Paula Deene's Zuchini Bread

I have tried many zucchini bread recipes and they just leave me flat. Kind of nothin' muffin if you know what I mean. But the Denman loves it so after what seems like a year of begging, I have agreed to make him a batch. Actually he threatened to make it himself and if your husband is anything like mine, the clean up would not be pretty. So,................................ to tell you the truth, I went looking to see if Ina Garten had anything out there and she didn't but Paula Deen does so I opted for Paula. This is how it goes and I actually kind of like this one. It has some taste, if you get my meaning.

Ingredients:

Mix together in a large bowl (I used my mixer bowl for this part);
3.25 C. flour
1.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. soda
3 C. sugar
1 tsp vanilla (I added this, anything that you have cinnamon and nutmeg in should have vanilla in as well, it make you taste the spices)

In a second bowl combine:
1 C. canola oil
4 lrg beaten eggs
1/3 C. water
2 C. grated zucchini
1 tsp. lemon juice

Pour the zucchini mixture in to the dry ingredients. At the mixer, combine until well incorporated.

Add in;
1 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Pre heat your oven to 350F and spray 2 standard loaf pans with non-stick spray. Do a good job because there is quite a bit of sugar in this and it will tend to hang on to the pan a bit.
Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean.

Alternately, bake in 5 mini loaf pans for about 45 minutes.

The soda and the lemon juice make it rise nicely and the sugar adds a bit of the crunch to the crust.

Ina Garten's Macaroni and Cheese (GrownUp Mac and Cheese)

Ingredients:
Kosher salt to taste
veggie oil (I use EVOO)
1 pound of pasta, you choose the shape, prepared to package directions

Mean while:

12 oz, Gruyere cheese, I substituted aged Swiss as the Gruyere is about $20.00 a pound at HyVee
8 oz. sharp cheddar

Grate both of these, use your food processor. Set aside.


1 qrt whole milk, In a sauce pan large enough to contain it. Don't boil it just heat it

In a large stock pot;
6 Tbsp butter melted
1/2 C. flour
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, OK, I grated it in from the whole seed, smells wounderful
Whisk this until smooth, Cook this about 2 minutes, just enough to cook the flour

Add in the milk and stir continually until the mixture thickens and is smooth.

Off heat, add in that cheese that you worked so hard to grate. Stir until the cheese is melted and well blended.

Add in the drained cooked pasta.

Pour the whole mess into a 9x13 baking dish or a 3 quart baking dish.

4 Roma tomatoes, washed and slices evenly. Arrange these slices over the top of the mac and cheese.

Back at the food processor, you don't need to wash it until you are done.

5 slices of bread chunked up and ran through the processor to make fresh bread crumbs, pour them it a bowl
 2 Tbsp of butter, melted and poured over the top of the bread crumbs
1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese

Mix well and spread evenly over the tomato topped Mac and Cheese.

About here I would add that a bit of Sweet Basil would hit a sweet note with all of this but I didn't think of it until just this minute, darn.
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

This makes a pretty full 9x13 so you might want to use a cookie sheet under it and save your oven.