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Zucchini Bread

We are now in the middle of zucchini season. You will love this zucchini bread!!!

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds zucchini, shredded
1 ¼ cups packed (8 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¾ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Instructions:

  1. Adjust the oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pan.
  2. Using the large holes of a box grater to shred the zucchini then place in the center of a dish towel, gathering the ends together and twist tightly to drain as much liquid as possible. Discard the liquid (you should have ½ to 2/3 cup liquid).
  3. Whisk brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in medium bowl. Fold in the zucchini.
  4. Whisk all-purpose flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and nutmeg together in large bowl. Fold in zucchini mixture until just incorporated. Fold in walnuts, if using. Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
  5. Bake until top bounces back when gently pressed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with few moist crumbs attached, 65 to 75 minutes. Let bread cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Serve.
Zucchini-BreadDownload
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Old Settler’s Baked Beans aka Cowboy Baked Beans

These baked beans are always a crowd pleaser. I almost always double or triple the recipe for a crowd and it’s never a problem. You can also use different meat, depending on what’s local and available. One time I made them for friends in New Orleans and used Tasso ham which gave the beans a real kick! Remember, most recipes are just a guide to success!

Ingredients:

Instructions:

  1. Decide on the vessel you plan to cook your beans in and set aside.  I prefer to use an oven safe heavy Dutch Oven or a large Crockpot.
  2. Brown the ground beef.  Once browned, drain off the fat and transfer the browned meat to the pot you are using to cook the beans in.  Repeat above steps with the bacon.
  3. Sauté the onion until translucent in olive oil (okay, a little bacon grease would be good as well) adding a little salt to make the onions sweat then some freshly ground black pepper.  When almost finished (about 4–5 min) move the onion to one side of the pan and add the garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 1 min) then combine with the onion.  Transfer the onion and garlic to the pot.
  4. Open and drain and rinse Kidney and Butter beans and add to the pot
  5. Open baked beans and pour off much, but not all, of the sauce and to the pot
  6. In a small bowl combine brown & white sugar, catsup, dried mustard, and molasses. Mix thoroughly and add to the pot
  7. Gently mix together all ingredients in the pot, while incorporating parsley
  8. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, then reduce to 250 degrees for an additional two hours stirring Occasionally
Cowboy-Baked-Beans.docDownload
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Roasted Peppers: A Colorful & Healthy Appetizer!

Here is a quick tip from The Dads on Roasted Peppers!

Recently we were buying sweet peppers for a couple of our recipes. We noticed the store had on sale the Trio bag of peppers in different colors. We decided that even though we didn’t need all of those peppers, it was still cheaper than buying the two individually.

What to do with the extras you ask?? We sprinkled some extra virgin olive oil, Kosher salt and pepper… and roasted them in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Next, we placed them on a platter and served them at room temperature.

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Roasted Peppers can be great make for a great side dish, but we served them as an hors d’oeuvre with the cocktails!

Our guests loved them! Who would have thought something so simple and healthy could be such a big hit?!

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Brenden’s Super Bowl Side Dish: All-American Potato Salad!

Our son, Brenden called to say he was going to a Super Bowl party and wanted to bring a side dish to contribute to the buffet. Brenden knew instantly what he wanted to bring, his dad’s All-American Potato Salad!

He called his dad and asked for the recipe. While we didn’t have time to make this salad ourselves prior to Sunday, we typed up the recipe having all the confidence in Brenden’s culinary skills to be able to make this recipe without video instruction!

He sent us this picture of his potato salad, but he amped up the bacon quantity… instead of 6-8 strips of bacon, he chose to make it a pound! We’re always proud when our kids try out our recipes and have the guts to experiment with them on their own!

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Go Brenden! He’s who we were cheering for on Super Bowl Sunday!

Here’s our Recipe:

All-American Potato Salad
(The perfect make-ahead picnic salad)

Make this salad a day ahead to let the flavors blend. Garnish with bacon, eggs and parsley before serving; always a big hit!

Ingredients:

4 pounds large red potatoes, scrubbed
½ cup cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ½ cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 large stalks celery, diced (about 1 ½ cups)
½ cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Garnish:

8 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
4 hardboiled eggs, quartered
Parsley sprigs

Directions:

In a large pot, cover potatoes with cold water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced with a sharp knife (being careful to not overcook as you’re not making mashed potatoes). Drain potatoes in colander.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk vinegar, oil, salt and pepper until blended. When potatoes are cool enough to handle but still warm, cut into small chunks (about ¼ inch). We like to leave the red skin on the potato but if you prefer not to have skin in your salad, peel your potatoes while they are still warm. Add warm potatoes to vinegar mixture; gently stir to coat. Let cool to room temperature.

In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, milk and mustard until blended; pour over potatoes. Add celery, red onion and chopped parsley; gently stir to mix. Cover; refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is best).

Before serving, garnish with crumbled bacon, egg quarters and parsley sprigs.

Yield: 12 servings.

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Leah Makes Harris’ Roasted Asparagus!

Roasted Asparagus is one of our favorite veggies! It’s fast, easy and always a crowd-pleaser!

In the video below, Leah shares the asparagus recipe that her father, Harris taught her to make.

To dress up your asparagus, we suggest adding jumbo lump crabmeat, wrapping a few pieces in prosciutto, or even drizzling a little homemade hollandaise on top!

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A Festive Side Dish: Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts!

The smell of roasted chestnuts brings back memories of childhood for us, which is why chestnuts are one of our favorite holiday foods. This preparation paired with Brussels Sprouts is very festive, yet simple enough for a dinner at home. It also makes for a great dish to bring to holiday parties! Give it a try!

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Harris’ Challah Rolls

We’ll be making our popular Challah Rolls this Thanksgiving! There’s nothing like fresh baked rolls at your dinner! Try them out!

Recipe
Note: This recipe requires a bread machine.

Ingredients

Rolls:
• ¾ cup milk or water
• ¼ cup softened butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons of fast-rising dry yeast or active dry yeast marked for bread machine use

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Rolls:

Gather all of the wet ingredients (milk/water, butter, eggs & honey) and put them in the bread machine.

Next, add the flour and salt on top of the wet ingredients. Do not stir.

In your flour, make a small well about the size of your fist and pour the yeast into the well. Then, set your bread machine to the dough setting.

When the cycle is complete, punch your dough down once.

Then, lightly grease a cookie sheet. We suggest using butter.

Divide the dough into 10-12 pieces, and roll each into a log shape.

Tie each log into a knot and place on the cookie sheet, spaced one –two inches apart.

Cover the rolls with a lint-free kitchen towel. Place the pan in a warm place for at least an hour. This allows the dough to rise.

Egg Wash:

Whisk together the egg and honey.

Brush the dough with the mixture. Optional: You can also sprinkle the rolls with sesame or poppy seeds.

Bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown in the oven at 350 degrees F.

Enjoy!