Moist Zucchini Bread

Tis the season for making zucchini bread. Many a garden is trying to give away a zucchini or two because somehow one plant always provides enough for a whole neighborhood! Take that zucchini and make this bread. It is quick to make and moist and satisfying. It isn't even that bad for you since you can substitute some of the oil for applesauce if you desire and there are 3 cups of zucchini in the mix! Yummm...

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil or applesauce
2 1/4 cups white sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini (DO NOT drain the zucchini)

Instructions
1. Grease and flour two bread pans. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat oil, eggs, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the mixture and beat well. (The mixture will be REALLY stiff. Don't worry, the zucchini will soften it up perfectly!)
4. Stir in the zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
5. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pans on wire rack for about 20 minutes. Remove bread from pans and allow to completely cool on wire racks.

Makes: 2 loaves

YUMMY!!!

Share this bread with your neighbors and you are sure to make some new friends!!

Avocado Smoothie

For those of you who have followed my blog since the beginning you probably have noticed that I have posted a few recipes I learned while on my mission in Brazil. This is another one of those recipes. I was first introduced to avocado smoothies in the MTC in Brazil. My teacher took us to a little corner shop that made smoothies of every fruit imaginable. He recommended the avocado smoothie. I thought to myself... "this is probably going to taste like guacamole in a glass!" But I gave it a try. And what do you know, I liked it! And today I would like to share this simple and delicious creation with you. :)

 

Avocado Smoothie

1 avocado 

(if you want tips on how to choose an avocado leave a comment) 

1 large banana

2 cups milk

3 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Remove the pit and skin from the avocado and place it in a blender. Now add the banana. Pour approximately 2 cups of milk in as well. (You can adjust the milk. If you like thicker smoothies add less milk, thinner smoothies add more.) Lastly, add the sugar and vanilla. (The vanilla is an addition Dustin and I like but not included in the traditional Brazilian avocado smoothie.) Blend until smooth and serve immediately! 

The end!

Nutty Granola

I love granola. Yumm... Yumm... Yumm... After I had Luke my Grandma Billie came to visit and she brought me some granola and I ate it every morning until it was gone. Then a couple months later she came again and brought some more and once again... I ate it every morning until it was gone. This is good granola people! Best part about it is it gets me to eat some oats! And don't worry if you are the type that needs to have fruit in the morning... just throw some berries on top and some milk and it is delicious! Or if you are the yogurt in the morning type... just sprinkle a little on top and you have a nice extra little crunch! Or just eat it as a snack whenever you want. Just eat it. Because it is good!

Nutty Granola 

6 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup slivered almonds, cashews, or pecans. (Or just mix a little of all three!)
1 cup butter-- 

**don't worry the butter is covering 6 cups of oats so each serving won't have any more than what you would spread on a piece of toast**
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Variations: sunflower seeds, flax seed, coconut, craisins/raisins.

1. Put the oatmeal, nuts, and coconut (optional) in a large mixing bowl. 

2. In a saucepan over medium-low heat melt the butter and brown sugar until the mixture is melted together. Pour over the oats and nuts until well coated. 

3. Pour evenly on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and stir the granola. Bake for another 12 minutes.

6. Let cool on the pan for 10-15 minutes.

7. Store in an airtight storage container after granola has completely cooled.

Stuffed Raspberry French Toast with Custard Sauce

Yummm... two raspberry posts in a row. :) I made this a few weeks ago for Sunday breakfast and by the time it was done cooking we were almost late for church so I didn't get a very good picture... I have a lot to improve with my blogging but hey I am having fun!  *If you look on the Kraft website you can see their beautiful picture and also a video of the recipe process. :)

Stuffed Raspberry French Toast with Custard Sauce

Recipe from kraftrecipes.com

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup  sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp.  ground cinnamon

2 whole eggs

2   egg whites

1-1/4 qt. (5 cups) fat-free milk, divided

1 loaf  French bread (16 oz.), ends trimmed, cut into 18 slices

1 pkg. (12 oz.) frozen unsweetened raspberries

1 pkg.  (3.4 oz.) Instant vanilla pudding

 *just a note:  the french bread they use is the long skinny loaf kind not the big fluffy kind you usually use to make garlic bread. I am sure both kinds would work, but you just won't be able to fit as much in the pan. I bought my long skinny loaf at Target.* 

 BEAT first 4 ingredients in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Add whole eggs and egg whites, 1 at a time, mixing well after each. Gradually beat in 2 cups milk.
 
ARRANGE 9 bread slices on bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with half the berries and remaining bread slices. Pour cream cheese mixture over bread. Let stand 30 min.

*I recommend  flipping the french toast over after 15 min. so each side has a chance to soak. This will help it so that one side isn't soggy and the other dry. :) Also, if you feel you have a lot of excess egg mixture in the pan you may want to transfer your french toast to another pan before baking once again just to reduce the chance of the french toast being soggy. 

 

HEAT oven to 350°F. Bake French toast 40 min. or until golden brown. Meanwhile, bring remaining milk just to boil in saucepan; gradually add dry pudding mix, whisking until well blended. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. Meanwhile, microwave remaining raspberries in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 15 to 20 sec. or until warmed.

 SPOON pudding over individual servings of French toast; top with berries.
 

 

**Here is another look at this delicious breakfast! So easy and delicious!**

Orange Julius

Yummm... I guess I have been taking a walk down memory lane recently and made a lot of the recipes that I loved from my childhood. Orange Juliuses are so tasty! I really like this recipe too because there aren't any raw eggs or dry egg powder or anything like that... just yummy goodness!

Orange Julius

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate, thawing

1 cup milk

1 cup water

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Around 18 ice cubes

 Ok, Now for the easy part. Add all of the ingredients together except the ice cubes and blend for a few seconds, then start adding the ice cubes one at a time through the top hole on the blender. When I made it my blender was a little too powerful and so you may have to turn it off and add a few at a time then close the lid. Let it blend for as long as it takes for it to be smooth.

Mom's Caramel Rolls

My dear mom always made these delicious caramel rolls on special occasions for our breakfast. I love them! They are SO good! I was craving them so I finally went out and got me a bundt pan. :) I went to two stores and couldn't find one so I figured well, if they don't have it at Wal-mart then I guess I will give up... but I lucked out and they had a cute green one there! And the next morning we had a delicious breakfast!

 

Caramel Rolls

18-20 frozen Rhodes rolls

1 small box Jell-O Cook and Serve Butterscotch pudding

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 stick of melted butter

Now here is the simple process... Spray your bundt pan with some cooking spray and then add the frozen rolls. Sprinkle all of the ingredients on the rolls. I did them one at a time and tried to get it on them evenly. Then melt your stick of butter and drizzle it over the mixture! voila! Then put some plastic wrap over them and let them just sit at room temperature overnight. They will raise a LOT. Mine were about to come out of the pan! :) yummm... Then just wake up the next morning, take off the plastic wrap, and put in the preheated oven set at 350 degrees. Leave them in for about 30-40 minutes then take them out and invert the pan and all the delicious caramel sauce will drizzle over your delicious breakfast! Enjoy!

Buttermilk Caramel Syrup!

This stuff is DELICIOUS! I am so serious. Yummm... if you want something delicious to dip your french toast sticks in... this is perfect... if you want something to drizzle over ice cream or pancakes or anything that needs a good sweet syrup/sauce, then... Try this! I remember the first time I tried it... and yes in that moment I was hooked. I have since seen other variations of the syrup/sauce and this one I like the best of all. Enjoy!

BUTTERMILK CARAMEL SYRUP

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cube of real butter

2 tablespoons light Karo syrup

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Start by using a large/deep pot because it will foam while it is cooking.  

Add the butter to the pan and let it melt on the bottom, then add all of the ingredients into the pot except the vanilla. 

On medium low heat let all of the ingredients come to a soft boil and let it stir pretty much continuously for about 7 minutes or until the syrup turns a golden brown color. At that point add the teaspoon of vanilla and stir it all together. 

Let it cool for a little bit and then you can put it in a container in the fridge to cool completely and it will set up and turn into a beautiful buttermilk caramel sauce! Then whenever you are ready to use some you can warm it up in the microwave or just use it cold. Yummmm... I think I will have some in the morning!

German Pancakes!

German pancakes are delicious! I love the picture below because they turned out so funny. I have never seen german pancakes rise so much. I think these will be so much fun to make when my kids get older because it is so much fun to see what they will look like when they come out!

 Yummm... and they were delicious. We put some powdered sugar and strawberries on this batch but they are delicious with jam, fruit, syrup, cinnamon/sugar, or anything sweet!

GERMAN PANCAKES

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. melted butter

PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees.

Beat eggs.
Add milk and blend. Add flour, salt, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9x13'' pan.

Bake 20-25 minutes.
Cut and serve with whatever delicious toppings you want! Yummm...

Crepes

Ok. this is my 5th post for the day and I saved the best for last. I don't know why but Crepes always seemed like they would be hard to make... I was very wrong! These are so easy to make and so much fun and delicious! I am super excited to try lots of different savory and sweet fillings in the future. If anyone has any questions about any of the recipes I have posted feel free to comment and I can explain the recipes a little bit more. Thanks!

All of the delicious crepes with whipped cream and strawberries were gone by the time I remembered to take a picture... so I just folded the crepes up so they weren't just laying flat on the plate. Hopefully that helps everyone see what they should kind of look like with thickness and doneness.

Basic Crepes

2 eggs

2 Tbs oil

3 Tbs sugar (don't add the sugar if you are making savory crepes)

1 cup flour

1 1/3 cups milk

 Combine the dry ingredients together with a whisk so the sugar is evenly distributed. Add the wet ingredients together in a 2 cup measuring cup and mix them until the eggs are well distributed then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Whisk together until there are no lumps. 

Add about 2 tsp of butter to a skillet and let it melt at about medium heat, then add about 1/4 cup of the batter to the bottom of the skillet and let it cook for like 30 seconds until you can put a spatula under the crepe and flip it over. Flip it over and let it cook on that side for another about 20 seconds. I knew they were done when they were slightly browned.

Now... about the fillings: we put some Reddi-Whip and diced up strawberries in some, Nutella was also delicious. I also know that other good topping ideas are: lightly brushed with butter and sprinkled with sugar and/or cinnamon, or a drizzle of syrup or jam. Just experiment!

*A delicious savory chicken mushroom crepe with asparagus is next on the list... so stay tuned!* 

Banana Crumb Muffins

 I am President of the Student Dietetic Association at BYU so in the mornings I try to make muffins as a treat for the girls who wake up and come to the meetings and since we always have bananas that go ripe too fast I wanted to make banana muffins. This is a recipe I found online because I wanted to try a fun topping for them. I actually didn't try one but everyone said they were delicious!

Banana Crumb Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

Topping

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 Tbs all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 Tbs butter, slightly softened

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease 10 holes in a muffin tin or line with muffin cups. I usually lightly spray those too so they don't stick to the bottoms of the paper cups.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into muffin cups until about 2/3 full.
Topping: In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 Tbs flour, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles course cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
NUTRITION FACTS (per muffin): 263 kcals, 8 g fat, 40 mg cholesterol.