Caramel Apple Layer Cake with Apple Cider Frosting

Have you discovered Pinterest? If not, you should. It is basically a virtual bulletin board where you can "pin" things you want to remember when you run across them on-line. Since all the boards are public you can also see what other people are pinning. It is prettier that the bookmark folders and actually for me better organized since I can make up a bulletin board for various topics. There are beautiful and inspiring and helpful things on there. There are also crazy, ridiculous things on there.  It can also be a time-suck.

But...I have tried some new recipes that I found on Pinterest. I like to try a new dessert every Christmas. I usually prefer a dessert that contains chocolate. However, when I ran across this Caramel Apple Layer Cake with Apple Cider Frosting on A Hint of Honey I just had to try it. It was delicious! A very moist and tasty cake that is not too rich. One thing I would change next time is to make a cream cheese frosting. I am not a fan of super-sweet icing and this one was just a tad to sweet for me.

Caramel Apple Layer Cake with Apple Cider Frosting

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tb baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cups canola oil (I use coconut oil for all my baking now which gives a better flavor I think!)
3/4 unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup caramel sauce
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups butter milk

for frosting:
7 1/2 - 8 cups confectioners sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup apple cider
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 (8 or 9 inch) round cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a 2nd large bowl beat sugar and oil with electric mixer until combined. Add applesauce, caramel, and vanilla, beat for 30 seconds. Then add eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture in 3 parts alternating with buttermilk and beat until combined.
3. Pour batter into pans and bake 35-40 minutes.Let cool 10 minutes then remove from pans. Cool completely.
4. Frosting: Put sugar, butter, cider, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes. Frost cake and allow to sit one hour before serving. (I drizzled some of the extra caramel sauce on top!)

A favorite recipe: Taco Loaf

 

 

One of my biggest challenges as a mother is feeding my family healthy, tasty, inexpensive food that they enjoy. This recipe was always a favorite when I was growing up and it has become a staple in our house now too. It is easy, inexpensive, and easy to customize depending on what you have on hand. If I want to stretch my meat I use less meat and add black beans. One time I made the filling out of chicken, feta cheese and spinach. When I serve the "regular" recipe I like to add traditional taco sides like lettuce, avocado, salsa and sour cream to make it a very filling meal.

Taco Loaf

Bread:

1 Tb sugar

1 tsp salt

1 Tb yeast

1 cup warm water

1 Tb oil 

3 1/4 cup flour

Filling:

1 lb ground beef

1 pkg taco seasoning

2 tomatoes, diced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix sugar, salt, yeast, water & oil in large bowl. Add flour one cup at a time (may not need all). Knead dough until smooth. Let rest 10-15 minutes.

Brown beef and add taco seasoning according to package directions. Remove, drain, add tomatoes and cheese.

Roll dough to 9x16 rectangle. Spread filling on left and center 2/3's of dough. Fold 9 inch side without filling over middle section with filling. Then fold 9 inch side with filling over middle section to layer. Seal edges and place on cookie sheet. Make slits 1 inch apart on dough.

Bake at 400F for 25 minutes.

A change from Pb&j

Yummy lunch of Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad & fresh green beans

I have struggled with my weight ever since I graduated from college. I have constantly fluctuated between 15-40lbs over my "ideal" weight. Controlling my eating habits and exercising on a regular basis are two areas in which I lack self-discipline. Recently I have realized that in order to make long lasting changes in both of these areas I need to just get started and take baby steps.

Thankfully this summer the eating part has gone better since we have started to really focus on eating whole, local foods. I enjoy eating fresh vegetables and fruit and they are both easy to find this time of year. I have also discovered some great recipes that I use for my lunches. One of my favorites is from 100 Days of Real Food (a terrific blog with lots of resources if you are trying to cut processed food out of your diet). The Lime-Cilantro Quinoa salad is fresh, nutritious and filling. A perfect summer time lunch. I have also made a Quinoa salad with cinnamon and dried cranberries which is also super yummy!

I am encouraged. In the past 2 weeks I have lost 4 pounds!

Lime-Cilantro Quinoa Salad
From 100 Days of Real Food, adapted from Joy of Cooking
Ingredients

Salad

• 3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup dry)
• ¾ cup dried fruit (I usually have cranberries and raisins in the house so that is what I use)
  
• ¼ pine nuts, toasted (I usually have cashews in the house, but I add them to the salad right before I eat it so that they don't get soggy in the fridge.)
  
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 bell pepper of any color, diced

Dressing

• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
2. In a separate, smaller bowl whisk together all dressing ingredients.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix thoroughly.
4. Can be stored in an air tight container in the fridge.

Yield: 6 – 8 servings

Kids in the kitchen

Jeremiah reads the recipe and instructions.

Mashing the banana's

Nathaniel really just wanted to eat.

Working together. Two sweet boys on their tip-toes.

Stirring it all up.

Oooooh...watching it bake.

The finished product! Smile and say "banana bread!!"

Honestly, I don't like having my kids help me in the kitchen. I know that in order to be a good mom, etc. I am supposed to let them help in the kitchen. But I know the limits of my patience and they do not extended to having boys under my feet while I am cooking, making big messes that I have to clean up. But the origins of that are for another time.

Yesterday Jeremiah found a recipe for Big Bird's Banana Bread in a library book and he insisted that we make it. We actually had fun doing this. (I measured everything in advance and put it in little bowls like on a cooking show.) It was an easy, nutritious, and good. I am sure this will get made again.

(Yes I know, Jeremiah's hair has not been combed. And yes, he wears his pirate t-shirt almost every day.)

Big Bird's Banana Bread
3 peeled, ripe banana's
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1. Put peeled bananas in a bowl and mash with the back of a fork.
2. Add melted butter.
4. Add rest of ingredients and stir until mixed together.
5. Pour into oiled bread pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Making more natural stuff

My younger self would have never in a million years imagined that I would actually make my own diaper rash cream.
But I did.
And it is awesome!

"Why did you do this?" You ask...
Because we use cloth diapers now and you can't use all the traditional diaper rash creams that you get at baby showers because the ingredients (which are impossible to pronounce, and do you really want them on your baby's little bottom?) make the diapers less absorbent. And you need a diaper to actually absorb.
Because even though Nathaniel gets fewer diaper rashes than he did with disposables, he still does get them and I don't like switching back to disposables just so that I can use diaper rash cream. That kind of defeats the purpose of switching to cloth diapers in the first place.

But even if I didn't use cloth diapers I would still make this stuff! (And I probably will make this stuff and package it nicely for my friends having babies.)

"Why?" You ask again...
Because the ingredients are all natural. The ingredients are soft on baby's skin and actually good and nourishing for it.
It smells naturally good as opposed to processed, scented, fake good. There is a huge difference.
And I have never seen a kid actually ask me to put diaper cream on his bottom. Really. It is kind of freaky. I intended to just use this stuff when a diaper rash appeared, but Nathaniel asks me to put it on every time I change his diaper. He is also very possessive, "Mine dipe cw-eem!" he exclaims clutching the jar.

I got the recipe from this site (a great site for all kinds of natural tips, tricks and recipe's).

Homemade Natural Diaper Cream
1/8 cup coconut oil (extra virgin is preferred)
1/4 cup raw shea butter
3-4 tablespoons talc-free cornstarch or arrowroot powder

Combine coconut oil and shea butter in small bowl with a hand mixer.
Add cornstarch or arrowroot powder one tablespoon at a time until it reaches desired thickness (should look and feel similar to whipped icing).
Transfer to container of your choice.
Makes about 1 cup.