Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread

My garden has kept me incredibly busy this summer. It has been a mild summer, but a little dry. That means I've watered more than I'd like. It's all been worth it though.
I planted one zucchini plant, knowing I've only gotten those to produce once ever. It took forever, but I finally got some. I think I have picked 5 or 6 now. They have all been small, but so flavorful. Besides the goal of growing the veggies, fruit and herbs, I had a goal to not let anything go to waste. I am happy to say that if it made it out of the garden, it got eaten or used in a recipe.
Since neither of us like zucchini plain or by itself, I have used all of them in a recipes and we love them!
Here is one of our favorites.
Ok, so there isn't a zucchini here. In fact, I've failed to get any of the before shots of the zucchini. But this is a picture of my very first harvest of the year. I felt like a total green thumb when I hauled this in before Memorial Day.
Here's the goods! This has to be the most amazing dessert bread I have ever eaten. Dark Chocolate Zucchini Bread. Oh. My. Word.
I'll share the recipe, cause it is so good. I recommend making mini loaves or even muffins. I would also recommend baking for longer than suggested or until you can pull a toothpick out clean. I altered the recipe by using Hershey's Special Dark powder. Here you go:
1 1/2 cups shredded raw zucchini

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F with a rack in the center of the oven. Grease (spray some Pam on there) a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.



Grate the zucchini, using a medium sized grater, and set aside. You do not need to squeeze the zucchini dry. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice. Set aside.



In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract until well blended (about 2 minutes). Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake a toothpick/cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean (about 55 to 65 minutes). Place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely.

Cinnamon Zucchini Bars

Yes, another zucchini recipe. As much as I like dark chocolate, I think this might be my favorite of the two. This makes a huge sheet cake pan full, so I would recommend making this if you have a crowd to please. With the subtle cinnamon flavor and not even a hint of zucchini, it is sure to please.


Most, if not all, of my cooking and baking is done with almond milk. Almond milk used in this frosting does not require refrigeration. It also makes it milk free, which is good for my lactose intolerant tummy. Sometimes almond milk is the tiniest bit thinner than 2% or whole milk and you may have to compensate by adding a touch less or more powdered sugar as in this case.
The original recipe says this should be more dense than it turns out. It really does turn out like cake, but still wonderful! Next time, I will add an extra egg to the batter and double the cinnamon in both the batter and frosting.
Here is the recipe I used:

1 1/4 c. butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. brown sugar, packed

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 c. zucchini, grated

Frosting
2 c. powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp milk

Instructions
Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix in flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Blend in zucchini.

Pour into greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Cool.

Prepare frosting. Add more milk if necessary to get right consistency. Spread over cooled bars.

Sweet Pickles

Canning anything is something that has always intimidated me.  As I started to get an abundance of cucumbers from the garden, I decided to dive in and learn some canning.  My first venture was refrigerator sweet pickles.  They are so easy and I love them!

The recipe can be doubled or tripled or whatever you need to make all the pickles you need.  There is something even better about this recipe.  The pickles are good in the fridge for three months and so is the juice.  That means for three months you can continue to refill the jar with cucumber slices, if you eat them as fast as we do.

Here is what you will need for a small batch:

3 cups cucumber slices (I use a mandolin)
1/2 white or red onion, chopped or sliced
1 cup distilled vinegar
1 1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Whisk everything together except cucumbers and onions until the sugar has all dissolved.  Put your cucumbers and onions in the jar and pour the liquid mix over them.  Don't worry if the liquid doesn't fully cover the veggies.  They will soften some, bend and you will find it all works out.  Leave in the fridge for 24 hours and eat! 

I love these on burgers, sandwiches and as a snack.  I'll be trying some dill pickles next.

Breakfast Casserole - Crockpot

I've found yet another Pinterest recipe that I altered and love.  This easily makes 8-10 servings, so it's not that great for just the two of us.  However, it freezes well and can be cut in half if you'd like.

1 lb crumble bacon or sausage or combo of both (I cheated and used precooked)
4 cups shredded cheese, cheddar or other
12 eggs, whisked
2 lbs shredded potatoes, I used preshredded from a bag and you can use frozen
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp garlic, onion powder, salt, pepper

Start by spraying the crockpot or putting in your liner.  Layer in potatoes, seasoning with salt and pepper, with meat and cheese sprinkled on top.  Repeat the layers twice more.  In a bowl mix together the remaining ingredients and pouring over potato layers in the crockpot. 

Cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

If you like more egg in with the potatoes, add a couple more eggs or 1 cup of egg whites.

Cheesy Chicken Pot Pies

Ok, another steal and alter Pinterest recipe.

This one was amazing!  I'm not a fan of your typical chicken pot pie.  No, no, no!  Mushy peas and carrots with tiny chunks of chicken surrounded by dough is not my thing.  But I LOVE this recipe.

2 grilled or cooked chicken breasts, diced
1 can cream of chicken or mushroom soup
1/2 package of frozen broccoli, carrot and cauliflower mix
1/2 tsp garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper
1 can Homestyle biscuits (I used jumbo)
2/3 cup shredded cheese

Heat the oven to 400.  In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together.  Make sure you've defrosted or thawed your veggies.  Using a muffin tin, spray one cup for each biscuit.  Pushing the biscuit into the greased muffin tins, press and pinch the dough forming a hallow cup and pushing the dough over the edges of the cup. 

Fill evenly each of the cups with the chicken mixture.  Pop in the heated oven for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown. 

These are a full meal in themselves!

Bacon Cheeseburger Egg Rolls

I saw a picture of these on Pinterest and decided it was a must try.  I'm not unhappy about that decision either.  I'm not sure what the actual recipe is, but I'll give you mine.

1 package of egg roll wrappers
1 lb ground beef or turkey
2 cups shredded cheese
1/2 lb cooked, crumbled bacon (buy this by the bag at Costco if possible)

Brown the meat with a 1/4 tsp of each salt, pepper, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and any other season you enjoy in your burger.  Drain grease and set aside.

Laying out your egg roll wrappers, sprinkle generous helpings of bacon, cheese and meat into the center of the wrapper.  One lb of meat will make 12-15 egg rolls.  If you like onion on your burger, add diced onion to your mixture.

Once all ingredients are laid out, get a cup of water and pastry brush if you have it.  If you have no brush, your finger will work well.  One at a time, brush water about 1/2 inch along the outside edges of the wrapper.  Fold the top and bottom in 1/2-3/4" and then fold over one of the sides.  Press the edges gently, sealing them to the wrapper.  Gently roll the wrapper to the other side until it is completely sealed.  If the outside seam is not sealed, rub a little water on the outside of the seam, creating a sticky seal. 

After all the wrappers are sealed, heat a 1/2" of oil in a frying pan on medium heat.  Higher heat will cause the wrapper to burn quickly.  Fill the pan with egg rolls, flipping after the sides get golden brown. 

Serve with some pickle slices, mustard and ketchup or your favorite burger condiments.

This is a simple process that can be used for many things.  A super easy dessert idea is to use canned pie fillings, following the same process for chimichanga style pies.

Chocolate Oatmeal

It's been a while, hasn't it...

The last couple years have been full of new recipes, but no new posts.  Someone told me that the posts are boring without pictures, so I stopped posting.  My goal was to take pictures along the way.  But seriously...by the time you cook the meal, you're hungry and just want to eat it. Besides, I'm not the best food photographer.

So here is the first of a few new ones.  I may not always have pictures, but when I can I will.

This definitely tastes better than it looks.

Mix together in a bowl:

5 cups water
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder (I used Special Dark)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 cups oats (1 cup if using steel cut)

Whisk the ingredients together.  Using a crockpot liner or not, spray the inside or inside of bag with cooking spray.  This helps keep the oats from burning to the side and getting a bitter taste.  Pour mixture into the crockpot and cook for 8 hours on low.

In the morning, stir the oatmeal and add 1/2 cup hot water if the oatmeal is too thick.  This oatmeal does not come out super sweet, so the topping choices are endless.

Chocolate chips
Strawberries
Bananas
Pecans
Coconut
Any other item you love with chocolate...

This recipe will feed approximately 4 people. 

Pumpkin Soup

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 rib celery chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic

Put ingredients in a soup pan or stock pot and saute until the veggies are tender.

Add 4 cups of vegetable or chicken broth and 4 cups of cubed fresh pumpkin or other squash of your choice with 1/4 tsp of dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme. Increase heat to high until soup boils. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and cover for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.

Using an immersion or standard blender, blend until smooth. Return to pan, salt and pepper to taste and serve.

If you like to spice things up, add some red pepper flakes before boiling. It is also good with a few croutons and some shredded cheese thrown on the top.

Leftover Factor:  This soup is wonderful to freeze for lunches or a quick dinner. It loses no flavor in the freezer at all.

Chicken & Stuffing in the Crock Pot

This easy crockpot chicken breast recipe is made with Swiss cheese, cream of mushroom soups, stuffing mix, butter and cream of chicken soup.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless chicken breast halves, without skin

• 4 slices Swiss cheese

• 1 can (10 1/2 ounce) condensed cream of chicken soup

• 1 can (10 1/2 ounce) condensed cream of mushroom soup

• 1 cup chicken broth

• 1/4 cup milk

• 3 to 4 cups Herb Stuffing Mix

• 1/2 cup melted butter

• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper; place chicken breasts crock pot. Pour chicken broth over chicken breasts. Put one slice of Swiss cheese on each breast. Combine both cans of soup and milk. Cover chicken breasts with soup mixture. Sprinkle stuffing mix over all. Drizzle melted butter on top. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Pumpkin Glazed Apricot Sweet Potatoes

4-6 Sweet Potatoes diced or sliced
1/2 cup butter
Pumpkin Pie Seasoning
Dash of Salt

Cook covered in large pan until potatoes begin to get tender.

1/2 cup of chopped dried or fresh apricots
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 butter

Add apricots and pecans into the pan of potatoes with additional butter and cook until potatoes are tender enough to eat.

1/4 cup maple or pumpkin syrup

Add syrup over potatoes and stir occassionally until the potatoes are covered and the syrup has reduced down to a glaze. Serve warm or cold and enjoy.

Kool-Aid Pie

Kool-Aid that will make you look like a queen in the kitchen. And before you turn your nose up at it, you have to try it.

2 packages of kool-aid or 1 tub of Crystal Light (add 1/2 cup sugar if you use the unsweetened kool-aid)
2 bricks of cream cheese
2 tubs of whipped cream (I use sugar free or light)
1 pie crust (I use a chocolate graham or crushed oreo depending on the flavor)

Whip together all the ingredients and put in the pie crust (already baked if using regular).  Leave in the fridge for an hour and serve. I like to garnish mine with Lindt truffles, chocolate drizzle, chocolate chips or chocolate shavings.

Simple and delish!

Creamy Loaded Baked Potato & Chicken Soup

This is truly an original but was so good.

1 package bacon - chopped, cooked and drained
2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 leek - chopped and cleaned
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
1 small can mushrooms
1 can chicken or 2 cups cooked chicken
1 can cream of corn
6 baker potatoes
Salt & pepper to taste

Bake potatoes in the microwave, slice, set aside until cool.

Combine leeks, garlic and a small amount of broth in a soup pot. Cook until leeks are bright and tender. Add all remaining ingredients, including potatoes that have been peeled and cubed. Cook on medium heat until bubbling. Stir often. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring often for 45-60 minutes. Serve with dallop of sour cream and/or shredded cheese.

Granny Burger

Last week, we set off on a trek to Niagara Falls and back. We saw a lot of beautiful places and ate some amazing food. Now begins the task of duplicating and altering to be absolutely perfect. First up, a Granny Burger that I had at the Hard Rock Cafe in Canada.

This will look like a lot of steps, but actually very simple.

First, create your burger. What I was served was a simple beef burger without any ordinary taste. I chose to add my usual line up of burger flavor with pepper, garlic powder, worchstershire sauce and cumin. Make the burgers, throw on the grill and move on to the rest of the meal.

I threw a red onion in a pan to saute, but grilling the onion would work. Saute or grill the onion to your taste.

In a small bowl, mix together equal parts yellow mustard and maple syrup. Once mixed, pop in the fridge until you are ready for it.

Here's where Granny comes in the picture. Thinly slice a Granny Smith apple, do not peel.

Of course, it would not be a burger without bacon. Cook up 2 slices of bacon per burger while your onions are still cooking.

Ok, we must now assemble this fabulous burger:

1 Toasted Bun with your amazing maple mustard mix slathered on both insides
Several thin slices of Granny Smith apple
Grilled or sauted red onion
Drape with a slice of Provolone Cheese
Top with two slices of bacon and top bun.
Eat and be amazed!

This is sweet and savory in every bite!

Fruit Crisp

This makes a great Fruit Crisp. I use a combination of all berries and a peach or two. If you prebake your apple, you could use that too. Use raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or any other fruit you enjoy fresh.

If you want to have a 9x13 Fruit Crisp, double the recipe.

3 cups Berries or fruit
2 tablespoon Lemon juice & lemon zest
2/3 cup Brown sugar
3/4 cup Flour
1/2 cup Oatmeal
1/3 cup Margarine softened
3/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
Pinch Nutmeg or Allspice

Place fruit or berries in 8X8 baking pan. Sprinkle fruit with lemon juice and lemon zest and 1/4 cup of flour. Mix with fork until crumbly, the brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, oats, margarine, cinnamon, and salt. Spread the topping mixture evenly over the berries. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let cool until just warm. Serve with a little vanilla ice cream.

More Grilled Corn Salad

With corn fresh at the farmer's market, now is the time I love to pick it up cheap!

I am loving grilled corn salads. Here is the latest.

I start with 4 ears of corn, grilled. I cut the corn off the cob once it is cooled. While the grill is going, I will throw on some asparagus, pineapple and mango. I chop all of them once they have cooled and add them to the corn. Sometimes, I will add grilled onion or even a little fresh purple onion.

When they are ripe and when I will have no leftovers, I'll add chunks of fresh avacado. I finish the salad with fresh lime or lemon juice and chopped cilantro. So fresh and yummy!

Taco Pasta

It's been a while. I have been experimenting with a new cookbook called "Eat What You Love." Of course I have been altering those recipes and will begin posting once I figure out what I just like and what LOVE.

The other day I felt like pasta and the hubby felt like tacos. So, I compromised and here's what I got.

I started with a half of a box of Rigatoni, fully cooked. I know you could use whatever shell pasta you prefer or have on hand.

In another pan, I browned a pound of ground beef and one chopped onion. You could use ground turkey, chicken or pork for this dish. If you like sausage, you could add smoked sausage or even chorrizo. In a bowl, I mixed one drained can of corn with a bag of 2% colby/jack cheese. To the cheese mix, I added 2 cloves minced garlic, a teaspoon of ground black pepper and 4 heaping tablespoons of taco seasoning.

After the pasta was drained, I used one jar of Ragu sauce and one undrained can of Rotel. I mixed together the pasta, sauces, ground beef and cheese/corn mix.

All ingredients were put in a olive oil coated glass dish and popped in the oven. I baked for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

We had enough for a couple meals and leftovers for lunches a few days this week.

My husband's only request, fresh peppers.

Fresh Melon Salad

Another spring dish that I like to make is a fresh melon salad.

I cube or ball one cantalope and one honeydew melon. In a large bowl, I add the juice and zest of 1 lemon and 1 lime. Add 2 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro and 1 tbsp of sugar or 2 tbsp of sugar substitute. Stir, refrigerate for an hour and serve.

It is a light fresh salad. A chopped lemon basil works well in this dish also.

Citrus Grilled Chicken

I was reminded today that grilling season is nearly here. I'm celebrating that with my favorite grilled chicken recipe.

In a leak proof container, add the following:
1 TBSP olive oil
zest and juice of 1 lime
2 garlic cloves, minced
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 bunch of chopped cilantro
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper or several peppercorns
4 chicken breasts

Add enough orange juice to cover all chicken breast and stir all ingredients well. Let set in fridge for 24 hours. Grill and enjoy.

This is a great recipe to use for fajitas. For a little spice, add fresh sliced jalapenos to the marinade.

Add a slice of grilled pineapple for a Hawaiin chicken sandwich. Great served over a bed of rice with some fresh pico over the top.

The Best, Simple Lemon Frosting

It is fluffy, light and takes minutes to prepare.

Whip one small package of room temperature cream cheese. Add the zest and juice of one large lemon, whipping until mixed well. Add one container of lemon or white frosting. Whip until smoothe. Return to the fridge until firm. Frost cakes, cupcakes or sugar cookies, returning to the fridge until ready to serve.

Chicken Spaghetti

This recipe originated from my mother-in-law and is one of their family favorites. Of course, I've altered it and made it my own.

4 cups cooked chicken (less if desired and can be made without chicken)
1 can each Cream of Celery, Mushroom and Chicken Soups
1 cup water
1 can undrained Rotel
1 lb Velveeta cheese
6-8 oz cooked spaghetti
1 tsp cracked black pepper
2 cloves garlic
1 cup frozen spinach (if desired)

Combine above ingredients and bake in a large baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. If using a glass dish, reduce heat to 325 degrees. Serves 12-16.