Number one rule in my book : Understand your budget. The whole reason I started this blog is because I struggled for so long with following a budget especially when it came to food. So, when planning a party make sure to consult the budget first. Confirm that you can afford it.
I try to pick one item on my menu that will shine. Sometimes this will be the main dish, sometimes it will be the appetizer or maybe dessert. Putting a little more effort into one dish makes you feel good about what you are sharing with your guests and hopefully keeps the cost down. Make sure you have practiced making the dish so that you aren't disappointed if it doesn't turn out the way you dreamed it would (especially those recipes off Pinterest).
Go through your pantry, freezer and fridge before starting to plan the menu. Look for items you have stocked up on, need to use before expiration or have been saving for a special occasion. I love to stock up on chicken, chili, spaghetti sauce, and chicken noodle soup. If I am on a tight budget I will pull out something stashed and then provide all of the fixings or make a wonderful dessert.
Relaxed Crowd Pleaser: Chili. As I said before, I love to stock up on chili so I have enough in my freezer to feed a crowd if necessary. I will get this warming in the crock pot, have fresh fixings like sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onion, corn chips and corn bread. Then I will make a praiseworthy dessert. Right now I love Emmie's Carrot Cake, it is hearty, yummy, easy and just about everyone loves carrot cake with Creamy Nutty Frosting.
Emmie’s Carrot Cake
Emmie Loveless
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 30 min
INGREDIENTS
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups flour mixture (half whole wheat flour and
half all purpose flour)
1 cup quick cooking oats pulsed in food processor
until fine similar to flour mix
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup maple syrup at room temperature
2 ½ cups grated carrots
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup cinnamon chips
Creamy Nutty Frosting:
8oz cream cheese
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
¼ cup maple syrup
1 cup toasted, finely chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Spray three cake pans with baking spray and set
aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a
paddle cream the butter. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. In a medium bowl
combine the flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. (I like to add the pulsed oatmeal to this resipce because it adds a little healthy twist but an additional cup of the flour mixture works just perfectly) Add the dry
ingredients alternating with eggs beating well after each addition and scraping
the sides half way through, ending with dry ingredients. Add the vanilla. Add
the carrots and maple syrup mixing well until incorporated. Fold in the raisins
and cinnamon chips. Pour into the cake pans and bake until set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. About 25 minutes. Let the cake rest for 10-15
minutes. Invert onto wire rack, remove
pan and let cool.
For the frosting: with an electric hand mixer
slowly mix all of the ingredients together until it is smooth and creamy. If
the frosting is too thick, add more maple syrup and if it is too thin add more
confectioners sugar.
I used three cake pans so that I could put two of them in the freezer for another occasion. For three cake pans it took about 25 minutes to bake. For two 9" cake pans plan for 30 minutes and for a bundt pan start with 30 minutes and check with a toothpick.
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