Monday, January 19, 2009

Zucchini Cakes



First I want to apologize since this is picture is not a masterpiece, but thought you may wanted to see the beautiful flowers that Kyle brought home over the weekend! Now back to the zucchini cakes...this recipe is great to make while you are awaiting for those lengthy meals to be done. I have to admit that my cakes where by no means proportional in size, but I guess it's one of those things to master with practice. Of course, Mom's are beautifully rounded, have even colors and last two seconds on the dinner table, but I'm sure she will be proud of my amateur version :-). As always, enjoy with style. Oh, Mom, by the way, thanks for the baking powder idea...as you can see they turned out huge!!!

Ingredients

3-4 Medium Zucchinis - peeled and shredded
2 large eggs
1/2 Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder

Instructions

1. Peal and shred zucchinis. Recommend draining zucchinis for one hour to avoid watery consistency.
2. In large bowl, mix shredded zucchinis, eggs, cheese, flour and baking powder.
3. Set frying pan on medium-high temperature with a generous amount of cooking oil.
4. Scoop about 1/4 cup of zucchini mixture and place in frying pan creating a round shape.

Salad "a la Kyle"



Sooooo, my husband thinks I am not including him in my "food blog" affairs and had "kindly" requested that I add one of his fabulous recipes to Eclectic Treats. After all, you can't deny this is not "eclectic."

Ingredients

1 pack pre-made salad
4 oz shredded cheese
1/4 cup bacon bits
Salad dressing

Instructions ( "a la Kyle")

1. Open pre-made salad bag
2. Dump in large salad bowl
3. Add shredded cheese and bacon bits
4. Serve with salad dressing

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sea Shell Cheesy Casserole


This is my version of "homemade hamburger helper." The recipe is very straightforward, but I suggest draining meat as well as dice tomatoes as much as possible to avoid a "saggy" consistency. Enjoy!


Servings: 4
Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (14.5 ounces) drained dice tomatoes
2 cups sea shell pasta, cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Mexican and mild cheddar cheese)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
2 tablespoons dried celery
1 tablespoon basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1. In a large skillet, brown ground beef and chopped onion. Drain excess of fat.
2. In a medium bowl, add drained dice tomatoes, season them with salt, pepper and basil.
3. Mix meat, tomatoes and cooked sea shell pasta in a large casserole. Add shredded and Parmesan cheese, sauce, salt, pepper and dried celery.
Note: Leave a 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese available for topping.
4. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining shredded cheese on top.
If desired, it can be served with sour cream!