Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Hey guys! I’ve been missing in action for a while, again! But I’m back to cooking and baking and today I tried this wonderful recipe from Two peas in a pod! It’s called chocolate zucchini bread and it’s so moist and delicious I just had to share! And I mean it’s healthy because it has a ton of Zucchini in it 😂😂

I followed the recipe pretty closely except I added more sugar because I used unsweetened cocoa and I also used milk and semi sweet chips. To keep the chips from sinking to the bottom, I dusted them with flour before mixing them in.

Here’s the recipe

yield: 1 LOAF

prep time: 15 MINUTES

Cook time 50 MINUTES

total time: 1 HOUR 5 MINUTES

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1/4 cup canola, vegetable oil, or melted coconut oil
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups packed shredded zucchini
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and sea salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, add the eggs, melted butter, oil, vanilla extract, and brown sugar. Stir until smooth. You might have a few small brown sugar clumps and that is fine.
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, don’t overmix. Stir in the shredded zucchini until just combined. Stir in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips over the top of the bread. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out mostly clean, you might have some melted chocolate chips on the toothpick and that is fine. You just don’t want a lot of gooey batter.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a wire cooling rack. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the bread and carefully remove from the pan. Let the bread cool on the wire cooling rack until slightly warm. Cut into slices and serve.

Note-if you use coconut oil, make sure it is melted and slightly cooled. The bread will keep on the counter, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. This bread also freezes well. To freeze, cool the bread completely and wrap in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost before slicing.

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AVOCADO SALAD

I stumbled across three recipes today and they all looked so delicious that I had to try it! I’ve been trying to eat healthier and I’m on the search for easy and delicious recipes. I ate this salad for dinner with turkey that I seasoned with spicy taco seasoning mmmhmmmm!

Here’s the recipe

1 lb Roma tomatoes

 1 English cucumber 

1/2 medium red onion, sliced 

2 avocados, diced 

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or sunflower oil 

Juice of 1 medium lemon (about 2 Tbsp)

 1/4 cup (1/2 bunch) cilantro, chopped

1 tsp sea salt or 3/4 tsp table salt 

1/8 tsp black pepper 

DIRECTIONS 

Gently stir all the ingredients together, add the salt and pepper just before serving.

GOOLAB JAMOON

Here we have my favorite Indian sweet with a Caribbean twist, goolab jamoon. The fragrant, rich dough is heavenly. It’s the second sweet that I learned make from my mama *grandmother*. Now I’ve visited a couple Indian restaurants in the US and whenever I order the goolab jamoon I get something totally different! It’s these round balls soaked in syrup. Which leads me to believe that the recipe must have changed on its way to the Caribbean from India.

Nevertheless both are deliciously sweet and I can easily eat them all in one sitting 😂😂

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter
4 cups flour
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 can condensed milk
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 cup oil for frying
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp grated ginger
4 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. Rub butter into the flour, cardamom and powdered milk until crumbly
2. Add the other milks to the flour and knead lightly to combine. * Or use a food processor with dough blade*

3. Form almond shapes about 2 inches long and deep fry until golden brown
4. Boil sugar, ginger and water to a thick syrup (it should spin a thread when the spoon is raised)
5. Pour syrup over the chief goolab jamoon and stir continuously until the sugar crystallizes .

SUPER QUICK CHOCOLATE CAKE IN THE MICROWAVE! YES!

SOOOO… no dessert?! what to do? Chocolate cake in the microwave in less than five minutes and minimal clean up?!? What?!? YES PLEASE PASS IT OVER HERE!

I stumbled across this recipe from A Table for Two and I just had to try it as the chocolate cravings were stabbing me in head! You have to try this! Mix it up, add more stuff, I used chocolate and peanut butter chips!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp white sugar (I added an extra tsp)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp hazelnut chocolate spread

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl
2. Mix in oil and milk until batter is smooth with no lumps
3. Pour into a microwave safe mug with enough space for the cake to rise without pouring over
4. Drop chocolate spread or chips or whatever floats your boat in the middle, no need to push it down.
5. Put a paper towel in the microwave and place mug on top of paper. Microwave on high for 70 seconds.

And that’s it folks! Warm, moist chocolate cake in under 5 mins! Your tummy will thank you! 😀

    

BASIL AND BABY SPINACH PESTO

For a long time I caught myself in a food rut, I would make the same thing every other week and even though the food tasted good we were all getting a little bored. If I left it up to my 4 year old, he would eat pizza every night and not complain * then again, who would?!*. So I decided to try one new recipe every week to break up the monotony.

This week I though I would try this Basil Pesto recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction. I made a couple of changes because my poor little basil plant looked  a bit naked after I picked a cup’s worth of leaves 😀

I mixed the pesto with penne and grilled some chicken breasts, my son made a salad and we had a quick and easy dinner! It was very tasty and both kids thought it was so cool to eat alien green pasta 😀

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup pine nuts (i used toasted walnuts)
• 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 3 cloves roasted garlic
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon each salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Blend the basil, spinach, pine nuts, cheese, and garlic together in a food processor or blender. Pour oil in slowly while still mixing (or a little at a time, then mix, then more oil, then mix again, etc). Scrape down the sides, then add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse until everything is blended together and relatively smooth. Taste and add more salt/pepper if desired.

I’m bringing this dish to Fiesta Friday hosted by  Dini @ Giramuk’s Kitchen and Mollie @ The Frugal Hausfrau 

CHOCOLATE RICE KRISPY TREATS

I’ve realised that inviting people over and telling me 20 minutes before they arrive is a genetic trait of my husband and it’s now presenting itself in my son *slaps forehead* *mutters curses*

Yesterday I had to come up with a very quick dinner and a treat for his little friends. Baking a cake or cookies would take too long, jello takes forever to set and pie takes even longer than forever. As I stood there staring into my pantry I noticed a box of rice krispies in the corner! EUREKA! Rice krispy treats! Quick, easy and done in less than 10 minutes, perfect!

I fancied it up a little with some left over Reese’s Pieces from Easter * Ok ok I keep a secret stash in my underwear draw because that’s the only place none of my kids or the hubs would look in 😀 You can try adding sprinkles, m&m’s, or whatever you have on hand….well….maybe not sardines.

Here’s my quick recipe!

• 4 tbsp butter
• 16 oz mini marshmellows
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 cups rice krispies ( rice cereal)
• chocolate chips
• reese’s pieces or m&m’s or chocolate chips for toppings

DIRECTIONS

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add marshmellows and stir frequently until melted.
3. Add vanilla and stir.
4. Pour in rice krispies and a handful of chocolate chips and stir well.
5. Remove from heat and pour into a pan and let cool a little.
6. Spray hands with cooking spray or a little oil (this keeps it from sticking to your skin) and press until flat and smooth.
7. Add more toppings on top and press in! Easy peasy!

 I’m bringing this treat to fiesta Friday with the dynamite duo of J & J! That’s Justine @ Eclectic odds n sods andJhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook. 

JAMAICAN RICE AND PEAS

Let me start off by confusing you! This dish isn’t actually made with peas, it’s made with beans, red beans, also called kidney beans! Are you still there? *crickets chirping* PERFECT! I love Jamaican rice and peas, with jerk pork or jerk chicken or escovitched fish and fried plantains with a side of festivals *a sweet fried dough*.

I’ve had a lot of exposure to Jamaican foods. I worked at JAMWEST Caribbean foods for a while and the best part was getting to eat all the delicious food everyday and listening to Jamaican Patois that I could barely understand, and listening to stories from Chef Patrick while he cooked corn meal porridge :). It was truly amazing watching the giant pots of rice and barrels of jerked meats being cooked, and that rum cake from Miss Verona was so divine. Oh and how could I forget about the patties, and fresh juices and hiding in the walk in fridge to ‘sample’ dishes and getting locked inside hehehehe. Good times!

Here’s a much smaller recipe for rice and peas

• 8 ounces small dried red beans or 8 ounces red kidney beans
• 1 quart water
• 16 ounces chicken broth or 16 ounces chicken stock or 16 ounces water
• ¹⁄₂ cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• ¹⁄₂ cup white onion, chopped
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2  teaspoon black pepper
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper (left whole) or you can slice it if you want lots of heat!
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 ¹⁄₄ cups uncooked long grain rice

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse and sort beans and place in a stockpot.
2. Cover with several inches of water and soak overnight,-or- bring to a boil, boil gently for 3 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and allow to sit undisturbed for 1 hour.
3. Drain and rinse beans.
4. Bring to a boil with chicken stock, water, and coconut milk.
5. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 1/2-2 hours or until beans are tender and creamy.
6. Add the thyme, allspice, scallion, onion, garlic, scotch bonnet, brown sugar, uncooked rice, salt and pepper.
7. Check the level of liquid over the rice and make sure there is at least one inch of liquid (if not, you may add water or broth to cover).
8. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until rice is tender.
9. Serve hot as a side dish.
10. For vegetarian,use water not the chicken broth or stock.

I served the rice and peas, along side jerk pork, which is cooked pretty much the same way as jerk chicken and a tropical salsa! Put some calypso music on in the background and I felt like I was back at home 🙂

TROPICAL SALSA

I love love love salsa and this tropical spin is so fresh and perfect on grilled meats! I’m making this to go along with Jamaican jerk pork. My tummy is going to be happy tonight!

• 2 cups fresh pineapple, chopped
• 1 semi-ripe mango, chopped
• 1 kiwi, chopped
• ¹⁄₃ cup purple onion, chopped
• ¹⁄₄ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or to taste)
• 1/2  tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped fine (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon rum (or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon jalapenos (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

DIRECTIONS

1. Put all ingredients in a bowl, mix it up, and let it sit for a little bit to allow the flavors to mingle.

So easy!

My family had this salsa, with jerk pork and Jamaican rice and peas!

I’m bringing this dish to Fiesta Friday because every fiesta needs salsa!   The party is hosted at blogFiestaFriday.net.Thanks to the new co-host Anna @Anna International! For having us!

BANANA WALNUT BREAD

Lucky me! All of my bananas went soft and the skins were starting to turn brown and as I was about to throw them out my hubs ran into the kitchen in slow motion screaming “NOOOOO MAKE BANANA BREAD!!”… ok maybe it wasn’t that dramatic.

I really just wanted to lay in bed and finish dying from this flu, but I pulled out the old recipe book and whipped this up. It’s so good with a lot of butter * I also put cheese on mine, don’t judge me, I love cheese <3*  Man am I glad I thought to make this 😉

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¹⁄₄ cups sugar
• ¹⁄₂cup butter or ¹⁄₂ cupmargarine, softened
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¹⁄₂ cups mashed very ripe bananas (3-4 medium)
• ¹⁄₂ cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 ¹⁄₂ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 (8X4 inch) loaf pans.
2. In large bowl, mix sugar and butter. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla; beat with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
3. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and nuts (if using) just until moistened. Pour batter into pans.
4. Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool about 1 hour before slicing.

TIP : If you don’t have buttermilk, you can add 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it sit for 10 minutes before using in your recipe 🙂

I’m bringing this yummy warm bread toFiesta Friday, a party by Angie of the Novice Gardener. This week it’s co-hosted by the lovely Julianna @Foodie On Board and Hilda @Along The Grapevine

CHEESY BACON JALAPENO BISCUITS

There will be no conversation, just go to your kitchen and make this. NOW!!!! Thank me later!

Ingredients

• 2 cans of crescent rolls (you can use biscuits too)
• Cheese (Whatever type you like, I used velveeta)
• 12oz or 16oz package of bacon, cooked
• flour for dusting (optional)
• jar of jalapenos

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray or line your baking tray with parchment paper. Lightly flour your work surface if you don’t want any crescent roll stickage.
2. Unroll one can of crescent rolls (or 1/2 can of biscuits) on your work surface. Using your hands or a rolling pin, press the seams together and lightly press & stretch a little into a nice rectangle. Add a layer of cheese (I like a pretty thick layer, & I use Velveeta because I love how it melts) & then add your layer of bacon and jalapenos. Unroll the remaining can of crescent rolls on top & press all the seems together both on top and all around.
3. Using a pizza cutter or a knife (I prefer a pizza cutter) slice into squares. Place the entire thing on your baking sheet using a large spatula, working in batches if you need to. Lay all the squares right beside each other, just as they were before you sliced it. You want all the cut seams to be touching so that your cheese doesn’t leak out.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the top of the crescent rolls are lightly browned. Remove from the oven & cool on a wire rack for 3-5 minutes before digging in. The crescent squares will pull right apart. Serve & enjoy!

I’m bringing this appetizer to the Fiesta Friday #64, hosted by the Amazing A because they are so so so delicious! I know they’ll go fast! Thank you to the wonderful hosts!! ,Ginger & Bread and Safari Of The Mind.