Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread ~ my healthified version

It still amazes me that my kiddos actually request this quick bread, I mean it actually has the name of a vegetable in the title :)... I found the original recipe in one of my Taste of Home Magazines ~ I made a few adjustments to "healthify" it a bit, so I could feel good about serving it once (or three times) a week for breakfast ~

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

3 cups whole wheat flour (replaced the white flour)

2 cups sucanat (replaced the white sugar)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 eggs

1 cup unsweetened applesauce (orig called for 1/2 c applesauce + 1/2 c veg oil)

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs, applesauce and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini and choco chips. Divide batter between 2 greased 9-in x 5-in loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins, then remove to wire rack to cool. Makes 2 yummy loaves, perfect for kiddos who wouldn't normally eat zucchini ~ but just can't seem to resist this :)

Spring Cleaning ~ Days 2 & 3

Okay, I think I'm going to try to kill two birds with one stone in this post by tackling Day 2 and Day 3 of the Spring Cleaning Party together, well here goes...

Tuesday's assignment for the Spring Cleaning Party was to work on decluttering the living room. It's a good thing this was Tuesday's assignment and not Monday's ~ on Monday I had a mountain of clean laundry hanging out on the couch, I think the blanket fort mess on the floor (courtesy of my kids) looks a bit less daunting :). Anyway, here are some before pics of our living room:

After folding the blankets and returning them to their rightful homes, and picking up a few stray toys and books...voila!

Ah, much better :)

Ok, now onto Day 3 of the Party ~ cleaning, organizing, and decorating the living room...

First up ~ cleaning ~ when I was pregnant with my 2nd child, I switched over to a very simple, all-natural cleaning system. Basically, I use a mix of 1-part vinegar to 1-part water for cleaning most of the surfaces in our home ~ windows, counters, stovetop, and even my tv screen. I have a couple of re-usable spray bottles that I fill with this homemade concoction, and I keep one bottle under each sink (kitchen, 1st floor bath, master bath). I know that there are lots of different cleaning recipes out there, but I found that this simple recipe works well for me.

For dusting, I actually don't use any cleaning solution ~ I just take a 100% cotton rag and wipe the surface down :)

Now it's onto organizing the living room ~ our living room is home to our tv, our CD player and our favorite reading spots. Therefore, it makes sense to keep our DVDs, CDs and at least a portion of our large collection of books here. Since we moved into our home almost 8 years ago, and especially since starting our family 7 years ago, I have tried lots of different organization systems for these items. About 2 years ago, I purchased a couple zippered cd cases to store our dvds and cds, and I am very pleased with how this has worked for us.

Each case holds 100 cds or dvds ~ we have no where near that amount of either, but I really don't mind having some empty slots. We store all of our kids' dvds in one case, this is kept in our tv cabinet. We use another case to store kids' music cds and kids' audio cds (Adventures in Odyssey, books on cd, etc.) ~ this case is kept on a bookshelf in a nearby room.

For book storage, we use a mix of baskets and a wall shelf (that I absolutely love!). I try to change up the books every month or so just to keep things fresh around here :)

And finally decorating ~ this one is a tough one for me. Right now we have white spots on our walls where I had dh cover up picture holes. We have paint in the basement, waiting to be used to touch up these areas...it's just a matter of taking the time to do it. I also want to replace some of the artwork on our walls with something that "says us" a bit more than our current wall-hangings...but I'm not sure what that will be yet.

Spring Cleaning Party

Simple Mom is having a Spring Cleaning Party ~ and I really need to join in...

The assignment for the first day is to declutter the surfaces of your home...I feel like I am pretty good at keeping clutter at bay, it feels like I declutter many surfaces on a weekly basis, but the clutter always returns. Here's a before picture of a clutter magnet area of my kitchen counter.

After tossing some things we no longer need and returning the rest to their proper homes, this area looks remarkably better :)

Next up is the before picture of the top of our tv cabinet... I usually put things here because I want to keep them out of reach of my curious 2yo :)...

and after...

Today I only tackled the main level of our home, I still have the upstairs (bedrooms), and the basement (playroom). However, I am pleased with the results so far.

Now, onto the question Simple Mom asked:


Am I feeling emotional about any of this stuff? If so, why? Do those knickknacks create your memories, or are they just things you happened to collect during those times on which you enjoy reflecting?

Actually, I'm not really much of a "collector", and since having kids, I have gotten rid of many of the knick-knacks that I did own. I remember sitting on the couch for hours upon hours nursing my first-born ~ and being so discouraged by the clutter that I saw all around me. Since then, I have been on a mission to rid our home of unnecessary clutter...


Most of the things that tend to clutter our home these days are things that we actually use (homeschool supplies, books, kids' creations, more books, kids' toys, more kid's creations). We use them, and then we fail to return them to their proper homes.

Menu Plan ~ March 15-21

I was very pleased with how last week's menu plan worked out. I was not sure that I would be able to pull off having dinner prepared before leaving for swim lessons, but I was pleasantly surprised!

Hopefully, I can make it work again this week - it was SO NICE to walk in the door at 6:30pm and sit down to a homecooked family dinner 10 minutes later (instead of picking up drive-thru food on the way home).


So here's the plan:

Breakfasts ~ french toast, breakfast cookies, toast, amish baked oatmeal, cereal & yogurt, pancakes (from the freezer)

Lunches ~ grilled cheese, pb& j sandwiches, snacky lunch, Cheesy Brown Rice, tortilla pizzas

Dinners ~ Three Cheese Pasta Casserole, Rodeo Chicken Sandwiches, Cheesy Brown Rice & vegies, Chili, Pizza Bread, Cracker Casserole

For more menu plans, head over to $5 Dinners!

Breakfast is in the freezer

I was very inspired by the Hot Breakfast Challenge that The Happy Housewife hosted last month. One of the things that makes it possible for me to actually serve a hot breakfast is the fact that my freezer is now stocked with some of our favorite hot breakfasts.

When I opened the freezer this morning, I got to choose between breakfast cookies, whole wheat pancakes, and french toast - I chose breakfast cookies. Then, I simply took the cookies out of the freezer and popped them into the toaster oven. A few minutes later we had a hot breakfast on our plates!

Stocking my freezer with these breakfast items was actually very simple. Last week on our baking night, we made a batch of breakfast cookies. I kept about a dozen cookies out for enjoying right away and put the rest into freezer bags (about 8 cookies in each bag). Then, over the weekend, I made pancakes for breakfast - since I already had the griddle out, I doubled the recipe - some of the pancakes went straight into our bellies and the rest were stowed in the freezer. And yesterday I made a double batch of french toast - this produced a hot, yummy breakfast for my family and two bags of french toast for the freezer.

Now if I can only keep up this momentum!

Menu Plan ~ Week of 3/1

I just picked up some BOGO bread (whole wheat pototo bread) at the grocery store - we've recently rediscovered how easy it is to whip up some french toast (and all three kiddos love it) - I can't wait to make a double batch this week so we can put some in the freezer.

I also stocked up on some BOGO cheese - they'll definitely come in handy this week.

Here's the plan:

Sunday
Breakfast ~ Amish Baked Oatmeal (Yummy! - thanks for linking to this recipe Amy!)
Lunch ~ Leftovers
Dinner ~ Chili, cornbread

Weekdays
Breakfasts ~ French Toast, Breakfast Cookies (in the freezer), pancakes, whole wheat breakfast cake, cereal & yogurt, toast
Lunches ~ grilled cheese, tortilla pizzas, pb&j sandwiches, spaghetti noodles w/parm cheese, snacky lunch (crackers, cheese, fruit), cheese n chips

Dinners
Monday ~ Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli
Tuesday ~ Mexican Black Bean Rice Bowls
Wednesday ~ Sloppy Joes
Thursday ~ Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Friday ~ Pizza Bread
Saturday ~ Chicken Pot Pie
Sunday ~ Chicken and Gravy

For lots more menu plans - head over to OrgJunkie!

March Meals

Here is the list of meals that I plan to serve at some point this month.

Breakfasts

Whole Wheat Breakfast Cake
Cinnamon Rolls
Babka
Amish Baked Oatmeal
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Morning Muffins
Breakfast Cookies
French Toast

Dinners

Bacon , Egg and Cheese Biscuits
Chicken Paprikash
BBQ Beef & Bean Cornbread Casserole
Pizza Bread
Mexican Black Bean Rice Bowls
Rodeo Chicken Sandwiches
Mexican Chicken Skillet
Meatloaf Cups
Cracker Casserole
Hamburgers
Homemade Pizza x2
Sloppy Joes
Three Cheese Pasta
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli
Creamy Corn Chowder
Chili
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Spinach Brown Rice & Cheese Casserole
Spaghetti Pie
Tacos
Cheesy Beef and Rice
Beefy Enchiladas
Chicken and Gravy

Lots of these recipes come from my new favorite recipe blog - Cooking During Stolen Moments. I can't wait to try these new recipes out on my family.

Don't throw that mildewy shower curtain away!

There was a time when a mildewy shower curtain liner would mean a trip to the store to purchase a new one. However, last spring I read somewhere that you can actually wash that ugly, slimy mildew right out of it - so I gave it a try. And guess what, a nice hot bath in the washing machine and a leisurely afternoon on the laundry line made our ugly shower curtain liner look brand new!

I guess it doesn't take too much to get me excited, 'cause I was all smiles for days afterwards. To think that it was that easy.


Well, time has marched on, and our shower curtain was needing another hot bath, BIG TIME. But the weather around here was not really conducive to hanging out laundry. So, I've been waiting, and waiting, all the while trying not to look too closely at our stinky, slimy liner when I take my morning shower.

And finally, yesterday, God blessed us with a little bit of spring in the midst of winter. Right after my shower, I took down the curtain and threw it in the washing machine - on hot of course. Then I hung that baby out to dry - and by evening we once again had a mildew-free curtain hanging in the shower.

February Meals

One of my goals for 2008 was to plan our meals in advance. I tried the weekly menu plan - it seemed like I was always planning; the bi-weekly menu plan - still took too much time; and finally the monthly menu plan - this is the one that worked for me. I try to sit down at the end of the month and plan out meals for the following month. I make a list of the meals I plan to make that month - and then at the beginning of each week, I take out that list and transfer in which meals we'll have. Following are the meals I plan to make for the month of February:


Hamburgers
Homemade Pizza x2
Three Cheese Pasta
Spaghetti Pie
Spaghetti noodles with cheese
Homemade Macaroni & Cheese from Tammy's Recipes
Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli from Tammy's Recipes
Chili
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Baked Potato Soup
Creamy Corn Chowder from Tammy's Recipes
White Chicken Chili
Crockpot Italian Chicken
Crockpot Beef Stew
Chicken Potpie
Cheesy Beef and Rice from Heavenly Homemakers
Cracker Casserole
Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
Beefy Enchilada Bake from Heavenly Homemakers