Christmas bar cookies for a crowd

12/5/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Once upon a time I loved to make Christmas cookies. Back in the day you could always count on me to bring cookies to the multiple school events, church, clubs and other parties that our family of five attended. I was busy. I worked outside of the home, volunteered on multiple levels for youth and civic groups and still had energy to bake cookies at midnight. Ah, youth

That all changed when we semi-retired and moved to Oregon. Now that the kids were grown and lived a thousand miles away, I seldom made cookies by the dozen any more. In fact, that first year Chuck made all the cookies at our new business. We opened a bakery/donut shop and remodeled a house on six acres. We were busy and tired.

Still, I wanted to entertain the neighbors at Christmas. Thus began 20 years of a Christmas Cookie party event. All the neighbors were happy for a meet and greet and brought enough cookies to share and exchange. And that was the year I discovered a cookie short cut—Bar Cookies.

If you’re going to feed a crowd, cookies baked like cake and cut into squares are nothing short of magic. You don’t have to stop and agonize over perfecting every individual cookie. You just cut and serve. Voila!

I still make a couple of favorite, tedious cookie recipes: Russian Tea Cakes and a small batch of frosted sugar cookies are a must on the Kaiser menu. And it wouldn’t be Christmas without a batch of Fantasy Fudge. Still, Bar Cookies are a lifesaver when entertaining at this busy time of year.

The following recipes are baked and taste tested by dear friends. Enjoy!

JEANNIE HAND’S CRANBERRY BARS

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs

¾ cup butter, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries (8 ounces)

½ cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350Æ F.

Butter a 9x13” Pyrex pan

Using an electric mixer on medium speed: beat sugar and eggs until slightly thickened (about 2 min.). Beat in melted butter and almond flavor. Stir in flour; add cranberries and nuts. Bake 30 min. or until toothpick tests clean.

LOUISE’S LEMON BARS

CRUST

2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 cup butter

FILLING

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 cups sugar

6 tablespoons lemon juice

1 grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon baking powder

TOPPING

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Lightly spray 9x13 Pyrex pan

CRUST: Combine 2 cups flour with ½ cup powdered sugar and mix well with butter. Pat into prepared pan and bake for 20 min. Remove from oven.

FILLING: In the meantime, combine eggs, sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind, baking powder and 2 tablespoons flour. Mix until smooth. Pour filling over cooked layer. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool. Dust with powdered sugar. If making the day before, you may have to repeat dusting.

Cut into squares and serve. Makes a lot!

JEANNIE JEWELL’S MACAROON COOKIE BARS

Heat oven to 350° F.

Grease 13” x9” pan

CRUST

1 package Pillsbury Plus Devil’s Food Cake mix

½ cup margarine, softened

TOPPING

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1 cup coconut + extra for topping

1 cup pecans, chopped

CRUST: In large bowl combine cake mix and margarine. Blend at low speed until well combined and crumbly. Press evenly into bottom of greased pan.

TOPPING: In small bowl combine milk, vanilla and egg. Beat until smooth. Stir in coconut and pecans. Pour mixture over crust. Sprinkle an additional ¼ cup coconut over top.

Bake 30-35 min. or until golden brown Cool completely. Cut into bars.

MICROWAVE FANTASY FUDGE

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter

3 cups sugar

1 small can evaporated milk (2/3 cup) (not sweetened)

1 12-ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 small jar (7 ounces) marshmallow crème

1 cup nuts, chopped (I use walnuts)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Lightly grease a 13x9 inch Pyrex pan.

Microwave margarine in 4-quart bowl on HIGH for 1 minute or until melted.

Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave on 5 minutes or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 minutes. Continue to cook 2 more min.

Mix well; scrape bowl. Microwave 5 ½ min. more, stirring after 3 min.

Microwave on HIGH 5 1/2 minutes; stirring after 3 minutes as above

Gradually stir in chocolate chips until melted.

Add marshmallow, nuts and vanilla. Mix well and quickly pour into prepared pan. Let cool. To serve, cut into small squares. Makes a lot!

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner

November? It must be pie time!

11/7/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

I’m a big fan of Indian Summers and I’m not yet in a winter frame of mind. So, it’s always a shock to turn my calendar over and discover that it’s November. How can that be? That means there’s still patio furniture to put away, bushes to be trimmed and gardens to be winterized. Sigh.

It also means that I should start thinking about Thanksgiving dinner. But most of us don’t have to think very hard about that because our families are steeped in tradition. Mine used to be but, things have changed. We’ve added new members. A couple of our grandsons are now married and we share them with their wives and their families. Also, one of our sons and his wife are vegans.

Fortunately, our holiday meals are very similar. The basic menu for whoever comes to dinner will feast on roast turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce; mashed potatoes and gravy; green beans and rolls. If I’m cooking there is also a cranberry Jell-O salad and sweet potato casserole. The vegans eat Tofurky with their veggies and a big green salad.

After turkey and dressing, dessert is the favorite part of the meal. Again, every family usually has their own traditional favorite pie. I say pie, because I’ve never heard anyone talk about their favorite thanksgiving cake. There’s probably lots of them out there but people I know mostly eat pie. Let me know if you have a favorite cake.

We have two or three pies but one is always pumpkin. And we’re not alone. A national survey by Delish editors revealed that pumpkin is the reigning champ of desserts by 36% of those polled—46% on the West Coast. Pecan was a distant second, followed by apple, sweet potato and cherry.

As the longtime pie baker at Kaiser’s Country Diner in Ventura, I have made thousands of pies. Pumpkin was always a best seller and if it’s your first pie you can’t go wrong following the basic directions on a can of Libby’s pumpkin. I do change up the spices a bit but that is a personal preference. Every so often I would also make a Pumpkin Eggnog Pie. So today, just for fun, I’m including that recipe instead of the regular pumpkin.

Another customer favorite was my chocolate pecan pie. It, too, is simple to make, using a variation on the classic Karo pecan recipe. Each of these recipes call for a single unbaked 9” pie shell and a whipped cream garnish.

Before you make the pie, you should make a pie crust. I don’t have room in today’s column for my recipe but the standard Betty Crocker recipe is also good. The trick is getting the right dough consistency and then rolling it out on a floured surface. You can do it! Try it! Or use store bought. Enjoy!

BETTY CROCKER PASTRY

1-1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup+2 tablespoons Crisco shortening

¼ cup ice cold water

Sift flour and salt in mixing bowl. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until shortening pieces are the size of giant peas. Sprinkle with ice water a little at a time. Mix lightly with a fork until all the flour is moist. Add more if needed. Gather dough together with fingers so it cleans the bowl. Press firmly into a ball. Then roll out on floured pastry cloth to desired size.

PUMPKIN EGGNOG PIE

2 cups pumpkin (1 16 ounce can)

1 1/2 cups eggnog

2 eggs

½ cup sugar

¼ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves (or less)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 unbaked 9” pie shell

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixer bowl and mix well. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Put in oven and bake 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350° F. Bake another 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the edge comes out clean. Cool and refrigerate. Garnish with whipped cream. Serves 6-8.

KARO PECAN PIE

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup light or dark corn syrup

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups pecans (more if needed)

1 unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 350° F.

In large bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until well blended. Gently stir in pecans. Pour into pastry shell. If necessary, add more pecans so that the top is covered and there will be pecan in every bite!

Bake in oven 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean. Cool. Garnish with whipped cream. Serves 6-8.

CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE

Melt 4 ounces melted semisweet chocolate.

Decrease sugar to 1/3 cup.

Prepare and bake as above.

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner at 942-1317 or email bchatty@bettykaiser.com

Spice up roast chicken leftovers

10/10/18 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Roast chicken is all the rage these days. One night I was watching a re-run of Dr. Oz. He and his nutrition experts were discussing if already cooked super-market chickens were a healthy choice for dinner. The all-around consensus was yes, they are healthy to eat because they are mostly chicken with very little other added ingredients. Yea!

I think that the most interesting factoid of their conversation was how many chickens are sold every day in the USA. Dr. Oz said that there are more than 5 million whole chickens sold daily. Then, I read that there are 60 million of the famous Costco rotisserie chickens sold every year. The statistics are mind boggling. Who knew?

Once upon a time, chicken was a Sunday supper treat. Now it appears that if you have $4.99 in your pocket you can eat it every day. I don’t know why that is so shocking to me. But it is. Poor chickens! Honestly, I got depressed reading the statistics. If I wasn’t so set in my ways I would become a vegetarian!

However, I know that we’re not going to change. We eat so much chicken at our house that I cluck when I walk. One of the reasons, as mentioned above, is that chicken is a healthy protein. Another reason is its versatility. One whole chicken can serve 2-3 people at least 3 meals. Chicken leftovers are a good thing. Here’s some ideas:

Meal one is a chicken dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy, vegetable and fruit salad.  I either roast a whole chicken in the oven or cook it in a crockpot. I season it simply with Lawry’s salt and a little of my favorite herbs. If cooked in a crockpot, I always finish it off by putting it under the broiler for a few minutes to crisp up the skin.

Leftovers are often a chicken entrée for lunch. I do get tired of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. A chicken salad with apples, walnuts and celery is a nice break. Quesadillas with a chicken, salsa and cream cheese filling are also quick and easy to prepare.

And I always save enough leftovers for some sort of soup or casserole. The sky’s the limit. It’s hard to beat a simple chicken and noodles dinner or even chicken chili. For soup, I try and keep the carcass in a plastic bag, boil it up with some onions, celery and seasonings. I debone the meat, discard the bones and combine it with whatever suits my fancy in the refrigerator.

The following couple of recipes are a little spicy and you may need to reduce the chili powder. Change them up to suit your family’s tastes. Also, remember that soup and chili recipes are not rocket science. Sometimes you have to taste and adjust spices and add more liquid. Serve with a favorite salad and a dinner roll. Enjoy!

SIMPLE MEXICAN-STYLE CHICKEN SOUP

1 cup chopped onion
1 red pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
5 cups chicken broth (I use reduced sodium)
1-1/2 cups favorite squash—winter, yellow, zucchini
1 large tomato (or 2 small), chopped
Garlic salt and pepper to taste
2 cups chicken, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, snipped

Heat oil in soup kettle. Add onion and pepper. Cook about 5 min. until tender, stirring as needed. Stir in cumin, chili powder and paprika; cook and stir briefly. Add broth, squash, tomato, salt and black pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 min. or until squash is tender. Add water if needed. Stir in chicken, corn and cilantro; heat through and serve hot. Serves 3-4.

CROCKPOT CHICKEN FAJITA CHILI

2 cups (or more) chicken, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon fajita (or taco) seasoning
½ teaspoon cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 14-1/2 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can chicken broth
1 cup yellow, green and red sweet peppers, diced (your choice)
1 small onion, minced
1 15-ounce white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

In a medium bowl, combine chicken, chili powder, fajita seasoning, cumin and garlic; toss to mix. If chicken is raw, spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray and heat on medium high. Add chicken and brown slightly.

Place chicken in a crockpot. Add undrained tomatoes, chicken broth, peppers, onions and cannellini beans. Cover and simmer on low heat setting 4-5 hours or on high heat setting 2-3 hours. Add more liquid as needed. Can also be cooked on stovetop. Serves 4

Note: These recipes are adapted from Diabetic Living Quick and Easy Meals. I often substitute canned chili beans and add tomato sauce and diced green chiles. Garnish as desired.

Fall apples are ready for applesauce and cookies now!

9/12/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Time flies! It seems like just yesterday it was June and we were planting flowers and tomatoes while looking forward to summer days, barbecues, peaches and watermelon. Now, I am so done with summer and ready for the weather to get a little cooler and put the gardens to bed.

My first “foodie” thought for the soon-to-be Fall season is always apples!

Oregon is a great place to grow (and buy) apples. There are so many ways to use the old Johnny Appleseed favorite that it’s hard to know where to begin. Of course, we can all heed the adage that “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” and often have one for lunch.

Thanks to the mild weather and abundant rainfall Oregon orchards produce over 21 apple varieties. Gala and Fuji are the most abundant crops.  But each variety has just a little different appearance and taste. Check out these newer ones.  

Fuji’s are a Japanese creation and have been around since the 1980s. Their parents are the American Red Delicious and the Ralls Janet. They are large with speckled pink. They are sweet and very juicy and come fresh on the market from Oct. to Dec. Good for making sugar-free applesauce.

Galas are another favorite. They are medium-sized with a range of colors. They are a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Kidd’s Orange Red. I like them for eating out of hand or cooking. They ripen early and store well.

Honeycrisps have been around about 20 years but they are excellent ready-to-eat apples right out of the refrigerator.  Their flat tops and bottoms highlight their red peel with light green or yellow. They start to ripen about now and are good keepers.

I started making small batches of homemade apple sauce when my kids were little. Golden or Red Delicious apples would get kind of old and it was quick to mix up a batch for dinner to go with pork chops, etc. One year I tried canning a small batch mixed with a couple of Granny Smiths. It worked so well that applesauce canning became my regular Fall ritual.

The following apple sauce recipe is a mixture of 3 or more old-fashioned apples. First I use some Granny Smiths that have bright green skin, are firm, subtly sweet and crisp in texture. Also, some Gravensteins, a tart, green, end-of-summer apple that can be baked, sautéed, roasted or slow cooked and pureed. Then I add the national apple of Canada—McIntosh apples. They have red and green skin, a tart flavor and tender flesh. They ripen in late Sept. and are perfect for pies or sauce.

Check out my home-grown recipe below along with my mother’s recipe for Old Fashioned Applesauce Cookies. Everyone loves them and they are great in back-to-school lunches.

BETTY’S APPLESAUCE

(Can be frozen or canned)

12-14 large apples, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 6 ½ pounds)

Note: I use a mixture of 3 varieties of apples in the sauce.

3-4 cups water

2-1/2 cups sugar (can be a mixture of brown and white)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Peel and core apples and put in a bowl of cold water with lemon. Drain.

Put apples and water in a Dutch oven (large pot) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often with a potato masher (!) until apples are tender and translucent and juices thicken.

Mash apples with a potato masher until desired texture is reached. Add sugar to taste and cinnamon; stir until dissolved. Serve warm or chilled. If Canning, process according to your canner’s instructions. Yield: unknown. It all depends on the apples.

Note: We use an old-fashioned apple peeler gadget. It works like a charm because my husband does it!

OLD-FASHIONED APPLESAUCE COOKIES

½ cup shortening (not margarine)

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups flour, sifted

1-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sweetened applesauce

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Cream the shortening and sugar together. After they are well blended, add the egg to the mixture and beat until light and fluffy.

Sift the flour together with the cinnamon, cloves, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add the sifted ingredients alternating with the applesauce to the creamed mixture and blend together.

Add the raisins and nuts and mix until blended. Drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie baking sheets. Can be iced later.

Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 20 minutes until well browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes about 3-4 dozen depending on size of cookies.

 Keep it simple and seasonal@Betty Kaiser's Cook's Corner

Peach canning season is in full swing!

8/15/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Last week I was out at Detering Orchards in Harrisburg to pick up some peaches for canning. Just one box of peaches and a few ears of corn for dinner. The lady being checked out ahead of me was a different story. She had big boxes and bags of berries, green beans, peaches, plums and everything else that wasn’t nailed down. It took two shopping carts to get her inventory to the car. Obviously, she had a big family or was just a serious canner.

I am a selectively lazy canner. Canning is hard work and I do as little as possible. Pioneer women were amazing. There were no grocery stores to run to for a can of pears if you didn’t put them up the previous summer They were smart, thrifty and tired after working together to process hundreds of cans of meat, fruit and vegetables. We are so blessed.

I learned to can (in jars) back in the late 1970s thanks to my neighbor Sallie in Ventura, Calif. She and Jim were married at the turn of 20^th century and lived for awhile in a sod hut in Texas. Talk about pioneers! Later, they moved to different cities because of Jim’s job as an engineer with Kaiser Gypsum plants. But everywhere they moved, Sallie canned. And when they got to Calif. she taught me how to “put up” tomatoes, apricots, apples, peaches, green beans and more.

Fortunately, my husband Chuck has always been willing to help. At the end of a long day at our restaurant, when we were both pooped, we began canning together. At that time, rural Ventura was surrounded with fields and orchards so produce was readily available. Somehow, my hubby always found time to grow tomatoes and I purchased fruit and veggies from local stands.

My first canning project was a disaster. Deep in a nearby canyon was a U-pick apricot orchard. One hot summer day after work, we picked several bags of dead-ripe apricots. By the time, we got home they smelled wonderful. Inside the bags, they were hot, squished together and unusable. Note to self: Do not pick dead-ripe fruit!

So far this summer I have put-up frozen strawberry jam, blueberries, peaches and green beans. There’s only two of us eating at home most of the time, so my inventory is small. I seldom put up more than 36 jars of anything. Still, it’s work. This year I decided to not wait for the freestone peaches but to go with the semi-cling Suncrest peaches. Note to self: next year go with the freestone.

Now, if you’re not a canner...Do not despair. I freeze my blueberries and sometimes a few peaches in a sugar mix. They keep well. The following recipes are for pies that I picked up from Detering’s years ago. Mr. and Mrs. Detering are gone now, but the family carries on the business and her recipes are timeless. I especially like her suggestions on how to combine peaches with other fruits. Be sure and check out the easy turnover recipe. Enjoy!

MARIES’S EVERYDAY FRESH PEACH PIE

5 cups sliced fresh peaches (about 8 medium size)

¾ cup sugar

2 tablespoons tapioca

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Dash of salt

1 tablespoon butter, cut into bits

Pastry for two=crust 9-inch pie

1 teaspoon sugar (to top pie crust)

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Mix first 7 ingredients. Line 9-inch pie pan with pastry. Pour in peach mixture. Cover with top crust. Seal, flute, prick with fork. Brush lightly with cold water. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake on lowest rack in oven for 40-50 minutes.

Peach Pie Variations

Peach Strawberry Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups fresh strawberries, halved. Use ¼ teaspoon almond extract instead of cinnamon.

Peach Dark Berry Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups blueberries or black berries.

Peach Apple Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches and 2 cups apples.

Peach Pear Pie: Use 3 cups sliced fresh peaches ad 2 cups sliced pears.

DIANE’S FRESH PEACH TURNOVERS
(Recipe as found

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Filling:

3 cups sliced peaches with the juice drained off

1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix sugar, flour and cinnamon together. Pour over peaches, gently mix all together and set aside.

Crust:

Sift together:

2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt

Mix well and stir into flour mixture:

3/4 cup shortening, 1 egg yolk and 1/2 cup hot water

Cut crust into 5-inch squares ¼ inch thick. Put on pan and add as much filling as needed. Fold crust to a triangle. Press edges together. Bake 40 min. After cooked you may pour icing over them. Makes 7-9 turnovers.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal with Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner

 Contact her email at bchatty@betty Kaiser.com

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Zucchini is here!

8/18/18 Cook’s Corner

Betty Kaiser

Zucchini anyone?

Today’s column is all about zucchini. My husband has already walked in the house multiple times this month announcing that “Zucchini man is here!” All winter long I yearn for fresh zucchini and now I’m overwhelmed! It is in full swing so it’s time to dig out my recipes and decide how many ways we can enjoy it this summer.

One of today’s recipes is for stuffed zucchini. It was born in the 1980s when a customer walked through the door of our restaurant and gifted us with some huge 22-inch long zucchinis. “See what you can do with these,” he said. We came up with a variable ingredients stuffed Bell Pepper type filling and it immediately became our best-selling summer lunch special.

The other recipes are for simple side dishes because...who likes to cook in this heat? The final two are my favorite way to eat zucchini—a chocolate cake and a simple sweet bread that is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Enjoy!

FYI: You will love today’s first recipe because it has nothing to do with cooking! Many years ago, I solicited zucchini recipes from readers. I still have dozens of them in my file. This one was from my friend Carol Pryor. She left this earth too soon but I still laugh every time I read her tongue-in-cheek advice:

BEST ZUCCHINI RECIPE EVER

(Carol Pryor 2001)

1 bushel zucchini

1 raincoat

1 pair of sunglasses

A moderately fast car

                           

Directions: Go to s busy parking lot. Drive around until you find an unlocked car. Put the zucchini in the back seat and drive away FAST before you are discovered!

CORN and ZUCCHINI MEDLEY

4 slices bacon

2 cups chopped zucchini

1-1/2 cups fresh corn

1 small onion, chopped

Salt and pepper

¼ cup Jack Cheese

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain bacon on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings. Crumble bacon and set aside.

Sauté the zucchini, corn and onion over medium heat in the bacon drippings until tender-crisp, about 10 min. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in half of the crumbled bacon and spoon vegetables into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining bacon. Serves 4-5.

ZUCCHINI GARDEN SALAD

4 tomatoes, chopped or cut into quarters

1 medium zucchini, sliced and then halved

Fresh basil (or dried)

Salt and pepper

1/3 cup red onion, minced

Italian Dressing to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate. Serve cold on a bed of lettuce.

KAISER’S COUNTRY DINER STUFFED ZUCCHINI

1 huge zucchini

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, diced

½ bell pepper, diced

1 cup cooked brown or white rice

2 8 ounce cans Hunts tomato sauce with basil, garlic and oregano

Other seasonings: garlic salt, pepper, basil, Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350° F. and line a baking pan with foil

Wash and split the zucchini lengthwise. Scope out the middle and discard. Steam the shells in the microwave about 3-4 min. Drain and set aside.

Cook the ground beef, onion and bell pepper in a skillet until meat is done. Drain well. Add the rice and 1 can tomato sauce to the meat mixture with other seasonings as desired. Spoon into the zucchini shells and top with the other can of tomato sauce and your choice of cheese. Bake 30 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted. Serves 8 or more depending on size.

CHOCOLATE-ZUCCHINI CAKE

Southern Living 2002

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

3 cups granulated sugar

3 (1-ounce) unsweetened chocolate baking squares, melted

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3 cups grated zucchini (about 5)

1 cup pecans, chopped

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine first 4 ingredients and set aside. 

Beat eggs at medium speed with an electric mixer. Gradually add granulated sugar; beat until blended. Add chocolate and oil; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture; beat at low speed until blended. Fold in zucchini and pecans. Pour batter into a well-greased and floured Bundt pan.

Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. Serves 12.

Kaiser’s Country Diner Zucchini Bread

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Beat together until blended:

3 eggs

2-1/4 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups grated zucchini

Add:

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Spray 2 large or 3 small loaf (bread) pans with cooking oil.

Bake 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Cool, slice and serve at breakfast, with luncheon salads or a bedtime dessert.

Contact Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner by email bchatty@bettykaiser.com