Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
2 carrots, diced
6 celery ribs, sliced
2 qts. water
1 onion, chopped
6 T butter
6 T flour (I used soft white whole wheat)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. milk (I use FF organic)

In a large kettle, cook potatoes, carrots and celery in water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid and setting vegetables aside.

In the same kettle, saute onion in butter untiol soft. Stir in flour, salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes; gradually add milk, stirring constantly until thickened.

Gently stir in cooked vegetables. Add cooking liquid, 1 c. at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

YIELD: about 3 quarts. 1 c. = 4 WW points


Bread Bowls

1/2 c. water
1 c. warm milk
2 T butter, melted
2T sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 c. flour
4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten

Combine milk, butter, sugar, salt and yeast in a bowl and allow to sit until foamy. Whisk in 2 c. flour and salt for 2 min. Gradually add remaining 2 c. flour and stir until dough forms a ball.

Turn onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic.

Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour.

Punch down and divide dough into 6 balls. Place on greased baking stones (cookie sheets), cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

YIELD: 6 bread bowls; 1 BB = 8 WW points.

We had a FABULOUS weekend!

We were supposed to go to IL for the weekend. Doug's company Christmas dinner was yesterday. We decided not to do that, but since we already farmed the kids out to Gramma and the in-laws, we made other plans (Thanks guys :)

Friday we went to Panera Bread for dinner and just sat there talking. No need to rush around. We also browsed the mall for a bit to kill time. Then we went dancing. The band we heard for the first time last week was playing close to our home, so we went. Doug already met the entire band, so they came to talk to us and ask him for sound advice LOL. That man is funny. It was nice to meet and talk with new people. I like Savoy's music selection (the band Doug helps) better, but this band is GOOD!

We came home late and slept in. Saturday morning we went to my dear friend's memorial service. It was the MOST touching service I've ever been a part of. Then we drove over to PA to stay at a hotel. We planned to swim, but the pool was SWARMING! with kids. So we hopped into the in-room jacuzzi instead. Normally kids aren't a problem, but I wasn't up for all the splashing! I just sat in there for about 45 min. letting the jets hit my sore muscles. Man what I wouldn't give to have a whirlpool tub like that at home. I'd feel SO much better. Then we took a nice, long nap. We woke up about 6:30 and ordered in pizza. Doug went to get it and the band was already there setting up. Savoy played the lounge, so that is nice. The lounge was so crowded, so we didn't dance as much as we'd like to, but we had a great time!

So we had pizza and went dancing. We slept in again this morning. Then had a liesurely breakfast down in the atrium. They have the nicest breakfast buffet, included with the room, on Sundays. We came back up and I soaked in the tub again. I want a whirlpool tub with jets at home! I need to soak in there every night. It felt so much less pain and slept so much better!

We're home now. We went grocery shopping on the way home. Doug is napping since he has to leave for work. I'm finishing up his laundry, made 3 loaves of banana bread so he could have some for work, prepped and packed his food.

So that was our weekend. What did you do??

I made an apron!

I am rather proud of me! I am not a seamstress AT ALL! I can sew flat hemmed things such as a table cloth, etc.

I LOVE my Pampered Chef apron. The strap is adjustable and I love that.

So I used my PC apron as a guide. I am rather pleased with the way it turned out. Escept the curved seam on the side. I am not sure how to do that. So any tips?? I'd like to try another one.

I am happy that I matched the pocket up with the pattern and you can't tell where it is :)

My latest knitting project!

I made a pair of fetchings (fingerless gloves). It was my first project on double pointed needles AND making cables.

It was surprisingly easy! and quite fun. You can whip these out in a couple of movies :::snort::: It took me a couple weeks, though, because I did not work on them diligently.

The pattern is from knitty.com

Happy New Year!!!

OK, so I'm 9 days late and a dollar short :::snort:::

It's been hectic around here. I had some kind of ongoing food poisoning. I thought it was the flu. It was from my juicer being moldy, without my knowing it! It's clean now :) And I'm better.

We started back into the old grind this week. Doug back to work for 6 days :( Started back with school by doing 1/2 days of only math and science. Although Monday took FOREVER! Nobody was happy to be back............

We celebrated Doug's 42nd birthday. I told him only 8 more years until he is 50! He didn't care for that reminder :::snort:::

I have a new little box in my sidebar for a blogring. It is a ring of blogs from people on the Sonlight forums. I finally got it working today after being approved. I'm not sure everybody on there is up and running, so you may hit a wall for a couple days.

I'm working on a new knitting project and will be posting pictures soon.

That's pretty much it. Just the same old thing. I need to think of some things to post, because we got up, we did school, we went to bed gets boring on a daily basis LOL..........

How has your new year been so far??

So Jordan got a tattoo!

He's been talking about getting one for years. We originally told him he had to be 18. But last summer, we changed our minds and told him if he could be responsible enough to pay for his driver's training classes and get his license, then he could get it early. It was a nice incentive for him to do something I needed him to do :::snort:::

He does not have his license yet. But he paid for his schooling, took 24 hours of classroom time and passed the written test 4 weeks ago! The school hasn't fit him in yet for his 8 hours of driving with an instructor UGH. I have NO idea how long the wait will be, but I am getting quite frustrated with them!!

Anyway, we told him he could go ahead and get his tattoo. So last night he went. His friend John and Isaac were there. Oh, Zach was there, too. Zach's dad is the tattoo artist. Doug and Allen went down because Donny needed written permission since Jordan is a minor.

Here he is getting the outline. It wasn't too bad he said. But when they started the color, he got quite faint! Donny forgot to tell him to eat first, and they planned to go out to dinner afterwards. So John and Isaac ran to get him a Mountain Dew while Doug, Zach and Allen sat there waiting for Jordan to cry :::snort::: He never did cry, but he almost passed out. He's little a little green, eh?
Here is his finished tattoo. He wanted a bass clef since he plays bass guitar. Donny made sure it put it nice and high so his t-shirt sleeve will cover it. You cannot play in the worship band at church if you have a visible tattoo. So he made sure it can always be covered.
I think it looks nice, actually. I am pleased he chose something nice. He debated between that and a very nice cross. He said maybe the cross next time. We told him when he no longer lives here :::snort:::: We would not have allowed an icky, evil looking tattoo. But this isn't bad.

Finally able to post this!

At the beginning of December, my sisters and I (and my BIL Joe) all met at the mall to have the grandkids picture taken. We gave this away to grandparents and great-grandparents for Christmas. So I was not able to post before!

Of course you see my 3 great kids and recognize them :) The older girl, boy in the black turtleneck in the middle row, boy in the red turtleneck and baby Joey belong to my youngest sister. The little girl that can't take her eyes off of Joey (in ANY picture they took) and the 2 boys in the front are my younger sister's children.

We had SO much fun at the mall! We did the pictures, got Starbucks, played in the toy store and then ate at the food court and just had fun relaxing!

A few random shots from The Three Days of Christmas!

Baby Joey LOVED Santa! He was smiling at him. Isn't he just so adorable? I could eat him up. He's such a squish ball! Santa and me
Allen is the only one of the boys that still wanted to sit on Santa's lap!
Christmas morning. We were all still waking up, but I didn't take pictures the rest of the day ?!?!?! This is Jordan!
Isaac

Allen
Me and the puzzles the boys and I are anxious to start!
Doug
This is from yesterday's party. My mom and baby Joey! I love how he is looking at her!

We had a Green Green Christmas!

Nope, no snow on Christmas. Well, we did have a little bit of snow, a dusting, on Christmas Eve. But Christmas was pretty green. But it was so wonderful!

We got up early on Christmas Eve to get all the food and cleaning done. Headed to my Dad's around noon and had a lovely time. Santa came (I'll post pictures in another entry) and the kids had a great time and we exchanged gifts. We stayed and talked for a long time. So long that we missed church OOPS! First time in 19 Christmases that we did not go to Christmas Eve service. I was SO exhausted and sore that we came home and I took a nap for an hour or so. We did do the McD's and driving to see Christmas lights. We came home and watched The Christmas Story on TV. It's my least favorite Christmas movie, but also my favorite. My brother LOVED it and every time we watch it, I get warm fuzzies thinking of him.

The kids decided at 9:30 they should go to bed. OK, sounds good to me LOL. So Doug and I sat up and listened to music and looked at the lights and exchanged our Christmas Eve gifts. It was lovely.

Christmas morning I woke up about 7:15 and made coffee and told the boys to come down. It's not quite as exciting with teens as it is with littles, but I also don't have to get up at 5 AM :)

Doug read from Luke, we did stockings and gifts. Everybody helped me prepare breakfast. It was very peaceful and nice. Dad and Cay buzzed by for a visit on the way to my aunt's house. My gramma came over to exchange gifts with us. I took a LONG nap while Doug cleaned up breakfast and set the table for dinner.

Doug's parents came about 4:30 and we exchanged gifts and had baked ziti. I made a new recipe and it was awesome! It will be a keeper and a traditional meal now I think :)

After dinner the 7 of us went to see National Treasure! We always go to the movies on Christmas evening. What a splurge! We rarely go to the movies, and never after the matinee. Anyway, it was such a good movie. I wasn't sure what to expect. I hadn't seen the first one and really knew nothing about it. I loved the history of it in the beginning. It made me want to see the first one, so Allen and I watched it yesterday :) Loved it, too!

Doug had to leave for work early on the 26th. It was lovely having him home, but I was sad he had to leave. We still had another Christmas celebration that evening!

I hosted our family yesterday. Mom and Dave, Gramma, my great aunt Edna, my mom's brother and his wife, their grown children and their families, my sisters and their families. We had 2 new babies to cuddle this year. Although I never did hold Andrew :(

We had a fabulous time! The kids played video games and were just overall cute! It was fun to visit with relatives we only see a couple times a year. I love it!

So what did we get for Christmas? I received a new sewing machine and now I am going to learn to sew :) Doug gave me an under the counter radio/cd player for the kitchen. It is so nice! The boys gave me some puzzles. We do puzzles Jan-March because there is not a lot else to do LOL. New slippers, mom made me some great socks and I am going to wear them today, some cash and gift certificates. I think I'll get my hair done :) I am in need of a trim and color touch up :)

The boys received video games, fishing supplies, cash and gift certificates. Jordan received a new electric guitar amp and I am not sure it is my favorite gift :::snort:::

We gave Doug a battery operated neck massager for his truck, a new briefcase, some cologne. He also received cash and GCs and a GPS. He will love that for work! He said it made his day so much easier yesterday!

It was a lovely holiday! I am glad all the work and business is over though and we can just relax for the next 1 1/2 weeks before starting back to school :)

Hoping for a White Christmas!

Last weekend we got 7 inches of snow! It was beautiful! It was so peaceful! I posted pictures LOL.

Thursday it was in the 50s. Friday we were forecasted to have a high of 70! And it was pretty warm.

Our snow is gone!!!

It has been raining and raining. A little bit ago it was snowing, HARD, but it stopped!

So we're hoping for a White Christmas.

Will YOU have a white one???

Christmas Traditions

Every year we "do" Christmas about the same way. So I guess those would be called Christmas traditions, eh?

Christmas Eve~
We cook and clean. Actually we start cooking on the 23rd.
Otherwise, we have a family gathering with my Dad on Christmas Eve. We head over to my Dad's about 11:30 am. My sisters and their families will be there, Dad and Cay, Cay's mom, and my paternal gramma. We have pizza and chicken and then Santa comes! Doug plays Santa and the littles get SO excited! I have my annual picture taken with Santa :)

Then the extended family gives their gifts to the littles and we leave them to play. The adults go into the next room and exchange gifts. It is SO fun!

We also go to Christmas Eve service at church on Christmas Eve evening. I love this service. It's mostly accoustic guitar and carols. We take communion. It is nice.

Afterwards we drive through McD's for dinner and then drive around for an hour or so and look at the Christmas lights.

Doug and I have a nice little Christmas Eve tradition after the kids are in bed. We have a glass of wine, shrimp and cheeseball, and watch the lights and listen to music. It is so relaxing and usually quite late. But so nice.

Christmas Day~
Doug reads the Chirstmas story out of Luke.

We have coffee while opening the stockings. Then I pop our casserole in the oven and it cookes while we exchange gifts.

The guys clean up and I finish preparing our brunch. Mostly just setting things out, whipping the cream for the eggnog, stuff like that.

My Dad and Cay drop by on their way to my aunt's house. My Gramma comes by for a little visit.

Then we hang out in our jammies playing games, watching movies and napping :)

My in-laws will be by for dinner and then we'll exchange gifts and head to the movies. I think we'll see National Treasure this year. We've been going to the movies for 5 years now. It is a nice time.

Dec. 26~
We have a family gathering with my mom. My sisters and I take turns hosting. This year is my turn. So that evening my sisters and their families, my Mom and Dave, maternal gramma, great aunt, aunt and uncle, their 2 grown boys with their wives and children will all come over. It will be a nice time of fellowship and holding the 2 new babies we've had this year :) :) :)

Dec. 27th I'll have a jammie day :::snort::: Actually, I told the boys they could ALL, at the SAME TIME, have a friend spend the night! Yep, I am INSANE!!!

So that's a little glimpse into our Christmas traditions. I'd love to hear about yours. Please leave a comment on my blog that you've posted on yours so I can come by and read all about yours.

TWO days until Christmas, are you ready??

Wow, this month has flown by. I have been busy, busy, busy, mostly baking and knitting.

I am all ready :) I'm bought and wrapped and most gifts are under the tree. Cookies are made. I ended up making about 150 dozen cookies, which is a LOT of baking when only 20 cookies fit in the oven at a time. But I love doing it.

Today started our cooking/cleaning frenzy. Doug cleaned the house. GO HONEY!!!! He's such a great guy!

I made 4 dozen cinnamon rolls, a cheeseball and 3 batches of eggnog. Well, Jordan and Isaac made 1 batch each and I made 1, too. I also made 2 loaves of cranberry orange walnut bread. It just came out of the oven YUMMY!

Tomorrow we'll get up in the morning and keep cooking. All this food for 1 day :::snort::: I'll make a pan of baked ziti for Christmas dinner. I'll also prepare our Christmas brunch, which is:

Sausage/egg/cheese casserole
Homemade cinnamon rolls (check)
Shrimp cocktail
Fresh pineapple
Cookies and more cookies
Homemade eggnog (check)
OJ
Coffee
Mimosas

We also have some places to go and people to see.

So, are you ready?

I wish everybody a joyous and Christ-filled Christmas!!

Comments

Well, it has happened that I am getting spammed in my comments. So, for the time being, I have enabled comment moderating. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. But I am tired of deleting this poster's comments.

What color green are you?

You Are Grass Green

Down to earth and a bit of a hippie, you are very into nature and the outdoors. You accept the world and people as they are. You don't try to change things. You are also very comfortable with yourself, flaws and all. Optimistic about the future, you feel like life is always getting better.

What Color Green Are You?

My MOM always has such fun things on her blog! I found this little quiz there. She is a different color green than I am. She was also a different ornament than I was, but my gramma was the same.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

We started getting snow yesterday about 1:30. We went to our prayer Christmas party at 2 and when we left at 5:30, we had about 3 inches!

Doug shoveled the driveway last night when we got home. See the huge fluffy flakes falling? Aren't they beautiful?

And then it just kept snowing overnight. Here is Allen shoveling this morning!

Just the view off my front stoop. The shrubery is under the awning! When you look across the street, the nieghbor's first 2 porch steps are under snow! I am sure their 2 little boys are going to have a blast today!


It isn't very wet, so not very good packing snow! It is SO weird to look out at our front trees and see snow on them. They still have leaves on them :::snort:::

I love snow. It is so peaceful to look out at freshly fallen snow. And another great thing about snow is that the tiny little bit of light that is out there reflects and it seems brighter :)

What is the weather where you are? Are you expecting a white Christmas?

SHS Christmas Tree Challenge!

I've finally gotten around to posting pictures of our tree on the blog. I am on a wonderful Yahoo group (link in sidebar). Every now and then they post blog challenges. The latest one is to post our Christmas tree pictures.

So here is our tree this year, and also our mantle. See me in the mirror LOL.......

So less than 2 weeks until Christmas and I still have plenty to do. I hope to get it all done.

Tomorrow is our last scheduled day of school :) So that will be helpful!

What Kind of Christmas Ornament Are You?

My Mom had a fun little quiz on her BLOG!
You Are a Tree

You Are a Tree

You love every part of the holidays, down to the candy canes and stockings. And you're goofy enough to put a Christmas tree ornament on your tree!

What Christmas Ornament Are You?