Carrots: A Casserole and a Skinny Secret

After I announced my plan to blog about our family recipes, my sister, Bonnie, sent me one of her favorites. Carrot Casserole. I was at once delighted and dismayed. The recipe contained more sugar and butter than I wanted to eat in a month, much less one meal. I love vegetables but this was no longer a vegetable–it was a dessert. A cup of sugar? A whole stick of butter? All for 2 cups pureed carrots! Oh well.  It’s one of those special dishes you save for holidays or company–so enjoy.  Meanwhile, for carrots on a regular basis, check out the skinny secret at the end.

Bonnie tells me the recipe came from a cookbook called “Minnie Pearl Cooks.”  It was given to her by her mother-in-law who got it at a garage sale. Aha!  That explains it.  We’re talking  good ole southern cooking here.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups carrots
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 tablespoon flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• cinnamon

Directions:

Clean carrots and slice–no need to peel. Cook and mash carrots (easy to do in food processor but takes awhile to cook the carrots so plan accordingly.) Add remaining ingredients.  Pour into 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.  Cook at 350 for 50 minutes until set in the middle.

Skinny Secret Alert!

All this talk of carrots reminds me of one of my favorite skinny secrets.  Ironically, I got this one from Bonnie too.

Nobody ever got fat eating baby carrots.  Turned orange maybe, but not fat.  So I keep these at easy-to-reach eye level in the fridge.  I usually grab one or two every time I open the fridge.

My sister says she lays a bag on the counter while she’s cooking.  That way it is easy for her to snack on carrots instead of dinner. Works for me too. Try it for yourself.