Sort of like apple cobbler...with a twist.

So I often end up with giant zucchini that is basically not edible as is. You know the kind that gets all tough and seedy, looks cool, tastes nasty. Mostly from failure to check my garden on a regular basis. A few years ago I ended up with a recipe for these giant vegetables that started saving them from my compost bin. When my neighbor first shared this recipe with me I wasn't so sure about it but I tried it anyways and boy am I glad I did. I hate wasting food, it seriously drives me crazy. So with that in mind and my serious sweet tooth I give you the following recipe for..............zucchini cobbler.......................weird right? As proof that this is worth making I give you photographic evidence, below is a table full of children gobbling up the cobbler, some even finishing and asking for more before I could even snap the picture! Course I didn't really tell them exactly what it was as they started gobbling (I wasn't born yesterday!) but none the less. Yummy! Zucchini cobbler-
8 cups zucchini
3/4 cups sugar
3 tbsp flour
a dash of salt
Cinnamon, more or less to taste
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 (10 ounce) can crushed pineapple
1 box apple oat bran muffin mix (I found this in the Krusteaz brand)
1/2 cup butter melted
1/2 cup nuts chopped (optional)

Peel and cut zucchini lengthwise, strip out the seeds, cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook til tender. Drain. Cool in cold water. Drain. Add sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, cream of tartar and lemon juice. Stir. Add pineapple with the juice and mix. Pour in a greased 9 by 13 baking dish. Spread dry muffin mix over the top. Drizzle the melted butter over the mix and sprinkle the nuts on top. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.

The tougher the zucchini the better because then they don't get to mushy when cooked. The whole thing ends up tasting like an apple cobbler...with a twist.

If you're brave enough to try it let me know! I just ate some again for breakfast. :)

Banana, banana and more banana...

Anyone else out there make banana pancakes on a regular basis? They are a major favorite at our house with my kids and all the daycare kids. I have to make a double batch every time! So since I still don't have anything nice to say I've decided to bless (bore) you with another recipe. This one is super simple and really is a hit with the kiddos. Are you seeing a reoccurring theme with the bananas in this house? I buy about three big bunches every week and I'm usually out before weeks end...house full of monkeys I tell ya...

Pancakes

1 cup flour (what ever type you use)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
1 beaten egg
1 cup buttermilk or milk
*When adding banana to make these banana pancakes combine the milk and banana to make one cup. I usually mash 1 banana and then add enough milk to make one cup. In fact I usually add more milk to the batter after it is mixed because I like my batter thinner for these pancakes. Just depends on your personal taste. I also add a little ground Cinnamon to mine just because I love the why is smells and I think it makes them all the more yummy.

To make this super simple I just mix all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl then make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. I whisk the wet ingredients together in the middle and then slowly mix the dry into the wet. That probably didn't make any sense...Mainly I'm just trying to save a mixing bowl. Anyways it takes seconds to make these puppies and they are delicious. I never knew it was so easy to make pancakes from scratch until a couple years ago when someone shared this recipe with me and now I never buy the mixes.

If you have a big family or super hungry kids you better make a double batch!

Talk about yummy!

You know that old saying, if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all. Well that's were I'm at. So I thought I'd share an awesome recipe instead. It is well worth sharing and if you feel even a little bit like baking don't miss out on this one. It's super easy and super yummy.

The original recipe is listed below, I had to make changes to it because of Atty's many food sensitivities. I'm sure the original is just as yummy though if not yummier (is yummier a word?)

Banana bread (I know what your thinking but this is no ordinary banana bread.)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups ripe mashed banana
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup buttermilk
nonstick cooking spray
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Preheat oven to 350 (makes two loafs or you can use one 9 by 12 cake pan or muffin tins like I do.) I don't use nonstick cooking spray so I just lightly greased the pan with grape seed oil (or what ever high heat oil you use). Set pan aside.
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In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt then set aside.
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In another large mixing bowl beat with an electric mixer the eggs, sugar, and veggie oil on med-low speed- then beat in the flour mixture. Add the vanilla, banana, coconuts and butter milk and beat just until combined.
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Bake for 60-65 minutes.

Now with Atty I can't use any wheat, gluten, dairy or coconut so....
*I substituted the flour for 2 cup rice flour + 1 cup almond flour for a total of 3 cups.
*I leave out the coconut (and it's still yummy).
*I admit though I am too scared to use rice milk in place of the buttermilk, but I don't ever have buttermilk on hand so I just use the substitute for that, sour milk. For this recipe I use 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar and then add enough milk to make a 1/2 cup (let it sit for at least 5 minutes). I got this idea from a Betty Crocker Cookbook. In that book to make sour milk it's a tablespoon of vinegar and then add enough milk to make one cup. It works well, and even though Atty isn't suppose to have dairy it's such a little amount that it doesn't seem to bother him.
*I also used grape seed oil instead of vegetable oil, I think it makes the bread all the more yummy! Plus I feel that it is a bit better for us, so I try to use it as often as possible as a replacement for regular ole veggie oil.
*I also use about 2 cups mashed banana, because I think it makes the bread a little more moist.
*I use around 1 1/2 cups sugar instead of 2, just because.
*Since I don't use coconut I add ground spices to mine like Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg, and Clove. Some or all depending on how I feel. I'm a moody cook. ;)
*I also don't cook mine for 60 minutes, mine cooks way faster then that but it could be because of the flours I'm using. Keep an eye on yours though and take it out if it starts to get too brown, you don't want to over cook this one. One of the things that makes it so yummy is how moist it is.

This recipe calls for way more sugar and oil then I would normally use, but it really does make it yummy so I waver in my convictions I suppose.

So there you go, I sure hope you try it. If I could I would make you all some because it's so delicious everyone should have a chance to taste it. Oh and if you want to make it more like a dessert or coffee cake add Cinnamon sugar or brown sugar to the top before you put it in the oven (if you're not using the coconut, otherwise that might be nasty).

ENJOY!

Wheat free cornbread anyone?

I have a kid with a wheat sensitivity, so we have had to cut all wheat out of his diet (and a lot out of ours too!) to keep him from feeling yucky. It's been a real adjustment for our family, and a new cooking experience for me. I altered a cornbread recipe with great success and I wanted to share it with anyone who has a wheat sensitivity, or if you just want a new delicious cornbread recipe, I guarantee your kids will love it. It is super yummy, my hubby brought it to work, and shared, and even a few of the guys he works with want the recipe! Be warned that my recipes are a fly by the seat of your pants sort of deal, I guesstimate (a combination of guess and estimate, great word!) a lot.

Turn your oven on to 350, put 3 tablespoons of butter in a 9 by 13 glass baking pan (or something close to that size), and place in the oven to melt while the oven is warming up. Make sure the butter does not burn! Keep an eye on it, and take out as soon as it is done melting.

In a big mixing bowl add:

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup soy flour

2/3 sugar (I usually put a little less then this)

1/2 cup corn meal

1 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Mix all of these ingredients together, then make a hole in the middle of the dry mixture and add the following ingredients.

1 1/4 cups milk

1 large egg (Beat separately first, then add.)

You can use 2 eggs instead, but I think the cornbread is more moist with my egg/water combination. If you do put 2 eggs in then do not add the 1/3 cup water listed below.

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil.

Mix all ingredients together well.

Pour the cornbread mixture into the pan with the melted butter, I always gently mix the melted butter in with the cornbread a little bit, but I don't think you have to do this. Word of advice, don't grab the hot glass pan with your bare hands in a hurry to get it in the oven, ouch! Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. The bottom of the cornbread should just be a little brown, do not over cook. Trust me...

You can also do this recipe with no eggs, I had to the other day, and I just used 2/3 cup water, about a tbsp of corn starch, and a little extra oil. I'm really good at getting everything mixed up in the bowl and then realizing that I have no eggs, happens more then I even want to admit!

If you try this cornbread recipe, let me know what you think. Enjoy!