Top 5 Five Best Foods to Hide Zucchini

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Growing up my parents loved their garden.  They honestly made spread sheets about where they were going to plant everything including scaled graphs to make sure they weren’t planting the beets too close to the tomatoes, and that pumpkins would have plenty of room to spread out.   It was serious business.

However the very first year they started planting their garden, before all this scheduling and graph business, they made the mistake of planting 6 zucchini plans. 6!  If you’ve never planted zucchini before let me tell you, these crops can produce!  We had mountains of it, and as a ten year old you can only get excited about zucchini for so long…  which led my mother to get rather creative with it. Turns out she’s not the only one. Check out these great recipes and my Top 5 Best Foods to Hide Zucchini. 

1. Zucchini Bread

This stuff is delicious.  The zucchini keeps the bread nice and moist but you don’t really taste it, instead you taste all the other good stuff you’re using for the bread.  The texture is heavy and thick making it a hearty, dessert like, bread and the bottom line is, it’s delicious.  So good that it’s hard to leave alone, and even as a kid, knowing I never wanted to see another zucchini in my life I couldn’t stay away when my mom pulled out a piping hot loaf of zucchini bread. 

If you’re interested in making some of your own check out this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff: http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2012/10/classic-zucchini-bread.html

2. Zucchini Quinoa Burgers

Okay, I actually haven’t tried this one yet, but I love quinoa and this sounds both interesting and delicious, especially for my veggie loving and vegan friends.  

3. Zucchini Pizza Casserole

Who doesn’t like pizza?  I’m pretty sure both my husband and son could eat it daily, or at least multiple times a week.  What if you could take the deliciousness of pizza and step up the nutritional content?  Sounds like a win in my book, and this recipe is even “contest winning” …  I’m not exactly sure what that means, but it sounds good.

Check out a recipe on Taste of Home: http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/zucchini-pizza-casserole#ixzz3CqNp8VxA

4. Zucchini Nut Bread Cookie Sandwiches

I’d say this is pretty close cousin to the zucchini bread, but a cookie might be easier for little hands to handle or to pack in a school lunch.  Plus these cookies look pretty fancy being all double sided with cream cheese frosting.  Yum.  
See Martha Stewart rocking these cookies and get the recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/349243/zucchini-nut-bread-cookie-sandwiches

5. Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

If you’re really looking to hide all traces of zucchini this might be the best way to go.  The dark color of the cupcakes make the green of the zucchini harder to spot and they are sooo good!  Again they moist and chewy, but so soft and chocolaty.  Is your mouth watering yet?  I love chocolate, and just about anything can be blended with chocolate and still be delicious, zucchini is no exception.  

Check out Your Cup of Cake’s recipe and try them yourself: http://www.yourcupofcake.com/2013/08/chocolate-zucchini-cupcakes.html

What are your favorite ways to use an over abundance of zucchini? 

$300 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway! – (GIVEAWAY ENDED)

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Welcome to the $300 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway!
Hosted by All About Parents
Co-Hosted by David’s DIY & Michigan Savings and More!
Who’s ready for a giveaway?
I know I am! How about a $300 Walmart Gift Card giveaway?
Sounds pretty sweet to me…

One super lucky winner will win a $300 gift card to Walmart obviously right?
This giveaway will run from 9/9 to 9/23. 
There are some amazing bloggers participating in this giveaway so the more love you show the better chance of winning you will have. 
There are many different ways to enter so the choice is yours!
I want everyone to have fun and Good Luck!
The participating bloggers nor Walmart, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest Etc. are associated with awarding the prize for this giveaway. The prize is coming straight from the sponsor. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me anytime, day or night. Thanks for participating!

Tasty Tuesday: Broccoli Salad (Dairy Free & Soy Free)

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Finding foods without dairy or soy led me to eat a lot of salads. Now don’t get me wrong salad is delicious, but when you take out the dressing and call it a frequent main dish, things can get a little boring.  I decided to mix things up and forgo the traditional lettuce salad and try something a little more interesting.  It was great – filling, flavorful, sweet, and crunchy and I ate it as a meal for 3 days…

Also I’m not a huge fan of vinaigrette type dressings.  I’m a ranch girl through and through so having so many salads has been even more uninviting.  I found this poppy seed dressing at my local grocery store and I’m happy to report that it’s dairy and soy free and doesn’t have the same strong flavor as most of the vinegar based dressings.  It’s definitely not ranch, but it works as a decent replacement.  It’s a sweet flavored dressing, but I thought it worked really well on this salad.

Serving size: 4

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ head of broccoli
  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 3 tomatoes
  • 1 red or orange bell pepper 
  • ½ red onion
  • 5 strips of dairy/soy free bacon (I used Butterball turkey bacon)
  • Optional: Brianna’s Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing

Instructions: 

  1. Cook the bacon till crispy using package directions. I usually cook turkey bacon in the microwave, by layering paper towels on a plate and cooking for a minute at a time until they reach desired crispiness.
  2. Once bacon is cooked break or cut it into small ½ inch sized pieces. Put aside.
  3. Chop the broccoli and cauliflower into bite sized chunks. 
  4. Dice the tomatoes, bell pepper and onion.
  5. Mix the broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, pepper and onion in a large bowl. 
  6. Add bacon to the top of the salad just before serving. Drizzle with dressing if desired. 

Book Blast – $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway – (GIVEAWAY ENDED)

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Jubilee’s Journey by Bette Lee Crosby   JUBILEE’S JOURNEY…FPA PRESIDENT’S BOOK AWARD GOLD MEDAL WINNER   When tragedy strikes a West Virginia coal mining family, two children start out on a trek that they hope will lead them to a new life. Before a day passes, the children are separated and the boy is caught up in a robbery not of his making. If his sister can find him, she may be able to save him. The problem is she’s only seven years old, and who’s going to believe a kid?   Reviewer Praise:   An uplifting story of hope, love and the kindness of strangers. Rainy Day Ramblings I was drawn in from the first page and held captive to the end. Jubilee’s Journey makes you believe in the power of the human spirit and the kindness of strangers. The Caffeinated Reviewer Real both in circumstances and dialogue Jubilee’s Journey is a book that will have you up late to finish. It will make you believe that you can triumph over tragedy. Mrs. Mommy Booknerd Crosby’s novels touch my heart big time, and Jubilee’s Journey is no exception. Even the Grinch would be hard-pressed to scowl at the Wyattsville Series books. They’ve got tension and suspense in their mysteries, Southern charm and lessons aplenty. Popcorn Reads
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Excerpts – Popular Highlights:   ” His death came as no surprise to anyone. He was one of the countless men forever lost to the mine. They were men loved and mourned by their families, but to the world they were faceless, nameless people, not worthy of mention in the Charleston Times.”   “When Jubilee said she was scared going to a place she didn’t know, I told her not to worry. I said it was a good thing ‘cause we was going to see an aunt we never even knew we had. Then she started smiling. The whole time I was telling her how good everything was gonna be, I was wishing I had someone to tell me the same thing.”   “I guess God looks past what you claim to want and gives you what you need.”   “We can plan ahead until we’re blue in the face, but regardless of what we do events will happen as they will. The truth is we don’t have a bean of say in the matter.”

 

Author Bette Lee CrosbyAward-winning novelist Bette Lee Crosby brings the wit and wisdom of her Southern Mama to works of fiction—the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away. “Storytelling is in my blood,” Crosby laughingly admits, “My mom was not a writer, but she was a captivating storyteller, so I find myself using bits and pieces of her voice in most everything I write.” Crosby’s work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. Since then, she has gone on to win another fifteen literary awards, including the Royal Palm Literary Award, The Reviewer’s Choice Award, and the FPA President’s Book Award Gold Medal. A third book in her Wyattsville Series is scheduled for release in January 2015 and the third book in the Serendipity Series will follow in the Spring of 2015.

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BookBlast Giveaway $100 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Ends 10/3/14 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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