Chocoate Zucchini Cake

One more yummy thing to do with zucchini!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup soft butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Glaze (directions follow)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

3 Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.

4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.

5 Drizzle glaze over cake.

Glaze: Mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 Tablespoons milk, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.

delicious, easy roast beef sandwiches

Ok, I made these for Nick the other night and he said he hadn't had a philly cheese steak sandwich that good since he ate one in San Francisco. They were SUPER SUPER easy and it only took about 10-15 min to make. Here's the recipe off the top of my head:

Hoagie Buns

4-6 Provolone cheese slices

3/4 lb of Roast Beef

Italian Dressing

1-2 medium yellow onions

Chop your onions (length way) so they are thin and round ( like onion rings)... you can slice them in half so they're not round. ( did that make sense?)

Spray pan with Pam and grill your onions. ( no need to season them really. Add a bit of salt if you want.)

Throw your roast beef slices in the pan with the grilled onions. ( Heat up meat for your sandwich).

In the mean time, get a cookie sheet, cut your hoagie buns down the middle.... Spread some Italian dressing on the bread ( like you'd make any other sandwich.) Place in oven on BROIL for about 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, place roast beef, onions, and a slice or two of provolone cheese on top of bread (per sandwich.) Place back in oven for about a minute until cheese is melted.

(you can add grilled bell peppers.... or tomatoes and lettuce if you wish!)

Serve and eat immediately. Seriously, SO good and SO easy.

love, Heather

Banana Oat Shake

I found this on a blog and I love it, it fills me up until well into the afternoon. Sometimes I add strawberries or other fruit to mix it up, but I like it straight up with banana too.

1/2 c. plain vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. oats
1 banana, cut in fourths
2 t. honey
2 t. ground flax seed (i add this for my omega-3)

Enjoy!

Per Alpha's Request

Got together with such a great group of people last night and made mozzarella cheese and then made pizza with it. Got this pizza crust recipe from Elaine, I adore it, and, after last night, some other people do too. So here you go Alpha and others. No rising time necessary. Enjoy!

1 pkg dry yeast [=2 1/4 tsp]
1 c. warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil [or olive oil]
2 1/2 c. flour

directions:dissolve yeast in warm water, then add oil to water.combine dry ingredients.add water to dry ingredients. beat vigorously 20 strokes.let rest 5 mins.

bake 20-25 mins at 425 degrees

Fresh Strawberry Bars and Hello

Hi everyone, I'm Robyn. I'm Ellen's cousin (by marriage) and I was excited to see this blog. I'm a stay at home mama, I love to blog, I love cooking and am excited to share recipes with you girls. I've already seen some yummy ones on here that I want to try.

Here is another way to use up strawberries... or an excuse to buy the flat! I made these bars for book club when I hosted at my house the other night, and they were a huge hit. Girls even asked to take some home for their husbands. Perfect for me, since I didn't feel compelled to devour the rest of them the next day! It's like a peanut butter blondie with a big dose of summertime on top. They're great because I usually have all the ingredients on hand...

The only notes I have for the recipe is to be sure and use freezer jam, and also, I used crunchy peanut better because that was all I had, but I think it gave the crust more texture, so I used it again the next time, too. I think you could bake a little longer than the time required, depending on how things are looking. I also served it with some fresh whipped cream on top.

Fresh Strawberry Bars (via BHG magazine)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup strawberry jam
  
• 4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond the edges. Set aside.

2. In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour.

3. Spread dough in prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.

4. Cool completely on rack. Remove from pan by lifting foil. Spread jam and top with berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours. Makes 24 bars

Nutrition Facts

Calories 225, Total Fat (g) 10, Saturated Fat (g) 5, Monounsaturated Fat (g) 4, Polyunsaturated Fat (g) 1, Cholesterol (mg) 33, Sodium (mg) 143, Carbohydrate (g) 30, Total Sugar (g) 18, Fiber(g) 1, Protein (g) 4.

Easy, Healthy Dinner

There is nothing I love more than a simple, inexpensive, healthy dinner. It really doesn't get simpler than this. This recipe is kind of an obvious one, but we love it so much I wanted to share it any way.


Sweet & Sour Chicken Bowl


chicken breast (however much you want)
brown rice
brocolli
pineapple tidbits
sweet & sour sauce (we love this kind - plus it is only $2)

optional:
onion
peppers


Cut up chicken into cubes and cook in frying pan with olive oil. Meanwhile, cook rice on stove or in rice cooker. Steam brocolli and cook whatever other veggies you want to add in. Put rice in bowl, add chicken, brocolli, pineapple, and other veggies and pour on sauce. Voila! That's it.

**Tip for buying chicken: buying organic or all natural chicken really is more economical. Have you ever noticed how regular chicken seems to shrink when you cook it? It is because regular chicken is generally smaller because they don't let the chickens grow to full size before they kill them so they end up pumping it with saline to make it appear bigger. I noticed this on my own and then had it confirmed when Jared worked for Winder Farms and they used it as a selling point for their organic chicken. Not to mention it tastes better and you can feel better when you eat your chicken knowing that was treated well!

double stuffed sweet potatoes

• pre heat oven to 350/400 (whatever you think best)
  
• cut sweet potatoes in half and brush with olive oil
  
• when they are nice and soft take them out and spoon out the inside
• put in plastic bowl
• add in a couple spoonfuls of cream cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• a little bit of curry powder
• a sprinkling of anise seeds
• mix it up
  
• put back in potato skins
• sprinkle cut chives on top
• put back in oven for a little bit
• serve with plain greek yogurt, black beans and rice, and some sparkling water and you are set!
  

seriously SO good.