Zucchini Bread

The past few years, I have been getting a lot of my new recipes from the internet- blogs and Pinterest, mainly. However, my very favorite way to get new recipes are from people that I know. Those are the best ones. You know the person and you can trust the outcome. This is from a friend of my husband. He is actually one of his co-workers, and he used to own a restaurant. Thank you to Al for sharing your recipe, and thank you to my dear friends, the Teaford family who shared from their garden this enormous zucchini!

Zucchini or Carrot Bread
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Combine and mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix together:
3 beaten eggs
1 cup melted margarine or oil- or 1/2 of each (I did 1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup oil)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini or carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, until well combined. Preheat your oven to 350°. At this point, you can make your batter into a bundt, loaves or muffins. For a bundt and loaves- pour your batter into greased and floured pans. You will have enough batter for one bundt or two loaves. Bake for 60-70 minutes. For muffins- use paper liners, fill cups approximately 2/3 full. Bake for 35 minutes, makes about 2 1/2 dozen muffins.

Baby Blanket- Faux Chennile

I found a tutorial at Aesthetic Nest for a faux chenille baby blanket that I fell in love with. I was just waiting for the perfect person to make one for. When my sister announced that she was pregnant, I knew that it was time to make this adorable blanket.

If you do make a faux chenille blanket, do your hands a big favor and buy a chenille cutting tool! It is so worth the money and time!

Alligator Baby Shower

My sister is having a boy this fall! This is their first child, and the entire family is super excited! I have been working on getting her shower together and making a sweet little baby blanket as a gift, that I haven't really thought much about the blog. Thankfully, life is slowing down a bit and I can share with you her alligator baby shower!
My sister-in-law and I made this awesome motorcycle diaper cake- it was very easy to put together, we just followed the tutorial at sweetaprils.com. I couldn't find a large enough alligator to "drive" the motorcycle, so Mr. Lion got the job, and the biggest alligator that I could find got to ride on the back! I think it turned out really cute!

We made a clothesline full of onsies, one for each month of the baby's first year.

We made these individual veggie dip cups, which eliminated any double dipping, unless it was in your own cup!

We had these delicious cake pop's made by a very special friend.

She also made these cute owl favors!

We had so much fun celebrating the newest boy to be added to our family!

Potato, cheese and Onion Enchiladas

My husband and I are on the tail end of eating vegetarian for a week. It has been easier than I thought it would be. It gave me the chance to dig out old recipes and try them again. This is one such recipe. It has been sitting in my recipe binder for forever, bypassed for more exciting and newer recipes. No more! I really like these enchiladas because they are cheap. They are also really tasty, but there are weeks when I need a little wiggle room in the ole' grocery budget! Potatoes, tortillas, cheese, green onions and tomato sauce- all cheap ingredients. Give this one a try when you need a different recipe and when you need a cheap meal in a tight week!

Potato, Cheese and Onion Enchiladas
4-6 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2- 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
1 Tbsp oil
12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chili powder (Yes I said 1/4 CUP!)
1/2 cup water
12 - 8 in. flour tortillas
Fully cook potatoes in boiling water until they are tender. Drain and let cool. Transfer to a large bowl, and combine the potatoes with half of the cheese, all the onions and the salt. Mix well. Taste and add more salt if needed. In a sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, oil , chili powder and water. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes on low. Preheat oven to 350°. Spoon enough of the sauce into a sprayed 13 x 8 inch baking dish so that it covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. Using a pasty bush, brush the sauce on one side of a tortilla, place 1/3- 1/2 cup of the potato mixture in the center and roll up. Place in prepared dish. Continue until you have filled the pan. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake for 15- 20 minutes. Serve with any desired toppings- sour cream, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce.

Star Studded Mini Pies

I know this is a little late for the 4th of July, but these little pies are so good, I couldn't wait to put them on here. I have made these treats two years in a row for the 4th of July celebration. They are so tasty! Perfect size and super delicious! I imagine your could even do mini pumpkin pies with leaves cut out for Thanksgiving! The possibilities are endless!

Star Studded Mini Pies
(Recipe from Our Best Bites)
2 boxes refrigerated pie crust
Canned pie filling
2 T butter, melted
1/4 c granulated sugar
Preheat oven according to pie crust recipe. Roll out your pie crust so it is fairly thin. Using a cookie cutter, or a cup with about a 3 1/2 inch diameter, cut out circles of dough. Place each dough circle center in one of the mini-muffin tin wells. The edge should over-hang a little. Gently roll the edge down with your fingers and then crimp it so it looks pretty. Using a spoon, fill each mini pie a little over half full with filling. Roll out more dough to cut your stars. Use a star cookie cutter that is about 2 inches across. Cut your stars out. Dip the stars (both sides) in butter and then dredge in the sugar. Place a star on top of each little pie. Bake your pies for 15-20 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Gazpacho- Summer Soup

Summer time is always a challenge for me. Cooking a healthy meal without heating up the whole house. I found this recipe that is full of vegetables and is served cold. You don't even turn on the stove! Perfect for all these 100° days. Serve this with a good loaf of bread.

Gazpacho
(As found in The Pioneer Woman Cooks : Food From My Frontier)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 red onion
1 large zucchini
1 large cucumber
2 celery stalks
5 Roma tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp sugar
Several dashes Tabasco
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
4 cups tomato juice
Avocado slices
Cilantro, rough chopped

Mince the garlic cloves. Slice the onion. Place both in a food processor. Dice the zucchini, cucumber, celery and tomatoes. Place half the veggies in the food processor, reserve the other half. Pour in the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, hot sauce, salt, pepper and  2 cups of the tomato juice. Blend well.  Pour the blended mixture into a large bowl, and add in the other half of the chopped veggies. Stir. Then pour in the remaining 2 cups of tomato juice. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed. Ladle into bowls and top with sliced avocado and cilantro.

Roasted Asparagus

Have you ever had asparagus roasted before? Let me tell you, it is the absolute best way to have asparagus! At least I think it is. It gives those happy little spears such a wonderful nutty flavor. Mmmm! My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus, washed and trimmed (basically you just cut off a chunk from the fatter woody side that has dried up a bit)

Olive Oil

Kosher salt 

Pepper

Lemon Wedges

Lay out your spears on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a fair amount of olive oil. You want them lightly coated, not swimming in the oil. Sprinkle with the Kosher salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated 425° oven for ten minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. 

I have been experimenting with roasting, and it is my very favorite way to make vegetables. So yummy!