5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE CAKE

Oh My Gosh! I almost forgot it was Tuesday. Today has been a hectic day. It doesn't help that I was on vacation ALL week last week and have a lot of catching up to do! Or because of this, everyone that works with me decided to punish me and leave me here by myself this week :o) Thanks guys! Ok, enough whinning. Here we go; Your Recipe for the week. In honor of me not having a lot of time on my hands today, we are making 5 minute Chocolate Cake!

You will need:

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again. Pour into a large coffee mug (grease the mug, a quick squirt of Pam should do the trick) this isn’t mandatory, but it will make cleaning the mug later a lot easier (I learned that the hard way)

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! Serves 2 (if you are feeling generous)

Cheese Straws

Here we go again, It's Tuesday!
I figured since Christmas is NEXT WEEK (ok, where exactly did December go) I would post a recipe for the Holidays. This is something you can make and put into small tins to have around your house so that you have gifts to give in return for those unexpected gifts you receive, or to serve at your family gathering.

(Or be like me and eat the entire batch yourself)

Cheese Straws

1 Pkg Pillsbury Pie Crust Mix
1 Jar Old English Cheese Spread
1 Tsp. Chili Powder

Place ingredients into food processor, mix until well blended.
Place dough into a pastry bag or pastry “gun”
Squeeze straws onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees
until crispy (about 7 to 10 minutes)

Stressed???

I get weekly newsletters from a ministry called Marriage Today and I thought this weeks letter was TOTALLY appropriate for this time of year. So many of us get stressed out from the hustle and bustle of the CHRISTmas season. I do it every year, I worry about money, feeling that I am spending and inadequate amount of money on each gift, worried if I am getting them the right gift, trying to find deals on food prices, and usually trying to work all of this into a VERY tight budget, until the point where I am not very pleasant to be around. God has to remind me every year that CHRISTmas is about CHRIST, not about shopping or over spending your budget or about the perfect meal...It's about the birth of Jesus, and love, and being with family.

Marriage Today is a wonderful ministry, by the way, and Jimmy and Karen Evans are great teachers. If you would like to visit their website and learn more about their ministry the website is http://www.marriagetoday.org/site/PageServer

The following is word for word the Marriage Today news letter from Jimmy Evans:

In the fourth chapter of Mark, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower. The seed represents the Word of God and the soil represents the human heart. Out of the four types of soil, the third that Jesus told about was the thorny soil. Even though the seed quickly took root and grew in it, the thorns eventually overtook the plant and kept it from bearing fruit.
When Jesus interpreted the parable, here is how he described the dilemma with the thorny soil:

"Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." Mark 4:18-19 NKJV

The phrase I want you to notice in verse 19 is "cares of this world." The word "cares" literally means "an anxious awareness" or "stress." Jesus is warning that being stressed out and worried about the things of life will keep us from being fruitful Christians.
Stress also takes the joy out of marriage and makes us much more susceptible to problems. Take financial stress for example. It is the number one problem people list as why they are divorcing. But beyond financial stress, just being overworked, worn out, and involved in too much robs us of the emotional, physical, and mental energy needed to love each other. It also makes us cranky and less willing to deal with others in a loving and patient manner.

I heard a saying one time that I agree with. It goes like this: "If the devil can't get in front of you and stop you, he'll get behind you and push you too fast." Our society has never been so wealthy, accomplished, and miserable.

In the pursuit of having it all, we are losing the most important things in life--God and family.
One answer is prioritizing the important things and being willing to protect those priorities. The cares of this world must be dealt with head-on if we hope to bear godly fruit in our lives and marriages. Another answer is downsizing and saying 'no'. God can provide what we need if we trust in Him. The result is true blessing with peace in our hearts and homes.

Hashbrown Casserole

Here we are again...Tuesday...

Hope you enjoy...This is one of my favorites

You will need:
32 oz. Hashbrowns (cubed hashbrowns in the bag)
1 Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Pint of Sour Cream
2 Cups Shredded Cheese
½ Cup of Chopped onion (I like a little more than this)
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Pepper
¾ Cup Butter (melted)

Mix all ingredients into 13X9 Baking Dish

Bake on 350 degrees for 1 hour

Not Me! Monday

Well it's that time again...Not Me! Monday brought to you exclusively from the marvelous imagination of MckMama.

** Disclaimer ** I am not a professional blogger yet and am not sure if I am "linking back" and doing Mr. Linky justice...I just haven't had time to sit down and figure it all out...So please click on the Not Me! Monday button on my sidebar to be directed to MckMama's not me's for the week.

I did not skip out on going to the bank, cleaning the house, and paying bill's in order to get a few extra hours of sleep on Saturday before heading to my parents to watch the SEC Championship Game...Go Florida!

I did not eat until I could no longer find any food in my house Sunday and lay around lazily like I had nothing to do...and I most certainly did not polish off an entire bag of Hershey Kisses Peppermint....

I did not take one long look at myself Sunday afternoon thinking wow these jeans used to be baggy, and I did not promise myself I would go on a diet starting first thing Monday Morning...and it's a good thing too because if I promised myself that, then I couldn't go eat Sushi later this week with a friend from work...Good thing I did not do that...Not Me!

Blueberry Crunch

I am starting Tasty Tuesday’s! I will post a new recipe every Tuesday (or hopefully every Tuesday depending on my work load that day). So here it goes...my first recipe for “Tasty Tuesday”

Blueberry Crunch

1 ½ cups of flour
1 stick of butter (Melted)
1 cup of chopped pecans
2 - 8oz packages of cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 can of Blueberry Pie Filling
1 tub of cool whip

Mix Flour, Butter, and Pecans in the bottom of a 13x9 pan press down and bake for 20 minutes at 325 degrees

Cream together the powdered sugar and cream cheese and pour over cooked crust
Cover with Blueberry Pie Filling, spread Cool Whip on top
Chill before serving

This is a favorite at holiday meals...but I must confess, this is a “Ma Kimble” Recipe...My mother-in-law is one of the best cooks I know...I will be stealing her recipes from time to time :o) I will always give credit where credit is due....

Not Me! Monday

I did not spend most of my morning reading every one's Not Me's rather than working!
I did not just look at the clock and realize it is lunch time!
I don't have so much work to do that I can't see straight, since I have not been on vacation all of last week and 1/2 of the week before.

Oh, and I most certainly did not spend my entire 7 days of vacation-bliss sleeping in and not showering until noon. I did NOT waste my vacation like that...Not me!

Ok, I don't know anything about this Mr. Linky stuff and linking back to blogs, so I am sure I haven't done this correctly, however this post comes to you directly because of Mck Mama's Not Me! Mondays! You can click on the button on my side bar to reach Mck Mama's Not Me's for today and then click on the links under her blog to read other people's Not Me's!! It's a great stress relief for Monday's....I have been following for a little while, but this will be my first post!