zucchini muffins (or bread)

I'm back from the wedding madness and in the kitchen again! Everything was wonderful... the ceremony was beautiful, the reception was so much fun, and the honeymoon was amazing. I had an awesome time, but I'm ready to come back to blogging and start trying out all our new kitchen gadgets. Hopefully, you will be seeing a lot more posts here in the near future!

Jamie

One of the best parts of summer is all the fresh produce. 

And one of my favorite vegetables...

is zucchini!

I love throwing it on the grill with other vegetables ad serving it over couscous,

and one of my favorite recipes my Mom used to make was "zucchini fettuccine".

But, as you might have guessed, I'm partial to baked goods.

And so I bring you... zucchini muffins! (This recipe also works great as a bread)

Here is what you need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 8oz can crushed pineapple

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 eggs, gently whisked

1 cup vegetable or olive oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Combine all purpose and whole wheat flours in a medium bowl. You can use 3 cups all-purpose flour if you don't have any whole wheat, but I like the texture and "goodness" it adds to this bread.

Add in the salt, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, oil, and vanilla.

(You'll notice I use organic Vanilla Extract. You don't have to, regular will work just fine. 

But I choose to use organic ingredients when I can find them and afford them.)

Grate 2 cups of zucchini. This should take 1 1/2 or 2 zucchinis.

Add in the can of pineapple, including the juice.

Then mix in the sugar.

Followed by the egg mixture. (It's supposed to be soupy, don't worry!)

And the flour mixture.

Last but not least, the pecans! You could leave these out or sub in another nut, but I like pecans.

Spray your cans with some non-stick and dust with flour. 

The mix will rise a LOT so only fill your pans about halfway.

 This recipe will make about 24 muffins, or 2 loaves of bread. OR 12 muffins and 1 loaf.

Muffins: 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees

Bread: 50 min to 1 hour at 350 degrees

These muffins make a great breakfast or snack, packed with veggies, fruit, and whole grain!