Zucchini Brownies

1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 - 1 cup chocolate chips

Mix first 6 ingredients together in a bowl. Add zucchini. Add remaining dry ingredients but NOT the chocolate chips. Mix well. Spread into greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of batter. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 35-40 minutes.

Cheesy Beef Roll-ups

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 1/2 cups Mexicana cheese shredded
5-8 flour tortillas
Chopped veggies (optional)
Brown ground beef. Add any veggies if desired (I added onion and zucchini). Add BBQ sauce. Place meat mixture in center of tortillas. Top with 1 cup cheese. Roll up tortillas and place in casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Homemade Salsa

10 cups diced peeled tomatoes (I prefer Roma tomatoes for salsa, more meaty and less juicy)
1 medium onion
3 bell peppers (red, green or whatever color you have on hand)
4 jalepeno peppers
3/4 cup vinegar
10 Tbsp. Epicure Fruit Salsa spice (the mild spice)
1 1/2 - 13oz. can of tomato paste


Cook all ingredients together for 50 minutes. While this is cooking heat and sterilize jars in a 200 degree oven for at least 20 minutes. Put salsa into jars and seal. Makes 8-9 small jars.

Note: This salsa falls into the mild-medium spicy range. It's spicier than a store bought mild but depending on how long it stands it may or may not fit a medium category. The longer it sits the spicier it becomes. If you like it hotter use Epicure's medium or hot salsa spice.

Blanching Green Beans

Pick green beans. Wash then cut off both ends. Cut beans up into 1 inch pieces. Boil water in a large pot (I use my pasta pot with insert). Put beans into boiling water for 3 minutes. Remove from boiling water and place into very cold or ice water for at least 3 minutes (this stops the blanching process from continuing). I then spread the cooled beans in a thin layer on a tea towel which is spread on top of a cookie sheet. I freeze the beans this way first and then put them into a freezer Ziploc bag. This way the beans do not freeze into a clump. You can skip the first freezing phase and place the cooled beans into bags and freeze in the bags, the beans may freeze into clumps and be a little more difficult later to use in small portions.

Blanching Peas

First pick and shell peas. Boil water in a large pot. I use my pasta pot with insert and it works very well. Put peas in boiling water for 90 seconds. Remove peas (this is where the pasta pot insert comes in very handy!) and place in very cold water or ice water. Peas need to be in the cold water for at least 90 seconds to stop the blanching process. I then spread my peas in a thin layer on a clean tea towel that is on top of a cookie sheet. I place the peas on the cookie sheet in the freezer until the peas are frozen. Then I put the peas in a freezer ziploc bag. You could skip the freezing phase on the cookie sheet and place the cooled peas into a bag but then I find that they will freeze into a clump. My way keeps them frozen but loose in the bag and easier to use later.

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Loaf

2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup grated zucchini, unpeeled
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white, and 1 cup whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Beat eggs until frothy. Beat in oil and sugar. Add zucchini. Stir in vanilla. Add remaining 6 ingredients. Stir just to moisten. Pour into greased loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes in 350 degree oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out slean. Let stand 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool on rack.