Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 325. Grease two loaf pans. Beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. In another bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, soda, powder, salt, and nuts. Add the wet ingredients and stir to combine. Divide into pans and bake 60-75 minutes.

Posted by: Erika

Caramel Rolls

1 pkg Rhodes Rolls (thawed for 2 hours)
cinnamon-sugar mixrture (1 c. sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon)

Caramel Sauce:
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter, softened
1/4 c light corn syrup
1/2 c chopped pecans

Heat brown sugar and butter to boiling-stirring constantly). Remove from heat and stir in corn syrup and pecans. Pour into greased tube pan.
Roll thawed rolls in sugar mixture and place evenly in pan.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins, or until golden brown.  Let stand 1-2 mins and then invert to plate.

By: Tonya

Nilla Wafer S'mores

These were fun and dangerous! There could be an easier way with less steps or easier ingredients...but...I made it up as I went along. And I don't have measurements. Just what looked good. Okay, here we go.

Nilla Wafers
Almond Bark Chocolate
Marshmallows
Butter
Peanut Butter
Honey

I melted the marshmallows with a double boiler and added a little scoop of butter as they melted along.

While that is going, mix the honey and the peanut butter together in any amount you want. I like mine a little more honey than peanut butter but still peanut butter sticky.

Then, I melted the almond bark chocolate (1 square) in the microwave 10 -12 seconds at a time so the chocolate wouldn't burn. Stirring in-between each set tell it is all melted.

I dipped a Nilla Wafer in the chocolate and put it aside on a plate to harden. That is the top one. On the 2nd wafer, I put a small dab of peanut butter mix.

By this time the marshmallows have melted. VERY CAREFULLY spoon the melted marshmallow on the peanut butter half of the wafer. This burns worse than a hot glue gun if you get it on your fingers!

Put the chocolate dipped wafer on top. You can set it out to finish cooling or put them in the frig for a few minutes.

Make as many as you want!  Eat as many as you want!

*after thought. How about a sliced fruit in the middle too? Strawberry or banana?

Michelle



Lemon-Pepper Drummers

• I saw this one on Rachael Ray and adapted it to what I had on hand.
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 8 large chicken drumsticks
• Kosher salt
• Poultry seasoning or ground thyme
• 6 cloves garlic, grated or pasted
• 1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1 lemon, zested
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
• 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions or chives, to garnish

Directions

Heat the extra-virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat in a large pan with a cover. When the butter foams, add the drumsticks and season with salt and poultry seasoning. Shake the pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Cover the pan and reduce the heat a bit. Cook for 20 minutes to cook through. Remove the drumsticks to a platter and add the remaining butter to the pan to melt. Add the garlic and pepper, stir for 2 minutes, and then add the lemon zest and juice. Swirl to combine and pour over the drumsticks. Garnish with parsley and scallions.

Edits/Substitutions:

I had thighs on hand, I halved the rest of the recipe and used four bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs. I didn't have poultry season, I seasoned my chicken with salt, pepper, onion powder, and ground coriander. I also added some lemon slices to the lemon-butter mixture before I poured it over the chicken as a garnish since I didn't have any parsley or scallions. Also, the thighs took a little longer than 20 minutes to cook through, it was probably closer to 30 minutes. 

Posted by: Erika

Free e-Cookbook

Just thought I'd share, go here to download a free e-cookbook!

Posted by: Erika

Blueberry Doughnuts

2 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. sugar
1 stick melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
3/4 c. milk
1 1/2 c. blueberries

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and sugar. In a smaller bowl, combine the egg, milk, and butter. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and stir just until combined; do not over mix. Fold in the blueberries.

Scoop the batter into a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with one of the bottom corners snipped off.

In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat 2-3 inches of oil. When the oil is hot enough (test by dropping in a little bit of the batter), squeeze the batter into the oil in a doughnut shape. About halfway through cooking, flip each doughnut over so they cook evenly.

Drain on a paper towel lined plate, and sprinkle with powdered sugar once they cool.

(Notes from me: This was supposed to be a muffin recipe-- 350 degrees, 20-25 minutes-- but I got started before I realized I didn't have a muffin pan available, and had to figure out something to do with all the batter! Also, I used 1 cup of blueberries and just over 1/4 cup each of diced strawberries and peaches.)

Posted by: Erika

Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Low Fat Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins with nutritional info.

I followed her recommendation to use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose flour.  These turned out GREAT!  They are a lot sweeter than I expected; usually whole wheat items aren't very sweet at all.


 Posted by:  Tabitha

Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting

I was in charge of making cupcakes for a friend's baby shower and chocolate was the requested flavor.  Since I've yet to find a chocolate cake & frosting recipe I was crazy about, I went exploring.  I ended up combining several different recipes and the result was fantastic!  (I forgot to get a picture, but luckily a friend took one!)

Chocolate Cupcakes
(borrowed from Annie's Eats)

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tbsp. instant coffee granules
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups sugar
1½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup warm water
¾ cup buttermilk
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.   Line standard cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a large mixing bowl combine the cocoa powder, instant coffee, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt; whisk well to blend.  Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla extract to the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high speed until smooth, 2-3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full.  Bake until the tops spring back when pressed lightly, about 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. 


Whipped Ganache Frosting

8oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp instant coffee granules

Put chocolate and instant coffee in a heat-proof bowl.  Heat cream to a slight boil.  Pour cream over chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.  Cool 2 hours.  Transfer ganache to a stand mixer with a whisk attachment and whisk on high until fluffy.  If you mix too long, it may turn grainy- you can remedy this by warming the ganache up, stirring until smooth, and letting cool again.

I used a Wilton tip 1M to frost the cupcakes.  The red swirls are just a tube of Wilton sparkle gel  :)


What I might do differently: 
The cupcakes weren't quite as moist as I'd like them to be (I'm extra picky).  Next time, I will probably make a simple syrup (1 part sugar to 1 part water, brought to a boil) to pour over them after poking holes with a toothpick.

Posted by:  Tabitha

The Best Meatloaf EVER!!

2 pounds ground chuck
1- 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup quick cooking oatmeal
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2-3 T ketchup

Preheat oven to 400.  In large bowl, mix all ingredients except the ketchup.  Form into a loaf & pl,ace in a loaf pan, pressing firmly.  Bake for 1 hour.  Remove from oven and spread ketchup on top.  Put back in the oven for 10 min.  Pour grease off the meatloaf and let rest for 10 min before serving.

When I say this is the BEST meatloaf I've ever had, I'm not lying! 

Amber

Beef Tips w/ Gravy Over Rice

1 Package Stew Meat
1 pack of Brown Gravy according to package directions
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 pack of Lipton Onion Soup Mix
Garlic Powder and Onion Powder to taste

Rice, prepared according to package directions

Place all ingredients, except the rice, in a slow cooker.  Cook on low, 7-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Serve over hot rice.

Amber

No-Bake Cookies

One of my favorites when I need a quick chocolate fix:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/chocolate-peanut-butter-no-bake-cookies-recipe/index.html

Posted by: Erika