Wow! What Wonderful Zucchini Bread!

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

3 eggs

 2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups flour (up to half may be whole wheat)

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325. Spray two 8 x 4 inch bread pans, or line them with parchment paper. 

In large bowl mix together very well the oil, sugars, vanilla, and eggs. Stir in the zucchini. 

In another bowl mix together the dry ingredients except walnuts. Add to first mixture and mix just until flour dust is mixed in. 

Fold in the walnuts.

Bake 45 to 60 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

(This tastes especially good if the zucchini has been proudly raised in your own garden! And if the veggie is youthful enough that the skin is soft, by all means don't peel it first.)

fresh raspberry scones

(First of all, I've tried a new background from Vintagemadeforyou and I know some of you have had stress with this website when I've used their backgrounds. Please let me know how it works. Hope it will this time---fingers crossed---since it's been a long time ago that I used from here.) Okay, let's get on with this:

2 1/2 cups flour 

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

dash salt

1/2 cup cold butter, cut in pieces

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries

1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat oven to 400. With pastry blender, cut together five ingredients till pea-size chunks form. In another bowl whisk together buttermilk and egg. Mix together wet and dry ingredients just until blended. If it's too thick add a little milk. Fold in the raspberries. On parchment-paper lined pans, pat dough into two circles approximately 3/4" thick and 7" across. Sprinkle with 1Tbsp sugar. Score each circle into 8 wedges with a knife. Bake until golden brown, 15 - 18 minutes. Serve warm with butter or sour cream sweetened with icing sugar and a splash of vanilla.

chocolate crumb bars (aka: inhalation bars!)

(from Jennifer Anne Warkentin Meissen who submitted it to "Southern Country 2" recipe book)

1 cup margarine, softened

1 3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

Beat margarine. Beat in flour, sugar and salt. Press 2 cups crumbs into 9 x 13" pan. Bake @ 350 for 10 - 12 minutes. While baking, melt 1 cup of the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a small saucepan or microwavable bowl. Add vanilla. (I always forget to add this and it still tastes awesome.) Spread over hot crust. Stir the remaining chocolate chips into remaining crumbs. (May have to add a little more flour to make crumbly) Sprinkle over filling. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until middle is set.

I usually double this and bake it in a Costco pan. Chopped walnuts or flaked almonds may also be added to the top crumbs with excellent results. 

"Thanks, Jenny!!!"

iced espresso lattes (French Pressed)

In a French press, dump in 1 1/2 to 2 times as much grounds as you usual do. I used Jake's Blend coffee beans, freshly ground. Let brew as long as normal.
In large glass, dump 1 Tbsp sugar. Pour (hmmm I never measured...) maybe 1/2 cup hot brew. Stir till sugar is dissolved and add ice and milk to fill glass.
This is soooo good you'll keep drinking and drinking so much you won't sleep at night.
NOTE: My boys added some Torrani syrup yet, which was cheating IMO! Yes, I let them. Sigh! Theirs can't have tasted as good as mine. Like imagine cherry flavoring ruining a decadent glass of fresh latte??!! (Don't even GO there!)

Mango Madness Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
3 large very ripe mangoes (each about 13 ounces), peeled, pitted, coarsely chopped
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
Sliced peeled pitted mangoes

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. Stir cracker crumbs and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and stir until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until crust is set, about 12 minutes. Cool completely. Maintain oven temperature.
Puree mangoes in processor until smooth. Set aside 2 cups mango puree (reserve any remaining puree for another use). Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add 2 cups mango puree and beat until well blended Add eggs 1 at a time, beating only till yellow disappears into filling. Pour filling over crust in pan.
Bake cake until set and puffed and golden around edges (center may move very slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool cake 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. Run small knife between cake and sides of pan to loosen. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Cut into wedges and serve with whipped cream and fresh sliced mangoes.


OR~~~Make individual cheesecakes in muffin cups, using a vanilla wafer as the crust. Bake only 25 to 35 minutes. Couldn’t be easier!!

espresso cheesecake bars

"this recipe combines my two loves...coffee and cheesecake..."

2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup soft margarine

2 cups flour

1 cup chopped nuts (opt)

Mix together and reserve 1 cups crumbs. Press the rest of it into 9 x 13" pan.

2 8oz cream cheese

1/2 cup sugar (or a bit more if using espresso powder in copious amounts!)

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

2 Tbsp (or more!) espresso powder dissolved in--

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350F. Beat cream cheese till smooth. Add remaining ingredients. Beat well. Spread on crust and top with remaining crumbs. Bake until lightly browned approximately 1/2 hour. Cool. Cut. Enjoy.

This is soooo good, I simply canNOT leave it alone. THAT'S not good!!!

mocha cream bars (from Wanda from Kristi from...?!)

BROWNIE BATTER

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

3 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups flour

1 cup nuts (optional)

1/3 cup cocoa

MOCHA CREAM

1/2 tsp instant coffee

1 Tbsp hot water

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 Tbsp cocoa

2 cups powdered sugar

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Grease 9 x 13 inch pan. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and salt. Mix well. Add flour. Divide batter in half. Add nuts to one half and spread in pan. Blend cocoa in remaining half and spread over first layer. Bake at 350F for 30 - 35 minutes. Frost when cool.

For Mocha Cream dissolve coffee in water. Add remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy.

OKAY!

That's the original. I changed it around a bunch. To me nuts are never optional unless there are alergies lurking around. Also in the mocha cream, I couldn't bring myself to add a raw egg yolk so I used a few Tbsp cream to make it "mocha CREAM"! Also instead of instant coffee I put in a Tbsp, yes a WHOLE complete TBSP espresso powder. Oooooo these are good! Store in fridge if you have time to get them there before they get eaten.

Dena? Are you there, Dena? Have I ever thanked you for introducing me to espresso powder? My life has changed for the better and I am forever indebted unto you! I ALWAYS use it instead of instant coffee.

mango cream cheesecakes (individuals)

24 vanilla wafers

2 large ripe mangoes, pureed to make 2cups

2 1/2 8oz pks cream cheese, room temp

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 large eggs

whipped cream for garnish

sliced, peeled mangoes

Heat oven to 325F. Place wafers into paper-lined muffin tins.

Whip up the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla till fluffy. Add mango puree and whip up well. Add eggs one at a time, beating only till mixed in. Spoon filling into muffin cups till nearly full. Bake for 25 minutes till edges are golden and filling is set. Cool on counter for an hour, then refrigerate. Garnish with whipped cream and fresh mango slices.

apple fritters

simply THE BEST RECIPE...from my friend Jeanette

1 cup milk, scalded

1 Tbsp margarine

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vinegar

2 apples, shredded

1 egg (beaten with

1/4 cup water)

3 cups flour

4 tsp yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine in order given. Use dough cycle. Drop spoonfuls into hot fat (375F) Glaze with the folowing:

3 cups icing sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp vanilla

(approx!!) 1/2 cup hot water

I had heard of Jeanette's apple fritters before. Oh yes I had. And I'd been told they were sooo good you'd never be the same again after you'd eaten them. This is all true! Believe me. Eat them fresh and hot...

rhubarbjam-from-jars-that-have-unsealed-and-must-be-used-up oatmeal bars

First of all, the origin of this recipe is from Pioneer Woman, but I sure did change it! I doubled it and put it into a Costco pan cuz there was so much jam to use up. I still have half of it left. PW said to use Strawberry Preserves. This version is great, too! Tanner made these, actually. They are a huge hit!

1 3/4 stick cold butter, cut in pieces (translate into Canadian to read 3/4 cup)

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup quick oats

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking powder 

1/4 tsp salt

1 10-12 oz jar preserves, in my case, rhubarb jam-m-m-m-m!!!

Make crumbs outa all ingredients except jammmm. Spray 9x13 pan and press 1/2 crumbs into it. Spoon jam over crumbs, careful not to lift crumbs up. We weren't successful at all with amazing results! Dump rest of crumbs on top and lightly press. Bake @ 350F 30-40 minutes until lightly brown. Cool and cut. Or be like us and snitch while hot. We dreamed of piling on the ice cream, but no one felt like waiting for someone to run downstairs for it! It was instant gratification!

apple cinnamon wraps

(Now, THESE are good! My taste testers passed them with flying banners!!!)

10-12 tortillas (I used whole wheat, homemade of course!)

1 can sweetened condensed milk (divided; used “lite” over here at our house)

1 ½ tsp cinnamon (divided)

½ cup cream cheese (softened)

½ cup sour cream (lite)

6 Granny Smith apples (peeled, shredded)

Mix together sour cream, 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, and ½ tsp cinnamon. Set aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients together, except torts. Fill tortillas generously with apple mixture. Place seam side down in greased 9 x 13 pan. Pour sour cream mixture over. Bake @ 350F for ½ to ¾ hour till hot through and bubbly. (Mine never bubbled. I dunno why, but since that sounds right, I said to bake till bubbly! But they did get hot throughout. The apples were tender crisp still, but that’s how we like them.) Serve hot with ice cream.

NOTE: I made fresh whole wheat torts the other day and wondered if they’d make good dessert wraps. So I decided to wing it and WOW! What a success! Never heard of such before. Since then I've gone online and seen recipes similar.

grace's favorite salty party mix

16 to 18 cups of whatever quantities of the following you like...or substitute anything with anything!!!

(pretzels, nuts, goldfish crackers, ritz bitz, rice chex, krispix, cheerios, honeycomb cereal, life cereal, bugles...)

Melt the following in microwave:

1 cup butter

1/4 cup worcestershire sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, 

cumin and chili powder optional

Mix with dry stuff and bake at 250F for 1 1/2 hour stirring every 20 minutes or so. When cool add a pile of peanut m&m's. (3 cups or more!!!)

craisin party mix from my-friend-rachel

sauce: 

1/3 cup white syrup

1 1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

Boil this for 1 minute and pour over the following stuff:

9 cups Krispix

1 cup craisins

1 cup sliced almonds

(ad-lib on amounts of craisins and almonds. Rachel adds more craisins; I add more almonds.)

Bake at 250F for an hour, stirring every 15 minutes. I always double the recipe and bake it more like an hour and a half, stirring every 20 minutes. Dump out on wax paper to cool. Addicting.

coconut butter

hard margarine or real butter and soft margarine to equal about 1 1/2 cups

1/2 tsp coconut flavoring

1/2 cup icing sugar

2 Tbsp honey

Whip all together and serve with warm fresh bread or hot toast. If you have Torani Coconut syrup, use just butter and syrup to make a fabulous spread.

cinnamon butter

A mixture of either real butter or hard margarine and soft margarine to equal about 1 1/2 cup

2 Tbsp honey

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Whip all together and spread on fresh bread or toast

maple butter

Take a blob of butter or hard margarine that has softened, as well as some soft margarine to keep it soft once you've refrigerated it again. This amount should total (together) approximately 1 1/2 cups. It's not that fussy. Add 1/4 cup maple syrup or if you have that Torani coffee syrup in maple flavor, put in about 2 squirts. Whip together and serve with fresh bread or toast. I actually think that if you don't have either syrups use maple flavoring and 1/2 cup icing sugar and a Tbsp honey.  This is sooo good!

Sharla's Bread Sticks with my own twists and turns

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp onion salt

1 cup very warm water

1 Tbsp yeast

1 Tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp oregano

garlic powder and other good seasonings that I find in the spice rack

1/4 cup oil

2 to 2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup margarine

 fresh shredded Parmesan Cheese

Italian seasoning or oregano or whatever spices look good that day!

Measure first 9 ingredients into Bosch bowl and beat until soft to medium dough is achieved. Let rise; punch; rise again. Melt 1/2 cup margarine in 13 x 18 pan in oven. Roll dough out and lay on top of melted marg. Flip dough so both sides get buttered. Sprinkle with last two ingredients. Cut into strips with pizza cutter and let rise again. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Great with pizza sauce. 

SIMPLIFY! dump all ingredients into bread maker and set to "dough" and let it do the mixing and rising work for you! 

I've never made good bread sticks. Until now.

Laurie's Celebratory Pumpkin Dip

1 can pumpkin or two cups pumpkin puree

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or 1 tsp cinnamon, sprinkle nutmeg, cloves, allspice to taste

1 box instant vanilla pudding

2 cups whipped cream or Cool Whip

Whip 1st 3 ingredients together an fold in whipped cream. (Whipped cream so much better than Cool Whip IMO, Laurie! With all due respect!) You can fill a hollowed out (small) pumpkin and fill with dip. Make tiny gingersnaps and duck them into this and indulge. This was a smashing success when we had a few children over after school for Tanner's birthday.