Zucchini Craze . . . Frosted Zucchini Brownies

This is now possibly my favorite brownie recipe! They are SO yummy!!!

Frosted Zucchini Brownies
from blogchef

The (italics) are my substitutions to the called for ingredient
½ cup vegetable oil (can use olive oil, coconut oil or apple sauce)
1 ½ cups white sugar (1 1/4th cup agave)
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour (wheat flour)
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups zucchini - shredded with skin on
½ cup chopped walnuts 


Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9×13 inch baking dish. 

In a large bowl mix together oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract until well blended. In another bowl combine the flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. A little at a time stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. The batter will be dry and crumbly, don't worry. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish.

Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the brownies spring back when gently touched. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.

Peanut Butter Cocoa Frosting

(Yields almost 1/2 cup)

• 1/4 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
• 4-8 tsp pure maple syrup 
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 4 tsp milk of choice (or more for thinner frosting)
• 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• optional: handful of chocolate chips 

Blend everything (including chips, if using) in a small food processor or Magic Bullet. If you have a bigger processor, it might be best to double the recipe so everything blends more smoothly. Best to store uneaten frosting covered in the fridge.


This new found recipe may be my current cure for chocolate cravings!! Oh yum! 

Lemon-Zucchini Loaf with Lemon Glaze

I am surrounded by lovely people who garden and share their bounty with us. My MIL often has yummy fresh things to send home with us as well as an Amish girl I work with. Zucchini is the one veggie gardeners seem to always have a large crop of. And I LOVE it! There are so many yummy things to make with zucchini. Here is a new favorite . . .

LEMON-ZUCCHINI LOAF WITH LEMON GLAZE by NancyCreativeMakes one 9×5″ loaf 
The notations in parentheses are what I altered

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil (olive oil)
• 2/3 cup sugar (Agave)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (skim milk)
• Juice of 1 lemon or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup grated zucchini (you don’t need to peel the zucchini before grating it)

- Preheat oven to 35o degrees. Grease and flour a 9×5″ loaf pan; set aside.
- In large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.- In medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well, then add canola oil and sugar, and blend well. Then add the buttermilk, lemon juice, and lemon zest and blend everything well. Fold in zucchini and stir until evenly distributed in mixture.- Add this mixture to the dry ingredients in the large bowl and blend everything together, but don’t over mix.- Pour batter into prepared 9×5″ loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean (if your oven tends to run hot, check the loaf after 40 minutes). Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and cool completely. While loaf is cooling, you can make the glaze…

LEMON GLAZE

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
  In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled loaf. Let glaze set, then serve.
  (For my glaze I mixed up a concoction of honey and lemon juice on the stove top, adding gelatin to make it thick.  I think it was:
  1/2 cup honey
  1 tbsp lemon juice4 tsp cook type clear gel
  I didn't measure exactly so I'm not totally certain.  Play around with it! You can't go wrong with honey and lemon!)

Green Smoothies

Pineapple, pumpkin, spinach and flax seed smoothie

I'm obsessed with smoothies right now! With this hot weather, they're so filling and refreshing.

I struggle with incorporating raw veggies in my daily diet. I love steamed vegetables, but the raw ones don't appeal to me as much. It's much easier for me to grab fruit as a snack. Sooo I started blending my veggies and add a small amount of fruit! SO YUM! 

I know the green kind of looks gross. Babe said it looked disgusting, then he tried it. He liked it :)

I don't have a recipe at all. Whatever veggies or fruit I have in my fridge or freezer, I throw into my blender. And I don't have a fancy blender. Just a basic Oster. Almost all of my smoothies include spinach, flax seeds and some sort of fruit juice. Yesterday I threw in some carrots. I've done watermelon, spinach and mint leaves which is super refreshing! Avocado is great to add too. If you like, you can also add almond milk o r yogurt. Be creative!! If you make one that is to "veggie" tasting, add more fruit!. It's pretty hard to make a gross smoothie when you're using good, fresh fruits and vegetables. 

I would love to hear your smoothie recipes and concoctions! 

Happy blending!

-A

praising in the storm.

Last week was great! The first half anyway... I was finally enjoying work again, had energy and was on a great high. 

And then Thursday rolls around. 

After work I decided to do my grocery shopping. My faithful car of 10 years, Sophi, decided to overheat on me. (I shouldn't have been driving it in the first place on a VERY hot day with a broken fan - but what do I know about cars??) While smoke was pouring out, I was able to pull into a business driveway before she totally shut off. I was blocking the entrance of the business (which was thankfully closed). I began to try to call Babe, father in law, mother in law, brothers in law (3 of them), friends. NO ONE could come to my rescue. It was about 4 in the afternoon so most of the men were at work. A couple would be able to come in about an hour . . . . Talk about a HELPLESS feeling!!!

By this time I've been sitting in the driveway for about half an hour. It's in the heart of touristville, so despite the fact that the business is closed, people are using the parking lot to park. I am getting evil glares from people as they come and go, because they have to go around me (and apparently thought I was just hanging out in the entrance of the driveway to text or something). I am near hysteria. 

A man leans out his window as he is about to go around me to exit the parking lot. He (in a not so nice but not totally mean voice) hollers at me "can you move your car? At least into a parking space?" By this point I am hysterical and yell very angrily "NO, I cannot move my car. IT WON"T START" (I think I almost screamed). By now tears are rolling down my face. He comes to my window and assures me its ok, he didn't realize I was having car trouble and apologizes. 

Talk about feeling like a helpless little girl. He rounded up some men and they pushed me into a parking spot. The kind man and his family asked if I had anyone who could take me home. At this point,  I did not. He asked where I lived, I told him. He smiled and said, we are going to a restaurant and are going right past your house. So, a nice tourist family gave me a ride home. 

And here's my honesty . . . I came home, plopped in my hallway and cried. 

I cried because I felt totally alone (my Babe felt AWFUL that he was so far away!). I cried because I'm pretty attached to my car and had a feeling it had seen it's last day. I cried because I was mad at myself for crying (who does that??!?).

And then, I realized, I'm ok. I wasn't in an accident, I'm not hurt. A nice family brought me home. I am safe. We have a backup car we can use. No matter what, everything will be ok. 

What did I learn from all this? That no matter what situation you're in, there is always something to be thankful for AND God will never leave your side. I am also seeing that I need to work on my first responses :) Instead of wallowing in my self pity, I want to praise Him in the storm. I will work on and improve in this area!

Thanks for reading my looooong story! 

-A

Crock Pot Honey Sesame Chicken and Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

Today is my day off. We have a lot going on around here this week, including a showing of our house on Friday!! I'm bustling around here today, trying to get things done. I have plans this eve so I want to do something quick in the crock pot for dinner. I'm about to head into the kitchen to start on one of our favorite meals. The first time I made it, Babe said it was the best meal I made since we got married! So it's definitely a hit around here!

CROCK POT HONEY SESAME CHICKEN

recipe form: Baby Center / www.chefintraining.com
Ingredients:
2.5 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use thighs)Salt and pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons diced onion
4 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoon canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water
Sesame seeds (I never seem to have sesame seeds so I just skip them)

Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce.

Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.
Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

As our veggie to go with the chicken: Roasted Parmesan Green Beans 

 
Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• 12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.
Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.

Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Invigorating Coffee Scrub

Did you know that many face washes contain alcohols that actually dry out your skin, causing further irritation? 
(I found this site with helpful hints on good and bad alcohol in skin care products)

I have been blessed with fairly low maintenance skin. As a teen I used face washes (because it was the thing to do), but now, I generally just use warm water and a face cloth. Occasionally I feel the need to exfoliate and remove dead skin cells. Recently I was on the hunt for a scrub for my body and face. I discovered this website and the below recipe. 

Invigorating Coffee Scrub

Brew a fresh pot of coffee. 

Use 3 tablespoons of the fresh grounds and 1 tablespoon of salt and mix in a bowl.

Gently scrub mixture over body within 20 minutes of brewing before oxidation occurs.

(I personally keep a jar of this mixture in my shower. The grounds are not always "fresh" but I still get the exfoliation and the Vitamin E action.)

Coffee contains Magnesium and Vitamin E. It also acts as an antibacterial, exfoliating and stimulating agent.

For my face moisturizer and body lotion, I use coconut oil. Because my skin is on the dryer side, I can use it on a daily basis. If you have oily skin, this may not work for you. I also use coconut oil as a makeup remover! Put it around your eyes and gently remove makeup with a cotton ball. You get makeup remover and moisturizer in one! 

Have you discovered any helpful hints on skincare? Do you possibly disagree with the article on alcohol and skincare? I would love to hear feedback!

-A

Father's Day and the NEXT STEP in our moving process

My parents are staying with us right now on their visit from Texas. Which means I got to spend Father's day with my dad! I am extremely blessed to have a God honoring man for a father. We may not always see eye to eye, but I am and always will be a Daddy's girl. 

Our house has been on the market as of the 1st of May. We listed it on some housing websites, craigslist, etc. But yesterday, the official for sale sign went up. I'm not sure whether to dance around in excitement or cry. I am beyond excited to move, but at times I sort of freak out and want to stay in my comfortable little hole. 

People keep telling me when you don't know what's next, it's a good time to trust in God and let him lead you. That is WAY easier said than done for me! Yesterday's message at church was exactly what I needed to hear . . . Pastor Josh talked about how our plans are second best to God's. And not like silver medal second best. Like worlds a part second best. If we allow God to direct us, his plans for our life far exceed anything we could ever possibly come up with for ourselves. Why is it so hard for us to release our agenda and let God lead us? As Babe and I move ahead with plans, we take a step at a time, a day at a time. 

Ultimately we want His plans for our lives, even if they seem big and scary. 

-A