Pumpkin Spice Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

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We have started a new tradition in our house...every Sunday we get together for a big Sunday dinner.  The idea came to me a few weeks ago when I went to the local grocery store on a Sunday afternoon to buy some milk.  I noticed that there seemed to be double the amount of customers frequenting the dessert aisle...most of them dressed in their Sunday Best.  I mentioned this to my husband, to which he replied, "Well, they were all probably trying to pick out some dessert for Sunday dinner."  Then he went on to talk about how his grandmother used to make big Sunday dinners and how everyone from aunts and uncles to best friends and close neighbors would show up and partake in this event. 

I thought this was such a great idea and such a memorable tradition to start with our kids.  So tonight was our first ever big Sunday dinner.  I made Parmesan & Mozzarella Chicken with some homemade mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. 

For dessert, I made this wonderful cake pictured above.  I still had some pumpkin left over from the fall and also had a box of spiced cake mix that needed to be used up  :)  The original recipe was called "Two Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Cake"...but I decided to add a few more ingredients to make the recipe more appealing.  The results were fantastic!  My kids loved it, as did my husband.  Of course, some of it will be taken into my hubby's work tomorrow and I also plan on taking some to a playdate that I have as well...just so we won't be tempted to eat the whole thing :) 

Rating System:

The Hubs: Thumbs Up

Libby:  Thumbs Up

Our kids:  Thumbs Up

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cake:

1 box Spiced Cake Mix

15 oz. canned pumpkin

1/2 cup of applesauce

2 eggs

1 and 1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice blend

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup regular granulated sugar

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. package of cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

The cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a bundt pan or a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Combine all the ingredients for the cake together in a bowl and mix until well blended.  Place mix into the pan and bake for 43 minutes if using a bundt pan....or 25-30 minutes of using a 9x13 pan.  Cool and make the frosting.

The frosting:

Combine all of the ingredients for the frosting together in a bowl.  Mix until well blended. 

Frost the cooled cake. 

Grilled Marinated Shrimp

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A few weeks ago as I was rummaging through our deep freezer, I came across a 2 lb. bag of shrimp.  I was shocked because before that, I revamped our weekly/monthly menus to include a seafood/fish dish at least twice a month.  My hubby and I have never been seafood lovers.  We do eat it, but we're not die hard fans of it.  Cooking it has been an interesting journey as well.  There are some seafood & fish dishes that I have made that just didn't make the cut and left me wondering if cooking it was even worth it. 

Well, my friends, I am happy to report that this recipe has restored my faith in cooking seafood again!  I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and let me just say, it....is....great!!!  If you are a shrimp lover, you will LOVE this recipe.  My husband even loved it...and he is not even a shrimp fan :)   It starts off with an easy marinade and then ends with a smokin' hot time on the grill :)

Make em' and serve them with cocktail sauce, on top of rice, mixed with veggies, on top of a salad, or have em' by themselves.  Sooooo versitile and very easy to make. 

Grilled Marinated Shrimp

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup tomato sauce

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined...defrosted if frozen

skewers

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, olive oil, tomato sauce, and red wine vinegar. Season with basil, salt, and cayenne pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.

Preheat grill for medium heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade.

Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.

Orange Glorious Shakes (Copycat of Orange Julius)

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I haven't posted a beverage recipe in a while, so here is one that I made just this morning.

Mmmmmm....I don't know how many of you have heard about the famous Orange Julius.  I remember when my family was stationed in New York, back when I was 7 or 8, Orange Julius was the thing have.  I LOVED their orange shakes and would beg my parents to buy me one everytime we went to the mall.  When we moved to the south, I was surprised to find only one of their franchises where we lived.  I'm not even sure if they are still open or not :) 

I came across this recipe years ago while searching for something fruity I can make in my blender.  Little did I know that this treat would become a family staple in our house.  Everytime my parents come to visit us, they are always requesting this shake.  My kids love it as well as my hubby.  And it actually does taste like the real thing :)   These shakes are soooooo easy to make also!  Just throw everything in the blender and blend till smooth and frothy.

The picture makes it look brown, but that was due to color issues from the camera.  I assure y'all, it's really orange :) 

Orange Glorious Shakes

1 cup milk

1 cup cold water

Half a can of frozen orange juice concentrate

12-15 cubes of ice

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

1/8 cup of sugar

In a blender, combine all of the above ingredients.  Blend until smooth and frothy.  Enjoy :)

**Side Note:  Drink these immediately.  They do not turn out well if you make them and put them in the fridge for later.**

Heart Shaped Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes

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Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  I hope everyone is having or had a great day :) 

Growing up, my mother made it a point on every Valentine's Day to get my siblings and I something special every year.  Whether it was a cute little heart shaped box of candy or Valentine socks, we always knew we were loved on this special day. 

When I was pregnant with my first child, I had this sudden urge to start thinking of traditions for every holiday under the sun...including Valentine's Day.   Amoung some of the traditions we have done over the years, the idea of making homemade buttermilk pancakes the morning of Valentine's Day is one of them.  You make them, then cut into heart shapes using just your average heart shaped cookie cutters.  Sprinkle them with powdered sugar and serve :) 

On normal days, we use the premade boxed pancake mix.  On holidays though, I make this special buttermilk pancake recipe.  It makes it super special for the whole family and we all love it :)

Homade Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups buttermilk

2 tbsp. melted butter

Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and sugar into a bowl.  Add eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter.  Stir until there is a minimal amount of lumps.  Pour a little over a 1/4 of a cup for each pancake. Bake on a hot and lightly greased griddle or pan for about 3-5  minutes per side.  Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar and serve with syrup. 

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce

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So the other night, my husband had a hankering for Chinese food.  I remembered that we had a box of ready made egg rolls in the freezer and when I told him, he said, "But we don't have any sweet and sour sauce to go with it."  We were thinking of our options when all of a sudden I remembered that I had a recipe for sweet and sour sauce.  I have only made this recipe one time, but my family must have really enjoyed it because I filed it in my "family favorites" recipe binder.  After my hubby made it, I graciously dipped my egg roll in a bowl of it and remembered why the recipe was filed in our favorites. 

It. Was. De-lish. 

What's even better is it didn't cost a dime to make it.  We had everything in the pantry so there was no need to run to the store to buy the ingredients OR to buy a whole bottle of premade sweet and sour sauce.  Really folks, can life get any better then that?  :)

BTW, I do know how to make homemade egg rolls/lumpia...but it's my mother's recipe and I am sworn to secrecy on that one :)

Homemade Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp. soy sauce

3 tbsp. vinegar

3 tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp. cornstarch

3 tbsp. ketchup

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

Saute' garlic in oil until lightly browned.  Add rest of the ingredients and stir with a whisk until nice and thick.  Serve with egg rolls/lumpia or fried rice.