Burrrr...Baby It's Cold Outside!

We had freezing rain and snow this week.  Rare for our part of Texas.  It was beautiful!  This is the view from my studio/nest...

...and this is the view from our front door with a zoom lens.

It's cold and raining outside today, but not like any thing we had earlier in the week.  A perfect day to warm things up by being in the kitchen baking up some healthy Buttermilk Bran-Oat Muffins.  These are not real sweet.  You can add more sugar or honey if you like and what ever fruit you have on hand. A healthy fiber filled addition to your breakfast or snacks.

Buttermilk Bran-Oat Muffins

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

In the bowl of my mixer I add the following and let it sit in the bowl for about 10 minutes:

1-1/2 cup bran flakes

1/2 cup uncooked oats

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil or 4 tablespoons melted butter

4 tablespoons molasses (optional)

1/2 cup chopped fruit of your choice (apples, plums, banana, raisins, etc.)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

After about 10 minutes, mix to incorporate and then add:

1/4 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup if you want sweeter)

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or ground ginger (optional)

Mix well.  Put cup cake paper cups in muffin pan or grease muffin pan.  Fill each compartment with about 2/3 full.  Bake 20-22 minutes.  Cool and enjoy.  Makes 12 muffins.

Stay WARM and ENJOY your weekend!

Until next time...

(p.s.  Dollies are on the work table)

It's Hard to Believe...

It's hard to believe that January is almost gone.  I had great plans for this year but I am starting off in extremely slow turtle mode and contributing my lack of enthusiasm to the rainy, cold weather.  We have missed the wintry mix a couple of times already.  I do love snow but we seldom get to see it here in our part of Texas. There is still plenty of time for the Snow Lady to make her appearance before Spring.

Speaking of Spring, for some reason this Cabbage & Apple Salad reminds me of Spring.  It is delicious and easy to put together.  It goes well with meats, fish and sandwiches or by it's self with a big old hunk of cornbread or garlic toast.  This time I used Napa Cabbage but I normally use fresh Green Cabbage.  Give Napa Cabbage a try if you are not familiar with it.  It steams well, has a great taste, makes great soups and some of the leaves look ruffled.

My measurements are not exact.  I just mix until things look and taste good.

About half a head of Napa Cabbage, chopped.

Half of a large unpeeled Apple, chopped into bite size pieces

Large pinch of Sugar

1/2 cup of Miracle Whip or Mayo (I use Miracle Whip)

Generous sprinkling of Celery Seeds

Mix well and chill until the rest of your meal is finished.

Enjoy!

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

For some reason Feed Burner decided to send out a post today that I posted back in March when we had weird cold weather when it was supposed to be Spring.  Well here it is in July when our temperatures are normally 100-104 degrees and it struggled to make it to 70 today.  I am loving this Polar Vortes and the cool weather.  It is putting me in a cooking mood.  Today I made Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls.  I have had a stuffed cabbage roll recipe for years that I keep saying I am going to try and never have, but a few days ago I came across a recipe for unstuffed cabbage roll online and this is oh so easy and delicious! I'm sorry I don't remember when I saw the recipe....probably PINTEREST.

Olive Oil

Ground Beef
Chopped Onion
Minced Garlic
Chopped Cabbage
2 8oz. cans Tomato Sauce
1 12 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 cup long grain rice

We never buy prepared ground Hamburger meat.  We always get a boneless beef roast or boneless steak and have the butcher grind it for us.  That way we know there is no filler in it.  This time I used regular grind boneless Sirloin steaks.  I put a little olive oil in a 5 qt. pan and added the ground beef, chopped onion and minced garlic.  I don't usually measure stuff so this is all done to your taste.  Cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  I chopped about 1/3 of a large head of cabbage and added it to the pot.  Cook another 10 minutes.  Add the remaining tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, water and rice, salt and pepper to taste, put the lid on the pot and cook 20 minutes until the rice is done.  Delicious and hearty plus good for you.  Enjoy with your favorite bread or crackers.

Rain showers...

We had much needed rain during the night and this morning.  I love how the rain drops bead like diamonds on our Red Bud trees.  God's amazing beauty!

Early morning hours Full Moon

Beautiful!!  I'm out all hours of the day and night with our dogs, especially our precious little blind Toby.  I love to hear the coyotes in the wee hours of the morning and all of the other night critters.  Our heavens are something to behold and most folks never look up to see the beauty.

And time for Spring?...

I have caught myself sighing a lot this winter.  I have been trying to make my own sunshine eventho this has been a colder, wetter, unusual Texas winter. I was ready for warmer weather and Saturday's 84 degrees spoiled me. By early Sunday morning we were getting colder and the high was 21 degrees with sleet. When I thought it was all gone, this morning (Monday) we had snow flurries. Pictures are looking out my studio/nest window and pictures of my *Little Old House at Plum Thicket*. I love snow, but afterall, it is March...and time for spring...



A little sleet and freezing rain

Today was a great day to snuggle in and work on my raggie quilt and crochet on an afghan.  We had rain, freezing rain and a little sleet.  All in all it was a wonderful cozy day!  Pictures coming later this week on my raggie quilt.  This is the first quilt I have made like this and I am liking the way it is turning out so far.