Carrot Souffle

I recently made this for a family dinner and it got rave reviews. Everyone was so anxious to eat that I completely forgot to take a picture though... sorry about that! I had been looking for a carrot souffle recipe for quite a while and as it turns out my BFF Tina had a wonderful one (I should have thought to check with her first LOL). It has certainly taken its place among recipes that I will use time and time again. Try it and let me know what you think!

 2 lbs. peeled carrots, cut in half
3/4 c. plus 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
3 eggs
Powdered sugar (for sprinkling on top)

Boil carrots until tender; drain.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease an 8 x 8-in. baking dish and sprinkle with 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar.
Mash carrots and add remaining ingredients except eggs.
Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are well-blended into the mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Sprinkle top lightly with powdered sugar before serving.

Slow-Cooked Baby Back Ribs

I spent a recent day off in the kitchen trying out new recipes. This is one of the dishes I tried and it was SO tasty! I love slow cooker recipes because they are so convenient, especially for those extra busy days. These ribs got rave reviews from my resident chef as well as the friends who shared a meal with us. Hope you enjoy!

3 lbs. baby back ribs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water

That's it. seriously. Four ingredients*! Gotta love it!

Place the ribs in a large slow cooker.
Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over ribs, being sure they are nicely coated.
Pour soy sauce over ribs.
Add water.
Cook on low heat for 8 hours, turning about halfway through the cook time (if you're not going to be home they will still cook just fine without turning them, I just wanted to make sure they were really coated in the juices.)

*When I made these, we loved them without extra sauce but also wanted to experiment with making a sauce for them in case someone preferred them that way. So, my resident chef (aka Dad) combined about 1 1/2 cups of sweet barbecue sauce (we like Sweet Baby Ray's but you can use whatever brand you prefer) with some of the juice that cooked out of the ribs and the sauce was AMAZING!

Etta's Molasses Sugar Cookies

This recipe was given to my mom by my Godmother over 20 years ago. She also called them "tea cakes" and I remember having them many times when we would visit her. My godmother was an elderly lady who was the perfect mix of Southern belle and John Wayne (I know, quite a combination but it's true! LOL) Anyway, these cookies are so delicious! I'm planning on making them to include in Christmas goodie packages this year (shh.... don't tell anyone! LOL) Hope you enjoy!

3/4 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. molasses
1 egg
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt shortening and cool.
Add sugar, molasses and egg. Mix well.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt and spices.
Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Mix well. Dough will be very stiff.
Roll dough into small balls. Place on cookie sheet, about 1 inch apart.
Bake about 6-8 minutes.

Yield: About 5 dozen cookies