Carrot Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Ingredients: 

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 cups grated carrots

4 eggs

3/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

Frosting:

1 stick butter

1 8 oz package cream cheese

 2 tsp vanilla

4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 15x10 inch jelly roll sheet pan with cooking spray.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. 

In a separate bowl, beat the oil, eggs, vanilla, and shredded carrots together. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing continuously. 

Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. 

For the frosting: Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add the vanilla. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and mix well. When the cake is cooled, add the frosting. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Refrigerate any leftovers. 

Easy Hot Cross Buns

 

Ingredients: 

1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 count)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

1 egg

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp milk

Press out each biscuit until it is about 4 inches in diameter. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl and spread on half of each biscuit. If you want raisins, add the raisins on top of the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Fold over. Then fold one more time and shape into a bowl, sealing the creases. 

Place seam side down in a greased pan. Brush the tops with a beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from plan and place on a cooling rack. 

When the rolls are slightly cooled, mix the powdered sugar and milk. Put the icing in a plastic bag and cut off the tip. drizzle over the top of the rolls, making a cross. 

2023 Graduation Cake

 

Air Fryer Bagels

Ingredients: 

1 3/4 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

butter

toppings of choice

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add the yogurt and stir. It will be pretty crumbly. 

Dump on the counter and knead with your hands until the dough comes together. Divide into 4 equal portions. 

Roll each portion out snake-like. Pull the ends together to make a ring. 

Line the air fryer basket with parchment paper. Spread butter on top of each ring and add the topping of your choice. I added everything bagel seasoning to these. 

Set the air fryer to 350 degrees for 10 minutes. 

Brioche Slider Buns

 

Ingredients: 

3 1/3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp milk

1 cup warm water

2 eggs

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt together. 

In a small saucepan, heat butter and milk until the butter is melted. Let cool for a couple of minutes. 

In a small bowl, whisk the 1 cup warm water with 1 egg. Add the butter milk mixture to the egg and water mixture. 

Pour into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for about 2 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator). 

The dough should double in size. Line a baking pan with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat the dough ball into a rectangle. 

Divide the dough into 18 equal pieces. 

Cover and let the dough rise for about 1 hour. 

Whisk 1 egg and 3 Tbsp water together and brush the egg wash on the top of the rolls.

 Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes. 

Pi Day 2023

We were gone most of the night on Pi Day, but we did get in some Pi Day themed food this year. We had our round cheese bread, pi-shaped apple pie, and pi-shaped chocolates. 

Academy Award Party 2023

 

For the Academy Awards, we like to pick some of the movies on the nomination list and make foods that go with those movies to eat for dinner. 

This year's menu featured: 

Bao for Turning Red

"Danger Calzones" for Top Gun Maverick

Pancakes for All's Quiet on the Western Front

Peanut Butter/Banana/Bacon Sandwiches for Elvis

Sushi for Bad Axe (a short list nomination for Documentary)

Spicy Wings with Milk for Puss in Boots

Everything bagels for Everything Everywhere All at Once

Breakfast Tacos for Pinocchio--the director's favorite food

We also had star sugar cookies with our names on them.

Bao Recipe:

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

1 tsp sugar

3/4 cup water

Filling:

1 lb ground chicken

1/4 cup diced onion

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbsp cornstarch

Filling directions:

Sauté the chicken and onion with a little bit of olive oil. In a separate bowl, add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water. 

After the chicken is cooked, add the sauce and let simmer a couple of minutes until the sauce is thickened. Set aside/refrigerate until you are ready to fill  your dough. 

Dough directions: 

In a medium-size bowl, add the water, yeast, and sugar. Add the salt. Then slowly add the flour. 

Knead the dough until it becomes smooth.

Cover the dough and let rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place. 

Roll out the dough and use a 4 or 5 inch circle cutter to make the buns. 

Put the filling in the center of each circle and seal. 

Cover and let rise for about 15 more minutes. 

Line a bamboo steamer with parchment paper and place 4-5 buns in the basket, being careful not to crowd them. 

Steam for about 12-15 minutes. 

Mario Day Party 2023

 

Our Annual Mario Day Party was a great time! In addition to our normal toadstool pizza, question box piñatas, Mario Kart challenges, regular Nintendo games, and gingerbread castle, we also did a few new things. 

We had a snow day, so I made some Mario themed lunches as well. 

I also did this Mario cake out of M&Ms and white chocolate chips. 

Cat Birthday Cake

This cake is decorated with a mixture of fondant and regular cake decorating frosting. For the whiskers, I covered spaghetti noodles with melted white chocolate. 

 

Read Across America Dinner Party 2023

 

We always have a book-themed dinner party for Read Across America Day. We find as many books that feature food to plan our menu. This year we had fruit and cheese for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, blueberries for Blueberries for Sal, cookies and milk for If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, pudding/Oreo/gummy worm cups for Diary of a Worm, Vegetables for Peter Rabbit, Nacho Scoops for Dragons Love Tacos, Apples for The Giving Tree, ice cream sandwiches for Should I Share My Ice Cream. marshmallow/strawberry kabobs for Cat in the Hat, Butterbeer for Harry Potter, raspberry tea for Anne of Green Gables, green egg and ham quiche for Green Eggs and Ham, and sandwiches and pie tarts for Paddington. 

Pop Art Cake

 

These cakes are made with homemade fondant. Put 16 oz of mini marshmallows in a large microwavable bowl. Add 2 Tbsp water. Microwave for 1 minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the marshmallows are melted. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar and stir. 

Coat your countertop with Crisco. Put down about 2 cups of powdered sugar. Dump the marshmallow/powdered sugar mixture on top of the other powdered sugar. Knead the mixture until the dough is not sticky. (Cover your hands with Crisco so it doesn't stick to your hands.) Divide the dough into the amount you will need for each color. Add food gel to each ball of dough to make your colors. Cover each dough ball with Crisco and then seal in plastic wrap. Put the dough in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Chill for a couple of hours before using to make the cake. 

To get the pop-art look, outline everything with black fondant (or your could use black frosting). I just rolled the black fondant out really thin, and used a small paint brush to apply a little water to the spots the fondant would need to go. 

For this cake, I outlined the sprinkles with black frosting. 

Mardi Gras 2023

 

We always have King Cake for our Mardi Gras party, but added a few other things to table this year too. 

I used pineapple juice, tropical fruit V8 juice, orange juice, and Sprite to make some non-alcoholic hurricane drinks. I added orange slices and cherries and mask picks to make the drinks look more festive. We had Instant Pot Dirty Rice (recipe on another post), Cajun chicken tenders, Jambalaya, and Air Fryer Hush Puppies.

Hush Puppies Ingredients: 

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 egg

1 Tbsp honey

1 cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped onion

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the egg, honey buttermilk, and olive oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in the peppers and onions. 

Preheat the air fryer to 375. Put a parchment paper liner in the air fryer. Using an ice cream scoop, place the dough balls in the air fryer. Cook for about 3-4 minutes and then flip the dough balls. Cook another 3-4 minutes. 

Jambalaya Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 celery ribs diced

2 bell peppers, diced

3 cloves garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb chicken breast, cubed

1/4 tsp paprika

1 tsp oregano

6 oz andouille sausage

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cups chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup long grain rice, uncooked

1 tsp cajun seasoning

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

Cook the olive oil, onion, celery, and peppers in a large pot for about 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper and garlic. 

Stir in the chicken, paprika, and oregano. Cook until the chicken is browned on all sides. (about 5 minutes)

Stir in the sausage and tomato paste and cook for about 1 minute. 

Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, rice, and cajun seasoning. 

Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce heat. 

Cook for about 20 minutes or until the rice is tender and the liquid is mostly absorbed. 

Add the shrimp and cook for about 3-4 minutes. 

I also used this recipe: https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/polish-paczki-donuts-recipe/ to make homemade paczkis. 

I filled them with homemade custard. 

Super Bowl Party Food

 

I was able to get a lot of football decorating items and plates in the clearance after fall tailgating season. I reuse this inflatable stadium every year to put all of our Super Bowl food. 

These football calzones were really easy and delicious. I used a roll of pizza crust and cut it into 6 rectangles. I rolled out each rectangle and then added marinara, meatballs, spinach, and mozzarella cheese to half of the dough. Then I pulled the other half over the toppings and sealed and shaped like a football. I cut a slit down the middle of each one and brushed with egg wash. I baked them at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, or until they were brown. 

Chocolate Lava Cakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

2 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup flour

vanilla ice cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray your custard cups with baking spray and put on a baking sheet. (It will make about 4 if your cups are larger. I could do 6-7 smaller tin cups, filling them about 3/4 of the way.)

Microwave the butter, bittersweet, and semisweet chocolate in a large bowl on high until the butter is melted (about 1 minute). Whisk until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the powdered sugar until blended. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks and then add the vanilla. Stir in the flour. Divide the mixture between the custard cups. 

Bake until the sides are firm and the centers are soft. (It takes about 10 minutes in small custard cups) Let it sit for about 1 minute. Then invert the cake onto a plate and serve warm with ice cream. 

No Chill Sugar Cookies

Ingredients: 

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Cream the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes with the paddle attachment of your mixer. 

Add the extract and the egg and mix together. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add the flour mixture slowly to the mixer. Beat until the dough starts to pull away from the edges of the bowl. 

Divide dough in half so you aren't rolling out the whole thing. Put one of the dough balls on a lightly floured surface and roll out. Roll this pretty thick--about 1/4" think. Cut into the shapes you want and place on the parchment paper. Bake for about 6 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 4-5 minutes before transferring off of the pan. 

Frost with your favorite frosting and decorate. 

These freeze really well.