Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

It's finally time for...

The hubby's birthday cake!

This cake was a smashing success. It was gone in 3 days, and the only reason it lasted 3 days was because I asked the hubby to leave a piece for me to take pictures of. You know, when it was sunny and I had all this wonderful, natural light. Luckily, I was blessed with light on the 3rd day and by bedtime that night, the cake was a distant memory. Probably the fastest a birthday cake has ever gone in this house. I guess we really know what the hubby's favorite cake is now. 

This cake worked for everyone. I had bought mini-vanilla cupcakes at the grocery store for the kids, as I wasn't sure if they would eat the cake after they learned it was called carrot cake. We are talking, like, extremely picky eaters here. To my pleasant surprise, only 1 of them put up a fight over the carrot cake and by the end of the day, even he had tried it and liked it. You know it's good when the kids devour it. My niece said she wanted this cake for her birthday. Minus the walnuts, of course. Psssh, kids.

I'm not the world's best baker. I get really nervous every time I have to serve cake to a large crowd of people. Will it be dry? Will it taste good? Is it too sugary? Too dense? I get worked up every time, imagining all the ways the cake could go wrong. Does this feeling go away with time and experience? I don't know yet, because I was beyond nervous as we cut into this cake. Turns out I had nothing to worry about, because I was immediately met with rave reviews. The cake is super moist and flavorful. Not too dense. Not too sweet. Just flat-out mmm, mmm good. 

My other worry? It wasn't big enough to feed a crowd. This concern turned out to be a non-issue. The cake feeds plenty.

Everyone loved the frosting in the middle. The hubby's aunt exclaimed her excitement as soon as the first piece was cut (she's a frosting nut!). The maple-y, creamy frosting works amazingly with the cake. 

The hubby's family just loves to celebrate birthdays...

Putting candles on the cake.

My MIL and I lighting the candles.

Birthday boy blowing out his candles.

Instead of a crazy picture of the whole family, I thought I'd share one where we all look quite normal. You know, because we are normal :)

I'm afraid I have some bad news, and you all probably saw this coming. I'm taking next week off from the blog. Boooo. Yes, I realize I took 2 weeks off in September. The audacity. However, this is technically, technically, my honeymoon. Plus, after calling AT&T yesterday, we realized we have no international plan on our phones. Sooooo, the internet is not something I'm going to be using a whole lot of down in Mexico. I'm sorry to take so much time off this fall, but that's just the way the cookie crumbles. 

Ha ha. What a perfect foodie metaphor!

See y'all in a week!

Ingredients:

Cake-

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup canola oil

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup pineapple puree (I took 8 ounces sliced, canned pineapple and pureed until smooth)

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, room temp

3 cups grated, peeled carrot

2 inches fresh ginger, grated

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Frosting-

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Butter and flour 2 (9 inch) springform pans. 

2. In a mixing bowl, combine flour through nutmeg. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3. Combine oil through pineapple puree. Whisk until well blended. Mix in the vanilla. Mix in the eggs, one by one. Add the flour mixture, mix until well blended. Using a spatula, fold in the carrot and ginger.

4. Divide batter evenly among pans. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting. 

5. To make the frosting, combine cream cheese through maple syrup in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer (you could make this in a stand mixer as well), beat until fluffy. Let chill for 20 minutes in fridge before using, to hold its shape.

6. To assemble the cake, frost one entire cake. Then place the second cake on top, and continue frosting the whole cake. Sprinkle the walnuts on top, if using. Slice, and serve. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe by Rasa Malaysia.

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Caramel Mocha Poke Cake

Classic White Birthday Cake

Pecan Pie Cake

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Eggplant and Orzo Casserole Soup

I've got another leftover recipe for you!

When my parents were visiting last month, I made my Cheesy Eggplant and Orzo Casserole for them. Even though there were 4 of us chowing down on it, I still had significant leftovers. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, it's hard to make proportionate casseroles. With 2 in my household, I always wind up with proliferous amounts of leftover casserole. Heck, even with 4 munching on this casserole, I still had a lot of leftover food. I had an idea with this casserole however...

Why not turn this?

Into this!

It was super easy to make this jump. While the casserole was still cold, I removed the melted cheese layer from the top. It just came right up, although it did take some orzo up with it. Sacrifices, right? Anyhoo, I heated up some chicken broth and when it came to a simmer, I dumped the entire casserole into the pot. Then I added a 10 oz bag of spinach. A dusting of parmesan cheese,  and some crusty french bread were all we needed to round out the meal.

I have to admit when I told the hubby about this idea of mine, the look on his face wasn't exactly encouraging. I think he thought I was crazy. Dumping a casserole into soup? Unheard of. For a moment, I hesitated. Maybe it was just my crazy mind, thinking this combination might work. But in the end, what was I going to do with all this casserole? Throw it away, probably. So I decided to foray ahead. Might as well give it a try. 

The hubby's opinion quickly changed upon first bite of soup. He was genuinely surprised the soup was good. I was satisfied by his quick change in attitude. Everything in the casserole makes for excellent soup bedfellows. Orzo, mushrooms, eggplant, red bell pepper- all perfectly seasoned. What leftover casserole I had made a big batch of soup, so I was also able to freeze a bag of it. Another meal in the pipeline! Another economically and nutritionally sound dinner choice. We all win.

So, the hubby and I are currently getting everything ready to go on vacation. We headed to Huntington, WV yesterday to stock up on anything we still needed for the trip. Which was basically stuff for the hubby. He came home with swimming trunks, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 polos, and a pair of shoes. Oh, and a Beats Pill wireless speaker. His birthday present. Let me just say, he's more excited about his birthday present than anything we bought for Mexico :) I didn't need as much, but still managed to find excellent clearance at Old Navy. I ended up with 3 tanks, 2 pairs of shorts, and a sundress for $20. That's my kind of shopping. 

I'm getting really, really excited for Cancun. I've got beach brain. All I can think about is sun. And more sun. Oh, and then some more sun :) I'm pretty sure this dreary fall is bumming me out...

And with that, I'll leave you with the recipe. Happy Wednesday everyone!

Ingredients (serves 4):

6-8 cups chicken broth (depending on how much leftover casserole you have)

Leftover Cheesy Eggplant and Orzo Casserole (I used ~4 cups)

1 (10 oz) bag of baby spinach

salt and pepper

garnish- parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, bring chicken broth to a simmer. When hot, add leftover casserole and bag of spinach. Heat, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

2. Divide soup into bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese, if using. Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may enjoy these:

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

Roasted Fennel, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup

Spanish Rice Soup

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Homemade Taco Seasoning

All right y'all, this recipe is just for me.

You see, I don't like to buy taco seasoning. I don't see the point when I keep all the ingredients on hand. I have a go-to recipe I use for taco seasoning, but I've adapted it. Between scouring the internet for the recipe I use and trying to remember the measurements I like, I finally decided I needed to write down my adaptation in one place, so I don't have to do all this work every time I need taco seasoning. So here we are.

I was reading this article on The Prairie Homestead, and it really got me thinking about what I buy vs. what I make homemade. It's amazing to me what kind of convenience items we buy at the store. It amazes me what convenience items I buy at the store. I make a lot of stuff homemade, but there are certain products that I buy and keep on hand. Almond milk. Tortillas. Dried pasta. You know the drill. All items I could make, but are just so easy to pick up. Seasoning mixes don't happen to be one of those convenience items I purchase. I make my own steak rub, my own pumpkin pie spice, and my own taco seasoning. Making your own seasoning is awesome. What if you hate how much chili powder they put in those packets, and you want more cumin flavor? Alter the recipe. Want it less spicy? Skip the crushed red pepper. Does garlic make your world go round? Throw more in there! I personally like the flavor of cumin to really punch through, and I like my seasoning spicy. Caliente! That's the beauty of creating your own- the power to tinker. Plus, what's in those little taco seasoning packets? You know, besides the spices. What chemicals and preservatives are in there?

There's so much information out there these days when it comes to food choices. I find a lot of it educational and useful, but at the same time, there seem to be a lot of articles trying to shame people for their food choices. In a perfect world, we'd all eat more fruits and veggies than steaks, we'd throw those TV dinners in the trash, and we'd all eat organic. It's just not plausible. As I stumble my way through the sheer volume of information out there involving food, it's hard to keep straight what's good and what's not. You can find articles out there denouncing genetically modified produce and at the same time, you can find articles extolling their benefits. Articles praising veganism, and on the other hand, articles claiming it's not a balanced diet. Why you should eat meat. Why you shouldn't eat meat. Wheat causes all kinds of health problems. Wheat sensitivity is all in our heads. I think I'd go crazy if I tried to literally live by all these opinions. What I do know is that I take it all with a grain of salt. I've come to realize I'll never be perfect, and neither will my diet. I do try to eat clean the majority of the time, I allow myself as much fruit and vegetables every day as my heart desires. I try to limit the processed stuff, but it's just not feasible for me to make fresh mayonnaise everyday. Or to completely steer clear of Cheetos Puffs. However, taco seasoning is easy to make and keeps for a looooong time. I made a small mason jar that will probably last me for years. 

Ok friends, I'll admit taco seasoning might not make for the most fascinating blogging. I do suggest putting this recipe back though, you never know when it might come in handy. Perhaps on taco night when you were 100% certain you had taco mix, only to discover -uh oh- you don't! This could definitely come in handy :)

Ingredients:

3 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp cumin

3 tsp sea salt

3 tsp black pepper

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp Mexican oregano (you can use regular)

1 tsp crushed red pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a small mason jar. Shake to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.

Looking for other easy recipes for items you might normally pick up at the grocery store? Try these!

Easy Homemade Applesauce

Homemade Pesto

Homemade Hummus

Linked to: Treasure Box Tuesday, Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party

Lately: Fall 2014

Happy Sunday!

I thought I'd throw in an extra post this week, just for fun. Plus, it's Sunday morning and I don't have much else to do. The hubby worked last night and as such, is snoring lightly while he naps on the couch next to me. The dogs must be exhausted from guarding the house all night in the hubby's absence because they are passed out as well. Why not sneak in a little blogging time while the rest of the house slumbers? Here's what's been going on lately-

The hubby was synching his phone to the computer after the latest IOS update, and we discovered he had a bunch of photos from when my parents came to visit. I thought I'd share a couple that he took. This one is one of my favorites. Am I a baby? Or a turkey? I can't decide. 

Dad signing the Oregon plate at Hillbilly Hot Dogs.

Family baseball night. Dad making contact with the ball.

This picture makes me laugh, I'm not sure what I'm doing. The hubby commented that I look like I'm doing the Heisman poise. Maybe??

We've still got Sam the Cat living out back. He's gained a decent amount of weight, and still doesn't appear to be leaving the yard. He's become a backyard fixture, I've gotten quite used to him. He's such a good natured cat. I still wonder where he came from.

He loves the sun, he loves to play, and he especially loves rolling around on the cement of back porch. He's not so fond of the dogs, who still haven't learned proper cat socialization yet. Surprisingly, Gizmo is adjusting faster than Haloti. 

But Gizmo still loves to watch Sam out the back door and bark at him. I haven't shook him of that habit yet.

Well, it's fall here so the garden is pretty much done. I say pretty much because I still need to gather what green tomatoes are left and then compost the plants. I've turned what's left of the lettuce out to the wildlife, all the jalapeños have been picked, and my tomatoes look like this-

Pretty much just brown vines. I learned so much this year. I know when to seed next year. I know what I want to grow next year. I know what pests and diseases (ahem, the spotted cucumber beetle, blight, the tomato hornworm, to name a few) I need to combat next year. I'm armed with a list of helpful plants to grow around my garden to attract the right predators. I'm ready, I'm excited, and...  it's still October. In other words, a looooooong ways from Spring :)

One thing I learned this year was the best way to grow cilantro, for us. I started the summer with cilantro starts. I bought 3 and planted them in a row. This wasn't enough cilantro, as I exhausted that supply with 3 batches of salsa. Next, when I went to plant, I only dug 5-6 small holes and dropped a few seeds in each hole. This technique didn't produce enough cilantro for me either, I used it all up with 2 harvests. I finally took a large pot and dumped half a seed packet in the dirt. This resulted in a large, full pot of cilantro. Within 3 weeks. Next year, I'm going to plant a pot and then stagger more pots throughout the summer. The basil and cilantro were the herbs I went to the most. In fact, the herb garden is still going pretty strong-

It's not really starting to brown, either. I love that my herbs are still right out there. Well, except for the basil. I used all that up about a month ago. Which means, the bottom tier of my herb garden is just dirt. One might think it's just dirt, right? Nothing exciting about that. I thought that too, until I looked out in the yard one day and saw this squirrel-

He was furiously burying nuts in yard. All over the yard. I watched him for quite a while. Since I was inside, I wasn't able to get an awesome picture of him, unfortunately. I was shocked when I watched him jump right into the herb garden and start digging where the basil used to be.

Later that day, the hubby and I went to check out the herb garden. The hubby couldn't resist trying to find the hickory nut the squirrel buried in there. To our surprise, we did find it. At the very bottom. The bottom is about 2 feet down, by the way. We couldn't believe how deep the squirrel was able to bury that nut. Crazy! We re-buried the nut, and had a good chuckle over the incident. 

The hubby loves pugs, so I couldn't resist getting this picture to send to him. I was at my sister-in-law's house for her birthday, while the poor hubby had to work. She was dog-sitting for her friends who happened to be out of town. That's a big puggy smile, if you ask me :)

I participated in a 5k last weekend that was my very first trail race. I actually had no idea that it was going to be a trail race, because I'd ran it the year before when it was very much not a trail race. I learned the night before it was a trail race, and I'd chose to make the best of it. I hadn't done any training on trails, mainly because there are none around here, but my plan was to take it slow. Make the best of a bad situation, I told myself. And that's exactly what I did, because I ended up getting 1st in my age group and earning my first medal! It's been a goal of mine to earn a medal, so I'm very proud.

I think I mentioned that the hubby's birthday was last week, and we had the whole family over for cake and ice cream. Here's the whole crazy group, complete with vacant, unhinged gazes.

See what I have to deal with?  :)

I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Have a great week!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Ah, the first pumpkin recipe of the season. Fall truly has descended upon us. On this day in NE Kentucky,  this means the humidity is gone, there's a crisp chill in the air, the leaves are falling at an alarming rate, and... pumpkin recipes are all the rage. And I love me some pumpkin. Pumpkin pie is one of my most favorite pies. It's right up there with cherry and raspberry pies. Oh, and chocolate pie. Blueberry. Mmmmm. Ok, maybe I just like pie. Good thing, because these little muffins truly taste like pumpkin pie. 

These muffins are so perfectly moist and tasty. The vanilla-cream cheese topping makes it taste like a dollop of whip cream on a slice of pie. I wasn't expecting such WOW results, but hey, I'll take it. The recipes makes a fairly large batch, about 18 muffins, but I had no trouble pawning these off on family members. They were gone in the blink of an eye. Well, excluding the ones I saved for hubby, but let me tell you, those are long gone too.

Making and devouring these were a little like dipping my toe into the water. I'm fully ready to be submerged in pumpkin now. I'm craving pumpkin bread, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin smoothies- doesn't a pumpkin pie smoothie sound to-die-for?? Meaning, this is only the beginning. Beware-plenty of pumpkin recipes to follow...

I am feeling a little pep in my step this morning. I just got word from my mom, who was waiting on results from a bone density test, that her scan was clear! This news made my morning. On top of that, it's a perfectly, crisp fall morning without rain. One thing I'm seriously enjoying about this fall is running. It was a difficult, struggle-some summer running in the humidity. Where I thought I'd gotten out of shape because I could only run 2.5 miles without getting dizzy, lightheaded, nauseous, and cold, I've realized I was overheating. Simply due to the weather, not to my conditioning. But running in this cool weather, I feel like a million bucks. I ran 5 miles in 48 minutes yesterday, definitely a feat for me. And not something I could accomplish at 75º with 90% humidity. Most of my miles were sub-10's. I'm pretty darn slow, so I'm super-proud I was able to do this. 

One other fact that has me in the groove this morning? The hubby and I leave for Cancun in 9 days! Holy moly. I've still got a few items to pick up for the trip (i.e. 20 bottles of SPF, please) but I've got the essentials. A million swimsuits, since I'll be living in them. Plenty of sundresses. Flippy floppies. A house sitter :) Yep, I think we are set and I'm just counting down the days till the hubby and I fly out of Cincinnati. Finally, 5 years later, we are getting the honeymoon done. 

So, yay, it's almost the weekend! Truth be told, the hubby's had the whole week off and we have been maximizing his down time. Lots of movies. Bingeing on TV shows. Making homemade Chinese food. Devouring carrot cake. And for the hubby, an abundance of video games. We love making the most of our relaxation time. Sadly though, he has to work all weekend, so I'll be left to my own devices. I'm halfway through "Divergent" (I know, I'm so behind the times) so finishing that book and moving on to the next is numero uno on my list.

After baking something pumpkin, of course :)

Happy Thursday!

Ingredients (makes 18 muffins):

Muffins-

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree

2 eggs, room temp

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1/4 cup milk

Cream Cheese Topping-

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners (18 liners). Set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, oil, and pumpkin. Mix with a whisk by hand until combined. Mix in eggs. Mix in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, combine baking soda and flour. Mix in one cup of flour mixture. Mix in milk. Mix in remaining flour mixture. Do not over mix, mix until just combined. Divide batter equally among liners.

4.  In another bowl, mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with a hand mixer. Mix until completely smooth. Drop 1 tbsp of cream cheese mixture onto each muffin.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely before storage. I stored mine in a bowl with a kitchen towel over them due to how moist they turned out. Store in the fridge if you are not eating all the muffins within the first day or two.

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Crazy for Crust.

Looking for other fall recipes? Try these!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Creamy Pumpkin Custard

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friend's Friday Linky Party, Treasure Box Tuesday