Zucchini Bread

One of my favorite snacks as a child was my mother's homemade zucchini bread.
Fresh out of the oven, I loved that first warm slice with butter on top, yum!

I am going to share with you the recipe my mother used but with just a little bit of a twist, Rachel style!

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 finely shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 egg
1 lemon ( use the zest and juice from 1 large lemon)
2 Tbsp. of orange juice


Preheat your oven to 350º
Mix all of your ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
pour into greased bread pan and bake for 55 min.

COOKIES!

Whenever I make a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies, I always have more cookies then the family knows what to do with.
After the second day of snacking on chocolate chip cookies straight, the cookies becoming this forgotten snack that seems to just sit there on the table lonely.
SO, my genius of a husband came up with an idea ( yes it's been done before but don't tell him that)

To switch things up and not let the cookies go to waist, we took some room tempter chocolate chip ice cream and smeared it in between two cookies. Wrap them up in foil or whatever you have to keep them freezer safe, let the cookie treats freeze and TADA!


Yum Yum!

So there you have it. If you are ever stuck in a leftover cookie dilemma or need to switch things up a bit, give it a try!

Acorn Squash Casserole

This casserole will take you some time, just because of how hard the Acorn Squash is but it is SO worth it!

You will need

2 Acorn Squash
1 16oz. pkg of baby carrots
1 pkg of cherry tomatoes
5 Tbsp.Olive oil ( or just eye it, give it all a good coat)
Fresh Basil
2 Tbsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. pepper

Peel and cut your uncooked acorn squash ( see I told you this would take FOREVER!) into bite size pieces.
After you have done this, without killing the person next to you, mix the acorn squash, baby carrots and cherry tomatoes in a bowl with the olive oil, salt & pepper.
Mix in cut up fresh Basil then pour into a backing dish and bake in the oven at 350º for 45 min. or untill veggies are soft!
After its done baking, toss one more time and serve worm.

Enjoy!

Tex-Mex Casserole

You will need:

1 lb. of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage
1 lb. of Turkey meat
4 Med. sized potatoes
Rice
1 pk. of Taco Bell taco seasoning
1 8oz. jar of Mild Taco Bell salsa
3 Tbsp. of chunky salsa
3 Tbsp. of Olive oil
Salt & Pepper
Chili powder

Cook 1 cup of rice. Cook both of your meats in the same pan until done.
While your rice and meats are cooking, cut up ( into med. size pieces) your potatoes with the skins on.
Mix the cut potatoes in a bowl with the Olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper and about a tsp. of chili powder.
Lay potatoes out on cooking pan and then bake for about 20 min.

Once the rice, meat and potatoes are done mix them all together with both salsas and taco seasoning.
Pour into a casserole dish and top with cheese. Bake for about 40 min.

Serve with a bit of sour cream and chives on top or just wrap some up in a tortilla and top of with lettuce and tomatoes.

ENJOY!

Chicken Fried Steak Night

One of my husbands favorite nights is chicken fried steak night!
For those of you who have never attempted to cook it or would just like to try a new recipe, here is my recipe for Chicken fried steak.

I use 4 cube steaks
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 Tbsp of brown sugar ( this adds just a bit was sweetness to the mix)
2 Tbsp of salt
1 Tbsp of pepper
cooking oil
4 eggs
2 Tbsp of milk

Mix; flour, salt, pepper and sugar in bowl.
Mix all 4 eggs in bowl with the milk
Pour cooking oil into a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet until it's about 1 1/2 to 2 inches high in pan.
Heat the cooking oil in skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes.

Dip cube steak in flour cover on both sides, then egg and then flour again.

Place in hot cooking oil.
Place 3 or all 4 of your steaks in at the same time. The more your have in the pan, the steaks will cook evenly. Let steaks fry for about a min. or 2 before flipping and repeat until golden brown. Remove steaks from pan and place on a plate with a paper towel to soak up any extra grease.

ENJOY!

Cakes, Cakes and More Cakes

One of my favorite things is cake making. Every time a birthday comes around I am the first one to jump up and say " I'll do it!"
From kids birthdays, bachelorette party's to baby showers, I love it all!
So for my very first post I decided to post pictures of some cakes I have done.
Enjoy!

The Nemo Cake
This was one of my first cakes. It was for my daughters 2 birthday. Thanks to my good friend for staying up and helping me dot the cake!


Strawberry Angle Food cake
This is an angle food cakes topped with strawberry flavored whipped cream, a chocolate drizzle and chocolate cover strawberries.


Phil-Eagles Cake, I loved making this cake because it was the first time I drew with chocolate. The eagle is made out of chocolate.


Pineapple Express Cake
This cake was made for my Step Mothers birthday.
It is a two layered, pineapple cake, with a cream cheese,pineapple flavored icing, with pineapple chucks on top.
Thanks to my husband for the AWESOME name!


Barbie Island Princess Cake
This cake was made for my daughters 4th birthday.


Happy Halloween Cake
Made for our Halloween block party we have every year.


Ahsoka, Star Wars The Clone Wars Cake
Made for my daughters 5th birthday. This cake was one of the first times I played with fondant.


Chocolate Mousse Cake With Strawberries
Yum Yum! I made this cake for my sisters bridal shower. It is a double chocolate, two layered cake, with a chocolate mousse in the middle, on top and layered with strawberry's and a dust of powder sugar.


Hello Kitty Cake
Made for my daughters 6th birthday. Thanks again to my good friend for staying up and helping me dot the cake!


Lady Torso Cake
This cake was made for one of my sisters, friends, Batchelorette party's


Beach Party Cake
This was made for a double birthday party for my son and father who share a birthday. It was so much fun making all the little fondant pieces for the cake.