Tasty Tuesdays

Sorry it's been forever since I posted! I was being a slacker, plus we had an impulsive over night stay in Maryland, which left me WAY overtired, not to mention working on p90x! BUT I have alot to post about! Including last night's dinner! So yesterday I had no plan of action when I decided to make dinner, we hadn't gone grocery shopping in a week or so and we can't eat fast food after working out (also the little moths in my wallet can't afford it). I rummaged and threw a few things onto the counter and just tossed something together! So Today is Toss it Together Tuesday! I grabbed what I could find and here's what I came up with.




So from some random canned chicken someone gave us, some sauce, a few different left over pasta shapes, 2 garlic breads and some cheese, I decided to make a breaded chicken marinara?! If we had salad I would have added that to it and maybe I would make this an alfredo sauce next time... but here's what I did!




We had some Italian bread crumbs and shredded parm, so I mixed those together! We had weird canned chunked chicken (this was my first time working with it so I wasn't sure how it would take to the mix. I would use fresh chicken breasts next time).





Since I had the chunked chicken I decided it would work better if I shook it up in a bag. But then I had to use a collander to get the exta cheese and breadcrumbs out.




I tossed the chicken into a high heated and 'pam'ed pan to just get it dark on the edges (since it was already cooked) if it needs to cook, I'd put it on a low heat and cover it with foil for a while.




Meanwhile, I heated up the sauce and added a little half and half to lighten it up (and per request, added some more seasonings. I added rosemary, basil, oregano and cilantro)



While doing all of that, I boiled and drained some pasta and added olive oil to keep it from sticking (as well as toasted up some garlic bread).



Grabbed some pasta, tossed some sauce on it, and layered the chicken on top! Add some parm ontop if you wish, and add a garlic bread!



Candles and red wine (to match the sauce) always make it feel a little more fancy.

Tasty Tuesdays!

Today's recipe is in honor of my mom's birthday Carrot Cake!! Thanks to the ever popular and lovable Annie's Eats:










Carrot Cupcakes
Yield: about 20-22 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
2½ cups (12.5 oz) all-purpose flour
1¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
½ tsp. salt
1 lb. (6-7 medium) carrots, peeled
1½ cups (10.5 oz) granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs
1½ cups canola, safflower or vegetable oil

For the frosting:
12 oz. cream cheese (not softened)
7½ tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt; whisk together and set aside.

In a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, shred the carrots (you should have about 3 cups). Add the carrots to the bowl with the dry ingredients and set aside.

I don't have a food processor so I just shredded carrots by hand... it didn't take as long as you would think.



Wipe out the bowl of the food processor and fit with the metal blade. Process the sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With the machine running, add the oil in a steady stream through the feed tube. Continue to process until the mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 more seconds.




Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain.




Scoop evenly into the prepared cupcake liners.



Bake for about 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan at least 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.



To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.








Matt likes them!



Here I am in my new apron!