Pasta Salad

Ahhh, it's summertime which means good food time!  One of my favorite things about summer is all the different kinds of salads I get to make/eat.  This is a recipe I got from my mom and depending on what I have in the pantry I will slightly change the recipe.  The base is always the same but I add things as I see fit, it also depends on the crowd and what they like.  Very easy to make, and delicious!








Ingredients:
1 box tri-color rotini pasta
1 cucumber diced
1/2 red onion diced
1 packed grape tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
Pepperoni, sliced in half or quarters and how ever much you would like
Kraft Greek Vinagrette, to taste I use just about the whole bottle
Cheddar Cheese, again how ever mush you would like


Directions:
1.  Prepare pasta as instructed on box, rinse in cold water.
2.  Add veggies, pepperoni, and cheese.  Mix.  Add vinaigrette, stir.  I always use about 1/2 the bottle and then let it set for a a few hours and add some more.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with a Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.... YUMMM!

Carrot Cake was the type of cake Nic and I shoved in each others faces at our wedding, (we had 5 different kinds of cake!!!)  that means that carrot cake has a very special place in my heart.  You would think that would also mean I know how to make carrot cake, right?? Well, that assumption would be wrong.  I have never made carrot cake, I didn't even have a carrot cake recipe in my recipe box.  To be perfectly honest I don't recall ever having carrot cake prior to wedding cake tasting!  I decided I really wanted to make cupcakes, which gave me the perfect reason to buy a new cupcake pan!  And I found this great recipe online.  So, Carrot Cake cupcakes it was!!  Very easy recipe to follow!  And super yummy!


Cupcakes
Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups canola oil
4 large eggs
3 cups grated peeled carrot
1 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Line 24 cupcake molds with papers, or butter and flour them.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots, walnuts and raisins, if using them. Divide batter among cupcake molds, filling 3/4 of each.
4. Bake cupcakes 14 to 18 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let cool in pans for five minutes or so, then transfer cakes to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before icing.


Frosting:
Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup


Directions:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Chill the frosting for about an hour, until it has set up enough to spread smoothly.  I made the frosting the night before.

I made a double batch of these.  Nic and I both took 2 dozen to work.  They were delicious.  Everyone who had one kept telling us how good they were.  Very moist, and very easy to make.  I grated the carrots with a cheese grater, that was the most tedious part.  This has been added to the recipe box and will be made time and time again!