Cleaning, Shopping, & Baking
Boy what a day! I have been going, going nonstop. So much to do and I’m still not done with it all!
I was admittely still hungry after I finished my breakfast this morning. Around 11:00am I realized lunch was still going to be a couple of hours away so I went after a very filling snack that would hold me over.
This was my first tasting of the Holiday Clif Bar: Iced GIngerbread. It was pretty tasty and really did remind my of gingerbread cookies.
After spending the whole morning deep cleaning my apartment, I met my family down the road for some lunch. They were in Orlando finishing up their holiday shopping, so I tagged along for the remainder of the day.
We ended up eating lunch at a little asian place.
I started with a piece of the California Roll my Mom ordered.
For my entree I had the Homestyle Tofu, which was basically Tofu stir fry.
I also had a bite of my Sister’s Sweet and Sour Chicken.
And you can’t have chinese food without enjoying a fortune cookie!
I shopped until I dropped for the rest of the afternoon. I spent more money shopping today, then I have for the last two months. It was insane. I finally made it back to my apartment tired and worn out, but I still had some cleaning and baking to do.
I did find time to make myself a wonderful healthy dinner featuring this week’s BSI: Carrots.
Savory Carrot Cakes
- 2 Carrots
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 Garlic Clove
- Mushrooms
- 1/3 cup Egg White
- 2 tablespoons Hummus
- 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup Bread Crumbs
- S & P
In a medium size bowl grate the carrot, onion and garlic. Add all of the ingredients minus the bread crumbs to the grated mixture. Start adding the bread crumbs until you are able to form two patties. Pan fry the carrot cake patties until they are golden brown
The Savory Carrot Cakes came out just as I expected, wonderfully. I used crab cakes as my inspiration for this dish, I simply substituted carrot for the crab. I also added the hummus for a touch of protein. I topped them with a little Buffalo Sauce for some kick.
With my Savory Carrot Cakes I had Mashed Rutabaga and Steamed Asparagus on the side to round out my vegetable filled dinner.
After dinner I got straight to baking!
First I made a batch of Tina’s Pumpkin – Peanut Butter – Chocolate Chip Muffins.
These never disappoint. So good and gooey right out of the oven. I had to sample one to you know, make sure they’re safe to eat. 
I decided to try my hand at homemade granola and did a little research before developing my own recipe.
Pumpkin Spice Granola
- 2 cup Rolled Oats
- 1 cup Pecan Pieces
- 1/3 cup canned Pumpkin
- 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/8 cup Honey
- 2 tsp Pumpkin Spice
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
Mix all of the ingredients together and bake in a 350 oven for 15 minutes. Stir granola and bake for 5 minutes more. Stir again and bake for another 5 minutes.
It was wonderfully pumpkiny. A pat on the back if I do say so myself.
I still have some more cleaning to do, including vacumming which I’ve been saving for last. I have another non stop day tomorrow, but it should be fun. I won’t be able to post until tomorrow night and then I will give you a full recap on why I have been cleaning and baking. I think you guys are going to love it. 
You will just wait and see though!
You were just a kitchen creation machine today! Love the carrot cakes – the hummus is such an interesting addition!
Love those Tina muffins! They are just incredible!
Carrot cakes, muffins, AND granola?!?!?!?! Loooooove it all, girl.
Can’t wait to find out why you’re cleaning & baking!!
I love both of your recipes and the muffins look yummy.
I am jealous that you still get to run outside – I am stuck to the treadmill for who knows how long.
So many yummy baked goods! Fabulous job on the carrot cakes!
I love your savory carrot recipe! Wonderful, again.
oh! such great baked goods!
love the BSI! i had a similar idea but i didn’t have any of the ingredients because i’m moving tomorrow/monday! ack!
fun times with the family and have a great day tomorrow!
Totally feel you on going nonstop. Ross and I just finished our cookie bake a thon/ post kitchen cleaning! So exhausted! Tomorrow will definitely be just as hectic, if not more so! (Funny though, one of my to do’s tomorrow is making a couple homemade granolas for gifts!)
Carrot cakes and granola! Looks delish!!
Liking the carrot cakes – all sorts of good ingredients going on in there
ah, we were on the same carrot wavelength it seems
but i hadn’t gotten to it yet!! Love the granola, I’ll have to give it a try 
it’s been on my to-do list for too long!!
You were one busy lady!! Thanks for the granola recipe – sounds great
I love that iced gingerbread. your chinese food looks so.darn.good!
your nails look lovely
I made some muffins like that last night!!! I love that granola I will have to try it:)
I LOVE homemade granola!! Yum – I just started making it recently. I never even liked it before, but in my yogurt parfaits – delish! Love the carrot patties – I made some kohlrabi patties this summer that didn’t turn out – they ended up being kohlrabi hashbrowns instead. maybe I’ll try carrots next time!
can’t wait to hear why you’ve been baking!
those savory carrot cakes look delicious! i am going to have to try those
Those carrot cakes are so creative. You are good, girlie
Love the granola too! I keep buying new kinds. I’m totally a granola addict, so I can’t resist it in stores even though I know I want to make my own. I’m bookmarking this recipe. One day when I stop buying them (just bought 2 new ones yesterday, damn) I’m totally making this!!
wow that homestyle tofu looks so good and the veggies are so vibrant!
good eats
yum – looks amazing!
cant wait to read your next post
Yum! I’m glad you made those muffins! I should whip up a batch soon!
Did your granola end up crunchy or chewy? I’m a crunchy fan so I need to know these things before I try it out
Christmas is a great money zapper isn’t it. Totally worth it though, I wish I had oodles of money to spend on gifts for people. I always see so many great gift ideas but my wallet won’t allow me to buy them.
Loving this recipe-loaded post. I must try the carrot cakes. And I’m pretty sure I’ll have to get around to making some pumpkin-y granola one of these holiday days too!
Those carrot cakes sound so delicious!! There you go being super creative again
I hate the thought of how much money I’ve spent on Christmas…its depressing, but at teh same time I LOVE giving gifts 