Zucchini Apple Bread (Healthy)

Another great recipe out of my Taste of Home's Light & Tasty cookbook....I've been asked by a few people for this recipe now, so here you go! Sorry it took so long for me to post...hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Zucchini Apple Bread (Healthier Version)

4 cups all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

2 eggs (reduced from 5 eggs in regular recipe)

¾ cup canola oil (reduced from 1 ½ cups vegetable oil in regular recipe)

1 ½ cups unsweetened applesauce

1 cup sugar (reduced from 2 cups in regular recipe)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup grated peeled apples

½ cup chopped pecans (reduced from 1 cup in regular recipe)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Add the oil, applesauce, sugars and vanilla; beat until blended. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in the zucchini, apples and pecans.

Transfer to THREE 8in x 4in x 2in loaf pans coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake @ 350 for 55-60 min. or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 min. before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 3 loaves

Zucchini Apple Bread

Peachy Chicken Recipe

Thank you Taste of Home for yet another tasty recipe! Here's what we had for dinner tonight...

Peachy Chicken
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz each) You could use larger size, there's plenty of sauce!
1 tbsp vegetable oil (I used natural blend)
1 tbsp butter
1 can (15 1/4 oz) sliced peaches, undrained (I eyeballed 1/2 of a 29 oz large can so I could save 1/2 for another use, plus it was cheaper per oz)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 envelope onion soup mix

Hot cooked rice, optional

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in oil and butter; remove and keep warm. Add peaches with juice, brown sugar, orange juice and soup mix to skillet; stir until combined. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 min.

Reduce heat; return chicken to pan. Simmer, uncovered for 15-20 min. or until chicken juices run clear. Serve over rice if desired. Yield: 4 servings

Peachy Chicken over Brown Rice, Green Beans

Our boys liked it, but they thought the peaches were weird with chicken. My husband really liked it, had good flavor and the chicken was juicy...but he said he didn't care for the peaches because they were too soft. SO, my suggestion would be to try adding in the peaches a bit later in the cooking process since they are canned peaches...they're soft by default! I liked it, peaches and all! :)

2 Week Dinner Planner

2 Week Dinner Plan:

Monday – Cajun Breaded Chicken Tenders, Baked Basil Fries, SD Bread

Tuesday – Spaghetti

Wednesday – Chicken Baked Chops, Brown Rice, Carrots

Thursday – Sweet & Sour Beef over Noodles

Friday – Taco Nachos

Saturday – Pot Roast & Veggies

Sunday – Peachy Chicken, Brown Rice, Green Beans

Monday – Chili & Cornbread

Tuesday – Mosh Posh Night (use up random leftovers)

Wednesday – Teriyaki Turkey Burritos

Thursday – Shredded BBQ Pork Hoagies, Corn Cobs

Friday – Homemade Pizza

Saturday – BBQ Cheeseburgers, Chips & Corn

Sunday – BBQ Turkey Dogs, Pork & Beans

** Chicken, Hamburger, Pork Loin Chips & Beef Roasts were all on great sales last week at Safeway so that’s what I planned most the meals around…that and using what I already had on hand in the freezer or in my pantry. Splitting’ the big family packs into multiple, different meals keeps my grocery costs down. Examples: 1 family pack of hamburger was divided it into 3 meals (spaghetti, chili, burgers) 1 family pack of chicken breasts was divided into 2 meals (I cut 1/2 into tenders and kept 1/2 whole for peachy chicken) 1 family pack of pork loin chops was divided into 2 meals (1/2 kept as chops, 1/2 tenderize in crock pot to shred for hoagies) 1 roast divided into 2 meals (sweet & sour, leftovers for pizza topping)** 

I already had leftover taco meat, a pot roast & ground turkey in my freezer for the other meals not mentioned in examples above. Keep in mind, this is what feeds our family of 5...it may or may not work for your family size!

Corn Dog Muffins

Corn Dog Muffins
2 pkgs (8 1/2 oz each) corn bread/muffin mix (Jiffy is a good, low cost option)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk (you can use regular or fat free)
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn, drained (if all you have on hand is creamed corn (14 oz, undrained), add 5-7 min. cook time)
5 hot dogs, chopped (I use turkey dogs)

In a bowl, combine corn bread mix and brown sugar. Combine eggs and milk; stir into dry ingredients until moistened. Stir in corn and hot dogs (batter will be thin). Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake @ 400 for 14-18 min. (or add 5-7 min.) or until golden brown. Serve immediately and be sure to refrigerate any leftovers. Yield: 18 muffins

Corn Dog Muffins







Our whole family likes these muffins for either lunch or dinner; pair it with some fresh fruit and you've got a well balanced meal that's KID FRIENDLY!

Oatmeal Brownies

Oatmeal Brownies
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (I use old fashioned oats instead)
1 cup M&M miniature baking bits (These rarely go on sale, so it's not often that I add them)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg fudge brownie mix (13x9x2 pan size)

In a bowl, combine the first seven ingredients; mix well. Set aside 1 cup for topping. Pat the remaining mixture into a greased 15x10x1 baking pan OR a 13x9x2 baking dish. Prepare brownie batter according to pkg directions. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved oat mixture. Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. for 15x10x1 OR 28-31 min. or until toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Cut into bars. Yield: depends on pan size!

Oatmeal Brownies

This recipe is pretty versatile for your taste. You can change up the candy chips or change the type of chopped nuts...whatever fits your fancy!

Barbecued Meatballs (Easy Homemade Sauce!)

This recipe is straight from Taste of Home's Quick Cooking Cookbook, it's perfect just the way it is and we all love it...alot! The texture is different than most meatballs, but it's such a minor detail...the taste is delicious!

Barbecued Meatballs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk (I have substituted 1/2 cup regular milk when out of evap, it works fine)
1 cup quick-cooking oats (If you're out of quick oats use 3 packets of regular instant oatmeal, works great!)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (prefer 93/7)

Sauce:
     1 cup ketchup
     3/4 cup packed brown sugar
     1/4 cup chopped onion
     1/2 tsp liquid smoke, optional (gives it a great flavor, try it!)
     1/4 tsp garlic powder

In a bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 in. balls and place in a greased 13x9x2 baking dish (you'll need 2 dishes, trust me!).  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 18-20 min. or until meat is no longer pink.  Meanwhile, combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 2 min, stirring frequently.  Pour over meatballs. Bake 10-12 min. longer. Yield: approx. 48 meatballs

Barbecued Meatballs

Support Your Schools One Code At A Time

I wanted to share with you how easy it is to make a difference in your community and show support for your local schools...with the help of a program called My Coke Rewards. I'm sure many of you have noticed on coke products there are codes on either the packaging or in the lids. Those codes can be collected and redeemed for school supplies or athletic equipment for the registered school of your choice. If your school isn't already registered, sign up to be a coordinator! I did!

Anyone who knows me well, knows that my mind is always goin' a 100mph...always thinkin' of ways to save $, always thinkin' of ways to reuse/recycle/donate, and always tryin' to find ways to help others by whatever means I can, most times for little or no cost. Thinking outside the box, turning nothing into something...it's an entertaining challenge sometimes!

My latest venture, was finding a way for our local Little League to give back to the community by showing support to the families that help support us. I came across the My Coke Rewards for Schools program and a light bulb turned on...I thought to myself, I'm in charge of Concessions this year for North Mason Little League and we're gonna be selling ALOT of coke products in there! I can collect all the codes and redeem them for one of our local schools...so that's what I did. I chose the school my sons go to, contacted the principal, and asked for permission to sign up as the coordinator. This year I only collected codes from our Concessions and our home, but for next year, the principal has asked me to get our student's parents involved too and really see what kind of reward pts we can rack up!

Our active baseball season came to a close last night with the ending of All Stars, and our grand total Coke Reward pts was 797! At the request of our principal, I redeemed the pts for school supplies for the classrooms....and to benefit the most students, I opted to redeem the pts for pencils. Lots of pencils...132 to be exact, 11 (12 ct) pks of HB #2 pencils will be arriving at our school in 2-4 weeks!

It didn't cost our league any $ to benefit/donate to a school in our area, we were going to be selling the coke products anyways...but now, one of our schools will benefit from it and COMMUNITY SUPPORT COMES FULL CIRCLE. If you're interested in doing something similar for your kids' school or local community check out this website below and it'll explain everything you need to know on how to get started. It doesn't have to cost you a thing to make a difference!!

http://www.mycokerewards.com/mcrSchools.do?tab=1