Chocolate Zucchini Cake

First to address a couple of questions: Favorite cookbooks in no particular order: Ivory Family Favorites* (can be purchased at the Make A Wish Foundation in Fort Union area), Keeping Up (by some of the Ivory family and can be purchased online. Just click on the cookbook and you pay for it by pay pal) and my mom's family cookbook which is really a great compilation over the years of recipes from great cooks we know and some we wish we did - like the cooks at Cooks Illustrated, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart and Lion House (to name a few). We keep dreaming of making it a real cookbook but it hasn't happened yet.

Second, why no pictures? I know it is totally lame. Who wants to make food without pictures? It makes a total difference and I actually think it is the major flaw of all three of my favorite cookbooks. The answer - I STINK at taking pictures - especially at food pictures. I need a class on that. I try to arrange it well. I have good lighting - I think. It just doesn't look as appealing as I want it to. So there you have it. No pictures of these recipes.

It is kind of scary how much zucchini we have been consuming. Sad news - something is wrong with my zucchini plants and they are dying. And it doesn't appear to be squash bugs. What am I doing wrong?

Anyway - I have had some requests for recipes lately so that is why all the recipe posts. I took this one to a 24th of July BBQ and it was gobbled up. So I made it the next day for my family in town.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake - A super moist, delicious cake. And non one will ever know if you don't tell them.
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup oil (but I do half applesauce and half canola oil)
2 cups grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa

Grease jelly roll pan (big cookie sheet with sides). Preheat oven to 350. Beat sugar, eggs, and oil then add zucchini. Add milk and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients together and add to batter. Pour in pan and bake 25 minutes.

Frosting (it is nearly identical to the frosting on the Hershey's cocoa container but the directions are slightly different).
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1/3 cup milk
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup nuts (optional)

Melt butter and milk. Stir in cocoa and bring to a boil. Then pour over powdered sugar and beat until creamy. Add vanilla and optional nuts. Pour over brownies.

* And yes the Ivory Family Favorites has a Jane Metcalf but it isn't my sister Jane although she is a good cook.

BFF Caramel Bars

From my 3rd most favorite cookbook - Keeping Up (it is the 2nd Ivory Family Favorites). You really should own both.

I have made these a couple of times and seriously people - they are so dangerously good.

Make these today and share them with someone!

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Mix butter, brown sugar, oats, soda and salt. Press 3/4 of mixture into bottom of 9x13 pan, greased. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

1 - 14 oz pkg kraft caramels, unwrapped

3 T cream or half and half

3 T butter

2 c milk chocolate chips

While crust is baking, melt caramels, cream and butter over low heat in double broiler (I don't have one so just be careful). Pour melted mixture over crust. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Crumble the rest of the oat mixture over top. Bake at 350 for 15 more minutes. Cool before slicing.

*sorry about the weird formatting. don't know.

Rosemary Chicken Burgers

You pretty much need to try these. I was a tad nervous but not really. Once you take a bite...pretty sure you will want to eat another one. Unless you are at a BBQ and there is so much good food that you eat too much of everything else (like homemade tortilla chips - did you know that you could make that - you can and they are SO GOOD).

Rosemary Chicken Burgers

Makes four 4-ounce patties

FOR THE BURGERS

1 pound ground organic/free-range chicken breast meat*

2 tablespoons minced sun-dried tomatoes (in oil or reconstituted in warm water)

2 sprigs rosemary (pull needles from woody stalk, chop)

1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil (or use the oil from sun-dried tomatoes)

4 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

Sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste

FOR THE AIOLI

1 clove garlic (minced or squeezed through a garlic press)

1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon sun-dried tomato, minced (in oil, or reconstituted in warm water)

1 cup mayonnaise

Sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste

1. To make the burgers. Combine the meat, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, garlic, olive oil, bread crumbs, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. To test the flavor make a peanut-sized patty and brown in a hot pan. Adjust seasonings if desired. Form into four equal patties and place on wax paper in the refrigerator until ready to cook. Cook burgers on a hot charbroiler, outdoor grill or pan until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Serve on a whole-wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion and sun-dried tomato aioli.

2. To make the aioli. Whisk the garlic, lemon juice, sun-dried tomatoes, mayonnaise, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Adjust seasonings to taste.

3. Serve on whole grain thin buns with lettuce, tomato, and aioli/mayo

Relay For Life - This Friday night!!

Be there or Be Square!

It is a great event to raise money for the American Cancer Society. It is a relay event that goes all night long - showing cancer that we never stop fighting. And we will Beat It. And because of that we named our team - Team Beat It.

It is Friday, July 9th from 6pm to 8am the next morning. From 6 pm - 10pm there will be booths, activities for kids, entertainment, hot dogs, popcorn, treats, etc. It is a great evening for the whole family and promises to be even better than last year. We will be selling our popular foam swords. The kids love them.

Location: Monarch Meadows Park  in Herriman (13600 South and 4800 West).

We will have members of our team walking or running laps around the event all night long.

The track will be lit by luminaria bags. Those bags are for sale ($10 each). It is a great way to make a donation to the ACN and you can request that we put the name of someone you know that is fighting or surviving cancer. Let me know if you would like one.

We hope to see you there!

Best way to start the day

Play and then come home and watch. Perfect morning.

Although - my friends and I kneed a little help. We'll get there, though.