I didn’t write down a list of New Year’s resolutions this year.  I just want to continue growing stronger in my faith walk with God and develop an even closer relationship with Him.  And I want to lose the pounds I gained during the holidays without having to buy phenphedrine.  I plan to do this by eating healthy and getting more exercise.  So there’s my short list of resolutions.

Cleaning house is on my agenda since I’m at home most of today.  I need to do one more load of laundry, and I think I’ll finally be caught up.  I’m not planning on using a colon cleanser but am planning on cleaning the bathrooms.  And I need to dust and vacuum.   Hmmm…it will be nice when it’s all done.  It’s nice having a clean house!

This is for real…cake mix in a dinner roll recipe.  It’s interesting!  Maybe you’ve seen this recipe before or even made it.  I haven’t and thought it was a little different, but when I thought about it, I could see how it would work.   I don’t plan to make it anytime soon since I’m trying not to eat much white bread.  But  here’s the recipe for anyone who’s interested:

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 package Jiffy White Cake Mix
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour
• butter

Combine cake mix and yeast.  Add salt and warm water.  Gradually beat in flour.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for one hour.  Punch down dough and shape into dinner rolls.  Place on greased baking sheet and brush with butter.  Cover and let rise 1 hour or until double in size.  Bake in oven preheated to 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

It would be nice to have the most successful home based business.  I’ve checked into some jobs online in the past, but didn’t find anything I wanted.  For now, I’ll stick to my part-time job.  Some people work for companies where they can work part time in the office and part time at home which sounds good to me.  Our neighbor works almost full time from home.  These days, though, a lot of people would like to have a job and wouldn’t care if it was at home or a business.

I’ve noticed that if I eat very much bread, it’s easy for me to gain weight.  In order to lose the weight, I don’t take top rated diet pills but just try to eat healthy, eat less bread, and go for walks.

We traveled during the holidays and would end up going through drive-throughs a lot and ordering some type of sandwich. Plus we had rolls at holiday meals and then left-over rolls to eat afterwards. So I know that’s part of the reason for my weight gain during the holidays.

Psalm 147:3-5  “He (God) heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.  Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.”

We drank a lot of hot chocolate during the holidays, mainly for two reasons:  it was very cold plus I was getting over a respiratory infection and hot drinks helped my congestion a lot.  I found out there are a lot of calories in some hot chocolate mixes which I’m sure helped me to gain weight, although I don’t need weight loss pills.  My husband bought some hot chocolate and I bought some, too, and so I decided to compare the “Nutritional Facts.”  This is what I found:

• Nestle Rich Chocolate – 80 calories, 3 grams fat, 15 g carbs, 12 g sugar
• Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate – 120 calories, 2 g fat, 23 g carbs, 16 g sugar
• Swiss Miss Dark Cholcolate – 150 calories, 3.5 g fat, 26 g carbs, 20 g sugar

It’s easy to see which brand of hot chocolate I’m drinking now that I’m trying to lose the weight I gained during the holidays:  Nestle Rich Chocolate!  (There are sugar-free mixes out there, but my doctor told me to stay away from sugar substitutes as much as possible.)

Charlie Gibson talks about his dish for Enchilada Casserole being the most requested recipe in the history of Good Morning America in this clip with Rachael Ray. This recipe is a favorite of the Gibsons, and he first shared this recipe on “Good Morning America” during the 2002 Family Cook-Off Series.   Now it is a favorite of many viewers.

One time, though, Emeril Lagasse intimated that Gibson stole the recipe from him. To keep the record straight, Gibson informed Emeril in an ABC Blog Entry that this recipe was given to the Gibsons 20 years ago by a family friend, Mary Corkran.

Here’s the famous recipe most requested by GMA viewers:

INGREDIENTS:

• 13 ounce package of Doritoes (save 2 cups for topping)
• 10 ounce can of chili with beans
• 10-15 ounce can of enchilada sauce
• 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (save 1/2 cup for topping) (try reduced fat cheese)
  
• 2 tablespoons grated onion
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream (I would try reduced fat or fat-free)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, crumble 6 cups of Doritoes.  Add the chili, both sauces, 1 1/2 cups cheese (remember to save 1/2 cup), and the onion to the crumbled Doritoes.  Stir gently.   Pour into an 8 1/2 x 11 inch casserole dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and spread sour cream on top.  Top with remaining 2 cups of crumbled Doritoes.   Then sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheese.  Bake for 5 more minutes.

Well, I did it!  I gained my usual several pounds during the holidays!  Ugh!  My pants are fitting tighter in the waist and I do not like the feel of that.  I won’t be reading fat burner reviews, but I will be trying to eat less. Hmm…the hard part is all of this dark chocolate we have here at the house. Actually, dark chocolate is good for us, only we don’t need much per day. I need to measure out how much I can eat in a little dish and limit myself to that amount per day. OK, I have a plan for the chocolate!