Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread

It's Monday morning, of a holiday weekend, and I'm sharing something fairly healthy. I know, I know. Don't get mad yet though, just trust me.

Imagine a cheddar bay biscuit.... in bread form. With barely noticeable shredded zucchini in it. That's what I am sharing with you today. I know, everyone is probably getting tired of the zucchini recipes. I know we're nearing the end of the season, but I wanted to share one more! (No promises that it's the last one, though.) I am a firm believer that you can't have too many zucchini recipes. Especially this time of year-- we've had it all summer, now some people are getting sick of it and need something different to do with it. Well, this is perfect! 

Because, really, who doesn't love cheddar bay biscuits?? I know we do. From Red Lobster or homemade, doesn't matter, I could eat them all day long. Same thing with this bread! (And I think Adrian could too; he devours every piece I give him!) Since it's made in bread form vs. biscuit form, it's slightly easier to make, too. The applesauce & zucchini in it make it slightly healthier, too. It's not GREAT for you, but you can eat least feel good about eating it.

Printable Recipe

Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Garlic (or garlic powder)
• 3 cups shredded zucchini, drained
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil *if you don't want to use applesauce, just use 1/4 cup oil. However, I have not tried it this way.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and Garlic Garlic. Add the zucchini, and cheddar; stir to combine.
3. In separate small bowl, combine the eggs, milk, applesauce, and oil. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently stir together just until moistened.
4. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan to cool. Serve warm.

Yield/Time

10 slices

1 hour 15 minutes

Nutrition Facts *I calculate nutrition facts for reference only, this is not done scientifically

182/slice

Source (for original): Gather for Bread

Remember, comments are loved! Share your zucchini recipes!

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Zucchini

Anyone still have buckets of zucchini? As in, literally bucketfuls of zucchini? That's the way it was at my grandparent's/mom's garden this year, but it's always like that. I have quite a bit in the freezer, but they keep telling me to take more home. Who am I to say no? ;)

I love to just lightly batter and fry it, but this year I made the effort to do more with it. That meant there was quite a lot of "zucchini" searches on Pinterest and my favorite blogs.

This recipe struck me as soon as I saw the title-- garlic, parmesan, chicken, and zucchini all in one? Yes, please!! I am not a huge fan of frying chicken, but trust me--this is worth it!! This is crispy, golden perfection, with tons of zucchini (and/or summer squash!) to go with it!

We had almost as much summer squash as zucchini, so I of course had to add summer squash too. Gabriel is currently going through an "I don't like summer squash" phase, which can be interesting. While he was more than willing to eat his zucchini and chicken, I had to convince him to eat the summer squash. How I did it? Reminded him that he likes garlic and parmesan, and this has lots of each. And, that summer squash is basically the same as zucchini, we pick them from plants that look just alike. 

I love it when I successfully use logic on my 4 year old. It make me feel like maybe we've got this parenting thing down. (Until, you know, there is a full scale temper tantrum because I did something like stir his chocolate milk when he wanted to.) 

Hopefully, if you are feeding this to small children, you have as much luck as I did getting them to eat their veggies. (Well, this time, at least.) 

Printable Recipe

Crispy Garlic Parmesan Chicken & Zucchini

Ingredients

1. 5 Tablespoons butter, divided
2. 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
3. 1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon grated parmesan, divided
4. 2 tablespoon flour
5. 3 teaspoons Garlic Garlic (or garlic powder, or 3 garlic cloves), divided
6. 2 Chicken Breasts, sliced in half
7. 1 medium-large zucchini or summer squash, sliced
8. Salt
9. Pepper

Directions

1. In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter.
2. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, flour, and 2 teaspoons Garlic Garlic. (If using garlic cloves, see step #4.) Dip the chicken in the butter, and then coat in the bread crumb mixture and place in skillet.
3. Cook on each side for about 4-7 minutes until the outside is crispy and the chicken is cooked throughout. (Will depend on thickness of breasts.) Set aside on plate.
4. Add the zucchini to the skillet and saute until tender. (If using garlic cloves, add with the zucchini.) Add salt, pepper, remaining parmesan, and remaining garlic. Add the chicken back to the skillet and heat for a couple minutes.
5. Serve immediately.

Yield/Time

4-6 servings

30-40 minutes

Nutrition Facts

362 per half breast *I calculate nutrition facts for my use only, this is not done scientifically

Source (for original): The Recipe Critic

Remember, comments are love! What's your favorite way to serve zucchini?

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: I am paid a small amount with each purchase, based on sales, made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)

Zucchini Bread & Muffins

So I mentioned the other day that I am getting a lot of extra zucchini & summer squash from my grandparents. Well, sometimes one of those little guys hides until it's not-so-little, or we just want to let them grow big enough to shred. Then the possibilities are endless! My grandma has a great sheet cake recipe, and there are so many muffins/quick breads these can go in...

I don't know if I would say this is my favorite recipe, but this really is a classic. It's from the Better Homes & Gardens cookbook, slightly adapted. (I would say healthified, but.... not much.)

My boys love these muffins! They could sit and devour one in what seems like seconds... then ask for another one. Feeding these boys through their teenage years is seriously going to require us starting a hobby farm. (That was really obvious the other day when Gabriel ate 4 -no, that's not a typo- bowls of oatmeal for breakfast. Yes, he is only 4 years old. And no, I don't know how he does it--he's actually pretty skinny.) 

Oh, and Gabriel's favorite thing about these muffins? "That they have ZUCCHINI in them!!"

I personally prefer the muffins over the bread--single servings, easier for Gabriel to get himself... He's not getting himself snacks, but if I am in the middle of helping Adrian with something it makes it a lot easier if he can get himself another muffin. I don't know, really. There's just something about muffins that I prefer.

However, that is not to say the bread isn't great, too! If I'm taking it to work or Mama's (which I did, with this), I prefer the bread. Then people can cut whatever size slice they want, which is much harder to do with muffins. Being the mom of two small boys, I'm suspicious if I see half a muffin anywhere. ;)

Oh, and speaking of taking this to work and Mama's--I took the loaf of bread to work, my coworkers ate some, and I then took the rest to Mama. My original plan was to share some with her & my brother, then take whatever was left back to work. It didn't make it back to work. Mama was entirely too excited about it, and apparently Kyle was too. :)

Printable Recipe

Zucchini Bread & Muffins

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour (I've subbed about 1/2 cup flour for oats before)

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg (If you are not a big nutmeg fan, cut down to 1/2 or 3/4. It's a very strong flavor in this.)

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups finely shredded, peeled zucchini

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened (Can sub for oil, if needed)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° for bread or 375° for muffins.
2. Grease the bottom and up the sides of two 8”x4”x2” loaf pans, or grease/line with paper 24 muffin tins. Set aside
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in the center of the mixture; set aside.
4. In another medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, zucchini, oil, and applesauce. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pans or muffin tins. (If using muffin tins, fill to just under the liners.)
5. Bake bread for 50-55 minutes, and muffins for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove to wire rack. Cool bread before slicing.

Yield/Time

24 slices bread or 24 muffins.

1 hour 15 minutes for bread, 45 minutes for muffins

Nutrition Facts

124/slice or muffin *I calculate nutrition facts for my use only, this is not done scientifically

Source (for original): Better Homes & Gardens

Remember, comments are love! What's your favorite zucchini recipe? Share with me in the comments!

Creamy Artichoke & Spinach Chicken

There are two things that are important to me when I am cooking: I want the recipe to be fairly easy (no 30-stop process here!), and I want it to taste great. I love to cook from scratch, but again: no 30-step process. I've been known to make my own spinach tortillas (hint: they are amazing!), cheez-its, oatmeal cream pies, etc. However... I like the easy route, too. Especially if I can do a little something that adds a lot of flavor to my meals. Which is one of the many, many reasons I love Tastefully Simple. We have a lot of great products that make my mealtimes easier--and tastier! 

When I decided to start blogging again, I wasn't sure how much of my TS stuff I wanted to post. I certainly don't want to be pushing anything onto anyone, but I would be remiss if I didn't share awesome recipes with you lovely readers--regardless of the ingredients. I wouldn't keep from posting a Nutella recipe just to make sure no one thought I was pressuring them into buying Nutella. If you are interested, there is a link at the bottom to purchase things through me, or you can just message me. (Disclaimer: clearly, if you make a purchase through me as a consultant, I am paid a small amount, based on the sale. That's the deal with being a consultant.) If not, no worries! I will be sharing plenty of recipes, and they certainly aren't all TS based!

On to the recipe itself....

I have been (kinda) trying to do more with rice. When I first got married and started cooking more, we ate a lot of pasta. Two reasons: 1, it's easy, and 2, I really love pasta. But the last few years I've been trying to do more with rice. Partially per my husband's request--he doesn't complain much about anything I make, but he gets tired of pasta much faster than I do. Partially to branch out--rice is great, pretty versatile, and is simply different than using pasta.

It's not that rice is hard to work with,  or cook. It's just that I don't think about it--I just toss pasta into a dish and call it good. This recipe is really pretty basic (read: easy), but sooo tasty. I can just toss rice into this and call it good. ;)

The original called for broccoli, but it's zucchini & summer squash season too. That means that, currently, I can have as many zucchini & summer squash as I want. Mom & Grandma are constantly asking me if I need/want more. They had a lot of broccoli too, but when I made this I had 3 zucchini and 2 summer squash in the fridge, so...  Sub whatever veggie is your favorite/you have an abundance of!

Printable Recipe

In this photo, I actually used a mix from a past season, but this is great with Artichoke & Spinach too!

Creamy Artichoke & Spinach Chicken

Ingredients

2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (I use bouillon, or make my own broth when I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot)
1 packet Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
1 tablespoon avocado or vegetable oil
1 small - medium zucchini, diced

1 small - medium summer squash, diced

1 cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
2 teaspoons Seasoned Salt

1 cup white rice
2 ounces cream cheese, cubed

Directions

In medium bowl, combine chicken broth and Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix; whisk until combined. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; saute veggies until tender. (About  2-3 minutes.) Add chicken, Seasoned Salt, and rice; saute 1 minute. Add broth mixture. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream cheese; continue cooking until melted and smooth.

Yield/Time

8 servings

45 minutes

Nutrition Facts

174 (I calculate calories for my personal use, this is not done scientifically)

Source (for original): Tastefully Simple

Tastefully Simple info: If you are interested in making a purchase, you can purchase through my page, or just search and select "Serena Lee" as your consultant. Obviously, if you are not local and already have a consultant.... purchase through them online, or contact them! Shop local, as always! Disclaimer: again, I am paid a small amount with each purchase made through myself as a consultant. You are helping to support my baking addiction, thank you! ;)