Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

With one large zucchini I had quite the baking day.

all of this from one zucchini---2 chocolate zucchini cakes,
 3 loaves of bread, a dozen muffins

The Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake recipe comes from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, always a great source for baking recipes.

Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c shredded zucchini
1 c chocolate chips

Glaze

1/2 c cream
3/4 c chocolate chips
2 tsp corn syrup  (I make a similar glaze for another recipe without the corn syrup so I omitted this)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, grease and dust tube pan with cocoa.
Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt in medium bowl.
In mixing bowl blend sugar and oil together, then add eggs, buttermilk & vanilla mix well.
Add flour mixture alternately with zucchini till blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared tube pan.  Bake about 45-50 minutes.  Let cool about 15-20 minutes then remove from tube pan, slide knife around edges to ease the cake out of the pan.

When completely cooled mix glaze mixture in top of double boiler stir till smooth then drizzle over cooled cake.

options:  this would be great with walnuts stirred in batter, add a couple tsp of cinnamon, dried cherries

when making something chocolate I dust the pan
with cocoa instead of flour

you could use a bundt pan or a 9 x 13 pan

a special treat this day I had duck eggs from a friend who owns
a duck farm.......the give baked goods a richer flavor

I made it to this stage then froze it, when defrosted it gets
a chocolate glaze or you could dust it with confectioner sugar

Sweet Potato Casserole

The holiday cooking begins!  You have to love a recipe that can be made ahead, frozen, baked and served when needed.  Having some menu items ready to go takes a ton of stress off the day of cooking.  This recipe has been made by my family for years, I originally thought my dad's mother started it so when I asked her for the recipe she gave it to me but then told me she got it from my Aunt on my mom's side.  Aunt Ann originally from Arizona but a long time resident of Pennsylvania introduced this recipe to the family and it was an instant hit.  There are many versions out there, I'm sure many people have tweaked it over the years as I also have made minor changes.  You can't go wrong with anything under this topping!  This is my most requested recipe from friends.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 c sweet potato cooked and mashed 

1/2 c sugar (I totally omit this and cannot tell the difference)

1/2 c butter

1/3 c milk

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Mix this all together in a large bowl with a hand mixer till just blended.  Pour into casserole dish and top with topping below.

topping:

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c flour

1/3 c butter

mix with a fork or pastry blender

stir in 1 c pecans

Top casserole dish with pecan mixture and bake at 350° for 30 min or till heated through with the topping bubbly.

If you choose to make this ahead make it completely then cover it tightly with aluminum foil or lid if your dish has one and freeze.  Take out the night before you need it to defrost in the fridge.  If you are short on fridge space put it in an ice chest in the garage so that it is cool but not freezing. 

Another tip for less stress in the kitchen during this busy cooking season is to make a little extra for your dinner when you are cooking ahead to put things in the freezer.  Roast a turkey breast or cutlets, if you've made your stuffing/dressing and sweet potato ahead you can have a mini Thanksgiving meal.  Also if I am doing a ton of cooking in one day or my fridge is full for the big day the night before is a good time to order that pizza!

Add caption

The handwritten recipe from my grandmother.

Nana's Stuffed Bell Peppers

Jim and Dorothy (Taylor) Langon
1953 (baby Jim in carriage)

Jim and Dorothy Langon 2009

Bill (Sylvanus) Taylor / Dorothy Augustine Taylor

I married into an Irish/Italian family, there are a few other nationalities in there but these are the dominate ones.   James Patrick Langon 100% Irish, Dorothy Marie Langon 50%Italian and 50% blend of English, German, Lenape Indian, Dutch...   If you are into heritage or culture you will find the Irish/Italian combination is quite common.  It is from my mother in laws Italian side we get a lot of traditional recipes adapted over the years to the changing markets, preferences or lifestyles.  We raised our kids with lots of stories of family, heritage, traditions, all cultures, and a whole lot of history.  Family connections are so important we both enjoy this and feel it makes our lives richer.  Over the years there have been many school projects that involve digging into family history and interviewing relatives although we still find new stories we hadn't heard before.


Wow, I am married over 30 years and this recipe has been a favorite whenever my Mother in Law makes it.  Why haven't I made them before?  Looking at the big display of peppers at the store it was like a light went off.  I called her from the store picked, up what I needed and tried it out.  Now they weren't hers, no matter what it is there is always something different about a recipe someone made for years.  I am convinced that the kitchen, equipment, where you shop, everything affects the outcome.  Knowing I can't fully recreate them I made a few twists as I usually do.  They were enjoyed thoroughly and will be made again.  I like the idea of anything you make ahead, this is a good meal for that also.  It can be its own meal as is or add a salad & crusty bread.

Nana's Stuffed Peppers

1 1/2 lbs Ground beef/chuck/ sirloin
4 large green bell peppers
2 stalks celery (chopped finely_
1/4 c grated Parmesan
1 egg
1/2 c bread crumbs
salt
pepper                   >to taste
Italian seasoning
raisins  (optional)
favorite red sauce (homemade if you have time, my favorite jarred is Prego traditional)

Slice off the top of the green peppers, chop up the edges and saute the chopped pepper with the ground beef and celery.   Blend in Parmesan, egg, bread crumbs mix until bread stuffing type consistency.  Scoop into peppers, place peppers into baking dish that allows them to stand up, you can place ramekins in dish to help hold them up.  Pour a small amount of water into the bottom of the baking dish, top each pepper with sauce and add grated cheese to top if desired.  Bake about 30 min at 350º.

Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Ricotta Stuffed Shells

This is the basic recipe for Stuffed Shells, very similar to the recipe on the box I'm sure.  What a go to meal for a crowd, to make ahead, to make vegetarian, to make extra and freeze, it works for some many different occasions.  I never look at a recipe for this, you can always wing it and it is always good.



Box of large pasta shells
favorite red sauce (I have started adding capers to my sauce I like the bit of zip it gives it)
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzarella shredded
Parmesan shredded (fresh makes a huge difference)
parsley
1-2 eggs (to desired consistency)

Boil pasta --do not over cook!
Mix cheeses, parsley, eggs and any other add ins you like together.

Add in possibilities depending what you have on hand or want:

spinach, kale and leafy dark green (steamed or sauteed can be mixed into cheese mixture)
mushrooms (added to sauce or layered under shells)
chicken or ground beef or sausage ( add to sauce or layer on bottom)

Spread sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 pan, fill shells, line shells on top of sauce, drizzle sauce over shells, sprinkle with more grated cheeses.  Bake at 350 for about 30 min.  If you made it ahead and refrigerated it let come to room temp and it may need a few more minutes of baking.  If you froze it take it out the day before and put in refrigerator it takes forever to thaw.