Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 c. wheat flour)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white sugar
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips (or more)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In large bowl, combine flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix well. In separate bowl, combine sugar and eggs, beat until well blended. Add oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Stir in zucchini. Add flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon evenly into loaf pans.

Bake in preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove bread from pans; cool completely on wire rack.
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I have been dreaming about this recipe for a couple of weeks. I made it a few times last summer and it is delicious! I got the recipe from a friend's blog and she got the recipe here.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 275. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each line cup.

2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a times, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours or up to overnight. Remove from tins just before serving.

Makes 30 Martha Steward recipe

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.

2. Reduce speed to medium. Add the confectioners' sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of the bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium. This process should take about 5 minutes. Frosting will be very pale and fluffy.

3. Add vanilla and beat until frosting is smooth. If not using immediately frosting can be refrigerate up to 10 days in an airtight container. Before using bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.

Makes about 4 cups. Great on children's cakes, can be tinted with food color. Add a drop at a time and stir with a flexible spatula until well combined before adding more. Martha Steward Recipe.

Dark Chocolate Frosting

1/4 cup plus 2 TBL unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 cug plus 2 TBL boiling water

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c confectioners' sugar, sifted

Pinch of salt

1 lb best-quality semi sweet chocolate melted and cooled

Combine cocoa and the boiling water, stirring until cocoa has dissolved. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, convections' sugar and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add meted and cooled chocolate, beating until combined and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in the cocoa mixture. If not using immediately frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container. Before using bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth again.

Great consistency for spreading or piping into beautiful swirls. It also has a wonderful sheen. Makes about 5 cups. Recipe from Martha Stewart.

Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Butter Frosting

Cookies
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups butter, softened
3 eggs
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
3 t. vanilla
6 1/2 cups flour

In a mixing bowl, beat the sugar, butter, eggs, baking soda, salt and vanilla until fluffy. Add the flour, blending thoroughly. Divide the dough into four pieces and wrap each separately in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Take out one piece of dough, leaving the rest in the fridge until ready to use. (Cold dough makes better cookies.) Roll the dough between two pieces of waxed paper to desired thickness. Cut out with cookie cutters.
Place the cookies on a cold baking sheet that has been covered with parchment paper. (Rinse the baking sheets with cold water between batches so they are cold when they go in the oven.)
Bake 9 minutes. Do not over bake. Let cool on cookie sheet for 2 min before cooling on rack. Decorate as desired.
-Recipe from "Three Decades of Cooking with Donna Lou Morgan"

Frosting
6 C. powder sugar
2/3 C. margarine or butter softened
3t. vanilla extract
approximately 4 T. milk
food coloring if desired

Blend powdered sugar and butter. Add vanilla and milk one tablespoon at a time. Beat until smooth.

Both of these are large recipes and can be halved.

Easy Enchiladas

1 pkg frozen burritos
1 can enchilada sauce
1 C. shredded cheese
toppings according to your taste
(sour cream, olives, shredded lettuce, salsa, etc.)

Place small amount of sauce on the bottom of baking dish. Place burritos in pan and cover with remaining sauce. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Add toppings once served.

For faster version, microwave burritos according to package directions. Bake for 10-15 minutes until warm and cheese is melted.

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

2 chicken breasts
5 C. chicken broth
3 C. diced vegetables (carrot, celery, potato)
1 small onion or 1 T. dehydrated onion
1 t. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
3 c. egg noodles, uncooked

Combine all ingredients except noodles in slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. Remove chicken breasts, shred meat, and return to pot. Add noodles and cook 30 min. more. Do not over cook. Serves 4.