Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing!

This has become a hit with my family, my dad in particular says it's the best carrot cake he has ever had. So yeah Ok, of course your dad is going to say that but hey it's a pretty awesome cake. So try it & see the rave reviews you get.

 

 

Cake
1 1/2 cups  vegetable oil
2 cups  sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
3 cups finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cups  chopped pecans or walnuts ( nuts are optional, the one I made i didn't add any & it turned out great)

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup  butter
one 8-ounce package cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
2  tbsp vanilla ( I love my homemade vanilla extract, so I add more to help with consistency & take away some of the tang from the cream cheese)
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
milk or cream to adjust consistency of frosting, if necessary ( again i use more vanilla & only a little milk to help with consistency)


Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9" round layer pans, or one 9" x 13" pan.

Beat together the oil, sugar, salt, eggs, and spices. Mix the flour with the baking soda, and stir in. Add the carrots and nuts, and mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan(s).

Bake the cake(s) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Allow the cake(s) to cool completely before frosting. (If you're using round layer pans, remove the layers from the pans after about 15 minutes, and place them on a rack to cool.

Frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the salt and vanilla. Beat in the sugar. Add a teaspoon of milk or cream if the frosting is too stiff to spread; add additional sugar if it's too thin.

Frost the sheet cake right in the pan. For the layers, frost the top of one layer, top with the second layer, and frost the top and sides of the cake. Yield: 1 cake, 16 to 24 servings.

Adapted from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/king-arthurs-carrot-cake-recipe

How did she do that, Birthday Treats!

Catherine's 7th Birthday Cake! How I made it, I used boxed cake mixes 1 chocolate, 1 vanilla. I made them according to the box, baking them in a 1/4 sheet pan laying down parchment paper & then spraying it with pam/cooking spray & pouring in cake mix & baking according to package. Made sure it cooled long enough. I made this icing http://laneysfoodblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/amazing-butter-cream-icing.html
This is my go too icing, it tastes amazing & works out great for decorating cakes. I put a layer on top of my first cake layer & then added my 2nd layer of cake. Did a crumb coat ( i spread a very thin layer of icing all over cake & then put in refrigerator for 2 hours or so.) This way when I go to put the final layer of icing on you don't get a bunch of cake crumbs all mixed up in your icing. I used a decorating tip for boarder, jimmies/sprinkles along the sides & then used another tip to write out Happy Birthday & added the tiara. I got the tiara on amazon.com.

Ryan's 3rd Birthday Cake, I made this the same way I did the above cake. I used a star tip for the icing & got this edible transfer ( that didn't have that gross taste that some of those things can have) http://www.etsy.com/shop/CustomEdibleToppers

These are not cakes but people seem to love chocolate covered pretzels, I used the melts from the craft store. & the cookies are this recipe http://laneysfoodblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/sugar-cookies-icing.html

 

Take a bag of pretzels snaps lay them out on a cookie sheet & take either Hershey hugs, kisses, or the chocolate disks & place them on top put them in the oven at 200*F & wait till they are just soft. Keep an eye on them you don't want them to totally melt. when you take them out you can put candies on top or sprinkles. put in fridge to harden. 

I made this popcorn for Catherine's birthday party, the kids & even adults raved about it. I used my hot air popper, lay ed the popcorn out on cookie trays lined with wax paper, melted purple white chocolate disks & drizzled over the popcorn & then sprinkled with sprinkles. again refrigerate.

Got alot of these ideas from pinterest but put my own spin on it. I made this butter cookies using my butter cookie recipe http://laneysfoodblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/butter-cookies.html. I bought sanding sugar in bulk I rolled the dough into balls & then rolled the balls in the sanding sugar & then baked them. As soon as they came out of the oven I stuck a Hershey hug in the center just lightly. make sure you let me harden before putting them into a container.

Slow cooker Chicken Parm!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs ( you can make your own if you want)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp  salt
1 TBSP olive oil
1 egg, beaten
sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese ( reduced fat is always a great option)
favorite jarred or homemade marinara sauce


Spread the 1 TBSP of olive oil into the bottom of your slow cooker
Beat the egg with a fork in a separate bowl.
Mix the bread crumbs with the seasonings and the Parmesan cheese in another separate dish.
Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture, coating both sides with crumbs, cheese and seasonings.
Place the chicken breast pieces in the bottom of the slow cooker
Layer 2-3 slices or 1-2 cups of mozzarella cheese on top, depending on how much cheese you like.
Cover chicken and cheese with entire jar of marinara sauce.
Close lid and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3.
add more cheese when ready to serve if you want it to be extra cheesy.
 Serve over pasta

Recipe from http://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/01/crock-pot-chicken-parmesan/

Creamy Italian Dressing!

I made this homemade salad dressing for Catherine's birthday dinner & everyone loved it. It kinda tastes like the dressing from olive garden.

Ingredients:

1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing

(Ingredients needed to make dressing; Olive oil, water, vinegar * you can use apple cider, white, or my favorite balsamic)

1/4 tsp oregano

½ tsp.  salt

¼ tsp black pepper

½ tsp. sugar

1 garlic clove crushed into paste ( you can use 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, or Tastefully simples garlic garlic or the already minced garlic from the grocery store, add more then 1/4 tsp if you like more garlic like me :)

½ tbsp mayonnaise

 

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs apple cider vinegar

1 ½ tbsp water

 

4 tbsp Parmesan cheese ( grated )

 

 

Directions:

 

Whisk all of these in a bowl, or use a immersion blender. Refridgerate for an hour or so, so that the flavors come together. & enjoy!