Zucchini Bread

This really is the best zucchini bread recipe in the whole entire world. Really. It is. I wish I had a picture of the whole loaf. But everytime I make it, it gets taken to friends and family, and gobbled up by my own family so quickly that I always forget to snap a picture. This picture is actually of a plate that I took to my parents, then realized after I gave it to them that I really needed a picture. So I just hurried and took one. But you can see how yummy and moist it looks. It really is the best!


Zucchini Bread


1 1/4 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
4 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups grated zucchini

Grease and flour (I usually just spray them, but sometimes they do get stuck...) two 8x4 inch pans. Preheat Oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients. Then add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Mix well. Fold in zucchini until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for about 20 minutes, then remove the bread from the pans.

Some Kind of Asian Something

So, I have been looking in my local grocery stores for a long time to find Pad Thai Rice Noodles, and couldn't find them anywhere. Well, I finally found them at a store that I rarely ever shop at. I was really excited to cook with them, but couldn't find a recipe that sounded fantastic to me. So I ended up just doing my own thing and throwing stuff in that I thought would be good... and it was! After we ate, and loved it, I hurried to write down everything I put in it so that it could be recreated. I just don't know what to call it though.....

Some Kind of Asian Something

1 1/2 lb boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 8oz. package Pad Thai Rice Noodles
1/2 cup carrots, matchstick sliced
1 cup zucchini, quartered then sliced
2 cups fresh broccoli flowerettes

1/3 cup soy sauce

3-4 tbsp pure sesame oil

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp garlic powder (I was out of garlic cloves or I would have used 3 or 4 minced cloves instead)

4 Tbsp water

Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, garlic powder, and water, set aside. Place noodles in a bowl of hot water to soak for 7 or 8 minutes. Meanwhile, stir-fry the chicken in a little oil,  for a few minutes, then add carrots. After a couple more minutes add the broccoli and zucchini. Continue to cook these until chicken is done and veggies are crisp-tender. Drain noodles and add them to the pan, stirring them into the chicken/veggies. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes, then add the soy sauce mixture to the pan. Continue to stir-fry until all of the noodles, chicken, and veggies are coated in the sauce. Serve.

Fried Zucchini

Parmesan/ Bread Crumb Coating

Flour Coating

What is better than taking a healthy vegetable and making it totally unhealthy. I seem to be really good at that. I love fresh, crisp, or simply steamed vegetables, but, unfortunately, I also love them fried or dripping in a cheesy sauce. I pretty much love veggies any way they come, and was lucky to find a husband that feels the same way I do. We love fried zucchini, dipped in homemade ranch dressing. I am including 2 different ways you can make it. One is a Parmesan/bread crumb coating, and the other is just a flour coating. And, once again, I am just guessing on the measurements, because I just dump stuff in.

Fried Zucchini


1 large Zucchini
salt
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
oil for frying

Slice zucchini into about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick slices. Lay slices out on paper towels and sprinkle salt over them.   In a bowl, mix together egg and milk. Put flour in a separate bowl, then mix Parmesan and bread crumbs in another bowl. Put enough oil in a saute or frying pan so that it is about 1/4 inch deep. Heat oil over medium heat. Take a slice of zucchini and dredge it in the flour, then coat it in the egg/milk mixture. Finally, coat it completely in the Parmesan mixture. Place it in the hot oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly browned, then flip over and cook on other side until lightly browned. Remove from oil and place on clean paper towels to drain. If you run out of the flour or Parmesan coating, simply add more.
If you would like to only use flour and not the Parmesan mixture, then omit the Parmesan and bread crumb mixture. Dredge the zucchini in the flour, then the egg mixture, then back into the flour to completely coat it before frying. We like it both ways and usually do some of each.

*You can also use this same recipe/directions for frying eggplant. In fact, there is a slice of eggplant in one of the pictures above.... can you tell which one?

Baked Parmesan Zucchini (or summer squash)

Oh boy. This is good. I had a bunch of summer squash from my dad's garden, and was wondering what to do with it the other night when our friend Tari was coming over for dinner. I quickly searched some of my favorite recipe sites and knew as soon as I saw this one on Sisters Cafe that it was the one. Tari was actually gracious enough to put it together when she arrived and I was behind on dinner. It turned out so very good, and is something that I am going to be making again and again. I loved how the Parmesan got a little chewy as it baked. I wondered about making it without the garlic salt the next time, but everyone else said that they loved the hint of garlic in it. It really was good.

Baked Parmesan Zucchini

2-3 zucchini and/or summer squash

1-2 Tbsp. Butter

Garlic salt

Parmesan cheese 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut zucchini/summer squash in thin slices and arrange half evenly in baking dish. Place thin slices of butter on top. Sprinkle generously with garlic salt, and Parmesan cheese. Layer the rest of the zucchini and squash and repeat. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes.  Uncover and bake 5 more minutes.

Zucchini Casserole

I really love zucchini. I don't think that I have ever had zucchini prepared in a way that I didn't like it. My sister gave me the first zucchinis out of her garden this year, and they were SO good. I don't have my own garden right now, but I am blessed enough to live close to my sister and my parents who share their garden goodness with me all summer long. I am incredibly grateful for that!  My mom gave me this recipe a few years ago, and I really like it.

Zucchini Casserole

5-6 cup zucchini (or any summer squash)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded carrots (no carrots added in one pictured)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 package StoveTop Stuffing

Mix stuffing mix with water and butter called for on package. Set aside. Saute or steam zucchini, onions and carrots for about 5 minutes, or until tender. Mix together soup and sour cream, then fold in zucchini mixture. Put soup/zucchini mixture in casserole dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Spoon stuffing mix over the top and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 minutes.

Assembling the Perfect Tin Foil Dinner

Tin foil dinners are a favorite of both mine and my husband's. We actually had tin foil dinners on our first date. Our first date was a double date with our 2 friends that lined us up. We went up Farmington Canyon and ate tin foil dinners that were burnt beyond recognition. Well that first date was a little over 13 years ago, and our tin foil dinners have come a long way since then. We love to camp and cook outdoors, so we have practiced these a lot. So, here is my tutorial...

1. Start with a double layer of tin foil, probably about 18-24 inches long. Spray the foil generously with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Your first layer should be thinly sliced potatoes. (Potatoes are probably the least expensive ingredient you are putting into the foil dinners, so the reason you are putting them on the bottom, is so that if anything gets burned, it will be those.) Place a single layer of potatoes down on the sprayed foil, then salt/pepper them.

3. Place your hamburger patty (or chicken or whatever) on top of the potatoes. Salt your meat, then pour and spread 1-2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce over the meat. (don't put more BBQ sauce on then this or it will make the whole dinner really soupy. If you want more BBQ sauce, just serve it with the foil dinner after)

4. Onions should go on next so that they can flavor the meat.

5. Layer the rest of your veggies, such as carrots, zucchini,and mushrooms then salt them.

6. Finish with another layer of potatoes on top, again salting them, and spraying the top of them with a little more cooking spray.

7. Wrap dinners up tightly so that no juice will leak out during cooking.

8. Wrap dinners in two more layers of foil, making a total of 4 layers of foil. (the 4 layers are very important if cooking in coals, but not as important if cooking in the oven.

9. If cooking in the oven, place a cookie sheet or sheet of foil on the rack under where you are cooking the dinners in case some of the liquid leaks.

10. I wish I could tell you exactly how long to cook the foil dinner. It is so subjective to how big it is, the temperature of the coals, etc... Last time I made them in the oven I baked them at 400 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes. The ones pictures above were made in a fire pit, and I cooked them for about 50 minutes, flipping them over after 30 minutes. This part is kind of just a trial and error thing.

11. I recently heard about a method where you put a layer of wet newspaper in between the two layers of foil to keep the food from burning. I haven't tried this, but it sounds like a good idea?

Happy Camping!

Italian Pasta Salad

This is one of my stand-by, go-to salads that I have been making for years. It's easy to double this salad to make it huge and feed a crowd. The ingredients are really versatile, and you can change them up. What I have listed below are the ingredients that I usually use, but you can leave out whatever you don't like, or add other things that you do like. I don't have a recipe for this salad, and so I am just going to give you approximate measurements, because it is different each time I make it. When I make this salad, I usually cook the pasta the night before and mix in at least half of the salad dressing and let it sit in the fridge overnight and absorb the flavor more. Then the next day I add the rest of the ingredients and more salad dressing to taste.

Italian Pasta Salad

1 16oz package of Rotini pasta
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing (Wishbone is my favorite for this)
1-2 cups fresh broccoli florets
a handful of pepperoni slices
about 4 oz of cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
1 can small or medium olives, drained
1 cup diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes
1 cup sliced zucchini
McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning (optional)

Cook pasta according to directions. Drain well and add half of the salad dressing. Refrigerate until cold. Add all veggies, pepperoni, cheese, and the rest of the salad dressing. Mix well. sprinkle with a little McCormick Salad Supreme and mix again. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Stir well just before serving and sprinkle Salad Supreme over the top just before serving.

Grilled Zucchini

I love zucchini pretty much any way it is prepared, but this is one of my favorite ways to eat it.

Grilled Zucchini

small to medium sized zucchini
olive oil
seasoning salt (such as Lawry's)

Cut zucchini lengthwise into in quarters. Brush each piece with olive oil then sprinkle with seasoning salt. Grill for 5-10 minutes, turning to grill each side.