Susan Beckstrand's Zucchini Casserole

(This is my husband's favorite - and it's a low-carb, most delicious way to use summer zucchini - sometimes we even have to have it in the middle of the winter!)

Slice and par boil one large zucchini, drain and lay it in a casserole dish.

Make a very basic tomato sauce with cooked ground beef* & onion, 2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. (NO flour or other spices!) Poor over zucchini.

Sprinkle grated cheese over this, & be generous. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the cheese. (I usually make them with a piece of toast.) Broil until cheese is melted and starting to brown.

 

Mmm, mmm good!

*I fry all my hamburger up when I buy it -with or without onions- and pkg it for individual meals (1/2-1 lb sizes) & freeze - very quick to thaw, and makes meal prep VERY fast.

Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting

Ingredients:

Banana Bread Bars:

1-1/2 c. sugar

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1-3/4 (3 or 4) ripe bananas, mashed

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Brown Butter Frosting:

1/2 c. butter

4 c. powdered sugar

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. milk

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 375F.  Grease and flour 15x10-inch jelly roll pan.  For the bars, in a large bowl, beat together sugar, sour cream, butter, and eggs until creamy.  Blend in bananas andvanilla extract.  Add flour, baking soda, salt, and blend for 1 minute.  Stir in walnuts.

2.  Spread batter evenly into pan.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

3.  Meanwhile, for frosting, heat butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until boiling.  Let the butter turn a delicate brown and remove from heat immediately.

4.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk.  Whisk together until smooth (it should be thicker than a glaze but thinner than frosting).  Using a spatula, spread the brown butter frosting over the warm bars (the frosting will be easier to spread while the bars are still warm). 

Yield: 2 dozen large bars

Find original recipe & pictures here: Banana Bread Bars with Brown Butter Frosting - mmm!

Best Brownies - from Allrecipes.com

Best Brownies Rated: Submitted By: Angie Photo By: CC♥'s2bake Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cook Time: 35 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour Servings: 16 "These rich, fudgy brownies are easy to whip up!" INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup butter 1 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 3 tablespoons butter, softened 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tablespoon honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup confectioners' sugar DIRECTIONS: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan. 2. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan. 3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook. 4. To Make Frosting: Combine 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons cocoa, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 cup confectioners' sugar. Frost brownies while they are still warm. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2012 Allrecipes.com

I'm including this useful review:

 Reviewed on Jan. 22, 2004 by The Spicelands

These are great! I changed the recipe to make them better for you. I used 1/2 c. applesauce instead of butter and 1/2 cup Equal spoonfuls and 1/2 cup sugar instead of 1 cup sugar and used egg substitute and omitted the glaze. They ended up with only 45 calories apiece and 0 grams of fat! they were SOOOO GOOOD!!! :-)

Find the source recipe here.

Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
1 C oil
1 C sugar*
2 C grated zucchini
3 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C nuts (optional)
3 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Stir together eggs, oil, sugar, zucchini.l Sift together flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and baking powder.  Add to zucchini mixture.  Stir in vanilla and nuts. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  May need 15 mins more. Cool completely before freezing. Makes 2 loaves.

(2 C sugar is regular recipe - I always make low sugar)

Grandma Howlett's Playdough

(My kids' grandma)

Mix together:
3 C flour
1/2 C salt
1 Tbsp alum*

Mix together then combine with dry ingredients:
1 3/4 C boiling water
3 Tbsp cooking oil
Food coloring (20 plus drops)

Knead together like you would bread dough until all ingredients are well-blended.  Store in refridgerator (up to six months) in sealed container or resealable bag.

 (*Alum is a preservative - it's what makes it last 6 months in the fridge.)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler

We really liked this recipe, except that we decided the cream cheese wasn't necessary for us to like it! As usual for our family, we reduced the sugar a bit, but mmmm! was this a great breakfast!


Find the link here: Strawberry Cream Cheese Cobbler

Susan’s Classic Mustard Potato Salad

Prep Time: 30 mins          Refrigeration time: 4 hrs minimum           Servings: 16-20

Ingredients

8 C russet potatoes, diced* (about 10 -12 medium potatoes)

6 eggs, hard boiled and finely crumbled

3/4 C dill pickles, very finely diced

1 1/2 C Miracle Whip, (but mayo works well too)

2 T yellow mustard

1/4 C pickle juice

1 1/2 t salt

Optional ingredients other people like to add: diced onion, diced celery, pepper, sour or regular cream

Directions

Boil diced potatoes with the whole eggs. Remove the eggs and drain the potatoes when just fork tender. Let eggs and potatoes cool to room temperature. Place into a very large container with a lid.

Dice the eggs (reserving 2 for slicing to decorate top).  Very finely chop pickles.  (May add finely diced onion if desired.) Add diced eggs and chopped pickles to the potatoes. Gently stir to mix the ingredients evenly.

In a separate bowl, mix the Miracle Whip, mustard, dill pickle juice, and salt. Whisk until creamy.

Pour over potato mixture. Gently fold into the potato mixture until the dry particles are coated with the creamy mixture.  Lay sliced eggs around the top, and dust top with paprika if desired.

Cover and refrigerate four to eight hours to chill and for flavors to properly disperse. (This can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.)

*I ALWAYS dice before cooking to shorten cooking time & be able to use while warm. However, you may boil them in the peels – but let them cool before handling as they will dice and hold up better when cold.