Moist Zucchini Bread Recipe

Grandma's Moist Zucchini Bread

Aaaaah yes, zucchini bread. The spicy, sweet smell of this easy, quick bread baking brings back fond summertime childhood memories. I still have the image in my head of grandma proudly going out to her bountiful garden in that big, brown straw hat with that heavy basket propped on her hip, ready to gather up fresh zucchini.

She made lots of great recipes with zucchini but one of my favorites was her fresh, homemade moist zucchini bread. Grandmother made the best zucchini breads and everybody knew it. She'd start either early in the day or late at night because she didn't like to turn on the hot oven for an hour. She made loaves for neighbors, church gatherings and whoever else came by. I remember the insurance man coming by one day and him happily leaving with a loaf wrapped in saran wrap.

Even if you hate zucchini, you will love this bread! It is sweet with a hint of spice from the cinnamon and ginger. The outside is golden and tender and the inside is super moist and dense. I love it right from the oven, room temperature and even cold. One slice always follows another in my house.

I hope that you enjoy this moist zucchini bread recipe as much as I do!

Watch me make this fresh, moist, homemade zucchini bread recipe form start to finish!

Preheat Oven to 325

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves) 
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-3 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnut or pecans (optional)

Bake for 45 minute to 1 hour

ENJOY!!!

Melt in your mouth soft.....

Stick to the back of the fork moist!!!

Mango Shrimp Tostadas Recipe

I created this recipe many years ago for Richard and I to enjoy a light, refreshing, seafood-based Mexican entree. All of the components go great together, and it is a quick and simple meal to prepare.

Mango Shrimp Tostadas Recipe

3/4 to 1 lb whole, raw, medium shrimp
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 mango
1 large avocado -OR- 2 small avocados
1/2 bunch of cilantro
2 limes
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
4-6 Los Pericos Tostadas, or make your own baked tostadas in the oven (how to at end of post)
Hot sauce

For the shrimp, remove the shells, make a slice along the dark line and remove the waste, rinse, and cut them in half. Set the shrimp aside.

For the mango, peel the skin and remove the pit. Cut the mango pieces into small squares and add the cubes to a medium size mixing bowl.

Cut the avocado in half along the pit, open and remove the pit. Use a knife to make slices in the avocado half, first in one direction, then in the other direction to make the cubes. Use a spoon to scoop out the cubes and add them to the mixing bowl with the mango.

Wash the half bunch of cilantro, chop the leaves, and add them to the mixing bowl.

If you are adding a jalapeno, wash and dry it, then slice it in half and remove the seeds. Mince the jalapeno halves into very small pieces and add them to the mixing bowl.

Cut one of the limes in half and juice the lime halves into the mixing bowl. Use a spoon to gently mix everything together.

Heat a skillet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to High heat and add the shrimp. Drizzle the shrimp with a little olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and saute them for a couple of minutes until the shrimp are pinkish-white and curled. Remove the shrimp from the heat and add them to the mixing bowl.

Cut the second lime in half and juice the lime halves into the mixing bowl. Use a spoon to gently mix everything together one last time.

Spoon some of the mango-shrimp mixture onto a tostada, add your favorite Mexican hot sauce, and sour cream if you do dairy. Serves 2 adults (and one small child). On a side note, Sam likes to eat all of the components of this dish separately (she's only 6), so I set aside a small amount of each ingredient for her on a plate and she eats it that way.



To make your own oven-baked tostada shells, just follow these instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out corn or flour tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet or two, spray both sides of the tortillas with olive oil cooking spray, and lightly salt the one side. Bake them for 5 minutes, then flip them over and bake for 5 more minutes.  Enjoy!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies Recipe

I love homemade chicken soup and I love pie crust, so I came up with a chicken pot pie recipe for my family. I created a simple chicken soup recipe that when thickened, makes a great filling for the pie. Years ago I found this Flaky Pie Crust recipe on Vegan Pantry's website and I use it exclusively for all of my pot pies and fruit pies. This recipe takes about 2 hours from beginning to end (1 hour prep, 1 hour baking), but believe me, it's worth it. We absolutely love chicken pot pie night at our house.

Individual Chicken Pot Pies Recipe

1 large carrot or 2 medium carrots
1/4 head of a small green cabbage

2 tbsp olive oil
Pepper
3-1/2 cups water
3 bay leaves
2 tsp of Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base(Kosher if you can find it)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup frozen peas (optional)
2 heaping tbsp unbleached flour whisked with 1/3 cup water for slurry

1/2 recipe of Flaky Pie Crust (I use 1 cup of just unbleached flour for it, not both types of flour)

4 Pyrex Original 10-oz. Custard Cups

To prepare the vegetables and the chicken breasts:

Wash and dry all of the vegetables. Peel and slice or dice the carrots. Slice the small chunk of cabbage into strips and chop it into small 1 inch pieces. Cut the chicken breasts in half so they fit in your pot easier.

To make the pot pie filling:

In a large pot over High heat, add the olive oil, cabbage and carrots. Pepper to taste. Saute the vegetables for about 10 minutes to get them slightly browned. Add the water, Better than Bouillon, and bay leaves. When boiling, add the chicken breasts. Get the soup back to a boil, turn the heat down to Low, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer the chicken breasts for 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pot and cut the cooked chicken into bite-sized cubes. Return the cubed chicken to the pot. (Add the frozen peas [optional].) In a small bowl combine the flour and water to make a slurry, using a small whisk to get all of the lumps out, and mix it in the soup. Raise the heat to Medium High and let the soup simmer for a few more minutes to thicken up, stirring constantly. Turn off the heat when done and remove the bay leaves.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the pie crust:

Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Lightly flour your work-space. Roll each piece into a ball and then use a rolling pin to roll the crust into a circle large enough to overlap the tops of the custard cups and cover the pies.

To make the pot pies:

Spray the custard cups with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each with pot pie filling to within 1/2 inch from the top. Lay the pie crust round on top of the filling, flip over the edges, and press the dough to the sides of the custard cup to seal the crust. Cut a small slit in the top of each pie. Place the pies on a cookie sheet and bake them in the oven for 1 hour. Makes 4 individual chicken pot pies with left-over filling.

With the left-over filling, you can eat it by itself as a soup another time, or just re-heat it and serve it with the pot pies on the side for those who want more filling while they're eating their pies. When I make pot pies, I make 3 pot pies, and serve the left-over filling on the side.

Mac and Goat Cheese Recipe (Vegetarian)

We eat macaroni and cheese very rarely due to Sam's food sensitivities. When we do, I use rice macaroni and goat cheese for the focal point of the recipe. We absolutely *love* this dish. This is how I make it.

Mac and Goat Cheese Recipe

1-1/2 cups dry macaroni (I use brown rice macaroni)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup Chavrie goat cheese (a silky soft, spreadable goat cheese)
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese (fresh)
Salt and pepper to taste

Start a medium pot of water on High heat to boil for the macaroni. When boiling, add the macaroni and a dash of salt, and follow the package's cooking instructions. When the pasta is done, drain it and add it back to the medium pot for cooking the macaroni and goat cheese.

In the medium pot that the cooked macaroni is in, over low heat, add the tbsp of olive oil, the Chevre goat cheeese, and the parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir with a spoon for 1 or 2 minutes over low heat until the cheese is melted and incorporated into the pasta. Serves 4 as a side dish.

Chocolate Covered Bacon Recipe

Chocolate Covered Bacon

Salty Sweet Goodness?

Wait wait wait!!!! I know what you're thinking, chocolate+bacon=oh so wrong on so many levels. That's the same thing I thought when I stumbled upon this recipe in Taste of Home magazines. Apparently, it's all the rage at state fairs these days and even more so because it's so easy and quick to whip up at home.

I'm normally not a fan of bizarre, on-a-stick, artery clogging fair/carnival foods (well except for funnel cakes of course) but the more I pondered on this creation the more I wanted it. Even if I hated it, I so needed to satisfy my  curiosity of the salty and sweet combination. No I'm not preggers ok!

So do I dare? HECK YEAH!!! I  quickly ran to Wal-mart and came home and made a batch of chocolate covered bacon.

What's my take on this stuff? I LOVED IT!! I used turkey bacon instead of pork and I think that's why I liked it so much. Turkey bacon isn't that greasy and salty and well... in my opinion just tastes better. I'll admit it though I felt really wrong for eating it at first. Especially since hubby and I basically devoured all 12 sticks in one night, but at least I can officially go on record and say "yeah, I've had chocolate covered bacon. And like it"

So can you! Here's the recipe I used from taste of home magazine modified slightly! They are so easy to make and came out quite beautifully. You can pretty much add on any topping you like and I must say that even though I love milk chocolate, the white chocolate was my favorite. It goes so well with the saltiness of the bacon. If you are brave enough to try it, let me know how you liked it!

INGREDIENTS

12 strips of bacon (I used turkey)
12 wooden skewers
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons of shortening
1 cup of white chocolate
crushed pecan (topping)

DIRECTIONS

Step 1.)  Thread each piece of bacon onto the skewer.

 

Step 2.) Bake for 20-25 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven until bacon is crisp.

 

Step 3.) Melt milk chocolate chips and 1 Tablespoon of shortening in a bowl.

Step 4.) Brush the melted milk chocolate on the bacon until coated. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Lay across the baking pan. Do this for 6 of the strips of bacon.

Step 5.) Melt white chocolate chips with 1 Tablespoon of shortening.

Step 6.) Brush the remaining 6 strips of bacon with the white chocolate and sprinkle with pecans.

Step 7.) Place into the refrigerator until chocolate is hard.

ENJOY!!!!

Mixed Berry Cobbler Recipe

Mixed Berry Cobbler

Fast. Easy. Homemade. 

I am NOT a summer girl. I don't take well to heat at all. It makes me mean, irritable and frustrated. Therefore I haven't looked forward to summer since I was in high school, but right now...I LOVE IT!!

Why? Because I'm on a berry kick and luckily they are EVERYWHERE! Blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries..ahhhh. Big, beautiful, plump, juicy berries just beckoning to be made into something yummy.  And who am I do deny myself from enjoying God's bounty? Bring on those recipes for berry cobblers, pies, pancakes, jams, and whatever else I can think of!! Everything gets a berry twist and I've even loaded up my freezer with bags of fresh berries to enjoy in the fall and winter months.

I can sit and eat a bowl of mixed berries sprinkled with sugar and be just as content as can be, but give me a rustic, old fashioned mixed berry cobbler  or any cobbler really, with a side of frozen cool whip and I'm on cloud nine.

This mixed berry cobbler recipe works with frozen berries just as well as fresh berries. A perfect way to use up some of those super ripe berries and is an enjoyable end to a light summer dinner.

Ingredients

3 cups of fresh mixed berries (frozen berries ok if thawed)

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 stick of butter, melted

Preheat Oven to 375

Watch me make this easy, fresh, homemade mixed berry cobbler recipe from start to finish!

Acorn Squash Boats with Brown Sugar (Vegan)

This is my version of the acorn squash boats my Mom used to make when I was growing up. She used margarine or butter with the brown sugar, and I always made sure I got the one with the most sugar. This was my favorite vegetable side dish as a kid. Since we don't use butter or margarine at my house, my version of the squash boats have olive oil and salt instead. We love this side dish, especially Sam. As Sam gets older, she's eating more of the squash with the brown sugar, which is nice.

Acorn Squash Boats with Brown Sugar Recipe

Acorn squash - however many you want to make
1 tbsp olive oil per squash half
Salt
1 heaping tbsp brown sugar per squash half

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 1/4 inch of water in the bottom of a rectangular 9x12 pan. Cut the squash in half from the stem to the bottom. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the middle of the squash halves. Place them in the pan shell side up, and the flat parts on the bottom. Cover the pan with a large piece of aluminum foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes.

After removing the pan from the oven, be very careful taking the aluminum foil off as a bunch of hot steam will be released from the pan. Drain out the water and use a fork to help you turn the squash halves right side up (they will be very hot). Put 1 tbsp olive oil and a dash of salt in each half. Follow the olive oil and salt with 1 heaping tbsp of brown sugar in each half. Place the uncovered pan back in the oven for 5 more minutes. When done, use a spoon to gently mix the brown sugar and olive oil together in the squash half, and serve the squash with a spoon to eat it with. Serve one squash half per person. When you eat it, be sure to spread the sugar around to have some with each bite of squash.