FoodHave.com

Growing up, friends and family always raved about my mom’s delicious carrot cake. As a child, the idea of eating a cake made from carrots seemed a little odd, but once I got past the initial apprehension, I too found her carrot cake to be one of my favorite desserts.

Below is the exact recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Mom’s Delicious Carrot Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

(Cake)
2.0 Cups of Sugar
1.5 Cups of Vegetable Oil
2.5 Cups of Self-Rising Flour
3.0 Cups of Grated Carrots
4 Eggs
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon

(Icing)
8 Ounces of Original Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1 Stick of Margarine
1 Box of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1 Cup of Chopped Peacans

Instructions:

Mix the sugar and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla, along with self-rising flour and cinnamon. Using a Kitched Aid or other mixing device, add the baking soda and carrots and mix until the batter is uniform. Pour batter into 3 round cake pans (makes 3 layers). Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Once done, put on racks to cool.

To create the icing, combine the cream cheese, margarine, powdered sugar, and vanilla, and mix until consistent. Add the chopped peacans and stir. Apply the icing in between layers and on the top and sides of the cake once the layers have cooled.

Finally, enjoy one of the finest tasting desserts ever created!

About the Author

Britt Gillette is the author of ‘The Dittohead’s Guide to Adult Beverages’ (Regnery 2005). He also educates people on the many benefits of brittgillette.com/gojijuice.htm Himalayan Goji Juice.

To some, if you do not have all the correct tools (serrated-edge spatula, 2-prong fork, basting brush, and toothed tongs), your barbeque setup is just not complete. Another item that will help create a great cooking atmosphere is an apron. This may seem to be a small, obvious item. But and apron is functional and, if you find the right one, can be a lot of fun. It also lets others know that you are a real cook. Before you decide that you don’t need one, take a look at the ways an apron can help with your cooking.

Clean Up your Act!

One of the most obvious ways that using an apron can help is to keep your clothes clean. With a good apron, you will not be wearing your sauce thru the rest of your event. A good way to mess up a nice meal with the family and/or friends is to be creating your special barbeque sauce while wearing that nice white shirt only to have it splash all over you. With a good apron, this will not be a concern. You can cook anything you want while wearing (or not) anything that you wish without the fear of getting dirty.

Express Your Passion

Another neat thing about a good cooking apron is that you can express your real passions. Aprons can be purchased that help bring out the real you. If you look around, you can find an apron that will show what you really enjoy. You can find aprons that will show your heat (hot peppers and salsa), your loves (dogs, cats, wine), your (dare I say it) favorite sports team (from little league to professional). You can find just about anything that you enjoy plastered on the front of an apron. But, if you cannot find just the right one, you can create your own.

Bring Out Your Inspiration

Some say that putting on work clothes get you ready for being productive while you are at the office. Along that same line, putting on a good cooking apron can help put you in the right frame of mind to be creative at the barbeque grill. Athletes “get into the zone” thru listening to their music and strenuous workouts. You can get into the “grilling zone” by putting on your best (or most appropriate) apron.

Where to Get Them

Just like any type of shopping, you will need to go to a shop that carry barbeque wares. I have seen aprons in many different stores, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Target. You can also find them in of the “tourist trap” shops at some of the vacation spots that you visit.

And if you travel the internet much, you will be able to find just about any type of barbeque apron that you desire. You can find them made out of most materials, covered with almost any slogan and/or picture you need. And there are many sites that will allow you to be extra creative and design your own.

The bottom line is that a good cooking apron can be functional and help around the barbeque grill. It can also be very creative and fun and help you have a good time in the kitchen. You spend a lot of time there, so, it should be fun and give you some enjoyment.

For more information about how to cook outdoors visit outdoor.lookwhatsfordinner.com/ Outdoor Cooking Guide. To find lookwhatsfordinner.com/ Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Cooking! visit lookwhatsfordinner.com/ Cooking Guide.

Ingredients:

2-pounds Beef roast, cut into small pieces,

4-tablespoons Oil,

1-cup Flour,

4-medium Potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces,

1-large Onion, chopped,

8-ounces Chopped & frozen green chilies with juice,

2-cups Tomatoes and green chilies with juice,

16-ounces Pinto beans, drained and rinsed,

1-cup Green salsa,

1-teaspoon Garlic powder,

1-teaspoon Salt,

1-teaspoon Pepper,

6-regular Flour tortillas.

Instructions:

Trim fat from beef and cut into small pieces. Place flour in a 1-gallon zip lock bag; place cut up beef in bag and shake. In a large skillet heat up 4 tablespoons of oil and place beef and flour mixture into hot skillet and brown over medium-high heat.

Place browned meat in a 4 to 5-quart slow cooker; add 1-inch potatoes, chopped onion, chopped frozen green chilies with juice, tomatoes with green chillies and juice, pinto beans, green salsa, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours or on high for 5 to 6 hours.

Serve with warmed tortillas.

Note: This dish is even better with fresh roasted green chilies chopped, but for those of us on the run the frozen chilies is next to best. Avoid using the canned, because they have no flavor compared to the fresh or frozen.

Serves 6

Cooking lessons for Cristie began at 8 years old with the best teacher in the world — her Mom! Later, she cooked for the restaurant the family owned, and her love of the “trade” has grown ever since. Cristie’s creative cooking has continued for over 40 years. Her creations can soon be on your kitchen table.

Visit cristiescookin.com/ cristiescookin.com to find more recipes, spices, “Bling It, Zing It, and Ring It” and Gotcha Covered aprons. Send in your recipe and you could win a free apron.

I grew up in a little town back in Indiana along the Wabash River during the tumultuous 60s. West Lafayette was then, as it is now, the home of the Purdue Boilermakers.

The town is also home to an old fashioned, drive-in restaurant called the Triple XXX, located midway up the hill from the levy, a low lying area that separates most of the town from the river just five blocks east of the main Purdue campus. At least I think the restaurant is still there.

One might think the name a bit risque, but when I was growing up X was just another letter in the Greek alphabet so the restaurant was known back then as the “Tri Chi” not the Triple XXX..

Several years ago I was sitting at my desk reminiscing about my childhood when I recalled how great the hamburgers were there. The buns were buttered and toasted, of course, but that wasn’t really what made them special. There was something about that hamburger that made my mouth water even as I recalled the experience.

Sitting back in my chair, I closed my eyes and recalled sitting on one of the aluminum, black leather topped stools along the left side of the horseshoe counter inside. There weren’t any tables, the place wasn’t large enough for that. Eyes closed, I looked to my left. There he was, the back of that anonymous, short order cook, standing a few feet away at the grill just below the big picture window facing the parking lot.

I was having an out of body experience that day, you know one of those amazing mental trips everyone occasionally takes to another time and place without the use of synthetic drugs. “I wonder what made these hamburgers so exceptional,” I asked myself.

I recalled watching him closely, thinking to myself. “Could it be that it really wasn’t hamburger they were using? Maybe they had a secret pact with Purdue’s School of Agriculture to test some new sort of hormonalized meat product.” Eyes still closed, I remember shaking my head and mumbling something barely coherent like “Nope, couldn’t be that.”

“Did he put seasonings on them? No, no, and no.” That wasn’t the answer either.

Then it struck me. After 40 years, I actually saw what I had failed to see when it was staring me right in the face. The burgers weren’t red. They were white.

Driven by the desire to test the merit of my recollections, I quickly drove to the supermarket to pick up some hamburger and flour. An hour later, my tastebuds were reintroduced to the wonders of the Tri Chi burger. I’d succeeded in duplicating the hamburger of my early childhood.

I’ve experimented from time to time and discovered that the closest I can come to replicating the Tri Chi’s recipe is to make sure that I use hamburger with at least a 10% fat content. The greater the fat content, the juicer the burger. Lean meat just doesn’t cut it.

Second, it’s imperative that the entire patty be covered with flour, not just the top and bottom but the sides as well. Flouring not only adds an incredible taste and texture, it keeps the burger juicy and hot.

Lastly, the hamburger has to be prepared on a flat grill on a medium heat setting. If you use high heat, you burn the flower and this creates a less than desirable taste. This recipe will not work on an open outdoor grill unless you use a flat baking sheet. I personally prefer cast iron.

I don’t know if the Tri Chi actually prepared their hamburgers in this manner or for that matter still cooks them this way, but it makes an interesting story to tell my guests while I prepare my favorite short order dinner.

If you ever have a chance to visit the Tri Chi, watch the cook. If he’s flouring the patties, I would love to know. If not, I guess I was just hallucinating which, as it turns out, is a good thing even if it is an early sign of dementia.

Ron Scott, fasttrackrankingandplacement.com>The PR Guru Guy, is an experienced journalist who specializes in internet public relations. He spends most of his time teaching entrepreneurs how to use internet press releases to promote their online businesses.