Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Carrot Cupcakes and Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 eggs
2 medium-large carrots, scrubbed and shredded
1/4 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a medium mixing bowl, beat oil, brown sugar, and eggs together well. Add sifted dry ingredients and mix only until just blended. Fold in grated carrots and raisins.
Lightly grease (or line with paper cups) a 12-cup muffin pan. Fill cups two-thirds full and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove tin from the oven and cool on a cake rack for 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes from tin and allow to cool completely before serving frosting. The cupcakes will keep several days. 1 dozen cupcakes


Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8-ounce package cream cheese
3-4 tablespoons frozen, unsweetened pineapple juice concentrate
1/4 teaspoon honey
a few spoonfuls of unsweetened crushed canned pineapple, drained

Place cream cheese, pineapple juice, and honey in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add crushed pineapple and mix a few seconds longer or just until the fruit is incorporated. Store topping inthe refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 days.
Makes about 1 cup.
*from Mommy Made and Daddy too! - Home Cooking for a Healthy Baby & Toddler

Labels: ,

posted by Rachel @ 6:40 PM 0 comments

Warm Butternut Squash-Tangerine Soup

1/4 cup freshly squeezed and strained tangerine or orange juice
1 recipe Butternut Squash Puree (bake the squash, whole, about an hour {turn once at 30 minutes} at 350 then puree in the blender)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grated tangerine or orange zest

In a saucepan, add tangerine juice to the puree to thin. Heat slowly. If soup is too thick, add more juice until desired consistency is reached. Remember to add only a little juice at a time; it's easier to thin than thicken. To serve, garnish with a dollop of yogurt and a bit of grated tangerine zest.

Makes 2 cups.

That was the recipe; here is my take on the recipe. :-) I used a lot more juice, maybe my squash was bigger than normal, and I mixed the yogurt into the soup before giving it to Nathan. I also used the orange juice and not tangerine juice.

Labels: ,

posted by Rachel @ 6:30 PM 0 comments

Pita Pizzas

I recently tried these, just hoping they would be good enough for me to get away with them as an easy dinner once in a while, if I didn't do it too often. We were both surprised at how good they were, and at how much they tasted like regular pizza! They're off the "occasional" and onto the "regular" list!

Ingredients:
pita bread
pizza sauce
pizza toppings

Toast the pita bread for 3-5 minutes in a toaster oven. (This is optional, but it makes for a crispier "crust.") Spread pizza sauce and pizza toppings on whole pita. Bake at 400-425 degrees for 5-10 minutes, depending on your toppings, until cheese is melted and toppings are hot. Slice and enjoy!

Labels:

posted by @lici@ @ 11:39 AM 0 comments