Chocolate Wave Zucchini Bread

Trying to make use of all of our summer zucchini in the freezer, I decided today was a good day to make bread. I found this pretty-looking bread on allrecipes.com and gave it a go. It turned out great, especially the extra sweet, chocolatey top layer. Instead of walnuts, I substituted some chopped pecans I had in the pantry. In addition, I threw in an overripe banana and a handful of white chocolate chips.

A tip I read in the reviews - before mixing in the chocolate in a separate bowl, just pour half the batter directly into your bread pan, then mix in your chocolate in the remaining batter in the bowl. Saves a bowl to clean!


Source: Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1/3 cup shortening
1 1/3 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/3 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar together. Mix in eggs. Add zucchini, water, and vanilla; stir. Blend in flour, baking soda, salt , baking powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in nuts.

Divide batter in half, and add cocoa powder and chocolate chips to one of the halves. Pour plain batter into bottom of the loaf pan. Pour chocolate batter on top of plain batter.

Bake until wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes, and remove from pan. Store in refrigerator.

Black Bean Burgers

It's not often I watch the Food Network anymore, but I did catch this burger on an episode of Big Daddy's House the other weekend. I've had black bean burgers from a box in the frozen aisle of the grocery, but have never made my own, so it was time to try it out.

We both really liked how this came out. The outside of the burger was a little bit crispy and the inside stayed soft. I will say this is a bit spicy for my taste and I even cut back on some of the spices listed in the recipe. And, like many recipes I make, I failed to include everything listed. This time I forgot the Worcestershire sauce. Instead of the tomato szechuan dressing listed in the recipe, we topped with a slice of cheese, tomato, lettuce, ketchup and mustard. This is a great low-calorie alternative to your normal burger!



Source: Food Network

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 shallots, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 teaspoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 egg white, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
Spinach
Sliced roasted red peppers, jarred
Sliced red onion
4 multi-grain rolls
Szechuan Tomato Dressing, recipe follows

Directions:
In a large bowl, finely mash the black beans with a potato masher or your hands. Add the shallots, red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, Worcestershire, hot sauce, cilantro, egg white, flour, salt and pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Form into 4 patties and arrange on a platter.

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add the oil. Sear patties for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until they have a nice crust. Remove the patties to a paper towel lined platter. Assemble the sandwiches with a patty, some spinach, roasted red peppers and red onion on the multi-grain rolls. Top with a good drizzle of Szechuan Tomato Dressing and serve.

Szechuan Tomato Dressing:

1/4 cup Szechuan sauce
1/4 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, add the Szechuan sauce, tomatoes and cilantro. Whisk in the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Use as a dressing for the black bean sandwiches.