Raspberry Buttermilk Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

6 egg whites

1/2 cup vegetable oil

10 oz buttermilk

6 oz butter

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup raspberry jam

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter

8 oz cream cheese

4 cups confectioners sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup raspberry jam

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°

2. Spray cooking spray on a 9 xbox 13 baking dish.

3. Combine flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Mix well. Set aside.

4. Combine 1/2 cup milk and the oil. Set aside.

5. Combine remaining milk, egg whites, jam, and vanilla. Set aside.

6. Cut butter into flour until it resembles coarse sand.

7. Add milk and oil mixture to flour. Mix with mixer at medium speed for 2 minutes.

8. Reduce mixer to low speed and add egg mixture slowly. Once fully mixed, pour into prepared pan.

9. Bake 40 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

10. Cool completely.

11. Frost with raspberry cream cheese frosting. To make the frosting: Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add jam and vanilla, mixing well. Add sugar and beat until creamy.

12. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Cookie Bars

Ingredients

Base

1 pouch sugar cookie mix

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup cold butter

1 can pumpkin

Cream Cheese Layer

2 pkg softened cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Pecan Pie Layer

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp flour

3 eggs

2 1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350° and spray 13×9 pan with cooking spray.

2. Combine cookie mix and pumpkin pie spice. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the mix with a fork until crumbly. Add pumpkin and mix until well blended. Press into the pan and bake for 15 minutes. Cool.

3. Beat all ingredients for the cream cheese layer together until well blended. Spoon over the cooled cookie layer and spread to the edges.

4. Beat together the butter, brown sugar, flour, and eggs until well blended and frothy. Stir in pecans, vanilla, and salt. Pour over the cream cheese layer, spreading to the edges.

5. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until set. Cool for 30 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

6. Enjoy!

Confession Time and Time to Take Back my Life.

I posted the following a couple of weeks ago on Facebook. Since then, I have had several people suggest I share my journey through a blog or other form of social media. I’m not sure how I feel about it, but I do want to document it for me…so I might as well share. Its a little strange using this forum, as this blog has been a place where I have shared recipes, a LOT of recipes, over the years. But I am comfortable here. Hopefully, this works….

 

 

 

So… I am the queen of doing things the hard way. Kind of irritated with myself right now. I have 3 relatively major medical things going on right now…2 of which could have been avoided if I would have controlled my weight.
Confession time… I have weighed over 300 pounds for over 20 years… a couple of years ago I got down to 285 but have regained all I lost. I know I had a family history of diabetes and I know that I have a genetic factor for blood clots. I know that losing weight and exercising regularly helps with both of them.
This summer, I have gotten the 2×4 to the back of the head wake-up call. And its time to get real. I have diabetes which I CAN control with diet and losing weight. I am going to have to deal with the faulty veins in my legs… compression socks and exercise and weightloss were today’s prescription. And I will be having a hysterectomy in May…and I need to lose 50+ pounds in order to make the surgery less complicated.
The doctor today suggested bariatric surgery but I’d really rather not. I don’t want to be on meds and I don’t want surgery unless I have no other choice. I still have a choice for now.
Why am I sharing this on Facebook? Because it motivates me… And because there are several of you who need to know all this anyway. And because I am going to need a lot more support than I ever have before because I HAVE to do this. It is no longer optional.
Thank you FB family for letting me vent. I’m not depressed or angry…just feeling the need to get serious about something I should have taken serious long ago.

Cochiti Lake

 

Changes

This has been an interesting last few months. A lot of very positive changes in both my personal life and in my professional life. After several years of recovering and trying to decide which direction I should go, I think I have found the right path 🙂

The biggest change in my life is finding love. I had pretty much decided that I wasn’t going to do the relationship thing again. I met Len at the start of Christmas break and it was like coming home. It is definitely an ongoing adventure but I feel like I have found someone I can spend the rest of my life with.

Another big change happened at work. After 15 years of teaching elementary and middle school English and reading, I made the change to middle and high school Social Studies. I got my secondary license and taught 7th and 9th grade New Mexico history this spring. This fall, I will add AP Government. My BA was in history and political science, so this is an exciting change!

As an extension to the NM History, I created a new blog. I travel around the state a lot and take pictures. So I thought I should set up a place to share all things New Mexico. You can check it out at New Mexico~Home, History, Life.

Finally, I am continuing to write. My second novel is about half done. AND… I have a short story coming out in an anthology in September. I will keep you all posted on that!

Absolutely loving my life right now!

Fluffy Biscuits

Ingredients

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb baking powder
1 Tb sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F
2. Mix dry ingredients
3. Cut in butter until coarse crumbs form
4. Add milk, mixing well
5. Put mixture onto a floured board and knead about 20 times
6. Roll or press to 3/4″ thick and cut into circles
7. Place on a lightly greased pan
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Enjoy!

Crockpot Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cooked and shredded

1 package corn tortillas

2 cups pinto beans

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup sour cream

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup diced bell peppers

1 cup diced green chile

garlic, salt and pepper to taste.

2 cup salsa

Directions

1. Mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, onions, bell peppers, chile and seasonings in a bowl.
2.  Put 1/2 cup of salsa in the bottom of the crock pot.
3. Layer corn tortillas over the salsa.
4. Spread pinto beans over the tortillas.
5. Add 1/2 cup of cheese.
6. Spread sour cream mixture over the cheese.
7. Add a layer of chicken.
8. Repeat steps 2-7 until the crockpot is full. Add a last layer of cheese on top.
9. Cook in the crockpot on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
10. Enjoy!!!

All of the ingredients can be adjusted to taste.