Carrot Cake

I wanted to make a carrot cake for my dad’s birthday. He is here with us right now. So I called my mother in law up, and asked her to send me some recipes. She sent me 2 and I just picked one. I personally HATE carrot cake. Never eat it. Do not like it…you get the point! But since it is his birthday I had to have a piece. If you like to try new things, YOU have to try this out. IT WAS SO GOOD! SO very good, that I kept eating it! It was so moist! So I guess I like “this” carrot cake! Enjoy!

From 2010-05-28

MIX ALL THESE TOGETHER:
1/2 cup oil, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 cup grated raw carrots, 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, 1 1/2 cups flour.
****if it seems too dry, just keep on mixing until it gets moist or you can add about a tablespoon more of crushed pineapple.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
This can be used for a 8 x 8 pan or 2 dozen muffins. ( I USED A CIRCLE PAN) I bet these would be great for breakfast. You could even add walnuts, or maybe raisins or coconut, if you wanted to get adventurous!

And it would not be complete unless you put Cream Cheese Frosting on it!
Cream cheese icing:

4 oz Philadelphia cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 cups icing sugar. Beat together. When cake is cool, spread frosting on top of cake. Keep refrigerated after it is frosted.

Buttermilk Biscuits

So I was looking for a good recipe of Biscuits. I have tried several others and they just do not turn out very good. So, I stumbled across Paula Deen’s recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits and made them. OH MAN! They were SOOO good. I used a cast iron skillet to bake mine. For reference, I also baked a few on a cookie sheet, and they did not turn out as good. So I highly recommend using the cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, you can get one at Wal-Mart for like 12 bucks. I wish I had taken pictures, but I did not. Anyways, try these out! So yummo!

Ingredients

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons sugar
* 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* Pinch of cayenne pepper
* 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
* 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
* 1/4 cup butter, melted and divided
Steps

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. In a large bowl mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cayenne pepper. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or two forks until crumbly. Gradually add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Dough should be sticky. Do not overwork dough.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness with a floured rolling pin. Cut 12 biscuits with a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit cutter. Place biscuits in a cast iron skillet or hoecake pan that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray and brush tops with half of melted butter. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until lightly browned. Brush with remaining melted butter before serving.

* Sausage Gravy:
* 1 pound Paula Deen Breakfast Sausage by Smithfield (either hot or mild)
* 3/4 cup flour
* 4 1/2 cups milk
* 1 tablespoon Louisiana Style hot sauce
* 1/2 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
* Salt to taste
* 2 tablespoons butter

While biscuits are baking, start gravy. In in large saute pan or cast iron skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbly. Reduce heat to medium and add flour to sausage; mix thoroughly. Cook until flour browns, about 4 minutes stirring constantly. Add milk slowly and increase heat to medium-high. Continue to stir. Add hot sauce, pepper and salt. As the gravy comes to a boil, it will thicken. If too thick, add additional milk. After boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and add butter.

To serve place two of the buttermilk biscuits on each plate and top with sausage gravy and garnish with freshly cracked pepper.

Chicken Pot Pie

I have heard lots of other bloggers talk about The Pioneer Woman’s Cookbook…heard the recipes were good…and decided to give one a try before I run off and buy the cookbook. So we made the Chicken Pot Pie tonight…and it was oh so good. A home run with all the kids and the honey! It was actually her Leftover Turkey Pot Pie, but I put chicken in it. I diced my chicken up and fried it in LOTS of butter! Once it was almost cooked I added the veggies and continued with the recipe as she has it. The pictures are from my Chicken Pot Pie, but if you want to hop on over to the Pioneer Woman…she has some pretty amazing pictures too!

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie

1 pie crust (1/2 of Perfect Pie Crust recipe)
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced carrot
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 cups leftover turkey, light and dark, diced or shredded (or both!)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth
splash of white wine (optional)
1 cup heavy cream
Frozen peas (optional)
Fresh thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

From 2010-03-28

Melt butter in a skillet or dutch oven. Add onion, carrots, and celery, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)
Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.

From 2010-03-28

Pour in chicken or turkey broth, stirring constantly. Splash in wine (you can leave this out if you’d like.) Pour in cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)
Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes.

From 2010-03-28

Add salt and pepper to taste (do not underseason), and fresh or dried thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs.
Pour mixture into a casserole dish or deep pie pan.
Roll out crust so that it’s about 1 inch larger than the pan you’re using.

From 2010-03-28

Place the crust on top of the pot pie mixture, and press crust into the sides of the dish. Cut vents in the top of the crust.
Bake for 30 minutes or until very golden and bubbly.
Allow to cool for a little bit before serving.

From 2010-03-28

Serve with a large spoon.

Happy Birthday Benjamin

From 2010-03-11

Benjamin my middle son was born 6 years ago!

From 2010-03-11

He was born early and spent some time in the NICU!

From Petting Zoo

He was absolutely the cutest baby ever!

From Petting Zoo

And I still think he is pretty handsome!

From 2010-03-11

He is full of so much life!

From 2010-03-11

He is so sensitive! He always has been. He has a very tender heart!

From 2010-03-11

He brings so much joy to our lives! And I love him so much!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY!!!!

So today is my husbands birthday!

HE IS THE BIG 31!!!

We are getting

so old babe!

Tony I Love you SOO MUCH!

I am so thankful for you. I truly did marry my best friend. You are such a rock for me. We have been through some hard times the past 2 years because of life’s circumstances. And through it all we have come out stronger! We have done crying and laughing. We have had losses and we have had gains. We have been in the valley and we have been on the mountain top! Thank you for all that you do for our family. You work so hard for us. You love us, with all that you have. The kids have scored BIG time in having you for there dad! You are so patient with them. You love each one of our kids because of there uniqueness. You are an example for our sons. And an example for our daughters. I love your smile. I love it when you smile at me. I love how you can make me smile, even when I am mad! I love that you come home everyday and hug and kiss me. I love it when you call me during the day to check and see how I am doing. I love watching movies with you on the couch. I love how you push me to always be my best. I love going on walks with you. I love it when you show me how to fix my blog with code! I like to think I am as smart as you! I love laughing with you. I love cleaning out the garage with you, that always seems to be a mess again after 3 weeks. I love reading to you while we drive. I love sitting on the floor and fold socks with you. I love watching you wrestle with the boys. And I love watching you treat the girls like they are the Princess! I love reading the Bible with you. That you believe in me. I love resting in your strong arms..it is a safe place. I love holding your hand when we walk through the mall. I love you because you are YOU! I am thankful that God brought us together. God did give me more than I could have ever hoped for…because you are the BOMB DIGGITY! I just love you.

I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I hope this next year is filled with many more exciting journeys.

I hope you know how much I love

you, Honor you, and APPRECIATE

YOU!!!!

Happy Birthday Baby Cakes!!!

Little Pizzas

My friend Becky gave me her recipe for little pizzas. My kids LOVED them. And I thought they were pretty good too! I am sure others have done this. I had never tried it or heard of it. But we will definitely be doing them again on a night that I need a quick meal.

Start by opening a container of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits. Place them on your cookie sheet, and roll each one out.

Then open up a jar of Prego Sauce. Choose whatever flavor floats your boat! We did mushroom. Dump a little on each pizza.

From 2010-02-20

Then add as much mozzarella cheese as you like.

From 2010-02-20

Then add whatever topping you want. We did baby pepperoni’s

From 2010-02-20

Follow the directions for cooking on the back of the Pillsbury can. And there ya go, and easy meal. Make it even easier by serving it on paper or foam plates!

From 2010-02-20

Spaghetti Sauce

This is my homemade recipe for spaghetti sauce. I made it up a long time ago. I am sure others have come up with similar things! But this is my version.

Here is what you are going to need:
3 Tb olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 large can of petite diced tomatoes
fresh mozzarella
salt pepper
sugar
basil
fresh parsley
bay leaf

I start by heating up about 3 tablespoons of olive oil, once it is heated I add 1 chopped onion….heat this until the onions are translucent! Then add 4 cloves of garlic chopped, and 1 bay leaf….heat for about a minute. Then add 1 large can of petite diced tomatoes. Let this simmer for about 8 minutes.

From 2010-02-20

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Home Made Laundry Soap

Have you ever tried to make your own soap? I have wanted to for quite some time, but have not had the time to do so. So this morning I just did it! Anyways, Here is the recipe I used. I got it off the website Raising Olives. There are MANY recipes on the internet. But this one worked for us and it was really easy. The next time I try it though I am going to try and make the soap that the Duggar’s use. You can click on over to them and see what they use!

Laundry Soap Recipe

2 gal. hot water

1 bar of soap, grated

2 c. baking soda (not washing soda)

Start by grating 1 bar of soap. I used dial, but I think you can pretty much use what you want!

From 2010-02-20

Then put it in a pot, and fill the pot enough to cover your water. Cook this on low until it dissolves.

From 2010-02-20

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Smothered Chicken

So this is my Smothered Chicken recipe. It is delicious. My kids love it. My husband loves it. Guests love it. I think you will love it too!

Here is what you need to do first:

In a bowl, dump some flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. I just dump to taste for the salt and pepper, and about 1 teaspoon of paprika.

Then in your frying pan place 5 tablespoons of butter, let it melt.

Then Roll your chicken breasts in your flour mixture, making sure to coat it really good. Then place them in your melted butter.

From 2010-02-15

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Peach Crunch Cake

This recipe I found on Bakerella. It is so easy. So yummy. So go buy yourself some peaches and try it out!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Start by dumping 24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup in a 13 X 9 dish. The whole thing. Just dump it in. Once I dumped mine in, I took a knife and cut them up a bit.

From 2010-02-13

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