Zucchini Cakes

Makes 4 cakes (2 small servings)

Ingredients

1 cup zucchini grated, squeeze out moisture in towel

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

sprinkle of ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon paprika

3 cloves garlic, minced (I like garlic so if you don’t, try 1-2 cloves)

1 egg

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Combine all ingredients, except olive oil, in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once heated, add patties and cook until golden brown. About 3-4 minutes per side.

Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt!

I made these for myself for breakfast and I loved them. I premade the mixture the night before so that it was ready to go in the morning. I am definitely making these again, very flavorful and easy to make. 

Zucchini Bites

Makes 12 bites

Ingredients

2 cups zucchini, grated

2 eggs

1 cup yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup cheese (I used sharp cheddar)

1/2 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs (if you use panko just add some seasoning)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray.

2. Grate the zucchini and then place in a dish towel to squeeze out the excess water- like when using frozen spinach; if you skip this part, the middle of the zucchini tots will be really soggy while the outside gets crispy and no one wants that. I use a kitchen towel and squeeze out the moisture until it is pretty dry.

3. In a bowl combine, the egg, onion, cheese, bread crumbs, zucchini, salt and pepper.

4. Fill the muffin cups and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the top is browned and set.

These were delicious! I enjoyed them warmed up but Ian liked them cold too. They were a mix between quinoa bites and little quiches. There was more egg texture than the quinoa bites but for how little ingredients there were, they were very flavorful. No need for dipping sauce or anything. I took them for lunch and my coworkers enjoyed them too! If you have extra or XL size zucchinis coming out of your garden I definitely recommend this recipe.

Nutritional Facts:

4 bites = 240 calories, 11 g fat, 23 g carbs, 13 g protein

If you want to make them even healthier use 3-4 egg whites and panko bread crumbs. 

Cucumber Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients

1.5 cups frozen strawberries (6-7 strawberries)

1 cup cold almond milk

½ cuke deseeded and peeled

1-2 TBS honey or agave nectar, to taste

Squeeze of lemon, optional

Directions

Blend!

This turned out pretty well! You taste strawberries more than cucumber and the cucumber made it very refreshing. Stay tuned for a homemade lemonade recipe!

Cheezy Zucchini Rice

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup long-grain white rice

2 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium or 2 small zucchini, grated

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

splash of milk, as needed

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauce pan or a deep pan over medium heat.

2. Add the rice and stir to coat. Toast the rice, stirring often, just until it starts to turn golden. It sounds weird but it makes the rice not as fluffy/soggy and I think it produces a little nutty taste. Don’t burn it though! I think this step took us about 7 minutes.

3. Pour in the chicken broth, bring to a boil, turn heat to low, and cover.

4. Cook, covered, for 15 - 20 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.

5. Remove from the heat and add the butter, grated zucchini, cheddar, and garlic powder. No need to squeeze out the extra moisture in the zucchini on this one. Stir until well incorporated.

6. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

7. Stir again and add salt and pepper to taste and a splash of milk if you'd like to thin out the texture a little bit.

Ian and I absolutely loved this and it will be made again in the near future. Cheesy, a little nutty plus a healthy vegetable, I didn’t feel guilty about this one. Warming it up for leftovers was great too. I’m really going to miss having zucchinis from our garden…

Zucchini Bread w/ Icing

Source: The Family Kitchen

1/2 c. butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 c. zucchini, grated
1 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking powder
2 1/4 c. white flour
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Simple Icing Glaze
1 c. powdered sugar
1-2 T. heavy whipping cream

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy.  

Add all remaining ingredients and mix together well.  

In a second, smaller bowl, stir together the ingredients for the glaze until smooth.

To make full-sized bread loaves:  Spoon batter into a large bread tin that has been lined with parchment paper, or generously greased and floured.  

Notice the wax paper? Wax paper IS NOT the same as parchment paper. Once the wax paper started smoking in the oven I pulled it out and sprayed the tin with cooking spray.

Bake in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 42-45 minutes, or until the top of the bread springs back when pressed lightly with the finger.  Cool before glazing.  Makes 1 large loaf.

Well I’m not a huge fan of zucchini or banana bread so I wasn’t too excited about this. It was moist but it wasn’t fluffy. My roommate and sous chef said it was good though. My sous chef recommends warming it up with butter!

Zucchini Bread Whoopie Pies

Source: Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

½ stick butter, room temp.

½ cup unsweetened applesauce

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

½ tsp vanilla

1 cup finely grated zucchini

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 cup flour

1 ¼ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

Icing

2 TBS butter, room temp

4 oz cream cheese, room temp

½ cup powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

Directions

1.     Combine butter, applesauce and sugars and mix for 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix.

2.     Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt and sift together.

3.     Add the dry mix to the wet mix in batches until all is mixed together.

4.     Add zucchini and mix.

5.     Add oats and mix.

6.     Preheat to 350 degrees.

7.     Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop 1 TBS size balls on the sheet.

8.     Bake for 10 minutes.

9.     Frosting: Combine all ingredients and mix until light and fluffy.

10.   Let cookies cool on a cooling rack. Once cooled, spread or pipe icing between two cookies.

These were interesting and the more I ate the more I liked them. I definitely recommend frosting them, they can be a little dry if you don’t because the texture is mix between cookie and bread. Besides the frosting they are definitely healthier than your average cookie. Another idea I keep having is to put raisins in them! My sous chef dislikes raisins but maybe next time I will put them in half of the batch.

Snickerdoodle Muffins

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, Softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2-¼ cups flour

¾ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoons cream of tartar

½ teaspoons salt

1 cup Greek yogurt

¼ cups Buttermilk (optional or make your own) http://frugalliving.about.com/od/condimentsandspices/r/Buttermilk_Sub.htm

FOR THE TOPPING:

⅔ cups sugar

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

Directions

1.       Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Prepare a muffin tin with liners.

2.       In a mixer, combine the butter and sugar and cream until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine.

3.       In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

4.       Add half of the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the greek yogurt and buttermilk and mix to combine. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until you have a smooth batter.

5.       In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.

6.       Roll together 2” diameter cookie dough balls and roll in the sugar/cinnamon mixture.

7.       Bake for 15-18 minutes or until they are just baked through. I went on the short side so that they were doughier.

I made these for a work bake sale and they were pretty popular. I didn’t use any buttermilk (because I didn’t have any) and I think that was okay. I also substituted greek yogurt for sour cream. They tasted just how you would imagine they would taste: snickerdoodle muffinsI will definitely make this recipe again!

Baked Eggs with Crispy Hash Brown Crust

Ingredients

1 1/2 – 2 cups fresh shredded potato (about 4 medium sized red potatoes)

1/2 tsp salt

6 eggs

3/4 cup shredded cheese (sharp cheddar or sharp white cheddar recommended)

2 Tbsp olive oil for cast iron skillet

Directions

1. Make the hash browns. Start by scrubbing your potatoes clean. Then shred them in your food processor or on a cheese grater. Toss 1.5-2 cups with salt and then press out all the moisture. This is time consuming and uses a lot of paper towels but the more moisture you get out, the crispier your hash browns will be.  
2. Put some olive oil on the bottom of a cast iron skillet and turn to medium-high heat. Once warmed up, throw your moisture-less shredded taters on the skillet. Press them down and let them cook for 3-4 minutes. If they start burning turn down your heat a bit.
3. After 3-4 minutes, flip the hash browns. The idea is that they will be stuck together and flat like a pancake but that isn’t how mine turned out…so just flip them every 3-4 minutes until they are to your crispy-liking.  
4. Remove from heat, crack the six eggs  over the hash browns. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put the cheese on top and broil in the oven for 5-7 minutes. The longer you broil the less runny your eggs will be.
5. Top with green onions!

I made this for Miss Shannon, Dani and Ian when Shan came to visit in Portland and totally forgot to put it on the blog! It turned out great and we finished it easily. However, if I made it again I would definitely add some things to it. I would definitely add some breakfast sausage or bacon. Other ideas are onions, bell peppers and mushrooms (if you like them, ew).

Independence Day ft. Erin and Michael

My 4th of July was celebrated in true American style: Biking, Gardening, Beers, BBQ, Fireworks and Team America. 

We BBQ'ed at Ian and Michael's house and Erin made these lovely desserts!

She is so patriotic :)

Delicious and beautiful cake!

Those skewers were gone in no time at all.  

After all the meat was eaten, Michael introduced us to grilled pineapple! I'm not a big pineapple fan and I thought it was good so if you like pineapple definitely try it. He made some with a little brown sugar on them but the consensus was to grill sans sugar. 

Michael's latest grilled obsession.

Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

Ingredients

6 no boil required lasagna noodles

2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes (You can do one Rotel or both Rotel too)

1 can black beans

2 cups of grilled corn

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

2 cups extra sharp cheddar

1/2 cup mozzarella

2 TBS Franks hot sauce (add more if you like it hot!)

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic powder

salt & pepper

1 bag tortilla chips

Directions

1. Grill your corn. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix together the corn, beans, onion and cilantro in large bowl. Add hot sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

3. Start layering your lasagna. Tomatoes, noodles, bean/corn mix, tomatoes, cheese, noodles, bean/corn mix, tomatoes and cheese!

4. Cook for 45 minutes.

I made this the night before and cooked it the next night before going to OMSI After Dark with my sous chef and friend from high school, Bryce.

Top it off with crushed tortilla chips!!

Chinese Chicken Pasta Salad

Source: Foodie Crush

Ingredients

(serves 2-3)

1 package ramen noodles

4 cups chopped romaine lettuce or shredded lettuce

1 chicken breast, shredded

2 green onions, chopped

2 cups cooked fusilli pasta noodles, cooled

dressing

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil (add more to taste if you prefer a strong sesame taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoon sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine lettuce, chicken breast, green onion and pasta.

2. Combine dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk well until sugar dissolves. Dress lettuce mixture with 2-3 tablespoons of sesame dressing and top with ramen and serve.

dressing

not the best pairing on my part but everything was still good

Marinate your chicken in sesame seeds, rice vinegar and sesame oil.

Mini Banana Cream Pies

Source: Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

1 tub Cool Whip

1 package vanilla pudding

2 bananas, sliced

for shortbread cookies:

6 TBS butter, room temp

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

3/4 cups flour

Directions

1. Make shortbread cookies: Cream butter and sugar together until smooth. Add vanilla and salt and mix. Spoon in flour 1/4 cup at a time and mix. Shape dough into ball and refrigerate for 30 minutes. I left it in for much longer and it kind of got hard so try to stick to 30 minutes if you can. 

2. Make your pudding and refrigerate.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and spray cupcake tin with nonstick spray. Divide the dough into 20 balls and press into the cupcake tins. Use your thumb to make an imprint in the middle so that the cookies will hold the pudding better. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool for 5-7 minutes.

4. Construct your mini pies: Put some pudding on the shortbread cookies, a slice of banana and some whipped cream! Enjoy! 

These were pretty good but I could only have two at a time, they were pretty rich. They were yummy though, great combination of flavors!

Coconut Oil Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Source: NY Times

Ingredients

(Serves 2-4)

1.5 tablespoons virgin coconut oil

4 medium to large sized sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Melt coconut oil in a saucepan over low heat. 

3. Toss the potatoes with the coconut oil, sugar, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

4. Roast for an hour tossing occasionally.

Ian and I loved these! A little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside plus flavorful. Great side dish. 

Chicken Sausage Pasta with Cashew Sauce

Ingredients

(serves 2)

2 chicken sausages (I used Al Fresco Roasted Garlic)

2.5 cups cooked pasta

1/2 cup grilled corn

1/2 cup or more Cashew Sauce

Directions

Make your pasta and put it in the fridge (or freezer if you are pressed for time). Grill your corn on the BBQ or cast iron skillet. Grill your sausage. Mix everything with your cashew sauce and serve with grilled pita. 

This was a refreshing and cool dinner.

Summer Shrimpy Shrimp Salad

When the sous chef is away, kate will play...with things he cannot eat! 

When Ian is away I try to use those times to eat some yummy shrimp shrimp. Mr. Sous Chef is allergic to shellfish so shrimp is never on the menu for us. I keep hearing about coconut oil and how its a great oil to cook with. I recently learned that you aren't supposed to cook olive oil on high heat because it releases a toxic smoke and loses its antioxidants. You should only use olive oil on low to medium heat or cold. If you are cooking on medium to high heat use unrefined coconut oil. Here's a helpful article. I recently picked some up at Trader Joes for pretty cheap and I have been trying to find recipes to use it in. I found a great shrimp recipe on nytimes website. I was trying to think of what I should pair it with and I thought of the great orzo salad I made over Memorial Day Weekend. So I grilled up some corn in my cast iron skillet, diced some avocado and served over orzo. Add some toasted flatbread, oh man it was to die for!!!

Servings 2-3

Ingredients

For the shrimpy shrimp

2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil

6 scallions, white parts thinly sliced; dark green parts sliced and reserved

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

Shrimp, enough for two people (25-30 of small shrimp)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

rest of the meal

3/4 cup orzo, uncooked

1 avocado, diced

1 ear corn, cut corn off cob

1 flatbread

Directions

1. In a large pot, cook orzo according to directions.

2. Cut your corn off the cob and roast in a cast iron skillet on medium heat. Try not to stir the corn too much so that it browns. You can also BBQ the corn if you can. You can also use canned corn if you're desperate and roast it in the oven. 

My pretty cast iron skillet which I realized has never had its picture taken!!

3. Cut your avocado in cubes. 

4. Brush your flatbread with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil in oven.

For the Shrimp:

1. Chop up your ginger, garlic and green onions. The shrimp part takes less than 5 minutes so everything has to be ready.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Melt the coconut oil in the pan. 

3. Add the white scallion slices, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.

4. Add the coriander and cook 30 seconds more.

5. Add the shrimp and salt. Cook, tossing occasionally, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

6. Stir in the green scallion pieces and cook until just wilted, 10 to 15 seconds.

7. Add lemon juice and black pepper. 

 

Grab your bowl: add some orzo, corn, avocado and put the shrimp mixture on top. Serve with flatbread on the side!

If you love shrimp and freshly grilled corn then you have to try this. I don't know what the coconut oil and coriander did to that shrimp but it was delicious!

the un-instagrammed version but still pretty :)