Carrot Cake Pudding

Normally, I don’t post during the week. Today, however, is an exception. Why? It’s my blog’s 1-year birthday! Yay! And no birthday is complete without birthday cake. In this case, carrot cake. Carrot cake pudding to be exact. Yup, carrot cake without the flour, butter, and sugar.

Sorry for the not-too appetizing picture by the way. Some things I’m still improving on. Rest assured though, it tastes amazing.

It’s strange, because I wasn’t sure if this blog was going to even last a month. And here I am a year later. Here’s to another year!

Carrot Cake Pudding

Ingredients:

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 and 1/2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp raisins

1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

Directions:

Boil carrots in a pot of water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and then place in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add in coconut oil, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, vanilla extract, baking soda and salt and blend until smooth. Mix in raisins and coconut and serve.

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Herbed Goat Cheese Pepper Bites

In case you haven’t caught on by now, my family and I are obsessed with goat cheese.

Why?

Because it’s goat cheese, duh.

It’s so good, in fact, that it can stand alone as the main ingredient in many recipes. Case in point: goat cheese bites. Just some good ol’ goat cheese and some herbs to enhance the flavor. Add in a bell pepper for a burst of refreshment and there you go- a perfect appetizer for Memorial Day 🙂

Herbed Goat Cheese Pepper Bites 

Ingredients: 

1 bell pepper (I used green, but any color is fine)

4 oz organic goat cheese

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

1 tbsp sun dried tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 dried chives

black pepper

Directions:

Chop the bell pepper into small pieces and set aside. In a bowl, combine goat cheese, garlic, tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, paprika and chives. Mash together until the goat cheese has turned slightly pinkish-red and everything is evenly mixed. Using a teaspoon, plop goat cheese onto each pepper piece. Sprinkle with black pepper and garnish with more chives. Eat right away, or store in fridge until ready to serve.

Spicy Shrimp and Bell Pepper Pasta

For Mother’s Day, I made dinner and dessert for my mom. Unfortunately, I lost all sense of taste by dinnertime.

Darn allergies.

I was so desperate to get my taste back, that I almost drowned myself while trying to use a Netipot for the first time. Still no luck. And so, I ate this meal without knowing what it actually tasted like and bagged some for later (on the plus side though, my mom loved it).

A few days later, I went over my friend’s house where I was offered some wasabi almonds. I’ve never liked the taste of wasabi- it’s just too strong for me. Now, however, I have a respect for them cause after eating a third one- BAM! I got my taste and appetite back. Thus, I was finally able to enjoy the left overs of this dish 🙂 Better late than never!

Spicy Shrimp and Bell Pepper Pasta 

Ingredients:

16 oz pasta

1 lb uncooked shrimp

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/8 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp thyme

1 and 1/2 tbsp whole wheat flour

2 tbsp mustard with horseradish

1 cup chicken broth, divided into 1/3 cup and 2/3 cup

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 orange bell pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, sliced

3 tomatoes, diced

3 cups fresh spinach

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions: 

Cook pasta according to box instructions and set aside. Peel and wash shrimp and place in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together paprika, salt, garlic powder, black pepper, white pepper, chili powder, oregano and thyme. Pour seasoning over shrimp and toss together with your hands. Spray a deep skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Cook shrimp for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, whisk together flour, mustard, and 1/3 cup chicken broth. Set aside.

Remove shrimp from skillet and replace in bowl. Respray skillet and add in peppers, onions, and garlic cloves. Sauté for 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook for 5 minutes. Add in flour mixture, 2/3 cup chicken broth, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Mix shrimp and veggie mixture into pasta before serving.

 

Flour-less Banana Cookies

And… I’m done!

Another semester complete!

I’m so excited to finally get the chance to sit down and read. My reading list has accumulated to over 20 books, so I’ll be nice and busy for a while 🙂

Of course, I’ll also be cooking and hopefully posting more frequently. To celebrate the beginning of my break, I thought I’d post a a super yummy and quick cookie recipe!

Now, I don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but I’m majoring in math and education. Eventually, I’m going for special education. As an end of the year treat, my teaching program went to New York City this week!

I only went there once before, so I was super excited to go. Unfortunately, we got into NYC at 3, so we only had a few hours to roam around. Because of this, we mostly stuck to the Times Square area.

I didn’t really mind – I was completely content with just looking around at the lights and colors. At night though, I went to my first Broadway play, Cinderella. Normally, musicals put me to sleep, so I was surprised that I loved the play so much!

Next on my list: The Lion King!

Flour-less Banana Cookies 

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

2/3 cup oats

2 tbsp raisins and/or chocolate chips

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking oil. In a bowl, mash up a banana (I use a potato masher) and add and mix in coconut flakes, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in oats and raisins/chocolate chips. Bake for 13 minutes.

Baked Asparagus Fries

One more week and then I’m done my semester! Yay! Unfortunately, this also means hardcore studying time.

Eh.

I’m so bad when it comes to procrastination. Instead of going out or stalking people on social media sites, I cook or bake. And then eat. A lot. And this right here is just one of the results from my procrastination. In my defense though, I practiced my sign language between baking times 🙂

Baked Asparagus Fries 

Ingredients:

2 bunches of fresh, organic asparagus

1 large egg

hot sauce

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking oil. Wash asparagus and break off the tough ends. Beat egg and a couple drops of hot sauce together in a bowl. In a shallow dish, mix together panko breadcrumbs, mozzarella cheese, pepper flakes, oregano, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. Using your hands, take one asparagus spear and place it in the egg mixture. Shake off the excess yolk and place in panko bowl. Completely cover with crumbs and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with every asparagus spear. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. Flip after 10 minutes.

Note: If you want a nice, thick coat on your “fries,” coat them in flour after you dunk them in the yolk and before you dip them in the panko mixture. I did not do this because I didn’t have the time (I did eventually have to write a paper, after all) and just wanted a light, crunchy coat.