Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients:
3 large zucchini
6 white button mushrooms
5 garlic cloves
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups bread crumb
2 tablespoons parsley
1 cup parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides.  Then cut them 2 inches across.

In a large frying pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Leaving the garlic cloves whole put them in the warm olive oil.  If they start to burn lower the heat.  After about 10 minutes or until garlic turns brown take the cloves out and set them aside.  Then toss in the mushrooms that have been finely chopped.  Saute for about 7-8 minutes or until they turn brown. 

Then allow the mushrooms to cool and transfer to a bowl.  Chop up the cooked garlic and put it in the bowl with the mushrooms.  Add the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.  Stir until combined.  Then add the chopped parsley and 2 more tablespoons of olive oil.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and stuff inside the zucchini.  Drizzle the top with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until zucchini becomes soft and the stuffing browns.

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Brookies

These are the ultimate dessert, a combination of cookies and brownies.  What's better than that?  If you are short on time use your favorite brownie mix and your favorite store-bought cookie dough.  Don't forget to serve them hot with vanilla ice cream.

Brownies:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla.  Beat in eggs one by one until the ingredients are completely combined.  In a separate bowl combined the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  Add a little bit at a time and stir after each addition until all has been completely combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Line a 13 by 9 inch pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.  Then pour the batter in and set aside while you make the cookie batter.

Cookies:
Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Using your hands, drop little dollops of cookie dough all along the top of the brownie batter.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until set.  Allow to cool for 15 minutes and remove them using the aluminum foil.  Then cut the bars and serve with vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

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Triple Berry Struesel Muffins

Ingredients:
Muffin:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Struesel Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder and sugar.  In another bowl combine the melted butter, egg, and milk and mix well.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. 

Spoon the batter into the muffin tray, filling each cup about 2/3 full. 

For the struesel topping, in a separate bowl combine the flour and brown sugar together and mix.  Then add the 3 tablespoons of cold butter and mix together with your hands so that you get small pea size amounts of butter running through the topping.  Then add the cinnamon and continue to mix with your hands. 

Sprinkle each muffin with the topping and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing.  Enjoy!

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Creamed Corn

Ingredients:
2 lbs frozen corn
1 8 oz block cream cheese
1 stick salted butter
3/4 cup whipping cream
4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Cube up the butter and cream cheese.

Add the corn, butter, cream cheese, whipping cream, salt, and pepper to a crock pot.

Cook on low for 4 hours stirring after 1/2 hour.  To speed it up cook on high for 2 hours, but you won't get the same consistency.  Enjoy!

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Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake

This recipe is not only easy but healthy.  1/9 of this pudding cake is only 3 points on Weight Watchers.  For those that aren't on a diet serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 sugar
1/3 cup + 1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low fat milk (1%)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 2/3 cups boiling water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 inch square baking pan with non-stick spray.

Combine the flour, sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, instant-coffee, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  Make a well in the center, and pour the milk, melted butter, and vanilla into the well.  Stir just until blended.  Spoon the batter evenly into the pan.

Combine the brown sugar and the 1/4 cup cocoa powder in a small bowl.  Sprinkle over the top of the batter.  Gently pour boiling water in  zigzag fashion over the top, but do not stir.  Bake until the top of the pudding is set, about 35 minutes.  Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Appetizer

Calamari Fritti
Tutto Italia
Disney World's Epcot Italy Pavilion
Orlando, FL

So obviously this is one of my favorite restaurants if you have read my cannelloni al forno post.  Fried calamari may look very simple, but it is very difficult to cook well.  The breading either comes off and is soggy or the calamari is chewy and tough or there is just no flavor.  These are cooked perfectly.  A good amount come in each order (It fed my starving family of four) but honestly you could never have enough of these delicious bites.  Each calamari or squid is cut into ringlets that are the perfect size.  I do have to say it makes me sad that they don't serve the tentacles because I personally love them, but maybe it freaks out some Disney guests. So back to the calamari.  They are absolutely fried to perfection with the perfect amount of crust on the outside.  The crust is flavored with herbs and spices, I am assuming things like basil and parsley and other italian ingredients.  The crust is the perfect golden brown and is so crispy.  The calamari itself is so tender and juicy.  Not even a little bit tough.  Now they serve these calamari with a classic marinara sauce that has at least 2 tablespoons of crushed red pepper flakes on top.  My parents said it was delicious, but since I hate tomato sauce I leave it off of the calamari.  For me the best topping for these calamari is a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  Now what is the most annoying thing about squeezing fresh lemon juice?  The seeds of course.  But this restaurant has thought of everything.  They wrap the lemon in a yellow cheesecloth that catches all of the seeds but allows the juice to go right through.  Pretty cool right?  And has soon as that lemon juice hits the hot calamari it starts to glisten a little.  You sink your teeth in and you hear the amazing crunch.  Then you taste that tender calamari and you know this is one of the best appetizers you have ever eaten.

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The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Breakfast

Winnie the Pooh's French Toast
Crystal Palace
Magic Kingdom in Disney World
Orlando, FL

This restaurant has one of the best meals you could ever eat in Disney World.  It is a huge buffet that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner and all meals are equally delicious.  My family's personal favorite is the breakfast there because of this french toast. The other great thing about the Crystal Palace is it has Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore.  So no need to wait on an extra line in the park, just make sure you are at the table when they come around.  So the breakfast buffet consists of classic breakfast items done right.  Of couse you have the fruit, bagel, and danish section (but I usually skip that to get to the good stuff).  Then you get to the delicious biscuits with gravy, hashbrown casserole, breakfast potatoes, and other fattening breakfast foods that you would only eat in Disney because you know you are going to walk probably 10 miles the rest of the day.  So of course all of the foods are delicious, but the real treasure in this restaurant is the french toast.  The thing about the french toast is though, its on the kids buffet line that is probably 2 feet high off the ground.   I was embarassed the first few times we went to go to the kids buffet, but honestly there are more adults there than kids bending down to fill their plate with this stuff.  I don't know how they do it, but every time I get this delicious concoction its still steaming hot even though its been out on a buffet.  You bring it back to your table and it smells like you are in a bakery in Paris at 5:00am when all of the goodies are being baked.  The first time I got it I used a knife and fork cause I thought it would be sticky, but seriously dont even waste your time cutting this thing.  Just sink your teeth right in.  This isn't traditional french toast. It's more like a cross between the most delicious donut you ever ate, french toast, and a churro.  The shape is not uniform at all, which is the best part because some of the edges get very crispy and you pick them off as you bite into this delicious dish.  I have no idea how they make this thing, all I know is its delicious.  The dough is soft, yet still has a good chew to it and is the most buttery, sweet thing you have ever tasted.  The outside is so crispy and is the perfect texture difference between the soft dough.  Then the entire thing is coated in cinnamon sugar and you wish they sold the coating just so you could put it on everything sweet.  Of course you get your hands ridiculously sticky, but obviously you would since this came off of the kids buffet.  If you go to Disney and don't get this treat, you have made a huge mistake.  There is no other place you can get anything like this.  And I don't know why, but the fact that it's Winnie the Pooh's French Toast makes it even more magical. 

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