Blueberry Zucchini Bread

As we are living on nothing more than water and zucchini lately, we have been giving a ton of zucchini away. Food Gal's sister found a recipe on All-Recipes for this Blueberry Zucchini Bread and we decided to give it a try, too.

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3		eggs, lightly beaten
1	cup	vegetable oil
3	tsp	vanilla extract
2-1/4	cups	sugar
2	cups	shredded zucchini
3	cups	all-purpose flour
1	tsp	salt
1	tsp	baking powder
1/4	tsp	baking soda
1	TBSP	ground cinnamon
1	pint	fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared loaf pans. Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 2 loaves

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Food Guys says: This has been the best of the zucchini breads, by far. The blueberries do their duty as the sweet/tart portion of the dish and the rest of the cake tastes like typical zucchini bread. I feel that the blueberries add that something extra that is lacking in the usual recipe, though. I rank this one:

Food Gal says: Yum, a really good modification of zucchini bread, the blueberries are a great addition. Believe me, we have been having a ton of zucchini filled dishes lately, and this one stands out as a winner. A dish to be repeated:

Birthday Dinner for Food Gal's Mom

We live fairly close to Food Gal's parents. As a result, they get a choice of restaurant or home-cooked meal for their birthdays. Typically, they choose a home-cooked meal and we try and accomodate with a multi-course meal of new recipes. For Food Gal's Mom, Food Gal created a menu of Balsamic Bruschetta, Eggless Caesar Salad with Croutons, Cider-Basted Chicken, and Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler for dessert.

Balsamic Bruschetta

The appetizer for this dinner was this little recipe for Balsamic Bruschetta. It seemed to be a hit at the party.

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8		roma tomatoes, diced
1/3	cup	chopped fresh basil
1/4	cup	shredded parmesan cheese
2		cloves garlic, minced
1	TBSP	balsamic vinegar
1	tsp	olive oil
1/4	tsp	kosher salt
1/4	tsp	black pepper
1		loaf French bread, sliced and toasted
In a bowl, toss together the tomatoes, basil, Parmesan cheese, and garlic. Mix in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Make sure to let this mixture sit for an hour or two so the flavors can blend. To toast the bread, place this slices on a baking sheet for 10 minutes in a 450 F oven. Serve tomato topping on toasted slices. Yield: 8 servings

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Food Guys says: This was an ok appetizer. I don't typically like bruschetta, but this was better than most. The balsamic vinegar taste was lacking, which is a negative in my book. I rank this one:

Food Gal says: Not bad, but not great. I have a feeling I might not be a brushcetta person. Some nice touches were the fresh from out garden ingredients, tomatoes and basil. If you like brushcetta, I think this is one to try. My ranking is middle of the road, only because I don't think this type of dish is my thing:

Eggless Caesar Salad with Croutons

The side for our birthday dinner was a salad recipe from Panera Bread, specifically the Panera Bread Cookbook. Who knew that typical caesar salads have eggs in the dressing?

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1/2	loaf	sourdough bread, sliced 1/4" thick and into 1/2" strips
1-1/4	cups	extra virgin olive oil
1/2	tsp	fresh thyme, chopped
		salt and pepper, to taste
1	TBSP	red wine vinegar
1	TBSP	fresh lemon juice
1	TBSP	dijon mustard
1	tsp	Worcestershire sauce
1	tsp	Tabasco sauce
1		clove garlic, minced
1		large head, romaine lettuce, shredded
1/2	cup	Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 400 F. For croutons: Toss bread strips, 1/2 cup olive oil, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Place on baking sheet in the middle of the oven and toast ~10 minutes until golden brown In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, and garlic until combined. Continue whisking, slowly adding remaining 3/4 cup of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. To serve, toss the lettuce in a large salad bowl with the dressing and croutons, and half the cheese. Top the salad with the remaining cheese. Yield: 6 servings

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Food Guys says: This was a fairly tasty salad. It seemed pretty oily, but I enjoyed the flavor in spite of it. The croutons with thyme on them were excellent and the dressing tasted like a nice, bitter, salty caesar should. I rank this one:

Food Gal says: The croutons with thyme were very tasty. The dressing was way too oily in my opinion, but had a good flavor other than this. This was a relatively simple dish to prepare, the most complicated part was cutting up the bread and lettuce. The recipe called for making an Olive Kalamata Bread, I took a shortcut and bought some plain sourdough. I don't think I would make this again, since I am not that good at modifying recipes, I wouldn't know how to get it less oily:

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

For the birthday dinner dessert, we went to our trusty Better Homes Fruit Dessert's cookbook and pulled out Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler. Everybody seemed to like it, although other family members tried to rain on our parade with cupcakes as a secondary dessert (which were also delicious)

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1	cup	sugar
4	tsp	cornstarch
2	TBSP	orange juice
4	cups	sliced rhubarb (~1-1/2 lbs)
1	cup	all-purpose flour
2	TBSP	sugar
1-1/2	tsp	baking powder
1/4	cup	butter
1		egg, slightly beaten
2	TBSP	milk
2	cups	strawberries, halved
Preheat oven to 400 F. For filling: In large saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and cornstarch. Stir in orange juice. Add rhubarb. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Cover and keep warm. For topping: In medium bowl, combine flour, 2 TBSP sugar, and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In small bowl, combine egg and milk; add to crumb mixture. Stir just until moistened. On lightly floured surface, gently knead dough for five or six strokes. Roll dough into 11x4 inch rectangle. Cut dough length wise into 1/2 inch strips. Stir strawberries into rhubarb mixture. Transfer filling to 2-quart rectangular baking dish. Lay half of the dough strips crosswise on filling and arrange remaining strips lengthwise across first strips. Trim strips to fit dish. Place baking dish on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until rhubarb is tender and topping is golden. Yield: 6 servings

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Food Guys says: This dessert was fairly tasty. I found it to be a tad on the bitter side, but good other than that. The topping wasn't sweet enough for me either. The ranking for this dessert got raised based on the chilled leftovers that I ate the day after. I really enjoyed the dish then.. I rank this one:

Food Gal says: I 1.5 times this recipe, and I used the wrong size pan. If I were to do it again, I would remedy both of these issues. The dessert was very good. I like the mixture of rhubarb and strawberries. The only dislike was that the topping was too poofy (due to my issues above). We topped the warm dish with whip cream, a great addition! A dish to be repeated:

Buca Di Beppo

Buca Di Beppo is a small, Italian restaurant chain that we enjoy (Small in Michigan, seems to be bigger on the west coast). We got a coupon in the mail the other day, so we decided to head to the Birmingham location for dinner. Now, for those who don't know, Buca is a "family style" restaurant. This means that you get huge portions that are shared amongst the table. Because of this, we used to get "Buca por Due" which were smaller sizes that could be shared between two people. They have disontinued that and added a Buca Mio that are single serving sizes. We ordered these and split them between the two of us. As an appetizer, we had the Bruschetta. Food Guy ordered Chicken Saltimbocca and a Mixed Green Salad. Food Gal ordered the Cheese Manicotti. For dessert, we ate Apple Crostata.

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Food Guys says: I always enjoy what I order here, and tonight was basically the same. The Bruschetta wasn't too my liking (too many onions). The salad was good, but again, had too many onions and I picked a lot of them off. The Chicken was excellent. I am not sure if I've had Saltimbocca before, but it was salty and lemony and delicious. The fettucine that came with the chicken was also good. The manicotti was very creamy and I thought it was just ok. The dessert, which I didn't want to order, was great. It was like a combination apple pie and apple cake and I wanted more. The only problem was that I was stuffed. Based on this visit and others that we have had, I rank this restaurant:

Food Gal says: I didn't really like the Bruschetta, too many raw onions, plus I didn't really feel there was a good melding between the bread and its toppings. The salad was good, nothing too out of the ordinary. The Chicken Saltimbocca was excellent! The Manicotti was also very good. I thought the dessert was just OK. It was a really good idea, but not executed as tastefully as I would have thought. I didn't feel like the dessert really brought the flavors together, and the crostata itself wasn't warm, which I thought odd. A very good dining experience overall. The new Buca per Mio was great, it allowed us to order individual portions and share half with each other. This replace the Buca per Due, and I think it was a good idea. I like Buca di Beppo quite a bit, although I have to admit, the food can be hit or miss, awesome one time, mediocre the next:

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

In the continuing saga of the never-ending zucchini, we decided to try some Pumpkin Zucchini Bread. This we happened upon when Food Gal's baby sister made some for the family. So, Food Gal went off to allrecipes.com once again, and retrieved this little recipe.

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3		eggs, lightly beaten
2	cups	sugar
1	cup	canned pumpkin
1	cup	butter, melted
1	TBSP	vanilla extract
3	cups	all-purpose flour
1	tsp	baking soda
1/2	tsp	baking powder
1/2	tsp	salt
1/2	tsp	ground cinnamon
1/2	tsp	ground nutmeg
1/2	tsp	ground cloves
1	cup	zucchini, shredded
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a mixing bowl, combine eggas and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in x 5-in x 3-in loaf pans. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Yield: 2 loaves

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Food Guys says: This was some pretty good zucchini bread. I guess I never realized how bland regular zucchini bread is, until you add a flavorful ingredient like the pumpkin. I could eat this bread, often. I rank this one:

Food Gal says: This bread was very good. I would call it more of a pumpkin bread than a zucchini bread. It was very moist. A dish to be repeated:

Chipotle Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Food Guy has been getting Sargento cheese for when he makes his sandwiches for lunch. On one of the packages was a recipe for Chipotle Stuffed Chicken Breasts. It looked simple enough, so we decided to try it.

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1		boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/2	cup	shredded chipotle cheddar cheese, divided
1	TBSP	roasted red pepper, drained and chopped
1/2	TBSP	chopped cilantro
1/4	tsp	chili powder
1/4	tsp	ground cumin
1/8	tsp	garlic salt
Preheat oven to 400 F. Using a sharp, thin knife, cut a parallel slit in the side of each chicken breast, forming a pocket. (Take care nut to cut through the top or bottom of the chicken). Combine 1/4 cup of the cheese, peppers, and cilantro. Stuff into the pockets of the chicken. Combine chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt. Rub mixture over both sides of the chicken. Place chicken on a foil-lined baking sheet with a light coating of cooking spray. Back for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Srpinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese over chicken and bake an additional 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 2 servings

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Food Guys says: I really liked this chicken. And that is saying a lot, since we eat a lot of chicken and I grow rather bored of it. The peppers and the cheese added some good taste and the cumin made it the traditional Tex-Mex smokey flavor. On top of that, it was a snap to prepare (~10 minutes). I rank this one:

Food Gal says: This was a tasty dinner. All of the flavors complimented each other well. It had a little bit of "spice," but it wasn't bad for me, and I am very sensitive to spiciness in food. I think it was also easy to prepare, but food guy did the prep work, so I am not 100% on that. A dish to be repeated: