Lori's Zucchini Bread

For those of you who haven't had Zucchini Bread...please stop and rethink your life.

If the reason is because you hear 'zucchini' and immediately run away because it's a vegetable and you've been working long and hard to avoid such things, you have sadly been mislead about the nature and taste of this bread.

If the reason is that you just have never even heard of Zucchini Bread...well I really can't blame you all that much.

..Besides your poor choice of friends and family, who are clearly ignorant of this delicious baked good as well.

People, it's time to change all that.

When we took a trip up to wisconsin a few weeks ago, Uncle Jeff's wife Lori gave us, not only a loaf of zucchini bread, but some fresh zucchinis from her garden AND her recipe for the bread!

(Lori, you rock. And I have it on good authority that you'll be in heaven. Praise Jesus.)

I love getting recipes from people of things that I've actually tasted. I was sooo excited! I think peed my pants.

What? No. I don't do that.

Please enjoy Lori's divine zucchini bread, and then send her a bottle of wine with a thank you card.

Fresh Zucchinis, love it!

No need to peel them either, which is a major plus for clumsy retards like me.

Grate 2 cups. Or 2 heaping cups, whatever.

Remember, Baking is not about precision!

(Don't remember that.)

Throw the zucchini is a bowl with 1/2 cup raisins, and 1/2 nuts (I used a mixture of pecans and walnuts. Don't ask me why.)

In another bowl, throw in all of the dry ingredients, including sugars and spices.

(Listed below)

Mix the eggs, oil, and vanilla into the zucchini/nut/raisin deal.

Then add the dry ingredients, but just until it's moistened.

Which basically means that you can still see small bits of the dry stuff. Make sense?

Grease and flour 2 loaf pans.

Divide the batter between the 2 pans and stick then in the oven at 325 degrees for 1 hour.(Depending on your oven, check with a toothpick to make sure no more time is needed)

Turn them both over on to a cooling rack and walk away. Leave your house if necessary, in order to not devour them both immediately, because unfortunately, society considers instances like that rather barbaric.

Screw Society. Have as much as you want.

Just please slather way too much butter on it first.

I adore this bread, it's so flavorful and dreamy.

And because the recipe makes 2 loaves, you can put the other one in a ziploc bag and freeze it. (For how long, I don't know. I took it out and ate it within two weeks of the first one.)

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Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 beaten eggs

1 c. oil

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. grated zucchini

1/2 c. nuts

1/2 c. raisins

Directions

Combine sugars and dry ingredients.

In separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil, vanilla, zucchini, nuts and raisins.

Combine all ingredients, just until moistened.

Divide the mixture into 2 greased and floured loaf pans.

Bake @ 325 degrees for 1 hr.

Our Weekend

Last Weekend, we packed up and took our first "road trip" (a whopping 3 hour drive) with Vienna over to wisconsin to see some of Luke's family, and so they could meet Vienna.

However, I'm not going tell you all about our weekend.

For a few reasons:

1. The majority of it was mildly traumatic, and I don't want to re-live it.

2. The majority of it was mildly traumatic, so I still don't even really understand what happened.

3. Part of the trauma had to do with my baby being stuck in a car seat for a stressful amount of time and then being grabbed at by a plethora of relatives I didn't even know existed, both factors making her scream in my ear for half of the trip, and remembering those things brings me pain and makes me want to cry about it some more.

4. Part of the trauma had to do with my first true experience in the backwoods. With...um.. people from the backwoods. Who fight a lot. And since you never know who could stumble unto your blog, it's better to be safe than honest...I mean sorry.

5. Part of the trauma was that in the midst of all the chaos of getting us ready to leave on saturday morning, making sure Vienna had everything she needed, and packing up the car, I somehow forgot to bring our toothbrushes. So as you can, but shouldn't, imagine- it got pretty gross.

And that's why I won't be going into detail about our weekend.

Instead, I'm just going to post pictures of the *few* enjoyable moments we did have.

Seeing Luke's mom.

Grandma Julie got some undisturbed snuggle time with her granddaughter, and the two looked quite happy together.

Seeing Luke's Uncle Jeff and his lovely wife Lori. Uncle Jeff was a groomsmen in our wedding, he and Luke are very close. Lori adored Vienna, and her hair, and they had a fun time playing together.

But THE BEST part of this whole weekend, Hands Down, was....

This Pig.

His name is Porky.

He is Uncle Jeff's charity case.

Meaning that someone found a stray pig, and they asked Jeff to keep it while they find it a home within a month.

Six months later, Jeff and Lori still have this blessed Pig.

This is when the pig comes over and lets me pet him.

This is when the pig plops down on his side, making me think something is wrong, until Uncle Jeff clarifies that the pig just wants me to rub his belly.

This is when the pig shows us that he is quite obviously boy pig.

There were like fifty dogs running around as if they were all on a huge sugar high.

But as cute as they were...

...I, of course, went back to pet the pig.

I LOVED this pig, as I do most all pigs.

Uncle Jeff and Lori even wanted me to take him home, and I'm still quite upset that we couldn't.

Due to the lack of space. And yard.

So on our way home we stopped by Luke's grandparents farm for dinner.

Grandpa is a big softie when it comes to babies.

Vienna got to meet a cat for the first time.

But neither of them were very interested in the introduction.

We managed to hide our drooling and glazed eyes for a moment and conjured up some decent smiles for a family photo.

Except for Vienna. She was over it.

I don't blame her.

Even though we were exhausted, traumatized, dazed and confused, we enjoyed the beauty of the sunset on our drive back to the city.

And as soon as we got home, we each brushed our teeth for ten minutes straight.

Steak Fajitas slowcooked in Beer and Lime

I adore cooking in crock pots.

But ok, couldn't they have done better than 'crock' pot? 'Crock' is not an appealing word.

Why couldn't they have named it 'Love Pot'?

... You know what...that actually sounds worse... on multiple levels.

Never mind. I'm fine with the name it has.

Anywho! What I adore about cooking with crock pots is that it makes me feel like I've got life under control. Just throw a bunch of stuff in, then go about my day.

Fajitas are one of my favorite things to slow cook, they turn out sooo delicious.

Meet my hideous crock-pot.

In all of its 70's brown and vomit green glory.

Someone gave this to my smokin' hot husband right around the time he left to go off to college.

Around a decade ago.

It was used for the first time ever a couple months ago. By me.

I actually have a brand-new, shiny, red crock-pot(one of about fifty I received at my bridal shower) that I could have retrieved from the depths of my kitchen cabinet, but to do so I would have had to move my entire collection of stainless steel pots and pans out of the cabinet to get to it.

And since it was 7 a.m., and I wanted my baby to keep sleeping, I decided against making that kind of ruckus.

Start with an onion.

Chop it up.

Throw it in the bottom.

2 green bell peppers, 1 red.

Chop them up, throw them in.

This is so easy, I almost feel stupid putting pictures up.

Thin cut steak. It might say 'sandwich steaks' on the package.

Cut them into 1/2 inch to 1 inch strips.

Hi, I'm Elise, and I'm a big, fat cheater.

I mean, yeah I could go throw in garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, yada, yada, yada...

but you know what... I just don't want to.

How's that for logical reasoning?

I don't even care, fajita seasoning works. And it's yummy.

This is one of those ways to make life easier for yourself, and you can't even really tell the difference.

What I do is season the beef while it's still on the cutting board, so that I can coat it thoroughly, but I doubt it makes any difference to season the beef after it's in the crockpot.

Just do whatever you want. Like I care..

This is going to be good.

Squeeze half of a lime in (not pictured) and pour a 1/2 cup(ish) of good beer in there. It won't seem like a lot, and you'll be tempted to put more in, but the peppers and onions release so much liquid that after an hour or two of cooking, it will fill up.

I'm typically all about partaking in whatever booze you cook with, but as it's 7 a.m.... Maybe stick it in the fridge till 9 or so.

Turn it on low for 8-10 hours. Or on high for 4-6 hours.

...Is that a lobster?

Ugh. Time to have a garage sale...

Ok, I did not get a pretty picture of the end result for a couple reasons:

1.) I'm a huge Airhead Dorkwad.

2.) My smokin' hot husband was brewing beer that night, and our friend, Jordan came over. I was scrambling around to get the fixings for dinner ready, including making guacamole, so that we could eat and then I could clean up and get out of Luke's way,to give him plenty of space to do his thing. And in all the chaos... I forgot.

Instead, I will show you how to make delicious guacamole.

Please consider it a peace offering.

Chop up equal amounts of tomato, cilantro, and onion(I used red.)

Squeeze half a lime in it, and season with salt.

Bam! Pico de Gallo.

Now scoop out the innards of as many avocados as you please into a bowl.

(1 avocado=1/2 cup)

Now add however much pico de gallo(don't forget the lime juice at the bottom) feels right to you, and mash it in. Adjust it to your liking, and add more salt if need be. But don't forget to taste the Guac with tortilla chips, since those already come heavily salted.

This is a great dinner, especially for when you have guests over.

Serve with warm tortillas, black beans, shredded cheese, mexican rice and guacamole.

Enjoy!

• Steak Fajitas
• 2 pounds thin cut beef steak
• 2 packets (1.27-ounces each) fajita seasoning mix (recommended: Lawry's)
• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• 2 green bell peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/2-inch strips
• 1/2 cup beer (or water if you're a rigid teetotaler)
• juice of 1/2 a lime

Throw all ingredients in a crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

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Vienna and Jordan making friends. Aww!

Chicken with Salad and Garlic Bread

Do I claim to be a gourmet cook? No.

Should I try out to be on MasterChef? Definitely not. As much as I love Gordon Ramsey, the respect I have for him would in no way be reciprocated after he publicly announced how lame I am, and I started crying for my mommy.

But even if I did/could cook gourmet food, with ingredients that practically no one has ever heard of, in ridiculously small portions, and plated it in a artsy/restaurant style way- my smokin hot husband, who has a...um... "selective" palate,if you will, would see his plate with roughly 3 bites worth of artsy, weird food on it, and immediately suggest that this would be the perfect night to go out to dinner as a family.

To a place that serves large quantities of red meat.

And beer.

In essence, the recipes I post on here are not meant to be glamorous. It's simple, comfort, home cooking, used with as much fresh ingredients as possible that makes up the everyday menu in our household. And this meal is an example of that. I throw it all together every couple of weeks and we enjoy it every time.

First, it's time to make breaded chicken.

So get an assembly line going with your sassy little bowls that your mom got for you from Target's spring collection. First flour, then eggwash (a beaten egg with a splash of milk of water), and lastly breadcrumbs.

I used regular breadcrumbs, but you can also use Panko, or a mixture of the two.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

And heat about 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of oil over medium heat.

I mixed vegetable oil and olive oil.

Don't ask me why.

It's just what my heart told me to do.

Ok, just get it out of your system.

"EWWWWWWWW!"

I feel better now.

Cut all of the nasty, white, fatty, intestinal-looking pieces off of your skinless, boneless chicken breast. Throw them away and try to forget about the whole ordeal.

Dredge the chicken on both sides in flour,

then eggwash,

then breadcrumbs.

After coating all the chicken, place them in the hot oil.

Let them fry for a few minutes, and then turn them over when they're golden and browned, like this.

Once they're browned on both sides, place them on a plate with a paper towel.

Just for a few seconds though. You want some of the oil to come off, but not for the breading on the bottom to get soggy.

Now stick them in a very lightly greased baking dish, and season the chicken with salt, pepper, and lots of rosemary.

I know that I've written about my undying love for rosemary...BUT, have I written about my undying love for rosemary paired with chicken?!

You know what, I'm not even going to go there. You don't have the time, I don't have the time...

Now cover it with foil. The foil is important to keep the breading from getting any darker, but also to keep/make the chicken tender and moist.

Prepare to be shocked at how moist this chicken is.

Put it in your 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the breasts. These were medium sized, so 20 minutes was perfect, but when I've had bigger ones, I still check the temp with my meat thermometer after 20 minutes, and might do an additional 10-15 minutes.

Poultry should be in between 170 to 180 degrees.

While the chicken is a cookin', slice up some delicious bread like a french or italian loaf.

I have actually stood with my cart in front of the bakery at my grocery store for what seemed like hours on end, waiting for someone to give me an explanation on the difference between the french and italian loaf.

Me: "Um Ma'am? Yeah, Hi. What's the difference between your french and italian loaves? They look exactly the same to me."

Baker#1: "There isn't a difference."

Me: "Right. So why are they named after two entirely different countries?"

Baker#1: *shrugs and looks at Bakers 2 through 5 for support. They all shrug as well.*

Me: "Uh ok,thanks...I guess." *leaves in despair"

Now round up all of the butter you can find in your house and neighborhood, and slather it on.

Parsley and Garlic. It's the right thing to do.

I season the bread with garlic salt, but sometimes in a little bowl I mix up the butter and some minced garlic and spread that on the bread.

Of course, my Beloved doesn't care for chunks of garlic in his life.

But I do.

We're seeking outside help on this one.

Some Parsley. It gives it color and life.

Stick them on a baking sheet and put them in the oven when you take your chicken out and you know that it's fully cooked. Turn your oven to broil on low.

I'm so hungry.

Throw some delicious greens in a bowl.

Dump whatever salad dressing you please in there.

I picked up a bottle at Trader Joe's called 'Goddess' dressing.

I have no idea what it is.

I liked the name.

And the picture on the front.

This is what went into most decision making processes in my life until I got married.

So now it only happens sometimes.

Don't forget about your heavenly bread. Broiling works quickly.

Use your sad, dull knife to massacre a tomato until it looks like a 5 year old with crayola scissors had their way with it.

Add the tomatoes and some parmesan to the salad.

It's simple, lovely, delicious, and perfectly filling.

Also you can add some lemon wedges to squeeze on the chicken, which tastes remarkable, I just didn't have any on hand.

Since this isn't one of those meals that makes you feel like you just consumed a volkswagen beetle, you can physically and nutritionally afford to end it with a rich dessert like cheesecake or pie with ice cream.

But I had made cookies a few days prior, so that's what we had.

No complaints whatsoever.