Best Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg
***optional 1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans

Prep bread loaf pan with whatever you prefer. Pam, butter etc.
In a medium bowl combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, salt and nutmeg: give it a mix with a fork and set aside.
In another bowl mix sugar, shredded zucchini, oil and egg.
Add the dry mix to the wet just until moistened.
Bake at 350 degrees for 66 minuets on center rack.
Cool completely and enjoy! Use foil to store or Ziploc to freeze
.

I doubled the recipe this last time and made two mini loaves and one large loaf. I also substituted green zucchini for yellow squash. Wonderful.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Have you been wondering what to do with the green tomatoes from your garden. Well I have and so I tried this, to my surprise it was easy and tasty

5 large green tomatoes
1/2 Cup bread crumb
2 eggs
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup cornmeal
vegetable oil for frying

directions:
Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.

Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium size bowl. Scoop flour on to a plate. Mex cornmeal, bread crumbs and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.

In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over a medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5 depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.

Soups?

Does anyone have any good fall-ish soup recipes to share? I am throwing a baby shower for my sister next month, and I want to do a 3-soup buffet.

Veggie Pasta

Ever have those days when it's 5:30 and you still don't know what to cook? Recently, I discovered something super easy and very healthy that fits the bill! It's literally a last minute throw together meal!

Any veggies in your fridge
pasta
olive oil
parmesan cheese

1. Look in your fridge and pull out all the veggies that need to be eaten before they go bad. Cut them up and sautee them with a little bit of olive oil just until they are soft. (I like my carrots soft, so my squash is usually super soft, but that's okay)
2. While sauteeing the veggies, boil pasta. Drain and mix with about 1-2 tsp. oil so they don't stick together.
3. Mix veggies and noodles. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the top. In about 15 minutes, you have a super healthy meal for the family, and you've used up your vegetables!

Note: I love to add tomatoes to my veggie pasta, but don't sautee them. I just mix them in at the end.

Fruit dip

1 pkg cream cheese
1 bottle marshmallow creme
1-2 Tbls orange juice concentrate

Mix and enjoy! Yum!

An Apple a Day.

We've all heard the old adage "An Apple a day keeps the doctor away". Since fall is apple season I thought it would be fun to see your favorite ways to use apples. If you have an apple recipe submit it and we can all enjoy the fruit of the season a little more this year. This a favorite recipe of I ran across a few years back.

Pinwheel Apple Dumplings
Sauce:
2 c sugar
2c water
1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

combine in saucepan and boil for 5 min

Dough:
2 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
cut in 3/4 c Shortening
add 2/3 c milk

Filling:
3 cups shredded peeled apples
1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Make sauce and bring to boil. Make dough by mixing flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in 3/4 cup shortening. Add 2/3 cup milk and mix till combined. Knead dough slightly then roll in a rectangle 1/2 in thick. Combine filling ingredients then spread over dough. Roll up like cinnamon rolls and cut into 1 inch slices*. Place in greased 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over top of rolls then back at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

*an easy way to cut is to get a long piece of string or dental floss. Grab one end in each hand the slide under the dough. Cross your hands pulling the strings through the dough.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

12+ oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
16 oz. frozen chopped spinach
1-2 cans artichoke hearts, drained & chopped

3, 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 T. butter
1 T. garlic, chopped
1/2+ c. milk
salt & pepper to taste

Thaw & drain spinach. Mix top three ingredients. Blend remaining ingredients until milkshake consistency. Mix together all ingredients, bake at 300 for 20+ minutes or place in crock pot. Serve with tortilla chips.