Zucchini Craisin Bread Recipe

Ginny's Zucchini Craisin Bread Recipe

Preheat oven to 350°

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup sugar
2 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1 egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
handful of Craisins (up to 1 cup)
1/2 cup of nuts (optional)

1. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves and baking powder. Set aside.

2. In a separate mixing bowl or standing mixer, combine the sugar, zucchini and eggs until just mixed. Add in the oil and mix again.

3. Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.

4. Gently fold in the Craisins (and the nuts, if you are using any).

5. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan @ 5"x9"x3" (or any pan of similar size ie: 8x8, 9x9)

6. Bake in the oven for approx. 55 - 65 minutes or until a toothpick or butter knife inserted comes out clean.

7. Cool for about 10 - 15 minutes and enjoy. (I like mine sliced and covered in butter or spread.)

** Alterations: If you are looking for a heartier bread, try using half white flour and half whole wheat flour.

** Note: I keep mine in the refridgerator, heat up slices in the microwave as needed and use it all up within a few days.

5 Pound Lasagna Recipe

Ginny's 5 lb. Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. sliced pepperoni
1 lb. your favorite shredded cheese
1 lb. Lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
2  14 oz. cans of your favorite flavor diced tomatoes, lightly drained
1 bag of fresh spinach leaves or 2 cans of spinach, drained

Cook ground beef in skillet. Add minced garlic, diced onions and/or any Italian style seasonings you like. Drain fat and then stir in the 2 cans of drained diced tomatoes. Set aside. Cook lasagna noodles and drain, then set aside. In a 9" x 13" deep pan, layer all of the ingredients. I start with 1/3rd of the ground beef/tomato mixture on the bottom, @ 4 - 5 noodles to cover, 1/3rd pepperoni slices, 1/3rd of the spinach, 1/3rd of the shredded cheese and then repeat these layers 2 more times. You will have 3 total layers and end with cheese on top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for @ 30 minutes. Eat!

Loaded Potato Stacks Recipe for Competition

I just took "The Ordinary Extraordinary Potato Recipe Contest" from FoodNetMag.com!

I took the idea of a good old fashioned loaded baked potato and turned it on it's head, creating a beautiful "stack" of deliciousness. Wish me luck!

Loaded Potato Stacks Recipe

(serves 4)

Ingredients:

2-3    large red potatoes

4       slices bacon – cooked and crumbled

¼ C  green onion – diced

2 T   olive oil

8 oz  cream cheese – softened

¼ C  sour cream

¼ C  shredded cheddar – chopped small

3 T   Dijon mustard

         salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Wash potatoes and remove any eyes and blemishes. Cut off the ends of each potato. Slice the rest of the potatoes into 1/2” thick slices, you will need 12 slices total.
   
2. In a bowl, toss the 12 potato slices with the olive oil, salt and pepper, coating well. Place the prepared potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 30 minutes, turning over once during cooking time.

3. In a standing mixer whip together the cream cheese, sour cream, Dijon mustard and chopped cheddar until smooth and creamy. Place cheese mixture into a piping bag.

4. To assemble the potato stacks, start with one potato slice topped with 2 T of the cream cheese mixture. Add another potato slice and top with 2 T of the cream cheese mixture. Add the last potato slice and top with 1 T cream cheese mixture. Garnish with the crumbled bacon and green onions. Repeat for all 4 servings. Serve immediately.

Voila! A gorgeous side dish that is scrumptious and surprisingly easy! Bring a little fancy to a classic side dish. Enjoy!

Festive Wild Rice Casserole Recipe

I just submitted this recipe to the Taste of Home "Merriest Potluck Recipe" contest. When I was a child my all time favorite holiday dish to eat was my Grandma Adeline's wild rice casserole. I would always go back for seconds...OK, who am I kidding, thirds. As an adult I was able to get the recipe but it didn't taste as good as I remembered. So, I played around with her recipe and created this dish. A staple at my own family holiday gatherings now. Yummy! I hope you love it, too.

If you would like to view this recipe on the Taste of Home website, you can do so by clicking HERE.

Festive Wild Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 C wild rice - cooked

8 oz cream cheese - softened

½ C sour cream

8 oz mushrooms

1 onion

1 T minced garlic

3 T butter

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

½ C dried cranberries

½ C slivered almonds – toasted

Directions:

1. In a large skillet add the butter, diced mushrooms, diced onion and minced garlic. Cook on medium-high heat until soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes.

2. In a standing mixer combine softened cream cheese, sour cream, salt and pepper until smooth and creamy.

3. In a large bowl combine the cooked wild rice, mushroom/onion mixture, cream cheese mixture, most of the dried cranberries and most of the toasted almonds, reserving some cranberries and almonds for the garnish.

4. Pour the wild rice mixture from the mixing bowl to a greased 9 1/2” baking dish (or similar). Top with reserved dried cranberries and toasted almonds. Serve immediately or refrigerate until needed. Reheat when ready in a 350° oven until heated through, about 30 minutes.

If you would like to read how to toast almond slivers, click HERE.

If you would like to read how to cook wild rice, click HERE.

And that's the scoop! Let me know if your try this one out. Happy cooking, ya'll!

Creamy White Turkey Chili with Sweet Corn Cake Recipe

Are you an expert on all things chili? Create a recipe using BUSH'S^® Beans and you could be one of two lucky winners (+ guests) selected to be flown to New York for a BUSH’S Beans Kitchen Collaboration Demo Video where you will be paired with BUSH’S Expert Chef Jeffrey Saad who will work with you on ways to mix up your current chili and try your hand at new chili recipes.

Spent the afternoon in my kitchen yesterday. The mission...create an original chili recipe for competition. I just submitted my entry to the Bushs® Beans Chili Cook-Off and I am going to share it with you today. I created a Creamy White Turkey Chili topped with a scoop of Sweet Corn Cake. One of the things I love most about chili is it's versatility. You can switch up the types of beans to your liking. Different meats and vegetables can be mixed and matched depending on what you happen to have on hand any given day (or in my case, what the kids will actually eat). If you prefer a spicier chili, just add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes. No matter the state of your pantry, you can almost always make an awesome pot of chili.

Creamy White Turkey Chili 

Chili Ingredients:

20 oz. Lean ground turkey

1 can Bushs® garbanzo beans

1 can Bushs® cannellini beans

1 red bell pepper

1 medium red onion

1 cup frozen corn kernels

8 oz. cream cheese

5 cups chicken broth

2 T minced garlic

1 T cumin

1 T chili powder

1 T oregano flakes

¼ cup lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

Sweet Corn Cake Ingredients:

8 T butter

1 can cream-style corn

8.5 oz. box corn muffin mix

Sweet Corn Cake Directions:

1. Melt butter in a microwave safe/oven safe dish.

2. Add the can of cream corn and muffin mix. Stir well.

3. Bake in a 350° oven for 40 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Chili Directions:

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven add the turkey, diced onion, diced bell pepper, garlic and cook on medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes until veggies are tender and meat is browned.

2. Add the 2 cans of drained beans, corn, broth, cumin, oregano and chili powder. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add the lemon juice and cream cheese. Stir often until cream cheese is melted. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a dollop of Sweet Corn Cake and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! I would love to hear from you if you give these recipes a try. Happy cooking and wish me luck!

Curry Spiced Chicken Legs & Rice Pilaf Recipes

Happy New Year All!

One of my goals for 2016 is to fine tune and share more of my own recipes with you. I hope to do so weekly...but we all now how life goes. As my mom says, "Sometimes life just gets all lifey." My intentions are grand, though. Today I will be sharing my recipes for Curry Spiced Chicken Legs and a very easy and versatile Rice Pilaf. I hope you get a chance to try these recipes out and enjoy them, as well!

This dinner recipe combination of chicken, rice pilaf and corn came to $1.87 per serving for 6 people. Each serving consisted of 2 chicken legs, 1 cup of rice pilaf and 1/3 cup of corn. Very budget friendly. Full recipes to follow the photo instructions.

Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with foil. I use an oven-safe baking/cooling rack and place it on the covered baking sheet. This allows the chicken legs to cook evenly all the way around without the need to turn them over during cooking. I spray the baking rack with non-stick cooking spray and preheat oven to 400°.

I purchased a jumbo pack of chicken legs (12 count) for $4.46. Yay!

A little trick that I learned while watching the Food Network for perfectly plump, juicy, easy to eat chicken legs...Using a sharp knife, cut around the base of the chicken leg down to the bone all the way around. (See photo above) This has been a great technique in my home. The meat bites off much easier, especially for my children. Also, all of the little tendons and such stay out of the bites. I find that the kids eat much more of their chicken this way.

Mix all of the spices in a bowl thoroughly. This recipe will yield about a 1/2 cup of rub.

Working with 6 chicken legs at a time, place them in a gallon sized zip lock bag. Drizzle with half of the olive oil, seal and "squish" the oil all over the chicken. Next, add 1/4 cup of the rub, seal again and then shake, squish, and incorporate the spices evenly onto the chicken legs. Place the seasoned chicken onto the prepared baking sheet/rack. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

Bake the chicken in a 400° oven for 35-40 minutes or to an internal temperature of 185°.

Look how plump, juicy and delicious they are! Not that you can actually taste or smell them through the screen or anything. That would be a neat trick....

While the chicken is baking you could start the rice pilaf. The great thing about this rice pilaf is it's versatility. This recipe is very basic and compares to a "Rice-A-Roni" type of dish. I much prefer this home-made version for both taste and budget friendliness. I used chicken broth in mine but you can use any broth you choose: vegetable, beef, etc. You could omit the vegetables for picky eaters or add in alternates to your liking. If you really want to make this dish sing you could even add toasted almond slivers when you fluff the rice before serving for a little crunch or garnish with diced green onions. The possibilities are endless.

In a large skillet with a tight fitting lid, add the butter, onion, bell pepper, orzo and minced garlic. I like to season with cracked pepper at this point. Cook on medium-high heat until the orzo is lightly browned.

Never worked with orzo and wondering what it is? Orzo is a small rice-shaped pasta. Yummy.

Once the orzo is browned, add the rice and stir well, completely coating the rice with the flavors of the pan. My rice preference is always jasmine rice but any dry white rice will do. Except minute rice...don't use that. Ha!

Add the broth and parsley, stir well and heat on high until boiling. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover undisturbed for 18-20 minutes.

When done, fluff with a fork and it is ready to serve.

When prepared along with the chicken legs, these two dishes would be done right around the same time. During the last five minutes or so of the rice cooking time I microwaved the frozen corn with a little water, butter, salt and pepper. Voila! Dinner is served. Give these a try and let me know how it goes.


Curry Spiced Chicken Legs

Ingredients:

12 chicken legs
4 T olive oil

Rub:

2 T       brown sugar
1 1/2 T salt
1 T       curry powder
1 T       paprika
1 T       garlic powder
2 tsp     cumin
2 tsp     parsley flakes
1 tsp     turmeric
1 tsp     black pepper


1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line baking sheet with foil and place baking/cooling rack on top. Set aside.

2. Cut each drumstick around the base of the leg all the way down to the bone.

3. In a bowl combine all of the rub ingredients and mix thoroughly.

4. Working with 6 chicken legs at a time, place them into a gallon sized zip lock bag and drizzle with 2 T of the olive oil. Seal and rub the olive oil to coat the chicken.

5. Add 1/4 cup of the rub to the chicken legs in the bag, seal and shake well covering the drumsticks completely with seasoning.

6. Repeat with the next 6 chicken legs and place all of the chicken legs onto the prepared baking rack.

7. Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 185°.

* Note: This would work well for chicken wings, too! You could even slow cook them in a crock pot all day and then broil them for 5-10 minutes to get them nice and crispy! Mmm!


Rice Pilaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1 C     orzo pasta
1 C     jasmine rice (or white rice of choice)
4 C     chicken broth (or broth of choice)
3 T     butter
1         medium onion
1/2      a bell pepper (color of choice)
1-2 T  minced garlic
1 T     parsley flakes


1. In a large skillet with a tight fitting lid add the butter, diced onion, diced bell pepper, orzo pasta and minced garlic. Cook on medium-high until orzo is lightly browned.

2. Add the rice and stir well, coating the rice in the flavors of the pan.

3. Add the broth and parsley, stir well and heat to boiling.

4. Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 18-20 minutes undisturbed.

5. Fluff with a fork and it is ready to serve.

* Note: You can use any broth you choose. The veggies can be omitted or changed as well. Even a bag of frozen peas or corn would work in a pinch. Mix it up!


Thanks for stopping by and happy cooking!

Amazing Meatloaf Recipe!

"Meatloaf smeatloaf double beatloaf. I hate meatloaf." We all remember that scene from 'A Christmas Story'...when Mommy is trying to get little Randy to eat his meatloaf...like the piggies do. It makes me giggle every single time.

In my house we have no problem with the meatloaf. It is a family favorite. I recently made meatloaf for our last charity cooking session at Food With Love and the family it was for liked it so much that they asked me for the recipe. So, this one's for you Martinez Family. Enjoy!

I never had a specific recipe before. I remember watching my mom make meatloaf when I was a kid and as an adult it took me a few years and many attempts to get it just the way I love it. I also used to make it in one big loaf pan but have since started making mine into individual sized loaves. This way everyone get a piece with delicious edges and a perfect middle. Yum!

Amazing Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. sausage (I prefer Jimmy Dean regular flavor)
1 sleeve Ritz crackers (or similar, crushed well)
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 medium onion (diced small)
1 egg
2 tsp. ground or cracked black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 Tbsp. milk

Topping:

ketchup
brown sugar

Directions:

1. Dice the onion small.

2. Place the crackers in a zip lock bag and crush them into very tiny pieces/powder.

3. Place all of the ingredients (except for the 2 toppings) into a large bowl and squish/mix together with your hands until very well incorporated. (I make sure to take off all of my rings and check/clean under my fingernails before doing this step)

4. Divide the meat mixture into 6-8 even portions and form each into a heaping patty shape.

5. Place them on a baking sheet with an edge (or a 9x13 pan would do).

6. Top each individual meatloaf with 2-3 Tbsp. of brown sugar, patting it down a bit and keeping as much of the sugar on the meat as you can. Zig zag ketchup on top of the brown sugar on each loaf.

7. Bake in a 350° oven for @ 35 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165°.

As you can see, I left the ketchup off of one loaf since I have a child that does not eat ketchup. Yet another great reason to make them into individual sized loaves. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Please share or comment if you try it out. I would love to hear from you! Happy eating!

Miso Slaw Burger Recipe for Competition

I am done! I just finished up my recipe using the Saucy Mama products that I received. Now, I submit the recipe and wait. What am I waiting for? Well, Saucy Mama is going to pick one of the recipes submitted and send that cook to represent them in the World Food Championships 2015 this November in Kissimmee, Florida. Exciting, right?!

I decided to go with my burger idea. I am sure the competition will be fierce in this category but I loved my burger so much, I decided to just go for it! So here it is...the Miso Slaw Burger. It is both sweet and savory.

Miso Slaw Burger by Virginia Louden

Miso Slaw Burger Recipe        (serves 4)

Ingredients

Patties:
1 1/2 lbs. Lean ground beef
1/4 cup Saucy Mama Creamy Horseradish
2 Tbsps. Red onion (finely diced)
1 1/2 tsps. Garlic salt

Patty coating:
1 cup Brown sugar
3 Tbsps. Panko bread crumbs
2 tsps. Coarse sea salt

Miso Slaw:
1 cup Red cabbage (shredded)
1/2 cup Carrots (matchstick style)
1/2 cup Cucumber (matchstick style)
2 Tbsps. Red onion (sliced)
2 Tbsps. Saucy Mama Miso Sesame Orange Marinade/Dressing
2 Tbsps. Mayonnaise
2 Tbsps. Brown sugar

1/2 cup Feta (crumbled)
4 Buns (I prefer white silver dollar buns but standard hamburger buns would work)
2 Tbsps. Butter (room temperature)

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the 3 patty coating ingredients and set aside. Brown sugar, Panko and Sea salt.

2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together thoroughly the 4 patty ingredients and form into 4 same sized burger patties. Beef, horseradish, garlic salt and tiny diced red onions. When forming the patties, the center of each patty should be much thinner than the edges of the patty. This will help keep the patties from balling up while cooking. Makes for a much more even sized burger.

3. Roll/coat the 4 burger patties in the brown sugar coating mix, covering evenly.

4. Grill the burger patties, turning only once. Approx. 5 minutes each side. (I prefer a grill pan so that the brown sugar coating stays with the burger.) After flipping the burger once, top each patty with 1-2 Tbsps. of the crumbled Feta cheese. Remove from heat when done and set aside.

5. Split and lightly butter the inside of each bun. In a separate pan, toast the buttered inside of each bun half until golden brown. Spread a little Saucy Mama Creamy Horseradish on the top half of each bun (the side that will touch the cheese). Set aside.

6. In a medium bowl, toss together the Miso Slaw ingredients: shredded red cabbage, matchstick carrots and cucumbers, sliced onions, Miso Sesame Orange Marinade, Mayo and brown sugar. You will want to do this step last so that the slaw stays nice and crunchy and does not get too wet. Also, any extra slaw can be eaten as a tasty side dish.

7. Assembly of the Miso Slaw Burger: On the bottom half of each bun place a heaping spoonful (or 2) of the Miso Slaw. You could also lay a small bun-sized leaf of red cabbage on the bun first to help prevent it from soaking up too much slaw dressing. I personally don't mind a little bit of a mess when I eat a burger though, especially when it's this yummy ;-)

8. Place the burger patty on top of the slaw and then cover it with the bun top. Done and Eat!


I hope you enjoy this one. I had so much fun creating it. Pretty please let me know if you make it. I would love to see pictures, too. Wish me luck and Happy Cooking!

One Saucy Mama!

Hey ya'll! I received an awesome box in the mail this weekend and I am super excited to tell you what it's all about. A couple of weeks ago I put my name into the "hat" in order to be considered for a spot in Saucy Mama's "qualifying event" contest. What exactly does one have to qualify for? A golden ticket to the World Food Championships 2015 in Kissimmee, Florida this November! Say what?!

Image from: barhyte.com

You heard me. A spot to compete at the WFC 2015 and represent Saucy Mama products. I am beyond tickled that they chose me to participate in this pre-contest. I have no idea how many other food bloggers I am up against. I do know that I am going to give this my best shot. I also know that the odds of me making it to Florida are slim, seeing as I'm the new girl on the food block and all, but maybe that's the trick. They won't even see me coming!

Basically, Saucy Mama sent me six of their sauces (I got to choose which ones) and now I need to create a brand new recipe using at least one of the sauces I received. I actually spent the afternoon yesterday tasting them all and I must say...Yummy! Their flavors are all amazing and after only a couple licks, inspiration started flooding over me. Now, the trick is narrowing it all down and deciding on which of the six competition categories I want to dive into: burgers, sandwiches, bacon, seafood, pasta or fresh. If you've ever been out to a restaurant with me when I am indecisive on what the heck I want to eat...feel free to laugh with me at my current predicament. Lol!

The six sauces from Saucy Mama that I chose are Champagne Honey Mustard, Creamy Horseradish, Creamy Garlic Mustard, Parmesan & Garlic Marinade, White Balsamic & Honey Dressing/Marinade and Miso Orange Sesame Dressing/Marinade. A nice variety of flavors to work with. Decisions...decisions.

So, what am I going to make for my new recipe? Ha! Wouldn't you like to know? Just kidding. In all seriousness though, I am not quite sure yet. And if I did know...this is competition folks! I don't wanna give away the goods too soon. But, you can be sure that I will continue to share this journey with you along the way. Swing back here from time to time to get the whole scoop OR you can also find me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Come along for the ride!

Wish me luck and send me all your positive vibes, good jujus, prayers and whatever else you got 'cuz this Saucy Mama wants to compete in Florida! Thanks for stopping by! And thank YOU Saucy Mama for this exciting opportunity!


You can find Saucy Mama products HERE.

You can check out the World Food Championships 2015 website HERE.

Happy Mother's Day!

Good morning & ‪Happy Mothers Day‬! Hope today is everything you wished for and more. I spent the last couple days ‪cooking‬ and ‪baking‬ a bunch of Mother's Day ‪‎treats‬ in order to raise some money for Food With Love. It was a success and I was able to sell enough boxes to fund one whole cooking session. Yay! ‪Thank you‬ to my friends and family for being so supportive. Now, my brain is working hard to think of what else I could possibly dip in chocolate or whip up for Father's Day. Hmm. The possibilities...

Next weekend will be our first cooking session for our new 'adopted' family. I look forward to spending quality time in the kitchen with my good girlfriends.

I am still working on getting my new personal chef business up and running, trying to get all my ducks in a row and waiting patiently for that first real cooking gig. I have also had a couple really great cooking & learning opportunities recently. I was able to tag along with Dani of Catering by Dani and helped her out with a wedding & festival she catered one day. It was so great to watch her work and see how the whole process goes. I am also part of a Moms of Multiples group who is hosting the Ronald McDonald House dinner for Mother's Day this evening. I can not attend today so I had 4 incredible ladies from the group over last night and we prepped all of the food. 11 1/2 hours in the ‪‎kitchen‬. Whew! So, as of last night, I can officially say that I have cooked for 100 people. I am so happy about this. My feet...not so much. But my heart...oh yes. I hope the ‪‎dinner‬ goes smoothly this evening and I can't wait to hear from the ‪amazing‬ MoMs going out to serve dinner tonight. You are all amazing!

And that's all I have for now. Thanks for stopping by and pretty ‪please‬ with a cherry on top...‪Share‬ our story about ‪‎Food With Love‬. Every cent helps us ‪#‎cook‬ for a local ‪‎family‬ in need. Have a ‪‎wonderful‬ rest of your day!

‪#‎donate‬ ‪#‎charity‬ ‪#‎spreadtheword‬ ‪#‎spreadthelove‬

If you would like any of the recipes from the box of treats I made, you can find my Mother's Day Pinterest board by clicking HERE. All of the recipes I found worked out wonderfully!

www.gofundme.com/foodwithlove