Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I made cupcakes for Pat to take to work, then a basketball cake for his bday dinner:)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs and oil, mix well. Fold in the nuts and zucchini until they are evenly distributed. Pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake completely before frosting with your favorite frosting.

Dinosaur Cake

Jaxson's 3rd Birthday cake. I only had to make two round cakes:) I went on the Wilton website and used their recipe for buttercream icing. Used Toblerone chocolate for the spikes.

Couscous

This is an excellent couscous recipe and really easy:)

2 cups couscous

4 cups chicken stock (for the vegetarians just use vegetable stock)

4 tbsp of olive oil

1/4 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

2 cups chopped up zucchini

1 cup chopped carrots

1 onion (chopped)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1. In a pot bring bring the stock, olive oil, cinnamon, and tumeric to a boil.

2. Add the couscous and boil for 1-2 min or until the liquid has been absorbed.

3. Remove from heat and fold in raisins, zucchini, carrots, onions mix well.

4. in a small bowl mix together lemon juice and 2 tbsp of olive oil....pour this over couscous and toss to coat. Cover and refridgerate overnight (for best taste)

I'm serving this with maple glazed salmon and broccoli tonight.

Beer Battered Fish

Save On had a deal on Cod, buy one get one free. So I bought some and made my own Fish n Chips (without the chips) dinner. This dinner comes with calories I'm sure..but for a once in awhile meal it was really good!
I mixed about one cup of flour with one can of beer. Then coated the fish and fried it in a good amount of oil.
The fish cooked really fast, so have everything else ready before you cook the fish.
I served it with corn on the cob, salad, and of course tartar sauce :) Both boys ate like they were starving!

Ribs

1.)Cut the ribs into separate pieces then brown them under broil for 10-20min. While these are browning you can make the sauce.
2.) Throw everything into a big casserole dish and cook them at 300 degrees for 2.5hrs.

Sauce:
1 medium onion
1/2 c. water
2 TBSP white vinegar
1 TBSP worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp lemon juice
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 c. chili sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp paprika

Instructions:
Brown onion in 1 TBSP oil.
Add all ingredients and simmer for 20 min.

This is my Gram's recipe...so I grew up eating these ribs....so yummy! My brother uses this recipe in his restaurant also:)

Cheese Bread

1 3/4 cup flour
1/4 sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup cheese (strong cheese is better)
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vege oil

Mix all together put in loaf pan and cook at 375 for 34-45 min.

This was super easy and quick both boys liked it:)

Mac and Cheese

So I made Mac and Cheese tonight...the usual cheese sauce recipe:

a little butter
a cup or so of milk,
a little four
alot of cheese:)

This time I added to the cheese sauce almost half a head of pureed cauliflower. I did this because I needed to use it or throw it out. I wasn't sure of the nutritional value of cauliflower (I figured it's a white vege...can't be much to it). So I did a little internet searching and found out this:

Health & Nutrition Benefits of Eating Cauliflower

* The allicin in cauliflower is known to promote a healthy heart and reduce the risk of strokes
* Cauliflower contains selenium and vitamin C, both of which work together to strengthen the immune system.
* Cauliflower has been associated with the maintenance of a healthy cholesterol level.
* Being rich in folate, cauliflower is known to help improve cell growth and replication. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant would benefit from this.
* The high amount of fiber in cauliflower improves colon health and can even help prevent cancer.
* Recently, it was found that cauliflower contains ‘indole-3-carbinol’, a substance that can prevent breast and other female cancers.
* The glucosinolates and thiocyanates, present in cauliflower, increase the ability of liver to neutralize potentially toxic substances.
* Cauliflower acts as a blood and liver detoxifier.
* Sulforaphane, a substance in cauliflower, can remove cancer causing chemicals and also stop the spread of cancer cells, even in the later stages of their growth.
* Researches have suggested that cauliflower contains certain phyto-chemicals that might help reduce the risk of some hereditary cancers.

The people suffering from the following ailments can benefit from cauliflower:

* Arthritis
* Asthma
* Constipation
* High Blood Pressure
* Kidney and Bladder Disorders

So if you want to add a little vege without your kids or husband knowing...why not add it...it's cheap and as it turns out it does have some health benefits:)