Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

• 3 cups AP flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine: flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar. Mix well.
3. Next add eggs, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Mix well.
4. Almost there...add 2 cups of grated zucchini and - mix well. By now, batter should be heavy and very wet.
5. Last, stir in the chopped walnuts just prior to filling the baking pan(s).
6. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45-50 minutes...or until cake tester comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool and rack before serving.

Hint: Wrap unused bread tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for later, if desired. Great with a nice, hot cup of coffee...or cold glass of milk. Next time - I'm making cupcakes instead of loaves!!

I shared this recipe over at Cups by Kim, for her Sweet & Simple Sunday recipe swap...go check it out!

Pork-N-Veggie Pockets

Ingredients:

• 1 small boneless cutlet per person (5 for us)


• 1 bag frozen California mix veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)


• 1 (8 oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained


• 1 med. green pepper, sliced


• 2 green onions, sliced


• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce


• 4 tsp. sesame oil


• 1 tsp. ground ginger


• cooked rice, optional


• chow mein noodles, optional

Directions:

1. Using foil pockets, (homemade or store bought....the Schwans driver gave me ours), place 1 pork cutlet in each pocket.



2. Evenly divide vegetables (California mix, green pepper, and green onion) amongst the pockets.



3. Combine soy sauce, sesame oil, and ground ginger in a small dish or measuring cup. Divide and drizzle over pork and vegetables in each pocket.



4. Fold foil around meat and vegetables to form a tight seal.



5. Grill over medium heat on a covered grill for 10-12 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the meat is no longer pink.



6. Serve with prepared rice and garnish with chow mein noodles, if desired.

Hint: These can be prepared and frozen ahead of time as single serving meals, or for campfire meals. Let the kids help: whether it is loading the pockets, or sealing them - get everyone involved! If you buy from Schwan's, ask your delivery person about foil grill pockets, my salesman/driver has been very generous to share plenty foil pockets with our family. Enjoy!

This recipe is linked up over at Friday Foods on MomTrends - go see what other recipes are being shared today!

Spring Brussel Sprouts

My kids love brussel sprouts! Their favorite is oven roasted with olive oil and salt and pepper. I stumbled onto a different recipe that included apples and onions and knew that we should try it at our house.

Big, big hit!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. frozen brussel sprouts
• 1 red skinned apples, cored and diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 3 TBS butter or margarine
• 1 tsp thyme
• 3 TBS apple cider vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat butter in deep skillet until just melted.
2. Add to skillet: brussel sprouts, diced apples, diced onion, thyme. Allow to cook 5-10 minutes until vegetables begin to soften over medium-high heat.
3. Reduce heat and add apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to skillet and simmer an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently.

Hint: If you like added texture, add some chopped pecans after cooking and before serving. My boys thought this would be good prepared ahead of time and chilled prior to serving too. (I ithink they may be onto something!) Enjoy!!

Oven Roasted Lamb

We decided this year to try something new for Easter dinner. My husband asked if we could cook lamb, and after a little research...we decided to give it a go. Years ago, another Army family shared Easter dinner with us with lamb as the main dish. It was delicious! Now it was time for us to try our hand with a dish that is not an everyday meal for our house.

After seeing the prices, and gathering all the needed ingredients we decided to do an Oven Roasted Lamb breast with a new brussel sprouts dish as the side.

Even the boys house guest enjoyed this meal! (And boys...thank you for being so cooperative as we try new recipes - love, Mom)

Ingredients:

• 3 lb lamb breast
• 2 TBS dried rosemary
• 3 TBS dijon mustard
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 3 TBS mince garlic
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a large zipper storage bag, or covered baking dish combine rosemary, dijon mustard, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix well. This will be the marinade for the lamb.
2. (If desired, or needed) Cut the lamb into desired cooking size pieces. The piece we bought I cut into 6 pieces. Put lamb into marinade for 4-6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator sealed in the zipper bag or covered in a baking dish.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
4. After marinade time is complete, heat a skillet or grill pan to med-high heat and brown lamb on both sides before placing into a baking dish.
5. Add to baking dish, 1 cup chicken broth. (Should not cover meat.)
6. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees for medium doneness or 170 degrees for well-done.

Hint: We served Spring Brussel Sprouts, boiled potatoes, and transformed some leftover hamburger buns into garlic bread for this meal. If you are cooking with a new ingredient for the first time, do a little research before starting. Ask the grocer, or the butcher where you buy your food for tips and insight. We went looking for roast, only to find the price to be nearly 5 times that of the breast. We were able to have a sufficient amount of meat, that was very tasty without breaking the bank. May your family enjoy this recipe as much as we did - Happy Easter!

Cobb Salad Sammies

Ingredients:

• cocktail croissants
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish
• 1/4 tsp basil
• lettuce
• 1 med. tomato - sliced
• 1/2 red onion - sliced
• American cheese slices
• bacon strips - fully cooked
• deli ham slices
• hard-boiled eggs (1 per person)
  

Preparations:

1. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, horseradish sauce and basil.
2. Split the croissants. Spread a small amount of sauce on 1/2 the split croissant.
3. Layer cheese, vegetables, meats, and slices of hard-boiled egg.
4. Enjoy!

Hint: This was a simple and satisfying meal for my family after a long day of school and appointments. The guys were thrilled to pair their *mini* sandwiches with fresh blueberries and strawberries instead of potato chips. The original plan was to purchase regular size croissants for these sandwiches - but the local grocer had a box of cocktail croissants for the same price as 6 regular size croissants. They were easy to hand and look like more food than we actually ate. Definitely going to buy these *minis* again!

This recipe is linked up over at

Grateful Belly on What's New Wednesday - Go check out all the great links!!

Mexi-Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 24 jumbo shelled, cooked as directed and cooled
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Optional Toppings:

• sliced black olives
• diced tomatoes
• diced onion
• fresh, chopped cilantro
• chopped green onions
• crushed tortilla chips

Begin by cooking the pasta shells as directed on the package. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a large skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat until fully cooked. Drain.

In the same skillet with the cooked, drained ground beef - add the tomato sauce, black beans, corn, and salsa. This will be the filling for the shells.

Next, make sure that the baking dish for the stuffed shells is prepared with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill the cooked, drained shells with the beef and vegetable mixture. Cover shells with any remaining filling mixture.

Top shells with shredded cheese, and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees F.

After removing the stuffed shells from the oven, top with your choice of toppings. (We used diced tomatoes, diced onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and sliced black olives.)

Hint: I found the shells much easier to fill by using 2 large table spoons and putting the shell into the skillet with the filling mixture as I filled each shell. I used one spoon to hold the shell and the other to fill it - worked so much easier than the last time I cooked shells! This recipe made 2 dishes for our family: one we cooked and ate for dinner tonight, the second we put in the freezer for a later date. This was a great alternative to taco night at our house. Enjoy!

This recipe is linked up at Little House on the Prairie Living's Old Fashioned Recipe Exchange. Go see what other great recipes are linked up!

Lunch at Logan's

* My husband and I were on the road today for appointments so lunch for us, was cooked by someone else. After enjoyed some marvelous battered mushrooms, our lunch arrived. I deliberately ordered the Extreme Nachos as my entree and hubby had an 8 oz. steak with broccoli and mashed potatoes. He said the steak was perfect, the broccoli and potatoes delicious - and we both wondered how on earth it worked out that the nachos that supposed to be an appetizer - were bigger than his entree! Wow!!