carrot cake...

Daily, my calendar reminds me to eat more fruit and vegetables...and carrots are root vegetables right?
On Monday, I ate three of them for lunch...I admit it...they are that good! I justified the experience of totally enjoying them by skipping the protein...but I did have some fruit and dairy inside all the goodness.
I did it without guilt while reading my current issue of Health magazine.
I forgave myself, moved on and spent the afternoon working off some of the calories in the garden :)
This is my absolute favorite cake. I only make it once a year in the fall so thus it always tastes like fall to me...my favorite season. Actually, this year I had to make it twice...two weeks ago for a funeral at our church where I didn't bring home a single leftover cupcake as they were popular there too. Because I only had one from the whole batch I just had to make them a second time.

Carrot Cake

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 cup crushed pineapple
2 cups grated carrots
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, oil and eggs. Beat well. Add well drained pineapple and grated carrots. Beat until well mixed. Add flour, cinnamon, soda and salt (sifted together). Beat well, add nuts and vanilla last. Pour in a 9 x 13 inch pan and bake 45-50 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Frost with cream cheese frosting with completely cool and store in the refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 stick (1/4 lb) butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix thoroughly.

My Notes: This year for the first time I made them into cupcakes (thinking it would help with portion size, NOT). I baked them at 350 degrees for approx 24-26 minutes and the recipe made 32 of them. I lowered the oil to 1 1/4 cups and that worked well. Next year, I made a note to try one cup. I use a whole 20 oz can of crushed pineapple which has been well drained and I use a generous 1 cup of chopped pecans for the nuts. A very decadent cake but every bite is so worth it ;)

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs Up

fettuccine zucchini...

I'm trying to eat healthier these days (and I say that straight faced in a post that also tells you I used heavy cream, YIKES!) so with an abundance of zucchini that I got at the local farm stand I made faux pasta.

The zucchinni and summer squash weren't the tiny little ones we like to use in stir fry but the cucumber sized ones where the seedy middle is developing. So I pulled out my trusty Pampered Chef apple-peeler-corer and flipped down the peeler tool to core and make long curly ribbons of fettuccine (literally "little ribbons" in Italian) zucchini. I steamed the ribbons and then browned bite sized pieces of chicken, baby bellas, garlic and onion with a generous amount of dried italian seasoning in 1 tb of olive oil and 1 tb of butter. After the chicken was fully cooked and the mushrooms golden, I added in just enough cream and grated parmesean to make a sauce and then tossed it with my fettuccine zucchini and served it with more parmesean on top. Wish I would of came up with this idea before gardening season was almost done...it will definitely be made again.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Caramel Apple French Toast

warning...more leftover photos ahead :)

Yesterday, I had a group of friends from my church over and I tried a new recipe for a french toast that you make up the night before and bake in the morning. As a busy hostess, I didn't have time for photos yesterday but there were two small pieces leftover so I reheated them this morning and had breakfast in the garden with leftover sliced fruit and FRESH coffee.
I thought I would enjoy watching birds coming to the feeder while eating a peaceful breakfast alone but this french toast is so good I don't think I even looked away from my plate! I loved it even better this morning than I did yesterday but I think that too was due to trying to be a good hostess and keeping an eye on my guests to make sure they didn't need a refill or anything.
The caramel sauce, baked apples and cinnamon flavors are so good together, it seems like this should be a dessert and not a breakfast! In fact, I savored every droplet of caramel sauce by dipping my apple and pear slices in it which tasted so great all the fruit took a dip :)I won't need to eat again until Jeff comes home for supper tonight.

I found this recipe from the blog, The Sisters' Cafe and they have it named Overnight Apple French Toast. I took the liberty of renaming it here because the caramel sauce is what really makes this dish, especially for me since I do not like traditonal syrups. They also picture it served as it is baked with the apples and sauce on the bottom - I chose to flip it upside down when I served it so the apples were on top and the extra sauce was spooned over the french toast and running down the sides.

Caramel Apple French Toast (from Erin, The Sisters' Cafe)

1 cup brown sugar
½ cup butter
2 Tb white corn syrup
3 large apples, peeled, seeded, and sliced
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 loaf of French bread, sliced thick (you definitely won't need all of it)
cinnamon


To make the caramel, melt butter in saucepan and then add brown sugar and corn syrup. Heat for 5 minutes, allowing it to boil. Remove from heat and pour into a 9x13 glass pan. Place apples over the caramel in the pan. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, milk and vanilla. Dip the bread into the mixture, coating liberally. Place bread over apples in the pan (you won't need all the bread, just enough to fill the pan). Sprinkle very generously with cinnamon. Cover and refrigerate overnight so that all the flavors can penetrate. In the morning, heat the oven to 350°, and cook for 45 minutes.

Updated to add that I have since made this as a half batch in an 8 x 8 pan and it worked wonderfully - Jeff is probably a 2 thumbs up on this one :)

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs UP

Chicken Tortellini Bake

I love to try new recipes and tried several of them over the last few days and the only problem was I forgot to take photos for the blog. This recipe was worth sharing so today I took a photo of the leftovers we had for supper...I figured if I used a pretty enough plate you wouldn't notice they were leftovers...
they tasted just as great as the day they were baked.

Chicken Tortellini Bake - recipe from the My Kitchen Cafe blog.

16 ounce package of refrigerated fresh cheese tortellini (I used the tricolor variety)
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups (about 2 chicken breasts) chicken cut up into bite size pieces
3 green onions finely chopped, white and green parts
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken broth
8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 cup sour cream
8 oz (2 cups) shredded Monterey jack cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook tortellini for 2-3 minutes Drain and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken for 1-2minutes and add the fresh mushrooms and green onions, cooking until chicken is done and mushrooms are golden brown. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth and stir until thickened. Mix in sour cream until mixture is creamy and slightly thickened.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour tortellini in bottom of 9X13 pan. Sprinkle half the cheese over tortellini. Put cooked chicken/sauce mixture on top and sprinkle remaining cheese over the top.

Bake covered with tin foil at 350 for 30 minutes, uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes until bubbly and golden brown around the edges.

I am so happy to have found the Kitchen Cafe - I have bookmarked many of her recipes to try.

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs Up

muffins...

I got a new toy this week, a muffin pan with leaves and pumpkins. Perfect for autumn gatherings so today I gave it a try making blueberry muffins from a recipe I had saved a while back.
I had fun using a the leaf shaped ones and made some lemon flowers to go with them and my tea. How do all those other blog authors get their lemon slice to float perfectly center in the cup? Impossible I say :)
I know I originally got this recipe from another blog but I am sorry I don't remember which one.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins

1 stick softened butter
8 oz softened cream cheese
1 Cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ¾ c. all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 c. 2% milk (or cream)

1 pint fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350°. In a mixer cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest until well combined. Slowly beat in the eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. With mixer on low, add half the flour, then half milk or cream, then remaining flour, then remaining milk until just combined. Carefully fold in blueberries. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray and fill with muffin batter, about ¾ full. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through. Remove and let cool.

Marsha - Thumbs Up
Jeff - Thumbs Up

a T sandwich

We are at the height of tomato season and I am sure that many of you are enjoying BLT sandwiches. My personal favorite has always been to leave off the Bacon and Lettuce and just have a plain ole piece of toast with miracle whip (after all a sandwich isn't a sandwich without the tangy taste of MW, remember that commercial?) and a slice of tomato with lots of salt and pepper.
This year I tried a heirloom variety of tomato called cherokee purple. I can't say that it is purple more of a wine-red but they really are huge tomatoes. I decided to have a T sandwich for lunch in the garden and as you can see the tomato slice is larger than the piece of bread.
Actually, I was pretty hungry so I thought I would have two sandwiches...
but my eyes were bigger than my stomach and one was more than enough to satisfy me. If you read my garden blog than you know I have a veggie loving dog, Hershey so since she was laying at my feet I decided to share.


Two bites and it was gone so she'll probably be picking tomatoes as well as cucumbers next.

a "T" sandwich
Marsha - Thumbs Up
Hershey - Paws UP

Cherries...

We spent part of our holiday weekend visiting Jayme & Scott and were treated to fresh raspberry pie using their own freshly picked raspberries, and blueberry muffins using their own fresh picked blueberries. They also have an apple tree but the resident deer eat most of them and a cherry tree which isn't J & S's favorite fruit so they usually pick and give them away. She currently has a co-worker making cherry brandy and I picked the last of their cherries to make sour cherry preserves.

Sour Cherry Preserves (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)
2 lbs pitted fresh cherries
2 cups of sugar
Juice of a small lemon

Boil until thickened about 15 to 30 minutes.
I knew exactly what I wanted to make with the fresh cherry preserves so I set up a simple table with cherry plates and lots of paper towels...
and fired up the grill for my friend, Carol's (There's always thyme to cook) cherry chipolte chicken wings.
I served them with grilled smashed potatoes and baby peppers.
I followed Carol's directions and used three chipolte peppers and I loved the spicy sweet heat but it was a little "hot" for Jeff's tastes. He said he prefers a honey sweet bar-b-que sauce which is great because then I get the left overs. For the complete recipe click the link above to Carol's blog post on these wings.

Marsha - Thumbs UP
Jeff - Thumbs down