Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This cake recipe is from my friend Lynette and it is wonderful. It is rich and has just the right spice mixture. I really love the flavor the chopped pecans give this cake. You can either make this cake in a half sheet cake pan or make it thicker in a 9x13 baking pan. It feeds a lot of people when made in a half sheet pan - at least 20. I actually made this for a church training meeting and everyone loved it. So yummy! Oh and the frosting is fantastic!

Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon allspice
1 cup finely chopped pecans

Frosting:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 lb or 16 oz package powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cake:
In a mixer combine vegetable oil and sugar and beat well. Add eggs and mix well. Add carrots and mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer and mix well. Add in pecans and mix well. Pour into a greased half sheet cake pan or a 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before frosting with cream cheese frosting below.

Directions for Frosting;
Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until combined and creamy. If it's too thick add milk by tablespoonfuls until it is the right spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cake.

Crock Pot Beef Tips & Gravy

This is such a great and delicious crockpot meal! It tastes like beef stroganoff without the mushrooms so my kids absolutely loved it (when will they start liking mushrooms - probably never). It is so good served over mashed potatoes, but you could serve it over rice or egg noodles also. This is definitely one of my new favorite Sunday dinner recipes.

Crock Pot Beef Tips & Gravy

1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat, or chuck roast cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 package dry onion soup mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
14 oz can low sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Place cubed beef in slow cooker and sprinkle evenly with lemon pepper. In a large bowl whisk together dry onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, and beef broth; pour over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Remove meat from crockpot with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl, and cover with foil. Set aside for now. In a large saucepan melt butter. Add flour and whisk well. Cook for about a minute. Whisk in the gravy/juices from the crockpot and heat until thickened and heated all the way through. Add in the set aside beef and simmer for a few minutes. Serve the beef tips and gravy over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.

Chocolat Chaud (Hot Chocolate - Stove Top or Crock Pot)

I back-packed Europe the summer after I graduated from high school. I treasure the memories I made on that trip. Some wonderful memories are the breakfasts in France. French food is amazing. Even poor backpackers get hot chocolate, or "chocolat chaud" in French, and fresh croissants for breakfast at youth hostels. It's a beautiful thing and I remember that hot chocolate so well. This homemade recipe for hot chocolate is the closest thing I've ever made to the hot chocolate I remember drinking in France. It's rich, creamy, and oh so chocolatey. I love it. The quality of the unsweetened cocoa and chocolate chips mean a lot to the flavor. I don't have Valrhona chocolate in my pantry to use in this recipe, but when I want it to be really good I do use the best chocolate chips I can find at the grocery store (I really like Guittard) and Dutch processed cocoa powder. It's the perfect cold weather and Christmas time treat.

Chocolat Chaud (Hot Chocolate for Stove Top or Crock Pot)

2 cups heavy cream
6 cups whole milk
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons vanilla (optional)

Fast Stove Top Directions:
In a large saucepan combine heavy cream, whole milk, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, and vanilla if using. Heat, whisking constantly, until you just bring it too a boil. Turn down heat and simmer, stirring constantly for a few minutes. Check taste. You can dilute it a little with a cup or so of milk if you like a less rich taste (I add more milk when making for my kiddos).

Crock Pot Directions:
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low for 2 hours, whisking every so often to combine the chocolate with the milk.

Slow Cooker Apple Spice Cake

My husband is a huge fan of fruit cobblers, pies, crisps... All of that. Well this is probably the easiest version of an apple cobbler I've ever made. You've probably seen the Tasty video of this one on Facebook and it was because of that video that I wanted to make it. I've made other versions of this called "dump cakes" - a cherry walnut one, a peach one, and they are all yummy. This one is no exception. It was super yummy and it made my husband very happy. And vanilla ice cream on top is a huge must!

Slow Cooker Apple Spice Cake

2, 20 oz can apple pie filling
spice cake mix
2 sticks or 8 oz butter, cut into slices
vanilla ice cream

Spray the interior of a slow cooker with cooking spray. Add apple pie filling. Sprinkle dry spice cake mix evenly over the apple pie filling. Place butter slices evenly over the top. Cover and cook on high for 2 hours. Serve with ice cream on top of individual servings.

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe is for real! It actually tastes like restaurant chicken tikka masala and I'm so happy about it!! I really love Indian food and chicken tikka masala and butter chicken are my top faves to order at Indian restaurants. The one thing about this recipe is that it requires quite a number of spices. I was able to find all of these spices and spice blends at my local grocery store, but you can also find good Indian spices on Amazon (love Amazon Prime!). This made my house smell fantastic as it was cooking all day. I served it with basmati rice and naan. Yum!!

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1, 29 oz can tomato puree
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Garam masala
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (can increase this for a spicier dish)
2 bay leaves
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons cornstarch

In a large bowl combine chicken and onion. In another bowl mix together garlic, ginger, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, Garam masala, tumeric, cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, pepper, and cayenne; pour this mixture over the chicken and onions and toss well. Spray the interior of a crockpot with cooking spray. Pour the chicken and sauce mixture into the crockpot and add the 2 bayleaves to the top. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. In a medium bowl whisk together the cream and cornstarch; pour into the mixture in the crockpot and stir well. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to let it thicken. Remove bay leaves and serve over cooked rice.

Easy Cilantro Lime Rice

This is probably the easiest version of a Chipotle or Cafe Rio-like cilantro lime rice. So this is probably the one I will stick with from now on! All it has in it is cooked rice, lime zest, lime juice, and chopped cilantro. It's great! I served this with our homemade Cafe Rio dinner - which is crockpot sweet pork that each family member either makes a burrito or burrito bowl with. It's a family favorite dinner. I hope you love it like my family does.

Easy Cilantro Lime Rice

3 cups uncooked long grain white rice, or basmati rice (basmati rice is what's pictured)
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Cook rice (I just use my rice cooker). When rice is ready and hot add lime zest, lime juice, and chopped cilantro and toss. Serve with any mexican dish.

Homemade Brown Gravy

Homemade gravy rocks! And this particular recipe is so darn good and not to mention easy! Almost as easy as making a packet of brown gravy. I made it from pot roast drippings, but you could also substitute butter for the drippings if needed. You can also substitute chicken broth and chicken bouillon for the beef broth and beef bouillon if you are making a gravy to go with poultry. A fat separator is a great gadget for making gravy, but if you don't have one, you can pour all the pan drippings into a large measuring cup, wait for the fat to separate from the juices, and then spoon off the fat with a spoon.

Homemade Brown Gravy

1/4 cup fat from pan drippings or butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup pan juices
1 cup beef broth
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons beef bouillon
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1/4 cup of fat from pan drippings or butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook over medium heat, whisking, until the roux is golden brown, about the color of peanut butter. Add in juices, broth, milk, and bouillon, whisking constantly. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.