Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

We had a very grey, wet day in New York so what better than to brighten it? A work birthday. I love work birthdays... I love to bake for work birthdays. Win, win :) Only thing is, how to transport a 2 layer cake via bus & a 1 mile walk?! Well, in pieces, of course. I clandestinely prepared this in the break area with a view. And I think it turned out pretty... 
Bunting is my new favorite obsession.
 
Make a Wish...

<3 Lishie

Carrot Cake

adapted from Paula Deen/Grandma Hiers' Carrot Cake

• Baking Spray, for pans
• 2 c all-purpose flour
• 2 c sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 c canola oil
• 3 c grated carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 (9") round pans.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger & salt. Add eggs &  oil. Blend until combined.Fold in the carrots.

Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven & cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans & allow to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:

• 2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick salted butter, room temperature
• 1 (16-oz) box powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients until fluffy.

Photo Courtesy of Jeremy Kelley (THANK you!!!)

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins

It's Teacher Appreciation week & today is Teacher Appreciation Day. My son has a great teacher & I've been throwing ideas around in my head for a week-long thank you celebration. Day 1: flowers & a handmade card (see picture below. The "card" is a pair of paper ice skates with yarn laces, all laced up. G's teacher is also a figure skater & skate teacher. The card says, "I APPRECI-SKATE you! Love, Gabriel").

I mean seriously, it's so easy to personalize a thank you, ignore that pinterest stuff! Do something FOR the teacher. I don't know about you but I had some great teachers myself. You know who they were... the ones who didn't count down the days till summer & who took a real interest in YOU. Yes, YOU. Well, I want to say a big thank you to all of them. They helped me so much.

I found out through G's teacher's sister that Ms. F loves carrot cake... I decided Day 2 would be cream cheese carrot cake muffins for the teacher & for the classroom aides. And these came out soooo yummy!!! You'll have to stay-tuned for Days 3 through 5 ;)

Love,
Lishie
Gabriel's mommy

Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Muffins

slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Filling one 8oz package cream cheese 1/4 c granulated sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla Muffins 2 1/4 c, a-p flour 1/2 c granulated sugar ¼ c light brown sugar, firmly packed 1 1/2 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp baking soda 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 3/4 tsp ground ginger 3/4 tsp salt 2 large eggs 3/4 c water 1/3 c vegetable oil 1 c grated carrots, lightly packed; about 2 medium-large carrots 1) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan. Or line the pan with paper muffin cups, & grease the cups. 2) To make the filling: Place the cream cheese in a microwave-safe bowl, & heat on low power for 40 seconds. Stir in the sugar & vanilla. Set aside. 3) To make the muffin batter: In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. 4) In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, water, & oil. 5) Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 6) Fold in the grated carrots, stirring to combine. 7) Drop about 2 TBsp of the batter (a TBSp cookie scoop works well here) into each muffin cup, spreading it to cover the bottom. 8) Dollop on a heaping TBSp of filling; a level TBSp cookie scoop works well here. 9) Cover with enough batter to fill the muffin cups quite full. The batter will come to within about 1/4" to 3/8" of the top of each muffin cup. But don't try to use all the batter; unless you have particularly deep cups, you'll have abut 1/3 cup batter left over. Bake it in a separate custard cup, if desired. 10) Bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted into the cake part of one (not into the cream cheese filling) comes out clean, about 20 minutes. The tops of the muffins will feel firm to the touch. 11) Remove the muffins from the oven, & as soon as you're able to handle them, transfer them to a rack. If you serve the muffins warm, the filling will be molten. If you wait for them to cool, it'll firm up. Yield: 12 filled muffins

carrots in a row

ooey-gooey goodness

"I APPRECI-SKATE you! Love, Gabriel"

Some meals have "seasons" & I think beef briskett goes along with Passover like corned beef goes along with St. Patrick's Day. The supermarkets think so too since it these cuts of meet go on sale to coincide with the respective holiday. Place price aside, & brisket is the perfect cut to make in the slow-cooker. It's a tough meat that benefits from the long braising time.

This meal was oh so good.
This was break apart, delicious.
Don't wait for a holiday, make it for dinner soon.

<3 Lishie
 

Slow-Cooker Brisket & Onions 

slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 5 medium carrots, cleaned & peeled
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 first cut of beef brisket* (4 lbs.), trimmed of excess fat
• Coarse salt & ground pepper
• 2 c low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 TBSp chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, lay the carrots on the bottom. Season brisket with salt & pepper & place, fat side up, on top of the carrots in slow cooker. Place onion & garlic on top. Add broth. Cover & cook on high until brisket is fork-tender, about 6 hours. Remove brisket & thinly slice against the grain. Serve with onion & some cooking liquid; sprinkle with parsley.

I served with herb-buttered noodles, alongside.

*Lishie (& Martha) tip- For this recipe, look for the leaner first cut, or "flat cut."

Vegetable Lentil Soup

Sunday I rummaged through my crisper box & realized what I thought were 2 cucumbers were actually 2 zucchini! Easy mistake I think, right? (Wondered why I had 2 cukes in the left box & 2 cukes also in the right one, ha!) So I didn't even think what to make, just took the zucchini & chopped... Grabbed an onion... carrots, potato... & this came about.

<3 Lishie

Vegetable Lentil Soup

• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, cleaned & chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, either whole/crushed or minced
• 1 tsp herbs de provence
• s & p
• 1 TBSp tomato paste
• 2 small zucchini, chopped into half moon pieces
• 2 cups dried lentils
• 3-4 cups water or chicken stock
• fresh parsley, chopped
• fresh Parmesan

In a large pot on medium heat, saute the onions, carrots & garlic with the olive oil, herbs de provence & s & p for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent. Add the tomato paste, then zucchini & saute for 10 more minutes. Add the lentils, then water or chicken stock, & lentils. Cover & bring to a boil. Reduce the heat&  simmer uncovered for 1 hour, until the lentils are cooked through. Serve with fresh parsley & grated Parmesan.

Slow-Cooker Country Chicken Stew

Comfort food! That is what we need!!! Especially after all of the storms, etc. And wait? ANOTHER NorEaster is predicted for Thanksgiving week in NJ? You don't say. Sigh. I'll start praying now it won't wreak much havoc to our already damaged state.

I made this "Before the Darkness" as some of us are calling the hurricane period. I loved it. My mom & pop-in-law loved it. The tot loved it. I think the cat loved it too. Who did not? My hubby. Whatevahs. This.is.so.good. Chicken fall off the bone good. Make a big pot of it & relax....

<3 Lishie

Slow-Cooker Country Chicken Stew

• 1 1/2 lbs baby red potatoes
• 4-5 carrots, cleaned & cut into thirds
• 4-5 parsnips, cleaned & cut into thirds
• 4-5 celery ribs, cleaned & cut into thirds
• 1 medium onion, skinned & cut into quarters
• 2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs & drumsticks
• 1/2 c water
• 1 TBSp herbs de provence
• 1/2 tsp black pepper 
• 1 tsp sea salt or kosher salt
• 3 TBSp cornstarch
• 1/2 c milk

Prep slow cooker with cooking spray. Place potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery & onion in slow cooker. Place chicken on top of vegetables. Mix water & seasonings in a small bowl until well blended. Pour over chicken & vegetables. Cover.
 

Cook 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.
 

Last hour of cooking- combine the cornstarch & milk in a small bowl until smooth. Stir into sauce in slow cooker. Cover & cook 15 minutes longer on high or until sauce is thickened.

Serve over egg noodles.

Round Pasta

Here's a secret... I haven't been watching much of the Food Network prime-time line-up lately. Why? It doesn't seem to be about food anymore but rather, about competitions. I want the original reality television- a cooking show. I am pret-tee sure Julia Child would not like it either.  So somehow I came across a preview for Giada's episode "Jade Turns 3". Giada gave birth a few months before me... And since Gabriel just turned 3, I felt compelled to dvr the episode. The "Round & Round Pasta" dish Giada cooked for the little girls gave me the idea to make my own. To my dismay, I could not find rotelle pasta in any brand at our supermarket... then I spied Barilla Piccolini Mini Rotelle, Wheels, With Zucchini & Spinach. And my heart sighed...

<3 Lishie

Round Pasta

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis/Food Network

• 1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 vadalia or sweet onion, diced small
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into 1/4" rounds
• pinch of sea salt
• 2 medium zucchini, trimmed & cut into 1/2" rounds
• 1 lb spinach & zucchini rotelle pasta

Dressing:

• 1/2 c ricotta cheese, at room temperature (4 oz)
• 1 TBSp lemon juice
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 1 tsp salt, plus extra for seasoning

Cook the pasta to box instructions.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots & a sprinkle of salt. Cook until the carrots begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini & another pinch of salt. Cook until carrots & zucchini are tender. I like the zucchini to be nearly translucent. Add the zucchini mixture to the pasta.

For the dressing: mix together the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest & salt in a small bowl until smooth. Mix the dressing into the pasta.

Carrots

Hello all, as a Catholic, today is Ash Wednesday for me... Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season. It's a season of penance, reflection, & fasting which prepares Catholics for Christ's Resurrection on Easter Sunday, through which Catholics attain redemption. It is also a meat-free day. This Lenten season I am trying, as always, to be a better person & I shall "give up" chocolate. I do not want to tempt anyone today so here's a sweet vegetable side that is a bright spot in the winter season!

Another America's Test Kitchen (ATK) keeper! This is so simple, yet so flavorful.Look at this orange gorgeousness! And it's delicious.

Enjoy!

<3 Lishie

PS- Tomorrow I'll have a great meat-free Lenten Main Dish!  

Sugar-Glazed, Roasted Carrots

from America's Test kitchen

• 4 lbs carrots, cut in to 2”x1/2” pieces
• 2 T melted butter, unsalted
• 2 T Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp fresh parsley (this is an addition to the recipe)
• S & P

Heat oven to 475 degrees.

Place  a rimmed baking sheet (As you see, I use a Pyrex glass pie pan!) to preheat for 10 minutes. Toss all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Be quick and pull out the preheated baking sheet & spread the carrots out & place it back in the oven for 15 min. Then stir up the carrots & put back in to for another 3 min.

Cottage Pie

So most call this a Shepherd's Pie but it's really called Cottage Pie. The difference? A Shepherd's Pie is only made with lamb or mutton... all other meat pies (except fish) are the Cottage variety. Call it what you'd like... I call it DeLish! My hubby doesn't like it (something about the carrots, peas & meat touching ;) ) so I make mine in individual baking dishes or ramekins which works perfectly for me.

<3 Lishie

Cottage Pie

• 2 TBSp canola oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 carrots, cleaned & diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBSp dried seasoning (I used rosemary)
• S & P
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 cup peas (frozen, but I used fresh)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 4 russet potatoes, cleaned, skinned, cubed
• 3-4 TBSp butter
• Splash of milk or cream
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• chives, to top

Heat the oil in a saute pan on medium-high. Add in the onion & carrots. Allow to cook a little, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, set the potato pieces in a sauce pan, then add enough water to cover the raw potatoes. Set the saucepan on high; bring to a boil.

When the onions are translucent & the carrots have softened, add the garlic & seasonings. Combine, the veg & seasoning. Add the ground beef. Stir, mix, combine the ground beef with the veg for a couple of minutes. Add the peas here. Pour in the beef broth & allow to simmer until the broth is reduced & the meat is no longer pink. Transfer to a sprayed & prepped baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Check on the potatoes...  When the potatoes are soft enough to slide right off a fork after being prodded, they are ready. Drain them, then add the potatoes back into the sauce pan. Add the butter. Mash the potatoes to the consistency you like, adding the milk. At the end, add the parmesan cheese. Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat & veg mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle with more parmesan cheese.

Place the cottage pie in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the top is browned.  Top with chives if desired. Serve & enjoy!

Fiddlestix! ~ Carrot & Apple ~ A Copycat Recipe

This is a copycat recipe I've made for my son Gabriel. He loves an organic snack item called "Fiddlesticks" from Plum Organics/Plum Tots Line, in particular the Apple~Carrot flavor & it's not so easy to get for us. We actually have to go one city over to purchase them so we'll get a few boxes at a time. I thought it would be really convenient if I could make them, right? Well, peeking at the ingredients, I could never really fully duplicate the snack crackers but I gave it a whirl & I think I did pret-ty well! I used freshly, grated fine carrots, apple sauce & a special flour to do the trick, along with the cracker baking method. The end product is very similar, tasty & very healthy, especially for little tots. Here's what I did:

Fiddlestix ~ Carrot & Apple flavor

• 1 stick Butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup Chick Pea Flour*
• 3/4 cup AP Flour (I used unbleached but bleached is fine)
• 1 TBSp Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/4 cup carrot, finely grated 
• 2 TBSp Apple Sauce, unsweetened

Mix butter until creamy. Add the two flours, sugar, salt, carrot & apple sauce until combined. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface & roll into a log. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least an hour.

When you are ready to take the chilled dough out of the refrigerator, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Roll pieces of dough between your hands to create 3 inch x 1/2 inch long "sticks". Place the sticks on a parchment-lined baking sheet & bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crackers are lightly browned.


Yields 2 Dozen+ Cracker Sticks! (Mine made 27)

*Lishie tip~ If you cannot find Chick Pea Flour, do as I did... Get a small bag of dried chick peas. Place them in the food processor & grind them until they are a fine powder... like the consistency of flour.

Think about making one of these Smoothies to go with the crackers.

Nutritious,

portable 

&

FUN!!!

Pasta Primavera

Pasta Primavera

• 2 medium Carrots, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 cup Broccoli florets
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 Yellow Bell Pepper, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 Orange Bell Pepper, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 cup New Potatoes, cut in halves
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBSp your favorite herb mix- (*I used Lemon-Rosemary)
• 1 Lemon, zest & juice
• 1 lb. your favorite Pasta- (*I used Angel hair spaghetti, broken into pieces)
• Parmesan Cheese, Freshly grated 

*All of the vegetables must be fresh!
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix all of the veg in a large bowl & add the herbs & lemon zest. Sprinkle some olive oil onto the mixture, enough to lightly coat the veg. Toss all of the contents together well. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet in one layer & roast for 10 minutes... Take out of the oven & mix the veg around, then place the pan back into the oven for another 15 minutes.


While the vegetables are roasting, cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving a cup of the pasta water. 


When both the pasta is cooked & the veg is roasted, combine everything in a large bowl.  Add the lemon juice & as much of the reserved pasta water to make the pasta a little teeny tiny bit saucy. Serve hot, warm, at room temperature, or cold topped with parmesan cheese.


Here's my letter of endearment to this recipe high-lighting all of the wonderful things about it:


Dear Pasta Primavera,
-You are so tasty & good for me & my family... healthy & nutritious.
-You allow me to use all of the extra vegetables I tend to buy before they, well, rot.
-You are so versatile, I can use summer squash or green bell pepper or brussels sprouts, cauliflower, parsnips, radishes, onions, garlic cloves... I can use any Herb combo, whatever I feel like... any type of pasta shape I want... no confines!
- And speaking of, I can eat you hot, warm, or cold... You are welcome at my BBQ. 
I <3 you, Pasta Primavera! 
- DeLish

Carrot Salad - a nice change of pace

In the D household, we do salad Southern Italian-style, at the end of the meal. And, even if I don't blog it, we always have salad. It's just there... no point in telling you the greens today are... arugula! Or romaine! Or yes, iceberg, my hubby's favorite. But sometimes, especially when dinner is very "GREEN" meaning the color, not re-purposed, although yes, organic... variety in the salad is a nice change. Enter last night's Carrot Salad. Perfect for a weeknight dinner, a BBQ, a pot luck. Anything. Fresh & good for you!

Carrot Salad

• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 TBSp fresh dill, finely chopped
• S & P to taste
• 2 Cups (about 4-6 carrots) of Carrots, grated*
• 1/2 cup (about 1-2 stalks) Celery, finely diced

In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, dill & S & P. Add the grated carrots & finely diced celery & toss, coating the veg well with the dressing. Serve & Enjoy!

*Lishie tip- I box grate the carrots by hand on the large hole side but you can throw them in the food processor.

Recipe Swap! Chicken Cacciatore

Yummy, Rustic goodness!

This week's theme for the recipe swap was: Chicken. Everybody loves chicken & always want a variety so I was happy! I got Laurie's (LaurMS15) choice of Giada de Laurentiis' Chicken Cacciatore.

Laurie says, "Stole this recipe from my mom who adapted Giada's recipe to be her own. It's Chicken Cacciatore." & to serve with bread, a salad or rice or pasta.

The funny thing is, Giada's recipe is very similar to my own (I usually throw in mushrooms & green bell peppers too). I hadn't made it in a while so I was very happy to! Because I was cooking it on a week night & bone-in takes much longer, I used 2 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Normally, I'd use chicken pieces, bone in & I'd make it on the weekend or in the crock-pot. I also omitted the capers because they are just too salty for our tastes. And with most recipes, there's some give & take with my health issues. So tomato & wine are both acidic, too much so for me combined... In order to get the a nice taste of both, I went with all of the 3/4 c wine but only a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with their juice & compensated with an extra cup of chicken broth (total- 1 & 3/4 cups). One last addition- about 2 TBSp of fresh, chopped parsley...

I really do chop the veg very rustic for this, in big pieces. We love our cacciatore served on egg noodles. A delicious, forgotten meal! It is very filling & comforting. And not too bad for a work, weeknight with my changes- It took me in total, an hour from prep to finish. Thank you, Laurie!

*Lishie tip- Add the basil at the very end as cooking usually destroys the flavor.

*Lishie facts- Cacciatore means hunter in Italian- Chicken Cacciatore is a meal prepared hunter-style. 

BTW- I supplied my Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce. YUM!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Crock-Pot Brisket & Cabbage, Potatoes & Carrots

It's March 17th- St. Patrick's Day! Our town has it's parade on Sunday & we'll be eating corned beef with my mother-in-law. Tonight I made a brisket with the fixin's adding carrots for the little one. This is a very Irish-American meal but it is oh so yummy. 

Crock-Pot Brisket with Cabbage, Potatoes & Carrots

• 4 Carrots, Cleaned & cut in thirds
• 5 Potatoes, skinned & halved
• 1 large Onion, skinned & quartered
• 2 & 1/2-3 lb. Brisket 
• 3 TBSp Pickling Spices
• S & P
• 2 Cups Chicken Stock 
• 1/2 half Cabbage, cleaned & shredded

Line the bottom of the slow cooker with the carrots as if they were a roasting rack.  Place the potatoes & onion pieces around the carrots. Place the brisket on top of the carrots. Add in the pickling spices. Pour the chicken stock over the brisket. Add in enough water to cover the meat. Place the shredded cabbage over & around the brisket. Cook on Low 8 Hours. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

*Lishie tips- make a corned beef hash from the leftovers . Or  a cottage pie: Cut up the leftover brisket, cabbage &  carrots into little pieces & mix together. Add a little worcester sauce. Place this mixture into a small casserole dish. Take any extra potatoes & mash them & place them on top of the meat mix. Sprinkle with some shredded cheddar cheese. Place under the broiler till the cheese melts & it's golden brown on top.