Lemon Zucchini Bread

Well friends I have one last zucchini post for the year--I thought I was done but Roy dropped a couple of beautiful yellow zucchinis on my door step. This time of the year it is usually a drop and run--but I was a happy recipient. 
Lemon and zucchini are perfect partners. This bread combines the bounty of zucchini and the light refreshing taste of lemon. It is a match made in heaven. And if you happen to have 'yellow zucchini' the lemon will shine while the zucchini adds a wonderful moistness. This bread slices beautifully and has a wonderful crumb.  The glaze is a perfect finishing touch. I think you will make this bread often--even  if you have to purchase zucchini!
Lemon Zucchini Bread
In a small bowl rub the zest of one lemon into 2/3 cup sugar. It will smell wonderful.
In a large bowl combine:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
In a bowl whisk together:
2 eggs (whisk till thick and lemon colored)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
juice from 1 lemon (2-3 tablespoons)
lemon zest and sugar mixture
1 cup grated zucchini
Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and mix very gently just until combined. Pour into pans that have been sprayed with Bakers Joy or you can grease and flour your pans. This makes one large loaf or 3 smaller loaves. I have a Pampered Chef's Mini Stoneware Pan--it fills 3 of the 4 small pans. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans 10 minutes then turn bread out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.

Glaze with a mixture of:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon Meringue Powder (this is optional, it helps the glaze harden)
zest of one lemon
pinch of salt
lemon juice until desired consistency
Combine and whisk until there are no lumps. Drizzle over cooled bread.
Printable Recipe
This is another yummy recipe from Jenn's blog Eat Cake for Dinner

Zucchini Orange Poppy Seed Bread

I am sure you still have access to Zucchini. This is a wonderful way to use your garden bounty. Our neighbor Roy is in charge of growing zucchini for our neighborhood, you really only need one person! Roy planted a yellow zucchini which was perfect for this bread. It was wonderful--I'll make it again, like tomorrow.

Zucchini Orange Poppy Seed Bread
 (or a combination of all my favorite sweet breads)
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 large eggs
1/2 cup oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
zest from 1 orange
1/3 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup grated zucchini
In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds, set aside.
In a small bowl rub together the sugar and orange zest--this will smell wonderful.
In another bowl whisk the eggs until thick and lemon colored. Add the oil, orange juice and yogurt. Stir in the sugar/orange zest mix. Now add the zucchini. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Never over mix sweet breads--they get tough. Pour into greased pans--I use three small pans or you could use one large loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes for a large pan, adjust time for smaller  pans. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn onto a cooling rack. When cool glaze/frost with:

Orange Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
zest from a orange
orange juice to reach desired consistency
1/2 teaspoon meringue powder, optional--this will help glaze harden
Whisk ingredients together, use a small amount of juice adding more as necessary.
I like plenty of glaze or even frosting
Printable Recipe

Thanks Jenn from Eat Cake For Dinner. Jenn has a great blog--I go to her blog often when making my weekly menu. Check our her Favorites on her sidebar- some great recipes! 

Double Chocolate Zucchini Mini Muffins

Tis the Season--for Zucchini! Now this is probably the best way to eat zucchini ( and maybe breaded and fried)! These mini muffins pack a lot of flavor, cocoa and mini chocolate chips combine with zucchini, of course, for one delicious bite. This recipe comes from King Arthur Flour--one of my favorite recipe sites and online baking shops. The original recipe makes a loaf of Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread, but I really don't have the patience to wait 70 minutes for a loaf of bread to bake. Mini muffins cook in about 12-15 minutes and are much easier to share--trust me.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
2 eggs
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar (3.5 ounces)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 2/3 cup flour
2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed
1 cup mini chocolate chips

In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs, honey, oil , sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa and flour. Mix until just combined.
Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips.
Now you have a choice!
Spray an 8 1/2 x 4 inch loaf pan or muffin cups or mini muffin tin.
Bake at 350 till a pick comes out clean. Loaf will take about 65-75 minutes, muffins about 22-25 minutes and mini muffins about 12-14 minutes. Don't over bake. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes and remove. Enjoy! It really says to cool completely before slicing--but I can never wait!
Now I love to frost, drizzle and glaze but these stand on their own, I promise! 
Printable Recipe

1 Year Ago------Reeses Mini Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread
2 Years Ago-----Summer Fruit Galette
3 Years Ago-----Skillet Chicken Tikka Masala
4 Years Ago-----Pasta Chicken Cashew Salad
 

That Yummy Veggie Lasagna

This yummy lasagna is meat free and delicious, perfect to share with a vegetarian new mother. I used my food processor to speed the process of cutting the carrots and zucchini. I also used it to grate cheese, put the cheese in the freezer for 15 minutes for easier grating. I won't lie--this recipe took almost an hour to get it ready for the oven. It also cooks an hour and then needs to sit. Allow plenty of time. This one dish meal is delicious! Please try it. Inspiration for this recipe came from a Pampered Chef Stoneware Sensations Cookbook. I believe it is out of print.

Lasagna Primavera – We just call it That Yummy Vegetable Lasagna

2 cups carrots, thinly sliced

2 cups small zucchini, sliced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, pressed

¾ teaspoon Italian Seasoning

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (14 ½ ounces) Italian seasoned diced tomatoes, drained

1 container (15 ounces) part skim ricotta cheese

1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup diced parsley

1 ounce fresh Parmesan cheese, grated, about ¼ cup

1 jar (16 ounces) white Alfredo pasta sauce

¾ cup milk

10 uncooked lasagna noodles (about 8 ounces)

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Heat oil in large skillet or pan over medium heat.  Press garlic into oil.  Add sliced carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, Italian Seasoning and black pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 7 minutes.  Remove skillet from heat.  Add drained tomatoes to vegetables; set aside.  In another bowl combine ricotta cheese, egg, salt.  fresh parsley and grated Parmesan.  In yet another bowl, (we love dirty dishes!!) combine Alfredo sauce and milk.

To assemble lasagna, spread ¾ cup of Alfredo sauce mixture over bottom of 9 x 13 pan.  Top with half of uncooked noodles in single layer (place 4 noodles lengthwise and 1 noodle crosswise, breaking noodles to fit).  The recipe actually says that…as if we couldn’t have figured it out on our own.  Press noodles into sauce.  Spread half of ricotta mixture over noodles. I had  a genius idea. I spooned the ricotta mixture in a large zip lock bag, cut a 1/2 inch slice off one corner. It was so easy to 'pipe' the ricotta cheese on the noodles. I was impressed with myself.  Top with half of vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle with half of mozzarella cheese.  Repeat layers, starting with ¾ cup sauce.  After layering, pour remaining sauce over top of lasagna.  Cover.  Bake 50 minutes.  Uncover, carefully, it says, and continue baking 10 minutes.  Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes.  
Printable Recipe

Cocunut Shrimp Curry

We do love curry and will often order out just curry at a favorite Thai restaurant. As my daughters and I became more familiar with Thai ingredients we decided to try a few Thai dishes at home. Curry was an easy place to start. My daughter sent me some small cans of red curry paste. Now even though the cans are small they contained way more than the recipe called for. I measured the paste in 1 teaspoon amounts and put each teaspoon on a piece of parchment paper. These were quick frozen and put in a labeled, freezer baggie. Now we get many uses of one can of curry paste. We tried this dish with chicken--it was not bad but we will stick to shrimp in the future.

Curry Ingredients
1 pound shrimp
2 tsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp canola oil (split and used at different times in the recipe)
1 cup chopped red pepper
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup snow peas, strings removed, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 cup bean sprouts
2 carrots, cut with a Julienne cutter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
(when preparing ingredients mix the 1 tsp oil, garlic, and ginger in a small bowl - when it comes time to add it to the pan you'll pat yourself on the back for making it so easy!)

Coconut Curry Sauce
1 can coconut milk, not light
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2-3 tsp red curry paste
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp cornstarch

Combine the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl, set aside.

Make sure the shrimp are peeled, deveined, and thawed if previously frozen.  Toss the shrimp with soy sauce.  Heat 2 tsp oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally until curled and lightly brown, about 2 minutes.  Do NOT overcook. Transfer the shrimp to a clean bowl.

Add 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan and heat until shimmering.  Add bell pepper and cook until crisp tender, about 2 minutes.  Stir in zucchini and snow peas and cook one more minute.  Clear the center of the pan and add the oil, garlic, ginger mixture.  Cook, mashing into the pan with a spatula, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in cooked shrimp, bean sprouts and julienne carrots.  Quickly whisk sauce ingredients to recombine and add to pan.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook until the sauce thickens, about 1-2 minutes.  Serve immediately. Over a big bowl of rice. May accompany with Naan,
This recipe was inspired by one we saw on Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Creamy Garlic Pasta

I will be the first to admit that side dishes are not my strong point. I have grand intentions of beautiful salads, fresh fruit in a beautiful display, even just steamed veggies. Some days we get there others are pretty poor.

 So I'm excited to tell you about this yummy noodle dish we made today. The entire dinner took only 30 minutes. First we cooked frozen Costco Chicken tenders sprinkled with Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper Seasoning, this took about 15 minutes. The spinach steamed in a micro cooker for 2 minutes. The noodles were quick and perfect.

We will make this again often--maybe tomorrow, it was that good. We may add roasted summer squash, mushrooms, onion, pepper etc, add diced meat and it turns into a meal. Oh we do have plans for this dish.

This recipe came from the Cheese Pusher, we made it as written today but we do have plans!

Creamy Garlic Pasta

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 garlic gloves, pressed

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3 cups chicken broth

8 ounces thin spaghetti

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup cream

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat olive oil and add garlic. Stir about a minute until fragrant. Add the butter, salt, pepper and chicken broth. Bring to boil and add spaghetti. Cook amount of time stated on package, ours cooked in about 5 minutes, stir often so it doesn't stick. Add Parmesan cheese and stir till all melted. Remove from heat and add cream, stir. Add parsley, stir and serve immediately. Enjoy! This is one yummy quick dish--trust me on this one.

Even the baby loved it.

A New Look and Carrot Zucchini Cake

I'm excited to have a new blog look. Thanks to Rebeka from Monkeys Love Donuts I have a fun updated blog with my own button! Rebeka was so fun to work with, she is amazing.
Now for the recipe. We have had the most beautiful September, temperatures around the 80's. So that means our garden is still producing a bit. I had one last zucchini, I think I found the perfect recipe.

This has to be good for you, it is full of carrots, zucchini, dates, nuts and honey. Now that is one great list!
The recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens. I substituted dates for the raisins. Delicious! I do love dates. The recipe calls for a Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting. It tasted great but was so soft that it didn't set up even after refrigeration. So you might want to find a cream cheese frosting you can trust! But do add the citrus, it adds a great flavor. This is one great cake full of yummy ingredients
Here is the recipe for Carrot and Zucchini Cake.

Summer Veggie Saute for Two

This was a quick tasty meal for two using veggies from our very small garden. It is easy to alter depending on what veggies you like and have. I added some sauteed shrimp for a yummy light summer supper.

Summer Veggie Saute for Two
2 cups sliced veggies--zucchini, summer squash, carrots, red pepper, etc.
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tomato, diced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon oregano
ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
fresh basil
cooked shrimp
Saute sliced veggies, onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil until crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Add seasonings and tomato. Top with shredded cheese and basil, cover and remove from heat. Top with cooked shrimp and a splash of fresh lemon juice and serve.

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Very Chocolate Zucchini Bread

'Tis the Season', the zucchini season that is. Good cooks everywhere are trying to find ways to cook or disguise zucchini. This chocolate bread is perfect. It is very chocolaty, the zucchini adds moistness and a fun texture. It comes together quickly and is perfect to share. This recipe comes from Sugared Whisk, a very fun blog.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan and set aside.
-Grate the zucchini, using a medium sized grater; set aside.
-In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice; set aside.
-In the bowl of your electric mixer, or by hand if you prefer, beat the oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until well blended (about 2 minutes). Fold in the grated zucchini. Add the flour mixture, beating just until combined, then the chocolate chips and nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the bread has risen and a toothpick 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 on wire rack.
-I have also baked this in smaller pans for gift giving. I have a pampered chef stoneware pan with four mini loaves, this recipe filled 3 of them.
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Hawaii and Macadamia Cookies

Many years ago my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Dad loved Hawaii and wanted to see it with his children. So Mom and Dad planned and paid for a wonderful week in Hawaii for their 6 children and  their spouses--no one complained. It was fun to get away from family responsibilities and live the tourist life. We stayed at a nice hotel that had a lovely cafe with outdoor seating. It was December, Hawaii was decorated with thousands of Poinsettias. Every morning Mom and Dad would eat breakfast with Greg and I at the out door cafe. Dad thought is was quite a novelty that he was eating breakfast outside in December! I of course loved the food. Every morning there was a yummy sweet bread made with Macadamias. What a wonderful way to start the day. Thus began my love affair with macadamias.

Today's cookie make me think of Hawaii, Macadamias and my Father--who has been gone 6 year this week. I'm so glad we were able to take that one last trip with Dad. It meant so much to him. Mom and Dad traveled often but Mom will always say that her favorite trip was spending time in Hawaii with all her children.
So this cookie just screams Hawaii! It is just a version of my food processor cookie, just replace the nuts with chopped Macadamias and use white chocolate chips in place of the semi-sweet.

Macadamia and White Chocolate Cookie
1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter (softened and cut into 8 pieces)

1 T vanilla (yes, this is a tablespoon, not a teaspoon.  Use real vanilla, of course, not imitation.)

1 1/3 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup chopped macadamias

1/2 cup oatmeal (regular, not instant)

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Buzz first 5 ingredients in processor 30 seconds.  Scrape down and buzz 5-7 seconds more.  Distribute flour, salt and baking soda over mixture in processor.  Scatter nuts, oats and chips on top of that.  Buzz on/off 10 times.  Don't over mix.  Just give a swipe with a spatula to any flour that looks unmixed (it really will be okay).

Drop by teaspoonful 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.

Let stand 1 minute on sheet.  Remove and cool on wire racks.  

Simply Delicious Pesto Pasta

It is summer! My basil plant grows inches each day, the zucchini are small and tender (at least for the next day or two), life is good. This recipe was created one day when I was too lazy to go to the store! The fridge was pretty bare so I had to be creative. I made a batch of pesto. I like pesto, it is pretty, easy to make and so versatile. Once the pesto was made this meal came together in about 10 minutes.

Simply Delicious Pesto Pasta
Cook 8 ounces pasta, I like Barilla Piccolini, it is a Mini Penne
1 small onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 pound chicken tenders, grilled and sliced
Pesto--homemade or Costco

Saute onion and zucchini in a little olive oil till slightly brown. Add chicken and pasta, stir in pesto to taste. I just added a spoon full at a time. I also added a couple of tablespoons of liquid from the cooked pasta. Heat and top with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

This recipe would be great with mushrooms, yellow summer squash, red pepper etc. I had grilled chicken tenders in the fridge so this came together in minutes. I think we will see different versions of this recipe a lot in the coming months.

MSCC

I know the purpose of a baking group is to stretch ones self, try something new; but I'm afraid this months pick involved too much stretching! S'mores Cupcakes sounded fun, but as I read thru the recipe I realized I was lacking too many ingredients, tools and even the desire to make 'marshmellow' frosting. Sorry, maybe another day. I did have to bake, it was the birthday of my sweet Mother-In-Law. Cupcakes were certainly in order.

I tried to think of the perfect cupcake for her, one she would love (and that I didn't need graham flour, unflavored gelatin and a torch to make). I knew she liked spice, cream cheese, lemon, she is not a fan of nuts and oft times chocolate is not her favorite.
I came up with the perfect birthday cupcake, it combined all her favorite flavors and was delish! Did you realize that you can make Zucchini Cupcakes anytime?? You really do not have to have a huge zucchini begging to be used!I remember Martha's moist spicy zucchini cupcakes we made last fall. They have a good amount of lemon zest in them, this provided the springboard for my birthday cupcakes.

I knew the cupcakes would be yummy but I really wanted the frosting to shine. The frosting was a perfect combination of cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and pure lemon extract. It was creamy and so good. I topped the cupcakes with toasted walnuts. I left a few plain for those that don't like crunch in their cake.

They were a success. My mother-in-law was quite happy with my choice. Last year I began my blog with her birthday cake--The Perfect Party Cake! Has it really been a year? Stay tuned for a little blog candy! Coming soon. Check out our MSCC and see what S'mores Cupcakes really look like.

Roasted Vegetables

This simple recipe is perfect for cold winter days. It is a great side for fish, chicken or steak.

Roasted Vegetables
Potatoes scrubbed with skins on, cut in chunks (about the size of a large walnut)
Carrots, peeled cut in 2-inch pieces
Onions, peeled quartered
Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut in 1-inch slices
Salt
Pepper
Paparika
Garlic Powder
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil

Put Veggies in a large bowl, season and drizzle with olive oil. Stir well, vegetables should just be lightly coated. Pour vegetables on a lightly greased pan--I use a stoneware bar pan. Veggies should be just one layer. Cook at 450 for 30 minutes, turning once, veggies should be tender and browned.
In the same bowl you had your veggies in add:
Mushrooms, halved
small Zucchini, sliced
Red Pepper, slices
Stir together, season and add to your veggies the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Serve with a sprinkle of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, basil, thyme.
This recipe is just a place to begin, use different seasonings you might try adding parsnips, turnips, celery, asparagus or green beans. You can cook this dish at 350 degrees for about 1 hour 15 minutes.
But I am usually in a hurry!

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Zucchini Spice Cupcakes

     I am happy to be a member of an online baking group. We will bake our way through the Martha Stewart Cupcake book. This months recipe was a winner. It uses up the ever prolific zucchini that is abundant this time of the year. It also gave me a chance to try out my new KitchenAide Food Processor. My old one died making Blueberry Bars--I just wore the poor thing out!

     It did a beautiful job of shredding the zucchini! This recipe was easy to make; whisk dry ingredients, including cinnamon, cloves and fresh nutmeg. Wet ingredients include eggs, oil and vanilla; add lots of brown sugar, a bit of lemon zest, the shredded zuchinni and some toasted walnuts. Gently stir and enjoy the spicy scent as these cupcakes bake.

     I frosted them with a simple cream cheese frosting! They are delicious for breakfast--I know! Check out all the bakers to see their creations.

     As I make a recipe in a new cookbook I like to write things in the margins--things I would do different etc. I also give recipes a star rating. This is a full 5 stars (5 is the best), I will certainly make them again. I would make just 1/2 recipe of frosting. This recipe makes 18 regular cupcakes and 24 minis.