Sweet Sundays

Last month I helped with a baby shower for a friend and we used a "nesting theme"...cute little owls and such.  I volunteered to do the favors for the guests, and with the help and ideas from creative friends, I chose to make Bird Nest Bites.  We individually wrapped them in small, plastic bags with a tag and ribbon loop and hung them from branches that were secured in a metal bucket that was filled with large rocks...darling!! :)

Recipe:  Bird Nest Bites

12 oz. bag chocolate chips
1/3 c. peanut butter
3 c. chow mein noodles
1 1/2 c. krispie rice cereal

Pour chips into 4 cup measuring bowl. Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and add peanut butter. Microwave 1 minute, or until just melted (too long and the chocolate might burn). Stir in noodles and cereal. Cover cookie sheet with waxed paper. Drop spoonfuls of Bird's Nests on waxed paper...OR spray mini muffin tin with cooking spray and mold the nest mixture to create small "nests".  Add candy (egg-like pieces...I used jelly belly beans) on top of each "nest".  Let cool in refrigerator.

Critiques:  Everyone loved them...and they were very darling on the branches...I will post a picture soon of the set-up!

Sweet Sundays

 

One of my favorite dessert combinations is chocolate and peanut butter!  This light recipe melds those yummy flavors without the guilt!

Sous Chef:  Anna

Recipe:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Parfaits  (by Light Cooking Cookbook)

2 cups plus 2 T. cold fat free milk, divided
2 T. chunky peanut butter
1 cup thawed whipped topping
1 package (4-serving size) Chocolate Sugar-Free, Fat Free Instant Pudding

Add 2 T. milk to peanut butter; stir until well blended.  Stir in whipped topping.

Pour the remaining 2 cups milk into medium mixing bowl.  Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes.  Spoon half the pudding mixture into 6 parfait glasses; cover with whipped topping mixture.  Top with remaining pudding mixture.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Weight Watchers Points for 1 of 6 servings:  3 Points

Critiques ~
Megan: "Taste like a peanut butter cup."
Anna: "I like this!"
Amelia:  "Good! Tastes like a peanut butter cup."

Sweet Sundays

I LOVE lemon bars, and this recipe is not too sweet and is pretty light too :)

Sous Chef:  Megan

Recipe:  Luscious Lemon Bars (Light Cooking Cookbook, 1994)

Crust:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. fat free milk

Filling:
1 egg
1 egg white
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3 T. fresh lemon juice (about the juice of 1 lemon)
2 T. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder

Drizzle:
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 T. fat free milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. grated lemon peel

1. Heat oven to 350. Oil bottom of 8-inch square pan lightly.

2. For crust, combine 1/4 cup oil, sugar and salt in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.  Add flour and milk.  Stir with spoon until well mixed and  crumbly.  Spoon into pan.  Press evenly onto bottom.

3. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

4. For filling, combine egg, egg white, sugar, lemon peel, lemon juice, flour and baking powder in medium bowl.  Beat at high speed for 3 minutes.  Pour over hot baked crust.

5. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.  Loosen from edge while still warm.  Cool completely.

6. For drizzle, combine the ingredients in a small bowl.  Drizzle over top.  Allow to stand before cutting into bars.

Weight Watchers Points for 1 bar (pan makes 2 dozen bars):  2 Points

Critiques:
"So good!"

Sweet Sundays

With Thanksgiving week behind us, we can now begin celebrating Christmas! My all-time favorite Christmas cookie is the Snickerdoodle!  Today we dressed them with different holiday colored sugars and they turned out great :)

Sous Chef: Brian

Recipe: Holiday Snickerdoodles (by Betty Crocker)

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 400ºF.
2. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
3. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

Critiques:
The children were so very anxious to try these and all wanted at least a 1/2 dozen each!!

Sweet Sundays

This is my all time FAVORITE brownie recipe!! A couple years ago I watched the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) make these on the Food Network and when I first tried to recreate them, they were a hit and have been ever since :)

Sous Chef: Megan

Recipe: Outrageous Brownies (by the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network)

Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder (I don't use or buy coffee, so I never add this)
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces (we don't have a lot of nut lovers in our family, so I don't add them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts (didn't add them) and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Critiques ~
Yummy!!!

Sweet Sundays

My quest to make a pie crust continued tonight! I used the recipe that my friend used on the night she brought her delicious Apple Pie! It was very easy to make and it turned out pretty good.

Sous Chef: Brian

Recipe: Peach Pie (pie crust courtesy of Angie Penrose & Peach Pie by Betty Crocker)

Two-Crust Pie
2 cups flour
¾ tsp. baking powder
Pinch salt
2/3 cup oil
1/3 cup milk

Mix ingredients together and divide in half. Roll each half between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Place one rolled out crust into pie plate and poke with fork.

Peach Pie
2/3 cup sugar (we only used ½ the sugar because we decided to use homemade canned peaches)
1/3 cup flour
¼ tsp. cinnamon
6 cups sliced peaches (if you use fresh peaches also add 1 tsp. lemon juice and 1 T butter to dot on top of fruit before adding second layer of crust)

Pre-heat oven to 425. Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon in large bowl. Stir in peaches. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2-3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. Remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

Bake about 45 minutes or until crust in brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool in pie plate on wire rack (it prevents the crust from getting soggy). Serve warm if desired.

Cooked and cut...

Critiques ~
Everyone said, “Wonderful!”

NOTES: I thought there was a very small bit of an oil after taste if I ate the pie crust by itself, but when I combined all the flavors in my mouth, I didn’t notice it at all! It did turn out very flaky and delicious :)

Sweet Sundays

I had planned on posting this recipe last night, but it obviously didn't happen! This recipe turned out good, but not as good as it normally does...I was in a hurry, and didn't take the time to make it great...and we didn't have any walnuts!! (Side note to "my emergency pantry friend": I would have called you, but like I said, I was trying to rush and by the time I realized, it was too late!)

Sous Chef: Amelia

Recipe: Oatmeal Cake (given to me by my mother)

1 cup quick oatmeal, uncooked
¼ cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
8 oz chocolate chips
½ cup walnuts
¼ cup sugar

Topping:
3 T butter
¾ cup brown sugar
4 tsp milk
2 egg yolks
1 cup walnuts
1 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Add oats to 1 ¼ cup boiling water and set aside. Cream margarine, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Combine spices and flour and add to creamed mixture. Add oatmeal. Grease and flour 9x13 pan. Pour mixture into pan and top with chocolate chips, walnuts and sugar. Bake for 30 minutes. While baking, melt butter and combine remaining ingredients. May substitute cream for milk if a richer topping is desired. Spread on top of finished cake and broil until nicely browned, about 5 minutes (watch carefully!...Really! I usually keep the oven door open and watch it, but this time I got distracted, and ended up making the topping a bit more brown than normal...AND I didn't have walnuts, so it didn't look or taste as good!)

Critiques ~

Brian: "Too many chocolate chips!" (He doesn't even like chocolate chips in cookies)

Zachary: "Wonderful!"

Anna: She didn't want to try it, she only wanted ice cream.

Amelia: "Good."

Sweet Sundays

HALLOWEEN CANDY.....LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of it!! ;)

BTW, the reason for the major lapse in postings has been due to the creation of Halloween Costumes this past week!! We had so much fun coming up with our costume version of Mother Nature and her Four Seasons! :)

Sweet Sundays

My wonderful husband, Brian, celebrated his birthday this week, and since he was out of town in Alaska on his actual birthday, we have been celebrating this weekend :) I know he loves Rice Pudding, so I thought I would try to make it for dessert tonight. Happy Birthday Brian!!

Sous Chef: no takers...too busy building forts! ;)

Recipe: Rice Pudding (not sure of the origin)

3 eggs

2 T. honey

6 T. sugar

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk (I used part milk and part half & half, that needed to be used up)

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1/2 cup raisins (I didn't add them because Brian doesn't care for raisins)

Beat eggs. Add honey, sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, and mix well. Stir in vanilla, milk, rice and raisins. Place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. Stir after 25 minutes.

NOTES: After tasting this recipe the rice didn't seem soft enough. Next time, I will make sure the rice is really well cooked and add it to the mixture hot...my rice was leftover and had been cold in the refrigerator. Perhaps that will soften the rice....??

Critiques:

Megan: "This is good."

Zachary: "Mmm...good stuff mom!"

Anna: "I'm too full..." (not sure if this counts as negative because she didn't even try it.)

Amelia: "Good."

Brian, the Birthday Guy's opinion, the one that really counts: "It's okay...I prefer the texture of store bought rice pudding." (softer rice & more pudding like...ours turned out more custard like).

Me: I agree with Brian :)

Sweet Sundays

Sous Chef: Megan (she was very excited that she got to help on a Sunday because usually that is Brian's day)

Recipe: APPLE CAKE (recipe from mom)

4 cups apple, thinly sliced or shredded

2 eggs

1/2 cup applesauce (may substitute 1/2 cup oil)

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I use 1/2 wheat & 1/2 white flour)

1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon

6 oz chocolate chips or other optional ingredients (nuts or coconut)

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs. Add applesauce (may substitute ½ cup oil), sugar, vanilla & sliced or grated apples. Stir in soda, salt, flour (may use white flour) & cinnamon. Add chocolate chips, nuts, coconut or other optional ingredients. Pour into greased & floured 9x13 inch pan. Bake until cake pulls away from sides of pan; about 30-40 minutes. Top with powdered sugar when cool.

Critiques ~

Guest (Karen, my sister): "Delicious!"

Megan: "I think it would taste better with less chocolate."

Zachary: "This is beyond delicious!!"

Anna: "It's so good!"

Amelia: "Good."

Sweet Sundays

Today was one of the days for the 179th Semiannual General Conference for the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As a family we typically watch the conference sessions at home on television, which includes some fun traditions. A newly added, and highly anticipated tradition, is making Cinnamon Rolls for Sunday Morning breakfast! Some close friends of ours shared this wonderful idea with us, and of course the children loved the idea, and it was quickly adopted :) The first time we made cinnamon rolls, we tried a couple different recipes, but all agreed that this recipe is our favorite!

Sous Chef: Megan (who begged to stay up late Saturday night to help, in exchange for rubbing her mother's tired feet!)

Recipe: Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls (Young Women Online Recipe Book)

Dough:

1 1/4 pkg active dry yeast or 1 T.

1 cup warm milk, 100 to 105 degrees

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

Filling:

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 1/2 T. cinnamon (I think that is too much, so I only ever add 1 1/2 T.)

1/3 c. butter, softened

Icing:

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Dissolve yeast in warm milk in large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs and 1/2 the flour. Mix well (I use my Kitchen-aid and kneading attachment) for a few minutes to build elasticity. Add remaining flour a little at a time until dough is tacky to the touch. Continue kneading for a few more minutes. Put in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size. (Since we were out late Saturday night, I put my dough in the fridge and let part of the rising process take place over night, and in the morning I put it in a warm place to come to room temperature).

Pre-heat oven to 400. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface. Roll until flat and approximately 21 inches long and 16 inches wide and 1/4 inch thick. For the filling combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spread the softened butter evenly over the surface, and sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the buttered dough. Working carefully roll the dough into a tight "log".

Cut the rolled dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices (trying to keep them all the same size, so they bake evenly). Place the pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light brown on top. Pre-baked picture....

While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients. Beat well with a hand mixer. When the rolls come out of the oven, coat each roll generously with icing. Makes 12 (I actually cut ours smaller, so we had 15). Just out of the oven (I squeezed the rolls in tight, so as they baked they expanded up; spacing them apart a bit, will help next time, although it didn't effect the taste at all!)....

Critiques: We think they taste pretty close to the real Cinnabon Bun! ;) They were loved by all, and the children kept requesting them throughout the day even though they were all eaten at breakfast time! :)

Sweet Sundays

Fall is here and for me, that gives the green light for Pumpkin recipes!! I really love pumpkin desserts! This is a yummy pumpkin recipe that was published in a community newsletter when we lived in Florida years ago. It tends to be a bit too rich, so either serve with a tall glass of milk, or reduce the cake mix topping and melted butter! :)

Sous Chef: Brian

Recipe: Pumpkin Cobbler

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
1 can pumpkin or 2 cups of grated fresh
1 tsp pumpkin spice
1 box yellow cake mix
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Combine eggs, sugar, milk, pumpkin and pumpkin spice in a bowl & mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Crumble dry yellow cake mix over pumpkin batter and drizzle butter over mix (OR, I have also mixed the yellow cake mix with the butter first and dropped spoonfuls on top…also good) Then, sprinkle chopped walnuts on top (I have never used walnuts…might be good). Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let cool about 30 minutes and then serve.

Critiques ~

Megan: "Delicious!"

Zachary: "Good, but I like peach cobbler better."

Anna: "The pumpkin pie is so great!" (Okay, maybe she is my child :)

Amelia: "Good!"

Sweet Sundays

A few months ago Brian came home from one of his business trips and was raving about the bread pudding that he had at a Whole Foods store, so we looked up our local Whole Foods store, but were disappointed to learn that they do not carry that particular item :( Instead, we tried to recreate the same dish, and although we haven't got it yet, we still enjoy trying new Bread Pudding recipes and eating them too!

Sous Chef: Brian (most Sundays)

Recipe: Croissant Bread Pudding (from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook) & White Chocolate Cream Sauce (I think the sauce comes from Emeril)

Ingredients

3 extra-large whole eggs

8 extra-large egg yolks

5 cups half-and-half

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

6 croissants, preferably stale, sliced horizontally (see notes for moderation)

1 cup raisins (we used, yes you guessed it, peaches! ...we haven't tried peaches before and we thought it might be good...don't worry I will start including other desserts that don't use peaches!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar, and vanilla. Set the custard mixture aside. I did this next part a bit different: (Slice the croissants in half horizontally. In a 10 by 15 by 2 1/2-inch oval baking dish, distribute the bottoms of the sliced croissants, then add the raisins, then the tops of the croissants (brown side up), being sure the raisins are between the layers of croissants or they will burn while baking.)

I did it this way: Cut the croissants in one-inch cubes. In a 10 by 15 by 2 1/2-inch baking dish, layer peaches and then the croissant cubes.

Pour the custard over the croissants and allow to soak for 10 minutes, pressing down gently. (Because we used peaches we added a sprinkle of cinnamon on top) Place the pan in a larger one filled with 1-inch of hot water. Cover the larger pan with aluminum foil, tenting the foil so it doesn't touch the pudding. Cut a few holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 40 to 45 more minutes or until the pudding puffs up and the custard is set. Remove from the oven and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

White Chocolate Cream Sauce

1 T. cornstarch
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 T. water, cold
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup white chocolate, chopped

Whisk cornstarch, almond extract & water together until smooth and set aside. Scald cream over medium heat. Add cornstarch mixture to hot cream, whisking constantly, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, whisking 30 seconds. Remove from heat, add sugar and white chocolate. (I also added about a 1/3 cup of the reserved peach juice, which made it a bit too sweet, so perhaps if I use the peach juice next time, I will reduce the sugar amount).

To create the water bath we put the bottom pan into the oven with a bit of water in the pan, so it could become hot while the oven preheated, then we continued like this...

In water bath...

In water bath with foil tent...

Just out of the oven...

However in hind sight, we would have done things a bit differently. We would have put the bottom pan in the hot oven cold without water, then put the bread pudding pan on top, then added the hot water (boiling on stove top first) into the bottom pan and then put the foil tent on top so we could actually secure the foil tent to the bottom pan without burning our fingers! :) Oven mitts would have been helpful too, but I can't find mine!!

Critiques:

Megan: "Mmmm..."

Zachary: "Awesome!"

Anna: one bite..."Yuck!!" (I'm now convinced she did not come from my womb!)

Amelia: "Good!"

Sweet Sundays

This is one of our favorite dessert recipes! My good friend, Lisa who lives in Georgia, shared this recipe with me years ago. Lisa comes from a long line of wonderful southern cooks, and always creates delicious food! However when I asked her for the recipe is was a bit difficult at first because Lisa is a "little of this, and a little of that" kind of cook, so she really had to pay attention to the exact amounts before she could actually write down the recipe for me :) Thank you Lisa, you are amazing and I miss you tons! :)

Sous Chef: Brian (my typical helper on Sundays)

Recipe: Lisa's Peach Cobbler

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 stick butter, melted
¾ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 (16 oz) can peaches (I used a jar of peaches that I canned last week :)
Cinnamon

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Melt butter. Add butter, milk and vanilla to dry ingredients. Stir and pour into a 9x13 pan. Drain fruit (I like to add a little bit of peach juice to the batter too) and place onto batter. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

NOTES: I recently took a quick breads class, and the main thing that the chef stressed over and over again was how to correctly combine ingredients. Combine dry ingredients, Combine wet ingredients and only after your oven is pre-heated and your pan is ready THEN combine together the wet and dry and quickly get the product in the oven, so the baking powder or baking soda reacts in the oven not waiting on your counter top :) DRY, WET, Combine, OVEN! :) This creates a perfect consistency when baking! :)

Critiques ~

Brian: "This is the best cobbler you've ever made!" (BTW, I make this about once a month :)

Megan: "Two thumbs up!"

Zachary: "Super good, thank you mom!"

Anna: "This is perfect!"

Amelia: "Mmmm...Good!"

Sweet Sundays

This weekend we ordered a couple crates of peaches and since fruit crisps are my favorite, I decided to make a Peach Crisp! However, I especially love Apple Crisp, and we had some apples that needed to be used up, so we made a small pan of each! The battle is on... APPLE vs. PEACH...you decide! :)

Sous Chef: Brian

Recipe: Apple OR Peach Crisp

6 medium apples (or peaches)

½ cup sugar (I very seldom add this; depends on fruit sweetness)

1 tsp cinnamon

3 T flour (I forgot the flour in the peach dish and it still turned out great)

Topping (I always DOUBLE this topping...below is not doubled)

½ cup margarine

¾ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg

½ cup quick oatmeal, uncooked
½ cup flour

2/3 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Slice, core and peel enough apples to fill 9x13 pan, about 6 medium apples. Toss apples with ½ c. sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 3 T. flour. Mix remaining ingredients as topping. Crumble topping mixture over apples. Bake 45 minutes. (I think this recipe only ever needs 30 minutes!)

Voting Outcome~

Brian: Peach

Emily: Peach (only because the peaches were more juicy and made for a really nice fruity syrup when they were cooked with the sugary topping :)

Megan: Apple

Zachary: Peach

Anna: She didn't want to have any because she was still full from dinner (I'm really not sure if she is my child...passing up dessert, couldn't be!! ;)

Amelia: Both!

Sweet Sundays

As my husband and I were in a check-out line last night, I was browsing through Paula Deen's Best Dishes Special Collector's Issue and found a wonderful recipe for Blueberry Cheesecake. I was contemplating a blackberry dessert for today, since we had picked blackberries at my parent's house Saturday, and I thought blackberries would a perfect substitution! We followed the recipe exactly, and it turned out wonderful!!! :)

Sous Chef: Brian

Recipe: Blackberry Cheesecake (by Paula Deen, originally Blueberry)

Instead of typing out the whole recipe, I found it online at Paula Deen's website :)

Critiques: Only positive! The only comment that might seem negative was that they all needed a glass of milk because the cheesecake was so rich ;)

Sweet Sundays

This has become a quick favorite at our house! The recipe is found all over the Internet, so I'm not sure who needs the credit. I first made it for a "Garden Parade" Enrichment Activity 2 weeks ago, and I loved it so much, that I've made it 2 times since then! Enjoy :)
Sous Chef: Amelia
Recipe: Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake

3 cups zucchini, peeled and shredded
1- 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1 tsp lemon extract (optional, which I used)
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
zest of 1 lemon
2 cups blueberries

Beat zucchini, sugar, eggs, oil, and lemon extract. Sift together dry ingredients and stir in lemon zest. Mix dry ingredients into wet and fold in the blueberries gently. Pour into a well greased and floured Bundt cake pan. Bake at 325 for about 65 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean. Let sit in pan for 5-10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely and frost with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

3 Tbsp soft butter
3 oz soft cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
dash salt
zest of 1 lemon (2-3 tsp)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (approximately)

Beat butter and cream cheese till smooth. Add powdered sugar, salt, zest, and enough lemon juice to make a spreadable consistency.

Here is the cake cut...good stuff!!

Children's Critiques:
Megan: "Yummy!"

Zachary: "I can't even taste the zucchini!"

Anna: "I don't really like the blueberries" then 1 minute later..."I don't want to eat this."

Amelia: "This is good!"