Cinnamon Zucchini Cake

Cinnamon Zucchini Cake
Getting creative with what we harvest from our garden has never been too tough. There are so many ways to make veggies delicious and fun. This time isn’t any different. I had the kids help me cut up the zucchini and shred it in our food processor. They love getting involved in the kitchen and are even more apt to try things that they make. Even when it’s zucchini. 
 
Since it’s almost the end of the summer and I really didn’t think I’d still be growing zucchini out of my ears, we’re making the best of it and even incorporating veggies in our baking. And these zucchini aren’t the little dinky zucchini you find in the grocery store. They’re huge!! So huge that one would probably make enought for 3-4 times this recipe easily. But we don’t need that many baked goods in our home right now.
This cake is moist, slightly sweet but not too sweet, and amazingly delicious. It’s perfect for an afternoon snack without the icing but adding the icing takes it to dessert level. And it pairs perfectly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cinnamon Zucchini Cake with Frosting

Cinnamon Zucchini Cake

Cake
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup coconut oil
  • ½ cup cinnamon applesauce
  • ¾ cup white sugar
  • ¾ cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups shredded zucchini
Frosting:
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×9″ baking pan* with non-stick cooking spray (we like coconut cooking spray).

Beat eggs, coconut oil, cinnamon applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Mix 1 cup flour mixture into egg mixture until combined. Repeat using one cup at a time until all of the flour mixture is used.

Fold in zucchini and stir until completely mixed in. Pour batter into prepared 9×9″ pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

While the cake cools, mix together frosting ingredients and spread over the top of the cake. If desired, sprinkle the top of the cake with cinnamon and sugar. I love the cinnamon sugar grinder from Trader Joe’s for this!

*If using a 9″x13″ pan, bake for 35-40 minutes. If making into 24 cupcakes, bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean.

Slow Cooker Ratatouille Recipe

slow cooker ratatouille recipe

We’ve been growing eggplant in our garden this year for the first time and I cannot believe how well it’s doing! So much so that I’m starting to exhaust my resources with what to do with eggplant. I mean you can only make so much eggplant parm. So this week I went to my favorite slow cooker ratatouille recipe. Easy, simple, and tastes amazing!

I gotta say though, the one reason why I hadn’t shared this recipe on the blog yet was because I can never get a good photo of this ratatouille. Seriously. I can’t. So if the photos don’t look as appetizing as some of my other dishes, don’t be scared away! This truly is a delicious vegetarian dish that I love.

And if you have any other eggplant recipes to suggest please send them my way! I’ll be needing them. [Read more…]

Sweet Potato Zucchini Latkes

 

Sweet Potato Zucchini Latkes landscape

So this morning I was pulling out all of the veggies in our raised bed to make room for new plants. Our swiss chard and parsley were taking over one side of the bed and a weird plant I couldn’t identify was taking over the other.

I had pulled out the swiss chard and parsley and was just getting ready to pull out the weird plant when I found something… a sweet potato!

Now that was pretty weird because we hadn’t planted sweet potatoes in like 2 years. Somehow this little guy was buried under there and the unidentifiable plant was indeed a sweet potato plant!

So I did what any good gardener would do and thought of the perfect way to consume this awesome find. Sweet potato zucchini latkes! These ones are pretty healthy and I made them fit into my Nutrisystem plan. How awesome is that?

Sweet Potato in the garden

[Read more…]

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread Recipe

I love summertime. For one we get to play outside later in the evening and secondly my mother-in-law is always sure to bring over some yummy (but very large) zucchini.

Figuring out ways to use up the zucchini is always fun and shredding it to put in baked goods and savory meals is usually the way to go. Especially since my son has a fascination with our food processor.

When searching for a recipe to use up some of our zucchini I stumbled upon a delicious looking muffin recipe. Chocolate and zucchini? Why it’s a match made in heaven!

This bread tastes exactly like a chocolate cake. My son would have had no clue that there was zucchini in it had he not been the one to help mix the ingredients together.

And the mini chocolate chips just add a bit of deliciousness and push this bread over the edge. Next time I might consider adding a few walnuts to the mix. Mmmm….

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

[Read more…]

Turkey and Zucchini Lasagna

Turkey and Zucchini Lasagna Turkey and Zucchini Lasagna

One of my favorite dishes to make is lasagna. But because it’s loaded with delicious calories and carbs I tend to make it only 2-3 times a year. But with a few changes I’ve made my favorite dish slightly more forgiving on the calories. This turkey and zucchini lasagna is flavorful, easy to prepare, and worth every extra point I used on it!

My original plan was to use the zucchini as noodles but I didn’t find enough good looking zucchini to do that so that plan will have to wait. And if you try this with my bolognese sauce (recipe to come) I just know you’ll fall in love with this dish.

I think the best part of a lasagna is the re-heating factor. We made enough to serve 6 so we had lunch for the rest of the week! It tasted fabulous heated back up in the oven or the microwave.

[Read more…]



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