Happy New Year! And what I've been doing....

Greetings!

I promise, I didn't fall into a pit or aliens didn't abduct me.

There's been a lot going on. Let me start at the beginning....

A little over a year ago, my gallbladder, Gertie, went to heaven (or wherever dead organs go). I started the fall semester and spent it sicker than a dog. I was trying to keep my head above water, and failing miserably. I failed my first class....ever. And for an overachiever like myself, that took a huge blow. After months of tests and doctor visits, I finally found someone who was willing to take a gamble that the problem was, in fact, my gallbladder. No one had believed me, and the tests all said it was playing nicely. So a week before Thanksgiving, I had my gall bladder removed. Finally. Relief. No pain, no weird stomach cramps. Normal, finally. Yet, little did I know, my nightmare had only began.

Fast forward to the end of December, and a follow-up appointment and the news that since it took months for them to catch it, it would probably take a few more to get over all the yuckiness. Be patient. We will see you in April.

Finally, just before the Spring semester started, I was finally feeling better. Finally. No more dark circles, no more looking like I could play a part in a zombie movie. Everything was just peachy. So I started school and looked forward to the semester. Until the end of February. Strange stomach cramps are back, along with a need to invest in softer toilet paper. I figured it was just some sort of virus that would run it's course. But the exhaustion was back. I was miserable, again. And simply trying not to fail anymore classes. I wasn't sure how much longer I could take this.

Then one glorious night in April, my husband's company had a get-together to thank all the employees for their hard work and to gear up for summer. We had some great barbecue and hung out with some of his co-workers. As the evening wore on, the worse I felt. My stomach was making all kinds of noise, and as we got into the car to head home, I began to wonder if I would make it home without my dinner being revisited. We were 2 blocks from home when I got my answer.

If you have never hurled in a car, don't. It is impossible to get that smell out. There are cracks and crevices that vomit will hide in, so when I couldn't stop in time, I used my shirt. Hey, smelly car for the next umpteen years, or icky shirt...it certainly wasn't a hard choice. Needless to say, I really felt sorry for the house I puked in front of. More so, because they came out the next morning to a horrendous smell, and a shirt in the middle of the road. Yes, I abandoned my shirt. I never really liked that shirt anyway.

So, thinking that I had picked up a bug or something, we cleaned the vomit off my shoes and went to bed. Hoping that I could sleep it off. Unfortunately, I threw up, and up and up, and then, the diarrhea started. I was quite sure I had entered the 7th circle of hell. Around 2am and round #52, I was getting dehydrated, everything was fuzzy, I was shaking, and I nearly passed out on my way to puke up a lung, because that's pretty much all that was left. We go to the ER. I hurl in their bathroom, and then the blood starts. Nothing will terrify a person more than bloody diarrhea. It also motivates ER people to get you in a room...stat.

So they gave me some narcotics, as I had stomach cramps that I thought were going to do me in and IV fluids and sent me home. Probably a virus. Here's some antibiotics. Good luck. So Sunday I laid around and hoped that the gastro appointment I had on Monday would give me some answers.

I walked into the gastro and began explaining all my symptoms and what had gone on over the weekend. My gastro, concerned that there could be something serious going on, admitted me to the hospital and wanted some tests ran. I had CT scans and all kinds of other stuff. It was just super fun or not. I could almost here my bank account crying. They wanted a stool sample to see if I had this infection in my guts. I've never seen so many people who wanted a person to poop in my life. After having nothing really to eat and very little to drink in the last 3 days, I finally gave them their sample. 20 minutes later my nurse comes back and looks like she is prepared for battle. She has on a mask and a cape and informs me that I have C.Diff. Yippee.

Google and I have always been BFF's, but I think I even got on her nerves doing the research that night. Heavy dosage of antibiotics and viola. Good as new. There is no way to know how I got it, but this stuff is typically seen in people who are on long term antibiotics or in nursing home's or other long term hospital settings. It's not common to be found in a healthy 33 year old. So basically this bacteria eats on your colon. Yummy. Depending on how long you have had it, depends on the damage. There was some visible damage during a colonoscopy-like test that only looked at the bottom part of my colon. So, I was sent home on $1500 antibiotics and told to wash my hands, and to be very careful about infecting others. I also got a 2 week vacation, because this stuff is highly contagious. Highly.

I know this is becoming a novel. Just be patient.

I took 2 rounds of antibiotics, and did some outpatient stool samples until there was no trace of the nasty bug in my guts. Yet, I was still plagued by stomach pain, fatigue, and a general not feeling well feeling. I was tired and ran down and very, very frustrated. I went to work and came home through out the summer and hoped that I would be feeling better by the time school started.

Finally, I thought I was beginning to heal. I began to count the pain free days. 1. 2. 3. then a week, then 2 weeks. Then school started. Stupid school screws up everything. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I hurt. It was enough that I was popping Advil during the day and pain pills at night. Usually the pain would go away by lunch time on Wednesday and Friday, but then, it was hanging around longer and longer until it was constant. So another prescription was added. Which thankfully brought some relief, but it was never permanent.

Imagine for a moment, spending a year feeling bad. You have stomach pain that feels so bad that you don't want to do anything but lay around, but even that hurts. It starts to screw with your head. I finally caved and complained to my doctor that I couldn't take it anymore, and was given anti-depressants. I hated that. I hated feeling like I couldn't do this, but I had been holding on by a thread, and that thread was about to break. Those pills certainly made me feel human again, and I managed to use them to find something else to focus on. Like school. Like work. Like life. They got me through the fall semester and to the point I'm at today.

There's been a lot of changes in our house. I'm taking probiotics, and tons of vitamins. I'm eating less processed crap, because I don't really think that my intestines need fertilizer, plastic, or the variety of other ingredients that I have discovered in foods that I regularly consumed. I'm trying to go organic, and add less crap to my body. And slowly, finally, I think I'm beginning to heal. Sure, there are days when the pain is there, and the fatigue that is always present, but the pain, well, I'm back to counting days without it. I'm switching jobs, I'm starting my last year of college (at least for my bachelor's degree). I'm making me a priority. I'm also following a gluten free diet. My doctor suggested that it might help, and it's made a world of difference so far.

So all of this has left me wondering, and questioning, what to do. Sure, I still want to finish this list before I turn 40, but did I want to keep blogging and writing about it? I wasn't so sure. Until last week. See, the company that I currently work for, closed our office and gave me last week, and this week off. So I've had a 2 week vacation. I thought that it would be a great time to cook, and to get this blog set up so that I didn't have so much going on when school started back up in a few weeks. It was brilliant. Yet, I couldn't seem to find the words to write something here. I felt like I owed an explanation, and honestly, how was I going to keep up with Tasty Tuesday, when I had to be gluten free. What about the rest of you, who didn't have to be gluten free? Then I realized, that I can do both. I can still cook the gluten free stuff, and you can just substitute the regular stuff.

I can make it work...for both of us.

I wanted to be honest, and I hated that I hadn't shared any of this. But in the last few months as I've hunted down and done research to try and figure out what to do in order to heal my body from the inside out, I've relied so much on other's blogs and their experiences in order to figure out what to try and what might work to get me feeling better. I figured that some day, someone is going to be hunting for that same advice, and they will want to know that they can feel good again, and that I needed to do this, not so much for me, but for them.

I hope you'll stick around. It's going to get interesting around here.

Tasty Tuesday - Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

Bet you thought I was dead? Nope, just been sick and crazy busy. Well mostly sick and trying to keep my head above water. Your in luck for the rest of the week though. Be thankful.

It's soup weather. Thank goodness. Now my husband can't make fun of me for wanting soup when it's 95 outside. The weirdo.

Him.

Not me. I'm never weird.

Hey! What are asking him for?!?! He's biased.

I was in the mood for soup, and when I was figuring out what to fix for dinner this week, my husband saw this recipe and was reminded how incredibly awesome it was and that we needed to add it to the weekly lineup. So lucky you, I remember to take pictures (of most of it) and now you can enjoy this stuff too!

Soups on:

In a large saucepan, soup kettle, or cooking device. Lid optional.

Okay, anyway, in the pot add your potatoes, carrot, onion, green pepper, jalapeno, water, bouillon, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Now, I am guessing that their idea of medium potatoes is different than my idea of medium potatoes, because by the time I threw everything in, the water didn't even cover everything. So, if your idea of medium potatoes is like my idea of medium potatoes, add enough water to cover everything. Just barely. The onions, carrots and peppers will add to the liquid. Trust me. I'm an expert.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, add some butter, beef, and mushrooms and cook until meat is no longer pink. If you need to drain, drain. Otherwise your soup will be greasy. Greasy soup is bad. Hopefully your burners don't suck as much as mine do and your potatoes will be done and you won't have to wait like I did. But when your potatoes get their act together, add in the beef mixture. But first - remember where you added more water? Does your potatoes seem awfully "watery"? If so, drain some out. Leave just enough to barely cover the potatoes and other veggies.

Trust me.

I'm an expert.

Then your going to forget to take pictures of the rest of the steps. But even though there are no pictures, that doesn't mean that you can ignore the rest of the steps, otherwise your soup will just be ingredients floating in potato and carrot flavored water.

Sounds.....atrocious.

Add the milk. Now remember, if you added additional water, you'll need to add additional milk. Otherwise it won't have the creamy texture that your looking for. You can substitute heavy cream or half and half to use less and still get the creamy-ness. I probably added about a cup extra of milk, but I added about 6ish extra cups of water.

Let everything bubble and boil and toil and....stew. In a small-ish bowl, add the flour and the remaining cup of milk. I left my flour the same and everything came out fine even with the additional liquid. Mix it all up until it's nice and creamy, and add it to the pot. Mix everything up and return to a boil. Let everything boil for a few minutes or until thickened. Now, your going to add cheese. Velveeta tends to help thicken, so don't get the soup so thick at this point that you forget that your adding Velveeta, otherwise your soup is going to become more like a casserole. So leave it a little runny, and start adding your Velveeta. It will continue to thicken.

Trust me.

I'm an expert.

Or don't trust me and live with runny soup. To run or not to run that is the question.

So just trust me. I'm an .... well you get the idea.

Once your Velveeta has been added and had the chance to melt and cover everything in its cheesy processed goodness, it's time to grab a bowl and a spoon. Top it off with some grated cheese, and the bacon and a few slices of green onion and inhale.

Note: If you make this the way I did, you'll have enough for several meals. For two of us it came out to about 4 meals...times 3. But that was my goal. Dinner now, and dinner again when it's close to finals and I'm too busy studying to care about cooking and then one more go round next semester. Just get it out of the freezer and let it defrost in the fridge overnight. Then you can either microwave it up, or stick in back in the pot and warm up that way. Either way works. Enjoy!


Hint: Want to print this easier? Just click on the title and print. You can keep what you need and what you don't.


Cheeseburger Paradise Soup

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, grated
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped seeded jalapeno pepper (about 2 peppers)
6 cups water
2 tbsp plus 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 pounds ground beef (or turkey)
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
6 cups milk divided
8 tbsp all purpose flour
1 (16 oz) Velveeta cheese, cubed
crumbled cooked bacon (optional)
grated cheddar cheese (optional)
diced green onions (optional)

1. In a large saucepan, combine the potatoes, carrots, onions, jalapeno, green pepper, water, beef bouillon, garlic, pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper; bring to a boil Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and mushrooms in butter over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain well. Add to potato mixture. Stir in 5 cups of milk; heat through.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the flour and remaining milk until smooth; gradually stir into soup. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 3-4 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Garnish with bacon, cheese, and green onions if desired.

Update on the List Progress

Sheesh. This semester is whizzing by, but at the same time, I find myself asking numerous times each week "is it Thanksgiving yet?". This has been one of those weeks, when I've wanted to drop all my classes and take a 6 month long nap. College at 34, with a full time job, a couple of free-lancing gigs, and trying to have a life that doesn't revolve around college, work, or free-lancing is kicking my butt.

Here's some updates on the progress on the list.

1. I'm working on that graduate thing. You know, trying to pass my classes and do my homework and all that jazz. There is progress. Somewhere. I hate homework.
2. I'm trying to "plan" my technology free weekend for this month. I hate that I can't just plan, but I've got to make sure that I don't have stuff posted on Craigslist, since texting will be out of the picture.
3. My plans to lose 60 pounds begin tomorrow.
4. Saving every $5 bill that comes into my posession has been hard. I keep forgetting to save them. Since I'm using part of my weekly allowance as "extra" money to help make my tuition payments, those $5 bills have been my only source of cash. While I'm still hoarding them, I'm also using them to keep up with other little things when I need too. I'll start doing better with this. It's harder than I thought.
5. My "thankful" list. This has been tough. School is kicking my butt and wearing me out. I took too many hours this semester and I'm paying for it. I'm not getting enough rest and my stress level is crazy, crazy high. I've got so much stuff going on, that I am barely, barely keeping my head above water. It's been hard to be thankful for the things I wanted to. Right now, I'm thankful for 5 hour energy, and weekends. So I can catch up on sleep and try to de-stress some before the next week starts beating me up again.
6. The recipes, well that's been easier. I have to cook on the weekends so that we have something to eat during the week. So that's worked out well for both of us.
7. The launching of a cooking blog - well, I'm sorta doing that here, so I'm going to consider it a work in process. I might start a separate one later, but I can barely maintain one blog let alone 2.
8. I keep looking at some of the things on that list and wonder what in the world I was thinking. Karoke? Seriously? I can't sing? I don't like getting up in front of people I don't know. What was I thinking?!?!?!?

Coming up next week......
1. A quick soup recipe that involves cheeseburgers.
2. Wordless Wednesday The theme is "things I do in my spare time". Don't worry there will be no pictures of textbooks. Sewing projects, cross stitch, and whatever else I find that I've made.
3. A Finance exam....well that one really isn't for you...but if you wanted to know where I'll be at 6:30 on Wednesday night, I'll be taking a Finance exam.
4. Hopefully something exciting will happen over the weekend and I can come up with something else for you for next week.

Tasty Tuesday - Magic Millionaire Pie

I love quick and easy. Homework, work, sewing, even cooking. Every now and then I just want something awesome to come together quickly.

That's exactly what this pie does. I call this a "dump" recipe, because you basically dump everything in one bowl and go. You can literally make this pie in under 5 minutes, then just put in the fridge to chill and viola! Instant dessert.

Its quick, it's easy, and the best part - it's amazing. My grandmother always requests this pie at all family gatherings when my mom asked to help. Always. I think that my grandmother things my mom slaves away hours to make this pie, it tastes that good. Most people don't believe that you can even make this, low sugar, low fat and still enjoy something this decadent. So are you ready to make one, punk? Well are you?

The stars of the show:

Graham cracker crust, vanilla pudding mix, crushed pineapple, sour cream, and whipped topping.

Like I said before, just dump. In a medium bowl, add the pudding mix and crushed pineapple. Straight from the box and the can. Don't drain or otherwise do anything. Give it a stir until the pudding and pineapple have became one. Now, dump the entire carton of sour cream in, now stir it all about and do the hokey pok....nevermind.

Stir until it's all mixed together. Now, here's the cool part. It's time for the magic. Say you need to make enough to feed 12 people. Obviously 1 pie isn't going to cut it, but never fear. Instead of the extra large crust that I used to make one pie, just split the ingredients between the two regular size crusts and top with their own tub of whipped topping and voila - 2 pies. Just want one pie, well, just dump it all in the extra large crust and - 1 large pie. See, magic.

Either way, dump the filling into the crust and top with whipped topping. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until set up. This pie really tastes the best when it can sit overnight and all the ingredients can really get acquainted.

Once the pie has set in the fridge for a few hours, cut it up and enjoy! Hopefully you have a trick to getting that darn graham cracker crust to stay together so your pie doesn't fall all apart. It might not be pretty, but it sure makes up for the ugliness with it's awesomeness. And as long as you get it all mixed up, you can't tell there is a drop of sour cream in it. It's sneaky and magic.








Millionaire Pie

1 box vanilla instant pudding
1 (16 oz) container sour cream
1 (8 oz) crushed pineapple
1 (8 oz) whipped topping*
1 large graham cracker pie crust*

In a large bowl, combine pudding mix and crushed pineapple; stir until pudding is dissolved. Fold in sour cream and stir until well combined. Pour into graham cracker pie crust (or divide if making 2 pies). Top with whipped topping. Refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight until set.

Note: You can make 2 pies instead of one. If you get the small crust you can make 2 pies, the extra serving pie will allow you to make one pie, but you will need 2 tubs of whipped topping, one for each pie.

A Day In the Life Of......

A couple of weeks ago you got to follow me through my super exciting life on the days that I go to school and pretend to be a college student. This week, well I've got something special planned for you.

That's right, this week, you can follow me around the other 3 days. I know you've been waiting for this.

7am - my alarm goes off. I roll over and hit the snooze button and think "Is there any reason that I have to go to work today?" Oh yeah. The paycheck. I'm kinda fond of those.

7:15am - jump out of bed, run to the back door and let the dogs out. (Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?)

7:30 - hair and makeup. The magic happens here people. I'm turned into someone less pale and freckled into a goddess.

7:45 - head to work

7:46 - curse traffic

8:00 - arrive at work. Turn on the computer, pick up the faxes off the fax machine, put my lunch in the fridge and begin going through the paperwork from the day before.

8:03 - curse idiot part timer

8:10 - log into Facebook

8:30 - my boss shows up. Usually with a McDonald's bag and a cup of coffee.

8:40 - find something else on the internet to do, because it is way to early to start on homework.

10:30 - decide that I've procrastinated long enough and start on homework.

12:15 - hope that no one will show up while I'm attempting to fix my lunch.

12:30 - I'll take a bite, and the phone will ring or someone will walk in the door. Never fails.

5pm - the angels sing. The heavens rejoice. There is peace on Earth. Because after I have done about 30 minutes of actual work, I'm going home

5:10 - curse traffic

5:30 - arrive home. Love the puppies. Wish I had a maid that cooked and cleaned.

5:40 - realize that dinner isn't going to microwave itself

6:30 - eat whatever awesome creation I have prepared

7pm - procrastinate

7:30 - If I want to go to bed at a semi decent hour, I should start homework.

10-4am - go to bed.

Repeat all over again tomorrow. Awesome, right?

So now that you know how super, awesome my life is, I'm sure you want to know what the requirements are so that you can trade with me. Here you go. In no particular order:
- must maintain a 4.0
- must be an awesome cook
- must be rich

What?!? No takers?

Wanted: Personal Assistant

Sarcastic, neat freak seeks assistant to help with daily duties. Duties to include, but not limited to:

Cooking, cleaning, forcing me to exercise and eat right. Take great pictures for Tasty Tuesday posts. Must love dogs and be willing to play fetch or tug of war with a moment's notice.

Skills required:

Must like to cook and read. Prefers someone with crafty skills (but not absolutely necessary). Doesn't mind text communications and will not respond with "k, r, or u" as that will get you fired. Must be willing to take exams and do homework for me. Sarcastic writing skills a plus. Must be willing to answer my phone calls no matter what time it is received and no matter what you are in the middle of. Don't expect to have a life that doesn't revolve around keeping me on task.

To apply for the position, please send your resume, writing samples, and college transcripts to 40littlemoments at gmail.com. Please include your favorite flavor of cupcake, cookie, pie, cake or other dessert. Payment is dependent on whether or not I'm in the mood to cook you something and how well you keep my grades up.

If you are not willing to show up at 2am to an undisclosed location and bring a shovel, trash bags, and snacks, please do not apply.

Wordless Wednesday

The innocent little deer that my husband hopes to kill in November. I hope he misses.

"Ha Ha Ha! Take that momma. I'm taking selfies while your at work" What's up boys?

Oh Emm Gee mom. Your embarrassing me. 

"I don't look like a monster. I'm adorable. No one can resist my charms."

Tasty Tuesday - Pink Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

Ganache. It's like a secret code word for heavenly. Pink - I'm a girl, it's a rule. So I stumbled across this recipe about a year ago, and I've never made it, until now. But it's haunted me. I've dreamed about it. Then one day, I hunted the recipe down, and proceeded the hunt for the pink paste food coloring.

The culprits of the yummy goodness:

Butter, Vanilla, Sugar, Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Eggs, Salt, Buttermilk, Heavy Cream and White Chocolate

 In a bowl, add the sugar, butter and food coloring. If you want to get creative, you can use some other color, as this stuff doesn't change the taste. Beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. And toss in the vanilla.

Now, you can be lazy like me, and add our salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl your working in. That way you can just scoop the flour out of the canister and avoid washing an extra bowl. Or you can follow the directions and mix all that stuff in a separate bowl. Whatever floats your boat.

Now, add in the flour and the buttermilk alternately. Don't have buttermilk on hand, or don't want to buy it. Then just measure out your milk, and add a "splash" or about a 1 tsp to the milk. Let it sit, until it's thick and creamy. Viola! Instant buttermilk.

This is a fairly thick batter. Now...this is the most important step. Taste the batter. Don't look at me like that. Taste it. I was worried that the thickness meant I had done something wrong. So I tasted. Hmmm. It's okay. How disappointing. So in order to improve, I threw in some extra vanilla. And see that pink. That's the color I wanted after I added all the "white" remaining ingredients. You can always add more if you want to go darker.

Line your muffin tin. Sounds like an Army command. Line your tin soldier! Sir, Yes, Sir!

Get your batter in the tin. If you have a handy cupcakie - filler-upper then use it. Or an empty ketchup bottle works too. Just get the batter in the tins! Yes, Ma'am!

Now, you put them in the oven and turn yourself about and realize that your sink is full of dishes and that your too old to hokey pokey in your kitchen with a dog, and you discover that's what it's all about. It's been a long day.

Bake them cupcakes soldier. 25-27 minutes or until slightly golden and you poke a stick in them and the stick is still nice and clean. Then put the toothpick back in the container...think of it as recycling. Once the cupcakes are done, let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then remove them and let them cool completely. Probably on wire racks, but if your like me and don't own wire racks, then just let them cool on your counter. You'll want them completely cool to ice them.

To make the Ganache. In a saucepan add your heavy cream. Bring it to a boil. Don't think, "Oh, I'll go do (insert activity here) and come back and check on the cream in a second. It's a trick. Don't do it.

There isn't much cream to start with, so it doesn't take long to bowl. I was washing the muffin tins and turned around it and it was boiling. It's fast. Pour over the chocolate and whisk until smooth. Then add in the butter, and keep whisking. You want it lump free. Now, taste it. Go on, you know you want to. Did you hear the angels sing too?

Now, the hard part, stick the ganache in the fridge. You'll want to leave it about 30 minutes, and try to remember to come by and stir it about half way through. If you happen to leave it in longer than that, just let it sit out and warm up some. I left mine in about an hour and just let it sit out and then you whip it. And whip it good. Soft peaks is what your looking for. It takes a bit, but not near as long as making whipped cream. Then frost those cuppycakes and decorate to your hearts content. 

Then pour yourself a nice big glass of milk and take a bite out of a mini piece of taste bud heaven. Then hide the rest, because you probably won't want to share. 

Pink Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/8 tsp pink paste food coloring
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk

For the Ganache:

2 cups white baking chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
pink coarse sugar and pink sugar pearls (optional)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the food coloring and mix until incorporated. (You can add more color here if you aren't happy with your level of "pink". You still have lots of white stuff to add, so your color will be lighter than what you see right now.) Add eggs, one at a time and mixing well. Finally, add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the egg mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each addition.

Fill paper lined muffin cups. (The batter is fairly dense, so I did 3/4 of the way full and they came out fine.) Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until slightly golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to racks to cool completely.

Place white chips in a large bowl. In a saucepan, add the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Pour over white chips and stir until completely melted. Add in butter and continue to stir until incorporated. Chill for 30 minutes, stirring once.

Once chilled, beat on high until soft peaks form and frosting is light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes, and decorate with pink sugar and sugar pearls if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Makes 2 dozen

Inspired by Taste of Home

25 Random Facts About Me

      1.       Ketchup is it’s own food group. There isn’t much I don’t eat without ketchup.

2.       I wanted to be a farmer when I grew up. I still wouldn’t complain if that happened.

3.       I hate shopping. I only go out of absolute necessity.

4.       I taught myself to sew 18 months ago. I can also cross stitch and crochet.

5.       I love taking pictures. Love. Yet I hate scrapbooking.

6.       I love to cook. I think it would be fun to own a bakery or restaurant.

7.       I can read a book and watch a movie at the same time, and tell you what is happening in both.

8.       My favorite color is blue. Most everything I own is pink and has lace or ruffles.

9.       When I am really stressed out, I like to clean. I’m talking about taking a toothbrush to the grout lines and moving the furniture and washing everything. I can decompress and work through whatever is bothering me by the time I’m done.

10.   I love tulips. And Orchids.

11.   Right now I should be studying for an accounting exam.

12.   Part of me still finds it hard to believe that I’m just a few semesters away from a college degree. It’s very surreal.

13.   I have 3 dogs. In a perfect world where I had billions of dollars and more space, I’d probably have a whole lot more. I’ve never not had a dog, and I can’t imagine that will ever change.

14.   I love to decorate for holidays. Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, 4^th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I even have decorations for Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Graduation!

15.   I’ve always wanted to be able to paint. I see these amazing things and would love to be able to recreate them.  

16.   I don’t watch much TV. But with the exception of Army Wives, Little Couple, and Food Network, everything I do watch involves murder.

17.   I miss my grandparents. I’d like to have just a day to spend with them and catch up. I know it wouldn’t be enough time, but I’d like to know what they think of where I am in my life now.

18.   I would love to be outgoing. I’m an introvert. I’m a crazy, scary introvert. I’m not so bad when you get to know me…except that I second guess everything and over analyze everything.

19.   I wanted to go back to college and every time I have tons of homework I hate it and want to quit.

20.   I don’t mind being the oldest student in most of my classes.

21.   I’m not a morning person. Even if I went to bed early enough to get 12 hours of sleep to get up at 5 am, I’d still hate it.

22.   I’ve never, ever, ever had a pedicure.

23.   I like plants. Especially indoor plants. I hope the house we buy has tons of natural light so I can have an indoor tree.

24.   I love to read. Love. From the end of the Spring semester until the Fall semester began, I read 64 books. I re-read every book by Carol Higgins Clark, The Hunger Games Trilogy, and 50 Shades of Gray. As well as ton of new books.

25.   I have a love/hate relationship with my job. I love that it’s slow enough that I can get homework done while I’m here. But during breaks, I hate it, because I can think of all the things at home that I’ve neglected while school has been going on that I could be doing instead. I’ll be glad to finish my degree and move on with the next chapter of my career.

Worry Only Steals Today's Joy

I have a tendency to worry. About everything.

I worry about stuff that has happened, stuff that has never happened, stuff that never will happen, stuff...well you get the point. I worry, a lot.

I think a lot of it is my type A personality. I want to be in charge and in control. That's probably why I like routines and not waiting until the last minute to make plans. I like to know in advance. I like to know everything.

I spent most of Sunday and Monday feeling overwhelmed. I've got so much going on with school, with work, with freelancing, and then add in the possibility that a bacterial infection is back reeking havoc in my colon, plus the fact that I have an exam every week until Thanksgiving. Well, it's a lot to think about and digest. It's enough to drive me to drink...you know, if I drank.

As I was driving to work Monday morning I realized that worry is a joy stealer. It takes the joy of today and tomorrow and sucks the life right out of it, especially since most of the worry will be over things that will never happen anyway. So as I drove to work I pondered how worry steals my joy over today and tomorrow. I'm so busy worrying about passing an exam that I get so wrapped up in doing the laundry and other homework that I don't study. Thus not doing as well in my classes as I would like. I worry that my husband will be disappointed if the laundry isn't all done and the house isn't clean. I want to be perfect at everything, and because I can't be perfect, I worry. And the only thing I'm accomplishing is making myself miserable. I want to make straight A's, I want to come home at night and spend time with my husband and sewing or crocheting or doing something fun instead of homework, I want to get an amazing job and I worry about all of that stuff, and that I won't actually do any of it.

Worry = Joy Steal-er

I hate that I worry about things that will never happen, about things that are never even possibly going to happen, yet I worry. And the only thing I'm accomplishing is stealing my joy in today for the what if of tomorrow. It's not doing me any good, I'm not gaining anything by worrying about all of the stuff that runs through my mind. As I write this I'm thinking about how I need to go get something for lunch and go to the bathroom before I leave a puddle, yet I don't want to haul my 40 pound (yes that's actually accurate, I weighed it, twice). around to pee and to get something to eat. But I worry about what will happen if I leave it here. Will someone steal my bag? Do they really want some chewed on pencils?

So I'll sit here and stress out about it, and eventually just pack it all up, go to the bathroom get something to eat, and come back to study until my next class starts. It's ridiculous.

I'm going to actively try to worry less. I'm going to prioritize. God, family, homework, work, and everything else. Let's at least make the grades I want so I don't worry about passing my classes and keeping my GPA up. I want A's and B's this semester, and I'm working my tushy off to make it happen. I refuse to let worry steal my joy in what I'm accomplishing in the process.

I refuse to allow worry to steal my joy in today for the unknown of tomorrow.

Tasty Tuesday - Sausage, Beans and Rice

See, I cook stuff besides tortes and pudding. When my dad had his heart attacks we began to hunt up recipes that were healthier options than the original counterparts. And as much as we love our red beans and rice, the boxed mix that he was so fond of has enough salt to scare even me. So when I stumbled across this Sausage, Beans and Rice recipe, I knew that it was a must try. And even though my picky father won't eat it (he'd rather have the salt lick original)...the rest of us love it. What does he know anyway?

It's amazing, and so easily adaptable. Want more spice - use jalapeno sausage. Want it less sweet - use less brown sugar. Want it more tomatoey - add more ketchup. Want it with white rice - knock yourself out. It's very adaptable to suit your mood. Or your preferences. Becaue let's face it, I don't make anything by the recipe except once, then after that it's game on.

The cast of characters:

 

 





Chop that onion! Chop Chop! Add the bell pepper and onion to a skillet with the oil. You want to soften the veggies, but only slightly as this will cook in the oven and you don't want to turn them to mush. Meanwhile, drain the beans and rinse them off.



 

 

 



See, just soften. Now, add the beans, the brown sugar, the ketchup, the Dijon mustard, the corn syrup, the sausage and give it a good stir. Add the rice and the broth and stir around. Give everyone a chance to meet and make friends.

After everyone has became acquainted, pour everything into a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil and set the timer for 15 minutes. Come back and take the foil off and give everything a good stir and let it go until the rice is tender.

 

 



 Then enjoy. With broccoli. Or without. You know. Because your making this and you might not like broccoli. But I heart broccoli. And Cauliflower. And...nevermind.

Now go forth and make this for your family. They will thank you for it. There will be applause and cheers of joy. Enjoy!






Sausage, Beans and Rice

2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 pound smoked sausage, cut into 1/4" slices
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.5 oz) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup instant brown rice
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tbsp. corn syrup
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350*. In a large skillet, saute the onions, green peppers, and garlic in oil until slightly tender. Add the remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 13x9 baking dish.

Cover and bake at 350* for 15 minutes. Uncover, bake 10-15 minutes longer or until all liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

Happy Birthday To Me! (And you too!)

Thanks to everyone who entered the gift card extravaganza! And a big fat congratulations to

 

Roselyn R!!!

She was the lucky winner of both gift cards! Maybe she'll use them to buy me a birthday present. I'll make sure to send her my address and wish list, you know, just in case.

Saturday was the day. I'm officially 34. I had a wonderful birthday. My husband took me to Red Lobster for dinner on Friday night and Saturday night he grilled steaks and baked potatoes.

He's a good guy. I'm thinking of offering training courses for other husbands. Because everyone should have a husband as awesome as mine is.

It's hard to believe that now I've got a very real deadline to that list. I guess I better get busy.

So here goes:

Here are my 3 things I'm thankful for this. (It's one of my things on my list #39).

Saturday:
1. My husband
2. That my relationship with my in-laws is better than it was.
3. Orchids

Sunday:
1. Sleeping in
2. The smell of cupcakes in the oven.
3. The puppy who had to lick my face until I giggled when we went to bed.

Official List Kickoff - Part of My Birthday Random Act of Kindness- Giveaway - EXPIRED

Saturday is my birthday. I'll be turning 34 and my "bucket list" for my 30ies will officially kick off. And I figured what better way to kick off the official launch of the blog, the list, and my birthday than with a random act of kindness.

So as I've pondered what to do, I've came up with a brilliant solution. I'll let my readers be the recipients of some random acts of kindness.

I'm giving away 2 gift cards. Two. Dos. 1+1=2

The first is a $15 gift card to Best Buy.

The second. Well, this is the best one. You get to choose. I know some people don't do the whole "online" shopping thing (weirdo's) so you can choose between Amazon or Target.

If that irritates you, I'll give you my mom's email address. It's her fault. I was going with Amazon. But no...she's never bought anything from Amazon. She wouldn't know what to buy. So it's her fault. But the good news is if you hate Target you can go with Amazon, and if you hate both, then just hold on to one for Christmas and give it to someone for a gift.

So here's the official rules:

Using the form below, answer the question. Then for additional entries you can follow 40 Little Moments on Facebook and on Twitter. You can answer the question each day for additional entries. But you can only follow me on Facebook and Twitter once. Take that up with them. It wasn't my idea.

The giveaway will close at 12:00am on Sunday Sept. 22, and the winner will be announced on Monday.

Any questions?

Good.

Get on your mark.

Get set.

Go!!!!!  Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tasty Tuesday - Knock Your Socks Off Banana Pudding

My grandmother was famous for her baking skills. She was an amazing cook. However, she was notorious for taking a recipe and making it completely different that what the directions called for. So now that she is gone, my mom and I play mad scientists with some of her recipes in order to go from her "notes" (I use that term loosely) to decipher how to make some of the things that I grew up with.

This banana pudding is unlike any you've ever had. It's thick and creamy, and frankly it's just plain awesome!  It's a little bit more prep than the Jell-O kind, but it's worth every moment that it takes to make it. I think my husband would have proposed on the spot, had I made this on our first date. It's that good. However, in re-creating this the first time we discovered that her recipe makes enough to share. With several people. So when you get to the recipe I've included directions for both ways. Even if you are feeding a crowd (6-10 people) the 1 recipe is sufficient. Make 2 at your own risk.

Let's get started!

Meet the contenders:

And in this corner we have Milk, Eggs, Butter and Sugar. In the opposing corner we have banana's flour and cookies.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Let's get ready to beeeeeeeaaaaaaaattttttt!!!

I know what I'm about to tell you sounds weird. But trust me...it works. Put 1/2 the milk and all of the sugar in a saucepan. Preferably one that you don't mind using your mixer in. Then your gonna beat it. And beat it, and beat it some more. Then add your flour. And beat.Try and get your flour incorporated so that there are no lumps.

Sugar rush!

Then add the eggs. And beat. Are you tired of beating yet? Recruit some help! Add the remaining milk and beat. Don't worry. Your beating is almost over. Now you get to stir. You're welcome

Get your egg, sugar, milk mixture hot. Not boiling yet. But hot. Then drop your butter in. You can cut it up, or you can just dump it in and stir it around until it melts.

Stir, beat. Stir beat. This is an anger eliminating dish.

Your going to want to keep stirring and scraping the sides and the bottom until the mixture is thick. It will thicken some when you remove it from the heat, but not by much. So don't think that it will be okay once it thickens. You will want it thicker than gravy. See how it sticks to the scraper that I'm using? You'll want it thick. You'll also want to make sure it's lump free. If it's lumpy. Add some butter and beat it on high with your beater. Sometimes you don't even have to add the butter, if it's not too lumpy. 

Now to assemble. You can make one giant bowl or you can make individual bowls in ramekins or other dessert dishes. Just add your cookies to the bottom of the dish. Then cover with the pudding.

Add a cookie layer. A pudding layer. A banana layer. A cookie layer. A pudding layer.

Grab your banana's. First drop a banana on the floor. Then see if the dog will eat it. She won't. So toss it and attempt to peel a banana again and hope you don't drop this one too. Add a layer of banana's to your bowl. 

Drop banana. Attempt to feed banana to dog. Fail. Get new banana. Continue forth.

Then you just keep layering pudding, cookies and banana's until you run out. Then you tell your husband to make them pretty for pictures and he does this. 

Happy Pudding

You can eat this warm or cold. We usually have a little bit warm and enjoy the rest cold. It's good either way. This pudding is amazing and your going to see it appear in a few other Tasty Tuesday's, so you might as well make it now and enjoy. Then go walk 12 miles to burn off the calories. It's got banana's therefore it's healthy, right?!

Yummy. Yummy.

Knock Your Socks Off Banana Pudding

For 1
3 cups sugar
1 cup flour
4 cups milk
4 eggs
1 1/4 sticks butter

for 2
5 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
8 cups whole milk
7 eggs
2 sticks of butter

4-5 banana's add or subtract based on your preference
for 1 pudding 1 box of Nilla wafers 2 boxes for 2.
Optional whipped cream

In a large saucepan place 1/2 of the milk. Add the sugar and flour. Beat until mixed. Add eggs, beat well. Add the rest of the milk and butter continuing to stir until thickened. If lumpy, remove from heat and beat. If severely lumpy add a stick of butter and beat while hot.

In the bottom of your serving dish place a layer of cookies. Add enough pudding to cover. Add a layer of sliced banana's and another layer of cookies. Cover with pudding and repeat until all remaining ingredients are used. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Note To Self

Dear Self,

You signed up for Dropbox for a reason. So that you would never save things on your laptop at home and not have them when you were at work, or vice versa.

Now, so that my readers have something to read would you please remember to use it!

So instead of getting the post I wanted you to have, your getting the post I quickly made up so I could go back to studying. You're welcome.

PS. My birthday is Saturday - stay tuned for details on Wednesday about my random act of kindness that YOU can benefit from!!

A Day in the Life.....

You know how you look at someone else’s life and think that their life is just super freaking awesome, and you’d totally like to trade.

Here’s a chance to follow me through a typical Tuesday and Thursday (at least from now until December). Fasten your seat belts, adjust your tray tables in the upright position and prepare for takeoff…or possibly a nap.

8am – the alarm or the dog wakes me up. Just depends on which one gets to me first. Just for the record, I prefer the alarm. Less slobber.

8:02 – stumble with one eye open to the back door and let the dogs out. (Who let the dogs out, who, who?)

8:03 – crawl back into bed and wait for the snooze button to kick me out. I’m not a morning person.

8:10 – off to the shower I go. Hi ho. Hi. Ho

8:25 – find something remotely cute, comfy, and preferably that fits to wear. Since I’ll be sitting in class rooms and tables most of the day, comfort is a priority, cute is a bonus. Fitting is a must. Don’t want to show off too much cleavage or hold my pants up (a year of chronic diseases = bonus weight loss)

8:30 – hair and makeup. This is where the magic happens. I don’t just roll out of bed and look gorgeous.

8:45 – out the door. Head to class, enjoy the fact that traffic is certainly less crazy at this point than taking an 8am class. Eat breakfast on the drive. I’m not a get out of bed and eat kinda person. I have to warm up to the fact that I’m (a) awake and (b) hungry. Days I go to school, I eat whether I’m hungry or not. Days I go to work…I take breakfast and eat when I’m hungry.

9am – Intermediate Accounting part 1 with a snarky, sarcastic professor. She’s awesome. I love her teaching style. This class is kinda the middle of the road accounting. You get a review of the basic principles, and then you learn about these specific situations. It's awesome. Although so much if this class is what I do at work every day….except on a computer. Thank goodness.

11am – I get a break. This usually involves finding somewhere quiet to work on homework or write blog posts for you. Lunch is stuck in there somewhere, but this is a productive time frame. Or at least I try for it to be. It works out quite well when I stay at school. I want to set a good example and let all the young’uns see me doing homework, not feeding my Pinterest addiction.

2pm – Cost accounting. You know those people who try to be funny but aren’t? That would be this professor. He makes jokes, but they are obvious, and we all just look at him like he’s a dork. He’s boring. It is the longest 80 minute class of the day. I swear I look at my watch every 2 minutes, wishing the torture was over. I would be like your dad teaching the class and you’re a teenager again. Awkward (must roll eyes, and sound annoyed).

3:30pm – Super awesome! Another break. Again, homework is attempted. I have 2 online classes that I try and take advantage of these breaks to get stuff done. This break is always productive. I try to study for the finance class that I have next.

5:00pm – the hardest and most failed class on college campuses. Financial Management. This class is tough. The professor is funny, which makes the time fly by. I don’t spend the time wishing the class was over. The chairs are so uncomfortable, so after about 20 minutes, everyone starts fidgeting. He should slip in a 7th inning stretch.

6:40pm – headed home for dinner, more homework, and hopefully some down time that doesn’t involve school.

7:30pm I usually take Sadie for a walk on these nights. My brain has been “on” all day, and I usually can’t focus on what I need to do. Homework or not. So the 30 minutes of fresh air, and the subsequent shower, because I’m usually sweaty after walking, running, and playing with the dog.

8:30pm – usually a 2nd shower has commenced. Comfy pj’s (I heart pj's) and it’s homework time.

10pm – 4am. At some point in that range, I will go to bed. I aim for 10, but let’s face it, homework gets in the way, and sometimes you just have to suck it up and go to work tired to get it all crammed in.

Next week you can follow me to work. Learn what an exciting job I have as a bookkeeper/receptionist/secretary/office manager/keeper/babysitter for a custom sheet metal fabrication company.

I know your on the edge of your seat...don't deny it.