Mmm...lemony!

Last week, I was craving something lemony, so I tried a new twist on zucchini bread: Lemon-Zucchini Loaf with Lemon Glaze! It was super moist and the glaze is amazing! It was a great way to use up some of the shredded zucchini I STILL have in my freezer from last year. And, of course, I found this recipe on Pinterest!

Lemon-Zucchini Loaf with Lemon Glaze

 (thanks to http://nancycreative.com)

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

juice of one lemon (or 2 Tbl. lemon juice)

zest of one lemon

1 cup grated zucchini (you don't need to peel the zucchini before grating it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9X5-inch loaf pan; set aside.  In a  large bowl, blend flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.  In a medium bowl, beat two eggs well, then add oil and sugar, and blend well.  Add the buttermilk, lemon juice and lemon zest. Blend until everything is evenly distributed in mixture.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and blend together. Add zucchini. Mix, but don't over mix.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cook completely.  While the loaf is cooling, you can make the glaze...

Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

juice of one lemon (or 1-2 Tbl. lemon juice)

In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended.  Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.

This ain't your grandma's grilled cheese! I found some great ideas on Pinterest recently, including a sort of "green goddess" grilled cheese sandwich. Today, in my awesome-can't possibly live without it-use it all the time-panini press, I made a "green" sandwich of pesto, spinach, avocado and mozzarella cheese on Italian sandwich bread. It was total awesomeness! Do I over-use the word awesome? I need to find a more interesting/obscure expression of my excitement...

A south of the border supper...

The other night, we had a Mexican-inspired meal of Chilaquiles (an old favorite at my house) and a tasty new side-dish I found on Pinterest (of course!): Cilantro Lime Rice! Even my husband, the picky eater, liked it!

I've been making Chiaquiles for about a decade. The dish is super simple and super quick, and can be served with sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

Chilaquiles (adapted from Real Simple Magazine)

1/2 roasted chicken, store bought, or 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked in microwave or grilled

2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped into small pieces (totalling about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped into small pieces (totalling 1 cup)

2 Tbl. chopped fresh Cilantro

salt and pepper

28-ounce can enchilada sauce

15-ounce bag corn tortilla chips

2 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pull skin off chicken and shred breast and thigh meat.  In a bowl, combine chicken, tomatoes, onion and Cilantro.  Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.  Spread 2-3 Tablespoons of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish.  On top, place half the tortilla chips, then half the chicken mixture and half the remaining sauce.  Repeat layering and top with cheese.  Bake just until the cheese melts; about 10 minutes.

Now for the AWESOME Cilantro Lime Rice...hooray for Pinterest; it's an incredible resource for new recipes!

Cilantro Lime Rice (a special thanks to www.twopeasandtheirpod.com)

1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

1 tsp. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp. fresh squeezed lime juice

15-ounces vegetable or chicken stock

1 cup water

1 Tbl. fresh squeezed lime juice

4 Tbl. fresh chopped Cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 2 teaspoons lime juice, broth and water.  Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low for 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender.  Remove from heat.  In a small bowl, whisk together 1 Tablespoon lime juice and Cilantro.  Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.  Serve warm.

I rounded out the meal with a warmed-up can of "Mexi-corn"; what a colorful and tasty supper! Ole!

It's Strawberry Time!

Strawberries are now ripe and ready for picking in my part of the country - hooray! It's my favorite summer food! Unfortunately, it seems like the shortest growing season of all the summer foods, too. So, when we pick berries, we pick a lot! I usually make "freezer jam" and lots and lots of strawberry shortcake; all of which freeze well.  I've discovered over the years that people eat strawberry shortcake in many different ways: sliced berries on top of spongy store-bought cakes, sliced berries sandwiched between round biscuits and topped with whipped cream, and the way my family eats it:

bake a batch of Bisquick biscuits (the recipe is on the box),

 

puree strawberries in a blender (with a little sugar) and pour over crumbled biscuits and top with milk.

Now, for that freezer jam...when I was younger, I was a Girl Scout (I know, big surprise). My troop was blessed with a leader who was a great cook. The following recipe is the one I learned how to make when I was 11 or 12-years-old, and is STILL the recipe I use!

Strawberry Freezer Jam (a special thanks to Sandy Sherman)

2 cups mashed strawberries

4 cups sugar

3/4 cup water

one box (1.75 ounce) Sure Jell fruit pectin

Mix sugar and strawberries.  Let stand 10 minutes.  In a saucepan, mix water and Sure Jell.  Boil for one minute, stirring constantly.  Pour over berries and stir for 3 minutes.  Ladle into jars and put on lids.  Let set for 24 hours. Place in freezer.

According to the Sure Jell package, you can store the jam in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks, and freeze for up to one year. Like it lasts that long...

Cooking With Fresh Local Produce

Last night was Girls Night, and my turn to host. I procured (well, my Mom did)  some local seasonal produce (rhubarb and asparagus) from an Amish farm stand and put it to good use (using my best girlfriends as guinea pigs)! Actually, I made a few old favorites and ONE new recipe: Baked Triple Veggie Dip. I served the dip as an appetizer, but I'm thinking it could seriously be a light entree in the summer (with a glass of really cold white or rose wine)! It got a thumbs-up from everyone, including my 3-year-old daughter (of course, she loves veggies anyway). Anywho...the dinner lineup included: the aforementioned warm veggie dip (accompanied by crackers), oven-roasted sweet potato cubes (see 2/23/12 post for recipe), roast pork tenderloin (have I posted the recipe before?) and rhubarb squares - seriously; hooray for Girls Night!

Baked Triple Veggie Dip (adapted from www.kraftrecipes.com)

1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese, divided (I used a five-cheese Italian blend)
1 can (1 pound 3 ounces) asparagus spears, drained and chopped (I used fresh asparagus, steamed and cut into small pieces)
1 pkg. (10 ounce) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 can (8 1/2 ounce) artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 container (8 ounce) chive and onion light cream cheese spread
1/2 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Reserve 1/4 cup cheese; set aside.  Mix remaining cheese and all remaining ingredients until blended.  Spoon into a 2-quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with reserved cheese.  Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.  Serve hot with crackers.

I come from a long line of rhubarb-lovers, and have several recipes for preparing the funny looking stems. This recipe comes from a family friend, and I don't really know where it originated.  What I DO know is that it's quick and yummy, and once again, my 3-year-old loved it! I "halved" this recipe to accommodate the amount of rhubarb I had, and we STILL had leftovers! Yay!

Pam's Rhubarb Squares (special thanks to Pamela Houseman)

2 cups flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter, softened

Blend and press into a 15 x 10 x 1-inch pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whip together:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

Add 4 cups chopped rhubarb and stir to combine.  Spread mixture over warm crust and bake for 40-45 minutes.  Cut into squares.

My First Guest Blogger!

Today, my daughter Regan (http://littleredregan.blogspot.com) is my very first guest blogger...does that mean I'm "big time" now? Ha. She is going to share one of her father's favorite recipes: trail mix!

Hi everybody! Today I am going to show you how to make some yummy trail mix.  You need a big bowl, a spoon, a one-cup measuring cup and a big resealable bag. Mix two cups cocktail peanuts (not the ones with the skins; Mommy hates those...) two cups raisins and two cups M&Ms in a big bowl. Feel free to eat some of the M&Ms when your Mommy's not looking!

Use your measuring cup to very carefully scoop the trail mix into a resealable bag. Try not to eat it all before your Daddy comes home from work, since it might be his favorite treat, like my Daddy's! This was the first time I made a recipe ALL BY MYSELF! I hope you make some trail mix too, it's REALLY, REALLY good!

A Cinco de Mayo birthday brunch!

Yesterday, we hosted a birthday brunch for my Dad (his birthday is actually May 2nd), with a Cinco de Mayo theme; since it was, well, Cinco de Mayo! It was also Derby Day (at Churchill Downs) but I didn't make any mint juleps, bourbon balls or pecan pie; maybe next year! 

I DID make some mini pinatas for occasion - the burro pinata was assembled in such a way that the mini M&Ms inside of it came out it's backside...everyone LOVED that!

Foodwise, I served juices from the Hispanic section of the supermarket (Regan loved the strawberry nectar), a breakfast casserole (see recipe below), hash browns and mixed fruit. Plus, chocolate cupcakes with festive flags I made from the leftover tissue paper I used to make the pinatas. Fun!

Breakfast Casserole (adapted from www.allrecipes.com)

1 pound ground pork sausage
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
6 slices day-old bread, cubed
8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese (I used extra sharp)

Crumble sausage in skillet.  Brown and drain.  Mix together mustard, salt, eggs and milk.  Add sausage, bread and cheese.  Stir to coat evenly.  Pour into greased 9X13-inch dish.  Cover and chill overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees (covered) for 45-60 minutes, then uncovered at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm.