Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday - Baked Oatmeal

On cold wintry mornings like today it's nice to have a hot bowl of cereal to warm you up but sometimes we do not have time to make or even eat hot cereal like oatmeal. This recipe is great because you can make it ahead of time and keep it stored in the fridge. Just pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and you have oatmeal on the go! This is far healthier, tastier and more inexpensive than the granola or cereal bars you get in the grocery store.

Baked Oatmeal
2 c. uncooked oats
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. fat-free or lowfat milk (To add richness I sometimes substitute the milk with low-fat buttermilk.)
1/2 c. Egg Beaters (or 2 eggs)
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (can substitute low-fat or fat-free plain yogurt, or mashed banana)
1/4 c. Brown sugar (or sugar free sweetener like splenda)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x8" pan with cooking spray. Combine wet ingredients and then add in dry ingredients. Mix well. Pour mixture into pan, and bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This divides up into 6-8 servings or bars.

This recipe is very versatile - Try adding raisins, chopped apples, nuts or even canned pumpkin.

JOY announcements and other stuff

I want to start off by apologizing to everyone for not updating the blog for a few days. Those of you that know me personally will understand the situation. We had two deaths in the family this past week. That was a very trying week and I'm hoping that things will be returning to normal here soon. I hope you all forgive me for my absence here and are looking forward to future postings!

Now about JOY. I just wanted to let everyone know that barring the weather we will hopefully be singing at the Shelby nursing home tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. We will be singing the songs we practiced before and I will have the words printed out and ready to go. I hope to see you all there tomorrow night a little before 6:00 p.m. This will be our last JOY meeting of the year and we won't be meeting again until the 8th of January. God bless everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

QOTD

"Eat to live, not live to eat."
--source unknown

Thursday 13 - Things to comfort yourself with instead of food

1. Find something to occupy your time.
2. Go for a walk or go outside. Sunshine and fresh air do wonders for a down mood. Sunshine or light is often prescribed to people with depression. My mood is certainly better on sunny days than on dreary ones.
3. Work on a hobby like sewing, crocheting, or drawing and painting.
4. Talk to someone even if it's just over the phone or finding a partner to chat with online.
5. Write! Journal your feelings in a diary or in a blog. You can even write songs or poetry - anything that helps let the emotion out.
6. Exercise. Good heart pumping exercise is known to release endorphins (feel good horomones) and can make you feel better almost instantly.
7. Spend time with friends or family, go shopping or just hang out.
8. Sing, or play an instrument. Even listening to good music can soothe your soul.
9. Make lists. If it's something you're worrying about write it out in list form and cross off all of the things that aren't as important as you thought. Just writing it down can help alleviate some of the mental stress.
10. Go for a scenic drive. Taking in all of God's beauty can uplift you!
11. Take a long hot bubble bath or a very hot shower and let the heat help to relax you and the water to help cleanse you physically and mentally. Drop some aromatherapy tabs in the tub and let the scent help relax you and put you in a better mood.
12. Play a game with your family or children. Laughter certainly is good medicine!
13. Pray and read your bible. "Take it to the Lord in prayer" - that is a line from "What a friend we have in Jesus" and it is certainly true. No greater friend do we have than the Lord. Who understands our sorrows more than our very own Creator who dealt with grief beyond our comprehension?

Why did no one call me on this?

That's too funny. Sometimes I think my brain was put in backwards lol. I just happened to notice that today, it might have stayed that way forever LOL! I sure hope I don't go from fab to flab cause I want to be fab all the way with no flab baby!

Wordless Wednesday

Singing Rescheduled

Sorry everyone but the nursing home singing has been rescheduled. We will be singing in Shelby on the 18th instead . We will still be going out to eat and shopping tonight so hope to see you all there!

Just a reminder

We will be singing at the nursing home tonight on Walker Lake Road behind Cold Stone Creamery (no Megan we will not be eating ice-cream afterwards lol). Please try to get there a little before 6:00 p.m. We will be eating out at a fast food place when we are finished so please be bring money if you will be joining us. God bless everyone and hope to see you there!

Tasty Tuesday - Oven "Fried" Chicken

Oven "Fried" Chicken
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp table salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
3 oz buttermilk
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces

Preheat oven to 365ºF. Lightly coat an 8 X 8 X 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Combine flour, salt and cayenne pepper together in a medium-size bowl. Place buttermilk and corn flakes crumbs in 2 separate shallow bowls.
Roll chicken breast halves in flour mixture and evenly coat each side. Next dip chicken into buttermilk and then corn flakes crumbs.
Place coated chicken breasts in prepared baking dish. Bake until chicken is tender and no longer pink, about 25 to 30 minutes (there is no need to flip the chicken during baking). Yields 1 breast per serving.

A note about the forum

I just wanted to remind anyone who wants to register at the forum that you must be sure to check your email for an activation link after you register. Otherwise your account will not be active and you will not be able to log in or post messages. Some people are not receiving the activation emails because most likely the emails are ending up in the spam folder. If you are having trouble registering or if you did not receive the activation link then send me a message, or leave me a comment here, and I will be glad to activate your account for you if you are a legitimate user.

P.S. To whoever the anonymous test commenter was today - your message posted just fine, I just need to approve all comments before they appear on the blog and that's why you probably did not see it right away.