Aug 30, 2016

Easy Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Printable Recipe




Last week I talked about my 
stockpiles of shredded zucchini!
Food Saver bags of shredded zucchini

So, this week, I wanted to share one
of my favorite recipes to make with
that shredded goodness!  


easy zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting




Easy Zucchini Cake
with Cream Cheese Frosting


2½ cups  all purpose flour
2    cups  sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1    teaspoon  salt
½   teaspoon  baking powder
½   teaspoon  baking soda
1    cup     vegetable oil
4    eggs
2    cups   zucchini, shredded
½   cup    walnuts, chopped (optional)

directions:
1. Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder & baking soda in mixing      bowl
2. Combine oil & eggs; add to dry ingredients, mix well
3. Add zucchini; stir until thoroughly combined.
4. Fold in walnuts, if desired.
5. Pour batter into 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking pan.
Bake @ 350° for 35-40 minutes.


Frosting

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:
In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla extract. 


note:
If you're using your frozen shredded zucchini,
there may be quite a bit of liquid in the freezer bag
after thawing.
DO NOT DRAIN! The zucchini "juice" helps keep
this cake super moist!

using your frozen shredded zucchini to make cakes


Check out some of my other
 Zucchini recipes and ideas.






My pickiest eater actually requests 
this recipe for his official birthday cake!
Yea, it's that good!!
I hope you'll give it a try (:

Have a blessed day!


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Aug 23, 2016

Preserving Your Summer Squash - Zucchini

If you're someone who likes 
to share, grow summer squash. 
It's a very prolific plant!

homegrown zucchini

We grew green & golden 
zucchini summer squash 
this season. 

Unfortunately, we started
our garden a bit late due
to our May/June vacation
this year and it was just
when the squash "moths"
were laying their eggs.
We didn't notice in time,
and their larvae feasted
on our plants!
#sadface  :(


green and golden zucchini squash ready for the freezer


We were able to pick a few before
the vines started dying off.


Most of my zucchini is shredded,
preserved in FoodSaver bags and
stacked in the freezer for later use.

Although you can add shredded
zucchini to a number of recipes
to increase your veggie intake,
our main uses are...

*Zucchini Cake with Easy Cream Cheese Icing,
*Zesty Zucchini Relish.

I'll provide links above as I share my recipes here on the
blog in the coming days.

We use a food processor with
a shredder blade.

shredding side of a food processor blade

If you have a shredder for your
Kitchen-Aid mixer great, if not
a hand grater would work too!

Then we bag it up in 2 or 3 cup portions.
3 cups for the bread, 2 cups for the cake
and relish. Freeze it flat then stack it to
save space. No blanching required.

You could also slice your zucchini in
rounds and dehydrate it for use in soups
and casseroles.
Sprinkle on some seasonings before 
drying them for variety.


Whether you shred it, freeze it or 
dehydrate it, Zucchini is easy to 
preserve and a great veggie to keep 
on hand.

Now, I'm off to bake a zucchini cake!


Do you grow squash 
in your garden?

What is your favorite
way to use it?










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Aug 9, 2016

DIY Notepad Cover - Recycle, Reduce, Repurpose




I am definitely a "SHE" - 
Sidetracked Home Executive (via Flylady)!
Stationery supplies make my heart happy; 
notebooks, journals, papers, pens, markers, 
file folders, planners, etc.

So when hubby & I went to some local 
yard sales this past weekend and I saw 
a fellow "SHE" selling a portion of her 
stash, I was like...


Then during a little crafty time, 
I created a pretty cover for one
of the notepads I had picked up.



These lovely papers are from Echo Park,
For the Record, they were in my scrap
box along with their stickers & trim.

However, the scraps weren't quite wide
enough to cover my pad so I pieced some
together. It worked out perfectly with a
little washi tape to hide things inside! (:



I even found a little 
resin flower to match!



I now have a pretty covered 
notepad for my purse...




I like when everything coordinates!!


check out the one
I created for my




Are you a SHE?



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Aug 2, 2016

Easy Melt & Pour Seashell Soaps





Ah, summertime...
sun, sand, beach, seashells...seashell soap! 

Why not!

It's a fun activity to do with the kids!


You'll need a melt & pour glycerin bar
and some seashell candy or soap molds
from your favorite craft store.

Then cut a few cubes from the bar and place
them in a glass bowl for melting.

Pop it in the microwave and heat it
for 30 seconds, stir. Continue heating
it at 30 sec. intervals until melted and
its easy to stir.

Separate the melted soap into different
glass bowls if you want to add color to
your soaps.

Once colored, you'll simply pour it into
your molds and let it sit overnight until
firm.

Then pop them out of the molds to use
or give as gifts.

Simple, huh?!

fish, seashell, starfish homemade soap


We used food to color our soaps;
brown sugar, paprika, dark cocoa and 
blue "Jello" powder.


Think of the possibilities...
depending on the molds and colors
you use; you can coordinate seasons,
holidays, sports, special events, etc.




side notes:
if you notice bubbles in your melted
glycerin soap-and they bother you-
you can put a little rubbing alcohol
in a spray bottle and lightly spray the
surface of the soap, the bubbles will
dissipate. 

Also, if you have older kids, this could be
a great fundraiser project. I've given
you the basic instructions, but you 
could get a little more involved by
purchasing soap fragrance and color
gels (a little goes a LONG way!) It can become 
rather addictive, be warned!

make custom made soap


Have you ever made
your own soap?




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