Zucchini season is upon us . . . . .

It is Zucchini season and I've allready been given lots and lots of it.  My family really likes it just cooked as a vegetable, so I have done this alot.  I just peel it, slice it and put in it a fry pan that I have sprayed with canola cooking spray, I sprinkle it with Nature's Seasoning Salt and just kind of fry it for a couple of minutes, then I put the lid on and let it steam.  They love it.  But my favorite way to eat Zucchinni is in chocolate.  I have tried a couple of recipes for Chocolate Zucchini Cake, but this is my favorite, Chocolate Zucchini Brownies, so try it and enjoy.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownies



1/2 cup canola oil

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 1/2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups Zucchini(shredded)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts(optional)I don't use

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 9 X 13 inch pan. I just line my pan with parchment.  In a large bowl mix together oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended.  Wisk together dry ingredients in another bowl, add to sugar mixture a little at a time.  Fold in Zucchini and nuts.  Batter will be dry and crumbly, don't worry, just spread mixture into pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until brownies spring back when gently touched.  Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Chocolate Frosting

6 TBS cocoa powder

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups powder sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a small sauce pan over low heat, melt together cocoa powder and butter, set aside to cool.  In a bowl blend together sugar, milk, vanilla and cooled butter with cocoa powder, blend well and spread over cooled brownies.  Cut into squares and enjoy!!!!

Some more inspiration from Mom . . . .

Over the July 4th holiday I spent time with my Mom, Dad and the rest of the gang in the July 4th celebration capital of the world, Fillmore, Utah!!!  There is nothing like the 4th in Fillmore, it is truely amazing!!!!  So fun to see all my family.(Shelby is now officially a cowgirl, with boots, hat and belt, oh yea and one of grandpas horses) There is also lots of wonderful food there at our family celebration.  Navajo Tacos for lunch, BBQ hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs for dinner and of course all the sides and salads.  But this recipe is for a casserole my mom made the first night I was there, it was so yummy and not too complicated.  As usual, I tweeked it a little bit to my taste.

Stroganoff Casserole

1 lb ground beef, browned with onion
4 to 5 large potatoes, boiled, skinned and cubed
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese(or whatever you prefer)

Spray medium sized casserole dish with cooking spray.  Mix browned ground beef and soup, simmer on low for about 10 minutes.  Add sour cream and mix well.  Then layer potatoes and meat mixture in casserole dish until gone. Top with cheese.  Cover with foil and cook at 350 for about 45 minutes or until bubbly.  Let sit for at least 5 minutes and serve.

Another Foundant Cake . . . you'd think I'd learn . . . .

My cute little neice Aly is getting married and asked me if I would make her wedding cake . . . I said, "Al, didn't you see in my blog where I said I wasn't going to do that again for a long time?"  She said, "Ya, I waited a few days to ask you."  So cute, anyway, I really wanted to do it for her, I used to babysit her when she was a baby and she is my oldest daughter Brooke's age, so she spent alot of time at our house when they were younger.

I decided that I better get practicing so I did a birthday cake for my girl friends granddaughter's first birthday.  It was going to be great, she wanted a lady bug theme, so I came up with a plan, you know how you always envision things so much better then they actually turn out?  Well thats what happened, it was soooo much better in my head then it actually turned out, although if you didn't look at the back side of the cake it was still pretty cute.  I think I rolled the black fondant too thin, it just started to slide on the buttercream and ripped, it got ugly, there were cuss words flying . . . .to make a long night and long story short, I had to bow out of the wedding cake project, I just wasn't sure I could make her the kind of cake she deserves.  But here is a picture of the good side of the Lady Bug cake.

Cafe Rio Chicken . . . . .Mmmmmm Mmmmmm Mmmmmmm

In Utah we have this amazing Mexican grill called Cafe Rio.  The food is amazing, however, you go through an ordering line and some people including myself do not like this ordering line, it reminds me of the soup place on Seinfeld with the soup Nazi.  If you don't order fast enough or just right, they yell out "First Timer" and that just makes me so nervous, anyone that knows me, knows that the last thing I want is more attention.  Usually I just call in my order and avoid this line all together.  There are lots of Cafe Rio recipies out there, alot of people love the sweet pork, I love the chicken and this is the best set of recipies I have tried, it tastes amazing and is fairly easy, it does take some time to prepare all the extras, but its so worth it.  One thing I will say is, if your going to fix it for a small group, 1/2 the rice recipe, it makes a big batch, the chicken you can always freeze or use in other recipies.  ENJOY!!!!!

Cafe Rio Chicken

5 to 6 large chicken breasts
1 cup zesty italian dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pkt ranch dressing mix
1 cup water
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS ground cumin
2 TBS powder chicken bullion

1. Place chicken in crock pot
2. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour over chicken
3. Cook on low for 5-6 hours
4. Remove chicken from crock pot and shred
5. Add chicken back into the liquid to keep moist and turn crock pot to warm
6. Serve in burritos, salads, tacos, quesadillas etc.  This meat also makes amazing chicken enchiladas,
    and freezes well.


Lime Cilantro Rice

3 TBS butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped fine
2 cloves minced garlic
6 2/3 cups water
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped fine
2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 TBS fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups long grain rice/not minute rice

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic in butter for 2 to 3 minutes, add everything to pot except the rice, bring to a boil stirring well.  Add rice, stir, cover and simmer until all the liquid is incorporated.  Stir occassionally to prevent sticking.

Tomatillo Creamy Dressing

1 pkg Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup mayo
2 tomatillos(peel off skin)
1 clove minced garlic
1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
1 small jalapeno(seeds removed)

Put all ingredients into blender and blend well.  For best flavor do ahead of time and put in fridge until ready to serve.

Just a note on the dressing, last time I made it I forgot the tomatillos, so I just made it without, I didn't notice a difference except in the texture, my daughter actually thought it tasted better without them.  Also you don't have to use the jalapeno, it just adds some heat, if you want more heat, add more, for less heat, add less.  Home grown jalapenos are usually alot hotter then the ones you buy at the store, so add slowly and taste before adding more.