Zucchini Fudge Cake

I found this recipe right after J.D. and I got married. It's delicious and moist and above all chocolaty. You can used a prepared chocolate fudge frosting (which is what I usually do) but I think the frosting from the Hershey's cake on here would be wonderful too. What a great way to sneak vegetables into your day!

1 cup butter, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups shredded zucchini
3-1/2 cups prepared chocolate frosting

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in zucchini.
Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes (I had to bake it about 42 minutes--I don't know why) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of cake. Yield: 12-14 servings.

Mexican Tinga

Jenn, I feel like you've been carrying this blog for a little while, and I thought that I might help out with this recipe.
I found this on allrecipes.com, but I changed it a little to fit our tastes. You can find the original recipe here. It's pretty simple, but I enjoyed it and will make it again. Here's my changes to it.

4 chicken breasts
1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies.
1 onion, chopped
sour cream
shredded cheese
shredded lettuce
tostada shells (you can fry your own corn tortillas in oil until crispy, that's what I did)

Season chicken with salt and pepper and a little cumin. Puree tomatoes and add to chicken. Add onion and cook on low for 6 hours, high for 4. When chicken is cooked, shred and return to crock pot.

To serve, put chicken on tostada, top with sour cream and what ever else you want. Like I said, it's pretty simple, but it's different and good.

Lemon Pie

This was a really easy pie that I made a few days ago. Shawn's first comment was, "wow, this is interesting", but then he told me he really liked it. I think this pie would be GREAT on a warm summers day! You could easily garnish this pie with whipped cream-that would be delicious, but I was just lazy.


3 egg yolks
juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup whipped cream
3 egg whites, beaten stiff
3 T. sugar
Vanilla Wafer Crumbs or Graham crackers crumbs

With a wire whisk, beat the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar. Place mixture in to of a double boiler and cook slowly to make a custard, stirring continuously. Remove from heat when thickened, and let cool. Whip the cream, then beat the egg whites until stiff;fold in sugar and whipped cream. Fold this mixture into the cooled custard. Line a glass pie dish with vanilla wafer crumbs and fill with lemon custard. Freeze until firm and the slice and serve.

Chicken Alfredo and Rice Casserole

This recipe was a nice change to the typical chicken and rice casserole. I liked the Alfredo sauce added to the mix and this was very easy to put together!


1 10oz. bottle Alfredo pasta sauce
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cup cooked wild rice (or you could use white rice)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup chopped bottled roasted red sweet peppers
1/4 cup silvered almonds, toasted (optional)
1 T. snipped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 T. butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl combine pasta sauce and milk. Stir in rice, chicken, peas, sweet peppers, nuts, and basil. Transfer to baking dish. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover and stir. Combine the bread crumbs and melted butter and sprinkle on top. Bake, uncovered 20-25 minutes more or until heated through and crumbs are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens Magazine!

Amazing Creamy Lemon Bars

This is definitely my new favorite lemon bar recipe. I got it from a great food blog http://www.the-daily-bite.blogspot.com/. I love the creamy texture to this lemon bar.

Creamy Lemon Bars
20 Nilla Wafers, finely crushed

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold real butter

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 Tbsp. flour

3 Tbsp grated lemon peel divided

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice-use FRESH!

1/4 tsp. Baking Powder

Powdered sugar
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Spray lightly with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a bowl, combine Nilla Wafer crumbs, 1/2 cup flour and the brown sugar. Chop butter into small pieces and then cut into crumb mixture with a pastry blender. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min.

While crust is cooking, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 2 Tbsp. flour, and baking powder; mix well. Blend in 1 Tbsp. lemon zest, and lemon juice and then pour mixture over crust.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until center is set. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining 2 Tbsp. grated lemon peel just before cutting into squares to serve. Store leftover squares in refrigerator.