Nutella Brownies

Laurel is a saint and made me whatever desserts I wanted for my birthday. This was one of them and I was soooo happy! My favorite all-chocolate brownies, I'm pretty sure. Plus I love Ferrero Rocher. Bring it on.

Photo Credit to mybakingaddiction.com

Nutella Brownies
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate; coarsely chopped
3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
12 Ferrero Rocher candies, sliced in half

For the Nutella Buttercream:
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup Nutella
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl microwave-safe bowl at medium (50% power) for 3-4 minutes or until butter is melted.

Stir until chocolate is melted. Whisk in sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt. Gradually add in flour; stir until just combined.

Spread 1/2 the batter into prepared pan. Add an even layer of Ferrero Rocher candies and cover with remaining 1/2 of brownie batter. Bake for 30-35 minutes; do not over bake.

Remove to cooling rack to cool completely.

Prepare the Nutella Frosting. In a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and Nutella until fully combined. Add in the vanilla extract, confectioners' sugar and heavy cream and mix on low speed until all sugar is incomporated. Turn mixer to medium-high speed and beat the frosting for about to minutes. The frosting will be thich, smooth and creamy. Frost cooled brownies and slice before serving.

Recipe Source: My Baking Addiction

Honey Lime Tilapia

Seriously. I love Mel, maybe that's weird, especially since she has absolutely no idea who I am. However, she makes my life better almost every day that I make something new because I'm pretty much making her recipe if I'm making something new. This recipe is easy, healthy, and super uper delicious!

Photo Credit to melskitchencafe.com

Honey Lime Tilapia
Fish and Marinade:
4 tilapia fillets (about 4-5 ounces each)
2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 large lime)
Zest of 1 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced

Coating and Cooking:
1/2 cup all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1-2 tablespoons olive oil

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper and garlic. Place the tilapia in a gallon-sized ziploc bag and pour the marinade on top of the fish. Press the air out of the bag and seal. Refrigerate the fish for at least an hour and up to 4 hours. It helps to lay the bag in a flat dish and turn it over once or twice during the marinading time since the marinade won't completely cover the fish.

Before cooking, whisk together the flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish like a pie plate. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until rippling and hot. Dredge each tilapia fillet in the flour, coating both sides lightly. Cook the fillets for 3-5 minutes per side without moving the fish while it cooks on each side; this will ensure a more even browning. Adjust the cooking time as needed depending on the thickness of the tilapia and the heat of the skillet and work in batches if necessary so the skillet isn't overcrowded.

Serve immediately with lime wedges.

Recipe Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal

Breakfasts I love. Love breakfasts I do. Super delicious and healthy. And it's a breakfast, so that's awesome.

Photo Credit to skinnytaste.com

Strawberry Rhubarb Baked Oatmeal
For the fruit filling:

2 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered
3/4 cup rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium ripe banana, sliced thin
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup honey

For the Oats:
1 cup uncooked quick oats (use GF oats if Gluten Free)
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 tbsp honey
3/4 cup fat free milk (or any milk you desire)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly spray a 9 x 9" ceramic baking dish with cooking spray; place banana slices on the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.

Photo Credit to skinnytaste.com

Combine the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl. Add honey, sprinkle with cornstarch and toss until fruit is well coated and place in prepared baking dish over the bananas.

In a medium bowl, combine the oats, half of almonds, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; stir together. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining honey, milk, egg, and vanilla extract, then add to the oats.

Pour the oat mixture over the strawberries and rhubarb, making sure to distribute the mixture evenly. Sprinkle the remaining almonds over the the top.

Bake the oatmeal for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the oatmeal has set. Serve warm from the oven.

Recipe Source: Skinnytaste

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

So many zucchini recipes…so much zucchini. Not healthy-except for the fact that it has zucchini in it. Perfect for those times {once a month} that you need chocolate…and you have an abundance of zucchini.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Makes 2 Loaves
2 C flour
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t baking soda
6 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1/4 C brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t vanilla
1/2 C sour cream
3 C grated zucchini
3/4 C mini chocolate chips
optional: zest from one orange

Topping:
2 T brown sugar
2 T white sugar
1/2 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans and set aside. I actually used one 8″ disposable pan to give away and a larger 9″ one for me and the batter divided perfectly. So you should get 2 very full 8″ pans or slightly less full 9″. Do one of each like I did!

Quick tip: Do you ever cook quick breads and get a rim around the edge? Where the part right next to the pan edge kind of sinks down and then the middle of the bread puffs up? After you grease your pans take a paper towel and wipe down about one inch all along the top like this:What that does is give the bread something to latch on to. When it’s all greased up, the edges have a tendency to slip down and wiping down the top will prevent that. You’ll get a perfectly crowned loaf of bread every time. Alright- quick tip over, let’s get back to cookin‘.
Mix topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Place flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
With a stand or hand mixer beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Add vanilla and sour cream and mix until combined.
Gently stir in the grated zucchini (and zest if you’re using). (see, that’s a veg-e-table, which means this bread is completely healthy and suitable for breakfast consumption)Take a spoonful of the flour mixture and stir in with the chocolate chips (that will help keep them evenly distributed.) If you only have regular chocolate chips, or a chocolate bar, just give it a chop so it’s the size of mini chocolate chips.
Add the remaining flour mixture to the batter and stir just until combined. Add chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Divide the batter between the two pans. and sprinkle topping over each. Place pans on a cookie sheet for easy moving.
Bake in your preheated 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. I set my timer for 45 minutes and then keep an eye on it for the remainder. Ya never know how different ovens handle things.
When it’s done a toothpick or skewer should come out without goopy batter on it and the top will be gorgeous and cracked with sugar.
Let it cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes and then remove from pans. You definitely have to eat a slice warm. And slathered with butter. When you call it a quick “bread” it’s okay to slather it in butter, when it reality it’s like slathering a piece of really good chocolate cake in butter.

Recipe Source: Our Best Bites

Zucchini Pizza Bites

Healthy, Delicious {anything that tastes like pizza is}, and cheesy. Love them because we lose so many carbs while eating pizza. Love it!

Photo Credit to skinnytaste.com

Zucchini Pizza Bites
4 slices large zucchini 1/4" thick (or 1 medium zucchini cut on diagnal)
olive oil spray
salt and pepper
2 tbsp pizza sauce
1/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

Cut zucchini about 1/4 inch thick. Spray both side lightly with oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil or grill the zucchini for about 2 minute on each side. Top with sauce and cheese {and any toppings-sausage, tomatoes, onion…pretty much anything you can find} and broil for an additional minute or two. The cheese can burn very quickly!

Recipe Source: Skinnytaste

Open Faced Zucchini/Squash Pita

I found this "recipe" {although it is more of an idea than anything}, and tried it once…shabam! It's healthy {as long as you don't put too much dressing on} and yummy. Vegetarian, can be vegan, and GF if you get the right pita bread.

Photo Credit to 33flavors.org-It doesn't really look like that…but close enough

Open Faced Zucchini/Squash Pita
Squash, sliced
Zucchini, sliced
Fresh Tomatoes, sliced
Italian dressing {Fat free makes it healthier}
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Whole Wheat {or other} pita bread
Olive oil

Turn oven on broil. Pour a little olive oil over squash and zucchini and place flat on aluminum sheet. broil on one side for 7-10 minutes, then flip and cook for another 7-10 minutes. Remove from oven.

Broil pita bread for a couple of minutes. Place zucchini/squash, tomatoes, a little italian dressing, and mozzarella cheese. Broil until cheese is melted.

Recipe Source: I'll take it since I don't know where I got it from

{Healthy-ish} Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I was quite skeptical about this. I mean, I really wanted to try it, but I was worried that it was going to be "too healthy." Luckily it was healthy and delicious {although I added ice cream to every bite, so that might've had something to do with it…}

Photo Credit to Texanerin.com

{Healthy-ish} Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Zucchini cake:
¾ cup olive oil or canola oil
1 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¾ cup Greek yogurt
2-2 1/4 whole wheat flour
1¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3 cups grated, peeled zucchini {I didn't peel at all}
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Ganache:
¼ cup honey
3½ tablespoons coconut oil
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
2-4 tablespoons Greek yogurt

Grease a 12 cup bundt pan or 6 cup if you want to make half. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 176°C. For the cake, combine the honey, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. At first it'll be difficult to get the honey incorporated, but it'll work. Stir in the eggs and then the Greek yogurt. Set this bowl aside.

In another large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl if it's lumpy, or just use a fork to get rid of the lumps. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir, just until combined. 

Fold in the zucchini and the chocolate chips.

Bake the full recipe for 40 minutes, or if using half, bake for 30 minutes. When you insert a toothpick in the middle, the toothpick will not come out dry, or even with crumbs, but it'll come out covered in sticky batter. If you insert it, and it's just normal batter, it's not ready. Sticky batter is what we're looking for! It'll continue to cook once it's out of the oven.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip out onto a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before putting on the ganache. If using the following ganache recipe, store cake covered in the fridge. Otherwise, room temperature is fine.

For the ganache: Over low heat, melt the honey and coconut oil and in a medium saucepan or pot. When melted, add the vanilla and then the cocoa powder. Stir until thoroughly combined. It might look weird, like it isn't combining. The first time I made it, I used too much coconut oil and poured some out and everything was fine. The recipe reflects how I made it the second time with less coconut oil, and had no problem with excess oil.

Place in the fridge for 5 minutes. Take out and add a tablespoon of Greek yogurt at a time, stirring after every one. For me, just under three tablespoons was enough. It should be pourable at this point. Not too hot and not too cold. Pour over the cake and store any leftovers in the fridge. {I liked it best stored in the fridge for one or two days}

Recipe Source: Texanerin Baking