Zucchini Bread- YUM!

I love zucchini bread only, I never ever make it. I looked on allrecipes.com and found a recipe that like 10,000 people rated the recipe a 5 star recipe, so I decided I probably needed to try it out. It was super easy and fast and we ate 2 loaves in 2 days... it was that good.

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini (I used 2 1/2 cups which was 2 zucchinis)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I didn't use nuts)
I also added a 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Crunchy Strudel Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (once again, no nuts)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3. Sprinkle with topping mixture and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done. I also put some foil on top of the loaves toward the end of backing to prevent the top from getting too brown... may or may not be necessary for you.

Best Banana Bread

Love it. I wasnt sure if the recipe made one loaf or two so I started putting it in one pan and realized that it wouldnt bake through if I put it all in one pan, so I put the rest in another loaf pan and made a short bread... get it. It might have been fine in one loaf pan but normally when I make bread and put it all in one pan I have to eat around the middle of the loaf.... not enjoyable. The entire "short-bread" was nearly gone by the time Lost was over. It was a great snack, and could be a great dessert!? I bet you could put it in a cake pan and put some cream cheese frosting on it. Mmm... Next Project.

1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 cup Flour (I have used whole wheat and it is just as good)
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1 cup smashed Bananas
1/2 cup Sour Cream (a generous cup makes it extra soft)
1 tsp. Vanilla

Optional: Walnuts or Pecans. I have also put shredded coconut in my banana bread before. I liked it a lot but I love coconut... others, not so much.

Preheat oven to 350*. Cream the butter and eggs. Mix dry ingredients and add to butter and sugar. Add last three ingredients. Bake for about an hour. The loaves I baked last night were light brown and perfectly cooked and soft inside. I think the bake time in my oven is different from normal ovens so just keep an eye on the bread and poke it in the middle with a toothpick when you think it might be done.

Raspberry Muffins!

I havent made these for a really long time but every time I made them they tasted and looked perfect!

2 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup milk
8 T Butter
2 eggs
1 cup frozen raspberries

Combine all dry ingredients. In another bowl, wisk together milk, butter, and eggs. Add and combine with dry ingredients. Slowly incorporate raspberries. Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

1 Hour Cinnnamon Rolls

Brittney's mom made these when she came to see new baby Avery. They are so soft and delicious! When I make them I roll the dough out too thin and it breaks when I start rolling it. So, dont roll it out too thin!

In a mixing bowl combine:

1 cup +3 T warm water
1/2 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 T yeast

Let sit 15 minutes.
While the yeast is sitting melt the following ingredients in a small saucepan. Once melted let cool:

6 T butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 T cinnamon

Add 1 egg, beaten to the yeast mixture.

Mix in 3 1/2 cups of flour and 1 tsp. of salt. I use a mixer and a dough hook. Once the dough is mostly combined, I pour it on the counter and knead it. Knead 5-10 minutes. Roll into a rectangle (not too thin!) Spread the cooled brown sugar on to the dough. Roll, and use dental floss (flavor free) to cut one inch rolls. Place rolls in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They will feel like they arent done but they are, they are so soft! While they are baking prepare the frosting by mixing:

3 T butter, softened
2 T sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar, enough to make a somewhat thick consistency.