I went to Houston this three-day weekend to visit my aunt and cousins.  We brought in fajitas from my favorite Mexican food restaurant, Escalantes on Saturday night.  Unfortunately for me, Escalantes only has locations in Houston…maybe someday they will expand to Dallas!

Then on Sunday, my aunt Jolene and I did nothing but cook!  We started out cooking a new recipe for a delicious Vegetable Frittata.  I went to workout, Jolene went to the store, and from probably 11:30 on to 6:30 we prepared for our Memorial Day feast with the family!  We made Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie, and  Hershey’s Chocolate Cake with Strawberry-Whipped Cream Filling, covered in a Chocolate Buttercream Frosting for dessert.  We then prepared the meat for our skewers… bacon wrapped shrimp with cream cheese and green pepper, steak, onions, and seasoned chicken.  We then cut a large juicy watermelon, made a green salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, and prepared an Amish Broccoli Bake casserole.  Sounds like a good meal right?  Well, I’m not done.  We also had corn on the cob, rice, and loaded baked potatoes with sour cream, butter, scallions, and Cheddar cheese.  Guess how many people ate all this food?  Only 8 people:  5 adults and 3 kids!  haha. You can tell we’re from Texas…”Go big or go home!”

I must say, we were absolutely stuffed, but thoroughly enjoyed our time of eating and visiting again!  Take a look below at the delicious food we had.  I only wish the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie could have survived the 4 hour trip back to Dallas with me!  It is still in Houston with my aunt for her and her husband, Bobby to enjoy 🙂

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie

Happy Belated Mother’s Day for all those mothers reading my blog.  I thought I’d show you what my sister, my dad, and I cooked for my mom yesterday for her special day.   Feel free to click on the items listed below to get the recipe.

Well, I didn’t get to cook a lot this weekend since my husband and I were out of town, but my mom made up the slack for me. We had an elaborate Easter lunch with family and friends and it was amazing! Filet Mignon, baked potatoes, bread, fruit salad with kiwi, pineapples, and strawberries, homemade macaroni and cheese, and last but not least…CARROT CAKE!

Mom made the carrot cake in a 9×13 inch pan this time, which is actually easier than layering the cake, and it tastes just as good. The flavors of cinnamon and spices were perfect and the cream cheese frosting was to die for. The cake recipe was from Dorie Greenspan’s “Baking From My Home to Yours” cookbook, and the icing is my mom’s own recipe.

I definitely recommend you try this. I am not a big cake person because I think cakes (white and yellow cakes) are bland, so I have to have lots of icing. This cake on the other hand is moist, and flavorful, however that’s not to say I didn’t eat my fair share in icing. When my husband says, “That cake was unbelievable”, you’ve got to believe him. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake
Ingredients for the Cake
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots; we grated them in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade)
1 cup coarsley chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (we omitted because the males in our family don’t like dried fruit)
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola or safflower oil
4 large eggs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9×13 inch cake pan, flour the insides and tap out the excess. (Can make into three 9×2 inch round cake pans instead).
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins (if using).
3. In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the sugar and oil together on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one, and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother.
4. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix in the chunky ingredients.
5. Pour batter in baking pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Cool until room temperature and then add the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
1 stick butter, softened
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese,
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped finely

Directions
1. In a large bowl, cream butter and cream cheese.
2. Add sugar and vanilla and blend, then mix in the nuts.
3. Spread on cooled carrot cake.