Healthy-er Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread is so misleading. Even though it's packed with veggies, it's always too oily and overly sweet. So, I decided to tone it down a bit without messing up what everyone loves about Zucchini Bread! It's just as tasty and has an even better texture due to the oats.  Don't feel bad when you've already made four loaves in one week... like I did!

And it definitely helped get rid of my over abundance of zucchini from my garden!

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 cups grated zucchini, green or yellow
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats

Beat eggs until foamy in a large mixing bowl. Add all other ingredients and mix completely together. Put batter into two greased  9 x 5" loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Zucchinni Cocoa Muffins

I have a problem... like it's out of control...I have too many zucchini growing in my garden. So, I've decided to take charge in this situation and change it for the better. My plan: bake lots of these muffins. They're moist, chocolaty, easy, and somewhat healthy... right? Yeah totally.

1/3 cup boiling water 

2 cups shredded zucchinni and/or crooked neck squash

1 1/2 cups flour 

1/2 cup cocoa 

3/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp salt1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

3 eggs

1 Tbl vanilla

*If you need an extra dose of chocolate add 1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, pour boiling water over zucchini. Add all other ingredients and stir just until well combined. Line muffin pans with paper muffin cups, and use a 1/4 cup measure to pour batter into cups. Bake for 30 minutes. You should get 16-18 muffins.

Fresh Peach Clafouti

 

I know it looks like scrambled eggs, but I swear it's not! A clafouti tastes like a cross between a crepe and a custard, which makes it a perfect dish for breakfast or dessert. The recipe I based this on asked for fresh cherries, but all I had were peaches, so I think any fruit will do just fine. Baking this was easy, quick and very tasty!

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh cut peaches
2 Tbl powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 375'F. Whisk together sugar, flour and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in eggs one at a time. Whisk in milk and vanilla, just until incorporated.

Arrange peaches evenly in the bottom of a buttered 9-inch pie plate/dish or 6 ramekin dishes. Pour batter over peaches and bake for about 45 minutes until clafouti is puffed and browned (If using ramekins, bake for 20 minutes, if it's not puffed up and browned keep baking till they are).