Rylee is 4!

Happy Birthday to my little freckle face! Rylee has always been a happy child, and cute as a button. She has more nick-names than any kid could know what to do with; from Smiley Rylee, to Roober, and many in between. Being the youngest I know that she feels frustrated when the older kids set out on some activity or adventure that is difficult for her but she troops along and gives it her best to keep up and not be left out. She is a snuggler and a princess at heart. She may have been my easiest delivery at less than 4 hours of labor, but she made up for it by spending her first month of life on a billie blanket with severe jaundice and being coombs positive. And then before she was even a year old she spent a week in the hospital with pnemonia and then a month on oxygen when she came home. Despite these challenges she is healthy and happy(most of the time!) I wouldn't trade her for the world!

I have Zucchini coming out of my ears!

Here's another zucchini recipe that I adore! As soon as I finish posting I'm off to whip one of these up for dinner. We will be pairing this with fish tonight, but its great with just about anything, chicken, pork chops, steak...or nothing! It stands on its own very well as a veg or light dinner! Enjoy and HOLLA if you don't have enough zuc's lol, I could probably spare a few!

Zucchini Pie
4 cups Zucchini(thin slices)
1 cup white onion chopped
1/4 cup butter
Saute these until tender

While the above mixture is cooking press one tube of crescent roll dough into a pie plate. You have to be slightly creative to cover the sides and bottome but one tube will do it! Brush the uncooked crust with 2 TBS of yellow mustard.
Add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic(granulated), 1/4 tsp basil 1/4 tsp oregano to the cooked mixture.
Combine 2 eggs and 2 cups of shredded mozzerella cheese in a small bowl. then combine with the cooked mixture and dump into the uncooked crust. bake at 375 for about an hour. A butter knife in the middle will come out clean and your 'pie' will be slightly brown on top! YUMMM

Summer Bounty

How do I love my zucchini? Let me count the ways...nah that would take waaay to long.
Instead how 'bout I share just a few of my most favorite zuc recipes? I thought you might like that! Here goes, this first one I can't take credit for inventing, but I will gladly take the credit when you pop a bite of this chocolatey goodness into your mouth and moan at your mouthful of pleasure!
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup veg oil
1 3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk(OR 1/2 cup of milk with 1 tsp lemon juice mixed in it)
2 1/2 cup flour
4 TBSP cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/4 cup...ish, I use more lol chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil and sugar. Add eggs, canilla and sour milk; beat with mixer. Mis together all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add in small amounts to the creamed mixture. Stir in zucchini and spoon batter into a greased and floured 9x13 pan sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

This next one is actually what we had for lunch today. Its soo easy to do in the crock pot or on the stove top. This is in my top three of all time favorite soups.

Italian Vegetable soup
2 packs of Italian sausage. I use sweet cuz my kids are sissys about spicy stuff, but the hot sausage is yummy too.
1 large onion diced
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic...or a couple of cloves fresh minced
8 cups sliced zucchini
2 large! cans of diced tomatos
2 cans of garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
2 cups of beef broth
2 tsp basil

cut your sausage out of the casings and brown and use your muscles to break it up into smallish chunks add your onion when fat starts to render. Now the rest is so easy you are going to laugh.
Dump all remaining ingredients and the sausage and onions into a pot and simmer til the zuc's are tender. Crockpot...assemble and cook on high for about 6 hours.

YUM YUM!