Fabulous Zucchini Bread

Just in time for the harvest people. I came across this recipe the other day and with a few minor changes (simply because I didn't have the right ingredient) to the original recipe, this has been something I have made quite a few times and will yet make a few more times until I use up all that Zucchini in my fridge! :) It was wonderful...truly wonderful.

The original recipe is for one loaf of bread baked in a 9-inch by 5-inch size loaf pan. However, I made multiple smaller loaves. I like to share the goodness around, you know. Plus, it makes it so that I can't eat as much. :)

Zucchini Bread

1 lb. Zucchini (about 1.5 cups zucchini once is has been shredded and wrung through a towel to rid of excess liquid.
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 c. vanilla yogurt (not fat free)
1 tbs. sour cream
6 tbs. butter, melted

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 375. Generously coat and flour bread pan(s)

Chop the ends off zucchini and finely shred zucchini, peel and all. Place shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel, wrap the towel and wring the ends to squeeze out all the excess water. You will need about 1 1/2 c. dry zucchini. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. In a smaller bowl, whisk the sugar, yogurt, eggs, sour cream and butter until combined.

Gently fold in the yogurt mixture and zucchini into flour mixture, using a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan(s). Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached, 45-55 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour. Store well-covered for up to three days.

Notes: I used a couple different sizes of pans. A double batch will yield you 4- 5.75x3-inch pans cooked for about 30-32 minutes and 6-3.5x2.25-inch pans cooked for about 25 minutes.

I should also note that the original recipe came from My Kitchen Cafe.

Chinese Chicken Salad

My husband requested this salad this week. And when my husband actually wants to eat a salad, you better believe I jump at the request. This tasted fresh and delicious...just what he wanted.


Chinese Chicken Salad

2 green onions
1 carrot, grated
1 celery stalk, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1/2 head cabbage, chopped (or you can do a cole slaw mix, whatever)
romaine lettuce (I added about a cup to mine)
chow mein noodles
cooked chicken, diced or cooked
Asian dressing (I went with store bought because we had some)

Toss everything together and enjoy! Simple as that.

Chocolate Cake with Fresh Strawberry Frosting

My baby turned one this week. I wanted something fun, flavorful and colorful to help introduce her to the magical world of desserts. This did just the trick.


Chocolate Cake

2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Set oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x9 cake pan.

Combine eggs, sugar and oil until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add to egg mixture while alternating with boiling water. Stir in vanilla extract.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Completely cool before frosting.

Fresh Strawberry Frosting

1 cup strawberries, finely chopped
about 1 lb of powdered sugar
4 T. butter, softened

In a large bowl, combine butter and (2 cups) powdered sugar. With a hand mixer on medium speed, mix the butter and powdered sugar. Add the strawberries and mix on low for about 2 minutes, or until the frosting is smooth. Continue to add powdered sugar until it is the desired consistency.


{recipes modified from Rookie Cookie}

Flag Cake

My mom's bday is the 24th of July...which is super fun. This year I wanted to try something special for her cake and found this divine recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. It was so patriotic and really really yummy.

Ingredients

• 18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

(I totally didn't want to use 4 sticks of butter or that much cream cheese. I used maybe a 1/2 stick of butter and half a stick of cream cheese. Do what you want...)

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To assemble:

• 2 half-pints blueberries
• 3 half-pints raspberries

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.

Spread three-fourths of the icing on the top of the cooled sheet cake. Outline the flag on the top of the cake with a toothpick. Fill the upper left corner with blueberries. Place 2 rows of raspberries across the top of the cake like a red stripe. Put the remaining icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip and pipe two rows of white stripes below the raspberries. Alternate rows of raspberries and icing until the flag is completed. Pipe stars on top of the blueberries.

I serve this cake right in the pan. If you want to turn it out onto a board before frosting, use parchment paper when you grease and flour the pan.

{From Ina Garten}

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

A few things to mention before I get into telling you how great these fajitas are. First, I don't know who started this lame trend but I read it in some article the other day that New Mexico and another State (can't remember the other one, but remind me to never consider moving there) primarily use Swamp Coolers as a means to cool their houses. BARF! Did you know a Swamp Cooler basically only cools your house 15 degrees? Yeah, do the math...it's been 95 degrees out there, which means, I still sweat inside my house too. With that being said, I am on an oven strike. I have not used my oven in almost two months and refuse to use it until October when it starts to cool down a bit. It is getting really hard to do you know. How many dinners can YOU make without an oven? I am not even making bread!!! ARGH!

This had lead me to the Internet and lots of attempted creativity. We were given a bbq a few weeks ago, which has allowed me to branch out in my non-oven cooking...or rather, allow GARY to do some cooking! The other night we made grilled pizza, something I am most likely going to be making again tonight as well. :) I'll have to post that one soon too. But last night, we had the missionaries and another member in the ward over for dinner and I attempted a new recipe (I like the missionaries to be my guinea pigs for new recipes) on the grill.

The other thing I ought to mention is this: I don't know where it started but without my permission, there has been some sort of 'reputation' started among the missionaries who serve in our ward. Every time a new one comes to dinner for the first time, he says something like this "Oh, Sister Fears, I've been looking forward to coming to your house for dinner, I've heard so many wonderful things about your cooking" - HUH?! Seriously? I guess it doesn't take much to please a 19 year old boy who is on his own to cook for himself right? But, its like this talk they have behind my back and so now I feel all this pressure every time they are coming over to make sure they get a yummy meal and that it meets their expectations for a good dinner! It is causing stress people! And without an oven?!?!

Anyhow, I decided to try fajitas out on the grill yesterday and boy did they turn out! I will NEVER be making fajitas on the stove again. Honestly! Now, quick...go start thawing some chicken and try this out, you'll LOVE it!

Here is what you need:

1 Onion (I used a red onion) sliced and then cut into 1-inch strips
1 Red Pepper sliced into 1-inch strips
1 Yellow Pepper sliced into 1-inch strips
1 Tbs. McCormick Grill Mates BARBECUE Seasoning (and more to season fajitas if desired)
Olive Oil
Italian Dressing to marinade chicken in - Our FAVORITE is Ken's LITE Northern Italian with Basil and Romano. YUM!
3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into thirds lengthwise
Flour Tortillas (Of course, the Costco kind you cook on the stove)

Toppings: Sour Cream, Shredded Lettuce, Tomatoes, Salsa, Avocados, Shredded Cheese, etc.

So, the night before or morning of, take your chicken strips (breasts sliced into thirds) and drop them in a zip lock back with enough Italian dressing to cover and marinade well. Let it sit in the fridge all day. Every time you open the fridge, just see that chicken and let your mouth water for the delicious meal you are going to make a few hours from then! :)

When the time comes to start dinner, preheat the grill on to HIGH for 10 minutes. Clean grill with wire brush. Using a soft cloth, coat grill grate litely with vegetable oil. Toss your peppers and onion slices with 1 Tbs. BBQ seasoning and 2 Tbs. olive oil. Pour into a disposable 9x13 inch foil pan. Cover pan tightly with foil, seal well. Reduce heat to MEDIUM. Place pan on grill; close lid.

Cook 10 minutes, shaking pan occaisionally. Remove from grill and set aside. Return grill heat to HIGH.

Lay chicken pieces on grill for about 2 minutes or until it has started to change color about 1/4 the way up from bottom. Turn over, and sear another 1-3 minutes. Turn chicken back over again. Reduce heat to MEDIUM and cook 12-15 minutes until internal temp. reaches 165 degrees. When chicken is getting close, put veggies back on the grill just to get them warm again.
Remove chicken from grill and chop into thin bite sized pieces. Remove veggies from grill and stir chicken into veggies.

Eat up!

Might I mention that last night was the first time in my entire life that I actually grilled dinner? Gary has always done it and he ended up having to work late and wouldn't be home in time. If I wasn't having company for dinner, I would have just waited. After a small panic attack, I decided to try my own hand at this and hope it didn't get ruined. I have to say, it all turned out quite nicely! :)

Oh, and if you have any other grilling recipes that are to die for, send them on my way. I will most definitely be using them in the next two and a half months!

Orange Rolls

This is totally not my recipe and although I do love a good orange roll, I have to admit that I have never made orange rolls before in my life. This recipe will absolutely be made many more times in the very near future! These were fabulous. AND, they were still really yummy and quite fresh tasting even two days later, which I am VERY picky about. Of course, nothing beats an orange roll right off the pan out of the oven, but just know that they store quite well for a few days.

Orange Sweet Rolls

*Makes 12 rolls/twists

Dough:

¾ cup buttermilk, warm (I pour the buttermilk in a glass liquid measuring cup and microwave for 1 minute on 50% power)

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

3 large eggs

4 ¼ cups (21 ¼ ounces) flour

¼ cup (1 ¾ ounces) sugar

2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

Orange Filling:

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Grated orange rind/zest from two large oranges (reserving 1/2 teaspoon grated rind for the glaze below)

Orange Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice from about 1 orange

1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind/zest reserved from the filling above

For the dough, whisk the warmed buttermilk and butter together in a large liquid measuring cup. Combine 4 cups of flour, sugar, yeast and salt together in a standing mixer fitted with dough hook (or you can use a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or electric handheld mixer). With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and eggs and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes (knead for 15-18 minutes by hand). If after 5 minutes of kneading, the dough is still overly sticky, add 1/4 cup flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but has a slight tacky feel when pressed between your fingertips.

Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover the top tightly with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled, around 2 to 2 ½ hours, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

For the filling, combine all the filling ingredients (reserving 1/2 teaspoon orange zest for the glaze) in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside.

When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a lightly floured counter (I use my roul’pat for this step--ya'll need one of these babies!) and press it into about a 16 by 12-inch rectangle (if you have doubled the recipe, split the dough in half and roll out one half at a time). Gently brush the filling mixture over the rectangle, using an offset spatula or rubber spatula.

Lift the longest edge closest to you and begin rolling the dough into a tight log. Pinch the seam closed and roll the log so it is seam side down. Using dental floss, slice the log into 12 evenly sized rolls, more or less. You can slice them thinner or thicker as you like. For a traditional cinnamon-roll-look, arrange the rolls cut side down on a lined or lightly greased baking pan. If you want to try the twist method (see the pictures below), one at a time grab each sliced roll and holding on to either end simultaneously pull and twist the roll into a figure eight and place it on the prepared pan. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the rolls rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1 ½ hours.

Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until the rolls are lightly golden on top and cooked through. While the rolls are baking, mix together the glaze ingredients. Drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls. (I used a brush and brushed it over the entire roll instead of just drizzling it)

Grasping each side, gently stretch the roll…

…and twist it before placing on the baking sheet.
Place the rolls about an inch to two inches apart. Bake and devour!

Recipe Source: {My Kitchen Cafe}

Homemade Mint Oreo Ice Cream

Get excited everyone, this one was fabulous!!! Can I just have a proud moment and let you all know that I am the one that came up with this recipe? I mean, obviously, I started somewhere...but with about six different recipes. Needless to say, after tasting this, (and sharing it with a few friends who have all said it was the BEST homemade ice cream they have ever tasted) I am a bit proud of myself.


Sorry, no picture...but don't let that hinder your desires to make this beauty. Just know that the ice cream didn't last long enough to get a picture!



Mint Oreo Ice Cream
3 C. whole milk
3 C. skim milk
6 C. heavy whipping cream
3 C. sugar
1.5 tsp. salt
3 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. peppermint extract
Oreo Cookies - I just estimated, but I would say I probably used between 30-40 cookies


**Note: I'm sure you could probably just use 6 cups of 2% milk. I don't buy 2% milk and so I used the combination of the milk that I do buy. It was wonderful, but I'm sure 2% would be wonderful too!


On stovetop, heat up the milk until it is warm (do not boil). Add sugar, salt, vanilla and peppermint and stir until the sugar has dissolved.


Pour into a bigger bowl and add the whipping cream. (You don't have to cook all the milk if you don't have a pot big enough. Just heat up enough that you can dissolve the sugar and then put it all in a bigger bowl and add the rest of the milk and whipping cream)


Put this in the fridge to cool. This makes quite a bit of ice cream (probably about 6 qts.) so if you need to make less, go ahead and split the recipe. If you have a small 1.5 qt. ice cream maker, you can just make it in batches as well and keep the rest in the fridge.


Mash oreo cookies with a potato masher in a bowl to the consistency you like and set aside until the VERY end of the ice cream making process.


Make ice cream according to the directions on your home made ice cream maker. When the ice cream is very close to being done, stop it and put the oreo cookies in. You want the ice cream to be quite thick at this point. If you do it too early, the cookies will just become mushy because the ice cream isn't frozen enough yet.


I really like to eat home made ice cream when it is soft and just finished in the maker. But if you like it harder, take it out when it is done and put it in smaller containers and freeze it for at least another couple hours to harden.


Yummers!


Another option instead of oreo is to use mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. Probably about 3 cups. And if you want to make it green, add 9 drops of green food coloring.