Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

This weekend was my White Crystal Beach family and friends graduation party for me. My mother already had food planned out, but we couldn't figure out what to made as dessert. It just so happened that my mom picked up a 5 lb zucchini from the beach last weekend so I wanted to made zucchini bread! We went to Maple Hoff 2 to pick up some sweets and we were talking about what to make with the zucchini and the lady at the counter told us about chocolate chip zucchini cookies. I wasn't really sure about cookies... but I'd love to make chocolate chip zucchini cupcakes. 

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cupcakes (Makes 1 dozen)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 zucchinis, shred (about 2 cups)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup oil

Cream Cheese Icing

First off, can you just look at the SIZE of this zucchini? I am amazed that I only have a little bit left after making two batches of this recipe!! 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. The first thing I did was cut it to manageable sizes and cut the skin off. If you want to use a peeler, be my guest, but it's easier to just run a knife down the sides.

Cut out the center seeds. I used the knife to get it out, but you can use a spoon. 

At this point you can either cut the zucchini in cubes and put it in the food processor like I did, or use the pieces like seen above and use a grater to cut it up. It would of taken me forever to grate that amount of zucchini, so I cheated. :)

Place zucchini, eggs, and oil in a large mixing bowl. 

Mix dry ingredients in another large mixing bowl.

Incorporate the chocolate chips.

 Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients while mixing until completely incorporated.

Line pan with cupcake cups. Fill cups 7/8 of the way up.

Place cupcakes in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

Now, I'll show you a quick and cheap trip to icing your cupcakes... Take a regular sandwich bag and line it in a cup. Fill the bag with icing.

 Pull the bag out and twist the top together.

Without squeezing the bag, cut the tips off of a corner.

Create your own way to decorate the cupcake. I swirl. :)

Everyone at the graduation party loved them. They were moist and tasty and comforting. It was a wonderful idea for the party.

Enjoy xo

Spinach Alfredo Pasta with Chicken Sausage

Today was one of those days where you just could not find anything to do. Too lazy to shower and go out, and bored of TV and the Internet. So on days like today... I cook. I figured it would be a nice thing for me to do because my dad had night-shift and my mom was going to be home late from work. I looked in the fridge and freezer for a few minutes and it just hit me what I wanted to make! Spinach Alfredo with Garden Rotini Pasta and Chicken Sausage filled with feta cheese and spinach. I figured it would pair nicely.

Spinach Alfredo Pasta with Chicken Sausage
(Feeds 3-4)

Ingredients:
- Chicken Sausage with Feta Cheese and Spinach
- 1 package Frozen Spinach
- About 3/4 of the package of Garden Rotini Pasta


Alfredo Sauce:
- 3 tbsp Margarine
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 tbsp Cream Cheese 
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1 tsp Parsley
- Salt & Pepper
- 3/4 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tbsp Kraft Greek Vinaigrette 


Alfredo Sauce:The first thing I did was start the Alfredo sauce in a pan over med-high heat. I placed the margarine, minced garlic, parsley, salt & pepper in the pan and let the garlic and herbs melt/sauteed for a few minutes. 

I turned down the heat and put in the cream cheese and Kraft Greek Vinaigrette. Mix that around until the cream melts. Start adding the milk and flour slowly, while whisking it in. Don't worry if it's a little thick, the spinach water will thin it out later. Add the Parmesan Cheese and whisk in. 

Start on cooking the spinach, pasta, and sausage. 


Spinach:
Take the package of frozen spinach and heat it up with about a cup and a half of water. After you heat up the spinach, take about a cup of spinach water and whisk it into the Alfredo Sauce. Strain the spinach, then take about a cup and a half of Spinach and whisk it into the Alfredo Sauce. 

Pasta:
Cook pasta as package directs. Strain and place in pasta dish.


Chicken Sausage:
Coat the pan with cooking spray. Preheat your pan to medium high heat.
Cut the sausage into little 1/4" medallions. 

Place in pan until fully cooked. It took about 10 minutes for me because of how small. 

     

Now we combine!

Place pasta into serving dish. Add 1/2 of the Alfredo Sauce. Mix well.

Add Chicken Sausage. Add rest of Alfredo Sauce. Mix well and serve.

Overall, I really like it... but without the Chicken Sausage. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, but I could just eat the Spinach Alfredo by itself without any meat.... just pasta!

Enjoy! xo

Cupcake Eggs

So as I went about my morning, attempting to cook my father and I breakfast, I realized that cooking while trying to take pictures of every step is harder than I thought! Looking back on what I just did, I realized that I made a few mistakes. I forgot to take a picture of the flat bread in the cupcake molds. I, in a pinch for time, used frozen cut up vegetables from another meal this week, so the overall scrambled egg have a dull look, instead of fresh yolk color. I used 3 eggs like I normally do, but only made 2 bread molds, so I had a ton of extra scrambled eggs left. I used the wrong size pan (muffin pan, actually) so my bread molds came out looking like little saucers. Overall, it tastes great... just looks like a mess.


Cupcake Eggs with Onions and Red and Green Peppers

Ingredients:
- Sliced Bread (wheat or white)
- Eggs
- Cooking Spray
- Cupcake mold
- Water
- Salt & Pepper


Optional and subject to change:
- Cheese 
- Vegetables
- Breakfast Meats


Preheat the Oven to 350. Take two pieces of regular White Bread and trim off the crust. Some people put away bread crusts and turn it into bread crumbs for later... I fed the birds out back. Flatted the pieces of bread with a roller, or any other circular object. 

Place the flattened bread into the cupcake molds gently and press down any folds. Place cupcake mold into oven for 10 minutes or until crispy. Cook it long enough so that when you take the bread out of the mold and fill it with eggs, it keeps it shape. 

Next, we can start on the scrambled eggs. Crack the 3 eggs into a mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup of water to make the scrambled eggs fluffy. Add a little salt and pepper to your taste. Use a fork or whisk to beat the eggs completely until it looks frothy and even colored. 

If you are cooking any breakfast meats or vegetables, now would be a good time to start cooking them in your pan. After cooked, you can either keep it in the pan and pour your scrambled egg mixture over it, or sprinkle it on top of the "Egg Cupcake." Really, it's up to you on what you like. I decided on Onions, Red peppers, and Green peppers. I sprayed my pan up with a little cooking spray and placed the vegetables in the pan. I sauteed them for about 4-5 minutes, then poured my scrambled egg mixture into the pan.

After pouring the mixture in, I then worked the eggs to break them up until all the eggs were cooked. Unfortunately, this is when the eggs started to brown a little more than I'd like. I'm certain it's because I didn't use fresh vegetables in a pinch of time. Oh well. Next time! After the eggs were done cooking, I spooned the scrambled eggs and vegetables into the bread molds. 

Note to self: Two bread molds is NOT enough to hold 3 eggs worth of scrambled eggs. I had a good amount left over that I just put on the plate around it.


Enjoy! I know I did and I can't wait to try it again to perfect it!

My first blog and Gilpin's Falls Covered Bridge

So here's the deal: I've been saying for a while how much I've admired the few who decide to document their travels/cooking/life (and actually keep up with it), and how I wish I had the dedication to do the same. I've decided to give it a try. Now, I'm not a literature or English major, so I don't have much experience with captivating word-play... no, I went to school for Engineering. I like solving problems. But if you asked me where I am most happy, it's behind my camera, or in front of the stove. My boyfriend always yells at me when we go somewhere new to put down the camera. I can't. I HAVE to document what I've done and where I've been. It works well with my addiction to my scrapbook of Matt & I. I've done very well of keeping that up to date and organized. Let's see if this works.

This weekend, Matt picked me up on Friday and took me down to his shore house. It's basically a 30-40 minute drive from PA to MD using 272. I've grown very accustomed to driving that road because I go the same way to my shore house on the Chesapeake Bay. I've always wondered about the covered bride off to the left when you enter Maryland. They did some work on it a few years ago and after they were done, opened it to the public. After we crossed the state border, Matt whips around the car suddenly, almost last minute, and to my surprise we were in the parking lot out front.

So begins our exploring... The first thing I noticed as I walked up to the bridge was a ridiculous amounts of bird droppings scattered all around. Trying to dodge all those little land mines was fun. Matt brought along his camera and began snapping away, of course. 

I went inside and right away noticed the rickety boards. Made me a little uneasy, but as you looked down at the boards, you can see the pale greenish blue of the water underneath still glowing from the sun. It was really beautiful. I've always had a thing for covered bridges and tunnels. Even more when you can drive a car under and lay on the horn! The echo it makes is one of my favorite sounds!

Matt and I went back outside and made our way towards the water. As you walked up to the water's edge, you can see all the little frogs dart out from there mud coverings and into the deep water, leaving a trail of muddy water in their wake. Only a few stayed behind and peered their cute little lime green heads out of the water. After a few failed attempted at getting mid-action jumping shots of the frogs, we decided to pack it up and head home. 

One quick picture of the miniature dam behind the bridge, and we were out of there.