Happy One Year Anniversary Love From the Kitchen - Let us Eat Carrot Cake!

Happy 1st Birthday Love From the Kitchen!! I first started this blog one year ago today, with the recipe of Alabama Barbecue Sauce...and look how far I've come now! A lot has happened in the past year! I've tried a lot of new recipes, some I've hated but most all I've liked! I've shared with you lots of family favorites, and I've met a lot of crazy cool people!

Thank you to all my readers who stop by each day to see what I've got cooking, who leave comments (I love comments!!) and who even try my recipes! So here's to another (and more!) year of great food and fun kitchen adventures!!

To celebrate any sort of event, cake is a must, and my one year bloggy anniversary is no exception! I decided that since Easter is only 4 days away carrot cake is a very appropriate way to celebrate!

I found this specific carrot cake recipe over at Allrecipes, a little over a year ago. Last year at Easter time, I was looking for a carrot cake recipe to share at a family gathering and this one seemed to fit the bill. I kind of forgot about it since then, so when I was searching for a carrot cake recipe this year to make for Easter and I stumbled upon this one in my recipe box I knew I had to make it again! It's just too good to not make more than once! This carrot cake is also incredibly easy! What's not to love?!? This is sure to be a hit at any Easter celebration that you head off to this weekend...or any celebration on any weekend for that matter!

Ingredients...

...4 eggs

...1 1/4 c. applesauce

...2 c. sugar

...2 tsp. vanilla

...2 c. flour

...2 tsp. baking soda

...2 tsp. baking powder

...2 tsp. cinnamon

...3 c. grated carrots

Directions...

In a large bowl, wisk together eggs, applesauce, sugar and vanilla. Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon until well incorporated. Lastly, stir in grated carrots. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes. When cake is done, remove from oven and let cool completely. Using a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter, cut circles out of the cake and frost. You can split the circles in the middle and add a frosting layer as well, if desired.

Irish Lamb Stew

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm by no means Irish, and I don't even really enjoy "pretending" to be Irish around the holiday, but I do love me some Irish Lamb Stew! I attended college in a very small, very Irish town, and St. Patricks Day was a bigger deal than any other day of the year! Actually, the weekend before St. Patty's Day was the biggest deal of the year, but you get the picture  :) Anyways, my first year living in this small Irish town, I worked as a waitress in an Irish Pub located inside the casino in town. One of our menu specialities was Irish Lamb Stew. For the first portion of my employment there, I was scared to try this stew. The whole "lamb" thing kind freaked me out. I'd never eaten lamb before! One night, I was tired of eating the same thing day in and day out so I decided to give this stew a try! Mmmmm! It was love at first taste! This stew was so thick and rich! The meat and veggies were in large chunks and the seasonings were spot on!

I was the only server there that liked the stuff! I really wanted to recreate that recipe on my own, with the exception of using lamb, as I don't have access to any around here, just beef. I didn't really succeed in creating an exact replica of said stew, but I did created a mighty great tasting alternative! This stew wasn't as thick, I think the "sauce" needs work, and I chose to chop the veggies and meat into smaller, bite size, chunks.

I found this recipe over at Allrecipes and it reminded me a lot of my crockpot beef stew recipe that I already make (and apparently haven't shared with you, shame on me!), with a few changes. To make it "Irish" I suppose. I'm going to continue to make this recipe and play around with it a bit. I really want to try and get the thicker, rich sauce like the first Irish Stew I ever tried!

Ingredients...

...1/2 lb. bacon, cooked and diced

...3 lb. of steak or roast, cut into 2 inch pieces (or lamb, to be traditional)
...1/4 tsp. salt (not pictured)
...1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
...1/4 c. flour
...1 tsp. garlic powder
...1 large onion, chopped
...1/4 c. water
...2 c. beef broth (I used 2 cups of water and 2 beef boullion cubes)
...2 T. sugar (not pictured)
...2 c. carrots, sliced
...2 c. celery, sliced
...4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
...1/2 tsp. dried thyme
...1 bay leaf
...1 c. water (or you can use white wine in place of this water)
 

Directions...

 
Coat steak/roast/lamb (whatever you choose to use) with salt, pepper and flour. Place in a skillet with some oil and cook until meat is cooked through. Place in greased slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and stir well to mix ingredients and evenly distribute spices. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

To see more great crockpot recipes, be sure to check out Crockpot Wednesday over at Dining with Debbie!

Irish Soda Bread

St. Patricks Day is tomorrow, do you have your Irish meal all ready to celebrate? I shared a most delicious cupcake recipe that is in no way, shape or form Irish, on Saturday, and now I've made some Irish Soda bread. This bread would make a great side to the dish that I've made for tomorrow...Irish Lamb Stew...yum!

This bread was...different. It appears to be a yeast bread, but it is actually a quick bread. It also appears to have the density of a yeast bread, but it actually eerily reminds me of cornbread. Very much so. It also doesn't bake up "pretty". As you can see in the picture, it's a pretty lumpy loaf of bread. Now, I realize that you're just going to slice it up and slather it in butter, so looks don't really matter, but I'm just weird like that. I like my loaves of bread to be smooth and pretty :)

Despite the lack of "pretty" in this loaf of bread, it really did taste very good. Once you get used to the cornbread consistency, this bread is quite enjoyable! Next time, I think I'm going to try and make this bread in loaf pans though. While the round loaf is fun and different, it makes for some really hu-uge long slices of bread! I found this recipe over at Allrecipes and was very eager to try it! You should whip up a loaf or two for St. Patricks Day, it's always fun to celebrate a holiday with the appropriate foods! 

Ingredients...

...4 c. flour

...4 T. sugar (not pictured)

...1 tsp. baking soda

...1 T. baking powder

...1/2 tsp. salt (not pictured)

...1/2 c. butter, softened

...1 c. buttermilk (I made my own by adding 1 T. lemon juice to 1 c. regular milk)

...1 egg

Directions...

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir to evenly distribute all ingredients. Cut in softened butter. Stir in buttermilk and egg until all ingredients are moistened. Knead dough lightly until everything is evenly incorporated. Shape dough into a round loaf and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cut an "x" in the top of the loaf and brush with milk and butter if desired. Bake at 375 for 30-45 minutes. 

To see other really great recipes, be sure to check out Tuesday's at the Table over at All the Small Stuff, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday over at BlessedwithGrace and Tasty Tuesday over at Beauty and Bedlam!

Thin Mint Cupcakes

I'm typically not a huge mint fan, but when it comes to Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies I just can't get enough! I ordered two boxes this year, and then instantly regretted it. Two boxes of Thin Mints sitting in my cupboard? Do you know how hard it is to resist eating them ALL myself?!?!? 

Must.

Show.

Restraint.

In all honesty though, I'm very proud of myself. In the first week of having these two boxes of cookies in my posession only 1 sleeve of cookies disappeared. With the exception of the 1/2 3/4 sleeve that I used in this recipe. So I guess that means that almost a whole box disappeared in the first week. But only half of that box was because I ate them. How's that for restraint!

I found the concept for these cupcakes over at Real Mom Kitchen (she just has the best recipe ideas, doesn't she?!?) and decided to run with it. You have two options here, you can either use a box cake mix (which I did. mostly because I have 20 some boxes of cake mix in my stockpile, so why not, right?)  or you can make your own homemade cupcakes. I am also going to mention that this frosting recipe didn't work out for me. I wish better luck to you. I was hoping for a fluffy frosting that I could pipe onto these cupcakes. I somehow managed to create frosting water, despite that I followed the recipe exact. It actually tasted fab and I totally fell in love with the way it drizzled down the sides so for this time, I was 110% content with what should have been considered a flop. Someday I'll figure out how to make amazing frosting...

Someday.

Ingredients...

Cupcakes...

...1 boxed cake mix
...1/2 sleeve of Thin Mint cookies (I used 3/4 sleeve)

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Crush cookies and stir into batter. Bake according to package directions.

Frosting...

...2 c. powdered sugar

...3 oz. cream cheese, softened

...1/2 c. butter, softened

...1/4 c. milk

...1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter on low speed until well mixed and there are no lumps. Slowly add powdered sugar and continue beating on low, switching to medium speed. Add in milk and vanilla and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add food coloring until desired shade of green is reached.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Casserole

I wasn't really sure what to call this one. It is 100% made up by me. I had no clue what I was doing while I was concocting it, I was just throwing random leftovers together. And then I got nervous, because what if it tasted awful and I just wasted all that food? That didn't even end up being a problem...this turned out really good! Kinda sweet, but not too much and lots of good flavor. So I'm really happy with how this turned out.

I may be the only one.

I'm okay with that.

Although hubs did have seconds. And thirds. Just sayin'...

Ingredients...

Totally ignore the crescent rolls and pretend they're not there. Add in leftover mashed potatoes in their place. I don't know what I was thinking when I was staging this photo...

...Stuffing Mix (yes. I used boxed. I ran out of the homemade stuff, and didn't have the time or ingredients to make more...)
...Turkey, shredded or chunked
...Mashed Potaotes
...Cranberries

Directions...

In a large bowl combine together the stuffing, cranberries and turkey. Place into an oven safe casserole dish, and then spread mashed potatoes over top of the stuffing mixture. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

To see more delicious recipes, check out Mouthwatering Monday over at A Southern Fairy Tale!

Turkey and Dressing for Sandwiches

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I'm sure that you were stuffed to the gills by the end of the day, and then had enough leftovers to make you sick at the thought of MORE turkey. Instead of choking down more, transform your leftovers into delicious sandwiches! This is a very simple recipe that calls for only things that were on your Thanksgiving table yesterday. This also freezes well...so if more Thanksgiving food really does make you sick, just whip up a batch of this and toss it in the freezer until your're ready for more! This is also a super simple recipe to whip up if you were out shopping this morning before the sun rose then you can make up a quick batch of this for your family before your collapse into bed in post shopping exhaustion :)

Ingredients...

...Gravy (I used 1 packet of McCormick gravy. You can use leftovers)
...Turkey
...Dressing

Directions...

The directions on this one are kind of hazy. Basically, all I did was toss in stuffing, some turkey, and 1 cup of gravy. I just kept adding each ingredient until the ratios seemed right and the mixture seemed the right consistency. I would say that the ratio of dressing:gravy:turkey was 3:2:1. Really, just experiment and keep adding until it is the consistency that you wish.

Pumpkin Pie

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! I hope that this post finds you all giving thanks and counting your blessings for all the great things in your lives! (and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! Wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it!) If you are looking for a last minute recipe to take to your gathering today, or just to make to munch on while you relax at home, then here is my all time favorite Thanksgiving food...The Pumpkin Pie. It just isn't Thanksgiving to me until I've had one piece covered in whipped cream! I've never actually made the pumpkin pie myself, I always left that up to my grandma growing up. After she passed, other family members would rotate bringing it each year, and it was most always a store boughten pie at that. Don't get me wrong, Sara Lee and Mrs. Smith can make one mean pie...but it's just not homemade, ya know? No prepackaged food is ever as good as homemade. So a few years ago, I took it upon myself to learn how to make my favorite Thanksgiving food (ever.) myself. I tried a new recipe this year, and I'm super happy with how it turned out! So the homemade pumpkin pie tradition will carry on!!

Ingredients...

...unbaked pie crust (9")
...3/4 cup white sugar
...1 tsp. cinnamon
...1/2 tsp. salt
...1/2 tsp. ground cloves
...1/4 tsp. ground ginger
...2 eggs
...1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling. That's what we're homemaking here. Just plain old pumpkin.)
...1 can evaporated milk

Directions...

In a small bowl stir together salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and sugar. In a large bowl, beat togehter eggs and then stir in pumpkin. Add sugar and spice mixture and stir until well combined. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk and stir until smooth. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 350 and continue baking pie for an additional 40-50 minutes. To test for done-ness, insert a knife into the center of the pie. If it comes out clean, the pie is done. The filling will be ever so slightly jiggly yet, but will stiffen as it sits. Serve with whipped topping!

To see more last minute Thanksgiving recipes, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap going on over at Life as Mom!

THE TURKEY...*dun, dun, dun*

The turkey. The part of the meal that sent me into fits of nervous breakdowns every time it entered my mind. What if I messed up? What if it was too dry? What if it wasn't cooked through and we carved into raw bird? what if...What If....WHAT IF?!?!?!?

Remember in the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, where Clark Griswold is carving the absolutely divine looking turkey, only to carve into a bird so dry that it just, deflates, in front of their eyes? Yeah, my husband was teasing me all week that he thought that's how things were going to turn out for me. Thanks for easing my nerves hon...

ps. thankfully it turned out nothing like that, and actually quite juicy and moist!

Ummmm....so I really had no reason to worry because this was probably the easiest part of preperation all day. Seriously. Except for the fits of nervous what if's that I would periodically go into during the cooking. But those were completely unnecessary. Because it turned out wonderfully. I mean, isn't she (wait. are turkey's male or female? Are they one of those animals like the rooster that only come in male form? No. It must be female, because turkey's have breasts. Or, no? I'm so naive...) beautiful?

Ignore my terrible photography skills...I didn't think to take a picture until we were halfway through the carving. So I only had half a bird to work with...

Here's a walk through, so you don't have (multiple) nervous breakdowns like I did. Because really, it's not that hard. Really.

First, you need an oven bag, some flour, a little butter (or oil), an apple and a roasting pan.

How long your turkey needs to thaw out depends on it's weight, mine was 20 pounds, and I gave it 7 days in the refrigerator. You need to allow one day per 4 pounds of turkey for thawing time.

Once the turkey is thawed out, take it out of the bag and be sure to pull the bags out from inside the turkey. THERE ARE TWO!! One is in the neck and the other in the rear. Be sure to get them both or you will have not so good tasting turkey. Drain the liquid from insde the turkey, and pat the outside dry. Using a basting brush, cover the outside of the turkey with the butter or oil. Place the whole apple inside the rear of the turkey.

Next, get your oven bag out and place two tablespoons of flour inside. Hold the top shut and shake to evenly coat the inside of the bag. Place the turkey in the oven bag and secure the bag shut with the clasp provided. Place in the roasting pan and cut six 1/2 inch slits in the bag. Bake at 350 until the timer method you choose says the bird is done.

You have two options for knowing when the turkey is done. The first way is to use an oven safe meat thermometer. Place the thermometer in the thigh, and when it reads 180 degrees, your bird is done. Your other options is one of those pop up timers that you can buy just about anywhere this time of year, placed in the breast of the turkey. I chose the latter option.

According to all of the reasearch I had done, a 20 pound bird is supposed to take 3 to 3 1/2 hours to completely cook. Mine was perfectly done in 2 1/2 hours. So I would strongly suggest using either timer method and not just cooking the recommended time so you know when it's done. Once the bird has fully cooked, let it cool slightly before carving, and then enjoy!

Just a side note, you can choose to stuff your turkey with dressing. I chose not to do this, so I'm not able to give any tips on this method. But from what I understand you just put the stuffing in the place of the apple, but your cooking times will vary as opposed to an unstuffed turkey.

Good luck and breathe! It's way easier than everyone makes it out to be!

Crockpot Stuffing

Two days and counting until Thanksgiving...are you ready? I'm guessing you have your grocery list all made out for what you need to buy, and I'm guessing that Stove Top stuffing is on that list. Well cross it off! Seriously, you won't regret it! At first I was skeptical too...stuffing in the crockpot? No way it could be done! Well, bite your tongue (or rather, bite into some of this, yuummmm!) because it can be done! And it can be done better than any old box of Stove Top any day!

Ingredients...

...1 loaf bread
...1 tsp. minced onion (or onion powder. or that chopped onion that's dried and you can keep in the spice closet)
...1 cup celery, diced
...1 cup apple, diced (I used a granny smith)
...1/4 cup butter, melted
...1 1/2 cups chicken broth
...1 T. poultry seasoning

Directions...

Before you start crockpotting, you need to toast the bread. I cut my bread into chunks before I toasted it, but you can toast it in slices and then chunk. It's totally up to you. Place a single layer of bread in the oven at 300 for 15 minutes. But really, toasting time will depend on what type of bread you are using.

Once bread is toasted, place in crockpot. Add celery, apple, onion and poultry seasoning. Toss to evenly disperse ingredients. Add melted butter and chicken broth and toss to evenly coat bread. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. At this point you can determine if you would like your stuffing a little more moist or not. Let it stand for a few minutes uncovered, if you want more moist then add 1/4 cup more of chicken broth and stir well to coat all bread. Otherwise, serve as is!

Yep. That's it. It's that easy. So don't give me the excuse that boxed stuffing is easier to make. Puh-leeze!

To see other great recipes, be sure to check out Tempt my Tummy Tuesday over at Blessed with Grace and Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Green Bean Casserole

Welcome to day 3 of my Thanksgiving meal countdown! If you missed the first two days, I made Rice Krispie Treats on day 1 and shared a tutorial for Homemade Mashed Potatoes on day 2!

The infamous green bean casserole. It just epitomizes Thanksgiving, doesn't it? I almost didn't make this to share with you, but I decided at the last minute that I just had to share it. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a casserole dish of this sitting on the table! Not only is this super delicious and a true symbol of Thanksgiving, but it's also incredibly simple! So if you are in a last minute bind to make something to share at a potluck Thanksgiving this is a surefire crowd pleaser that will only take you a few minutes to throw together! But don't be surprised if you weren't the only one with this idea!! There are a lot of different versions of this recipe out there, but this is a tried and true version that women, and men alike, have been making for decades!

I did make a few changes to this recipe...so I guess that makes it original to my kitchen! The original recipe says that the cost of this dish (alone!) is $11.25! So with my changes (and having got many of the ingredients for incredibly cheap with coupons) this is actually a very frugal version of the beloved green bean casserole, which is an aspect that I'm sure we all can enjoy!

Ingredients...

...4 cans cut green beans

...2 cans cream of mushroom soup

...1/2 onion, chopped

...1 cup milk (I omitted this. The casserole was plenty creamy and smooth without this)

...1 T. soy sauce

...1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (I also omitted this)

...Rice Krispies

Directions...

In a large oven safe casserole dish combine soup, green beans, onion and soy sauce together until well mixed (include milk and pepper here if you wish). Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with Rice Krispies and return to oven for 5 minutes.

Mummy Dogs

Happy Halloween!! I hope that your kids aren't all hopped up on sugar and that you still have some sanity left! And for those of you who don't have kids yet...I hope you enjoy passing out candy to other people's kids so they can get all hopped up! If you need a tasty and non sugary filler for your tummies, then here is a tasty and mummy-tastic (don't hate me for my bad attempts at humor!) treat!

Ingredients...

No Picture, sorry!

Like you need a picture anyways...there's only three ingredients!

...Hot Dogs
...one tube Crescent Rolls
...Ketchup, Mustard, Relish, etc.

Directions...

Wrap hot dogs in crescent rolls to create a mummy "head wrap" and mummy "body" on the hot dog. Bake at 375 for 12-14 minutes. Decorate with condiments. Eat. Follow up with candy in the true spirit of Halloween.