double chocolate zucchini bread

Our gardens and raised beds are exploding with zucchini!
And what to do?!?
We've grilled, fried, salad-ed, and shredded to freeze.
I've made zucchini bread before but I really wanted to thrill the boys one morning so we all piled on the counter tops and whipped up this delicious bread.
I believe the phrase was, "chocolate, Mommy?!? for breakfast!?!?"
I like to think it was a tad healthier than dessert but we totally ate it for breakfast with melty Nutella on top.
And it was so so good!
Seriously, it was like a brownie for breakfast.
I also shredded (using my trusty food processor) over 20 cups of extra zucchini so you better believe I'll be making more of this delicious bread (and muffins!) to freeze for when the new baby comes!
Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Adapted from somewhere online.
Makes 2 large loaves.
2 cups whole wheat flour (I used graham)
1 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate, your choice
4 large eggs
1/2 cup canola or coconut oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups shredded zucchini (if very wet, squeeze gently with paper towels to get most of the moisture out)

Preheat your oven to 350*F and grease two loaf pans. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, salt, and chocolate until combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the rest of the ingredients.
Pour the wet into the dry and lightly whisk until combined.
Fold in zucchini and pour into prepared baking pans.
Bake for 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Mine only took 45 minutes and I wanted a very moist bread.
Cool on a wire rack completely or serve warm with Nutella :)
Freezes beautifully, when wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, for up to three months.
Also makes delicious muffins but cut the cooking time in half.
Enjoy!

Also on the menu this week, cheddar scallion zucchini bread and zucchini and summer corn quiche! :)

pumpkin cornbread

I saw this recipe online somewhere and had to try it.
I'm obsessed with pumpkin bread (aren't we all right now?!) and love love cornbread.
So, when I saw this, I said, yes.
Maybe out loud.
Really loudly.

Anyway, I stuck mostly to the recipe that I found but tweaked it here and there.
And it's pretty much exactly what I thought it'd taste like.

Fall is winning in this house.

(and yes, we are still eating clean so we let the boys eat most of this. again, I say, most of it...)

Pumpkin Cornbread
Makes one, 8" round
Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
ps-great for breakfast too!
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup cornmeal
2 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons molasses

Preheat your oven to 400*.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Whisk all wet ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
Add wet to dry and fold gently until barely mixed.
Spoon into a greased 8" round cake pan and smooth out the top.
Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes, until set and top is getting golden.
Enjoy warm with lots of butter and dark cane syrup!

cody's dinner rolls (angel flake rolls)

My brother loves these rolls.
We grew up on these rolls as our stand-by dinner roll recipe.
He loved them so much that we started calling them Cody's Dinner Rolls.
He requests them every time I'm visiting and I can't resist my little brother's face.
It's annoying :)

Anyway, there aren't any pictures to go along with this recipe...he just requested that I finally get it up on the blog so he can stop bugging our mom to send him the recipe every week when he wants it.
Maybe the next time I make them, I'll remember to take some decent pictures and update this post :)

Cody’s Dinner Rolls / Angel Flake Rolls

by Renee Stroman, my godmother

Makes about two, 8" cake rounds' worth of rolls 

*This makes probably double what you'd need for dinner so what I do, is cover the dough, in the bowl, with plastic wrap and it'll keep this way for another week*

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon lemon juice + 2 cups milk – set aside for 5 minutes to thicken)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Flour, for rolling

Mix yeast with warm water in small bowl and set aside.

Combine flour, salt, soda, baking powder, and sugar in large bowl.  Add buttermilk, oil, and dissolved yeast and stir until just combined.

Scoop out a big golf ball-sized ball of dough and dump into a little bowl of flour.  Roll into balls, using your hand to form the ball as you go.

Place directly in ungreased 8" round cake pans, where sides of roll are just touching.

Bake at 425* for 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Enjoy!

strawberry coconut almond muffins

i was looking for a recipe to use almond pulp from our homemade almond milk the other day and stumbled across this.

i made some more than slight adjustments and came up with this delicious muffin.

super moist and definitely on the sweeter side, these are just plain delicious.

you can leave the coconut out but i'm a coconut nut.

and if you don't have almond pulp leftover, you can totally just chop up some almonds super fine and throw those in.

flexible.

ps-you could totally leave off the sliced almonds at the end and frost with a light, cream cheese frosting, like this one, and it. would. be. the. bomb.

bam. dessert.

Strawberry Coconut Almond Muffins
Makes 12.
Adapted from Baking Bites.
1 1/2 cups whole wheat or white wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg or 2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2-1 cup almond pulp, to taste, or just chopped almonds if you haven't just made almond milk :)

1/2-1 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened, optional
1 cup strawberry puree (around 12 ounces fresh strawberries or frozen, defrosted, drained strawberries)

1/2 cup sliced almonds, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350*. 

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg or whites, one at a time, followed by vanilla and almond extracts.
Stir about a third of the flour mixture into the butter mixture, followed by half of the almond pulp and half of the strawberry puree. Stir in another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining pulp and puree. Stir in the remaining flour mixture and coconut, if using, mixing just until no streaks of dry ingredients remain visible.
Divide muffin batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Sprinkle sliced almonds evenly over muffin batter.
Bake for 19-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean or with only a few moist crumbs attached.
Allow muffins to cool in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

baked french toast with praline topping

quick recipe here.
nothing tricky or difficult.
perfect do-ahead for the holiday season.
so easy, in fact, that i quick, whipped one up and forgot to take good pictures with my good camera.
great recipe, bad pictures.
happy holidays!

Baked French Toast with Praline Topping
adapted from Paula Deen.
Makes one, 9x13".
*start the night before!*
1 loaf French bread, 13 to 16 ounces (I used the equivalent leftover homemade bread)
8 large eggs
2 cups half and half
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Dash salt
Praline Topping, recipe follows
Maple syrup

Slice French bread into 20 slices, 1-inch each. Arrange slices in a buttered 9x13" flat baking dish in 2 rows, overlapping the slices. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, half and half, milk, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until blended. Pour mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly with the milk and egg mixture. Spoon some of the mixture in between the slices. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, preheat oven to 350*.
Spread praline topping evenly over the bread and bake for 40 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Serve with maple syrup.

Praline Topping
2 sticks butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and blend well. 

happy thanksgiving! ...and beautiful crackers!

happy thanksgiving!!

what are you thankful for today?

praise Him and thank Him for our blessings!

and enjoy these beautiful crackers that the big boy and I baked! I used a recipe similar to this, dyed the dough in different colors, and went to town! enjoy the day! (and the crackers :))

whole wheat apple cider waffles

There is nothing, I say nothing, better than a really cold and drizzly morning, that Daddy is still out hunting, and your two adorable boys looking at your with bright blue beggin' eyes for waffles.

Nothing.

So, we had an extra couple cups of orchard apple cider in the fridge and we whipped these up in no time.

Very satisfying and hearty but not too sweet.

Personally, I'll add a bit more molasses the next time but maybe you like your waffles not-so-sweet.

ps-make a double batch.  Waffles freeze perfectly and it's just as easy to make a double batch and give your kiddos, healthy, homemade versions of Eggos.

Come to think of it, my boys don't know what an Eggo is.

And I think that's a great thing.

Whole Wheat Apple Cider Waffles

Makes around 8.

2 cups whole wheat flour (or a combo of regular and wheat)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1-2 tablespoons molasses...up to you how sweet you want it!

2 eggs

2 cups apple cider

Combine (or sift, if you aren't lazy like me...) all the dry ingredients.

Add molasses, eggs, and cider. (And really, you should whisk these together first. Again, lazy here.)

Mix until just combined.  Lumps are a-okay.

Preheat your waffle iron and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Prepare according to your iron's instructions.

Slather with butter and warm maple syrup and enjoy!

Would be fantastic with a warm apple compote on top.  If one wasn't so lazy.

*see that chubby hand in the reflection? hehe*

cinnamon raisin quick bread

hi.

is it dreary where you are?

i don't know what the deal is here in virginia but i'm going crazy with all this fog and humidity and drizzly rain.

i mean, i love a good drizzle/stay at home/watch movies/bake something day but over a week?!

enough already.

but, it really isn't up to me, eh?

i'll let the Man sort that out.

meanwhile, i'll make my new favorite, cinnamon raisin quick bread.

no yeast, no rising, easy peasy.

not too sweet, just enough cinnamon, and optional on the amount of raisins.

good for breakfast with steamed milk and a pat of butter or a before-dinner snack, on the go.

enjoy!!

Cinnamon Raisin Quick Bread

Makes one loaf.

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 - 1/2 cup raisins, to taste

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350*.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, and oil.

Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.

Fold in raisins.

Combine the cinnamon and remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and set aside.

Spoon half the batter into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.  Then, spoon the rest of the batter on top and spread to cover.  Cut through the batter with a butter knife to swirl.

Bake for 50-60 minutes until done through and cool in pans.  Remove and enjoy!

whole wheat apple crumble muffins

we are in full party mode here.
the very hungry caterpillar joint birthday party is in two days!
but, i took some time and whipped up these muffins from those delicious apples we picked the other day!
enjoy!

Whole Wheat Apple Crumble Muffins
Makes about 12.
1 1/2 - 2 cups diced, peeled apple

2 1/4 cups whole white wheat flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla 

2/3 cup whole milk
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
3 tablespoons melted butter

Heat oven to 375*.  Line muffin cups with paper liners or butter your pan.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the 2 1/4 cups of flour, brown sugar, baking powder, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, all spice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

In another bowl, whisk oil, eggs, vanilla, and milk.

Mix wet ingredients into dry and stir until just combined.

Fold in the chopped apple. 

Spoon the batter into 12 prepared muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full.

In a small bowl, combine the 1/3 cup of flour with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, the cinnamon, and the salt and mix into the melted butter. Sprinkle a generous amount over each filled muffin cup.

Bake the muffins for about 18 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a large muffin comes out clean.

why yes, little chubby hand, you may help!

a stirring pro.

trying his best not to taste.

perfectly crumbly.

tadaaaaa!