Great week....Recipe #A11 Carrot Cake

What a week! This past weekend was a blur, as are most of our weekends during the summer. Most of the weekend I spent running around town trying to find allergy free products for my pig fest I was planning on enjoying. As soon as I received my 2 new cookbooks in the mail, I read them like a novel and marked all the pages that I wanted to try. Needless to say, this past weekend I made zucchini bread, Pink Lemonade Tartlets, Black Bottom Blondies, a mac and cheese casserole, a ranch pasta salad and of course some chocolate chip cookies. But, on the downside, I could not find any butterscotch chips that were safe to eat. The ones I did find that did not contain milk, listed an allergy notice that they were produced in a plant with milk. This is up to the individual whether you want to take the chance. Of course, with Kevin's severe allergy, there was no chance we were going to try. I did find someone on the internet (a friend of the author of one of the cookbooks I had just received) tracked down a kosher chip that should have safer practices. I tried to contact the company, but didn't get too far, except to find out that milk isn't on that line. Oh well, maybe it's not meant to be.

In the meantime, I have many new recipes I am going to try out for this weekend. Tomorrow is our neighborhood block party. This will be the first time we will allow Kevin to be there while everyone is eating....I hope we're not sorry. He did very well this past weekend at his baseball swim party. There were many milk items there, including Doritos. This sent Ken and I into danger mode, b/c as you know, Doritos have a powdery cheese that gets on everything. Kevin did end up with a skin rash from transfer of the cheese, and his eyes started to swell. Thank the good Lord that this powder did not make it into his mouth. But, as Kevin has started to grow and learn his limitations, he knows that touching mouth is a big no-no when milk is around. After a bath, a dose of Benadryl and eye drops, he was good to go. So, we took him out to a movie....Land of the Lost. He had been wanting to see this since it had a T-Rex in it. It also had a lot of adult language, and it was only a PG movie! But, this gave us another chance to remind him that those words were not OK to repeat....a win win (<: As for the baseball party, Kevin received his trophy! He was so excited to be able to put it in his bedroom along with his other one. Now, he's already talking about soccer in the fall and where he's going to put that trophy. But, back to this weekend. Not only is it our neighborhood party, but this is the big weekend for the Home School Fair. We are going to be signing him up for first grade through Gateway Christian Academy. I can't believe my baby is going to be in first grade! I can't believe that I am going to be homeschooling him in first grade! He's excited, I'm a nervous wreck. I know we have been doing kindergarten, but this time, I am responsible for reporting weekly what we have covered along with his grades. I am going to have to be more strict, and stay on top of a more thorough schedule. It scares me that now I am going to have someone watching what I am doing. Oh well, I am trying to look at it like I'm starting a new job. I am very organized, so I'm not worried about that. But, this is going to be the most important job I have ever had, and I don't want to screw it up. So far, Kevin is doing well in his math, reading and writing. He was doing so great in his math, I thought he was cheating. I would give him 2 pages of addition and subtraction (each page had at least 15 problems), and he would have it done in less than 5 minutes! And, they were all right! I loved math in school, and Ken is a definite numbers person. Plus, my Papaw taught math in school and did taxes. So, I guess it was a given that Kevin would be able to do it. Makes my life a little easier.......YEAHHHH As for the party, I am planning on making some Mini Cheesecakes, Black & White Cookies, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Potato Salad....all milk free of course. I will let you know how the recipes turn out. But, for today, I have my Carrot Cake recipe. I love carrot cake! If you know my mom, ask her sometime how her allergy free carrot cake turned out a few Easters ago. Let's just say, after that incident, she will no longer attempt it! We still laugh about it to this day!

Carrot Cake

1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup water

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and flour together. Add carrots and stir until combined. Add oil, vanilla and water to flour mixture and stir until blended. Pour into a greased 8-inch pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let completely cool. Frost cake with Allergy Free Cream Cheese Icing.

Makes 1 single layer

Next week, I am going to post an allergy free Ranch Dressing recipe. Since going milk free, one of the hardest things to do away with was ranch. I love ranch on everything...on salads, a dip for chicken, in pasta salads, etc. After this past weekend, Kevin couldn't get enough of the Ranch Pasta Salad....so I will include some instructions for it along with the recipe too.

Oh, and as for the other things I made last week....they were all winners! And, I was shocked how well the mac and cheese casserole turned out. Did it taste like a real cheesy casserole....kind of. It reminded me of what it would taste like if you used a cheap cheese. But hey, at least it tasted like cheese. For someone who hasn't had any mac and cheese for a while, this was wonderful.....and Kevin & Ken liked it. That's the biggest compliment of all! As you know, kids don't believe in holding back with their true feelings!!!

Have a great weekend!

Baseball season is over.....boo hoo hoo

Well, last night Kevin finished his first season at baseball. He has improved a lot these last few weeks, and we are so proud of him. He has had a blast playing and is looking forward to next year. He didn't get his award last night, which seemed to really bother him. The coaches were planning on handing out the medals at a Pizza/Swim party. We will be out of town that weekend, so he should get it in a few weeks. Of course, he saw the other team receive their trophies and was very upset. On the way home, he told me that I needed to get him a red shirt (the other teams colors), call him Junior and act like he was on the other team and didn't receive his trophy yet! The things this kid comes up with!!!

He had a good turnout for his last game.....11 fans in all! He had his own cheering section with Mamaw, Grandaddy, Granny, Papaw, Great Uncle Steve, Aunt Paula, Candace, neighbor Ruth, neighbor Gary, and of course Ken and I.

We still need to work on him sliding into home. He hasn't quite caught on how to slide. He kind of runs in, falls on the base and rolls over. I think he just likes getting dirty!

He loved posing for the camera. He certainly doesn't have a self confidence problem.

I was also proud to see him paying attention in the outfield and going after that ball. He still got a little bored and stood out there talking, but at least he wasn't playing in the dirt the whole time!

What's up next? Well, we have a busy summer planned, and he is wanting to play soccer in the fall. So, I guess for now we will just take it day by day. We still have lots to do, like picking blackberries & blueberries, our trip to Dollywood, and our latest adventure of trying to go out to eat and see a movie once a week. This is a big deal for us since we have to deal with the food allergies aspect. But last week, we went out to eat Chinese and see UP 3D. Kevin did great, and no trip to the ER....which is always wonderful! He's getting older and a lot better at watching what he touches. We still bring his own food, but at least we are getting out of this house and associating with the living. Wish us luck! (<:

Kevin's first baseball practice...Recipe #A4 Chicken & Sundried Tomato Pasta

Well, Wednesday night was Kevin's first baseball practice. He looked so cute in his little uniform. Even though he is the smallest on his team, the Baltimore Orioles, he was the only one that hit the ball on the first pitch, in his group. He looked so cute running to first base! He loved it and can't wait for the next practice. Unfortunately, he will miss opening ceremonies and his first game. We will be in Florida on vacation, but he said he didn't mind, he'd rather be on the beach. Sounds like a kid after my own heart. All the rest of his games will be in June. It's going to be a busy month, with 11 games crammed into 4 weeks. But, temperature permitting, I think we can handle it.

As promised, here is my recipe for Chicken & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta. Ken and Kevin love this dish. Next week, I will post my recipe for Dill Pickle Potato Salad. Of course, I made the necessary changes to make it allergy free, but my mom said she can't taste the difference. She said that it tastes just like my mamaw's potato salad, which is a huge compliment since she was a great cook!

Chicken & Sun Dried Tomato Pasta

2 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
Seasoned salt, to taste
½ cup mushrooms, sliced
2 ½ teaspoon olive oil, divided
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 ½ cup water, divided
1 cup allergy-free chicken broth (I use Progresso)
½ cup sun dried tomatoes, sliced thin
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup black olives, chopped - optional
4 cups allergy free penne pasta, cooked - keep in pot

Toss chicken with seasoned salt. Stir fry over med-high heat in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Over medium heat, add mushrooms, 1 tablespoon olive oil, red pepper, salt, garlic, & 1 cup water to chicken in skillet. Cook & let simmer.

Meanwhile, cook tomatoes and broth in a small saucepan over low heat. Add basil, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until boiling.

In a small bowl, mix corn starch and ½ cup water. Add to sauce mixture, stirring until thickened. Lower heat to low and let simmer.

Add chicken mixture and sauce mixture to cooked pasta, toss to coat. Sprinkle with chopped olives.

Makes 4 servings

Enjoy!

My mother's day was great....

I have the best family. My mother's day turned out to be more like 4 days in a row! Last week, I was able to go shopping for new summer outfits all ALONE! Now, when you spend 24/7 with your son, although I love him more than life itself, sometimes you need a break. I hate to admit it, but after I got through shopping, I called Ken and said "I'm not ready to come home yet". So, I stayed out and hit 2 more stores. This is the way to recharge your batteries!! So, for day one of my mother's day streak, I got 4 new outfits for our trip! Yeahhhhhhh!!!

The next day, I was able to get me tons of hair stuff. Now if you know me at all, you will notice that my hair is long, thick, wavy/curly.....and I love it! But, it is so hard to find just the right product that won't make your hair a big mess. And, it never fails that when I do find something that I like, they discontinue it. So, as day two of my mother's day gifts, I was able to order a case of each product that had been discontinued off the internet. Yeahhhhhhhh!

Day 3, Ken and Kevin took me out to get me some flowers. Now, this is another thing about me....I love flowers. So, I was able to get me a Plumbago, a Oleander and a Camellia. I know, I know, Oleanders are the most poisonous plant out there. But they are so beautiful! Now my deck has tons of color. Yeahhhhhhhh!

Lastly, on actually mother's day, we went to church with mom and Lowell and then went out and had lunch....at a restaurant....with Kevin. Another thing about me.....I panic when we go out to eat with Boo-Boo. But, mom is well trained on his allergies, so lunch turned out wonderful. Then, we headed to my mother-in-law's house and spent a few hours with her. Once back home, I had a nice dinner of grilled steaks and got to relax. Yeahhhhhhh!

So, all in all, this was one mother's day I will never forget. Too bad there's not a mother's day every month. (<:

On another note, tonight is Kevin's first baseball practice. We went out Saturday night and got his uniform. His little black pants are the smallest in the store and I'm still going to have to hem the waist. He's so little! Not only is his pants, socks, cleats and helmet black....but I think his shirt is going to be also. Talk about burning up in the middle of June in all black!! Better keep lots of water on hand.

I will post photos from his first practice. He's so excited.....and so is Ken and I.