Zucchini Corn Muffins

Zucchini season is here! I love zucchini…it’s so healthy and versatile! If you’re tired of eating it prepared the same way every time here is recipe that is a little different.

You will need:

Prepared corn bread batter (you can make your own or use store bought)

1 medium zucchini, grated, (my zucchini was a little on the large side…I used a little more than half. It looked like about 2 cups)

1 onion, chopped

4 ounces of cheddar cheese shreds

onion powder

Place zucchini and onion in corn bread batter.

Sprinkle lightly with onion powder.

Add in cheese.

Mix well and fill muffin cups with batter. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

These tasty muffins are great with BBQ chicken. Super simple! 🙂

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Coconut Cookies with Lime Icing

It’s been so hot here, I want to get in the pool and never get out. Such is Summer in the South…wouldn’t trade it for anything, though. 🙂

Today I was in the mood for a light tropical cookie. Something that matched with the tropical feeling my yard is giving me right now. 😉

You will need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Cream butter and sugars together, then beat in egg and flavorings.

in a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Then mix in the coconut.

Gradually add the dry ingredients to sugar mixture.

Roll into small balls and place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. bake at 350 degrees for about 11 minutes or until cookie is golden brown.

You can eat it just the way it is or for a little added flavor top with a lime icing. 🙂

Simple Lime Icing:

Mix 2 TBSP Lime juice and 1 TBSP softened (not melted) butter or margarine, 1 drop green food coloring and 1 drop yellow food coloring. Gradually add in Tablespoons of powdered sugar (about 12) until the icing is at the desired consistency.

It’s the perfect cookie for a summer luau or cookout!

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Peach Cobbler

Summer is here and it looks like it’s going to be a busy one for us! Along with various summer events and activities, we are going to spend the summer swimming, creating and  reading. My kids will be participating in the summer reading program at our local library which looks like it will be a lot of fun!

Today, after being out and about with the kids, I decided to make a dessert that doesn’t require a lot of effort: Peach Cobbler.

This recipe is neat because you spread the batter in the pan then pour the peach mixture on top…the batter rises to cover the peaches and gets a sugary crust on the top.

You will need:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 cup milk

2 cans peaches in syrup

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla

sugar to sprinkle on top

Cream butter and sugar

Mix flour, baking powder and salt together in separate bowl

Add flour mixture and milk to creamed butter and sugar, alternating them

Spread batter in greased pan

Mix peaches with syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon together

Pour on top of batter

Sprinkle lightly with sugar. <Edited> Sorry everyone…I forgot a very important part: Baking time! I used a 9 x 11 casserole dish and baked at 375 degrees. Mine took about an hour to bake, but you may want to check it after 45 minutes. When the center is no longer doughy and it doesn’t ‘give’ a whole lot when you touch the top, it should be done.

It is especially yummy with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream! 🙂

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Adorned From Above

Our Anniversary

My husband and I nine years ago, right after he proposed.

I mentioned the other day that my husband and I were celebrating our ninth anniversary. Today we decided to go on a picnic at the park where he proposed to me. Here are a few pictures from our day. 🙂

Us nine years later at the same location.

Teacup bird feeders

Ew! Is that a spider?

I’ll take care of it for you!

The Tin Man

Old friends

Tin Man needed a little oil.

OK…A little cheesy…I know 😉

Cute mural in the kid’s garden

My husband says “Hi!”

My serious pic…It was either this or the one with my tongue sticking out, lol

Sweet hubby! 🙂

This is actually attached to the greenhouse.

Of course, I’m curious…so I peeked in.

We had such a fun day reliving old memories! Thanks for sharing our day with us 🙂

Cilantro Shrimp Scampi

Today, my husband and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary! Nine years ago we met online and fell in love. After a two month courtship (yes, you read that right…two months) we eloped. Here we are nine years later enjoying life in our happy little house with five beautiful children and 130 lb dog running around! I can honestly say that I have never regretted  the decision to marry him even for a second! 🙂 He is a loving husband, a great dad and never fails to earn my respect over and over again!

Me and my sweetie, nine years ago. 🙂

Anyway, I suppose that’s enough mushy stuff…on to the recipe! I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner tonight and he asked for shrimp scampi. So here is the recipe I came up with.

You will need:

53-68 medium shrimp, fully cooked, deveined and tails pulled off

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 onion, minced

1 bell pepper, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

3 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup butter

1/8 cup olive oil

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

black pepper, to taste

Angel hair pasta, spaghetti or linguini

fresh chopped cilantro and black pepper to garnish

You won’t need both bags of shrimp…I thought I would need more

Melt the butter and olive oil together

Stir in the onions and garlic and saute

Add bell peppers and lemon juice

Stir in green onions and cilantro

Last add shrimp, onion powder, salt, pepper and sugar and stir until heated through.

Serve over cooked pasta and garnish with fresh cilantro and black pepper.

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Pineapple Cream Cheese Bars

I hope that everyone had a good weekend! Our weekend went by too quickly…even if all we did was some much needed work around the house.

I’ve been feeling a little bit under the weather lately, so I decided to make something very simple for dessert tonight. These Pineapple Cream Cheese Bars are an easy treat to make when you don’t feel like putting in a whole lot of effort.They are based on an old Hawaiian recipe.

You will need:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

2  1/2  cups boiling water

1 cup sugar

3 envelopes gelatin

1 1/2 cup crushed pineapple

2 8-oz packages cream cheese

Whipped cream

Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together and press into pan.

Dissolve gelatin and sugar in boiling water

Add pineapple. Let the mixture cool some some.

Cream the cream cheese with mixer

Add pineapple and gelatin mixture. It will look a little watery and lumpy. Place bowl in the fridge for a short while until it is just starting to set (don’t wait until it sets completely), then remove and beat with mixer.

Pour mixture over crust and place back into refrigerator for several hours or until set.

After it sets, top it with whipped cream, slice and serve. Super simple! 🙂

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Seafood and Pesto Lasagna

Today has been a busy day. In fact, this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down all day. Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be a busy day as well, but I don’t mind…things are getting done. 🙂

Today I decided to try a recipe I’ve never tried before: seafood lasagna. My husband loves seafood, so I thought this would be a pleasant change of pace from the usual sort of lasagna (not that I mind the usual lasagna).

You will need:

15 oz. ricotta cheese

8 oz cottage cheese

2 egg yolks

8 oz mozzarella cheese shreds

2   8 oz jars of pesto

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 medium zucchini

1 lb of whiting fillets (or other sort of white fish), chopped and flaked

12 oz cooked, peeled shrimp, with tails removed

16 oz box lasagna noodles (though it is doubtful you will need them all)

Boil your lasagna according to the directions on the box. While you are waiting you can chop the zucchini, onions and fish. When you chop the fish, flake it with a fork (I also removed the skin). I also pressed paper towels onto the shrimp and fish to absorb any excess liquid.

Put the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and pesto together in a bowl…drain off excess liquid.

Mix well

Lightly sauté onions and garlic together in a little oil

Add in zucchini slices and sauté them as well. Drain off excess liquid.

Spread a thin layer of the cheese and pesto mix into the bottom of your casserole dish.

Place your noodles over the cheese mixture on the bottom

Add another thicker layer of the cheese mixture over top of the noodles

Next put a layer of zucchini and onions

Then shrimp

Next fish

And finally cheese. Repeat this process for as many layers as you want.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 – 40 minutes. Be careful of the top…hehe. As you can see, mine is a bit more ‘golden’ than I would’ve liked. Oh well, tastes fine!

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Easy Manhattan Style Clam Chowder

Lately, I’ve been missing the beach…the sound of the waves crashing…the fresh air…pretty much everything. It’s only been a couple of months since our last visit, but already I’m wishing we could go again. We actually don’t live too far from the beach, but it’s far enough away that we would need to stay over…time to start saving to buy a beach house! Oh well, I can dream, can’t I? 😉

I’ve also been craving seafood and even though it’s pretty warm here, it was the kind of day you need a bowl of soup and some fresh bread. So I made some Manhattan clam chowder and some big homemade rolls.

This chowder makes a huge pot, so it’s ideal if you are feeding a crowd.

You will need:

1 onion, minced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

6-7 medium to large potatoes, peeled and cut

4  10 ounce cans of whole baby clams, with juices

2  14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes, with juice

2 cups tomato juice

8 cups water

3 bay leaves

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup apple juice

3 TBSP powdered chicken boullion

5 TBSP sugar

1 tsp garlic powder

4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Lightly sauté onion and garlic in a little oil.

Add chopped potatoes, clams (juice and all), diced tomatoes (also with juice), tomato juice, water and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

Turn the burner down to medium-low. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Add in the lemon juice, apple juice and spices. Adjust seasonings to taste. Continue to simmer until potatoes are tender. Garnish with sour cream and parsley flakes and serve.

Delicious, easy and frugal, too! 🙂

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