Cinnamon Spice Zucchini Cookies

It's summertime, and that means one thing!

Zucchini!!!!

For those of you who plant gardens, there are probably zucchini growing out of your ears.

I have a solution: cookies!

These cookies take five minutes to throw together and they are so delicious! The edges have a nice crisp to them, and the middle is soft and moist. I used yellow zucchini in these, so feel free to use whatever zucchini you have on hand. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Spice Zucchini Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add in egg and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the zucchini until well combined. Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg until well combined. Stir in the oats and cinnamon chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto the baking sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and enjoy! Makes 2 dozen.

Adapted from verybestbaking.com

Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies {Gluten Free!}

I am a big breakfast fan. It was never more apparent than this past weekend when our family went on a weekend getaway. I stayed in the hotel room with our sleeping Tommy, while my husband got us breakfast at the hotel's continental breakfast. My husband ate his usual bowl of cold cereal, and then brought me up a tray with a waffle, Danish, bacon, yogurt, juice, and a muffin. And I ate it all. My husband sure knows the quickest way to my heart! ;)

These cookies taste like normal cookies, but with a lot less fat and sugar! And the oatmeal flour adds a nice texture and taste.

Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups oatmeal flour (just blend regular oatmeal in the blender)
1/2 cup of your desired mix ins like chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit

Cream together the oil, peanut butter, and brown sugar. Mix in the vanilla and egg. Stir in the flour and baking soda. When combined, stir in the mix ins. Roll into small balls and bake on a parchment paper-covered baking sheet at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the sheet before removing.

Pasta Salad Four Ways

Now that it is finally warming up, it's time to break out the pasta salads! I love making pasta salads for dinner because it's quick, easy, requires little time at the stove, and can easily be adapted to what I have on hand.

My pasta salad always involves pasta (obviously), salad dressing, vegetables or fruit, and cheese. I add meat when I feel like it.  I never use exact measurements because I go off of what I have, and how much I like of a certain ingredient (olives!). I like to use noodles that are on the smaller side with some shape or texture to hold the dressing. Penne and spiral pasta work well. I like to boil the pasta, drain it and rinse it in cold water. I then mix in some salad dressing so the noodles are evenly coated and won't stick together. I pop that in the fridge while I prepare the rest of the ingredients. It's nice because aside from the chicken (check out my recipe for "Leftover rotisserie" chicken) and pasta, you don't have to cook anything else. Stir it all together, and you've got dinner in minutes!

With all of the salad dressings and pasta out there, the possibilities are endless. Here are a few to get you started:

Greek Inspired Pasta Salad
Pasta
Greek Vinaigrette Dressing
Chicken, cooked and diced
Olives, diced
Tomatoes, diced
Cucumbers, diced
Feta cheese, crumbled

Tex Mex Pasta Salad
Pasta
Italian dressing
Chicken, cooked and diced
Black beans, rinsed and drained
Corn
Red pepper, chopped
Avocado, diced
Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
Cumin

Asian Inspired Pasta Salad
Pasta
Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
Chicken, cooked and diced
Red pepper, chopped
Broccoli, chopped
Green onion, chopped

Pizza Pasta Salad
Pasta
Zesty Italian dressing
Tomatoes, chopped
Pepperoni, chopped
Green pepper, chopped
Olives, chopped
Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese, grated

Spinach and Black Grape Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

 

 

I have to say, this is my new favorite salad (and by salad, I  mean the green, healthy stuff....not the mixture of candy bars and fruit...otherwise, that would still be my favorite salad). I love the juicy sweetness of the grapes that cut the acidity of the delicious vinaigrette. The parmesan cheese adds a nice salty element and the walnuts give the salad a nice crunch. All of the flavors complement each other so well. 

Spinach and Black Grape Salad
2 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup black grapes, sliced into thirds (be sure to use black grapes--they have the best crunch)
3 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped and toasted

Balsamic Vinaigrette
2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all of the salad dressing ingredients except for the olive oil until well combined. Slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Drizzle desired amount over salad and enjoy!

Skinny Zucchini and Red Pepper Pasta

 

I came up with this pasta on the fly, but it's now one of my family's favorites! It's fresh, flavorful, and filling.



 

 

 

Skinny Zucchini and Red Pepper Pasta
8 ounces lean ground turkey
8 ounces noodles (I used bowtie)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 large red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 large tomato
1/2 cup zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup canned grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste

Boil the water for the noodles. Before adding the noodles to the water, place the tomato in the water for 30 seconds. Carefully remove the tomato and slice a small "x" shape in the top. Peel the skin off the tomato using the "x" as a starting point. Once the skin is removed, cut open the tomato, remove the seeds, and finely dice. Cook the pasta according to the package's directions.
Over medium heat, cook the turkey, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, onion, and one tablespoon of olive oil until the turkey is browned. Add in the tomato, zucchini, and red pepper, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini and red pepper are tender, but not mushy. Mix in the grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste, and noodles. Stir in 3 more tablespoons of olive oil so the pasta isn't dry. Enjoy!



Sweet and Savory Tofu with Savory Asian Noodles

 

 

I've always wanted to try tofu because it's so healthy. I finally purchased some at the store, and then scoured the internet for good tofu recipes. I'll admit, the only one that really appealed to me was a recipe for fried tofu.

Fried tofu.

Isn't that some sort of oxymoron?

So I came up with my own recipe. I have to admit, I love the caramelization of the marinade on the tofu. And I also came up with some Asian-inspired savory noodles. I wanted the tofu to be the shining star in the dish, so I made the flavors of the noodles pretty delicate.

Sweet and Savory Tofu
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/4 cup oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12.3 ounce package of extra firm tofu

Combine all of the ingredients except for the tofu in a large bowl. Slice the tofu into 1-inch thick slices. Put the tofu into the marinade and make sure the tofu is coated in the marinade. Let the tofu marinate in the fridge for at least two hours to absorb the flavors. After marinating, place the tofu onto a roasting pan or cooling rack (that's oven-safe) and broil in the oven until the marinade caramelizes on one side, and then flip and caramelize the other side. Use the leftover marinade as a dipping sauce.

Savory Asian Noodles
6 ounces linguine or fetticine noodles
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 squirt sriracha sauce (or more if you like it spicy)
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 green onion, sliced

Boil the noodles according to the package's directions. While the noodles boil, mix the remaining ingredients, except for the green onion, in a small bowl. When the noodles are finished cooking, drain the water and return the noodles back to the pan. Pour the sauce ingredients into the pan and stir to combine. Serve with the sliced green onions on top.

Easter Wreath

I wanted to make an Easter wreath that didn't feature plastic eggs or Peeps (I love peeps a little too much to use them as a decoration...I have no self control when it comes to those cute sugary treats). I decided to try to make an Easter wreath with some purple ribbon instead.

 

I used an 8 inch foam wreath.

 

Then I wrapped ribbon around the entire wreath, using pins to secure the ribbon.

Then I cut about 10 inch pieces of ribbon. I folded the corners over on one end, and put a pin through it. Then I would randomly twist and arrange the ribbon to resemble petals and thread it onto the pin as I went along.

 

 Since the ribbon flowers were already on a pin, I simply pushed the pin into the foam wreath to secure it onto the wreath. I liked the look of having the flowers on just a section of the wreath, but I decided to cover the whole wreath in flowers.

 

 Here's the final product. I loved the way it turned out. Now I just need to figure out where to hang it...