Aunt Betsey's Carrot Cake

I've had this recipe of my aunt's for carrot cake for years and love it each time I make it.

Carrot Cake

1 1/2 c cooking oil
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 c chopped walnuts
3 c grated carrots

Blend oil and sugar, add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bake in a 13" x 9" pan, 50-60 minutes, 350* oven.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Mousse

A super quick and easy chocolate mousse.

Nan's Chocolate Mousse
serves 4-6

1 6-oz package semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 c milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. Grand Marnier, etc  (optional)
1 egg
2 Tbsp sugar

Dump all dry ingredients and the egg into a blender. Heat milk to scalding. Dump milk in blender; whir for about 1 minute. Pour into custard cups or small dishes and chill until set. For garnish - a shaved curl of orange peel, whipped cream or chocolate curls.

Buttermilk Waffles

We loves waffles around here and these are the best, when I remember to get buttermilk. The girls have said that they're the ones that freeze the best so I usually try to make extra and freeze them so they can just pop them into the toaster. Way better than buying frozen ones! This recipe is from my Fanny Farmer cookbook.

Buttermilk Waffles

1 1/2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 c melted butter
1/4 c milk, if needed

Put the flour into a mixing bowl and add the baking powder, soda, salt and sugar. Stir with a fork to blend. In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs until well blended. Stir in the buttermilk and the melted butter (cooled off a little). Add the flour mixture and stir until well mixed. If the batter seems rather thick, add some milk to thin it. The batter should flow from the spoon, not plop. Bake in a hot waffle iron until crisp and golden; serve hot.

Paula Deen Popcorn

This is one of those REALLY addicting, so not healthy snacks that is so good. Rosie Jane loves it (as do Bob and I) and asks often to make it. I try not to make it too often since I could eat it all in a sitting but it's easy enough she made it herself the other day.


Paula Deen Popcorn
makes lots!

1 c butter
2 c brown sugar
1/2 c light corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
8 quarts popped corn

Preheat oven to 200*.

Over medium heat, combine first four ingredients and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in baking soda. Stir well. Pour over popcorn. Stir to coat well. Bake in large roaster or pan for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to dry.

Original recipe

New Year's Eve Menu

We're having some friends over tonight for snacks and games, and hopefully to stay up late enough to watch the ball fall in NYC. They're bring something dessert-y to add to the table.

I've made the sparkling cranberries that have been a hit so far when I've made them. I also made the margarita fruit dip that I really enjoyed at bible study a few months ago. I cheated on the veggie/chip dip and bought a French onion dip from the store. I still need to cut up the fruit and veggies and put out all the food, including the chips and the bean dip. To drink, we've got lemonade or apple cider. Should be a fun evening!

Happy New Year to all!

Doing Some Meal Planning

I'm working on some meal planning for Christmas and New Year's. The biggest thing right now is finding time to get to the grocery store before Christmas Eve! We decided, well, I decided a few years ago that I wanted to enjoy Christmas with everyone and didn't want to be stuck in the kitchen. So now we have our big, fancy Christmas meal on Christmas Eve before we go to church at 8:00. Christmas day is something easy that can be eaten whenever anyone gets hungry for lunch. For the past several years we've had chili, but I'm changing things up this year and everyone seems to be on board (helps that it's one of their favorite meals).

So Christmas Eve will be roast beef, scalloped or au gratin potatoes (a Pioneer Woman recipe) and green beans with wine or apple cider to drink and buche de Noel for dessert. Christmas morning breakfast will be some sort of egg casserole, probably not my favorite one, but one I've made recently that everyone seems to like. Food later will be mac and cheese and a new recipe for bacon and Brussels sprout salad. Hopefully I can make both ahead of time on either Sunday or Tuesday morning.

I was also thinking a bit today about New Year's Eve and day. I like my recipe for hoppin' John so we'll have that on the first, probably with a pork roast and maybe broccoli or a salad. For New Year's Eve, I was thinking of making burgers and baked potato casserole. I'm going to take a look at my apps & snacks board over on pinterest and see what I can find that looks good to make for the evening. Not sure what our plans are yet, but we might have a game night with snacks until midnight. After the ball falls, we'll all be heading to bed!

Sparkling Cranberries

My sister made this recipe from Southern Living over Thanksgiving. Oh, my gosh! These are so addictive! The sweet syrup and sugar against the sour cranberries is perfect. The note on the recipe says they can be served with baked Brie or as a garnish on cakes or pies, but they're also super good just eating them out of hand.

Sparkling Cranberries
makes 2 cups

1 c pure maple syrup
2 c fresh cranberries
1 c sugar
parchment paper

Cook maple syrup in a saucepan over medium-low heat 1 to 2 minutes (don't let the syrup get too hot or the cranberries will pop). Remove from heat and stir in cranberries. Cover and chill 8 to 12 hours. Place sugar in a baking dish. Drain cranberries in a colander then add a few cranberries at a time to the sugar; gently toss to coat. Place cranberries in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet; repeat with remaining cranberries. Let stand until completely dry.

Note: I used a full bag of cranberries instead of just 2 cups, kept the rest of the ingredients the same.