Chocolate Zucchini Bread and/or Cake

I got this recipe from my friend, Julie, that I met in Madison. She got it from our friend Bev, also a fellow Madisonite for awhile. I miss those days of playing out at the playground with all of the kids all afternoon. But, it is also very nice to be done with school.
This bread is like cake and my kids love it. I put 4 cups of Zucchini in instead of the 2 cups it calls for. You can make 5 mini loaves or 2 large loaves. Make sure to have some milk close by. I made it as a cake also and baked it in a 9 by 13 pan for about 40 to 45 minutes. I topped it with chocolate butter cream icing (recipe is listed under the recipe for PB cup cake) and it was awesome.

Ingredients:
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons cocoa mixed with 2 Tablespoons of oil (or 2 oz bakers chocolate, which I never have)
2 cups Zucchini (I use 4 cups)
1 cup oil (or applesauce)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flour (I have used 1/2 whole wheat before and it turned out well)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I never add this, not a fan of cinnamon and chocolate mix)
1 cup of chocolate chips (I usually use 1 1/2 cups, because I like too)

Preheat oven to 350, grease pans. Beat eggs, add sugar, oil, stir in vanilla and cocoa/oil mixture. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients together. Add liquid ingredients to dry (I think that is what you are supposed to do to avoid lumps, or do it the other way if you wish). Mix until well blended. Pour into greased pans. Bake large loaves for 45 min, smaller loaves about 35 minutes. Test with toothpick, if it comes out clean they are done.

Zucchini Bread, Courtesy of Paula Deen

It's that time of year again. People who have ambitiously planted and cared for their gardens have zucchini coming out of their ears.

This one of the best zucchini bread recipes EVER. I love the combo of tastes from the lemon juice and the nutmeg. I have a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread that I will post soon too. But to make this awesome bread CLICK HERE. For some reason this link is not going through. So, I am just going to post the recipe here, but know that it is all from Paula Deen. (To find it on foodnetwork.com I entered "Zucchini Bread and Paula Deen".)

Sorry, still no camera. I think my husband took it on the trip. There is a pic on Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:
3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I usually don't add this, but it is good with it too)
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I use apple sauce instead if I have it)
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup water
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon lemon juice (I usually double this)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar. in a separate bowl combine eggs, water, oil, zucchini, and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Add nuts. Bake in 2 greased normal sized loaf pans for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Or use 5 mini loaf pans and bake for about 45 minutes. Enjoy!!

REALLY GREAT banana bread

So, I made a new rule for myself that I wasn't just going to snack on chocolate chips right out of the bag anymore, that they had to be in something for me to eat them. I did this thinking that I would eat less junk. Well, I made banana bread today and I am sure I ate a cups worth of CC's in calories, but I guess I got a serving of fruit too, right? Rationalizing is one of my talents. Here's the recipe, hope you enjoy. I have to put a plug in for my husband. He made the cutting board in this picture. This has become a very cool talent, one from which I have benefited greatly. I can't find the cord to download pictures to the computer, when I find it I will add a picture.

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain non fat yogurt (you can also use sour cream, or vanilla yogurt)
2/3 cup applesauce (I like to use applesauce instead of oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups flour (I have used half whole wheat flour before and it has turned out well. I am giving some away and didn't know if the person I am giving it to would like it that way, so this is all white flour).
1 1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips (I prefer the mini chips, but did not have any on hand.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. This recipe makes either 2 large loaves, 4 small loaves, or 1 large and 2 small loaves (you can figure out any other size combos). Mash bananas, add sugar, eggs, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla. Mix well. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Add them to the banana mixture. Add chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased pans. Bake large pans 1 hour, small pans about 45 to 50 minutes. I usually cut up one loaf while it is warm and enjoy it with some butter, and then give the other loaf away. Enjoy!!

Focaccia Dippers

My kids love "dipping" things and so this is a hit. I have included the recipe for the foccacia bread, but you can just use a roll of pizza dough and cook it according to the directions on the package. The dipping sauce is a great way to sneak veggies in on them to win the battle I am not willing to fight right now at dinner. This makes enough sauce for 2 dinners. I freeze the left overs for later.

Ingredients:
1 onion
3 carrots (big one's)
1 Red pepper or other colored pepper
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
A jar of your favorite pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 425 or 450. Cut up veggies and put them in a 9 by 13 pan, drizzle with Olive oil (2 to 3 Tablespoons) and add salt and pepper. Cook in oven for 35 to 40 min., stirring once. Puree veggies and put in a pot. Add as much as your favorite pasta sauce as you like (usually about 1/2 to a whole jar) and mix. Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Add salt and pepper if needed. Get ready to dip.

Foccacia from CooksRecipes.com:
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon sugar (I use 2 usually)
2 1/2 teaspoons of active dry yeast (a 1/4 ounce package)
3 1/4 cups flour (I do half wheat half regular and usually need a little more than this.)
2 teaspoons salt
1 Tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded Parm or Italian cheese

Dissolve sugar in the water in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over mixture and let it stand for 10 min. In a large bowl combine 3 cups of flour and salt. Add yeast mixture and knead for 10 min. (I have a mixer that kneads it for me and I usually have it on the knead setting for 2 to 3 minutes). Slowly add what flour you need until the dough is no longer sticky (I usually end up adding at least 1/2 cup, if not more). Place dough in a well greased bowl, tuning once to coat it. Cover and set it in a warm place until it doubles in size (about 1 to 1/2 hours. Mine usually is not quite double, but it has gotten bigger). Preheat oven to 375. Punch down the dough and place it on a lightly oiled pizza pan or stone, or baking sheet. Make several dimples in the dough with your fingertips. Drizzle the dough with olive oil, spread it around with a spoon to make sure it is well distributed. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Turn off oven and add cheese to foccacia bread. Return to oven just until cheese is melted, 3 to 5 min. Cut into "sticks" and enjoy.

Triple T: Tomato, and Turkey on Toast. My new favorite afternoon snack.

I am really, really, really trying not to just graze on junk all afternoon after I have eaten a good meal. I realize I have got to change that bad habit. My mom was just diagnosed with Diabetes this year and my dad just got a heart stint put in. I have also gained way more weight than I should have by this time in my pregnancy (I am about 22 weeks along and weigh more than I did when I delivered my last 4 children). In order to avoid either of those problems my snacking habit has got to change. So, instead of reaching for the chocolate chips, or left over applesauce cake I made a different snack. I am trying not to be bored this afternoon, there is a ton to do, I have just been avoiding it. So, finally I turned off the radio and: cleaned 2 bathrooms, walls where there were fingerprints, all of my table and chairs with the magic eraser (I LOVE that invention), read my scriptures, worked on sharing time for our childrens class at church on Sunday, did laundry, revamped my blog layout and decided I was going to try to make yogurt in my crock pot. (Very random, but I saw it on crockpot365.blogspot.com and wanted to try it. We are out of yogurt and I have a ton of frozen fruit I can use to flavor it. I will let you all know how it turns out.) So, I kept my hands busy and out to the Neslte bag, for this afternoon anyway. I wish someone would make a "cleaner" smelling candle (bleach or windex) so that I could light it and it would always smell like I just cleaned my bathroom. Here's my new favorite afternoon snack.

Ingredients for 1:

1 slice whole grain toast

mustard

2 tomato slices

shaved or sliced turkey

sprinkle of cheese, very small, like just a few shreds. Not the fat free kind, I don't think that melts well.

Preheat oven to 375. After toasting bread and spreading mustard on it, put it on a cookie sheet or other pan. Top with turkey, tomato slices, and cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if needed. This was very satisfying and I was no longer dying to eat my chocolate chips.