Healthy Zucchini Bread Recipe

I know…months of no new posts and I chose to post a recipe??!?

There has been so much going on in our lives, I simply haven't had time to even think about blogging. We've traveled to different places, made new friends, gotten together with old friends, and lived life mostly on the road. The kids have had some awesome gigs in places like Northeast PA and Augusta, GA in neat smaller venues with great, appreciative audiences. I posted some videos on my youtube page of them playing recently. Here's one but you can go to youtube to find a few more.

Dylan has barely been living at home. He comes home only for a few days during the week but spends most of his weekends in Allentown doing gigs with his band, Poor Man's Gambit. He is loving life and playing the ends of his fingers off!

Haley and I have been trying to eat healthier (except for dark chocolate which I cannot turn down) and I love zucchini bread and had some at my friend, Lynette's house yesterday morning which reminded me of zucchini sitting in my refrigerator. So I took a recipe I had and substituted most of the things that weren't so great for me. It came out moist and delicious so I am going to share.

Healthy Zucchini Bread
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bottoms only of two loaf pans (I used coconut oil).
Mix together:
3 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (leave on the skin)
1 cup shredded carrots
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup honey
2 Tbsp coconut oil
4 large eggs

Add:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup coconut flour
1 Tbsp chia seeds
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

Pour into prepared loaf pans. Can top with...
Topping: 1/2 cup oats, 1/4 cup turbinado sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon   (Press lightly into top of each.)

Cook 60-65 min or until top feel springy to touch not mushy.

I may mess around with different flours like almond flour to see if I can get a nice texture of gluten-free zucchini bread for my friends. I will also add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the mix…just didn't have any today. You can try adding some raisins, craisins, or other types of nuts as well.

Rice Pudding

I am have been keeping a journal of sorts on a project Haley and Dylan are working on but will wait for the project's completion before posting it to my blog. In the meantime, here's one of Haley's favorite dessert recipes…Rice Pudding. The recipe comes from my Aunt Dale.

RICE PUDDING

2 cups rice
2 cups sugar
1 gallon milk

Bring to boil then cook for 2.5 to 3 hours until thickened. Stir every 20 min or so.

Remove from heat then stir in 4 eggs (tempered with a little milk and beaten) and 2 Tbsp. vanilla.

Cool a bit then enjoy!

Dehydrating...

Ritch received an early birthday/Christmas present from us....a food dehydrator! He loves to make beef jerky in the oven and the kids love dehydrated fruit plus we often freeze or can the overflow from our garden which we then have to keep frozen when we lose electricity from storms...so a dehydrator as an alternate way to put away food makes sense for us.

Haley and Daddy broke it in tonight with some fruit, apples and bananas. They cut up the fruit and dipped it to prevent browning then stacked it on the trays.

Here's a full tray of apple slices....

Here's the dehydrator partially filled with apple.

                                                    Can't wait to try the results!

Low Country Boil! Yummy!!

Low Country Boil

My husband is a great cook! The best part is that he likes to do it. I work a couple days a week while he stays home to homeschool Haley and on those days, he cooks great meals...often trying new recipes or upgrading old ones. He could be a gourmet chef!

This week's "new" recipe was Low Country Boil or Frogmore Stew. He boiled potatoes, Andouille sausage, corn, onion, and then shrimp (unpeeled but deveined)...letting each added food cook 10-20 min before adding the next. He used Old Bay and hot pepper flakes. You could add in crabs, crayfish, scallops, or just about anything you want. We had a similar dish when visiting our friends who live in Louisiana a number of years ago.

When everything was finished, he dumped the water then put the food on newspaper where we filled our plates. It was really yummy! The kids said it is definitely a "do-over."

Haley's Mexican Omelets...

We have a lot of eggs lately. Ha!

Haley came up with this recipe for a Mexican Omelet and it is delicious! We were a little skeptical at first but once we tried it, it is a new family favorite.

Haley's Mexican Omelet Recipe

2 large eggs (or 3 small)
salt and pepper
Mexican blend cheese
Chopped jalapeños
Picante sauce
Sour cream
Fresh squeezed lime juice

Directions: Whip together eggs, add a little milk if desired,  pour into a hot, lightly greased omelet pan. Cook one side pulling up the sides to get all liquid egg cooked. Salt and pepper as desired. Flip omelet then add chopped jalapeño and cheese to taste. Let cook a minute then fold in half. Remove from heat to a plate. Top with picante sauce and sour cream. Then squeeze 1/4 lime's juice over top. Enjoy!

Making It Count Tuesdays....

Over at Everyday Snapshots, Pam does a link up for ideas bloggers have found on the internet and tried. We blog about it then link up to her blog and check out what everyone else there has found as well. Kinda neat!

In my first post linked last week, I talked about the Amish Friendship bread Haley and I created starter for then baked 10 days later. Yesterday we did our second baking. This time we found a recipe @ The Family Foodie for actual bread using our Herman starter. Boy, was it good! It was the perfect texture for us and a little bit sweet but didn't really have a strong sourdough taste (I was worried about that because I am not a big fan of sourdough bread). I think we have found the perfect use for all that starter we are making...sorry, friends, we won't be sharing any starter with anyone. Ha!

Since we had 3 cups of starter to dispose of, I mean,  to use and I wasn't sure we'd like the bread recipe so much, I also tried a Herman starter coffee cake recipe that we found at All Recipes. It was good but I think I'd tweak it if I decided to make it again. The good thing was that it used 2 cups of starter.

I also wanted to show some of the crafts Haley has been making using ideas she finds at www.MyFroggyStuff.blogspot.com and also MyFroggyStuff's youtube channel. Haley has been making little miniature rooms for her dolls using every box that comes into the house....little box rooms are all over the basement floor.

Here are some of the neater things she's made....

Fireplace

Diner box 

Piano

Shelving unit for boys' room

Sushi complete with chopsticks

Easel

Friendship Bread Continued....

Well, our experiment with Amish Friendship bread starter is going well. Our starter spells so good and yeasty. We stirred it daily for 10 days, feeding it on Day 5 and feeding then cooking with it on Day 10.

Since I had a hard time finding anyone who wanted to mess with the starter and baking, I used two servings to bake. Haley and I made a cinnamon, walnut variety and a chocolate variety.

Today, our wonderful neighbor behind us took a cup of starter and some recipes. We are still growing the last cup of starter and are looking for a more "bread-like" recipe rather than the sweet bread recipes we have.

Here's the bit I put in my blog post a little over 10 days ago when we started our Friendship Bread....

Haley and I also started some Amish Friendship Bread Starter today. I haven't had much luck making a starter in the past but I am sure it was because I used something metal somewhere...it's been awhile since I tried. So, here it goes....Day #1. Wish us luck!

We may be making a ton of bread when it's ready to go because I don't think I know too many people in real life who would want to take a share. We may be freezing it for later in the year or something. Ha!

Rice Pudding...

My aunt once shared her rice pudding recipe with us and we love it...wonderful for the athlete who needs to carbo-load. I usually double it.

Rice Pudding
Bring to boil in a large pot...
1/2 gallon milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup rice
Turn on low to simmer and cook for 2 hours stirring every 15 min or so. Check to see that rice is fully cooked...pudding should be thickened.

Remove from heat and add 2 eggs tempered with a little milk (whisk the eggs with the milk) and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Cool a bit and serve. You can add a little cinnamon if you like as well.

Chicken Nachos

Well...a topic on the WTM board reminded me that I had wanted to put some recipes on my blog. (My plan is to someday get this blog printed out in book form for my kids to have and I think it would be really neat for them to read through and remember some of the things we used to eat when they were young.)

Here's something we eat whenever I am running around and need a quick meal that has a bit of everything in it...not exactly the healthiest meal on the planet but we like it and sometimes make it healthier by eating it on wraps or as a salad without the chips.

Chicken Nachos
Boil chicken (I usually boil a lot and make extra chicken for wraps for the boy's lunch)- shred the chicken into a pan. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, and cilantro. Once warm add hot sauce to taste (we like Frank's hot sauce) then remove from heat.

Place nacho chips on a plate, top with seasoned chicken then shredded Mexican cheese (your choice). Can add black beans, refried beans, jalapeño pepper slices (fresh are best), or anything else you like. Heat under broiler or in microwave to melt cheese.

Top with any or all of the following...
lettuce
tomato
guacamole or avocado slices
salsa
sour cream
whatever else you like : )

Enjoy!

Hawaiian Chicken

Haven't made this recipe in awhile but have been craving anything with pineapple in it so went searching for this...reminds me of the Polynesian Luau in Disney World.

Hawaiian Chicken
Coat 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts in flour, brown in a pan with a light layer of oil. Remove from pan and place in a 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sauce:
1-1lb 4oz can sliced pineapple
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 cup cidar vinegar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp ginger
1 chicken bouillon cube

Drain pineapple into a 2 cup measuring cup and add water to make 1 1/4 cup. Add to saucepan with other ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 min. Pour over chicken. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 min. Add pineapple slices and green pepper. Bake 30 min. more until tender. Serve over white rice.

Enjoy!

Irish Coddle Recipe

We ate this dish while in Ireland and I tried to replicate it at home. I think mine tastes better than what we had in Ireland. This is definitely comfort food and perfect for a rainy, cool fall day but do not eat if you are on a diet. Ha!

I didn't measure anything so you'll have to go by looks. I used enough potatoes so my Dutch oven was full when everything was added and I had a good mixture of the other ingredients.

Irish Coddle
Cook 1/2lb. bacon. Drain pan of all but a little grease then brown 2 large onions chopped in large pieces and 2 cloves garlic sliced thin. Remove to a bowl.

Take 6 sausages (I found Irish Garlic sausage that worked great but mild Italian would also work) and brown in same pan. Remove from pan and slice into large pieces (1/2 inch?).

While sausages are browning, slice up 6-9 potatoes in thick slices. (I did it with skins on but you can peel if you want.) Also slice up 3-4 large carrots.

In an oven safe Dutch oven (I used a cast iron one I take camping), spray with cooking spray then layer half sliced potatoes, carrots, onion/garlic mixture, and meats then add second half. Pour a container of vegetable stock over (about 2 cans). Add lid and cook for a few hours (2-3) on 325 degrees. Once cooked I added some fresh ground pepper, to taste, and chopped fresh parsley. Serve in bowls!

New Recipe

I bought my husband The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook for Christmas. Not that we don't own enough cookbooks but I saw it at BJ's and remembered watching the show on PBS when the kids were little...before our weekends were taken up with activities. I got lots of good recipes from the show and didn't write down others I would have liked to have so I bought the cookbook hoping some of those were in there.

My husband likes to cook so it isn't a stretch buying him a cookbook especially not this one which also explains lots of different techniques rather than just giving the recipes.

Here's one we tried recently and liked...

Chicken Piccata

8 thin boneless skinless chicken breasts (either take 4 regular size breasts and slice in half longways or eight small breasts and pound them to an even thickness)

salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour
4 Tbsp oil
1 shallot minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 large lemon sliced into 1/4 inch thick half moons and end discarded
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1.5 lemons)
2 Tbsp capers, rinsed
3 Tbsp unsalted butter cut into 3 pieces and chilled
2 Tbsp minced parsley

Heat oven to 200 degrees. Have all ingredients ready to go. Dry chicken cutlets then season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour to coat. Heat 2 tbsp oil in skillet over med-high heat until just smoking. Cook half the chicken for about 4 minutes each side. Transfer to warm plate and keep warm in oven. Repeat with remaining chicken in remaining oil.

Add shallot and garlic to oil left in skillet and cook over med heat until softened. Stir in broth and lemon slices, scraping up brown bits, and simmer until reduced adn slightly syrupy...about 8 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice, capers, and any accumulated chicken juice. Turn heat to low and whisk in butter one piece at a time. Off heat stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with sauce over chicken.

Scrambled Pancakes...

Newt has been lifting and trying to increase his protein intake to build muscle. Breakfast has been difficult for him because he isn't too fond of eggs especially first thing in the morning. Though he suffers through and eats them, he was especially keen on me finding him some alternatives.

I remembered a dish we lived on while I was in PT school. One of my roomies was of German ancestry and she introduced us to it. When money for groceries was running low this is what we ate. I couldn't remember the exact recipe or the name of the dish so I searched on the internet and combined a few recipes and what little I remembered to come up with this...

Scrambled Pancakes

2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp sugar

pinch salt

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 cup milk

Mix all ingredients well. Melt butter in pan on medium heat (or spray pan with cooking spray). Dump mixed ingredients into hot pan then chop into pieces, turn, and let cook until cooked dry and the pieces are beginning to brown (my kids like the browned pieces because they are a bit crunchy). I have made it without the added sugar and butter in the recipe and it tastes fine. We serve it with cheap (ie. fake) maple syrup and melted butter.