Mimi's Cafe Carrot Bread...oh my!

Dark, moist carrot bread is a Mimi's Cafe specialty. Now the tastiest carrot bread ever can be yours to create at home with a couple of grated carrots, molasses, raisins and chopped walnuts.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. saltb
• 1 C. vegetable oil
• 1 C. plus 2 Tbs. granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 C. molasses
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 C. shredded carrot
• 1 C. raisins
• 3/4 C. chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs, molasses, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Add shredded carrot and mix. Add raisins and walnuts and mix well by hand. Pour flour mixture into the other ingredients and stir until combined. Pour batter into two ungreased 8-inch loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes, or until done. Makes 2 loaves.

Crock Pot Au Gratin Potatoes

I got this recipe from here. So good and SO simple!!

Crock Pot Au Gratin Potatoes

6 medium potatoes
8 oz cheese, shredded
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (skim is fine)
chopped garlic (optional, but recommended)
salt (not optional)

1. Wash, peel, and slice your potatoes. You want them about a medium thickness. (I ran them through my food processor.)
2. Grease your slow cooker. I used 2 Tbsp of extra butter, but pan spray would work just fine as long as you really coat the pot.
3. Add one layer of potatoes and salt them. You can use regular table salt, Kosher salt, or even garlic salt, but do not skimp on the salt or your potatoes will be bland, bland, bland.
4. Continue layering and salting until you have used all the potato slices. (You could also add chopped onions to each layer, but my kids don’t like them. Don’t add too many, though, because they can overpower the potato flavor.)
5. When all the potatoes are in the pot, melt the 3 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan.
6. Add the flour and whisk.
7. Cook over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble up, then cook for 2 minutes whisking constantly.
8. Slowly pour in the milk and whisk until thickened. (Add 2 Tbsp chopped garlic now if you like. It’s good!!)
9. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
10. Pour over the top of the potatoes. Don’t stir the potatoes, but give them a jiggle to get some of the sauce down into the bottom of the pot.
11. Place 2 paper towels across the top of the slow cooker and put on the top.
12. Turn the pot on high and leave it for an hour. You can leave it on high for two more hours or turn it to low for 3-4 hours.