Zucchini Brownies with Fudgy Frosting

Here’s a summery, use-up-that-zucchini and just-plain-amazing recipe: 

Zucchini Brownies with Frosting

This is from Brenda Stanley’s fun (and useful) book, The Zucchini Houdini

Brenda is an awesome local lady and her book is great, with 100+ zucchini recipes – main dishes, side dishes, soups, breads, cookies, and yes, even zucchini brownies. Her Zucchini “Apple” Crisp (which uses only peeled, sliced zucchini and no apples) is fast, easy and yummy comfort food. Try it!

I’m dedicating this blog post and dessert to my sweet daughter, Ella, who helped make these. She is a great little chef (age 10) and you’ll probably see her on Food Network someday, unless she goes to Yale to study neurosurgery (which is one of her current plans).

Brownie Ingredients:

2 cups grated zucchini

1.5 cups sugar

3/4 cup oil

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1.5 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grate the zucchini. A note on preparing zucchini: My sister passed on some sage cooking wisdom when preparing her zucchini lasagna with a mandoline slicer (and this can transfer to graters, too): When pitting fingers against mandolines, the mandoline always wins! Try not to grate any of your flesh into the brownies please. 

   

   Note this is messy –
   I had zucchini bits everywhere.
   Tidier to use the food processor
   but I didn’t feel like cleaning it.

   

   Note the nifty KitchenAid grater
   with the measuring/storage dish underneath
    – LOVE IT!

   

   A large zucchini, such as this one, yields approx. 2 cups grated
3. Combine zucchini, sugar, oil and vanilla. (Yup, no eggs in this one. It would be a good vegan recipe if you leave off the frosting.)
4. Mix the dry ingredients and add to the moist ingredients. 
5. Pour into greased 9x13 pan and bake 35-40 minutes. Cool. 

Easy, right? And, if you have zucchini, it’s likely you have the rest of the ingredients on hand, too.

Frosting Ingredients

1/4 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional) 

I thought this looked a bit like a fudge recipe, and guess what?!? It tastes a lot like a layer of fudge over your brownies! Incredible. My kids were already plotting the types of cakes on which to place this frosting!

1.  Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar and milk, bring to a boil. Stir frequently and cook for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and marshmallows. Stir until melted. Add vanilla. Spread over brownies. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired. 

Isn't the swirly chocolate-marshmallow pretty?

Then, try to exercise any shred of self-restraint not to eat these immediately. We lasted about 15 minutes. Amazing warm, and the leftovers are amazing cold. (I think you could leave these out, but refrigeration seems more prudent to me, especially as moist as they are.)

We initially cut this into 12 generous pieces, but you’ll probably have chocolate overload. And, I put walnuts both in the brownies and frosting. Delicious! These brownies turn out rather cake-like, so if you like the crunchy edge-piece brownies, don’t expect the same result here. I cook mine a bit on the longer end – about 40 minutes.

If there are any typos or mistakes, please let me know (and don’t blame Brenda Stanley). I paraphrased her directions a bit. Now, go EAT YOUR VEGETABLES!

… and one last guilty secret – I actually let my family have (zucchini) brownie sundaes last night for dinner. I’m waiting to be nominated as Mother of the Year…

Mangia! (Eat!) . . . Cindy Lou Who

Ratatouille Pasta

This is a re-do of my old Ratatouille pasta post back in October of 2008. Since then, I have changed up a few things such as photos, cooking technique, and substitutions. However, my original recipe takes place back in 2001 with my first time using Eggplant. A Belgian lady I worked for bought an eggplant and asked me if I could incorporate it into a meal for her children. Even though I had never even cut into one, I graciously accepted it and started to work. After cutting it open, I thought about mixing similar vegetables, adding some fresh herbs, and serving it over pasta. I think it worked out pretty good as the children enjoyed it (or they didn't know the difference). Since then, I decided to improve on it and soon learned of a similar dish called Ratatouille. To that effect, I named this dish after it. This is actually a perfect recipe that incorporates almost all of the ingredients in an Italian Pack from Bountiful Basket!

 Ingredients:
Pasta- Penne or Bowtie, cooked
 1 eggplant
1-2 yellow squash
1-2 zucchini squash
 1/2 sweet onion, cut in wedges
2-3 small Tomatoes
1 Bell pepper
Aged Cheese
Salt and Pepper as desired

Herb Paste:
Olive or Grape Seed Oil - About 1/4 cup
Balsamic Vinegar- About 1/4 cup
Juice from 1/2 to to 1 whole lemon
2-3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
2 sprigs of Italian Parsley
2 sprigs of Oregano
3-4 leaves of basil

Directions for herb paste- Blend all ingredients together until paste-like texture.

Directions:
Cut all vegetables spread out onto a baking sheet. Pour all herb paste into pan and mix with vegetables.

 

Broil in oven for 10-20 minutes or until roasted (desired doness)

 Serve over pasta and sprinkle with cheese and a little bit of fresh herbs.

Options and Substitutions:

• Mix and match bell pepper colors
• Use any pasta that would go well with vegetables
• You can us a zip bag to mix all the vegetables and herb paste together
• Even though this is a meatless meal, it goes well with chicken, Italian sausage, or steak. 
• To make gluten-free, this dish can be served over rice pasta, rice itself, or served alone.

Zucchini and Beans with Salsa

It may not look pretty, but it sure tastes good!

I got this idea from my friend.  here is the "recipe"

1 Can of black beans (I actually used dry beans and pre-cooked them...)

 

1 Zucchini

a little olive oil

A little garlic salt

a little chili powder.

a little peach mango Salsa (I get mine at Costco)

corn tortillas (or flour if you are not GF)

Some cheese.

heat the olive oil in a fry pan with the garlic salt and chili powder.

Add the beans and cut up zucchini.  Saute it until done. Add peach mango salsa.

At this point we put it on plates and ate it.  BUT if you want you can put it on tortillas, and top with cheese and put it in the oven until cheese is melted.  I was thinking while eating it that instead of grated cheddar some feta might be nice over the top of it!

pineapple zucchini bread (gluten free)

I have not tried this recipe yet, I just got sent it through a friend yesterday.  but thought I would post it it may be awhile before I feel like making it (I'm 38 weeks pregnant) but it sounds really good so I thought I would share.

Pineapple zucchini bread

 3 eggs

1 cup agave

1 cup coconut oil

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups shredded zucchini (squeeze to drain the water)

1 cup crushed pineapple (drained from juice)

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour

1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup chopped nuts

Bake in 2 medium (greased) loaf pans at 325 until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

The GF version above works MUCH better in a cupcake pan.

Non GFers sub the brown rice flour, almond flour and xanthan for 3 cups of regular flour.

If you don't care about it being low sugar, sub the agave for 2 cups of sugar.

Any oil can be used but coconut is the tastiest!

Winter Squash Meets Harvest Lasagna

Whenever I can, I love to add fruits and veggies to my meals, ecspecially being married to a picky eater who doesn' have much of an opinion of vegetables. Among pastas and pizzas, Lasagna's are the most requested from my husband. The nice thing about making lasagnas is that you can throw almost any kind of veggie into this delightful chessy cuisine, making it your own special creation. I actually like to think of it as a harvet lasagna so to speak. My typical harvest lasagna consists of Carrots, Zucchini, Spinach, and Tomatoes for the veggies of choice. Since I'm storing so much squash this year, I decided to add some cooked Butternut squash to my Ricotta Cheese mixture in my Harvest Lasagna. The result was fabulous. Who knew vegetables could taste so good!

Recipe for my Harvest Lasagna with Winter Squash

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles (9)

2 cups of Ricotta Cheese

1 Egg (slightly beaten)

1/2 cup Parmasean Cheese

2 Teaspoons Oregano

2 Teaspoons of Parsley

1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic

1 Teaspoon Dill Weed

Olive Oil

Sharp Chedder Cheese

Mozarella Cheese

Favorite Spaghetti Sauce or Seasoned Tomato Sauce

(I actually like to use 1 can of diced Italian Tomatoes and 1 jar of Spaghetti sauce)

Veggies of Choice (use any and all):

Butternut, Acorn, or other favorite winter squash

Zucchini

Carrots

Spinach

Asparagus

 Broccoli

Directions:

Layer # 1 Cheese Mixture:

Cook Squash as desired. While cooking, mix Ricotta Cheese, seasonings, and egg together. Spoon out cooked squash and mix with a little butter to make it creamy. Stir into Cheese mixture.

Layer # 2- Lasagna Noodles:
Cook Lasagna noodles by boiling until almost tender (don't over cook).

Layer # 3- Veggies with Sauce:
Thinly Slice all Veggies and saute together with Olive Oil an minced garlic (just so they are slightly cooked). (You can also blanch or steam them). Put partially cooked veggies in a sauce pan and add (can of diced tomatoes) Tomato or Spaghetti Sauce. Simmer until ready to layer in lasagna.

Assembly:
In a Deep Dish Baking Pan, pour a little Veggie mix along the bottom of pan, followed by these layers:
3 Noodles, Cheese mix, Veggie Mix, 3 Noodles, Cheese Mix,Veggie Mix, 3 Noodles, Cheese Mix and thenVeggie Mix. Top with Shredded cheeses (sharp chedder and Mozarella). You can also put some shredded cheese in between layers for a cheesier lasagna.

To Cook:
Cover with tin foil, bake in a pre-heated oven set @ 350 for 1 hour and then uncover and cook for an additional 15-20 mintues. Let it cool for at least 5- 10 minutes.

Garden Mac 'N' Cheese

This is a fast and easy substitute for my Veggie Lasagna (Recipe coming soon). This Mac 'N' Cheese is full of flavor and nutrients which is perfect for your kids. If your kids are picky eaters, you might get away with chopping the veggies really fine or puring them after they are cooked and then carry out the rest of the directions. Enjoy!

I throw chopped carrots in with the cooking water while the Macaroni is cooking.

Cook diced Zucchini and Yellow squash in olive oil or butter until desired tenderness.

Add drained noodles and cooked carrots back to cooked squash. You can also add sauted spinach in at this time (I didn't have any today).

Add diced fresh or canned tomatoes or Favorite Spaghetti Sauce which is my favorite way. Then Spread out a good amount of favorite grated cheese and mix until melted and gooey.

Top with fresh or dried Basil and Oregano if desired.

Is This Something That Your Kids or You Would Enjoy?

Veggie Skewers

National Something on a Stick Day had me going with what would be fun to do. My fist thought I had to admit was homemade dipped corn dogs. I don't what it is but, they take me back and I know that I enjoyed them a lot as a kid. But, as I grew older and realized the meaning of real food and junk food, I thought that I should cut back a bit and experiment with a more healthier alternative. So, I decided to talk about our families favorite thing to put on a stick. Yes, it is veggies. We basically put largely cut peppers, red onions, yellow squash, and zucchini squash and red potatoes. But, we have gone as far as using egg plant, carrots, and celery. They are all great ideas. The seasonings can be anything from a mixture of Salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, basil, garlic salt, dill weed, onion powder, and oregano.

Another way to get a good seasoning mix of veggies on the grill is to mix a little olive oil, water, your seasonings, and veggies in a bag and marinate them for about 15 minutes or so. The results are great.


But, if time is not there for you to do so, just season them raw before and a little during the grilling process.

The results will still be fantastic!


Sometimes, I feel the need to boil some of my veggies for a minute or two to speed up the process (especially with the potatoes) and if I think I need a softer veggie instead of so crunchy. However, I prefer just grilled as is will most of the veggies.


What are some veggies you have enjoyed grilling?