did you ever just HEAR a food mentioned and you instantly crave it even though you’ve never had it?  i do that sometimes, i hear it and then KNOW i have to try it sometime soon…and i obsess about it until i have it…a wee possibility that might be why i had such a weight issue (did you catch that i said HAD and not HAVE, ha)…

so today i was sitting here browsing facebook and saw jody ferlaak mention carrot cake pancakes…OH MY GOODNESS, carrot cake pancakes?!?!  is there really such a thing?  then all i could imagine was steaming hot carrot cake pancakes smeared with a cream cheese frosting…i am now hooked and HAVE to have them sometime in the immediate future (like this saturday morning since saturday is my “un” diet day)…

i thought i would just do a quickie search for a recipe and woah, this little beauty showed up right on top waving her hands and screaming to me…are you even serious, a cream cheese spread??  the thoughts of it are almost too much…oh sweet sweet gorgeous pancakes, you and i have a date saturday morning so make sure to look your best  🙂

Carrot Cake Pancakes

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash nutmeg
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup packed brown or granulated sugar
1 cup milk
2 cups finely grated carrots
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Spread

4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 dash ground cinnamon

In a bowl, combine flour, pecans, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger, and nutmeg.
In a separate bowl, combine egg, brown sugar, milk, carrots, and vanilla; mix well.
Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupful onto a greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on the top of pancake; flip and cook until golden brown.
For topping, blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Sprinkle with cinnamon, and serve with pancakes.

out for now
~kisses

so, if you’re like us you are just overwhelmed with zucchini right now and kinda run out of things to do with them…i thought i would post my FAV zucchini recipes…
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this is the BEST zucchini pie i’ve ever had…my fam loves it!!!

zucchini pie

1 medium zucchini, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 unbaked pie shell (unbaked is VERY important)
cinnamon to taste

cook zucchini in small amount of water in a saucepan until tender, drain. combine zucchini with sugar, milk, eggs, flour and vanilla in blender. process until well mixed. pour into UNBAKED pie shell, sprinkle with cinnamon. bake at 425° for 10 min then reduce temp to 350° and continue to bake for 30 min.
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my mom has made this stuffing casserole as far back as i can remember and it’s always always been one of my favs…i don’t make it very often because i’m the only one in my family that likes it {snooty picky littles i have}

zucchini stuffing casserole

2 lbs zucchini
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 cooked, cubed chicken breast
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 (8 ounce) carton sour cream
1 cup shredded carrots
2 cups seasoned stuffing mix
1/4 cup melted butter

Cook zucchini & onion in boiling salted water for 5-10 minutes(until crisp & tender). Drain well. In large bowl combine soup and sour cream. Stir in chicken and carrots. Fold in zucchini mixture. Toss stuffing mix with butter. Spread 1/2 stuffing mixture in a baking dish. Spoon zucchini mixture on top. Sprinkle with remaining stuffing mix. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until heated through.
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last but not least, zucchini/cucumber relish…totally DELISH and my absolute fav!

Zucchini/Cucumber Relish

8 qt cucumbers & zucchini (i do mostly zucchini and throw a few cucumbers in for taste)
1 qt onions
2 sweet red or green peppers
handful salt

peel and remove seeds. grind cucumbers, zucchini, onions and peppers add salt, let stand overnight…drain off salt water

2 qt vinegar
8 cups sugar
2 tbsp dry mustard seed
2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp celery seed

mix cucumber mixture with above ingredients and bring to a boil. boil for 20 min. make a paste of 1 cup flour and water and thicken. put into hot jars and process

out for now
~kisses

i made this cake today and oohhhh my goodness is it ever YUMMY!  i figured it would be since it’s a paula deen recipe…and ya’all know how much i adore her…you have GOT to try this!!

caramel apple cake with caramel topping

Cake

2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/2 cups diced apples (canned or fresh)

Topping
3/4 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup milk

Directions

Lightly grease and flour 13 x 9-inch baking dish; Preheat oven to 350°F Cream together sugar, eggs, and oil; Add flour; mix together until well blended; Add vanilla, nuts, and diced apples.

Spread into pan; bake for 45 to 60 minutes; Cake is done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

When cake is done, punch holes in it with a knife and pour topping over.

Topping: Heat all ingredients together over medium heat; Bring to boil, stirring constantly; Let boil for about 2 minutes; Pour over warm cake.

out for now
~kisses