Sweet Orange Baby Carrots

Sweet Orange Baby Carrots

This is a great side dish for holiday meals and it's super sweet so the kids always love it! I also sometimes do it as a mid-week side to chicken nuggets. Classy, I know! :P

Ingredients

*NOTE - the recipe as stated below will serve approx 4 people. If you are serving a larger crowd you will need to double or triple the recipe accordingly.

- 1 small bag of baby carrots
- 1 cup orange juice
- 2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

- bring pot of water to rolling boil on stove top
- add carrots to boiling water and continue to boil for 10 to 15 min or until carrots have softened to your liking
- drain water and return carrots to stove
- with burner on significantly lower heat (3 or 4 tops) add orange juice and brown sugar to carrots
- combine all and continue to simmer on LOW heat for a further 10 to 15 min

*NOTE - the juice and sugar will not thicken into a sauce, but the flavour will soak into the carrots as you boil the mixture. Best served with a slotted spoon to avoid a soupy plate. :)

Enjoy!

~ The Lazy Gourmet

Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce! Mmmmm.......

Crock Pot Spaghetti Sauce

With the exception of my Grandmother's "old school" recipe, this is the BEST spaghetti sauce recipe I have come across.  The brown sugar may be the secret ingredient!

Ingredients

- 1 lb ground beef or bulk Italian sausage (I've only ever used ground beef)
- 1 medium onion, chopped (I skip this)
- 1 large can of stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce *Quick Tip - just buy the cheap 99 cent sauce since you can add your own spices to this recipe
- 1 small can of tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt

Directions

- add all ingredients (with meat at the bottom) to the Crock Pot
- cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours
*Quick Tip - I use a wooden spoon to break up the beef after it's been cooking a few hours, just to distribute the flavour of the meat through the sauce
- discard bay leaf
- serve over hot, cooked spaghetti

*Makes 6-8 hearty servings.

Enjoy!

~ The Lazy Gourmet