Yes, I heard that audible gasp come from you and the words "oh that poor boy" uttered under your breath.
But, alas, do not feel bad for him. He did an awesome job of holding his own and putting quite the dent in the keg, which impressed my father to no end.
Where are you taking this, you ask? So, look back up. Huge was the amount of food. So that means there was an immense amount of leftovers too. It left me with Tupperware's of sloppy joe, and italian hot dish, and rolls and sliced ham, and gallon ziplocks packed with veggies.
I'm going to focus on one ziplock bag in particular. The one filled completely with baby carrots. Now, don't get me wrong. I love me some baby carrots. I do. But, that was a lot and there was no way I was going to eat all of them raw before they went bad. Not to mention that only a few days after the party I flew out to be with said dreamboat boyfriend for 2 weeks in LA. So, everything went into the freezer immediately upon my arrival back at my apartment
Long story short, we had an amazing time in LA. Weather was dreamy, lots of fun activities, not to mention that I enjoy K's company to no end.
I came back with an extremely light heart and a freezer full of puzzles to be solved.
I attacked the baby carrots first. I knew that I wanted to make some sort of healthy muffin of the whole wheat/bran type with shredded carrots sprinkled in and dotted with golden raisins.
Only a cups worth out of the gallon ziplock bag.
Honestly, what goes better together than greek yogurt and honey?
Golden Nuggets
They were everything I wanted. Easy to make, healthy, not too sweet and perfect with a smear of Brummel & Brown and a piping hot cup of coffee.
That unfortunately still left me with a whole pound of little babies left. So I searched and what I found was a carrot soufflé. Hmmm. I think I could like that. Even though I don't like cooked carrots. (insert 2nd audible gasp here). Yes, yes. I don't like cooked carrots. It's an atrocity. I know. "But even with a little brown sugar glaze and when they're not too mushy?" Yes, even then I don't like them.
I don't even think about chopping anything by hand anymore.
This part was reminiscent of day care. Cooked carrots and Lima beans. Gag.
But, I gave this a shot. I've never made a soufflé before but really how hard can it be? This isn't really even a true soufflé and yet, that sucker still fell faster than me trying to play double dutch. But it was tasty none the less. If there are left overs, I would highly suggest heating them up, as the cold leftovers just tasted like carrot pudding too me. Some people might like that kind of thing, but not this girl.
Pretty sure K's baby niece would be all over this. Or more like the other way around.
It turned out well enough but I think that if I were to make this again, I would do it for Thanksgiving or some sort of similar Fall Potluck type thing. Not a whole pan to be consumed exclusively by myself. I would not do that again.
Whole Wheat Carrot Raisin Muffins
as adapted from allrecipes.com by Abby
The recipe called for vanilla yogurt. I had plain fat free greek yogurt. It worked great. I would do it again although maybe up the honey just a tad. I also didn't have any orange juice but I did have a half of lemon. I would maybe go orange juice next time, but it honestly was just fine.
I also used whole wheat graham flour. This I would totally do again. It gave it great texture and flavor. I was immensely pleased.
Ingredients
2 cups whole-wheat graham flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup carrot, peeled and shredded
1/2 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. The original recipe instructed to grease 14 muffin tins. If anyone is able to find a 14 cup muffin tin, please let me know. I don't have the patience to bake a full 12 muffins. Take them out of the tin and then have to wait for a measly 2 more to bake. I jammed all the batter into 12. Worked like a charm. I also used muffin tin liners. Easy Peasy, lemon squeezy.
Whenever using raisins in a recipe I always like to let them soak in a small bowl with just enough warm water to cover. If I have enough forethought, I will do this an hour or two before making the recipe. But, what usually happens is I do this before starting the recipe and they tend to be plumped up enough by the time I add them.
Mixing all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
Mix yogurt, honey, and veggie oil together in medium bowl. The oil won't combined with everything completely but that's okay. Gently stir in the carrots.
Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour yogurt mixture in and stir gently, just until combined. Gently fold in raisins.
Distribute batter evenly amongst cups. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 13 mins.
Allow to cool in tins until you're able to handle them comfortably and then transfer to wire rack.
Carrot Soufflé
as adapted from allrecipes.com by Louetta
Yes, the recipe calls for margarine. I don't use stick margarine. It scares me. Every time I think about it, it reminds me of my grandmother telling me about how they used to call it Oleo and it came with a packet of yellow food coloring you had to knead in yourself because it was illegal to sell it with the coloring already mixed in. Yikes!
I'm not big on the "spreads" either. It's healthy, it tastes like butter, but it's not. Just don't ask what the hell is in it.
I use Brummel & Brown. I'm not ashamed to pimp it. It tastes good and it's a combination of vegetable oils and actually yogurt instead of milk fats. I don't know how much healthier it is than other spreads, but I like it.
1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
I looked over the original recipe and thought to myself, how are there no spices in this. Boring.
I added ground ginger and cinnamon. Because carrots love them some ginger and I think the feelings are reciprocated by ginger. And, why not cinnamon. Why not?
Also, it originally called for 3/4 cup of white sugar. I have a sweet tooth. I love sugar. But, that is too much. Plus, recall that comment of not even liking cooked carrots with a brown sugar glaze. So why not brown sugar. Why not?
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish. I used my 2.75 quart rectangle pyrex dish. Then I can just pop the lid on and stick it in the fridge.
Place carrots in a large pot and fill with enough water to just cover. Water can be salted but I didn't. I like to be able to adjust saltiness in the batter stage. Bring to boil and cook just until tender. 15-20 mins. Mine took a little longer because they weren't happy to have been in the freezer and then thawed and then cooked. I guess I don't blame them.
Drain and then puree in food processor or blender. Add the eggs, "margarine" and vanilla extract to the process or blender and process until smooth.
In separate small bowl, mix all dry ingredients together and add to processor. Pulse until well blended.
Transfer to prepared dish. Bake for 45 mins.
I hope you have better luck with the falling part than I did.
Please let me know how it goes.
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