Zucchini Apocalypse! Zucchini Lasagna Boats

This is a recipe where you are going to have to carry me to your kitchen (and that comment just created an odd visual).

Yup, come on....grab your laptop, iPhone, iPad, or what have you, and let's share your kitchen.

I will be right here if you have any questions....Facebook is just a click away.

 Since we are experiencing the Zucchini Apocalypse, and they

are growing in the shape of footballs, I decided to do something

with this situation and create Lasagna Boats. 

Of course, footballs look like boats when they are cut in half,

right? Right! 

 I'm going to try and explain what I did to create these so

you can make them in your own home, and fight back

during the Zucchini season Apocalypse.

Cut the zucchini in half long ways, and scoop out the seedy part.

Once the seedy part is empty, they will look like boats.

I sliced a thin layer on the bottom of each boat just so

they would sit flat on the pan.

I drizzled them with a little olive oil and rubbed them down

with my hands. 

Have you ever given a zucchini a massage?

I sprinkled them with sea salt and flower pepper. 

That's FLOWER PEPPER, 

not FLOWER POWER (from Trader Joes).

You could also use crushed black peppercorns (same thing).

I placed the boats in a 400 degree F. oven to roast them for

15-20 minutes. Just until fork tender.

While the boats were roasting I browned 1 1/2 pounds of fresh

bulk sausage along with 3 cloves chopped garlic and a half

of a chopped sweet onion.

When the sausage was close to being done, I sprinkled in 

1 TBS of dried basil and 1 TBS oregano.

When the sausage was done I added a jar of spaghetti sauce.

Whatever kind you like, and heated everything through.

By now the boats should be done roasting.

For the fillings, or layers:

Place a little sauce in the bottom of each boat.

Add a handful of spinach leaves.

Note* - (I had to keep tucking the spinach leaves in

as I was adding the last layer of sauce)

On top of the spinach add about 2 TBS of ricotta lite.

Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan.

Add more sauce on top of the cheeses.

Note* - (make sure the spinach leaves are topped,

or covered with sauce. If not, they will dry out)

Top with more mozzarella and Parmesan.

Place them back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes,

or until tops are brown.

Note* - (you could also make this meatless if you want) 

Place them on a plate.

Grab a fork for everyone in the family 

and enjoy.

Try these at your house please....I don't want to be the only

one to survive the Zucchini season Apocalypse. 

I would be lonely!

This recipe is linked to:
Manic Monday
Tuesday Talent Show
Totally Tasty Tuesday
Foodie Friends Friday
Weekend Pot Luck
Fit and Fabulous Fridays

Green Beans & Foodie Friends Friday #5

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday #5

Have fun!

Link up (3 of your favorite recipes, please link back to FFF)!

And spread some foodie love by viewing and 

commenting on some of the other great recipes.

Don't forget to come back on Sunday to vote for your 3 faves....

 How many of you have fresh green beans coming 

out of the garden by the bushel?

Okay, the weather hasn't been all that great this growing season.

Just tell me to shut up! 

But if by chance you are over populated with green beans,

just look what I found lost in my archives.....

Yup, Green Beans!

 Another great party last weekend!

You know, the weekend is a perfect time to put

together your recipe, or grocery list for the week to come.

And where else can you find great recipes?

Of course, right here at the linky party. 

I bet you could find a recipe for every day of the week

that would cover breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Last weekend there were 134 participants (recipes).

How cool is that? Don't have to spend any money for this 

cookbook.....

The top three voted recipes from last weekend are:

Coming in at #3 is, Baked in the South, Margarita Cupcakes

(Awesome job!)

#2 is, Spatulas on Parade with, Hodge Podge Salad

(Great work!)

And the #1 most popular recipe is,

Jams n Pans, Apple Walnut Coconut Cake

With Bailey's Fudge Frosting

(Amazing!)

And the recipes with the most clicks (views) are:

Diddles & Dumplings with Crockpot Mexican Pork 

Family Food Finds with Chicken Katsu

and in the #1 spot for most clicks is, 

Flour Me With Love with Stuffed Cinnamon Rolls

(Fabulous work "most clickers"!)

A host favorite is:

From Cupcakes To Caviar with Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki

What can I say? I love, love, love Greek!

Onward to the rules (that no one likes, but must be applied).....

Step 1: Make sure that your three (3) recipes linked are:

• Recipes made and photographed by you
• Not part of a sponsorship/sales/giveaway or other promotion/part of a linky party
• Linked to the recipes specific page, not your homepage

Step 2:

• Please show some foodie love by linking back to my blog or theFoodie Friends Friday blog

*If you want to be bestest foodie friends....

• Grab our Foodie Friends Friday button and put it on your foodie page to share our Friday party
• Take some time to visit and comment on some of the submitted links 
• You are also invited to come on over and "like" us on facebook too, tweet us some lines, and follow on pinterest

***Please note, by linking to the Foodie Friends Friday blog party you are giving us permission to use photos/links on this blog and any of its affiliated Web sites or publications. If photos/recipes are used, proper credit/links will be published with them. We would like to see you have a good time and share your amazing recipes with the cyber world, spread some blog'n love, and get to know each other.

Have fun, and Thank You for visiting!

Your Hosts:

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn's View http://www.robynsviewathome.blogspot.com

Angie at A lil Country Sugar  http://alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com/  

Sarah at Everything in the Kitchen Sink  http://everythingkitchensink.blogspot.com/  

Michelle at From Calculus to Cupcakes  http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.blogspot.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://wifeofthecolonel.blogspot.com/

Lindsey at Family Food Finds  http://www.familyfoodfinds.com

Cindy at Cindys Recipes and Writings  http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com

Keira at Luscious Delights www.lusciousdelights.blogspot.com.au

Tami at Food Forays http://www.foodforays.com

Pooja at Saffron N Appetite http://saffronnappetite.blogspot.com/

Rhiannon at Baked In the South http://baked-inthesouth.blogspot.com/

Zero Sugar! Rice Pudding

 Yes!

I've been playing in picmonkey......

And I'm having so much fun with it. 

Why am I playing in picmonkey?

Because picnik has left me....(tears)':

 I ran across this fabulous Web site called Eating Well....Living Thin-er! 

I will for sure be going back!

Her recipes are fabulous!

You better bookmark this site if you are serious about what you eat.

And me!

I need to get a little more serious.

I love this pudding!

It is called rice pudding, but there is not one single grain of rice in it.

WHAT?

Then how can it be rice pudding?

I call it FAKE rice pudding.

TRICKY rice pudding.

INVISIBLE rice pudding.

I'm sure you get the picture.....

But one thing that's for sure.....Definitely will be a staple in my house.

This is great to eat as a snack, breakfast, or dessert.

You pick!

And there is not one ounce of sugar in it.

ZERO! NADDA! NOTHING!

YOU control the sugar (I added a few chocolate covered raisins to my serving).

Rice Pudding

1 (4 serving size) pkg. sugar-free instant cheesecake pudding mix (1/2 c. 25 cal)

1 3/4 c. unsweetened Almond Breeze (1 c. 45 cal)

1 (16 oz.) small curd cottage cheese (1/2 c. 110 cal)

1/2 c. sweetened whipped cream (I used Land O Lakes light cream) (2 TBS 15 cal)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

In a large bowl whisk together the pudding mix and Almond Breeze until thickened. Fold in the cottage cheese, whipped cream, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cover and chill for at least two hours.

Do the math....less than 200 calories per 1/2 c. serving, and zero sugar.

You can add raisins to each serving if you like.

This recipe is linked to:

Yes, I Said Skinny: Skinny Zucchini Bread

 I am not anywhere near worried about this Zombie Apocalypse craze.....

What I am worried about is being taken over by zucchini....

Every harvest season it seems like zucchini keep multiplying. 

Not by 2's, but by 100's.

My salad shooter shredder (say that 5 times fast) 

is getting a workout already.

And it looks like this zucchini bread recipe is going to be 

filling my oven constantly. 

 I have been doing a lot of research as to how to cut down on 

calories and carbs (sugar) when it comes to baked goods.

From what I have gathered, the oil in a recipe can be

subbed with fruit puree. And there are tons

of sweetener options out there as far as sugar goes.

So this is what I did, I placed one banana and a half

of a cup of applesauce in this recipe.

Banana and applesauce are natural sweeteners, so I 

cut back on the sugar amount. 

This bread is perfect!

But you will have to be your own judge.

Try it for yourself and see what you think.

Skinny Zucchini Bread

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 banana

1 TBS canola oil

1/2 c. Splenda brown sugar

1/2 c. Splenda blend sugar

3 tsp. vanilla

3 c. grated zucchini (I left the skin on)

Options:

1 c. shredded coconut

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. chopped walnuts

1 c. raisins

And you could even drizzle with melted chocolate

If you add more than one option to your bread, I would cut them down to 1/2 c. each.
Mix all wet ingredients along with sugars. Add the dry sifted ingredients to the wet. Stir in the options of choice. Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until wooden pick tests done.

This recipe is linked to:


Baked In The South

Love Bakes Good Cakes

Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party #4

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday #4

Have fun!

Link up (3 of your favorite recipes, please link back to FFF)!

And spread some foodie love by viewing and 
commenting on some of the other great recipes.

Don't forget to come back on Sunday to vote for your 3 faves....

 What a great linky party we had last week. 

Every Friday when I go searching in my archives

I run across recipes that I have forgotten about.

Great recipes that I have forgotten about.

So, to share with you a GREAT recipe that has been lost

for two years.....I found this:

Home-made Garlic Bread

And the memories that are linked to this garlic bread:

Spaghetti dinner with my son and his fiancee

to celebrate the purchase of their very first apartment.

Who would have known two years later they would own

their own home......Great work Logan and Sydney! 

 The most click stars for last week are:

Coming in at #3 is: Country Girl at Home with Chocolate Gravy 

(Great Work!)

#2 is: Chef Pickykid and Me with Teriyaki Pulled Chicken 

(Awesome job!)

And the #1 spot for most clicks is:

Spatulas On Parade with Sock It To Me Cake 

(Congratulations!)

The top three best voted recipes are:

#3 and #2 Spatulas On Parade with Fish Tacos and 

Sock It To Me Cake 

(Fabulous!)

And the best voted recipe with the most votes goes to our own:

Marlys at This and That with Lemon Lime Sugar Cookies

(Congratulations Marlys!)

I can't wait to try these great recipes!

(especially the most votes Lemon Lime Cookies)

What will you be bringing to the party today?

And just to tell you a little secret.....I do visit every recipe linked.
Onward to the rules (that no one likes, but must be applied).....

Step 1: Make sure that your three (3) recipes linked are:

• Recipes made and photographed by you
• Not part of a sponsorship/sales/giveaway or other promotion/part of a linky party
• Linked to the recipes specific page, not your homepage

Step 2:

• Please show some foodie love by linking back to my blog or the Foodie Friends Friday blog

*If you want to be bestest foodie friends....

• Grab our Foodie Friends Friday button and put it on your foodie page to share our Friday party
• Take some time to visit and comment on some of the submitted links 
• You are also invited to come on over and "like" us on facebook too, tweet us some lines, and follow on pinterest

***Please note, by linking to the Foodie Friends Friday blog party you are giving us permission to use photos/links on this blog and any of its affiliated Web sites or publications. If photos/recipes are used, proper credit/links will be published with them. We would like to see you have a good time and share your amazing recipes with the cyber world, spread some blog'n love, and get to know each other.

Have fun, and Thank You for visiting!

Your hosts:

Tracy at Busy Vegetarian Mom http://www.busyvegetarianmom.com

Robyn at Robyn's View  http://www.robynsviewathome.blogspot.com/ 

Angie at A lil Country Sugar  http://alilcountrysugar.blogspot.com/  

Wayne at Passione Per Cucina http://www.passionepercucina.blogspot.co.uk/p/welcome.html 

Sarah at Everything in the Kitchen Sink  http://everythingkitchensink.blogspot.com/  

Michelle at From Calculus to Cupcakes  http://www.fromcalculustocupcakes.blogspot.com

Marlys at This and That  http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com/

Lois at  Walking on Sunshine http://wifeofthecolonel.blogspot.com/

Erika at Chef Picky Kid and Me  http://chefpickykid.com

Lindsey at Family Food Finds  http://www.familyfoodfinds.com

Cindy at Cindys Recipes and Writings  http://www.cindysrecipesandwritings.com

Skye at http://www.avirtualessence.blogspot.com

Sheri at http://www.homemadeservedhere.com/

Keira at Luscious Delights www.lusciousdelights.blgospot.com.au

Amber at Mama's Blissful Bites www.mamasblissfulbites.com

Rhiannon at Baked In The South http://baked-inthesouth.blogspot.com/

Brianne @ For the Love of Food (and Eating!) http://www.fortheloveoffoodandeating.blogspot.com/

Pooja at Saffron N Appetite http://saffonnappetite.blogspot.com

This Is Some Good Stuff Maynard!: Green Apple Chicken Salad

What do you get when you take one lonely chicken breast 

(actually, it was left-over Kentucky Fried Chicken, skin taken off), 

1/4 c. chopped purple onion, 

1/2 of a chopped granny smith apple, 

about a TBS (maybe a little more) of fresh chopped fine cilantro, 

a splash of lemon juice, 

a splash of honey, 

crushed black pepper, 

and 1/4 c. mayonnaise?

LUNCH!!

I made this chicken salad, lined a spinach wrap with fresh baby spinach leaves, 

placed the chicken salad on top of the spinach, 

and rolled it up for a quick sandwich wrap. 

Very good stuff Maynard!! 

I will for sure be making this again. But the next time I will make it for a crowd.....

It is so refreshing with the green apple, cilantro, and onion mixture.

This is linked to:

I Feel So Loved.....The Addictive Blog Award

 The Addictive Blog Award!

Go figure! Yup, that's me.....addicted!

I am as addicted to blogging as a man is addicted to chocolate.....

And we all know that men love chocolate.

First off I would like to say Thank You to 

Chef Pickykid and Me

&

Cindy's Recipes and Writings

They both have awesome blogs!

Take some time to visit with them. 

I just know you will find something amazing.

The rules that adhere to this award are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link them back.

2. Share a little bit about why you started blogging.

3. Copy and Paste the award onto your own blog.

4. Nominate up to 10 other bloggers you think are addictive 

enough to deserve the award.

Just a warning.....I love to write essays.

Just kidding, I won't make you suffer through a life-long story.

I started blogging (playing around with it) in 2008. As my children got older, I was finding myself with a lot more time on my hands, even though I was working a 40-60 hour a week job. But what really got me interested in blogging was the positive comments I received from Farmer's Market customers. Yes, I got involved in selling my baked goods at local Farmer's Markets. And the funny thing is, I had regulars every week. The regular customers would come looking for my baked goods. So, I thought, if I have REAL regular customers, I could possibly have CYBER regular customers. I decided to get addicted (go full-time) to blogging in 2010. And my kids continued to get older.....You know that dreadful question from kids...."Where's Mom?" That question has not existed in my home for 2 full years. They know where to find me....In the kitchen or blogging. I am loving every minute of my blogging addiction.

I am nominating:

Walking on Sunshine

The Better Baker
Busy Vegetarian Mom
DJ's Sugar Shack
Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
Food Forays
The Recipe Critic

Just Smack Me! Rhubarb Tart Cherry Cake

Why oh why did I wait so long to make this cake?

Just smack me!

This cake is out of this world fantabulous!!

I found this recipe on Pinterest (of course!) and instantly knew that I had to make it. I love anything with rhubarb.
The inspiration for this recipe came from Hot Eats and Cool Reads. I made some changes, of course, to suit my tastes, but you can use either recipe. I'm sure Hot Eats and Cool Reads is just as good.

If you notice, all the fruit and cream that was put on top of the cake batter ends up on the bottom. How cool is that?

This cake will for sure be made every rhubarb season (even though I'm a little off right now).

Rhubarb Tart Cherry Cream Cake

1 box vanilla cake mix, and ingredients according to box directions
1 tsp vanilla
4 c. rhubarb
1 c. frozen tart cherries
1/2 c. sugar
1 pint whipping cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix cake mix according to package directions and add 1 tsp vanilla.
Pour batter into greased 9x13 baking pan.
Sprinkle rhubarb and cherries over the batter. Sprinkle 1/2 c. sugar evenly over fruit, and pour whipping cream over the top of the batter and fruit. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until top is browned and sides are pulling away from pan. Cool completely before serving. Refrigerate the leftovers.

This recipe is linked to:
Manic Monday

Foodie Friends Friday Link Party #3

Welcome to Foodie Friends Friday #3

 Blogs with the most clicks at last weeks party are:

Billionaire Bars from Calculus to Cupcakes - 29 clicks (WOW!!)

Falling off the Bone BBQ Ribs from Walking on Sunshine - 23 clicks 

(Great job!)

Bean and Lime Salad from A Virtual Essence (Awesome!)

 Before we get to the voted winners of Foodie Friends Friday,

I will share with you one of my lost recipes from two years ago.

That's okay, you can laugh. 

But don't laugh too hard.....this is a good cake.

Root Beer Chocolate Cake (lost in the archives)

A friend of mine made this and took it to a family reunion.

She returned home with an empty pan.....

The funny part about going back into the archives....

You can definitely see how my blogging technique 

has improved. Or maybe I just THINK it has improved....

Now for the best voted recipes from last weeks party:

There was a 4-way tie at the #3 spot.

Light Blueberry Donuts from All is Amazing

Marinara and Cheese Sticks from Cooking from a SAHM

Berries and Cream Muffins from Baking with Precious

Skinny Chocolate Chip Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches from 

Part Time Housewife

Each of these had 3 votes, 13 clicks (Great Job Ladies!).

At the #2 spot:

Billionaire Bars from Calculus to Cupcakes 

3 votes, 29 clicks (Awesome!)

And at the #1 spot:

S'mores Cookie Cake from That Skinny Girl Can Bake

4 votes (Keep up the great work! Congrats!)

A host favorite:

Did you happen to see the Sweet Corn Muffins

made by Back For Seconds?

Aren't they gorgeous?

I want to make these and use them as shortcake

under peaches.

A Thank You to everyone who participated last week.

For the full list of hosts and rules, you can go here. 

There are 17 hosts involved in this linky party.

And Foodie Friends Friday is continuously growing.

If you would like to become a host go ahead and join

the FFF group. We love to see new faces (and blogs).

Are you ready for party #3?

Hold on tight....here we go....

It's 5 O'clock Somewhere! Crock Pot Beer Chicken

I finally made a meal.

Can you believe it?

I finally took time out to cook.

But you can clearly see what I had on my mind.

BEER!

I bought this beer to make cupcakes with.

What?

Cupcakes made with beer?

Yup!

Cupcakes made with beer.

And I will soon find the time to make them too.

I decided to give my crock pot a chance to take on the heat instead of me.....

heating up an oven sure does drive up the temps, 

and it's been like 1,000 degrees outside.

Okay, maybe not 1,000. But it sure does feel like it sometimes.

I will for sure be making this again

and again

and again

The spices and the beer made everything perfect. And the chicken just falls off the bone. I even put some of the beer broth on top of my red skinned ranch mashed potatoes.

Crock Pot Beer Chicken

1 bottle beer (I used Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 chopped sweet onion
Crushed black pepper and salt to taste
1 pkg chicken thighs, bone in (you can use whatever cut of chicken you want in this recipe)
McCormick's Parmesan herb seasoning

Pour beer in crock pot and add spices and chopped onion. Lay the chicken pieces on top of the liquid, sprinkle with Parmesan herb seasoning. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.
*Note- I saved the broth to use in stew (maybe a chicken stew?)
This recipe is linked to:
Manic Monday


Recipes For My Boys (Thursday's Treasures)


Foodie Friends Friday