Italian Zucchini Bake & Apple Cake

"If you want to make an apple cake from scratch, you must first create the universe." ~Carl Sagan

At the present time I am unable to create a universe, however...I can bake an apple cake from scratch and pray it comes out all right! LOL! This bad boy takes an hour and half to bake so I wanted to get it started early. It was easy and I added extra apples 'cause I know the boys will appreciate that! I also made Aunt Peggy's Italian Zucchini Bake along side my baked Italian Parmesan chicken. Justin was helping at Volleyball, Walker had soccer, and James was feeling under the weather from allergy shots. That means the house is empty so I got a lot done...fast!

The zucchini bake was an Italian treat and complimented the chicken nicely! The apple cake, well lets just say it wasn't fit to eat so don't make it....HA! That will just save all those ingredients for me! Seriously, this cake is moist, flavorful and melts in your mouth. Talk about some comfort food!

Aunt Peggy's Zucchini Bake
pg. 141 The Deen Family Cookbook

4 tbsp butter
1/2 chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
one 4 oz can mushrooms
one 1 oz pkg Italian seasoning
1/4tsp salt
one 6 oz can tomato paste
2 1/2 lbs zucchini
1 cup mozzarella
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter in skillet and saute onion and green pepper for 5 minutes, add mushrooms, seasoning, and salt.

2. Remove from heat and add tomato paste and 3/4 cup water until paste is dissolved. Stir in the zucchini and transfer mixture to an 11x7 baking dish. Top with Mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until zucchini is tender when peirced with a knife.

Uncle Bobs Fresh Apple Cake
pg. 205 The Deen Family Cookbook

3 cups diced Granny Smith apples
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups veg oil
3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a bundt pan or tube pan.

2. In a bowl, mix together the apples, walnuts, vanilla, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Add the flour mixture and beat until completely combined. Fold in the apple mixture.

4. Scrape the batter into the greased bundt pan and bake for one and a half hours or until a tester comes out clean.

5. Allow to fully cool in the pan, about an hour then turn onto a plate. Wrap tightly and store in the refridgerator or at room temperature.

Peach Stuffed Pork Chops and Corries Carrot Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

“If vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake.” - Jim Davis

A busy day at work does not mean you can't whip up an awesome tasty meal to enjoy after a hard and stressful day! Tonight, I tried Michelle's Peach Stuffed Pork Chops. I did have to adapt this recipe as my pork chops were not cut think enough to stuff so I simply topped the chops with the peach mixture. I also wanted to do something special for some of the people I work with and make them a delicious little treat that said "welcome back to school and good luck with the new academic year"! LOL! That is quite a mouth full so I KNEW that whatever I chose HAD to be good! I chose Corrie's Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. This desert is going to be sweet and rich, just like my wish for my colleagues new school year!

Michelle's Peach Stuffed Pork Chops
pg. 93 The Deen Family Cookbook

6 tbsp olive oil
Lg pinch of red pepper flakes
2/3 cup sliced peaches
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
6 1/2 thick center-cut-bone in pork chops
salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, stir in peaches, 2 tsp of sugar if desired, slightly cooking.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pepper flakes and cook for 30 seconds. Sear the chops on one side until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the chops and add the peach mixture. Transfer the skillet to the oven to finish cooking about 8 - 10 minutes.

Corrie's Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
pg. 196 The Deen Family Cookbook


Cupcakes
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups veg oil
4 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup walnuts
1 cup coconut
1 1/2 cups baby food carrots (3 4oz jars)

Frosting
One 8 oz cream cheese (soft)
4 tbsp butter
1 cup 10x sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Garnish (optional)
3/4 choppedwalnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 32 cupcake tins with liners. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. (flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt). In a different bowl, whisk oil, eggs, & vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in the walnuts, coconut and carrot puree.

2. Fill the cups 1/2 full. Bake 30 minutes until golden or until a toothpick comes out clean.

3. Make frosting by mixing all ingredients together and after cupcakes are cool, generously frost!

4. To garnish roll edges in crushed walnuts.

Cream Cheese & Strawberry - Stuffed French Toast

“Doubtless God could have made a better berry (than the strawberry), but doubtless God never did." - William Allen Butler

Since our family likes a late breakfast early lunch on weekend days, I thought this recipe would hit the spot. Mom and Dad's TV is out of order so they came over and watched me make this recipe and we made them sample it as well! The batter is typical french toast batter and the stuffing is simple too. It took longer to slice the berries than anything else! I spread cream cheese on each slice and then covered the cheese with strawberries. I also used a little granular sugar in the berries since they were out of season and not real ripe. James and Walker LOVED this saying it tasted like strawberry cheesecake. Dad did not like the cream cheese, and I liked it a lot better with maple syrup!

T.J.'s Cream Cheese and Strawberry-Stuffed French Toast
pg. 173 The Deen Family Cookbook

2eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp sugar
4 oz.cream cheese
12slices of white bread
1cup sliced fresh strawberries
butter, for cooking
maple syrup and confectioners sugar, for serving

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk,and sugar. (I also added a bit of cinnamon). Spread the cream cheese on 6 slices of the bread. Divided the berries among the 6 slices and place on bread. Top with the remaining slices of bread and press to seal.

2. Melt butter on the griddle over med-low heat. Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture for a few seconds on each side. Cook sandwiches until golden brown, sprinkle with confectioners sugar, and top with maple syrup