Carrot Cake

I've never been a carrot cake lover, but boy is this DELISH! It's Micah's favorite and the recipe comes from his mom- Mom Richards.

Carrot Cake (Annette’s)

2 cups sugar

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

4 cups grated carrot (about 4-5 large carrots, for those of you who are like me and don't know- don't buy 10 carrots)

1 cup cooking oil

4 eggs

Grease and flour pan. Combine first 5 ingredients. Add next 3.  Beat with mixer until well mixed.  Bake at 350° for 50-60 min. until done. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 pkg (8 ounces) cream cheese softened

4 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 stick of butter & 1 Tbs milk

Blend well on low speed until smooth, spread and refrigerate cake

 

I am telling you- you will want to eat the frosting by the spoonful. It's so yummers. Micah prefers this cake to be chilled in the fridge before eating it, I'm not a fan as much. Either way it needs to be refrigerated after its frosted.

Even EASIER White Chicken Chili!

I posted a white chicken chili recipe on here earlier. And then a good friend pointed me in the direction of an even easier version--because this one uses the crockpot!  Plus its just darn good eatin'...

Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
(Recipe adapted from  here. I made MINOR changes, at best.)

1 can black beans
1 can corn, undrained
1 can Rotel (or diced tomatoes with chilis), undrained
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 8 oz package light cream cheese
2 chicken breasts

Drain and rinse black beans. Place chicken at bottom of pot, then pour out whole can of corn (undrained), rotel/tomatoes, and black beans. Top with diced onions, seasonings and ranch mix. Stir together. Place cream cheese on top. Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Stir cream cheese into chili. Use 2 forks to shred chicken. Stir together and serve.

We had it with corn bread plopped right on top of the chili bowl. YUM!

Stromboli

We love, love, LOVE pizza at our house. Here's a fairly easy way to mix it up a bit. Its also a great idea for those who love dipping their pizza because extra sauce is key to the tasty joy.

Easy Stromboli
(Adapted from here)
 
1 tablespoon active dry yeast 
1 cup warm water (110° to 115°) 
3 tablespoons vegetable oil 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
2-3/4 to 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 
Spaghetti or Pizza sauce to your liking (1-2 cups?)
20-30 slices of pepperoni
Diced green pepper
Diced onion
Lots of shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the oil, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. 

Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; roll into a 14-in. x 12-in. rectangle. 

Transfer to a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan. Spoon sauce to within 1/2 in. of edges. Top with the pepperoni, peppers, onions and cheese. Obviously whatever toppings YOU want will work. 

Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal and tuck ends under. Hint--you REALLY want to pinch this thing tight and...it will probably still start oozing in the oven.

Bake at 400° for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, heat up extra sauce on the stove. Serve your stromboli warm, topping slices with lots of extra sauce. Enjoy!

Chunky Potato Soup

Despite the summer heat, I made soup last night and it was delightful! I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and so...kismet.

Chunky Potato Soup
(From Taste of Home's Quick Cooking magazine, Feb 2005)

4 medium potatoes, chopped
3/4 c. chopped onion
1 small carrot peeled and chopped
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
 3 Tbsp. butter 
3 Tbsp. flour
2 1/2 c. milk
1/2 Tbsp parsley
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a large saucepan combine potatoes, carrot, celery, onion, and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 12-15 minutes. Lightly mash.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 min. or until thickened. Stir into potato mixture.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add salt, pepper, and parsley. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese until melted.

Serve with a crusty roll or breadstick. YUM!

Jell-O Pie

I tried this one for a dinner I gave last night (for the parentals) and everyone loved it. Especially my husband! So...here it is. SUPER DUPER EASY!

Jell-O Pie by "Nicole"
(From this website...no changes!)

• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 (3 oz.) package jello, any flavor (I used lime)
• 1/2 cup cold water
• ice cubes
• 8 ounces cool whip (reduced fat)
• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust

Stir boiling water into jello for about two minutes--until it is completely dissolved. Add ice cubes to 1/2 c. cold water until it equals 1 cup. Pour this into the jello and mix until all the ice is melted. Stir in the cool whip with a whisk until its smooth. Cover and refrigerate the mixture until it begins to set--enough that you could begin to "heap" it into a pie crust. Once its semi-set, "heap" it into your graham cracker crust. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  

 

When serving, cut into 6 pieces. It will make everyone happy. 

Grilled Basalmic Vinegar Chicken Salad

Marinade: (from spark people... get the app. Lots of good recipes)
1 c water
1/2 c olive oil
2 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
4 tsp dried onion flakes
3 tsp. Italian seasoning
3 tsp. ground mustard
2 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper

Cut the chicken into strips and let it marinate for at least a half an hour- I did mine for about 6 hours

Dressing: (from foodnetwork.com)
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. dark brown sugar (optional)
1 tbs. chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3/4 c. olive oil

Salad Fixins:
Romaine lettuce
Chopped, grilled chicken
Feta cheese
Tomatoes
Avocado

Look how pretty it is!

The Easiest (and possibly healthiest) Pumpkin Muffins

1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin

Mix it all up and put it in muffin tins!

Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes
They turn out a little funny looking, but yummy! I feel like chocolate chips would be a good addition.

*Recipe from Spark People, and according to them there are only 115 calories per muffin :)