Chocolate Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS:

3 Eggs
2 Cups white sugar
1 Cup plus 2 TBS Vegetable Oil
6 TBS Cocoa Powder
2 Cups grated zucchini
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 Cups All-purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 Cup Chocolate Chips


DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans, or cupcake tin (or for easy cleanup line cupcake tin with cupcake liners!). Beat eggs and sugar together until creamy. Add vegetable oil, cocoa powder, grated zucchini, and vanilla. Beat well. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes int he loaf pan, 25-30 minutes in the cupcake tins. Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf to check that it comes out clean.

Cashew Chicken

Ingredients:

8 chicken breasts cubed

1/4 c cooking sherry 

1/2 c low sodium soy sauce (*divided)

1 cup oil

2-3 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it, a little goes a long way)

12 green onions, sliced diagonally

2 TBS garlic

2 cup cashews, unsalted

toasted sesame seeds 

sauce:

1 c soy sauce

1/4 c cornstarch

1/4 c sugar

3 TBS white vinegar

Directions:

Combine 1/4 cup soy sauce with the cooking sherry in medium sized bowl. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, put chicken pieces in soy/sherry mixture. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk 1 c soy sauce, 1/4 c corn starch, 1/4 c sugar, and 3 TBS vinegar. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic. 

Drain chicken in strainer to get the marinade off as much a possible. Heat oil in a wok over high heat.  Add red pepper flakes to oil,stir a couple times. Add chicken all at once, let sit for a minute or two till golden,then turn chicken. Add garlic to chicken. Cook chicken till golden on all sides and cooked through. drain oil if there is still an excessive amount. Add cashews. Move wok off hot stove and immediately pour in sauce while constantly turning chicken over to cover everything in sauce. Sauce should thicken quite a bit, if you want it thicker put it back on medium heat for about 5-10 seconds, and stir, stir, stir. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and add sliced green onions. Serve over Rice, or I grated up some cauliflower and ate it on that and it was yummy. ENJOY! (This makes enough for about 10-12 people)

Here's the recipe if you're looking for 2-4 people:

2 chicken breasts  cubed

1 tbsp cooking sherry* 

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

¼ cup oil

1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it, a little goes a long way)

3 green onions, sliced diagonally

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic)

1/2 cup cashews, unsalted

toasted sesame seeds 

sauce:

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

4 tsp sugar

2 tsp white vinegar

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce with the cooking sherry* in medium sized bowl. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, put chicken pieces in soy/sherry mixture. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, 4 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp vinegar. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic. 

Drain chicken in strainer to get the marinade off as much a possible. Heat oil in a wok over high heat.  Add red pepper flakes to oil,stir a couple times. Add chicken all at once, let sit for a minute or two till golden,then turn chicken. Add garlic to chicken. Cook chicken till golden on all sides and cooked through. drain oil if there is still an excessive amount. Add cashews. Move wok off hot stove and immediately pour in sauce while constantly turning chicken over to cover everything in sauce. Sauce should thicken quite a bit, if you want it thicker put it back on medium heat for about 5-10 seconds, and stir, stir, stir. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and add sliced green onions. Serve over Rice. ENJOY!

Chick-Fil-A Copycat Sauce

Do you like Chick-Fil-A??? I do! And I LOVE the sauce! This is a SUPER easy copycat recipe!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Kens Honey Mustard

1/4 Cup KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce

Directions:

Stir ingredients together and enjoy with some fried chicken, chicken nuggets, chicken salad, or on a chicken sandwich!!!

Pulled Pork

This was a new recipe I tried and really liked!

Ingredients:
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 (4-5 pound) pork shoulder roast
1 cup BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c light brown sugar
1 TBS ground mustard
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS chili powder
1 large onion chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
1 Green Bell Pepper Chopped
1 Yellow Bell Pepper Chopped
2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
12 hamburger buns

Directions:
Pour the vegetable oil into the bottom of the slow cooker. Place the pork roast into the slow cooker; pour in the BBQ sauce, apple cider vinegar, chicken broth, light brown sugar, ground mustard, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, onion, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, garlic powder, and thyme. Cover and cook on High for 5-6 hours (or on low for 8-9 hours) until the roast shreds easily with a fork.
Remove the roast from the slow cooker, and shred the meat using two forks. Return the shredded pork to the slow cooker, and stir the meat into the juices.
Spoon pork into the buns (optionally you can butter the buns and toast them before adding the meat).
Enjoy!

Broccoli and Cheese Brunch Casserole

Ingredients:
8 oz ground sausage
1 1/4 cup (about 10 oz pkg) chopped broccoli (thawed and drained if from a package)
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup ricotta cheese
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 roma (plum) tomato, thinly sliced (or diced), these are optional!

Directions:
Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 7x11" baking dish.
In a bowl, mix cooked sausage, broccoli, and 1/2 cup Cheddar cheese. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, ricotta cheese, eggs, milk, pepper, and salt. Spoon the sausage mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread the Cheddar and ricotta mixture over the sausage mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar cheese. Arrange tomato slices on top.
Cover with aluminum foil, and bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover, and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This feeds about 8-10 people.

Fruit Dip

I was making a dip the other day and just had to use things that were available in my cupboard and this recipe was born!!! I LOVE it!!!!!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Milk
1 pkg sugar-free white chocolate pudding
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 pkgs (8oz) cream cheese, softened

Instructions:
Mix milk and pudding together. Mix brown sugar with softened cream cheese. Mix cream cheese mixture and pudding together. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Serve with fruit! ENJOY!!!!

Winger's Sticky Fingers

If you live outside of Utah or Idaho you might not have heard of Winger's, but they have the most delicious sticky fingers that I have ever tasted! They have a little kick to them... but they are just SO delicious. I was craving them for awhile (thank you pregnancy!) and didn't really want to go buy some... so I've been searching for a good copy cat recipe for the sauce and found this one! Then I had a hard time finding the hot sauce they recommended... when I finally saw it at the grocery store I was SO excited to give it a try and it was Y-U-M-M-Y!!!!!

Ingredients:
1 package frozen breaded chicken strips or popcorn chicken
6 TBS Frank's Hot Sauce (according to the recipe I read no other sauce will taste as good as the Frank's brand, which is why it took me awhile to try out this recipe!
4 TBS Water
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar

Directions:
Prepare the chicken strips or popcorn chicken according to the directions on the package (I will usually cook them to be on the crispier side).

Heat the hot sauce, water, and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Do NOT let it come to a roaring boil you will end up with a sauce that is more like a candy when it cools!

Pour the sauce over the chicken and enjoy!

Serves about 4 people.