Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Source: Jodi Gallagher


Servings: 12+
Prep Time: 10 min.
Bake Time: 35-40 min.
Total Time: 45-50 min.


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c oil
• 2 c grated zucchini (packed, push all the water out of it)
• 4 T cocoa (heaping)
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1 t. soda
• 2 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c buttermilk ("make" buttermilk by adding 1 TBS lemon juice to one cup milk and then letting it sit for five minutes to sour. Then use 1/2 cup for the recipe).

(Healthier version: replace the oil with same amount of applesauce and do half wheat half white flour)

Directions:

1. Mix sugar, eggs, oil, zucchini and cocoa. Add salt and soda.
2. Then add flour alternating with buttermilk.
3. Pour in a greased and floured 9 x13 cake pan.
4. Then sprinkle chocolate chips over the top - cover it completely!
5. Bake at 325 for 35-40 minutes. (24 muffins bake for 18 minutes; two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans bake for 50-55 minutes)
6. Insert a toothpick in the center to see if done. Make sure it is not in a place where there is a choc chip because it will come out gooey.

Comments:

I stole this recipe off of Jodi's blog last week and it is a keeper! I've already made it twice with leftover zucchini; the first time it got eaten (mostly by me) in one sitting, the second time I took it to my 7th grade team meeting at school and my teacher friends didn't even leave a crumb left! (I had to steal Jodi's photo, too, since this stuff got devoured before I thought to document it on camera.) Thanks, Jodi. . .keep the yummy recipes coming!

I didn't have 2 cups' worth of zucchini either time I made it, so I just halved the recipe. . .worked just fine. The first time I did it in a 8x8 cake pan (baked for 35 minutes) and the second time I baked it as a loaf in a 8x4x2-inch pan (baked for 55 minutes).

Kim's Fruit Cobbler

The above cobbler is made with a combination of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.
I make this cobbler with all kinds of fruit: cherries, peaches or apricots etc

FRUIT MIXTURE:
Fruit – about a quart of fresh or frozen or drained canned fruit
Sugar – to taste, I usually add 1 – 1½ cups depending on sweetness of fruit
Water - small amount @ ½ cup don’t add too much because many kinds of fruit will become juicy when heated. You don’t want it to be too soupy
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 T cornstarch

In saucepan place fruit, sugar, salt, vanilla and water and bring just to a boil. Do not overcook. When bubbly add 2+ T. cornstarch mixed with small amount of water and cook only until thickened. For some fruit you might need more thickening agent.
Pour hot into 9 x 12 ceramic or glass baking dish

BATTER:
· 1 ½ cup flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 1/3 cup melted butter
· 2/3 cup sugar
· 1 egg
· ¾ cup milk
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix batter thoroughly and pour evenly over hot fruit mixture in baking pan

TOPPING:
· Mix 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch in small bowl
· Sprinkle on top of batter
· Carefully pour 1/3 cup of water over sugar and cornstarch mix, just to moisten. This kind of gives it a glaze when baking

Bake 350
30 – 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream

YUM!

Zucchini Pancakes

Source: Sarah Brown & allrecipes.com

Servings: 3-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• (optional) sour cream and/or marinara sauce

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, oregano, salt and pepper. Combine the zucchini, egg, onion and mayonnaise; stir into dry ingredients until well blended.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter. Drop zucchini mixture by cupfuls into skillet; press lightly to flatten. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.
3. Serve with sour cream and/or marinara sauce, if desired.

Comments:

I discovered these pancakes last summer when my friend Sarah Brown brought them to our Relief Society potluck luncheon. I couldn't get enough of these (especially covered in marinara sauce)! At the time, I had tons of zucchini on my hands, so this was a really yummy alternative to sauteing zucchini or using it in pasta or bread.

Honey Glazed Roasted Vegetables

Source: www.eggplantrecipes.net

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes (or more depending on how many veggies you use)

Ingredients

1/4 cup Honey
1/4 cup Olive Oil
3 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
Salt, Pepper, and Dried Thyme, to taste (I didn't use any of these)
4-6 cups mixed halved Red Potatoes, sliced Zucchini, thickly sliced Onions, Red Peppers, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, sliced Eggplant (I did big chunks of everything, and I sweated my eggplant first.)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. 2. Combine honey, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme in small bowl. 3. Mix well. 4. Arrange red potatoes, zucchini, onions, red peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, and eggplant in roasting pan. 5. Brush honey mixture over vegetables. (I just spooned it over and stirred it around well.) 6. Bake 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. (I only stirred it when I made the 9x13; the 8x8 didn't need it.)

Comments: The recipe is AMAZING. Seriously, it's a new favorite for Ryan and me. We got an eggplant with our CSA veggies, and I had no idea what to do with it (Can't have Eggplant Parmesean with Katie's milk allergy). I found this recipe and knew I would like it (I have a pretty big sweet tooth.) The great thing is, you can use whatever veggies you have in the house. I used potatoes, carrots, sweet red peppers, eggplant, and onion. The first time I just did an 8x8 and the 30 minutes of cooking time was plenty. The second time I did a 9x13 (doubling the glaze recipe), and it took at least an hour (the carrots were the real problem--I finally covered the pan in foil, which helped). Also, the second time, we served the veggies over Ry's incredible garlic (non-dairy) mashed potatoes. It was so amazing! The vegetables taste like candy, and with the mashed potatoes, it was so filling and the perfect comfort food. I can't wait to make this in the winter!

Plum Cake

Source: Allrecipes.com

Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups plums, pitted and sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 inch tube pan.
2. Separate the eggs. In a small bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar. Beat in the egg yolks and the lemon zest.
4. Stir together the flour and baking powder and then beat the flour mixture into the creamed mixture. Gently fold in the egg whites. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. There will only be a little over an inch of batter. Arrange the plums, skin side down, attractively over the batter.
5. Bake at 375 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 minutes or until cake tests done. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Comments: Ry had plum cake on his mission in Germany that he loved, and we found some in Brussels (incredible!) but he hasn't had it since. We had some really flavorful plums from our CSA share last week, so I made him a plum cake to come home to after traveling for work for a couple days. It's not really European style, but it's still incredible! (I had one tiny crumb---I'll be making this again after Katie is weaned!) Be sure to really load the plums on the top---they shrivel a little when cooked, so you definitely want to crowd them on the top before you put it in the oven.

Insanely Naughty Pumpkin Cake

Source: Angel Shannon on abc4.com

Servings: 12+
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hours, 10 minutes

Ingredients & Directions:

Crust:

• 1 box yellow cake (set aside 1 cup that will be used for the topping)
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 egg

Mix cake mix, melted butter, and 1 egg well. Pour and press into lightly greased cake pan.

Filling:

• 3 c. pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ c. sugar
• 1 t. salt
• 1 ½ t. cinnamon
• 1 t. ginger
• 12 oz. can evaporated milk

Mix pumpkin, 2 eggs, sugar, salt, spices, and evaporated milk. Pour over crust mix in pan.

Topping:

• 1 c. cake mix (reserved)
• ¼ c. sugar
• ¼ c. butter
• 3 T. flour

Mix these until crumbly. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Cool and serve with whipped topping.

Comments:

I just barely got this recipe today. . .and it's already a family favorite!

Cathi Chipman, a beloved sister in our ward, has been ill for years with pulmonary sclerosis (I believe) and probably won't be with us for very much longer. The other sisters and I in our ward love to serve her because she is such a joy to be around. I called her yesterday to see if there was anything I could do to help or if there were any foods she was able to eat had been craving, and she requested this cake. My friend, Monette, in our ward had made it for a Relief Society activity once, so I called her up; she was so helpful and searched around for it for me.

Cathi only wanted a few pieces -- she doesn't eat much at all these days -- so I served the rest tonight at a Wihongi family get together. This stuff got inhaled! It was so yummy, similar to a chocolate molten lava cake, only pumpkin. We've already decided this needs to be served at Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any other fall family function.

A delicious dessert that will now always remind me of an incredible woman and friend.

Speedy No-Knead Bread (The easiest recipe ever!)

Source: NY Times

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Rise Time: 4:30 (in 2 rises)
Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients
3 cups flour (white or wheat)
1 packet (1/4 ounce) yeast
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 cups water
oil

Directions

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.

3. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

4. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Comments: This bread is so good, and this is my new favorite recipe because it is SO easy! Sure, you have to plan ahead with the rising time, but no kneading? Love it! You get a really beautiful, olive-oily, cripsy crust too. So good with hummus or chicken borscht, and we're going to try it with bruschetta!