Amazingly Moist Carrot Cake

I recently volunteered to make Birthday cupcakes for a girl in work. Since we usually eat the birthday cake for breakfast, I wanted to make something that was more breakfast than cake.  Carrot Cake fit this perfectly and I had the perfect recipe to use for it. 

This recipe came from a retirement community cookbook my Nana gave me.  We all have at least one 'community' made recipe book.  I have several, but this one is my favorite because it has some of Nana's recipes in it.  It has been well used over the years.    


The Carrot Cake recipe is not my Nana's, it come from Bea Lester.  The reason why I love this so much is because it uses 2 jars of baby food carrots.  Yay! No shredding carrots!  It's also what makes is super moist.

3 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
1 1/8 c oil
1 1/2 c presifted all-purpose flour (pre-sifting does make a difference and I use unbleached flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 20oz can crushed pinapple, drained
3/4 c raisins, sprinkled with flour
2 small jars strained baby food carrots
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c chopped nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 350°.  Pre-line 2 muffin tins with liners. 
Beat the eggs, sugar & oil in one bowl (or mixer).  Mix together flour, baking soda, cinnamon & salt in a seperate bowl.  Add dry mix to wet mix.  Once incorporated, add the remaning ingredients. 
Divide evenly (or as evenly as possible) into the muffin tins.
Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until the test stick comes out clean.  

I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting that went well with the cupcakes. 

The Birthday Girl loved them and so did everyone else.  None were left by the end of the day. 





Balsamic London Broil

I love my Droid.  I have been blessed with a Droid Bionic and carry it everywhere.

One of my favorite apps is the Big Oven app.  When looking for new dinner ideas, I can search for what I have on hand, or specific flavors, or a recipe title.   When I find something, I can save it to Try Soon or add to Favorites for easy finding later.

I recently had a London broil on hand and wanted a good marinade for it with balsamic vinegar.

So I pulled up the app, searched London broil and balsamic vinegar and found this recipe. 

It is perfect for this cut of meat.  The flavor is just the right amount of tangy and the meat is super tender.  

After trying it, I realized it seemed very familiar.  I looked at my Try Soon and my Favorites and found I had saved it in each of them at one point.   It is worth searching for and saving again. 

Thank you sdw09 for posting this on Big Oven!

Balsamic London Broil

1/2 lb top round stead; 1 inch thick (I know mine was larger, but didn't need to alter the other ingredient amounts)
2 tbs Soy Sauce (I use low sodium)
1 tbs Olive Oil
2 tbs Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp dried thyme (I ground mine up in my hand)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
black pepper, to taste (I use 1/4 tsp)

Dump the marinade ingredients into a gallon zip-lock bag.  Mix well.
















Add the meat and squish around to coat. 

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but longer if you can. 

Grill or Broil until desired doneness

Slice thin and enjoy!