recipes & babies...

Two things that don't really go together, but they are the two things that have been on my mind the most lately. Babies. Between all of the new babies and pregnant ladies I know... wow. I'm going to go out of my mind. Seriously, EVERYONE is pregnant. Not that I'm complaining... I'm privileged to see such miracles happen! It's just been A LOT lately. It's contagious. :) Let's see.... I've counted 6 women I know personally, not to mention all of the friends of friends!! Congrats to all of my wonderful friends who have little ones on the way for me to spoil. :)

And recipes.... Thanksgiving was wonderful, we spent it with Ryan's family (and my sister-in-law Amy's family... oh she is 6 months pregnant, too, don't forget it). I love having a big extended family. I made some desserts for the occasion, including the wonderful applesauce cake I recently promised to share... here goes!

APPLESAUCE CAKE
Ingredients:
1/2 unpeeled apple, cored and cut into thin slices
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 C flour
2/3 C sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 T apple jelly

-Preheat oven to 350°.
-Combine apple slices and lemon juice in a small bowl.
-Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
-In separate bowl combine applesauce, oil, and vanilla.
-Pour applesauce mixture over flour mixture.
-Stir mixture until a batter forms.

-Grease 3 4" springform pans (I used 1 like 8" pan and it worked fine, just needed to be cooked longer, I had to test it every like 5 min, it took like 15 min longer).
-Divide mixture among pans.
-Arrange apple slices in a ring on top of the batter.
-Bake 15-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
-Cool 5 minutes and loosen from pans, slide onto a cooling rack.
-Spread apple jelly over the top.

Very simple, but yummy! I actually made it twice so far, the second time (for Thanksgiving) I doubled the recipe and used a 10" pan (or something) and had to cook it A LOT longer, but it worked! And I didn't screw it up! AND it was yummy! I thought I'd also share this incredible spinach & artichoke dip I made for a party a few weeks ago... it's so delicious, and the best part is that it's from "Cooking Light" so it's not SUPER bad for you, too! I'll link it HERE if you want to check out the nutrition facts... here's how you do it...

HOT SPINACH & ARTICHOKE DIP
Ingredients:
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

-Preheat oven to 350°.
-Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (2 tablespoons Parmesan through spinach) in a large bowl, and stir until well-blended.
-Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish.
-Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
-Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Yield: 5 1/2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup dip and about 6 chips)


ENJOY!