Category Archives: things i love

carrot cake with coconut cream-cheese frosting

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I don’t know about you, but I loooooove cream-cheese frosting. I had never attempted to make some myself {I’ll admit it: I was intimidated} … whenever I made a cake I always chickened out and opted for the store-bought kind. But whenever I got a piece of red velvet cake or carrot cake from a bakery or restaurant, and the cream-cheese frosting was obviously homemade, it always tasted a million times better.

So, for Mike’s birthday, when I asked him what kind of cake he wanted me to make, he requested carrot cake … with cream-cheese frosting, of course! And I knew I had to try making the good homemade frosting for my sweetie.

I am SO glad I did! It was way easier than I expected, and sooooo delicious. This is now my go-to frosting for any cakes, cookies, cupcakes — you name it, I’ll frost it with coconut cream-cheese goodness.

Here is the recipe for both the carrot cake and the frosting. The carrot cake is relatively healthy as far as cake goes: no oil or butter; egg whites, applesauce, carrots. The frosting is not healthy in the least, but it is worth it!

carrot cake with coconut cream cheese frosting

cake:
– 6 egg whites
– 3/4 cup sugar
– 1 cup applesauce
– 1/2 cup skim milk
– 2 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 tsp ground cloves
– 1 tsp ground nutmeg
– 2 tbsp cinnamon
– 2 tsp baking soda
– 2 cups flour
– 2 cups shredded carrots
– 8 oz can crushed pineapple with juice
– 1/2 cup raisins {though I left them out because I don’t like raisins}
– 1/2 cup chopped walnuts {if desired}

frosting:
– 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
– 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
– 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
– 1 tablespoon heavy cream
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring {optional}
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking pan with cooking spray.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites. Slowly beat in sugar, then applesauce, skim milk, and vanilla. Stir in cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking soda, and flour.

3. Stir in, one ingredient at a time, pineapple (with juice), carrots, walnuts, and raisins.

4. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes. Your cake is done when a fork inserted in center comes out clean.

5. While your cake cools, make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with heavy cream. Beat in the salt, coconut flavoring, and vanilla extract. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and spreadable. Add additional confectioners’ sugar if necessary to thicken the frosting, or more cream to thin. Stir in the coconut.

6. Once the cake has cooled, spread the frosting evenly over it with a knife or spatula. If you can bear the wait, pop the frosted cake in the fridge for half an hour or so to give the frosting time to set. I think this cake tastes even better the next day, after spending a night in the fridge!

Upon taking his first bite, Mike declared:

“BEST. CARROT. CAKE. EVER.”

Hooray!

Happy weekend & happy baking!
-Dallas

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Time spent: about 1 hour
Cost: $8.00

marvelous monday: the magic of to-do lists

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There’s something about the way my brain works that makes me really drawn to lists. These lists permeate my life and range from the motivating {goal lists, markets-to-submit-my-writing-to lists} to the mundane {grocery lists, thank-you-notes-to-write lists} but no matter what the topic, it all boils down to this: lists make me a happier and less-stressed person.

And the mother of all lists is the to-do list, which I write pretty much every day. I kinda feel bad for the to-do list. It gets a bad rap. People complain all the time about their to-do lists. {Sometimes I feel like people compete on the lengths of their to-do lists just to have more complaining leverage!} But I think the to-do list can be a really wonderful tool to boost your feelings of motivation and accomplishment, not to mention your sense of organization over your time, work and daily life.

The trick is to use the to-do list in a way that helps you, not hinders you. You want the to-do list to make you feel good about yourself, not stressed out or overwhelmed.

I think the first step in coming up with an effective to-do list system for your life is to take an honest look at how you spend your time. Is there something you wish you were doing more of? Is there anything you feel like you waste time on that you wish you wouldn’t? How much free time do you feel you have every day/week/month? Honesty is crucial here! I think the biggest mistake people make when writing to-do lists {and believe me, I am guilty of this too} is putting waaay too much on the list, more than anyone could possibly get done in a day, and then feeling bad about themselves when the day draws to close and there are still a lot of un-crossed-off items on the list.

So, Tip #1: Be honest and realistic with yourself.

Another thing that works for me is to break to-do list items up into categories of “big” and “small” … sometimes these categories morph into “things I need to do but keep putting off” and “things I need to do and actually like doing.” Then I try to even out these tasks throughout the week. In a perfect world, I’d do at least one “big” task every day, and one or two “small” tasks. When life gets hectic, a good balance for me is to aim for three “big” tasks every week, and maybe 6-8 “small” tasks.

Here are some examples of “big” tasks on my list this week {i.e. things I want to keep putting off but shouldn’t}: get my car in for an oil change; put some items up on Craigslist that I’ve been meaning to sell; go through my closet and weed out clothes to donate.

And here are some examples of “small” tasks on my list this week {i.e. things I should do and don’t mind doing}: go to the Post Office to send out play submissions with upcoming deadlines; try a new recipe I found for Morning Glory Muffins; write & mail a couple thank-you notes; order prints of photos from a recent trip Mike & I took to Chicago; hang up a new picture I got for the guest bedroom.

At the beginning of every week, I jot down a list of the “big” tasks and “small” tasks I want to get done that week, and then every day or every other day I choose a big task and a couple small tasks to tackle. This works for me because:

  • It really helps me focus on one thing at a time and not get overwhelmed by all the things I want to get done
  • It helps me structure the week {for example, maybe one day I’ll focus on running all my errands to save on gas & car time}
  • It makes it much harder for me to put off or procrastinate on certain tasks because I’m just focusing on one per day or one every two days.

There are also a few tasks on my to-do list every day! These relate to bigger goals I want to accomplish in the year. For example, one of my goals is to read 52 books this year, so reading time is on my to-do list every day. I also have a goal of writing at least 400 words every day {which I track on this super-motivating free website www.joesgoals.com — can’t recommend it enough!}

Chores I designate on a weekly basis, and I go through phases. Sometimes I like having a “chore/cleaning day” where I try to get all my cleaning/laundry/dishes/housework stuff done in a single swoop. Other times I’ll go for a few months when I prefer splitting up chores into smaller tasks that I will do day-by-day. I think it’s all about what works for you, how you’re feeling, and what your free time/schedule is like.

For years I’ve saved envelopes and written my to-do lists on the backs of them. Then Mike got me this pretty notepad from the $1 bin at Target — isn’t it adorable? How can you not be excited to tackle your to-do list when you write it out on paper like this? I still save envelopes though because I am always writing lists and I like to be eco-friendly!

It can also be helpful to keep a pad of paper somewhere you pass by every day so you can write down ideas or reminders when they first strike you. {If I don’t do this, half the time I completely forget!} I keep a notepad on the fridge where I jot down items to get at the store, reminders to myself of things to add to my list or places I need to be:

Do you write to-do lists? What sorts of tips work for you? What do you find helpful when organizing your daily or weekly tasks?

Have a marvelous week!
Dallas

10 ways to save money on date night

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Happy Friday, everyone! For many people {including my sweet parents!} Friday tends to be date night. Date night is a wonderful way to have some special one-on-one time with your sweetie and remember what it was like when the two of your first started dating and you walked around with butterflies constantly flitting around in your belly.

The downside to date night is that it can get pretty expensive! However, here are some small ways to save money while still having a super fun and romantic time together.

1. Instead of dinner then a movie, try going to a movie first and then having dinner. Most movie theaters offer matinee prices, and a late-afternoon movie rather than a nighttime movie can save you a few bucks a pop. Over the course of a month or a year of movie outings, those few bucks add up!

2. Cook a romantic dinner at home and rent a movie to watch. Because I tend to cook tried-and-true, quick-and-easy recipes during the busy workweek, date night in is a fun time to try making a new recipe I’ve had my eye on. A recent favorite was turkey enchiladas updated with green chile enchilada sauce and bell pepper. And for movie rentals, Redbox charges only a dollar or so for a night’s rental {extra money-saving tip: there are one-time-use free-rental codes available online for most major retail chains that have Redbox kiosks}

3. Whether having date night in or out, an inexpensive bouquet of fresh flowers is a guaranteed way to make the night feel special.

4. Going out to eat? Instead of ordering wine or beer at the restaurant, why not order water instead and have a glass of wine or beer when you get home? In college, my roommates and I had fun concocting homemade margaritas or Kalua milkshakes or fruit-filled sangria. This can also be a way to tweak the ingredients of your drinks to be slightly healthier, and also to ensure that you don’t order one drink too many and then get behind the wheel when you shouldn’t.

5. Same goes for dessert — get more bang for your buck by making something to satisfy your sweet tooth at home rather than splurging on an expensive dessert in a restaurant. I am a huge fan of Betty Crocker mix brownies — it only takes five minutes tops to pour the mix and water and oil in a bowl, crack in an egg or two, mix everything up and pour it into the baking pan. Then curl up on the couch with your honey to watch a movie {maybe in your jammies with a glass of wine, too!} and in about half an hour the brownies will be ready!

6. If you do get dessert out somewhere — like, say, ice cream — why not split a medium size instead of getting two small sizes? For example, at my local Cold Stone, the “love it” size is only about a dollar more than the “like it” size, so getting one “love it” instead of two “like it”s saves a few dollars … which, like the matinee movie tickets, does add up over time!

7. You don’t need a restaurant for a special date night… at least, not in the summertime! Why not pack dinner in a cooler and go for a picnic?

8. A lot of restaurants, especially chain places, will occasionally offer gift card deals — most often I’ve seen them around holidays. As an incentive to buy their gift cards as gifts for people in your life, restaurants will throw in something extra for you — say, a free $10 gift card when you buy $50 worth of gift cards. If the restaurant is a place you go often, and the gift cards don’t expire, this can be a great deal for you to buy and then use yourself.

9. Google the restaurant to see if they have coupons available online — many do!

10. Be on the lookout for fun, alternative date-night ideas. Groupons are often terrific deals! In the past, I have gotten amazingly discounted deals for dates like dinner and a magic show, a murder mystery dinner, and an art museum.

brown sugar bear <3

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I like cooking in general, but I think my ultimate culinary love is baking. I simply love to bake. Banana bread, pumpkin pies, berry muffins, brownies, cookies, cakes — to me, baked goods are filled with care and sweetness and love.

I was going to bake banana bread the other night, but when I went to scoop out some brown sugar I had a problem: it was hard as a rock!

Ack! Would I have to toss it out and get a whole new package? It seemed like such a waste, and I hate to be wasteful.

After some online sleuthing, I found a solution: the Brown Sugar Bear!

The Brown Sugar Bear is a small terra cotta figure that promises to keep brown sugar moist {or bring rock-hard brown sugar back to life} if you soak it in water and then place it in your brown sugar container. You can also use it to keep salt, spices or crackers/chips dry if you dry the bear out in the oven first.

So my first step was the soak the Brown Sugar Bear in water for 20 minutes:

Next, I placed it in my package of unusable brown sugar and sealed it up overnight.

The next morning, it was like magic — my brown sugar was wonderfully soft again! So I poured it out of the bag and into my new container, and made sure to put my new magic Brown Sugar Bear on top before I sealed the lid on.

Isn’t the little guy adorable?? I could not be happier with this purchase!

Next week, stay tuned for a new recipe: brown sugar cookies! {It came with the Brown Sugar Bear and I can’t wait to try it out}

Meanwhile, on Friday I’ll give you the full tour of my new flour and sugar containers that you got a peek at today.

-Dallas
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Time: 5 mins
Cost: $3.50