Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I've been making this DELECTABLE chocolate zucchini bread for a few years now, recipe courtesy of my friend from MO_PS, "AP." Thank you AP for this deliciousness!!! I typically change only a few things which I will note. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients:
3 eggs
3/4 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla (I always double vanilla, so 4 teaspoons)
2 1/2 cups flour (I sometimes use just whole wheat pastry flour and other times a combo of white and whole wheat, or white and whole wheat pastry flour)
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I usually double this as well, 2 teaspoons)
1/2 cup dark cocoa (I think last time I made this, I added a little bit more cocoa because I love it - probably more like 3/4 cup cocoa)
1/2 cup milk (I add a bit more milk if the mixture seems to "dry" - it should be pretty "wet")
2 cups zucchini, shredded (I probably added more last time - perhaps more like 2.5 cups)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients (through cocoa) and then add to egg mixture. Add milk and fold in zucchini.
3. Pour into 2 greased 9 x 5 inch baking pans.
4. Bake for about 50 minutes.

AP's cooking tip: instead of 3/4 cup oil, you can substitute 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup. You can also use four smaller loaf pans and bake for only 30 minutes. Or you could make one large loaf pan and the rest as muffins/cupcakes. Any way you bake it, it freezes well.

*I did the muffins/cupcakes and frosted them with vanilla buttercream and they were SO good! I was also thinking that cream cheese frosting would be delicious.

Hope you love this as much as we do!!!!

Banana Cracker Recipe!

Hi Friends!

Today I was feeling very "homey" and decided to bake some banana crackers with the bananas that were VERY dark and mushy on my counter. They are the best for breads or in this case, crackers, when they are mushy and the skins are spotted brown! I found this recipe a few years back on a kids product website and just now tried it - VERY yummy and healthy too! Bug helped me make the crackers and she thought that was great fun. The kids LOVED the crackers and kept wanting more, and so did I!

Here's the recipe plus a few notes from me:

Banana Crackers (Yum!) (from Little Jo_ey Sn_ackin Pack)

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 t. honey
1 banana, thoroughly mashed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 and grease a 12x15 inch cookie sheet.
Using your hands or a pastry blender, mix butter, flour and 1/8 teaspoons salt together until crumbly.
Using a fork, stir in honey and banana.
On a floured surface, knead mixture (adding additional flour, if necessary, to form a firm dough - I ended up adding a LOT of flour - the recipe did not call for enough...just keep adding it until it is more stable).
Divide dough in half, and roll out one half at a time on a floured surface.
The dough should be thin enough to cover the cookie sheet.
Place dough on cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon (optional).
Using a sharp knife or a pastry cutter, cut the dough into 1" squares.
Bake 5-8 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Remove crackers with a spatula and place on a wire rack to cool.
Enjoy!

*These taste great with honey drizzled on top! Or they would also be good dipped in something...maybe a peanut butter dip?

Cabbage Rolls and Stuffed Peppers!

I love cooking and also preparing meals for future use in the freezer. My mom has taught me much of what I know about cooking, and today I had the pleasure of working with her in her kitchen, preparing LOTS of cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers! To start off, mom and I had purchased the peppers and cabbage from the farmers market, and they all looked so beautiful. Mom grew up eating cabbage rolls and stuffed peppers and she has continued making them for our family. I have many wonderful meal memories of eating these things.

Here's the recipe, along with how we changed or altered things:

Haluptsie (pigs in the blanket, or cabbage rolls) (From Mom's German cookbook) (serves 6-8 adults)

Mix the following ingredients together:
2 lbs hamburger (I like Lau_ra's Lean Beef, 4% fat - no antibiotics or hormones)
1 large onion chopped fine (I think I used 2)
1.5 cups precooked rice (we used brown rice, and we used 6 cups)
salt, pepper, garlic powder - season to taste (you can't taste it though as the meat is raw, so season moderately but well - I estimated about 2 teaspoons or more of pepper, same with the garlic powder, and probably 1 teaspoon celery salt & Lawry's seasoned salt combined)
*We also added a jar of spaghetti sauce to the mixture! I like Ra_gu 7 herb. And after you've dumped out the jar, put some water in it and shake it up and then add that to the mix also.

Blanch 1 head of cabbage by removing heart and placing leaves in boiling water until limp. (We just cut out the "heart" and then put the whole head in the pot, covered it up, and checked it in several minutes. Then the leaves start pulling off as they cook...you kind of have to do it in stages as they're ready to come off.) The put the leaves in a bowl until ready to use.

Place a heaping tablespoon (or more - really, I think we did probably 1/2 cup or more) of the meat mixture on each leaf and roll up.

Place in heavy kettle or roaster.

Pour the following mixture over the cabbage rolls: 1 can tomato soup and 2 cup tomato juice.
(OR, you can use 2 cans of tomato soup)
(OR, how I like it is with some diced tomatoes and spaghetti sauce from the jar)
(OR, Mom said you could use some stewed tomatoes over the top)

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1.5-2 hours or until cabbage is soft and meat is done.

STUFFED PEPPERS!!! (serves 6-8 adults)

*Make sure to parboil the peppers for about 3-4 minutes after you've cut them, or leave them whole.

Use the same meat mixture as for the above cabbage rolls EXCEPT fill the cavities of whole green peppers, or cut peppers in half length wise and fill. (or you can take the peppers and cut them in half width wise, just trimming off a bit of the stem but leaving it on mostly until after you cook and serve - then whoever is eating it can cut off the stem)

Pour tomato juice and tomato soup or spaghetti sauce over all and bake at 350 degrees until peppers are soft and meat is all done. (approx. 1.5 hours)

You can also add shredded cheese over the top and place back in oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is golden once the peppers are all cooked.

Freezing Instructions:
If you decide you would like to freeze some or all of your cabbage rolls or stuffed peppers, you would place them on a cookie sheet or in a pan (lightly grease the pan if you want things to come out easily) and place them into the freezer for an hour or so until frozen. Once frozen, you can remove them and place them into a Zip_loc freezer bag or into a lightly greased pan and cover with tin foil and place inside of a freezer bag. Also, you would leave the sauce over the top until you actually cook the rolls or peppers - do not freeze with the sauce over the top.

**This recipe made TONS! We had about 12 peppers that we halved, so 24 stuffed peppers - they were HUGE peppers. Then we had enough mix left over to make about 20 cabbage rolls.

Everyday Cassoulet

I'm SO excited to be subbing for a cooking group through my church this coming week! We each prepare 12 meals, and bring 11 to swap with the other 11 members of the group. I can't wait to see what we'll be eating in the coming months! It will be fun to have my freezer fully of yummy meals.

The meal that I prepared is one of my favorites and has been a great company meal here in our home.

Here it is!

Everyday Cassoulet by Melody (& Bet_ty Cro_cker Cook_book)
651-695-1252 if you have questions!

1 lb. Po_lish or smoked sausage (1 giant link…or add 1.5-2 for more meat – I did 1.5 for the group), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
(*I always use smoked turkey sausage – Tar_get has a generic one that I used for the group, and there’s a natural version at health stores.…)
1 can (15-16 oz.) great northern beans (or cannelini), rinsed & drained
1 can (15-16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15-16 oz.) black beans, rinsed & drained
(*For the group, I cooked up 3 bags of each type of bean and that almost covered it, cost MUCH less, and then there is no added salt from the beans…I did end up using just q couple of cans)
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce (or the 29 oz. can if you double it)
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced (1.5 cups)
(*I ALWAYS add more – I think I did 5-6 carrots per meal for the group)
2 small yellow onions or 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced & separated into rings (or diced)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or put through the garlic press…and can add another clove if you like garlic)
½ cup dry red wine or beef broth (I put about 1 cup of beef broth per meal)
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar (you can also use pure maple syrup if you would rather not use sugar)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh or 1.5 teaspoons dried thyme leaves (I did generous tablespoons of the fresh thyme…and have tried dry and it does work fine, but doesn’t have quite the same yummy flavor as the fresh)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Then pour into an ungreased casserole/lasagna pan (I prefer my lasagna pan because the sides are taller and this casserole is really bubbly) & cover with lid or foil. Bake 1 hour 15 minutes OR until mixture is hot & bubbly & carrots are tender. (I usually end up baking it for about 1.5 hours, and I usually place the pan on top of a baking sheet since it sometimes bubbles over the sides.
I like to serve this dinner with a crusty loaf of bread and a dark, leafy green salad topped with fruit. It’s VERY hearty and people usually love it even if they don’t like beans! ENJOY!!!

Yummy Power Bars!!!

Hello gang!

Sorry I haven't been on here now for TWO whole months. I cannot believe how much has happened since I last wrote! We celebrated our sixth anniversary and our birthdays with a great long weekend getaway to Ro_cky Mou_ntain Nat_ional Pa_rk and did lots of hiking and enjoying God's creation. It was amazing! Then we had a big birthday party for both kids and that was a lot of fun. And now, June is all over! Wowsers. I will try to post some pics sometime, but in the meantime, I'm getting ready to go sai_ling with my sweet man and some friends. It should be a good time!

SO, I'll leave you with this...the neatest recipe that I've used in a long time! My friend KN from MO_PS put this recipe in our coo_kbo_ok that we put out a few years ago, and it is AMAZING!!!

Ultimate Power Bar

Ingredients:

3.5 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup raisins
2/3 cup raw sunflower seeds (I had salted ones because my store didn't have raw)
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds (I didn't have sesame, so I added more sunflower)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup oat bran
3 tablespoons flax seeds (you need to grind them up in order to get the benefit of the oils inside...and you can use flax seed meal/purchased ground flax seeds if you don't have the whole seeds - that's what I used and it worked really well)
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt (or you could omit this if you have salted sunflower seeds)
1 cup shredded coconut (optional...but SO delish)
1.5 cups peanut butter (I used Ski_ppy natural smooth)
1 cup honey (I used a local honey)
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or semi-sweet)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large bowl, combine first ten ingredients (through coconut). Stir in peanut butter, honey & melted butter. Press firmly into foil-lined or sprayed 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven & sprinkle chocolate chips over bars. Return to oven until chocolate is softened (about 2-4 minutes). Spread chocolate evenly over bars. (mine didn't spread very well for some reason, fyi...but still tasted delish). Cool on rack then cut into bars. Refrigerate until firm (about 2 hours) then remove from pan and wrap bars individually and store in refrigerator or freezer for a healthy energy-packed snack. (I used plastic wrap for the individual bars and then placed them into quart-sized freezer zipper bags.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

Bird Treats

The other day, Bug and I stirred up some bird seed treats for our bird friends in our yard! I wanted to post the recipe on here for ya'all...very easy and fun...just some ingredients that we don't normally have at home that I had to go out and get, and you could probably substitute a few things but I didn't think of it at the time. My dad gave me a few suet feeders for our birds, ones that he didn't need anymore! So that was very sweet and I'm excited to see the birds gobble up their new fun food! THANKS DAD!!!

Here's the recipe, taken from a neat book that I received as a gift awhile back, "Company's Coming: Gifts From The Kitchen" by Jean Pare. (I don't know how to underline book titles or add accents on letters in this format yet!) It's a great book that has many homemade food and other gifts. I am always inspired to create something when I look at it!

Bird Feed Treats

(*Note at top of recipe says "save the mesh bags from onions, lemons, limes, [oranges], or tomatoes-on-the-vine to fill with this bird treat).

dry bread crumbs 2 cups
commercial birdseed 1 cup
chopped unsalted peanuts 1 cup (I couldn't find unsalted, so I had to use "lightly salted")
chopped raisins 1 cup
whole wheat flour 1/2 cup
yellow cornmeal 1/4 cup
cream of wheat cereal (not instant) 1/4 cup

chunky peanut butter (no salt, no sugar) 1 cup
suet (or vegetable shortening) 1 cup
bacon drippings 2 tbsp.

mesh bags (or a suet feeder!)
butchers string or jute twine

Directions:
Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl.

Heat peanut butter, suet and bacon drippings in small saucepan on medium, stirring occasionally until melted. Gradually stir into birdseed mixture until moistened. Pack mixture into ice cube trays. Chill well or freeze.

Fill mesh bags (or suet feeder) with up to 10 cubes. Close. Tie with string. Hang from sturdy branch or shepherds hook. Makes about 4 dozen cubes.

Note: You could also just place a few cubes on your deck, fence rail or a bird feeder platform.

$15 meal...or two or three or four!!!

I just threw together a good old-fashioned Sunday beef pot roast in the slow cooker, and am SO excited to turn it on in the morning and come home to YUMMY DELICIOUSNESS!!!!!!!! The roast that I bought was a nicer cut, and cost around $11.50. But you see, it has MUCH less fat on it. I know that the marble fat is what makes the meat taste delicious, but I'm trying to be healthy here people! So, I browned the hunk o' meat in some evoo (that's extra-virgin olive oil, in case you haven't ever heard a famous cook with the initials RR throw that term around) and also some yellow onions. I much prefer yellow onions to white, and hardly ever buy white unless it is the only thing there. I seasoned the meat with garlic powder, low sodium salt and pepper on all the sides, and made sure that each side was browned before setting the meat in an olive oil covered crock. Then I washed up some little red potatoes, carrots and mushrooms and placed them on and around the meat. Note: I don't really like mushrooms, but my sweet Erik LOVES them, so every now and again I have to incorporate them into a meal so that his tummy is happy! Not much I love more than to make my man happy with a good meal! SO, in the morgen, I will add a few inches of water in the crock and set it on low and hopefully it will be done when we come home from church! When it is all done, I will make some gravy out of the juices. My mom taught me how to do gravy...just take the juices from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil in another pan, or the original pan if you have removed the meat and veggies from that original pan...and then, you take some flour and cold water and mix up in the blender - I think it is about a half to one ratio...so, 1/2 cup flour to 1 cup cold water...I usually end up with several cups of water and a few cups of flour to make sure I have PLENTY of gravy. I like to have leftover gravy so that I can make pot pies and freeze them for later! The gravy really is a season to taste adventure. Once you mix in the flour and water mixture, making sure to only use as much as you need to for a good gravy consistency (I love thick gravy, so I have to add more of the flour), then you bring that to a boil. And then season with more garlic powder, salt and pepper. It's YUMMY!!! And I'm sure it's NOT healthy.

Onto the pot pies...cut up the leftover beef and mix with your favorite frozen veggies, or fresh veggies that you have chopped and cooked until tender - for example, I sometimes do a mixture of carrots, peas and potatoes...but you could do broccoli if you like that I suppose! Mix meat and veggies with leftover gravy, making sure that there isn't TOO much gravy, but just enough to keep things really moist. Place in glass or porcelain baking dishes, and cover with a pre-made store-bought pastry, such as a pie shell. That's what I usually use and I make it fit the pan by stretching and prodding it, and it works! If you want a real pie, you can put a pastry on the bottom of the pan as well...but if you're trying to cut a couple of calories out of an already calorie laden dish, then just use the pastry on the top. If you're lucky, you may have enough meat and gravy left over for several pies! I usually end up with two or three! And they freeze wonderfully, so you can pull them out for dinner some night when you don't want to cook. Bake at 350 degrees for around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Make SURE that you keep the crust edges covered with pieces of foil if you don't want burned crust! And you can even start the pie out for the first 30-45 minutes with foil covering the entire thing if you want to. I often do that, and then it helps to ensure that it doesn't burn.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!