Confessions of a Food Junkie

I know, I know....more zucchini.  Get used to, every day I have one or two more to pick out of the garden!  But I will mix it up by giving you both sweet and savory ways to enjoy the ever abundant veg.  I made chocolate zucchini cookies the other night (I'm posting that one too) and had leftover shredded zucchini I had to use up.  My best recipes come when I just start throwing stuff together.  This was no exception.  SOOO good. 

I don't have any pictures of it, because my kitchen doesn't have the right lighting for nighttime pics.  Everything has an orange glow to it.  Stupid kitchen.  Have I mentioned how much I hate my kitchen?  It has, however, made me learn to do a lot in very little space.  That's my silver lining for the day.


6 eggs
splash of milk
2 c shredded zucchini
1 c croutons
1/2 c chopped pepperoni
1/4 c shredded cheese of your choice (I had mozzarella)
spices to taste:
   salt (go easy, remember both the pepperoni and croutons are already salty)
   pepper
   garlic powder
   onion powder
   Beer Can Chicken BBQ seasoning (or any other BBQ seasoning you have)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a pie plate with nonstick spray.

Scramble the eggs with the milk.  Add the spices, mix well.  Stir in the zucchini, croutons, pepperoni and cheese.

Pour into the pie plate.  Bake for 20 minutes or until it is done in the center.

Zucchini is something that I have a love/hate relationship with.  When I plant my garden, I mentally rub my hands gleefully together in anticipation of the promise of an abundant harvest.  By the end of the gardening season, I hope to never see another zucchini again.  Right now I'm in the middle stage of the relationship...I'm enjoying going out to the garden every day and picking one or two, but now they're starting to pile up on my counter.

Usually I am the zucchini bread queen of the world.  It has been so hot here the last few weeks, the last thing I wanted to do was start the oven.  I didn't know what to make for supper, and when that happens, creativity strikes.  This is what I came up with, and it was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.  The fam agreed.


1 box pasta (I used radiatore)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
4 c shredded zucchini
3/4 c shredded cheese of your choice (I had mozzarella on hand)
1/2 c plain yogurt
Spices to taste:
salt
pepper
onion powder
cumin

Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute garlic, being careful not to brown it too much.  Stir in zucchini, one handful at a time, stirring after each.  Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring ocassionally.  Spoon the yogurt into the zucchini, mix well.  Turn heat down to low and let rest while pasta is cooking, stirring ocassionally.

Once pasta is cooked and drained, return it to the pasta pot.  Stir in the zucchini.  Stir in the shredded cheese until melted.  Serve hot with crusty bread.

Happy post-4th of July!

We went to a barbeque at my parents' house, which has become tradition.  I was recruited, among other things, to make dessert.  This turned out to be such a lovely dessert.  It was easy, as the crust is pre-made sugar cookie dough.  I made these triangles on my Pampered Chef bar pan, which was the perfect size.  Most recipes I make rarely turn out looking like the picture, but these turned out so pretty, just like the picture.  This was a hit with even the pickiest of eaters.  My cousin's future stepson redefines "picky eater", and he loved these.  He said they tasted like a Toaster Streudel, and darned if he isn't right.  A cold Toaster Streudel, but still delicious.



Photo courtesy of pillsbury.com

Ah, rhubarb.  Pretty much a summer staple around here.  When most people think of rhubarb, they automatically think of strawberries.  Not me.  I like my rhubarb recipes sans strawberries.  Don't get me wrong; I like a good strawberry rhubarb pie, but it's not a necessity.

As I've mentioned before, once a month I make cookies for my father.  Well, they're specifically for him, but my mother enjoys the occasional cookie as well.  Good for me, because I get her feedback as well.  Most of the cookies I make for him are a "first time" recipe and I want to know if it's a keeper or not.

This cookie is a keeper.

I wish I would have taken a picture.  Alas, laziness prevailed and I have no photographic proof of these delightful cookies.

You're just going to have to make your own to see how yummy they look.  And smell.  And taste...

A side note:  I added about 1/4 cup of ground flax seed.  Gotta sneak the good stuff into Dad's monthly cookies for the folks whether they like it or not...I'm talkin' to you, MOM!


Cookie:
1 c butter
1 1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
3 c flour (I used white whole wheat)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c rhubarb, chopped
3/4 c coconut

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp butter, softened
3 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or lightly spray.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar.  Beat in the eggs.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to the creamed mixture.  Stir in rhubarb and coconut.  Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart.  Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla.  Gradually add confectioners sugar until smooth.  Spread over cooled cookies.  Store cookies in the refrigerator.

Not following a recipe finally bit me in the butt.  That's not to say these bars aren't fantastic, but they're not what I anticipated they'd be. If you aren't a dunce like I am, and don't leave out key ingredients, these will be just great.

I used all of my chocolate chips a few weeks ago, but I figured I could substitute.  Uh, hello?  Chocolate chip cookie pretzel bars?  What I did have was squares of white baker's chocolate that I had bought when I made the spaghetti and meatball cake for my dad's birthday.  I thought I'd shave some of the white chocolate into the batter and call it good.  At the end of the day, you'd never know it was even in there.  Before tossing it into the oven, I thought, "Ooh!  I'll stir in some of the chocolate peanut butter I have!  That'll make up for not having chocolate chips!"  It didn't.  Probably because I only had about a half of a cup left in the jar.

Please don't think this is something you should pass up.  I just left out a key ingredient.  Lesson learned.  You can find the original recipe with a picture of what it's supposed to look like here.

When I was a kid, my mom used to buy us corn dogs from the Schwans truck every summer.  Hot, crunchy, slightly greasy outside, soft inside, salty hot dog...I loved them.  And meat on a stick?  What kid doesn't think that's a good idea?  I haven't had a corn dog in many many years, so when I came across this recipe, I first thought of those Schwans corn dogs, then of how my kids would enjoy these.

As with every recipe I make, I do try to incorporate some healthier ingredients without changing the overall idea of the recipe.  So instead of regular hot dogs (which I avoid feeding the kids as much as I can), I used the venison hot dogs my father-in-law had made from one of the deer he shot this past hunting season.  They are really good, and really lean, as deer are not a highly fatty animal.



When these muffins came out of the oven, my 2-year-old son took one look at them and said, "Ooh...hot dog!" (which in his words came out "hot dawg")  He inhaled his once it was just barely cool enough to eat, and even my picky daughter gave it her approval.



They really do taste like a corn dog!

1 1/2 c flour (I used white whole wheat)
3 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
3/4 c cornmeal
2 eggs
1 c buttermilk*
1/4 c butter, melted
4 hot dogs, sliced in half lengthwise and cut small
1 c shredded cheese (I used colby jack)



Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly spray 12-muffin tin (or 24 mini muffin, which is what I used).

In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar.  Add cornmeal, mix well.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, then stir in the buttermilk* and melted butter.  Stir liquid mixture into the dry mixture, stirring just until blended.  Add cheese and hot dogs.  Mix well.

Using a large ice cream scoop, evenly fill the cups.  They will expand!

Bake 18-20 minutes (or 15 minutes for minis) or until lightly browned.  Serve hot.

*If you do not have buttermilk, you can do this:  Place 1 Tbsp vinegar into a measuring cup.  Add just enough milk to reach the 1 cup mark.  Let stand 5 minutes.  Voila.  Buttermilk substitution.

Today I was cleaning up all of the junk I have accumulated on my desk.  It was a lot.  A lot.  I'm a notorious pack rat (don't worry, you won't see me on an episode of "Hoarders").  When I came across a pile of recipes, I wasn't surprised.  Some were torn out of magazines, some were still in magazines, some were printed off the computer, and others were handwritten.  This recipe was one of the handwritten ones. Like most of my recipes, this is a no fuss, small mess, quick and easy bar recipe that uses mostly ingredients you'd have on hand.  I have tweeked it to my (and my family's) liking.  For example, I added the peanut butter and replaced the 1/2 cup of nuts with the seeds.

I just took it out of the oven and it's not yet cool enough to cut, but I'm dying to dive in.  I can't wait for my daughter to get home from school...I hope she loves them.  I'm no nutritionist, but I think as far as after-school-snacks/cookies/bars go, it's fairly healthful.  I can't see how she won't like them, they smell heavenly.  Keep your fingers crossed...

Ready to go into the oven!

Couldn't resist, had to take a bite.

 

I drizzled with honey for aesthetic purposes...then I had to eat it.  Darn!



2 c oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp apple pie spice
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c milk
1/4 c honey
1/2 c chunky applesauce
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c dried fruit (I used dried apple)
1 c raisins
2 Tbsp sunflower seeds
2 Tbsp flax seeds
3 Tbsp natural peanut butter (I used Naturally More)

Preheat oven to 375.

Place first 6 ingredients in a bowl, mix well.

In a separate bowl, mix the milk, applesauce, egg, honey and vanilla.

Combine the two mixtures.  Stir in the fruit and seeds.  Spread into a sprayed 11 x 7 baking dish.  Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned and golden.  Cool completely before cutting.