Delicious Crumb Topped Zucchini Bread

Ok, this is absolutely delicious! Seriously folks, it really is that good! In fact Jacob (who's 16 months old) can't get enough of it...he whines for some whenever he sees it and when you give him one bite he keeps whining for more...it's that good!

We've had lots of zucchini around the house lately (thanks to Aimee) and I've been wanting to make zucchini bread for days and finally got to it today. I didn't have a recipe, so I spent some time searching on Allrecipes and then did a little experimenting and I have to say I'm thrilled with the result.

Crumb Topped Zucchini Bread
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups grated zucchini, undrained
1 cup crushed pineapple * optional
1 cup chopped walnutes*optional (I didn't add them)

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup regular oats
1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and sugar (or flour) two loaf pans.

Stir together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon in a bowl.

Beat the eggs, oil, applesauce, vanilla and sugar in a large bowl or KitchenAid. Add the dry ingredients and beat well.

Stir in the zucchini (and pineapple and nuts if desired) until well combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans and put them in the pre-heated oven.

While the bread is cooking, combine the ingredients for the crumb topping.

Bake the bread for approximately 20-25 mins then add the crumb topping and cook an additional 35 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean*.

*Note: This is an extremely moist bread, so the toothpick won't come out completely clean, but you will be able to tell the difference in the toothpick between when it's not done and done.

*Note: Cool completely before attempting to cut this baby...as I said it's really moist so it's difficult to make a clean cut when it's still hot. You can cool it on a wire rack and / or remove the bread out of the pans after it's cooled for 1/2 hour or so to speed up the cooling process.

Enjoy!

Creamy Spinach Pesto Pasta

I'm not really sure what to say about this dish except that I was in the mood for a creamy spinach type pasta dish and decided to try to make a pesto sauce out of spinach. I did a google search for spinach pesto and found a recipe on Rachael Ray that helped give me a little direction and voila, this recipe was born. It's a really yummy variation of regular pesto...if you like pesto that is;) And if you want a little lighter or healthy version you could of course leave out the whipping cream (though I wouldn't dare of course).


Creamy Spinach Pesto Pasta
salt
3/4 - 1 lb pasta (whichever kind you would like)
4 cups fresh spinach (packed lightly)
handful of chopped pecans
1/2 cup vegetable / chicken stock
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
a few sprinkles fresh or dried nutmeg
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil, approximately
2 tbsp garlic, minced or 2-3 fresh cloves
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 medium zucchini, chopped, *optional
artichoke hearts, drained and chopped, *optional
chicken breasts or tenders, *optional

Cook noodles to al dente, making sure not to overcook as you will combine them with the sauce and they'll continue to soften at that point.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the spinach pesto by combining the spinach, pecans, vegetable stock, nutmeg, lemon zest and lemon juice and a few sprinkles of salt in a blender or food processor. Pulse to chop everything up and then add approximately 2 tbsp olive oil and continue pulsing to combine.

Place a large skillet over medium heat and heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the diced onion, minced garlic and chopped zucchini and cook until the veggies are done (if you're like me, you like them to have a little bit of a crunch to them still, but otherwise cook them till they're nice and soft). If you're using marinated artichoke hearts you can add them once the veggies are almost done as they won't need to cook as long as the onions and zucchini.

Once the veggies are done add the whipping cream and heat to boiling, allowing the sauce to boil for 2-3 minutes.

Then add the pasta, pesto, mozzarella cheese and salt to taste and toss to combine. If adding chicken, then chop up cooked / poached chicken breasts / tenders and add at this point. Serve warm with an extra sprinkle of mozzarella cheese on top.

You can also put it in a casserole dish and top with mozzarella cheese and broil/bake it for a few minutes if you like a nice cheese layer on top of your pasta.

Enjoy!

Hamburger Buns

We had AJ and Sarah over for dinner on the 4th of July and of course had hamburgers. Sarah asked if the hamburger bun recipe was on the blog yet and as it wasn't I promised I'd get it on soon...so here it is! I know this is only adding to the BBQ kick on here lately, but hey, at least they're really good!

I got this recipe from my mother in law and was happy as I'd just been thinking about finding a recipe to make hamburger buns. It was originally for 12 and I've halved it.

Hamburger Buns
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/8 tsp SAF instant yeast (or half a .25 ounce packet of rapid rise active dry yeast)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tablespoon water

Combine milk, 1/2 cup water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let stand until lukeward, about 110°F (if the mixture is too hot it will kill the yeast).

In a large bowl, stir together the flour and yeast. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until the dough starts to pull together. If using a Kitchen Aid or stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with Saran Wrap and a dish towel and let stand until doubled in size, approximately 40 mins to 1 hour (again I usually heat the oven up to 175°F and then turn it off and let the dough rise in the warm oven).

Punch down the dough and divide it into 6 portions. They should be a little larger than a golf ball. Make tight balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

Oil/PAM your hand and then flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. Cover rolls and let sit until they double in size, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tbsp of water in a cup or small bowl and brush onto the tops of the rolls.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Makes 6 buns.

*Note: Chris loves putting grilled onions on his burgers and I have to say they've become an absolute necessity on my veggie burger too! So yummy!!! Avocado is sure good too!

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Marinades

We had a family lunch today to celebrate Chris's birthday and Chris grilled two different kinds of chicken. The first is called Bengal BBQ chicken and is served at Disneyland. Chris said he just asked for the recipe and they gave it to him. Lucky for him because he loves it.

Chris said he found the second recipe online somewhere years ago. He doesn't know what it's called so I'm calling it Sprite Chicken.

Bengal BBQ
1 c. soy sauce
1 1/2 c. water
1 tbsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (original recipe only called for 1/2 tsp, but Chris always uses 1 tsp)
1 tbsp fresh garlic
1 tbsp corn starch

Mix all but corn starch. Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Add corn starch to thicken. Marinate in a gallon size ziploc bag for approximately 6 hours. Grill.

*Note: As far as how much chicken this will make, Chris said it's enough marinade for a gallon sized ziploc bag full of chicken.

*Note: This one is on the hotter/spicier side. If you like a little bit of a kick, but not a lot you might want to use only 1/2 a tsp of the cayenne pepper.

Sprite Chicken
1 can Sprite (you can also use 7-Up)
1 cup Soy Sauce
1 tbsp minced garlic (you could also use garlic powder)

Marinate in a gallon size ziploc bag for overnight before grilling.

*Note: As far as how much chicken this will make, Chris said it's enough marinade for a gallon sized ziploc bag full of chicken.

Serve with grilled potatoes, veggies, grilled potatoes with veggies, watermelon (if you're a Parson this is a must), salad, etc.

Enjoy!

Grilled Red Peppers

Another BBQ recipe. We had steak for Father's Day and Chris's birthday and of course needed potatoes and then wanted a veggie and since I love red peppers I came up with this. That'll explain the last two posts;)

Grilled Red Peppers

red peppers, seeded and cut into large chunks

olive oil

Montreal Steak seasoning (or whatever seasoning you'd like)

Seed and cut red peppers and place in a ziploc bag along with the olive oil and Montreal Steak seasoning. Rub till the peppers are covered in the oil and seasoning. Using a basket or barbeque griddle. Make sure to watch these carefully as they don't take very long to cook on each side (probably about 5 mins on low).

*Note: You might want to experiment with how much of the seasoning to use, depending on your tastes. I would recommend starting off lightly the first time and then adding more the next time you make them if you'd like. I've made them twice and thought the seasoning was perfect both times.

Enjoy!

Red potatoes on the BBQ

Can you tell we BBQ a lot in the summer? Or that I love potatoes?

These are super duper easy and of course delicious...sorry I say that a lot!

Red Potatoes on the BBQ

red potatoes, washed and sliced

onions, sliced

butter or margarine

rosemary garlic spice

salt

Slice the potatoes and onions and layer in a large piece of tin foil sprayed with PAM. Put pieces of butter on the potatoes and sprinkle with the rosemary garlic spice (or whatever spices you'd like) and salt. Fold up the tin foil and BBQ (of course turning sides) till done.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Serve with steak, chicken, etc.

Enjoy!

Chris's Grilled Potatoes and Veggies

Chris has a lot of specialties, but his grilled potatoes and veggies are definitely one of MY favourites! Beware that this is another one of those recipes that is not exact as far as amounts or measurements.









Grilled Potatoes and Veggies
potatoes, washed and cut
large red onion, cut
red, yellow, orange peppers, washed, seeded and cut
zucchini / Italian squash, washed and cut
olive oil/oil
seasonings as desired: rosemary garlic, salt, pepper, etc.

Combine veggies in a bowl with olive oil and seasonings. Put potatoes on a barbeque griddle and cook, flipping as needed to prevent burning. Once the potatoes start to soften, add the veggies and cook together till done.

Serve with BBQ chicken or steak, with a nice dollop of sour cream on the potatoes and veggies of course!

*Note: You can also bake these in the oven at 400 degrees till tender. Start with the potatoes, then add the veggies when the potatoes start to soften.

Enjoy!