Chocolate Zucchini Cake

It's been a very busy and tiring we for me, so I am just getting around to puting my feet up and finishing this blog post. One thing that I love to grow in the garden is zucchini. I grow it for pretty much one reason: Chocolate Zucchini Cake! The best part about growing lots of zucchini is that you can shred it and freeze it in 2 cup portions and make this cake year round.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1/2 cup margarine (softened)
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (put a little vinegar in milk and it will turn sour)
2 cups shredded fresh zucchini

Topping: sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts (nuts are optional)

Mix all ingredients together, I just do it in the order they are listed. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan and sprinkle the topping on (be generous :). Bake for 35-45 min. at 350 degrees.

Just a few notes about zucchini. If the zucchini is the size of a large cucumber like the kind you buy in the store, it is delicious sliced and sauted in a little oil. If you let your zucchini grow bigger like the size of your arm, they are great for shredding and using in cake and bread. To shred the zucchini, peal off the skin with a potato peeler, cut it length wise and scoop out all the seeds, then shred with a grater. If you freeze zucchini and want to use it in a recipe later, make sure you thaw the zucchini and include all the "water/zucchini juice" in the recipe.

I wish I was better at taking pictures while baking and cooking, but I'm not. Here is a picture of the cake - it doesn't last long in our house! Rebecca actually cried when I started eating the last piece. I reluctantly shared a little with her :)

Snickerdoodle Blondies

So two of Dan's favorites are snickerdoodle cookies and blondies. I recently when to a potluck picnic and a friend had brought some delicious bars and when I asked what they were called, she said they were Snickerdoodle Blondies. I had never heard of them or had them before, but what a great combination. I knew Dan would like them too. So I found a recipe online and here it is from
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/07/09/snickerdoodle-blondies/

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Yield: 24 blondies

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Bake Time: 25 to 30 minutes

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan; set aside.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

3. Beat together the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla. Beat, scraping the bowl, until thoroughly combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until just combined. Give the dough a final stir with a spatula or wooden spoon to make sure the flour is incorporated.

4. Spread the dough evenly into the pan (I found an offset spatula was the best tool for the job, as it’s a thick batter). Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the surface springs back when gently pressed. Cool completely before cutting. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

And I was right, Dan said, "I think I could just eat this whole pan."

Outdoor Fun and Improvements

Rebecca and I did a little shopping this morning and scored at the DAV thrift store! I love good deals. Just about every time I drive by the store I look in their back fenced area where they keep any patio furniture, bikes, and other outdoor stuff that had been donated. I'm actually on the look out for another small bike for Rebecca since her other one was tragically "killed" when Dan backed over it with the truck. When we drove by the store today we saw a Step 2 Wagon and a Little Tykes picnic table in the back, so of course we had to go back and check it out!

We passed on the picnic table, it was a little too faded and I knew I wouldn't be able to fit it in the car. But I could not pass up the wagon. For Rebecca, it was love at first sight and I didn't mind the near perfect condition and the $24 price tag. Before making our final decision, I checked the value of a new wagon on my phone. Target was selling them for $60.

Rebecca had fun washing it with the hose and then filling it with some animals and pulling it around the yard.

She has also enjoyed playing on her improved playground lately. This main play structure was here when we bought the house and since then we have made a few improvements. We added the swings, slide, canopy, steering wheel, and yellow handles. Here is a (bad) picture of the play area last summer.

Summer 2010

Just this summer Dan (with a little of my help) dug out all the sand that used to be all over the inside of the wood border. I hated walking in the sand and Rebecca didn't like it much either. We build up the sides of the sandbox under the play house and replaced the rest of the sand with playground grade wood chips that we bought a truck load of from a tree service in Des Moines. The other improvement this summer was extending the horizontal bar the swing hung on and made it long enough for 2 swings and added the A frame support on the far side. As you can see, I still need to stain the new wood. I love how great it looks now with the wood chips and it's ready with 2 swings for 2 kids next summer :)

Summer 2011

Vacation

It's been a quiet week on the blog because we were on vacation last week with the Pontier family. It would be impossible to recap everything we did and load all 200 pictures, so I will just give you some of the highlights.

My parents found a rental house near Linn Grove, Iowa. It is a bed and breakfast with a small vineyard and pond. We rented the whole house for the week so the owners left and we were on our own. The house was very large and spacious and beautifully decorated. The house only had 4 bedrooms, but each room was the size of a hotel room with 2 queen beds and a large bathroom with a whirlpool tub. It was a very hot week, so we spent a lot of time swimming, canoeing, and kayaking in the pond. We also when swimming and boating in Storm Lake which was only 25 miles away.

Some other things we enjoyed were inside board games, big family meals, reading and relaxing, and a "corn hole" (beanbag toss) tournament. It was great to spend so much time with family that we only see a few times a year. Can't wait until next time!

Stars and Stripes

I know I'm a little late for July 4th, so you will just have to remember this for next year. Here are some cupcakes I made for a get together with friends last weekend.

Make vanilla cupcakes in red, white, and blue cupcake wrappers. Frost cupcakes with whipped topping (so easy!). Then decorate with fresh blueberries and stripes of strawberry fruit roll-ups. Cutting the fruit roll-ups is a little tricky and sticky, but they are so cute, it's worth it. Enjoy (next year :)

Little Moments

I just love this picture! It makes me laugh every time I think about it.

Here is the story behind the picture. Dan bought a semi load of hay from someone and they delivered it to our house. The semi is parked diagonally across our driveway. Dan unloaded the hay bails with his tractor and drove them down the hill to the barn. Rebecca likes to be close to the action and wanted to be out side to watch. I looked outside at her before this and she was watching and riding her bike around while the semi driver was sitting on the step. She then came inside and said she was hot and needed a snack. I gave her a freeze pop and she went back outside. When I looked out at her a second time this is what I saw. She had gotten a chair from the garage and parked herself next to the semi driver to watch too! It's these little moments that can make everyday life special.

Stuffed Shells

This is one of my favorite meals for several reasons:
1. it's so easy and makes about 3 meals worth - love meals in the freezer!
2. my grandma used to make these every time she came to Iowa to visit - good memories!
3. they are delicious - yum!

Stuffed Shells
Prepare a box of large pasta shells according to the box, drain, and rinse with cold water.

Cheese mixture:
2 containers of ricotta cheese (30 oz. total)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 T. parsley flakes
optional - 1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained

When shells are cool enough to handle, put a heaping table spoon of cheese mixture into each shell and lay them on a cookie sheet. It should come out pretty even with shells and cheese mixture. I usually end up with a few shells left over because I over stuff mine :)

Freeze the shells on the cookie sheet and then transfer them to a zip lock bag. When you want to enjoy your shells, lay them in a baking dish seam side down (about 3-4 shells per adult) and cover generously with your favorite pasta sauce. Bake shells at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.