Yogurt Blackberry Parfait

Lately I have been on the hunt for some healthy snacks to eat. I used to eat the Fruit and Yogurt Parfait at McDonalds, but the last time I ate there I was turned off by the frozen fruit which eventually turned to mush when it thawed. I figured I could just as easily make it myself with some other tasty fruits.

All you need is some low fat vanilla yogurt, fresh fruit of your choice, and some low fat granola to top it all off. I could only do one layer as I had to use a wine glass because I don't have any fluted glasses. Next time I am going to mix some strawberries in there as well.

Potato Soup

Potato Soup

3 cups of peeled diced potatoes (yukon gold, russet)
3 cups of chicken broth
3/4 cups of chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon of garlic
pinch of black pepper
1 ½ cup of heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons of corn starch (leveled)
1 cup of cheddar cheese
4 tablespoons of cold water
cooked bacon

Boil the potatoes in the chicken broth. Once it boils, lower it to a simmer and add in the garlic and black pepper. Cook for 30 minutes. Add green onions and heavy cream. Cook for additional 10-15 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix your cold water and corn starch together. Right before the 10-15 minutes are up, add your slurry to the soup. Add in the cheese. Crumble the bacon on top of the soup when you are ready to serve.

This recipe was given to me verbally by a friend. If for whatever reason, you do not understand the instructions just let me know. I like to also add in a little extra cheese and salt to taste.

Carrot Cake

Matt and I decided to make a carrot cake last night from scratch. Last time we made this cake, we dyed some of the frosting orange and green and went a little overboard piping tiny carrots all over the top of it.

This time we decided to keep it classy.

Here is a shot of it before we fully iced it.

Normally the cakes I am used to only have two layers. Having that extra layer made it seem so fancy!

Now, here is the cake in all her glory.

Carrot Cake

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teasp cinnamon
1 teasp salt
4 eggs
1 ½ cup veg oil
3 cups grated carrots
1 ½ cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine: flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and veg oil and mix well. Add carrots and walnuts and mix well. Pour into three 9 inch greased and floured pans. Bake for 40 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 stick of softened butter
10 oz of softened cream cheese
16 oz bag of powdered sugar
1 teasp vanilla

Mix together until smooth for icing.

That is it! Simple as pie...err....cake! The thing that took the most work was grating the carrot. I only have a hand held grater so it took a little muscle. I would definitely recommend using a box grater. I would image it would seriously cut down the effort.

Heaven on a Plate

For dinner tonight, we made homemade shrimp Alfredo on spinach pasta. It was better than I remember it being. We also made some garlic bread to go with it.

Alfredo Sauce

1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup of Parmesan cheese (grated)
2-3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon salt

Over low/medium heat, pour the heavy whipping cream in a medium saucepan. Melt in the butter. Stir in the garlic and salt. Stir in the Parmesan cheese very slowly. You want to make sure the cheese melts and you get a smoother sauce.

We sauteed 1 lb of shrimp with a little butter, garlic,and salt on the stove (we are a garlic loving family). We also boiled some spinach pasta nests (though they never stay in the nest form cause we stir it up in the pot with a little of the sauce to keep it from sticking).

Next time we are going to try it with a block of Parmesan and grate it ourselves as opposed to using the plastic jar stuff from Publix. In the pictures, you can barely see the sauce which really doesn't do it justice.

This is a very rich meal but it is also VERY good (well worth it).