Carrot Cake Cookies with Allspice Orange Cream Cheese Filling

Carrot Cake Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Ready cooling racks.

Cream together:
1/2 c butter, unsalted (if using salted, omit salt in dry ingredients)
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 lg. egg
1 T vanilla

Whisk together, then combing with butter mix:
1-1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)

Mix into dough:
1-1/2 c grated carrots
20oz can crushed pineapple in pineapple juice, drained well (and I mean well, pick it up and wring it out with your hands, well.)
1 c walnuts, chopped

I used a cookie scoop (approx. 1 Tablespoon) and flattened the top of the cookies slightly before baking.  There are so many goodies in this dough, that it doesn't spread much on it's own.  We're going to help it out a little so you can still wrap your mouth around the finished sandwich.

Bake 10-12 minutes, or until just golden brown on the bottom.  I could see the top middle of each cookie change gloss, like when you're watching pancakes to flip.

Let rest 1 minute on the cookie sheet, then remove to cooling rack.  These are very cake-like, so you don't want them to steam on the cookie sheet, they'll stick.

I made the cookies the night before and kept them loosely covered.  Too tightly covered and they'll get all sticky.  It's at this point that I'm sure you could freeze them, to thaw and frost later - but I haven't been intentional enough to have extras to freeze.

Allspice Orange Filling

8oz cream cheese, softened
2 T powdered sugar
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1-2 tsp orange juice
2 drops orange essential oil
*I LOVE using essential oils in cooking.  Because they're lipo-soluble, they blend in with the butter or oil and infuse the entire dish with amazing flavor.  Citrus oils are pressed from the rind, so you get the same flavor as zest, without having to have the fresh fruit on hand.  And, there's the long list of health benefits pure essential oils bring to the table - bonus!*

Whip together.  I used the paddle on high in my stand mixer.  Fill a piping bag or spread with a knife, and make sandwiches!  Store in the fridge and eat within 1-2 days.

(I highly recommend making a double batch of frosting and dipping graham crackers in it once you've run out of cookies...)

Sweet and Zesty Coleslaw

The sweet of crushed pineapple combined with the zest of horseradish!  After a dinner date at Famous Dave's, my husband made a special request - copy their coleslaw!  My husband, the self-proclaimed coleslaw hater (and horseradish lover), LOVES this recipe.  I hope you do too.

Sweet and Zesty Coleslaw  

1 bag shredded cabbage for coleslaw

1 c shredded carrots

20oz can crushed pineapple, drained

Sauce:

1 c mayo

1/2 c sugar

3 T prepared horseradish (from a jar, with as few ingredients as possible - horseradish, vinegar, water should be about it)

1 t dijon mustard (I like Trader Joe's)

1 t ground white pepper

1/2 t salt

1/2 t celery seed

1/4 t garlic powder

In a large bowl, combine sauce ingredients and blend well.  Stir in cabbage, carrots and pineapple.  Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, stir before serving.  

Serves 10-12.   

Confetti Mac & Cheese

Did you know you can make macaroni and cheese from scratch!?  I grew up on the stuff from a blue box... but after seeing Alton Brown make it - I had to try it out.  I've since modified and modified the recipe.  You'd be amazed at how healthy you can make it and it's SO MUCH YUMMIER! I add chopped cooked chicken most of the time and make this a one-bowl dinner. Yum!

Confetti Mac and Cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni or pipette, cooked according to package directions
1 pound frozen mixed veggies (you know, the cubes of carrots, peas, corn and greenie beenies)
Cook pasta according to package directions.  When you have 1-2 minutes of cook time remaining on the pasta, add the frozen veggies.  Drain and set aside.

Optional: 2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped

Cheese Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon dijon mustard (I like Trader Joe's)
3 cups low fat milk
1 large or 2 small bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/3 c pureed carrots (this gives it that pretty orange color our children have come to expect)
16 oz (4 cups) regular or reduced fat cheese, shredded (sharp cheddar or any mix of cheese you have on-hand)
3 T parmesan cheese
salt and white pepper to taste (black pepper will do, I just like the white because you don't see flecks of black in the pretty orange)

In a large saucepan (or the now empty large pot you cooked the pasta in...) melt butter over medium low heat.  Once it stops bubbling, add the flour, dijon and paprika - whisk together to make a smooth paste, cook until this gets just a little darker, or thicker, or starts bubbling in the thin spots, about 3 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the milk, making sure all the paste dissolves.  Add the bay leaf and carrot puree.  Increase heat to medium and simmer to thicken.  Get some little bubbles going, but don't boil, about 5-10 minutes.  Think the consistency of gravy.

Add cheeses, stirring until all melted.  Salt and pepper to taste.
Add pasta with veggies and chicken. Stir well, serve hot.

Leftovers are especially awesome if you spread them in a casserole dish and top with breadcrumbs tossed in some melted butter and bake at 350F until golden.

Herbed Carrots

My Mother-In-Law found this recipe for my Brother-In-Law's wedding years ago... it's been a family favorite ever since.  It makes a great summer side for potlucks and picnics.

Herbed Carrots
3 cups (1 lb) baby carrots
4 T rice vinegar (or 3 T white vinegar)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t dried oregano
1 t salt
1/2 t ground black pepper
1/4 t granulated garlic

Steam carrots to tender-crisp.  I steam them in the microwave and like them a little more toward the soft side, but not mushy.  

Rinse with cold water, drain.  While carrots are still warm, drizzle on remaining ingredients and toss well.  Cover and chill, stirring occasionally.  Serve cold.
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Moist Carrot Cake

Stan's favorite cake (excluding chocolate - that's evidently a class all its own).  An easy and fool-proof recipe, courtesy my friend Martha.  Omit the nuts for a toddler friendly version.

Moist Carrot Cake
2 c all purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1-1/2 t baking soda
1 T ground cinnamon
2 c white sugar
4 eggs
3/4 c oil
3/4 c unsweetened applesauce
2-3/4 c shredded carrots (or as much as you can smush into the batter)
1 c crushed pineapple, very well drained
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c unsweetened flake coconut

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease and flour a 9x13 pan (I like glass for a crispy crust). Mix together the flour, baking soda, salt & cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, mix sugar, oil, applesauce and eggs. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in pineapple, shredded carrots, chopped nuts and coconut. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

Frost with Allspice Cream Cheese Frosting.

Curried Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

My dear friend Peggy invited me to an Ethiopian restaurant in Overland Park, The Blue Nile. (Let me just say now, for you skimmers, SO YUMMY! And they have a lunch buffet, so you can try a whole bunch of different things.) Anyway.  Since our ministry team returned, over a year ago, I'd been hearing the good (and bad) of Ethiopian food and was braced and very excited for my first exposure.  I love curry, and though I do not handle spicy well, I was ready to suck it up in the name of a wonderful shared experience with a friend.

Well, I loved it. All of it. The richness of the flavors, tenderness of the meat, the unique and yummy injera bread (that I will venture to make some day)... it was all so good.  For me, the thing that stole the show, was the soup!  Soup!  I found myself craving it the following day.  I attempted to ignore it but the craving persisted.  Time for a Google search: "lentil curry butternut squash soup ethiopian" and with a little tweaking, I came up with something close to what warmed us that day.  It probably would have helped if I had red lentils instead of just using the green and yellow that were in my pantry (I had lentils in my pantry! I was rather proud of myself).  And I used frozen butternut squash instead of preparing it fresh (those things are a serious pain in the butt to peel... I'll let the green giant do the work for me.)  If there's some secret, someone please share.

I took a bowl to Peggy and she said she practically inhaled it, so it's passed the 2nd party test!  Here you go - my quick and easy version.

Curried Lentil and Butternut Squash Soup

3 T olive oil
2 T butter (unsalted if you have it)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
16 oz bag frozen butternut squash
2 t crushed garlic from a jar or 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t crushed ginger from a jar or minced peeled ginger
1 T curry powder, Madras (yellow)
1 c red lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 quart (box) chicken or vegetable stock
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 t lemon zest (optional, but probably my favorite part)

Cilantro, chopped

Heat oil and butter in large pot over medium head, cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic and ginger until softened and starting to brown 15-20 minutes. Stir in curry powder, stir frequently for 2 minutes to heat curry through, then add stock, lentils, and partially thawed squash (let it thaw on the counter while you prep everything else).  Simmer, covered, until lentils are tender 20-40 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over steamed rice, sprinkle with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt.


Modified from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Curried-Squash-and-Red-Lentil-Soup-351416#ixzz1BS0BIP00

Parsnips... no really, they're good!

I know, I know... what am I doing raving about root vegetables?  I hear you.  And honestly, I'm not even sure how this one ended up in my recipe box.  But it did. And it's amazing.  If you like carrots, that sort of spicy-earthy taste, you'll love parsnips.  Love.  I hope you'll give it a try. 

Creamy Rice with Parsnip Puree and Root Veggies
30-40 minutes, serves 8-10 as a side dish

1-1/4 c rice (I used a mix of brown basmati and my favorite calrose)
4 c chicken or vegetable stock (or broth, just taste before salting the dish)
2-3 medium parsnips, diced should equal 2 cups
2 turnips, diced should equal 1 cup
4 medium sized carrots, diced should equal 1 cup
1 T olive oil
3/4 t salt
Salt and pepper to taste.
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

If you don't already have one, I strongly suggest splurging on an electric rice cooker- one with a non-stick pot will run you $20-30 at Target.  Rinse the rice in the pot then fill with water - determine the right level by putting the tip of your middle finger at the rice level, the water level should be at the first crease on that same finger.  A sweet little trick I learned from my brother the chef, works every time!

Start the rice, then on to the puree:

Cut up enough parsnip to make 1 cup.  In a large saucepan or pot, heat 1 T olive oil. Add parsnips and toss to coat.  Sautee about 5 minutes, until softened but not browned.  Add 2 cups stock/broth and cook until reduced by about half.  Surface area is the trick here... the bigger the pot, the faster the evaporation.

While that's cooking:

Start a pot of water to boil with 3/4 t salt, then cut up the rest of your veggies.  Toss the cut-up veggies into the pot of water and cook 5 minutes.  When you do this, put a bowl into the sink and fill it with ice and cold water.  You'll drain the veggies then toss them into the ice water to blanch them (stops the cooking and keeps them nice and bright looking).

While the veggies are cooling:

Pour the parsnip and stock mix into a blender (or magic bullet) and puree.  If you need to add a little extra liquid, use some of the remaining stock.  Here comes the fun part.

Put the cooked rice, puree and blanched veggies all back into the large pot over low-medium heat.  Stir to combine, add the remaining stock and season to taste.  Serve hot with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.  Yum! 

Modified from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Creamy-Rice-with-Parsnip-Puree-and-Root-Vegetables-241352
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Breadstick Snakes

Today is Alex's class party. Not being sold on all the usual sugar and creepy that accompanies Halloween, I have made it my mission to find cool alternatives. Check out these little guys - inspired by these little guys. 

Alex helped by rolling and wrapping the dough and by drawing the eyes on (with food coloring markers). I manned the green color mist and the carrot tongues.  They each have their own little personality and Alex is so excited to share them with his friends!

We bought wooden dowels at our local home improvement store and cut them to fit the length of my baking sheets.  Then I covered them in foil and lightly greased them with a little spray olive oil.  We used store-bought breadstick dough and rolled them a little before wrapping them around the sticks.  They baked according to directions and I removed them from the sticks as soon as they were cool enough to touch.

All lined up on a baking rack, I held them over the sink and sprayed them with Color Mist in green (they're not kidding about that overspray warning- it's so fine you almost can't tell it's there -until you add water- so be very careful.  I laughed when I blew my nose before bed and had bright green snot!).  Then, Alex used a food-coloring marker to draw on the eyes.  The markers came in a set and were a bit pricey, but they're what really made the whole process interactive for Alex.  He was able to help with the dough and with the decorating.  He's been complimented by his teachers for having excellent spacial skills, specifically the ability to put facial features where they belong, so I got to employ one of his talents.  He did such a great job.

I wasn't going to put tongues on them, but when I explained the project to Alex he informed me "Mommy, snakes have tongues" and I'm so glad he did.  They'd just be worms otherwise.  I added a little sliver of carrot for a tongue (using a veggie peeler on baby carrots, then just notched a little v out, and I had to cut a little slit in the breadstick with the paring knife before pushing the carrot into place). 

We had a lot of fun working on this project together.  As Alex drew the eyes on, he would speculate about each snake - "this one's sleepy", "this one's looking up at the sky", "this one's funny".   And we managed to get all but the last batch (9 of 36) done between dinner and bedtime.  I'd call that a success.