Healthy Surprise Cupcakes

I think we've all heard the joke about this being the time of year to lock our cars so no one can load them with the abundant zucchini crop threatening to take over our gardens. Very soon my neighbor will be knocking at the back door with the huge zucchini he couldn't unload at church, I will take them, and gladly. I shred them and freeze it in 2 cup portions in jars or zipper bags so this winter I can turn out fresh loaves of zucchini bread, muffins or these sweet cupcakes. Zucchini, it must be Ohio's "bounty crop".

There are three parts to this recipe but don't be put off by that because over all this is super easy to put together.

Filling:

1  8 oz. package cream cheese

1 egg

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

This is the one part I forgot to photograph for you but you just put all these ingredients in a small mixing bowl and beat them until fluffy. Set aside in the refrigerator while you mix the cake batter.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease well.

Batter:

2 cups flour, I use spelt flour (can't eat wheat) for us but make them with all purpose if they are a gift

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup vegetable oil (or canola)

2 cups shredded zucchini

4 eggs

Put the dry ingredients in large bowl.

Stir to mix.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the oil and eggs until well mixed and light in color.

Add the zucchini.

Don't worry about the zucchini getting caught in the whisk, most of it will come out when you add the dry ingredients.

Now add the dry ingredients, mix only until combined don't over beat or it will be tough.

Fill muffin cups 1/2 full (I'm a half full girl-how about you?).

Now take the filling from the fridge and drop a tablespoon or so into the center of each cup of batter, I used a piping bag but a spoon works just fine.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack while you make the frosting.

 

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

2 tablespoons milk

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt the butter with the brown sugar.

Stir constantly until sugar is completely melted.

With a rubber scraper, transfer to mixing bowl.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Just playing around while it cools--(a nice photo of my much used mixing bowl)

Add vanilla, milk and powdered sugar, beat until fluffy. If it is too thin add more powdered sugar,a tablespoon at a time, until spreadable, if too stiff add milk a teaspoon at a time. Spreading consistency is close to room temperature butter, not runny but smooth and easy to spread.

Slather the tops of the cupcakes with frosting.

 This will make 2 dozen regular size cupcakes, unless you lose a couple to little fingers who reach from behind.

BBQ Meatloaf

What's more basic and American than meatloaf? This one has an underlying smoky BBQ flavor and uses oats instead of bread crumbs so it is wheat free, it would be gluten free except that oats are often times processed on the same equipment as wheat so they are rarely gluten free.

I used lean ground beef so it wasn't greasy at all.
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or ground chuck
3/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons brown mustard (Guldens is the favorite here)
3/4 cup hickory BBQ sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons milk
For topping:
1 tablespoon  brown mustard
3 tablespoons BBQ sauce
Of course you will want some extra BBQ sauce to serve on the side for those who have to dip everything (Dave and Samuel;).
Into a large bowl, put all the ingredients except the topping sauce.

Mix well.

 Turn into a loaf pan.

Pour BBQ sauce and mustard on top.

Swirl around with the back of a spoon.

Cover with foil.

Bake at 425F. for about 45 minutes, uncovering for the last 15 minutes.

Since the oven will be on anyway, you could wash and prick some large potatoes and bake at the same time. Look for the glazed carrots also on this blog or serve with a crisp salad.

I found this on my camera as I was loading these photos, this is the newest addition to our cat collection. Thanks Gail!

White Chocolate, Oatmeal, Macadamia Nut Cookies

We had a beautiful lunch today with great friends, lots of fun. While the kiddos were playing the moms sat at the table catching up, discussing scripture and sharing the hand of Providence in our lives. Tammy, our hostess, served up two meals, one "mom food" and one "kid food". What's the difference? Mom food had lots of green crunchy lettuce topped with tender, seasoned chicken while kid food comes in a bun with chips and cookies. Not to worry, hot dogs are not standard cuisine for any of our families, we are, for the most part, health conscious parents.

So what do you top off a junk food meal with, of course, cookies.

I suppose if I used a cookie scoop they would be more uniform in size and shape but size and shape have no bearing on flavor and these are sweet, buttery and chewy, and oh, so easy.
Preheat oven to 375F., do not grease cookie sheets.

Dry ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups quick oats
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Wet ingredients:
1 1/4 cups butter at room temperature
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
Place the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and light.

Add dry to wet and mix until well incorporated.

Lastly, add one package white chocolate chips with macadamia nuts. I think two would be better but I only had one, if you try two please let me know what you think. If you can't find the mixed chips with nuts just add the white chips and 1/2 cup any nuts.
Drop dough onto cookie sheets by heaping teaspoonful.

Leave ample room for each cookie to spread, I made 3 rows of 4 per pan.
Bake 8-9 minutes, the edges only should begin to brown slightly. If you over bake then they will be crisp, which is fine if you are looking for a crispy cookie, I wasn't paying attention to the first pan and it was a bit crisp--no one thought it a hardship to eat them :)

Cool on racks then seal in a cookie can or in a ziploc. If you want them to stay chewy put a slice of fresh bread in with them.

Don't turn your back on them.

This is my Cookie Monster!

Classic Garlic Bread

For me, the best part of a spaghetti dinner is the garlic bread, warm and buttery, best when dipped in a rich marinara sauce. We are going to do this the easiest, quickest way so you have plenty of time to enjoy it with your family and friends.

 Start with a loaf of French or Italian bread from the bakery.
1 stick butter, only the real thing will do
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
dash salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano/basil blend, or Italian seasoning
Put one stick of butter into a small bowl to soften.

I know this looks like 2 sticks, just ignore the second one, I was making enough for 2 loaves of bread.
Now add the garlic, salt, and seasoning.

Mix this until combined.

Slice the loaf of bread in about 1 inch slices.

Spread garlic butter on each piece and lay butter side up on a sheet pan.
Preheat broiler to high.
Put pan full of buttery bread into oven. Don't leave, this is not the time to answer the phone. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until it just begins to brown on the edges. This is when the garlic becomes so fragrant you wouldn't want to miss it anyway. If you are alone in the kitchen you may enjoy one before calling everyone to dinner. If a small child comes in and catches you simply break a piece in half and hand it to him with a "shh" and a wink and you will have a friend for life.

Nana's Italian Meatballs in Pasta Sauce

This weekend were the kart races at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course so we get the pleasure of providing dinner for my parent's race team a couple nights. The second evening they were here we had a spaghetti dinner which everyone enjoyed, Patti's (aka. Nana) specialty.  After a long practice day they went back to the motel tired but full.

Patti, Samuel and I had some errands to run during the day so she made the sauce in my crock pot in the morning and left it to simmer all day.
Serves 10
2  26oz cans of tomato sauce
2 6 oz can of tomato paste
1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 tablespoons salt
dash pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf, remove before serving
Put all this in the crock pot and simmer on high at least 4 hours.

When we were home again she mixed up the meatballs.
2 # ground sirloin
1 cup oatmeal
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon salt
dash pepper
1 egg
Put all this in a large bowl and mix.

Preheat the oven to 350F before you stick your hands in the meat (I am a sissy so I use a spoon).
Roll into 2 inch balls.

Place on an ungreased sheet pan in neat rows, very nice.

Bake for 30 minutes or until they are just starting to brown.

Then put them into the sauce.

Cover again and cook until the rest of the meal is finished.
My son and I can't/ shouldn't have wheat so we use spelt pasta which is very close to wheat, you use your favorite spaghetti. For this amount of sauce we used 1 1/2# of pasta. Cook according to package directions and drain. Ladle sauce and meatballs over hot pasta.
Serve with salad and garlic bread (see this blog for garlic bread and salad dressing).

This year they had a whole new group with them, I always enjoy meeting the people Dad and Patti work and play with all year. This year was no exception, a really great group of people and congratulations to Todd who took home two very large eagles along with a few lumps!