Joy in the Kitchen!

At the beginning of zucchini season we love, love, LOVE, zucchini fried in butter or olive oil.  We could eat it every day with dinner!  However, by the middle of zucchini season we're pretty ready to let our zucchini taste buds branch out with new zucchini recipes! Here are 5 of our favorite ways to use zucchini fresh off of the plant!  (or frozen if it's winter and you've wisely planned ahead!) 1.  By far our favorite.... Ooey-Gooey Zucchini Brownies !  I could easily eat 5 servings of vegetables THIS way! 2.  A healthy snack of .....   Zucchini Bread !   I like nuts in this but my kids don't so one of these days when they've all left home I'm making this and adding EXTRA nuts.  In the meantime I see no reason to waste a good thing on someone who can't appreciate it. :) 3.   Zucchini Frittata can make a simple dinner, delicious lunch, or even a savory breakfast!   I love freshly picked tomatoes diced on th...

My kids have been watching Cupcake Wars on Netflix this summer.  We don't watch a lot of TV so the kids have only been able to watch while they fold clothes, shell peas, or snap green beans.  This gets some work done for me and they get an opportunity to watch TV.  Happy arrangement for all of us. (Though sometimes I suspect the clothes are taking longer to fold than usual towards the end of an episode!) Last year our zucchini didn't grow as well as we wanted so this year we planted extra and it is ALL growing well!   The combination of Cupcake Wars and our prolific zucchini plants brought about these beautiful and tasty cupcakes!   The cupcake is light, very moist, and the perfect carrier for a delicious Cream Cheese Frosting. (I find some people frown on just eating the frosting with a spoon.)  This is high on my list of ways to fix fruits and vegetables! Zucchini Cupcakes 1 C. oil 1 3/4 C. sugar 2 large eggs 2 tsp. vanilla 3 C. flo...

Our garden is on full swing right now.  We love having so many fresh vegetables to use!  As usual we have an abundance of zucchini.  It grows so quickly.  One day I check the plant and the squash are a little bit too small and the next day I have zucchini the size of my forearm!   Those forearm sized zucchini are excellent for using in baked goods - like Zucchini Bread!  One can NEVER have too many zucchini recipes during this season!   As long as you use a fine grate there's hardly a sign of green zucchini in this and I rarely take time to peel them first.  If you have a food processor you can quickly grate a bunch of zucchini at once.  If I'm only making one batch, I usually just use my hand grater.... you only need 2 cups.... it's pretty quick and then I have one small item to wash.  Lazy, lazy me! You'll want to grease your bread pans.  My Mom always used a paper towel and some shortening BUT I love to use a cooki...

Summer is coming!!!  It's time to start thinking cool meals for warm summer days!  Salads are always a hit in our home and my teenage girls especially love pasta salad.  This delicious pasta salad is packed with flavor and pretty simple to assemble.  It travels well in a cooler to those summer potluck holiday meals.  Perfect! Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad 1 12-16 oz. package of shell pasta (Large or small), cooked until tender and drained. 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked, cooled, and diced (We like it grilled best but boiled is great too!) 2 C. Ranch Dressing thinned w/ a little milk - appx 1/4 cup. 4-6 slices of bacon, fried until crispy and crumbled (I like to use 6 slices of precooked bacon) 1 C. celery, sliced 1 avocado, peeled and cut into chunks and sprinkled with lemon juice to prevent browning. 1 can black olives, sliced Green onion, Optional Mix all of the above ingredients together saving a few pieces of avoca...

Pretzel Dogs are a fun twist to using hot dogs for an easy meal!   Add a fresh fruit and vegetable tray and you've got a filling meal!  This is a perfect recipe to work with your kids in the kitchen!   Our family really loves the soft pretzels and pretzel bites we've been making.  Dipped in cheese sauce or just by themselves, once a batch comes out of the oven it hardly has a chance to cool before it's gone. These Pretzel Dogs use that easy Soft Pretzel recipe.   Enjoy! Pretzel Dogs 1 batch of Soft Pretzels dough  (Recipe HERE )  prepared up to the point of shaping the pretzels. 8 bun length hot dogs, patted dry with a paper towel. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Divide the dough into 8 pieces.  Roll one piece of the dough into a long snake-like strand about 12 inches long.  Flatten the roll with your fingers.  Place the end of one hot dog at the end of the dough strip and roll at an angle until hot dog is...

Summer is coming bringing warmer weather and the stronger desire for cool salads.  This sweet and tangy Poppy Seed Dressing is perfect drizzled on your choice of greens.  Last night we enjoyed this on a grilled chicken salad and today I've just tossed some sliced strawberries and almonds on romaine.   This recipe is SO inexpensive per batch, particularly if you have the ingredients already on hand.  The only thing I had to buy this time was the poppy seeds.  I figured it cost me somewhere around $1.60 and it makes a generous 3 cups of dressing. My sweet Mom shared this with me several years ago and I've no idea where she found this recipe but it has certainly become my favorite!    Perfect Poppy Seed Dressing 3 T. chopped onion 2/3 C. white vinegar 2 tsp. ground, dry mustard 1 tsp. salt 1-2 tsp. poppyseeds 1 C. sugar 2 C. oil Blend the first 6 ingredients well in the blender.  Slowly add the oil while...

I used to love Reece's Peanut Butter Cups but they've changed somehow since I was in love with them and it seems that they just don't have the same flavor. This recipe for a similar treat is much more like I remember the flavor of the old candy bar!    My brother shared this recipe with me before I was even a teenager!  He got it from someone he met while serving a mission in Kentucky and Tennessee for our church.  It was easy enough for me to make by myself that my Mom let me mix it up even before I learned to bake cookies.  I pressed this into an 8x8 pan but if you like a thinner peanut butter base to go with your chocolate, press this same amount into a 9x13.   If it's more than you can use, it freezes nicely but be sure to cut it into squares before freezing. Chocolaty Peanut Butter Squares 2 C. Creamy peanut butter 2 cubes margarine or butter, melted 4 1/2-5 C. powdered sugar 1 12 oz package chocolate chips Blend peanut butter and marg...