Zucchini Brownies

It’s zucchini season!  And we all know that means trying to find as many ways as possible to get rid of it.  (See summer harvest pasta.)  If you've ever grown zucchini, you know how it goes.  You plant one seed and end up with a fridge full of the stuff.  You give it away to your friends and neighbors until they are giving it away to their friends.  I don’t actually plant zucchini in my garden, so I am the grateful recipient of my neighbor Jerry’s zucchini.

A few weeks ago, one of my college roommates mentioned that she was making zucchini chocolate cake so I asked for the recipe.  When she sent it to me, it was on a document with a zucchini brownie recipe that she said was no good, but challenged me to fix it.  Well, after a few alterations and a batch of brownies in the garbage can, I scrapped the recipe and went to my go-to chocolate brownie recipe.  A few changes and voila—zucchini brownies!

Despite how weird it sounds, they are actually very good.  Most people can’t believe there is zucchini in them.

I just want to make one thing clear (for the kids, of course):  zucchini brownies are not a substitute for veggies.  Consider the zucchini bonus nutrition.  I put anywhere from two to three cups of zucchini in my brownies.  At two cups per batch, there is only one tablespoon of zucchini per brownie if you cut them into 32 pieces.  To get a whole serving of vegetables, you’d have to eat 16 brownies.

One key step in adding zucchini to brownies is to remove some of the water from it.  I usually use my food processor to shred the zucchini, but a cheese grater will do.  Either way, after it is shredded, dump it out onto a tea towel.  Bring the corners together and twist, squeezing as much water out of the zucchini as you can.  You will notice that the water is green.  Unfortunately, that is some of the nutrients going down the drain, another reason why you can’t count after-lunch brownie as a serving of veggies.

To make the process easier, I shred and squeeze a bunch of zucchini at one time and store it in a container in the fridge for up to a week.  That way I can quickly make a batch of zucchini brownies, cake, or bread.

Zucchini Brownies

1 c. butter, melted

1½ c. sugar

1½ c. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla or 2 tsp. maple flavoring

4 eggs

2-3 c. shredded zucchini, squeezed

1½ c. flour

1 c. cocoa

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line 9”X13” pan with foil; spray or rub with oil and set aside.

In large bowl, stir together melted butter, sugar, and brown sugar until thoroughly combined.  Mix in eggs one at a time, stirring in completely before adding the next egg.

I like to use a fork for this step to cream the
sugars into the butter...

...and to help break up the eggs.

Add vanilla or maple flavoring.  Stir in zucchini.

Kitchen tip:  measuring spoons all dirty?  Use a medicine
spoon!  If you have kids, you probably have
a whole drawer full of them.

In a medium bowl, whisk or sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and cinnamon.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three additions, stirring completely each time.

Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer to wire rack to cool.  Use foil to lift brownies out of pan.  Cut into 32 pieces, using plastic knife.

Another kitchen tip:  use plastic, not metal utensils when
cutting and serving brownies.  They don't stick as much
so the brownies come out looking neater.

We're Just Having Too Much Fun!

Our apologies for the absent post today!  We are together this weekend which means we're busy playing and keeping up with five kids from 13 months to 7 years!  Check back tomorrow for what should have been today's post!

Welcome to the 2011-2012 School Year!

Keanna with her 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Inloes!

For the public school kids in our area, school starts today.  Robbie and Keanna have already been back for two weeks.  And Lukas and Koda started preschool at that time!!  They are absolutely loving it and don't want to go home when I arrive to pick them up at lunch time.

Most moms cry when their little ones start preschool.  I have to admit that I was ecstatic!  I now have two mornings every week with just April at home--I didn't realize how many usable hours there are in the day!  And the boys are really in need of some outside-of-the-house-without-mommy structure.

Koda (left) and Lukas with their teacher, Miss Lauren!

This does make Tuesday and Thursday mornings quite interesting.  Keanna can pretty much get herself ready for school, but the boys are another story.  More than ever, we need organization and efficiency in our mornings.

As most of use dive into this new school year, I thought I'd re-post last year's post about school lunches.  With a few additions and changes.  For example, since then, I've added bean and cheese burritos to the list.  Last week I made 50 bean, cheese, rice, and corn burritos and froze them.  And my over-estimation is that it cost me about $20!!

So to help you help your kids start the year off right, here are my school lunch strategies (note:  prices have not been updated for this year, but I'm sure they all went up!):

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To save money and feed my family more nutritiously, I do not buy pre-packaged snacks.  Though individually packaged snacks are super convenient, they can cost three to five times more than if you bought a regular package and divided it up yourself.  For example, I checked the price of goldfish crackers at WinCo last week.  If you buy the 100-calorie packs, you will pay over $0.70 per ounce.  However, if you buy a big box and divide it up into little containers or bags, you will only pay $0.21 per ounce.  The same is true for just about all pre-portioned snacks:  raisins, applesauce, fruit cups, pudding cups, crackers, chips, cookies, cheese, and drinks.

To be a little more environmentally friendly, I try to use cheap reusable plastic containers.  I love these Glad containers.  They hold ½ cup and are the perfect size for snacks.  I bought this pack of eight for only $2.22 at Wal-Mart.  Before sending them to school with my daughter, I used a permanent marker to write her name on them.  Hopefully we’ll end the school year with almost as many as we’re starting.  These don’t work for long, stick shaped snacks like pretzel sticks or carrot sticks.  I have yet to find small, cheap containers that accommodate snacks of this shape so I use zip-top bags.  Anyone have any suggestions?

But I have to admit that packing school lunches is one of my least favorite things to do.  I currently only have to pack two lunches (one for my daughter and one for my husband), but someday I will have to pack five.  Just thinking about it makes me tired—or maybe I’m just tired from the middle-of-the-night feedings.  Anyway, last year I kept finding myself scrounging around the kitchen every morning trying to pull healthy lunches together at the last minute while trying to make breakfast and help Keanna get ready for school.  Can we say “frazzled”?!?!

Packing snacks like this does take time.  That’s one reason why my mornings used to be so hectic.  But I am not willing to pay the extra money for convenience.  I decided I did not want to continue in this manner for the next 17 years so I came up with a system for preparing school lunches:

Sunday night:  prepare and package up all snacks for the week

Each night:  fill lunch box/bag with non-refrigerated items (including napkin and utensils); fill thermos and put in fridge

Each morning:  add refrigerated/frozen items (including ice pack)

By packaging up all the snacks on Sunday night, the rest of the week is grab-n-go.  There are some things I cannot do on Sunday such as cut fresh fruit and vegetables for the entire week—I usually portion these out on Sunday and Wednesday nights.

I never buy baby carrots.  They are more expensive and don't last as long in the fridge.

I usually send my husband with dinner leftovers for lunch.  I simply package those up for him as I am putting the leftovers away.

Good school lunch ideas:

• Bean and cheese burrito
• PB&J
• Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
• Quesadilla
• English muffin/bagel pizza
• Macaroni and cheese

Good school snack ideas:

• Crackers and peanut butter
• Hummus with pretzels or pita bread/chips
• Grapes, sliced apples or peaches, or orange slices
• Cheese sticks (cut from a block to save money)
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Pudding
• Whole wheat noodles
• Carrot or celery sticks (ants on a log!)
• Homemade trail mix/snack mix
• Raisins or other dried fruit
• Yogurt
• Granola bars
• Popcorn

This week's snacks:  grapes, cheese crackers, hummus, pretzel
sticks, chocolate graham crackers, peanut butter sandwich crackers,
and carrot sticks.

You can also get your kids involved.  Keanna made the peanut butter sandwich crackers this week.  Even small children can fill containers or bags.  Not only does this take some of the work off you, but it helps teach them that everything they eat needs to be prepared by someone.

If you have other great ideas for quick, healthy school snacks, please post a comment to share them with all our readers.

Cake Series: Chocolate Cake

Sumiko and I enjoy baking and decorating cakes.  I have personally only made birthday cakes/cupcakes and baby shower cakes, but Sumiko has also made bridal shower and wedding cakes.  Since cakes can be so expensive, we figured we'd do a little series on cake making and decorating.  We hope to inspire you to try your hand at cake decorating!  For the next few months, we'll occasionally post different recipes and cake decorating tips/techniques.  If you have any specific questions you'd like answered or anything you'd like to know how to do in relation to cake decorating, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail us at kitchendiaries[at]yahoo[dot]com.  We will try our best to answer all your questions!

I'm going to start our cake series with our favorite cake recipe.  Our regular readers know that we prefer to make things from scratch as much as we realistically can.  However, when it comes to cakes, for some reason box mixes just taste better.  I have found a from-scratch cake recipe that I do like and use occasionally, which I'll share at a later time.  For now, though, this is the go-to recipe for both of us.  And you want to know a secret?  Most people can't even tell it's from a box, because it's so good and it doesn't really taste like a box mix!

Before I get to the actual recipe, let me go over some tips on pan preparation.  It doesn't matter if I'm using round pans, square pans, or rectangular pans, I prepare all of them this way.  I start by cutting wax paper to fit into the bottom of the pan and then cut another long strip to cover the sides.

I lay the pan on top of the wax paper and trace around it.  When I cut it, I cut it just inside of the line I've drawn.

These are for the sides of my pans.

When cutting the piece for the sides, you'll want it to be wider (taller) than the pan itself.  Take the long strip, and make a long fold about 1/4-inch from the side, going along the entire length of the piece.  If you're using a round pan, you'll also want to cut slits every 1/4 - 1/3 inch so that you can get it to lay flat on the curves.

Folded along the long edge.

After it's folded, I cut little slits all along the folded edge.

Rub shortening on the bottom and sides of the pan(s).

Place the side piece on, sticking it to the shortening and making sure it's flush up against the sides of the pans.  Place the bottom pieces over the bottom.

The whole inside of your pan should now be covered in wax paper.  This will make it easier to flip the cake out of the pan.

Doctored Cake Mix
1 (18.25 oz) box Devil's food cake mix (we prefer Betty Crocker)
1 (5.9 oz) box instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups chocolate chips (optional)*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine all ingredients except chocolate chips.

Mix for a couple minutes on medium, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl.  The batter will be quite thick.  Add chocolate chips; mix until they're evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Pour the mix into prepared pans, filling no more than 2/3 full.  Bake 35-40 minutes for a 6"x3" round pan or 55-60 minutes for an 8"x3" pan, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (keep in mind there are chocolate chips, so if the toothpick goes through a chocolate chip, it may look like it's not done, even if it is done).

Allow to cool for a few minutes before flipping out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.   When you flip them out of the pan, go ahead and pull the wax paper off.  It should just pull off easily.

This makes a very moist, but stable cake.  It is great for stacking cakes, because of it's stability and density (though it's not too dense).

Tip: You can use just about any cake mix/pudding combination with this recipe.  Sumiko likes to use Betty Crocker French vanilla cake mix with vanilla pudding and vanilla chips.  While I haven't personally tried any variation other than the chocolate and vanilla mix, I'm sure there are many other delicious combinations!

A cupcake made with French vanilla cake and vanilla pudding.

*If you will be slicing through the cake to make layers or level the top, we suggest you do not use chocolate chips.  As the knife slices through, it will drag the chocolate chips with it, causing the cake to tear and crumble.  Yeah, we learned this one the hard way.

Egg and Tomato Sandwich

A couple weeks ago I had some of Jerry's tomatoes sitting on my counter, waiting to be used.  I was trying to decide what to do with them as I made scrambled eggs for the boys' lunch that day.  Then it clicked--egg and tomato sandwich!

I love eggs sandwiches any time of the day, not just breakfast.  I normally don't put mayonnaise on my sandwiches.  I'd rather spend those calories on chocolate.  But when it comes to egg sandwiches, mayo is a must for me.  And the creaminess really complements the fresh tomato.

I started with my basic scrambled eggs.  On this particular day, I sauteed some diced onions before I poured the eggs in the pan.  I really liked the onion; the boys did not.  It would also be good with some sauteed peppers.

The only way I can think to make this sandwich better is to serve it on a warm croissant.  So yummy!  It would also be great on a toasted English muffin.

Egg and Tomato Sandwich
2 slices whole grain bread or 1 croissant, sliced in half
Mayonnaise
Scrambled eggs
Fresh tomatoes, sliced

Lightly toast bread or warm croissant.  Spread one of both sides with mayonnaise.  Fill with scrambled eggs and tomato slices.

My Husband's Favorite Scones

Let me start by saying that I can't take credit for this recipe.  In fact, this came from my husband's aunt and it is a favorite among my husband's family.  Shhh, don't tell them that I have made a couple very minor changes.  I have made these on several occasions and they always get rave reviews!  The dough can be made and rolled out the night before, wrapped in cling wrap, cut and baked the next day.  This saves time when making them for breakfast or to take to a morning event.  Also, the glaze is the most important part of this recipe.  You can NOT leave it off!

Scones
4 cups, plus 1 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 pound (3 sticks) cold butter, diced
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup dried fruit or chocolate chips
1 egg beaten with 2 Tbsp water, for the egg wash
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Blend in the cold butter at the lowest speed and mix until butter is in pea-sized pieces.

The butter cut into the flour mixture in the mixer.

If you don't have an electric mixer, simply combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and cut the butter into it until it is in pea-sized pieces.  Even though I have a mixer, I prefer to do it by hand with a pastry blender so that I have better control over it.

A pastry blender, in case you're wondering what that is.

The butter cut into the flour using a pastry blender - I feel like I have more control over how it turns out when I do it by hand.

 In a separate container, combine the cream and eggs (I use a measuring cup; measure the cream first, then just add the eggs.  This way you only have to dirty one extra dish.); quickly add them ot the flour mixture.  Combine until just blended; do not overmix!

If you look closely, you'll see that there's still a little unmixed flour.  I'm not concerned; it will get mixed in when I add my fruit.

Toss the fruit or chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp flour; add to dough and mix quickly.  The dough will be a bit sticky.

On a well-floured surface, roll the dough to 3/4 -inch thick.  Since I usually make it the night before, I roll half of it as a time, because it's much easier to wrap and move the smaller "disks" of rolled dough.  If you're baking it right away, you can go ahead and roll it all at once.  Cut the dough into 4-inch squares, then cut each square in half diagonally to make triangles, or if you're rolling it out into 2 pieces, you can just cut it into wedges, like a pie.

I form it into a large patty before rolling it out.

Place on a baking sheet or stone (if using a baking sheet, line it with parchment first) and brush the tops of the scones with the egg wash.

If you look closely, you can see chunks of butter in the cross section of the scone - that will create a tender, flaky crumb.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the outsides are crisp and lightly browned and the insides are fully baked.  Move to a wire rack to cool.

Combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and milk.  Slowly add additional milk until the glaze reaches a drizzling consistency.  Drizzle the glaze over the baked scones.  Makes 14-16 large scones.  Enjoy while they are still warm and fresh out of the oven or reheat them in the microwave before eating!

I am usually generous with the glaze.  I may even be known to make extra glaze from time to time (ok, so all the time).