I'm In Love With A Food Processor

I never knew I could like a food processor so much!
If you have a been reading for awhile, you know that I first used a food processor this year.  Mr. SBQ had an older model when we got married, and I just used it when a recipe called for it.  A month or so ago, I was going to make cole slaw and we discovered that the adaptor for the slicing blades was no longer around.  So, much to my delight, I got to order a new food processor.  I can tell you all kinds of food processing information because I read reviews for 2 weeks.  I decided on a Kitchen Aid KFP1333 and I have totally bonded with this appliance!  The picture below is the quick pic I took to send to Mr. SBQ when it got here, to show how huge it was compared to the little white dinosaur we had.

If you are a long time food processor user, you are probably thinking, "well duh, of course it's wonderful," but this is still new to me and I am super excited!

I used it four times in the last 2 days.  First to make an amazing Cole Slaw, then to grate the zucchini for the cake.  I thought I would use the regular grater for the zucchini, but after grating a little bit, decided to use the food processor - wow!  Yesterday I used it for the energy bars (I used almond butter this time and they were great) and then for the healthy yummy meatloaf.  It's incredible!!!

About the cole slaw.  I never really considered myself a fan of cole slaw, but I do like some varieties.   We had some cabbage and so I consulted my chief cooking resource (Mom) and she told me she uses a recipe from Grange Cookbook.  So, below is an adapted recipe from the Pennsylvania State Grange Cookbook.  We love this Cole Slaw and I have made it several times already - it's actually pretty healthy.  If you need a side for the last weekend of summer, it would be a perfect one!

There isn't a picture of the cole slaw - the food processor picture is more exciting than a dish of cole slaw. (plus I didn't take one).

Cole Slaw
2-3 cups of grated cabbage (about 1/2 head)
1 carrot grated
1+ Tablespoon of dried parsley (or 1/2 cup fresh)
6 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
6 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons olive oil
Sea Salt and Pepper (I used a few grinds of each)

Mix/blend/shake the vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt & pepper.
Stir in to the cabbage, carrot and parsley; chill for several hours.
Enjoy!

Kitchen Aid Food Processor & The Antique It Replaced

The Best Zucchini Cake

Now this is what I call Zucchini Cake!
So moist and delicious - the best!

I told my mother about the Zucchini Cupcakes and how they were good, but not what I had in mind.  She gave me the Zucchini Cake recipe that she uses, which came from her Amish friend.

It is very simple and I will share:
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix it all together and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
I started testing the cake at 25 minutes, and then checked it every 5 minutes.
Mine took about 40 minutes which I assume was due to the amount of moisture from the zucchini.

My alterations were that I used extra light olive oil, and 2 whole eggs & 1 white.
Any time most recipes call for over 2 eggs, I just use whites for the additional eggs.

I frosted  the cooled cake with cream cheese frosting.
I used 1-8oz package of cream cheese, 1 stick of unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons of vanilla, and 4 1/2 - 5 cups of powdered sugar.

Little C said it was so good she wished she could take the whole thing to her room. :)

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Muffins You Can Feel Good About

I am always looking for something interesting and healthy for breakfast and mid-morning snacks.   I found this recipe for Banana Nut Oat Bran Muffins awhile back and finally made it.

It is very healthy with oat bran, walnuts, bananas, egg whites, and agave nectar/honey.  (Click the recipe link for the full recipe).  The biggest hurdle I had, was did the recipe mean Oat Bran Flour or Oat Bran Cereal.  (Remember that Oat Bran Flour I had plenty of?)  I had never bought Oat Bran, so I had no idea!  The first time I looked for it, I poured over the grains and flours in the baking aisle.  The only thing I could find was the flour, so I bought it.  This didn't look right with the other recipe ingredients, so of course I consulted my mom.  After that I went to the cereal aisle and found a box of Oat Bran Hot Cereal.  I then had a package of super fine Oat Bran Flour and a package of extra coarse Oat Bran Cereal.   These muffins are quite easy to mix up.  I used a large cookie scoop to fill each muffin liner and I had more than 12 muffins.  I think it would have been better to distribute the extra batter between the 12 muffin cups, for larger muffins.  Next time I will test them at 10 minutes rather then 12.  They are very good, but crumble if you are not careful about how you eat them.  I think by making each muffin a little bigger and baking less, that will solve the crumble issue.  There is a lot of chewing required with all that oat bran, but the flavor is wonderful and you feel like you have eaten something that was good for you.  Even Little C loves them, so it adds healthy variety to breakfasts.

Banana Nut Oat Bran Muffins

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.....Frozen Yogurt

"Don't eat the cookie dough, you don't know if the egg is OK"
How many times have I heard and said that!?!  I wondered, without going any further, how recipes had raw chocolate chip cookie dough in them without poisoning anyone.  Well, I came across this recipe for   Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt and the mystery was solved!  No eggs, almost as simple as that!

It looked rather interesting - cookie dough, a little yogurt, and a few hours in the freezer.  No ice cream freezer needed.

I had finally purchased mini chocolate chips (Ghirardelli) so that I had them for this recipe and did not have to create my own as I normally do.  I made the dough and it tasted pretty much like chocolate chip cookie dough.   I gave Little C a sample of this part of the surprise dessert I was making - her eyes got big and she made this squeal of delight that she does when something is very good.   Either that, or she was in shock that I was giving her raw cookie dough to eat!  I then folded in a cup of Vanilla Greek Yogurt until it was smooth.  The one recipe I looked at had used Chobani Vanilla Yogurt, so I tried that too.  I had never eaten Chobani and it has a bit of a tangy flavor.  I think next time I will use Fage Greek Yogurt since it has a smoother flavor.

Once the mixture was nice and smooth, which at first didn't seem like it was going to happen, but all of the sudden did, I put it in the freezer for a few hours.  I think mine was only in the freezer for about 3 hours and it was frozen solid.  I didn't get fancy with my presentation.  I was just scooping out servings for dessert and snapped a quick picture.  

The yogurt looks and tastes like big scoops of chocolate chip cookie dough!  It is very rich and was enjoyed around our table!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting

I have been eyeing up different zucchini recipes, trying to find the perfect one to make before the summer is over.  I found a good one, but I will keep looking!

These Zucchini Cupcakes from Taste of Home, are very tasty.  The cake is moist and has a nice spice flavor, and the homemade caramel frosting is good.  The recipe called for baking the cupcakes 20-25 minutes, I set the timer for 20 minutes and I think 18 would have been better.  I boiled the butter, brown sugar and milk for the frosting; and then let it cool before adding the powdered sugar.  It smelled so warm and yummy!  I used the full 2 cups of powdered sugar and it may have been just a little too much.  I was having trouble spreading the frosting, so I formed it in to balls and pressed it on each cupcake - turned out much better!

Although these are very good, I am not a huge fan of caramel, so that may be part of why these are not winning me over as the best zucchini dessert ever.  I am still partial to the super moist zucchini cake my mom always made with cream cheese frosting.  

Happy back to school!

Zucchini Cupcake