So I've had a lot of zucchini to deal with. So I feel it's only fair to figure out what to do with it and then share!!!
I was hungry for cake Saturday. I was flipping through my ADPi cookbook (club and church cookbooks are the best) and saw a recipe for chocolate zucchini cake. I had to make it. Needless to say I didn't get a pic taken until after my hubby had ate most of it...
Ingredients:
One chocolate cake mix
One small package chocolate pudding mix
Four eggs
3/4 cup oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups peeled and grated zucchini
Mix all ingredients and place in greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. If desired frost with white or chocolate frosting or top with powdered sugar.
A very moist cake that freezes well (or so the recipe says). Thanks Lynn!
The Thrifty Chick Cooks
Monday, June 25, 2012
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Zucchini bake
Ok so I found a new recipe that I like! I had a large zucchini in the garden that I needed to do something with. I searched my recipe books and found this one:
Ingredients:
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 large onion
1 can green chilies or rotel
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Take sliced onion and zucchini and put in saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Cook until tender. Drain. Spread into baking dish.
In a small bowl mix chilies, cheddar cheese, one cup Parmesan cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture over zucchini and onions.
Top with bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese starts to brown on top. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 cups sliced zucchini
1 large onion
1 can green chilies or rotel
8 oz sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Take sliced onion and zucchini and put in saucepan. Cover with water and bring to boil. Cook until tender. Drain. Spread into baking dish.
In a small bowl mix chilies, cheddar cheese, one cup Parmesan cheese, sour cream, salt, and pepper. Spread mixture over zucchini and onions.
Top with bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly and cheese starts to brown on top. Enjoy!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Cheap Marinade
Wanna a secret to cheap marinade? You can buy the marinades in a bottle for $2 plus dollars, but I've found a better solution. I took two strip steaks and added Italian dressing and Worcestershire sauce. Never pay more than 75 cents a bottle for salad dressing (I got the pictured small bottle for 16 cents. I also found the Worcestershire sauce for 17 cents. You could marinate steaks probably 6 times with what those two bottles woudl do!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Bacon, Bacon, Bacon
Ok, who doesn't like bacon? Well maybe the people super health conscious, but there is something about it that almost everyone would agree the is so awesome. You use it in so many different ways...for breakfast, on a baked potato, in baked beans, in green beans, on a sandwich, in a salad. Some people use just the grease to flavor stuff--like they store it in a ceramic crock to add to certain dishes. One of my husbands friends won't eat green beans unless there is bacon in them for flavoring! I even met the wife of the man who organizes the BaconFest in Chicago...a whole event around how many ways you can use bacon (ice cream, bacon whiskey). That's a little much for my liking but just saying.
Well if you wanted to know more about the process of making bacon, my little brother works for an Oscar Meyer plant. He can tell you about slicing and the seasonings and yeah just lots. Sometimes he even gets a special deal on a big box, which for the Thrifty Chick in me, that's perfect. I got to take home some of the new "Naturals" line that is supposed to be better for you with sea salt. It does taste good for you, but I'm pretty sure it is still not on a list of healthy foods.
So how do you cook bacon? The traditional way is with a frying pan. I personally hate that method. Grease flys everywhere, there's a huge, hard to clean mess. I have used one of those George clamshell grills. Drains the grease off which is nice, but I tend to get distracted and then get it almost too crispy. My new favorite method is with the Pampered Chef ridged baker. You can simply put the bacon in the over and the grease goes down in the grooves and you have tender, juicy bacon. After it is cooked and cooled if you have leftovers, simply put in between sheets of paper towel and put in the fridge. Boom, easy protein for breakfast the next morning. Easy to crumble on a salad. Super versatile. Ok that's my Bacon ad for the day. LOL! Sorry if you gained a few pounds reading this!
Well if you wanted to know more about the process of making bacon, my little brother works for an Oscar Meyer plant. He can tell you about slicing and the seasonings and yeah just lots. Sometimes he even gets a special deal on a big box, which for the Thrifty Chick in me, that's perfect. I got to take home some of the new "Naturals" line that is supposed to be better for you with sea salt. It does taste good for you, but I'm pretty sure it is still not on a list of healthy foods.
So how do you cook bacon? The traditional way is with a frying pan. I personally hate that method. Grease flys everywhere, there's a huge, hard to clean mess. I have used one of those George clamshell grills. Drains the grease off which is nice, but I tend to get distracted and then get it almost too crispy. My new favorite method is with the Pampered Chef ridged baker. You can simply put the bacon in the over and the grease goes down in the grooves and you have tender, juicy bacon. After it is cooked and cooled if you have leftovers, simply put in between sheets of paper towel and put in the fridge. Boom, easy protein for breakfast the next morning. Easy to crumble on a salad. Super versatile. Ok that's my Bacon ad for the day. LOL! Sorry if you gained a few pounds reading this!
Monday, April 23, 2012
Yum Potato for Supper
Yum! Love my baked potato!
Giant potato-$0.58
Dollop of Sour Cream-$0.10
Dollop of butter-$0.08
Piece of Bacon-$0.15
Total=Cheap, Easy Supper
Giant potato-$0.58
Dollop of Sour Cream-$0.10
Dollop of butter-$0.08
Piece of Bacon-$0.15
Total=Cheap, Easy Supper
The Potato Bag
Ok, so I decided to make baked potatoes for supper. I went to find my baked potato bag and it took me 10 minutes to locate it! Sometimes the third bedroom turns into an oasis for unclaimed laundry. Sure enough I had laundered it and it never made it back to it's happy home under the microwave. Oh sorry, you are probably like what's a Baked Potato Bag??? well it is pretty cool actually. It is a fabric bag that you can use to do microwave baked potatoes in a flash. You know how if you just put them in there alone they can get wrinkly and dry? This bag is designed to stop that problem. Who has time to actually bake one in the oven anyway?
All you do is select two good baking potatoes (white potatoes are better to bake, red better for mashed), rinse them off, stab a few holes in them (to release pressure when cooking), sprinkle some salt on them, wrap them in paper towels (to keep the bag cleaner longer), stick into to the bag and microwave. Depending on the size and quantity calculates your cook time. If you have two larger potatoes, I would start at 6 minutes, squeeze to see how soft they are and add a minute at a time to finish. When done you should be able to lightly squeeze them or push down and feel it actually squish. Pretty cool eh? Now add all the wonderful topping choices (tonight will be bacon, cheese, and sour cream).
Where do you get one? I swapped a neighbor lady a small Pampered Chef item for it a few years back. Her sister in law made them. You should be able to find them at a craft fair for like 7 bucks. If you are crafty you can make one but I'm not good at describing fabric patterns. Lol.
All you do is select two good baking potatoes (white potatoes are better to bake, red better for mashed), rinse them off, stab a few holes in them (to release pressure when cooking), sprinkle some salt on them, wrap them in paper towels (to keep the bag cleaner longer), stick into to the bag and microwave. Depending on the size and quantity calculates your cook time. If you have two larger potatoes, I would start at 6 minutes, squeeze to see how soft they are and add a minute at a time to finish. When done you should be able to lightly squeeze them or push down and feel it actually squish. Pretty cool eh? Now add all the wonderful topping choices (tonight will be bacon, cheese, and sour cream).
Where do you get one? I swapped a neighbor lady a small Pampered Chef item for it a few years back. Her sister in law made them. You should be able to find them at a craft fair for like 7 bucks. If you are crafty you can make one but I'm not good at describing fabric patterns. Lol.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Taco Pie
Tonight a friend requested that I come over and show her how to make Taco Pie. So we split the ingredient list and I came over. Taco Pie is easy and fun recipe to make.
Ingredients/Supplies:
Round casserole dish
Flour Tortillas Large (5)
Hamburger, cooked & drained
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
1 Can Refried Beans
1 Packet Taco seasoning
8 oz shredded Colby cheese
Sour Cream
Shredded Lettuce
Directions:
Cook the hamburger, drain. Add the can of rotel and packet of seasoning mix. Bring to a simmer.
Put a flour tortilla in the bottom of the casserole dish. Using a mix and scraper or spoon, spread a thick layer of reified beans onto tortilla. Then add a layer of meat mixture, top with cheese. Repeat layering until you reach the top of the pan or run out of ingredients. Top off with thick layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Serve with sour cream and shredded lettuce on top. Enjoy!
Ingredients/Supplies:
Round casserole dish
Flour Tortillas Large (5)
Hamburger, cooked & drained
1 Can Rotel Tomatoes
1 Can Refried Beans
1 Packet Taco seasoning
8 oz shredded Colby cheese
Sour Cream
Shredded Lettuce
Directions:
Cook the hamburger, drain. Add the can of rotel and packet of seasoning mix. Bring to a simmer.
Put a flour tortilla in the bottom of the casserole dish. Using a mix and scraper or spoon, spread a thick layer of reified beans onto tortilla. Then add a layer of meat mixture, top with cheese. Repeat layering until you reach the top of the pan or run out of ingredients. Top off with thick layer of cheese. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Serve with sour cream and shredded lettuce on top. Enjoy!
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