Tomorrow Raven and I will be staying with my Mom and Nan for a week, until next Sunday the 27th. And since my mom doesn’t have internet access let alone a computer at her house I will be away from the web for a whole week. Yeah. I figure I should start going through withdraw around early Tuesday morning. So I will see y’all next Sunday!

Winter is here and it’s in full force. It’s freezing and I am trying my hardest to stay in the warm in doors. If I don’t have to brave the freezing cold then I don’t. The hubster on the other hand still goes out fishing. Yep. In the freezing cold he is out there. I think I will invest in some volcom clothing to keep him warm during his long fishing trip nights.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 green or red pepper, cut into strips
1/2 cup sliced onions
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup drained canned black beans, rinsed
6 flour tortillas (6 inch)
1-1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
1. Spray large skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook on medium-high heat 5 min., stirring frequently.

2. Add peppers and onions; cook 4 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender. Stir in salsa and beans; cook an additional 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

3. Spoon 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto half of each tortilla. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Fold tortillas in half to enclose filling. Spray second large skillet with cooking spray. Heat on medium heat. Add quesadillas, in batches; cook 2 min. on each side or until lightly browned on both sides. Fold each quesadilla in half or cut into wedges to serve.

Something that I have seen on television shows and on movies that I would love to have is a pop up tv at the foot of my bed. Those are so freakin cool! I don’t know why I want one at the foot of my bed but I do. It’s like being able to do a neat little magic trick. Now you see it, now you don’t.

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
4 slices Bacon, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions (about 1 small)
1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta Cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pkg. (13.8 oz.) refrigerated pizza crust

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook ground beef, bacon and onions in large skillet on medium-high heat until ground beef is evenly browned, stirring occasionally. Drain; return meat mixture to skillet. Add Velveeta; cook until completely melted, stirring frequently. Cool 10 min.

2.Unroll pizza dough onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Press into 15×8-inch rectangle. Top evenly with meat mixture. Roll up dough, starting at one of the long sides. Rearrange, if necessary, so roll is seam-side down on baking sheet.

3. Bake 20 to 25 min. or until golden brown. Cut diagonally into six slices to serve.

If you’re like me and always looking for deals and ways to save money then you probably also clip coupons and spend your Sunday morning browsing the Sunday paper looking for all the good coupons. Especially with all the baking I do, saving money could mean the difference in getting a new high tech cookie sheet or using the same old one. Well I found this really cool site called Couponchief.com that offers all kinds of online coupons and promo codes for over 1,000 stores. And the best part is all the coupons and codes are free!

They offer coupons and coupon codes from stores like Walmart, Cooking.com, Circuit City and many more well know stores and shopes.

This is a great way to save money without the hassles off clipping codes!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1 cup Peanut Butter Chips
Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups.

2. Stir together applesauce and oats in small bowl; set aside. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add applesauce mixture; blend well. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and cinnamon, if desired. Add to butter mixture, blending well. Stir in peanut butter chips. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full with batter.

3. Bake 22 to 26 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool slightly in pan on wire rack. Sprinkle muffin tops with powdered sugar, if desired. Serve warm. 12 to 15 muffins.

VARIATION:
FUDGEY CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS: Omit Peanut Butter Chips. Add 1 cup Chocolate Chips.

When I heard some people talk about Cat5e, I was completely out of the loop. I had no idea what it was. As far as I knew it was the name of the latest rapper to fill the airwaves. But being curious as I am (the hubby always tells me curiosity killed the cat) I did a quick search online for Cat5e and to my surprise it wasn’t a rapper. Heck it wasn’t a person at all. Cat5e is an enhanced Cat5. Yeah. Still didn’t tell me much. So I dug a little further and it turns out that it is a networking cable. Hum. I think Cat5e would be a great name for a rapper.

Ingredients:
CHOCOLATE CRUST (recipe follows)
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 sections (1/2 oz. each) Unsweetened Chocolate Premium Baking Bar, melted

Directions:
1. Prepare CHOCOLATE CRUST. Heat oven to 300°F.

2. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add sweetened condensed milk, beating until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

3. Pour half of batter evenly over prepared crust. Stir melted chocolate into remaining batter; drop by spoonfuls over vanilla batter. With metal spatula or knife, swirl gently through batter to marble.

4. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until set. Cool in pan on wire rack. Refrigerate several hours until chilled. Cut into bars. Cover; store leftover bars in refrigerator. 24 to 36 bars.

CHOCOLATE CRUST: Stir together 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (about 60 wafers), 1/3 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa and 1/2 cup powdered sugar in medium bowl. Stir in 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter or margarine until well blended. Press mixture firmly on bottom of 13×9x2-inch baking pan.

I never really under stood the need to have travel health insurance. I know that it covers illness, personal injury, hospital / medical costs, accidental death and things of that nature. I didn’t know that some travel insurance also covers trip cancellation due to illness, lost or stolen luggage and the like. I could understand the need for it in case you lose your luggage but if you have health insurance why would you then also need travel health insurance?