I am sharing this recipe not because I specially liked it, but because since the beginning I said I would share my failures along with the exceptional recipes.  I can usually spot a good recipe but this one was didn’t have many redeeming qualities once it was baked.  It was OK, not bad, not terrific.  I got it from Raleys.com and didn’t alter at all.

I am not much for casseroles.  My mother never made them.  I don’t have the experience of eating Green Bean Casserole at Thanksgiving or Tuna Casserole, which sounds so disgusting to me.  My mother loved Cream of Mushroom soup.  We always had a can of Campbells Cream of Mushroom soup but she just made soup with it.  I don’t have the experience of adding “cream of soup” cans to vegetables and meats with the crispy onion toppings.  The closest thing we had to a casserole was canneloni.  My mom’s canneloni was made with crepes instead of pasta.  I make them with crepes, too.  It makes for a more delicate dish and allows the filling to be the star.  Mom’s filling was always calf brains in a white sauce, sometimes with a little spinach and sometimes without.  I thought it was OK but I’d rather put in a homemade ricotta and spinach or chicken and spinach filling.

Thanksgiving is coming up soon.  Maybe I’ll share some of my Thanksgiving recipes with you. They are not very elaborate.  We had our first Thanksgiving when I was in the Third Grade.  We had just moved to a new city and I had started in a new Catholic school.  The neighborhood was quite nice and if I remember correctly, I was one of two hispanic students in the school.  It was run by priests and nuns that where mostly from Ireland.  I guess they thought that we were needy and so they sent us all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast.  Mom had made turkey before for Christmas or New Year’s.  We just had never had it at Thanksgiving before.  It wasn’t your typical American meal but we continued the tradition from then on.

This recipe will go on the must improve pile.  I’m not sure if I will tinker with it and make it more my taste or just leave it and start from scratch.  Send me any ideas you may have to improve this recipe.

Ingredients

6 strips Peppered Bacon. thick

1 large Onion, Chopped

6 Tbsp. Flour

3 cups Milk

4 Eggs

6 Tbsp. Cornmeal

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

3 cups Corn Kernels, 2 cans if not using fresh

1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Salt

1 1/2 tsp. Sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and lightly butter a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish.

Cook Bacon in a large skillet until very crisp.  (I only had 5 strips left!)  Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels.  Coarsely crumble.  Drain all but 1 Tbsp. grease from skillet.

Add Onion to skillet and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat to soften.

Add Flour and cook for 1 more minute.

Transfer to a large bowl and whisk in Milk, then Eggs and Cornmeal.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour into prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes or until center is set.

Each 6 servings has 171 Calories, 3 g. Protein, 9 g. Fat, 23 g. Carbohydrates.

Eat well, drink well, and live well.  Talk to you soon.

I love Carrot Cake.  It’s great with Cream Cheese Frosting or without, but the fact is, the frosting makes it heavenly.  I’m sharing with you a family recipe.  I hope I won’t get into trouble with all these family secrets I’m posting.  You see, they don’t come from my side of the family.  They come from my husband’s side.  Hehe  My mom never really got into American cuisine.  This recipe comes from my husband’s Godmother, Jane.  Jane was a funny, outspoken, cigarette smoking Italian woman.  She loved life and enjoyed laughter.  When I first tasted her Carrot Cake, I asked for the recipe.  I was not much of a cook back then.  In fact, when my husband and I were first married, he did all the cooking.  I did have to steam vegetables because he didn’t like them much and wouldn’t cook many.  It wasn’t until I had my children and stayed home with them that I decided to learn how to cook.  I figured if I didn’t have an outside job that I should do my daily work –  the cooking, cleaning and child raising –  as best as I could.  So began my culinary discoveries.  I made my own baby food and cooked dinner every night.   I still do, cook dinner every night, I mean.  It was difficult to get too fancy because my husband was a picky eater but little by little I was able to introduce more foods into the home.

I have made this cake in a 9 x 13 inch pan which makes if very easy to transport.  In this post, I made it in an 8 inch tube pan.  I have a confession to make.  My 8 inch tube pan is not a cake pan but a gelatin mold.  I keep forgetting this fact when deciding on a recipe until I am ready to pour in the batter and realize that it will overflow.  So, I baked a small cake separately.  I have previously explained how cheap I am and I love the challenge of making due with what I have but I am getting tired of this tube pan issue.  I’ll keep you posted if I buy a new one. I changed the recipe only to substitute the vegetable oil for olive oil.  I don’t know if I’ve told you this but I have not owned a food processor until lately.  So, in the past, I’ve had to grate the carrots by hand.  It’s not that tedious and it can be quick but with the processor, it is a breeze.  I consider this a quick and easy recipe.  Give it a try.

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup Sugar

2 Eggs

3/4 cup Olive Oil

1 1/2 cups Unbleached Flour

1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 1/4 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 1/2 cups Grated Carrots

1/2 cup Undrained Crushed Pineapple

Frosting

12 oz. softened Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Butter

1 3/4 cup Confectioner’s Sugar

1 pinch of Salt

 

 

 

Preheat oven at 350 degree.  Grease a 9 x 13 pan or 8 inch tube pan.

Beat Sugar, Eggs, and Olive Oil on high of an electric mixer for 4 minutes.

Stir together Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt and Cinnamon.

Add Sugar mixture and beat on medium until smooth.  Stir in Carrots and Pineapple, mixing until incorporated.

Pour batter into 13 x 9 baking pan or 8 inch tube cake pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cake spring back when lightly touched.

While cake is cooling, prepare the frosting.  Cream Cream Cheese and Butter.  Gradually stir in Sugar and Salt.

I decorated the cake with ribbons that I made a a vegetable peeler and leftover carrots.  I just stuck them on the cake but you can boil the ribbons in 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/2 cup of water for 3 minutes to make them sweet and pliable.  The option, of course, is to leave them off all together.  Keeping it simple.

It’s a crowd pleaser.  Send me a picture of your creation.

Remember to always, eat well, drink well and live well.  Until next time!