Carrot Applesauce Layer Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour (spoon-and-sweep)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup store-bought unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
2/3 cup golden raisins (optional)
2/3 cup walnuts (optional)
1 cup finely shredded carrots

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350 deg. Line the bottoms of two 9x2-inch round cake pans with parchment or wax paper.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and cloves onto a piece of wax paper; set aside. Combine applesauce and shredded carrots; set aside.

In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle blade, beat the butter on medium speed until it is lighter in color, about 45 seconds. Add the sugar in a steady stream, then stop the machine and scrape down the bowl. Return to medium speed and beat, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is very light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. One at a time, beat in the eggs, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the applesauce mixture. After each addition, beat just until smooth and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gently fold in the raisins and nuts. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pans.

Bake until the tops spring back when the cakes are lightly pressed in the centers and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Transfer to wire cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes. Invert onto the racks or plates and remove the pans. Peel off the paper liners and place them back on the layers, sticky sides up. Invert onto wire racks, right side up, and cool completely on the wax paper.

Manna from Heaven Orange Bread

In a mixing bowl, combine:
3 cups white flour
1 cup wheat flour
5 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 ½ tsp salt
½ cup brown sugar

In a separate mixing bowl, combine:
3 eggs, well beaten
½ cup oil
1 cup milk
1 cup orange juice (approx. 3 oranges)
4-5 TB orange zest

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and combine until flour is just moistened.

Add:
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Scrape batter into 3 medium (greased and floured) loaf pans. Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately remove from pans and cool completely.

Note: This recipe came from Grandma Staples files. I'm not a big fan of orange and chocolate together, but this bread was very good. It is not especially sweet, but it has plenty of flavor. The wheat flour gives the bread a nutty quality.

Creamy Ham Broccoli Casserole

This is technically supposed to have Spam in it. However, since I am NOT a fan of Spam and don't keep it in my food storage we used some of the ham leftover from Easter Dinner. I got this from my America's Favorite Brand Name One-Dish Meals cookbook.

Creamy Ham Broccoli Casserole

Nonstick cooking spray
1 (7 oz) package elbow macaroni
2 cups frozen cut broccoli, thawed and drained
Ham
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese
3/4 cup soft bread crumbs
2 teaspoons margarine, melted

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 2-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. In prepared casserole, combine macaroni, broccoli, Ham and bell pepper. In small saucepan, stir together milk, cornstarch and black pepper until cornstarch is dissolved. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Reduce heat to low. Add cheese; stir until melted. Stir sauce into Ham mixture. Combine bread crumbs and margarine; sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
Makes 8 servings.

Note: I did not measure my noodles, but did double the sauce. It filled to the top of a 9x13 pan. Next time I probably wouldn't use the bread crumbs and margarine. However we did put some parmesan cheese on top which was great. Phillip had 4 servings of this and the other two ate more than Stuart and I ate. Even with all of what we ate we still have half of the 9x13 pan left...not normal in our family. It was GREAT!

Stuffed Pesto Chicken

I got this recipe from a friend at my bridal shower and haven't tried it until this last week. And let me say that it was amazing! Serves 2.

2 chicken breast
Pesto
Roasted red peppers
Salt and Pepper
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

• Preheat oven to 350.
  
• Butterfly the chicken.
• Place and spread desired amount of pesto inside.
• Place desired amount of roasted pepper.
• Stuff shredded mozzarella cheese inside.
• Close, then spread pesto on top of chicken.
• Sprinkle salt and pepper.
• Place on baking sheet.
• Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.

I hope you enjoy it as much as Garrett and I did!

Black Forest Pie

Black Forest Pie

I got this from Taste of Home. It's really chocolaty and VERY rich, but it's good.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Domino or C&H Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling, divided
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
Whipped Topping (optional)

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa and flour. Stir in milk until smooth. Add butter. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into eggs; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Fold in half of the pie filling.
Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until filling is almost set. Coll completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, top with remaining pie filling and whipped topping if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

¾ cup dried, pitted cherries
1 Chocolate cookie crust, baked in 9-inch springform pan, cooled
2 lbs. Cream cheese, softened 3-4 hours at room temperature
1 ¼ cup plus 2 TB sugar
2 TB unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB whipping cream
6 oz. Semisweet chocolate, chopped into approx. ½ -inch pieces

Put the cherries in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them, just to cover the cherries. Let the cherries sit in the hot water for 30 minutes. Drain the cherries and pat dry with paper towels.
Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of the springform pan with curst with a large piece of heavy aluminum foil and place it in a large baking pan with sides at least 2 inches high.
Put the cream cheese in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until the cream cheese is smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and mix until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour. Add the eggs, two at a time, mixing the batter smooth after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl twice during this mixing. Mix in the vanilla, almond extract, and the lemon juice. Mix in the whipping cream. Stir in the soaked and drained cherries and chopped chocolate. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Put the cheesecake in the oven and pour hot water into the large baking pan to reach 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake 1 hour, or until when you give the cheesecake a gentle shake, the top looks firm. (see note at bottom)
Cool the cheesecake, covered loosely with paper towels, in the water bath for 1 hour on a wire rack. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath. Remove the paper towels and cool 1 hour more. The cheesecake should feel cool to the touch. Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Rachel's note: I didn't bother with the crust when I made this. Also, after the cheesecake baked for one hour, instead of taking it out of the oven and cooling it on a rack, I left the oven door closed and just turned off the oven. I let it sit there for another hour before taking it out of the oven to cool for another hour on the counter. This cheesecake is so thick it really needs the extra "baking" time.

Fast Pork Fajitas

3 Tbs chili powder
2 Tbs ground cumin
2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
pork tenderloin, about 2 pounds, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
10 to 12 flour tortillas, warmed

In a shallow bowl combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Coat pork pieces with fajita seasoning.

In large skillet over medium-high heat, stir-fry pork pieces with onion and green pepper and 2 Tbs olive oil until pork is cooked and vegetables are just tender.

Wrap portions in flour tortillas with any of the following: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese.

I made this for dinner last night and we all really liked it. Even Ellen who has been pretty picky lately. It was a large amount, but it was just right for dinner for our family plus some leftovers for James' lunch. There was plenty of extra seasoning mixture left over so I think next time I'll just use half of it and save the rest for next time. I served it with rice, which we like to put in the fajita instead of eating on the side.