Friday, October 10, 2008

Food for Friday


Greetings! It's a gorgeous day here in the Midwest and more of the same is forecast for the weekend. ☺ Looking forward to that! We're having our nieces and nephews over tomorrow to watch (not so) spooky movies, decorate pumpkins & eat fun foods. Tom and I are like big kids ourselves so we can't wait! What are your plans for this weekend??


I'm sharing two recipes today. The first is Chocolate Zucchini Bread. Not a fan of zucchini? We aren't either, but I'm telling you...this is one of the best breads...ever! The outside gets a wonderful crust and the inside is moist and absolutely delicious...it tastes nothing like zucchini. This is my friend Pam's recipe. She and I have worked together for many years and she's an amazing cook!


Next, since fall is a perfect season for soup, I'm sharing a delicious recipe for Hearty Chicken-Vegetable Soup that I just made for the first time this week. It's wonderful! I literally put it together late one evening in about 20 minutes (start to finish). The next day, it easily went from fridge to crock pot. With our first taste, it became an instant favorite. I found it in a Weight Watcher's cookbook called "Best Eats." Besides being packed with great flavor (broth is like minestrone), it's very healthy and LOW IN FAT! Enjoy!



Chocolate Zucchini Bread 2 cups grated zucchini
1 ½ cups oil
4 eggs
3 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 oz. chocolate (unsweetened) melted
3 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder

Beat eggs and sugar in large bowl. Add oil and vanilla, mix well. Add to this the grated zucchini and melted chocolate, mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add to zucchini mixture. Grease and flour two loaf pans; fill with batter. Bake at 350 for 50-65 minutes.


Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup
3 (14 ounce) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 (14 ½ ounce) can petite diced tomatoes
2 carrots, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 zucchini, diced (I omitted this)
¾ cup elbow macaroni (I used no yolk egg noodles)
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ pound skinless boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup chopped parsley
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Bring broth and tomatoes to boil in large saucepan. Add the carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, macaroni and garlic, return to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Increase the heat to medium-high; add the chicken, parsley, salt and pepper. Return to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. (If you're on WW, this is only 2 points per 1 1/4 cup serving!)


Have a great weekend!

16 comments:

Kristi said...

Yum!!! I made the chocolate bread a few weeks ago and we loved it! The soup sounds great too. Have a great weekend!

Amydeanne said...

oh! I just got an extra zuk the other day! i'll have to try this one today! :)

Julie said...

Oh girl, that Chicken soup recipe looks amazing....

I'm gonna have to try that one!!

Hugs,
Julie

PS. I want to try the zucchini bread....BUT I'm trying to lose weight..... : (

Natalie said...

There is something about Fall season that makes me crave soups. It just warms the soul!

Addicted to Beadz said...

Hey there,

Sounds Yum-OOOOOO, both.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheryl

Sandy said...

That sounds very good - good comfort food for the weekend!

Sandy

Alexis said...

Yu-hummm! The soup sounds delish. I've been trying to find new recipes to use our garden veggies in... thanks for the help! I made zucchini bread like a mad woman last week, and it's all gone now! I'd love to try the chocolate one. So far, our favorite zucchini bread has an apple in it too... makes it OH so moist.

Have a great weekend!

Alex said...

Oooh yummy... definitely going to have to make the chicken broth - sounds delish!

Have a lovely weekend!!

Susan said...

Hey Tracy,

Sounds like you have a GREAT weekend coming up!!

Thanks for those awesome recipes. They both sound wonderful.

GUESS WHAT???? Come on by, I have a surprise for you!!!!

Joy Junktion said...

Yummy ~ Sounds great!

This weekend? Well, it is finally the end of summer in Phoenix and this year we need to drain our pool ~ tomorrows job! Drain pool and then clean it!! Yipee!

Freddae' said...

The recipe for Zucchini bread sounds great! Thanks for sharing.

elaine @ peace for the journey said...

OK...unlike the "thankyou" brand chocolate pudding cake (which was delicious and deserves a post on my blog all its own...but only if I can somehow make it spiritual...oh the bother sometimes)...anyway, where was I? Oh yes, unlike the cake I should be able to find the ingredients for the soup. I am a big fan of homemade soup, so I will definitely be making this one in the very near future.

Been to Chapel Hill this weekend with in-laws. Post coming tomorrow.

Have a blessed Sabbath, friend.

peace~elaine

Debra Kaye said...

Tracy,

I hope you have a wonderful time with your little ones.

The food looks yummy! Blessings to you!!

Peggy said...

Congratulations Tracy! No one deserves it more! Susan is Super & You are Awesome! Enjoy!!!

Anonymous said...

CHOCOLATE ZUCCINI BREAD?!?!?!

YUMMY!!

[[[Just stoppin by to say HI from Sarah's page VIA "life in the parsonage"! cute page!!]]]

~Candy

Mozi Esme said...

Yummy stuff here!