Zucchini Cornbread

Summer is in full swing, which means lots of fresh produce!  I hope you're taking advantage of farmer's markets in your area, your own garden, or if those don't appeal to you, at least look for the produce sales at the grocery store; the in-season produce is usually the best price.  We've been blessed this year with a productive garden, and it's been fun to be creative with how to use all of our vegetables.  I hope to be able to share some great tomato recipes with you soon.  First, I have to learn how to can them; this is on my to-do list for the weekend.  Wish me luck!

Today, though, I have a zucchini recipe for you.  This recipe is one I had pinned almost a year ago, and gave it a try one night with some homemade soup.  It's delicious.  Cornbread has always been a favorite of mine, and this didn't disappoint; there's just a bit of crunch on the edges and a moist texture inside.  Wondering how to get your kids to eat more veggies?  Just throw some zucchini into bread or cake and they will most likely eat it without even knowing.  My girls drizzled honey over theirs and devoured it. The original recipe {cited below} also included wheat flour, but I thought it was fine without.

Zucchini Cornbread
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large zucchini, shredded {equaling about 2 cups}
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cornmeal

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Cook until butter on the bottom of the pan turns a golden brown color, about 3 minutes.  Set aside and cool.  Whisk in eggs and buttermilk.  Add shredded zucchini and stir until blended.   Add remaining ingredients and stir until combined.  The mixture will be very thick.  Place in a greased 9x5x3 inch pan, and place in a preheated 350F oven.  Bake 55-65 minutes, until golden brown and knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan about 10 minutes, and then cool on a rack.

source: slightly adapted from  Epicurious

Chocolate Buttermilk Scones {the not-so-skinny ones}

 

One of my Pinterest boards, is titled "Recipes to Try".  Perhaps many of you also have a board that is similar to this one.  Well, I decided it was about time to start trying those recipes out!  {This is the danger of Pinterest.  We find great ideas and then just spend lots of time looking, but no time creating}.

This is the original pin and if you follow the link it will take you to the recipe.

Source: skinnytaste.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Looks great and I'm sure they're wonderful!  However, I'm more of a not-so-skinny kind of cook, so I changed it up a bit and made my own 'fat' version of this one.  The hubby liked them.  My friend who received the ones wrapped in the package above {I really need to invest in some baker's twine and brown paper} liked them.  It's a keeper.  Perfect for any out-of-town guests you might have with you celebrating Independence Day this week!

Chocolate Buttermilk Scones


2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup chocolate chips
egg white
sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in butter using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  In another small bowl, combine sugar, buttermilk, vanilla and egg; whisk to combine.  Pour this mixture into the large bowl and stir until just combined.  Fold in chocolate chips.  Place dough onto a well-floured surface, and knead a few times.  {I had to keep adding in more flour so that the dough wouldn't stick to me}.  Form dough into a 9-inch circle, on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.  Cut with a knife dipped in flour, all the way through the circle, into 12 wedges.  Brush egg white all over and sprinkle with extra sugar.  Bake at 375F for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.

source:  slightly adapted from Skinny Taste

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Garlic Dill Mayonnaise

Pasta salads are one of my favorite summer meals.  You really can't go wrong throwing any fresh vegetable, a little meat, some pasta and some sort of dressing into a bowl.  My husband, however, is a pasta salad snob.  This means we don't normally eat any type of pasta salad in our house.  So, I save these dishes for potlucks and ladies' nights, where I think most people will enjoy it.  I needed a dish to take to a get together last weekend, and I really didn't want to go to the store.  There was a box of pasta in the pantry, fresh veggies and herbs in my garden, and some chicken in the freezer.  Perfect!  After a little research on sprucing up plain mayonnaise, I had something that I liked.  Best part?  My pasta salad snob husband likes it too.

If you read down through the recipe, you'll see that I have 50 cherry tomatoes listed as an ingredient.  It's not necessary to use exactly 50 tomatoes.  I just happened to count them as I was cutting them and tossing them in the bowl.  Feel free to add more garlic, too; I didn't want it to overpower the salad, but if you love garlic, add in another clove or two.

Grilled Chicken Pasta Salad with Garlic Dill Mayonnaise


1 lb. pasta, cooked
2 green peppers, diced
50 cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber, chopped
2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves minced garlic
3 tablespoons fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl gently combine cooked pasta, peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and chicken.  In a separate bowl mix together mayonnaise, garlic and dill.  Stir the mayonnaise gently into the pasta mixture until well dispersed.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve chilled.

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Purchasing Fabric Online

Recently I received a question from someone asking where online I have purchased my fabric.  So, I thought I would answer her in a post, just in case some others of you were wondering the same thing. Of course, there are countless online fabric stores, but these are just the ones that I have experience with.

My go to is Fabric.com.  They have all kinds of fabric -- home decor, quilting, and apparel -- and their prices are very reasonable.  Shipping is free, with any order over $35, and it's usually easy to come up with that big of an order.

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When I purchased the huge order of burlap that I keep using for various projects, I ordered it from Online Fabric Store.  This site is especially helpful if you're ordering many yards of the same fabric, as the cost is discounted for larger quantities.  

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My mother-in-law introduced me to Chez Ami, which sells beautiful children's apparel.  They also sell their fabric, and it's beautiful!  I purchased some this winter that was on clearance for about $3/yard, and I really love the fabric.  You can sign up to receive their newsletter via email, so that you know when the sales are.

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Ashley, from The Handmade Home wrote a great post listing all of her favorite fabric sources, and you can find that post here.  She has much more experience with this than I do, so I wanted you to have that great resource!

If any of you have other great online fabric sources, please, leave in the comments so we can all benefit from your great finds!

Journey through the Psalms: The Goodness of God's Word

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Psalm 19: 7-11

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the LORD are right rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.  Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward."

I love looking through these verses and seeing all of the things that God's Word is and all of the things that God's Word does.  Lately, the Word of God has been powerful in reviving my weary soul. Oh, that I would always allow the truth of God's Word to penetrate my heart, transform my mind, and guide me to walk in righteousness.  

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

We are thoroughly enjoying the delicious fresh produce from our garden!  In some ways, we're getting more than we can keep up with.  We pick about 100 cherry tomatoes every day.  I'm trying to be creative as possible with cooking beans, tomatoes, and zucchini in various ways.  This green bean recipe is delicious, and coupled with some corn on the cob, and maybe some homemade biscuits, you could have an entire meal.

Sauteed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

3/4 lb. green beans
olive oil {or leftover bacon grease}*
5 oz. mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
8 oz. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 lb. cooked, diced bacon
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcester sauce

Steam {or boil, but I prefer to steam them} green beans until done, but not too soft.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil.  Add mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook until tender.  Add tomatoes and beans, cooking until tomatoes are heated through.  While this is cooking, mix sugar and Worcester sauce in a small bowl.  Add the mixture to the skillet, a little bit at a time, until it has enough juices to cover the beans.  {I didn't end up using all of the brown sugar mixture}.  Gently stir in the cooked bacon.

*I cooked my bacon in a large electric skillet, drained most of the grease, and then used some of it to cook my veggies.  Obviously this isn't as healthy, but it sure tastes good!

DIY Pergola Swingest for the Backyard

We've been debating over a swing set for the backyard for months now, and just couldn't wrap our minds around spending hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars for some wood, swings and a slide.  After some research, and a consultation with a man at our church who builds custom swingsets, we decided to tackle a major DIY project.  Thankfully, we were able to do this while Bradley's Dad was here to assist.

I have to say this is by far my favorite outdoor project yet!  Other than eating the veggies from the garden, the pergola even tops our raised bed vegetable garden.  In doing some research, Bradley discovered that most children don't really use the slide portion of a swingset, but the swings get used all the time.  So, we opted to simply have swings in the backyard for the girls.  They hang from hooks placed in the wood, and can easily be removed to put in a porch swing, or to leave empty for using the pergola as an outdoor sitting area {we're thinking re-sale here; not everyone wants swings in the backyard, but outdoor living space is highly desirable}.

Bradley designed this entire thing!  He and his dad spent about 2 full days cutting wood, pouring cement, measuring, and constructing this beautiful piece for the backyard.  My part?  Well, I'm just really happy because it created usable space out of a not-so-usable slope.  Bradley had to dig a spot out with a chisel {I think that's what he used} and it was hard work, but we now have a flat space that sits above the rest of the yard.  It's perfect!

They took the time to cut pieces out of the wood, using a homemade stencil, so that it has the finished curved look of a traditional pergola.

I really wanted this area to be grassy, and what do you know but the house across the street was at the tail end of construction and they were sodding the yard while this project was going on.  They discarded TONS of extra sod into the woods, so we scooped it up and it's growing quite nicely in its new home.

We're waiting to put just the right flowering vine to grow on the top of the pergola, and I envision twinkling white lights, a table and chairs, and an elegant meal for two at some point here during the summer.  Maybe something like this:

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Hey, if we get enough requests here, Bradley might even be willing to give us a tutorial on how to do this!  So, if you're interested in the plans for a DIY Pergola, just leave a comment and I'll make sure my husband reads them all!

ps - this entire project cost just under $300.  Way less than buying a pre-made swing set and it can be used by all ages for enjoyment!

Linking to:

Thrifty Decor Chick
Beneath My Heart