Muffins

In an effort to try and eat/cook better, I decided that I needed to find a healthy(ier) muffin recipe. Johnny is gone on a business trip, so I also needed something to pass the time. And I have to admit they were a success!!! I've been getting help from Samantha as well as various blogs and websites on what to use in recipes versus ingredients you shouldn't, so I thought I would put my knowledge to the test. I really like this recipe because you can pretty much add or omit a million different ingredients. I still have quite a ways to go as far as the "wifely cooking duties" are concerned, but my skills are developing slowly but surely and I'm very happy with the muffins I created. Here's what I came up with.....Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip & Oatmeal Muffins

1/2 c butter
1/2 c light brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c peanut butter (or a little less)

1/4 c honey
2 large eggs
2 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c dark chocolate chocolate chips

(optional: 1 1/2 c ripe bananas mashed)
(optional: 1/2 c rolled oats--reduce flour to 1 1/2 c)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 12 cup muffin pan.
2. Beat together butter, sugar, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth.
3. Add the peanut butter, honey and eggs, beating until smooth.
4. Add the flour about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until just mixed.
5. Add oatmeal, then chocolate chips.
6. Divide batter into the muffin cups, filling to the top. Bake about 23-28 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and after a couple of minutes transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

(Muffins are best when served warm.)

Warm Thoughts

I love winter and the cold (please don't hurt me!) but I also love the beach. Johnny is currently at a meeting in Tampa, FL and he sent me this picture last night. As he sent this to me, it was snowing in Evansville. It's so amazing how those 2 things can be happening at the same time in different places!

Thought I would share and send some warm thoughts to those unhappy with Mr. Frost right now. :-)

~Tuesday Thoughts~

**Johnny is HOME!!! Thank goodness! He arrived home around 10:00 Sunday night after a very eventful Cairo, Egypt business trip. I am so thankful that he made it out of there safe and sound, as things don't seem to be getting any better. He has had lots of stories to tell me about and I'm hoping that he will post them on here with the pictures that he took. It will probably be a while though, I have a feeling it is going to take some convincing :-) Thank you to everyone for the thoughts and prayers while he was away, it really means so much to us!

On the same note, I have to mention what a wonderful family Cargill is. When I wasn't able to get a hold of Johnny on Friday and saw that things were continuously getting worse, I contacted our friend Jon Lopez to see if there was somebody I should be in contact with who updates spouses when events like this take place. I had a good idea where Johnny might be because he had contacted his mom, but I just wanted to be updated if anything further developed. Jon (as well as many other Cargill employees) made quite a few phone calls, sent numerous emails and kept me updated on new information throughout the entire day. It was so comforting and helped put my mind at ease. I (and Johnny) am SOOOO thankful for such a great company who really cares for their employees and their families. We cannot thank them enough for the help they gave us!!

**While Johnny was in transit, I made the chocolate chip cookies that I posted last week. They are delicious! I was pleasantly surprised because the batter did not look that great, but they are really good! Definitely worth a try! And for me, anything that is healthier is worth a shot.

**All of our friends and family in MO are getting pounded by snow and we are getting NOTHING! We are right on the edge and I think it is really going to miss us this time. While I wouldn't mind a chance to sleep in, I think I'd rather be at school at this point. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy winter much more than I do summer.....but my students are desperately needing a consistent schedule, and they are not getting it. Also, it isn't any fun to have a snow day by yourself.

**This week will be full of relaxation for us. Johnny travels to Tampa, FL next week so I'm going to be soaking up as much "Johnny time" as I can! It's pretty nice not having a whole lot planned before then....we better soak that up while we can too, before we have kids!

More Columbia, MO Pictures!

Here are more pictures from Bo and I's Columbia, MO trip.....these are stolen from Samantha.

Bo

Lucy

The following pictures are from a round of Bo and Lucy playing together. 

She decided she needed to get to his level. :-)

Then Bo got down to her level.

Sam and I at Addison's