Carrot Cake for Every Occasion!

Carrot cake is one of the essentials on any Holiday in my family. I am always asked at some point in the year to make a carrot cake. This is the same recipe that I have been using for many years. The circle of pecans on top is my favorite way to decorate the cake though. It does not have a smooth and uniform icing. It is rigid, imperfect, and delicious. I think that is one of my favorite things about this cake. It never looks "Pretty," but it always tastes good. It doesn't matter how many times I try, or angles I use, I can never get the circle of pecans perfectly centered on the cake. In fact, the cake itself is never centered. Without fail every time I bake this, one of the cakes tries to fall apart on me. it is uneven and rigid and so easy to make. I guess the point I'm trying to make is: cooking can be aesthetically beautiful, but it can also be beautiful because it brings people together no matter what it looks like. It matters what it tastes like, and I believe this cake tastes pretty good! I will continue to bake this cake as long as I am asked if it means I will be making my family happy. The rich cream cheese frosting is the perfect topper to the sweet and spongey carrot cake.

You will need:

~ 4 eggs

~ 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

~ 2 cups white sugar

~ 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

~ 2 cups all-purpose flour

~ 2 teaspoons of baking soda

~ 1/2 teaspoon of salt

~ 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

~ as many grated carrots as you desire

~ 2 cups of chopped pecans

~ 1/2 cup of butter, softened

~ 8 oz. of cream cheese, softened

~ 4 cups of powdered sugar

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F°. I bake this in any 2 circular pans I can fin din the cabinet, greased with butter and floured. Using a stand mixer or whisk, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. I put all my dry ingredients through a sieve to make sure there are no clumps and all the ingredients are mixed well. Stir in the carrots. Fold in 2 cups of the pecans. Pour into your greased and floured pans. Bake 55 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then put onto a wire rack and cool completely. To make the icing, mix the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a stand mixer; or you could be more traditional and used a whisk and great willpower (that's too much of an arm workout for me). Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in the chopped pecans. Frost the cooled cake. Finally, eat your delicious cake!

Orecchiette

Well, hello again. I know I haven't been on here in a while, and I apologize. I have been so busy with softball. I had a tournament this weekend, and I had to play two games. My team won both of them, so we have to play one more game tomorrow. Anyways, this is a recipe for Mini Chicken Meatballs and Orecchiette. This is literally one of my favorite meals of alll time. I could eat it every day and be happy with my life. The broth is so delicious. When I had my wisdom teeth removed, I was not allowed to have solid food for a good 5 days. I asked my mom to make the broth to this meal so I could drink it for my 5 days of no solids, as strange as that sounds. Anyway, I always look forward to this meal because it is salty and inviting. It really hits the spot.

Ingredients:

-1 lb of orecchiette pasta

-1/4 cup plain bread crumbs

- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

-1 tbsp whole milk

-1 tbsp ketchup

- 3/4 cup grated Romano cheese

- 3/4 teaspoon salt

- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper

- 1 pound ground chicken

- 1/4 cup olive oil

- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock

- 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

- 8 ounces of mozzarella cheese, halved

- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Instructions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, ketchup, Romano cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and gently stir to combine.

Using a teaspoon measure, or a melon baller, form the chicken mixture into 3/4-inch pieces. With damp hands, roll the chicken pieces into mini meatballs.

In a large (14-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook without moving until brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown the other side, about 2 minutes longer. Add the chicken stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and simmer until tomatoes are soft and meatballs are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. Transfer pasta to a large serving bowl and add the Parmesan. Toss to lightly coat orecchiette, adding reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta. Add the meatball mixture, mozzarella cheese, and 1/2 cup of the basil. Gently toss to combine. Garnish with the chopped basil. This is a good recipe to re-heat also. Enjoy!

(P.S., I know that in the picture there is Penne pasta. Yes, it is supposed to be orecchiette; No, we did not have any at the time. So, use orecchiette. It tastes a whole lot better!)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Tonight, me and my mom made some chicken Noodle soup. She wanted to take the picture for my blog, so photo credits to you, Mah. This soup is light and warm, good for a cold, cold day.

Ingredients:

~3 carrots

~5 celery stalks

~1 small onion

~1 12 oz. bag of Mueller's yolk free egg noodles

~1 pre-cooked rotisserie chicken (or cook your own 2 lb. chicken cut of your choice)

~8 cups of chicken broth (store bought or homemade, your choice)

~1 tsp. of rotisserie chicken spice

~1 pressed garlic clove

~ Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

Get out an 8 qt. pot (or the biggest pot you own). Get your carrots, celery, onion, and chicken out. Cut your carrots and celery into quarter inch pieces and put them in the pot. Chop your onion and put in the pot. This is the time you would cook your chicken if you are cooking it yourself. If you aren't, take your precooked chicken and break it down (make sure you get out all the bones!). Then put it into the pot. When it's done, do the same thing if you are cooking your own chicken. Now add your chicken broth, chicken spice, garlic, and your salt and pepper. Bring your soup to a boil. When it boils bring to a medium simmer for one hour. After the hour has passed, and in your noodles. Bring to a soft boil for 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!