Recipes

I had some computer work to do this a.m. so I thought I'd write out a few of my recipes and post them this morning. The first recipe is of my favorite Carrot cake. This is the cake my husband normally makes for me on my Birthday. When my daughter lived here, it didn't seem like I was eating the whole cake so I would ask for this cake. (YUMMY)

This Taco salad is the one my entire family loves. (All of my relatives) I made this for serveral graduation parties I helped with and attended this summer. I don't care for Kidney bean at all plus you can put in onions and tomatoes if you like them. Some places I put them in some places (depending on the people) I left them out. The salad was always gone. I remembered years ago I tried to make a taco salad and all the recipes called for Italian dressing. (Yuck) It came out awful, so I used the dressing I liked and it is now a family favorite.



Fat Free Vegan Carrot Cake (makes one 4-5 inch high 10 inch bundt cake)
Wet ingredients:
2 Cups packed finely grated carrots
1 & 1/2 cups packed Brown Sugar (we use sucanat)
1 & 3/4 cups water
1-cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla
Dry ingredients:
3 cups unbleached white flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/14 tsp cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
Optional additional ingredients: 1-cup nuts (we put in chopped walnuts)

Directions:
(Do this part ahead of time) Combine the wet ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, cover, and let the mixture sit for at least an hour. But overnight is best. The mixture will stay fairly thin.
When the allotted time has past, preheat the oven to 300 F and generously oil and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the cooled carrot mixture and stir/ford gently only until no trace of flour is left. Fold in any optional ingredients if you want to add some. Pour batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour or until the cake is firm to the touch and a probe comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, and then invert onto serving plate.
For the top: Lemon glaze (after cake is baked)
1/2-cup sugar (gain we use sucanat)
1/4-cup fresh lemon juice
Combine in a saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. That's it!
If you like, poke holes in the top of the cake with a toothpick or a sharp knife before you slowly pour the glaze over the top. That way more of the glaze can seep down into the cake.
If you are making muffins time will be 30 minutes at 300 F.
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TACO SALAD

1 lb ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 head lettuce, shredded
1 12 oz pkg. shredded cheddar cheese
1 12 oz bag nacho cheese flavored Doritos, crushed
1 16 oz. French Dressing
Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning. Simmer according to directions.
Place in large bowl and refrigerate until cool. lettuce, cheese, and Doritos. Mix well.
Cover with salad dressing. Mix again. Serve almost immediately.