The Best No Sugar Chocolate Cupcakes Ever!

This is what I make when I need to treat myself to something wonderful.  I adapted this recipe from one found on the back of a container of Hershey's Cocoa.  I am so proud of the frosting.  It is made with cream cheese and whipped cream and cocoa.  It adds such a wonderfulness to these cupcakes that you don't miss the sugar.  These cupcakes could be served at a children's birthday party with no complaints from the guests.  I used to make the cupcakes, with no sugar, then let my guests frost them themselves with a choice between sugar full frosting and sugar free frosting.   But now, I cheerfully serve them beautifully frosted with this sugar free version.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

The thing about using fruit and agave as substitutes for sugar is that sugar is a great flavor enhancer.  When you omit sugar from a recipe, you are also omitting some of the flavor.  That needs to be replaced with spices or other rather strong flavored things.  These pumpkin spice cookies use pumpkin, applesauce and agave to sweeten them.  The Cinnamon and cloves helps add  the flavor and the sugar free cream cheese filling makes them extra special.  OK, this is stating the obvious.  Sugar-free does not necessarily mean good for you.  This cream cheese frosting is full of fat.  If that concerns you, then don't fill your cookies.  I really like this recipe because there is so little fat in the cookie and you have so much nutrition in the pumpkin and applesauce and wheat flour.  You can substitute about 3/4 cup of wheat flour with 3/4 cup of buckwheat flour for added nutrition.  Very yummy, and it is a shame to call them cookies.  I sometime like to call them "little healthy snacks."  But my children like them to be called cookies.  To make them sinfully delicious, add about 2 cups of chocolate chips before baking them.

Chicken Noodle Soup

For hundreds, and perhaps even thousands of years moms have been making chicken soup for their ailing loved ones. The wives tale, that chicken soup can help you get over a cold or the flu quickly, has actually been proven in recent years. Apparently, it's the marrow in the bones of the chicken that provide essential nutrients needed for fighting off the flu. To make this chicken soup, it is necessary to boil an entire chicken, bones and all for about 4 hours in order to get that marrow out of the bones. It may sound less than appetizing but you probably actually eat marrow regularly. That is where Jello comes from. Only that store bought gelatin has been stripped of all its redeeming qualities. Trust in the goodness of the earth. Next time you or your family get sick, try this time honored recipe. But, you don't need to wait for the flu, it tastes wonderful when you are feeling great as well. The recipe for homemade noodles follows this blog.

Homemade Noodles

I have been making homemade noodles for many, many years.  And it still seems like a lot of work, but they taste so much better than the packaged ones that can sit on the shelf for half an eternity, (and probably have.)  I use one recipe for all my noodles, it just keeps things simple.  This is a basic egg noodle recipe made with whole wheat flour.  I have a noodle press, and when I want to make amazing noodles, I keep the dough a little stiffer and put it through the noodle press a few times so they are very thin.  I then cut them for soup, or lasagna or even ravoli.  But. many times I am too busy to pull the noodle press out, so I just make the dough a little softer and roll it as thin as I can with my rolling pin.  Then I cut them and place them right into the pot.  When I do it this way, they are a bit soggy and "fluffy" but still way better than the old dried store bought ones.  If you really are organized, you can make yours with a noodle press, and then cut them, and then freeze them!  Yummy! and handy.  We just eat them too quickly for me to actually freeze any, but when I do, they turn out great!  No deception here, these are time consuming!  Good Luck!