Carrot Cake

Source: Amy Poulton

2 cups sugar

1 ¼ cup oil

4 eggs

1 ½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

2 ½ cups flour

1 lb. grated carrots

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 300°. Mix sugar, eggs and oil. Add dry ingredients. Stir together until combined, being careful not to over mix. Fold in carrots and pecans. Bake in buttered and floured bundt pan for 60-75 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before turning onto cooling rack. Drizzle with cream cheese icing, or dust with powdered sugar.

*This is just amazing! Not too sweet, just delicious. My bundt pan that is smaller in circumference and quite deep takes 75 min to bake. I use Bakers Joy baking spray instead of flour and butter for the pan, and use pre-grated carrots.

Ruth's Pickled Oriental Vegetables

Source: Crossroads Cafe

3 lbs. combination of:

carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, peppers,   celery

2 cups water

1/3 cup salt

½ cup white vinegar

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. garlic

¼ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. paprika

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Boil salt in water, pour over vegetables. Let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse vegetables in cold water and drain. Add remaining ingredients, stir well, refrigerate overnight.

*These were served at my aunt’s restaurant, The Crossroads Café, in Tremonton, UT. They had Chinese night every Friday, and I loved these along with their ginormous butterflied shrimp!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Source: Eileen Johnson

1 cup light Karo syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)

Large bowl of popcorn (big Tupperware size)

1 cup chopped peanuts (optional)

Bring Karo syrup and sugar to a boil, remove from heat immediately. Stir in peanut butter. Pour over popcorn. Stir and let cool.

*This is my mom's famous peanut butter popcorn that she took to every family gathering.

Lemon Water

Source: Eileen Johnson

5 gallons water

10 Tbsp. Citric Acid

10 Tbsp. lemon emulsion

10 cups sugar

Mix all ingredients in large bucket, until sugar is dissolved. Serve ice cold.

*This tastes a lot like lemonade, but a little more mellow. Great for weddings or parties!

Cinnamon Rolls

Source: Bethany Frank

Dough:

2 Tbsp. yeast

2 cups milk

2/3 cups butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

8 cups flour

2 tsp. salt

Filling:

1 ½  cup brown sugar

4 Tbsp. cinnamon

2/3 cup butter

Frosting:

1/4 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese

½ tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. salt

Heat milk and butter in saucepan or in microwave until butter is melted. Add sugar, stir to dissolve. Pour liquid into mixer bowl, let cool until warm. Add eggs, salt and yeast, mix until combined. Add flour, 1 cup at a time, allowing flour to incorporate before each addition. Mix in mixer using dough hook for 5 minutes. Let raise until double.

Roll out dough into a 10x24 inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough followed by brown sugar and cinnamon. Roll up dough, slice into 24 rolls. Place on parchment paper on sheet pans. Let rise 45 minutes.

Bake at 400° for about 12 minutes. Frost while warm.

*I tried many recipes for years, trying to make the perfect cinnamon rolls, and finally found it! I usually make them the night before, and refrigerate them after rolling them and placing them on the pan.   In the morning, I put the pan in a barely warm oven, turn off the oven, and let them sit for an hour before baking. (Or use the bread proof setting on the oven.) 

I have also just mixed the dough the night before, cover and refrigerate. Let dough come to room temp in morning (slightly heating oven and turning off then place dough inside, or use bread proof setting, speeds up the process), then roll out, slice, and raise again before baking.