Carrots!

This carrot cake took me forever to make (grating the carrots and decorating) but it was worth it and I was pleased with how it turned out. Funny story, I baked this cake for our Youth Fundraiser cake auction and Aaron turned out to be highest bidder! (He said he was trying to up the bidding price.) And since we spent so much money on it and it was Mother's Day the following day, I decided to take a break from my diet and splurge.

I asked my sister who baked a delicious carrot cake for her wedding to send me her recipe. Here it is:


4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup peanut oil (this only gives it a hint of peanut flavor, but if you opt not to use it, just omit it and don't add any more oil. 3/4 cup of vegetable oil is plenty, just don't drain the pineapple as much.)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cups carrots (about 1lb) grated
2/3 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
I added 1/2 cup shredded coconut (opt)

This makes (2) 9" round pans.

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 deg. F. Lightly spray (2) 9" round pans with vegetable spray. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs untill foamy, add wet ingredients and then mix in dry, adding carrots, pineapple and nuts last.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry. Cool 10 minutes in pans then invert onto serving plate to cool.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing:
1 package (12 oz.) white candy melt chocolate
2 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Melt Candy Melts according to directions. Allow to cool slightly, stirring occasionally (don't let it harden). In mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese (preferably with a flat beater) until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in the cooled candy until blended and smooth. Beat in the butter and lemon juice.

Smooth a small amount of icing on bottom cake layer; top side up. Top with second layer bottom side up. Frost cake with remaining icing. Gently press chopped walnuts into the sides of round cake to give it a finished look.

Refrigerate until ready to serve; bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.

Savory Chicken Saute & Mashed Cauliflower

I'm sorry it's been a million years since I posted anything. I wanted to share one of the most simple and one of my favorite dishes from the South Beach Diet recipe book. I find myself making this often because I usually have all the ingredients and it's so fast/easy to make.

4 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)

2 TBSP Olive Oil 1 Yellow onion, chopped or sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBSP fresh, chopped rosemary leaves or 1 tsp dried
1/2 - 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (be generous!)

pinch of salt and pepper

Prep time: 0 mins

cook time: 20-30 mins.

First, saute one side of chicken breasts in olive oil (4-5 minutes). Sprinkle the salt and pepper to taste onto uncooked side of chicken. Add rosemary and and continue to saute until nicely browned on both sides, which is about 4-5 minutes on each side. Add the garlic and onions to the pan. Let the onions caramelize a bit and when the bottom of the pan gets brown pour in the chicken broth and scrape up the browned bits. That will be the sauce and I like it so I use more broth. I let it simmer for 10-15 more minutes but it is not necessary especially if you use less broth.

Eat with plenty of steamed veggies and brown rice. Or, you could use the South Beach Diet's Mashed Cauliflower.

1 head of cauliflower

1 TBSP fat-free half & half *

1 TBSP I can't believe it's not Butter or light butter *

Salt and pepper to taste

This recipe takes me more prep time and I only have a small blender. Chop cauliflower, and then boil until tender. Drain well. Use a food processer or blender to mash cauliflower. I tend to like it chunky. Add half and half, butter and salt and pepper to taste.

* The recipe book says "1 ounce" for these ingredients, but I have tried to find a conversion to tsp/tbsp but can't find one so I estimate.

Easy moist Roast Chicken

Is anyone else dying at the cost of chicken lately. Then, whenever it is on sale I always seem to miss it, or they sell out too fast. So, I have been experimenting with roasting whole chickens. I finally found an easy recipe that makes a nice moist chicken. Ches couldn't get enough of it. This is the recipe as I found it on All Recipes.com

Juicy Roast Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1 (3 pound) whole chicken, giblets removed
salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon onion powder, or to taste
1/2 cup margarine, divided
1 stalk celery, leaves removed

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place chicken in a roasting pan, and season generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Sprinkle inside and out with onion powder. Place 3 tablespoons margarine in the chicken cavity. Arrange dollops of the remaining margarine around the chicken's exterior. Cut the celery into 3 or 4 pieces, and place in the chicken cavity.
Bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (82 degrees C). Remove from heat, and baste with melted margarine and drippings. Cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest about 30 minutes before serving.

Notes: My chicken was bigger, and I still used less butter then that. I used enough celery to fill the chicken full, and probably almost half as much butter, and my chicken was 7 lbs. I also cut the skin down the center of the top, put the seasonings and some butter on the inside, and then pinned the skin back up with my roasting pins. It was fabulous! Then I just take all of the leftover and bag and freeze for easy chicken later.

Roast Pumpkin Soup

I got this recipe from Elizabeth, who I think got from an English cook book she has. It is a great fall meal, or any cold day meal!! My family prefers it made with Butternut Squash, but I have done both ways.

Roast Pumpkin Soup

2 c. pumpkin
(to roast, cut up squash, brush with olive oil, and bake at 350 til tender. I cover mine for the most of it, and uncover at end to get a good roast flavor)
1 TBS olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 large carrots (or more)
2 celery sticks (or more_
4 c. chicken broth

Cook onion and cumin in oil for 2 min. Add carrots and celery, cook for 3 minutes. Add pumpkin and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 plus minutes. Puree when all vegs are tender.

Serve with sour cream, nutmeg and parsley.

Country Tomato Bisque

This is my cousins recipe. It makes a lot so I freeze it in portions for later. A big hit in my family, and so much healthier then Cambell's.

Country Tomato Bisque
Serves 8-10

4 Tbsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 zucchini, chopped
4 Tbsp flour
2 28-oz (or 4 14-oz) cans diced tomatoes with juices
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 Tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried marjoram
2 bay leaves
2 cups half & half
grated Cheddar cheese
sunflower seeds

Melt butter in large soup pot. Stir in garlic, celery, carrots, onions, and zucchini until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Blend in flour. Add tomatoes, broth, sugar, salt, basil, marjoram, and bay leaves. Heat to boiling. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaves. Puree mixture in a blender in small batches until smooth. Pour in half & half and stir. Garnish with grated Cheddar cheese and sunflower seeds.

Spiced Pork Chops

This is the meal that made me want to start posting again. It was so good Ches kept asking for more, and CJ wanted me to make it again tonight!! It is from my a distant cousin of mine (I think).

Spiced Pork Chops

1/2 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of pepper
4 pork chops (boneless)
1 to 2 Tbs oil
1 c. ketchup
1 c. water
1/4 c. packed brown sugar

In a shallow dish, combine the first 10 ingredients; dredge pork chops till completely covered. In a skillet, brown chops in oil on all sides. Place in a greased square pyrex dish. Combine ketchup, water and b. sugar; pour over chops. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until tender. Serve with rice.

Notes: I cut up my chops into smaller pieces so as to get more coating on everything. I didn't have any dry mustard, so I added some spicy brown mustard to the ketchup mix. Do not over cook. Enjoy!!

Re-Start!!

Okay, it's time to get this thing restarted. I have several recipes I have been wanting to post, but haven't because I forget to take pictures. Then I thought, that is dumb, I shouldn't with hold fabulous meals just because there isn't a pretty picture to share! So, post now, picture later.

And we're off!!