Zucchini Bread

Another recipe my sister shared with me!

Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients:
3/4 - 1  cup sugar (I like a little less but it's good with more, too)
1/2 cup oil (like canola or veggie, haven’t tried coconut or olive..)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla (omit if it’s in already from a nut milk)
1 cup grated zucchini, drained
3/4 cup unbleached flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1.     First we gotta talk zucchini. It’s got a ton of water already in it and we gotta get some of that out. Grate a zucchini, you might need two if they’re really small, and press out the moisture. There are a couple of ways to get the excess water out, you can place grated zucchini in a sieve over a bowl and press with back of spoon to remove moisture. If you have a potato ricer you can press that way. Or simply use cheese cloth and wring it out with your hands (helpful if you have some inner rage to work out).

2.     Preheat the oven to 325 F, grease and flour the loaf pan. This one can stick a little so the flour should help with that.

3.     Beat the egg in a bowl that can accommodate everything and add then add the oil, vanilla, and sugar and mix to incorporated.

4.     Add all the dry ingredients to wet mixture, mix well. You can totally sift all of those dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding if that’s your preference. This will be a loose mixture and not a formed dough.

5.     Stir in the zucchini until well combined.

6.     Transfer the bowl contents into the prepared pan, it’s loose so just even it out.

7.     Bake for ~50-65 minutes, rotating after about 30 minutes, it’s done when the toothpick check comes out clean.

8.     Transfer to a rack to cool, give it some time to cool in the pan before dumping it out of there to further cool.

Banana Bread

My sister, Sara, shared this recipe with me and I can't wait to try it!

Makes 1 loaf. The whole wheat flour makes this a dense bread, if you want a lighter texture then use less whole wheat and more unbleached. The ripeness of the bananas allows you to dial back on the sugar, adjust to what tastes good to your family and add more if the bananas aren't spotty brown.

Ingredients:
~3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 egg
3 ripe bananas
3 tbsp milk
1 cup unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1. Mash the bananas, small chunks all good just, just don’t puree or the texture in the bread will be stodgy.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F, grease the loaf pan.
3. Cream together the sugar and butter in a bowl big enough to fit everything.
4. Beat the egg in a separate bowl and add then add that, the milk, and the mashed bananas to the bowl with the sugar and butter and mix just to incorporated.
5. Add all the remaining ingredients to wet mixture (over mixing will mess with the texture). You can totally sift all of those dry ingredients in a separate bowl before adding if that’s your preference. This will be a loose mixture and not a formed dough.
6. Transfer the bowl contents into the prepared pan, it’s loose so just even it out.
7. Bake for ~50-65 minutes, rotating after about 30 minutes, it’s done when the toothpick check comes out clean.
8. Transfer to a rack to cool, can transfer out of the pan immediately or at your leisure.

Options!
I want chocolate or nuts, around a cup would work (could do a mixture of the two)
 - if you want to add these, gently incorporate after you’ve mixed everything else together.

What about vanilla? 

You can totally add a tsp of vanilla and everything will be good. If you’re a weirdo like me, sometimes the milk you use might be vanilla almond milk so that also works well and you don't need to add extra.

But I want muffins
-grease or line a muffin tin, preheat to 375 F, do all the same ingredients and mixing steps. Fill the cups to about 3/4 full. Bake for ~15-20 minutes, same toothpick test to test for doneness.

Mom's Meat Loaf

1 1/2 pounds of hamburger
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 beaten egg

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Recipe from Ladonna Love

Grandma Love's Butter Cookies

1 lb butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
4-5 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add dry ingredients. Put through a cookie press. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.