Carrot Cake

It had been a long time since I made this cake. How in the world could I forget just how good it is? BEST carrot cake I've ever had!

(I also just realized this is the 3rd post for this cake--guess I really, really like it! :) )

Oreo Cookie Bars

A family in our ward brought these to us a while back and I immediately fell in love. They are basically just crushed up Oreos with homemade fudge. Who can argue with that combination?!

Oreo Cookie Bars

(thanks Rachelle!)

24-30 Oreo cookies (depending on desired crust thickness)

6 Tbs. butter, melted

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Set aside 6 cookies and grind the rest in a food processor or blender. In a small bowl, stir together the cookie crumbs and butter until well blended. Press into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt 1 cup chocolate chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla. Stir frequently until smooth. Spread evenly over the crumb crust. Sprinkle the remaining cup of chocolate chips over the top. Break remaining cookies into pieces by hand and sprinkle over the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Chill completely (up to 1-2 hours) before cutting into bars or it will make a big mess.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

Marc has been bugging me for 12 years (seriously) to make him pumpkin cookies. I never have, because I am not a huge fan. But my college roommate promised me these were good.

She was right! BOTH Marc and I were huge fans! Thanks, Angie.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

(MS EveryDay Food)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin-pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on all sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth; beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in pumpkin puree (mixture may appear curdled). Reduce speed to low, and mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake until edges begin to pull away from sides of pan and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in pan.
4. Lift cake from pan (using foil as an aid). Peel off foil, and use a serrated knife to cut into 24 squares.

Cashew Chicken

Cashew Chicken

(MS EveryDay Food, ???)

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces

2 Tblspn. dry sherry

2 tsp. minced, peeled fresh ginger (I used about 1 1/2 tsp. dry ginger)

3 1/2 tsp. cornstarch

coarse salt

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 Tblspn. soy sauce

1 Tblspn. rice vinegar

2 tsp. sugar

1 Tblspn. + 2 tsp. vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2/3 c. unsalted cashews, toasted

2 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced

cooked white rice, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with sherry, ginger and 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch; season with salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 tsp. cornstarch; set sauce aside.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tblspn. oil over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add 1 tsp. oil to skillet and cook remaining chicken (reduce heat if chicken is over-browning). Transfer to plate.

3. To same skillet, add 1 tsp. oil, garlic, cashews, and scallion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic begins to soften, 30 seconds. Whisk sauce and add to skillet along with chicken. Cool until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Top with scallion greens and serve with rice.

Cookie Friday

I made these cookies for "Cookie Friday" this month. The cookies were just OK (in my opinion)--so I'm not posting the recipe. However, my neighborhood cookie idea was shared on my college roommates blog, so I thought I would pass the link along:

http://blonde-designs.squarespace.com/blonde-designs-blog/2009/10/7/cookie-friday.html

Banana Boats

I ran across this blog posting today and decided to try these out for dessert tonight. Let me just say that the kids LOVED making them! Very fun, very easy, and very yummy. They would be the perfect dessert for camping, too--no measuring, no dishes, no clean-up (just roll up the foil and toss!).

Rather than try to re-explain this, I am just posting the link for the instructions/pictures:

http://erincobb.com/ThePigBear/?p=1653

My only improvement would be to go lighter on the chocolate chips, heavier on the marshmallows and cook for closer to 20 minutes.

Coffee Cake

When we were living in Rochester, NY for business school, my good friend JoAnna and I would randomly make dinner for each other's families. She brought this cake one night and I fell in love. I have been making it ever since. Even Marc likes it--and that is saying a lot, since he really doesn't eat any dessert that isn't chocolate!

This can also be made for breakfast, brunch, a baby shower, etc.

Coffee Cake

(thanks JoAnna!)

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding

2 eggs

3 Tblspn. vegetable oil

1 1/3 c. water

Mix all ingredients and pour ½ of batter into greased & floured 9-inch square cake pan.

Crumble:

½ c. flour

½ c. brown sugar

2 Tblspn. cinnamon

3 Tblspn. butter

Mix above ingredients and cut in butter to make a “crumble.”

Sprinkle first layer of batter with ½ crumble mixture.

Pour remaining cake batter on top of crumble and then top off with remaining crumble.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Drizzle with powdered sugar icing.