Ah, zucchini. The vegetable you love to hate, or hate to love. Which is it?

They are such prolific little buggers. I know, my dad grows them every summer. Correction: My dad grows too many of them every summer. Thankfully, my mom has been picking them while they are small-er, instead of the gargantuan things that Dad drops on my doorstep.

Truly, though, I love cooking with zucchini. I love adding grated zucchini to soups. I love grilling it, tossing it on pizza. I love baking with it. Good thing, too, ’cause those are prolific little buggers.

Recently, I had a wealth of zucchini from my dad’s garden and I baked up a big batch of bread. A food processor is very handy for this sort of thing.

This recipe makes four good sized loaves. Feel free to stir in chopped nuts or chocolate chips, or both. Eat one and freeze the rest so that you can grab a loaf and go enjoy. See that cute little girl, she’s racing for it. You’ll want to, too.

Bulk Batch Zucchini Bread

3 cups oil
9 eggs, beaten
5 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons vanilla
9 cups unbleached flour (can include some whole wheat pastry flour)
6 cups grated zucchini
1 Tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, chocolate chips, or a combination

Preheat oven to 325°. Spray four bread loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray. In large mixing bowl, combine oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in flour, zucchini, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nuts and chocolate chips. Stir until just mixed. Pour into prepared loaf pans and bake for 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To freeze: Once cool, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a large freezer bag. Remove excess air and freeze. Can also be sliced before freezing.

For more Zucchini Inspiration, visit my friend Amy who rounded up a huge quantity of Zucchini recipes last summer.

Bulk Baking: Zucchini Bread is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Welcome to another fun week of What’s On Your Plate?!

What’s on Your Plate? is designed to be a conversation amongst good eaters.

Tell us about a recent meal. Did it meet with rave reviews? Or did it bomb? What side dishes did you pair with the star of the show? Did you try a new ingredient? Find the groceries at great prices?

Share what’s on your plate!

Each week a featured foodie* will share his or her plate and then the rest of us will get a chance to link up our own posts or share in the comments what good cheap eats we’ve been enjoying.

What’s On My Plate:

A family favorite meal at our house is Queso Fundido. It is one of the easiest meals I know how to make, especially since it’s freezer friendly. It’s best served with homemade corn tortillas. But, if you don’t have a hubby who makes them for you, that’s quite all right. Store bought corn tortillas will work just fine. Warm them prior to serving so that they won’t crumble when you serve them.

What’s on YOUR Plate?

Share with us a recent meal you prepared. Either link it up below or tell us about it in the comments. Please make sure that you link to www.goodcheapeats.com in your post so others know where the dinner party is.

And don’t forget to pop around and visit the other good eaters participating today. I’m sure you will be inspired to make all sorts of Good Cheap Eats at your house.

* If you’d like to be a featured foodie, just email me: jessica AT lifeasmom DOT com. Include a photo, a brief description of your plate, and a short bio.

Queso Fundido and What’s On Your Plate? is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I love cookbooks. In fact, I was a strange child; I read cookbooks for fun. And copied recipes — for fun. Today, I’ve got a wonderful collection of well-worn books and recipe cards that I refer to, tweak, and enjoy.

Here are three cookbooks I love:

My copy of The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger is falling apart. I have used it so much over the last ten years when I got my first bread machine for a Christmas present. Truly, it has been a bread saver. When I first started using my bread machine, I had a few flops and was ready to throw in the towel, but my husband encouraged me to search out a cookbook on bread machines.

I parked myself in the cookbook section of a book store and browsed the selections. This is the one I settled on, and we’re all so glad I did. (Of course, I bought it for cheaper on Amazon.)

But it is actually worth its weight in gold. Not only does this cookbook hold a wealth of great bread machine recipes, but it also explains the science behind breadmaking and illustrates how bread machine baking is different from traditional bread baking. I find this information to be invaluable. It’s the front matter of the book, which some people ignore when referencing cookbooks.

Once I read this book from cover to cover, it changed how I looked at cookbooks. Now, when there’s a type of food I want to learn to make, I search out a cookbook on the topic and read the front matter very carefully. Usually, this is where the teaching happens. And you can learn so much that you aren’t reliant on the recipes themselves.

I tweak almost every recipe that crosses my path, often because I don’t have all the ingredients called for. This book has been my starting point for many a recipe. And since it taught me about bread, it’s given me the confidence to tweak away.

In the Know

Ok, another favorite is not a “cookbook” per se. But, it is a well-loved in these here parts. This well-worn book on my shelf is The Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst. I actually own the second edition which I bought fifteen years ago. It has been indispensable when I come across an unfamiliar ingredient or wonder how a certain vegetable should be stored.

Since we’re a family of foodies, it’s also been a source of dinner able conversation. Someone will ask about a food and where it came from or what it is. We get “the book” and learn together.

Sunday night we sat down to a meal of grilled chicken, couscous, and salad. And since couscous isn’t often on the table, it spurred some conversation. What is couscous, anyway? Thanks to The Food Lover’s Companion, we all know now that it is granular semolina.

A Newer Addition

A third book that I’ve recently added to my shelf is by my friend Erin Chase. Erin has put together a fabulous resource for those wanting to shave down their grocery budgets. Not only is every recipe in The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook marked with a price breakdown, but the front matter of this book is exceptional for the coaching it provides. Erin shows you how to start out couponing, matching to grocery sales, and meal planning.

Again, this is another cookbook that gives you tools for success, not just recipes.

What’s a favorite food book you’ve got on your shelf?

Don’t forget to pop over to Three Things You Should ….

Three Food Books You Should Own is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Normally, I post my meal plan each week over at LifeasMOM. But, seeing as it’s Christmas over there, I thought I’d post it here.

This week seems to be another catch up week at our house. First it was cleaning up after a mouse that invaded. We’ve only caught one and found no new “evidence” so it’s my hope and prayer that that was it.

It was a wonderful lesson for our marriage. My husband did not know how totally creeped out I get over rodents. I’m sorry to even mention it on a food blog. Eww.

Then we got hit by a flu bug midweek and of course, hypochondriac that I am, I worried that we were going to die of hantavirus. Forget the fact that our mouse wasn’t that kind of mouse or that we are more likely to win the lottery or get struck by lightening than to contract that disease. I think I was sicker from worry than I was from the flu.

Suffice it to say, I’m ready for an easier week, less take-out, and a return to normalcy, whatever this is.

Here’s my meal plan for the week, subject to change, of course:

25. Tacos
26. Beans and Rice
27. Chicken Caesar Salad, Garlic Bread
28. Grilled Tri-Tip, Potato Salad, Fruit Salad
29. Pasta with Meat Sauce, Green Salad, Biscuits
30. Chili and Cornbread, Veggies and Dip
31. Pizza Night

What are YOU having?

PS. For more meal planning inspiration, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

PPS. Don’t forget to vote for me and my herd so we can win Chick-Fil-A for a year! We’re the ones from COW-lifornia.

Meal Planning Monday is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Tomorrow the Third Annual Christmas in July series will begin at LifeasMOM.

It seems crazy, I know, to be talking about Christmas in the heat of summer. However, there are some really good reasons why you might want to start thinking about the Holiday Season.

1. Summertime is a little more laid back.

2. Some holiday projects take some time to put together.

3. That January credit card bill CAN be avoided.

4. End-of-summer sales are great, as are back-to-school specials.

5. Planning promotes peace!

Pop over to Life as Mom tomorrow and check out the doings. And they’ll be some good cheap eating to be had as well.

Christmas in July at LifeasMOM is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

I have really enjoyed experimenting with pizza recipes this summer. I’ve found some new combinations that my family likes. Hallelujah! Maybe we can bust out of the pepperoni rut!

Hint: one of the ways I accomplished this was to stop buying pepperoni. Heehee.

This burrito pizza really is delicious though. It has been requested on subsequent evenings. So, I know it’s a keeper. With black beans, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, black olives, and plenty of cheese, you don’t need the chicken. But, that sends it over the top. Feel free to serve salsa, sour cream and guacamole on the side.

Burrito Pizza

1/4 batch of basic pizza dough
1 cup cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 tomato, diced
1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced black olives
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped, cooked chicken

Preheat oven to 475°. Prepare dough according to recipe directions. Grease baking pan. Divide dough into four portions and stretch to fit into pan. Freeze the other three balls of dough or make other kinds of pizza, like Cheese or the Jalapeno Burn.

For this pizza, spread beans over pizza round. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle over the top with the tomato, the onion, jalapenos, black olives, chicken and cheddar cheese. Bake 10 – 12 minutes or until crust is crisp and cheese is gooey and golden.

Do you experiment with your pizza toppings?

Burrito Pizza is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Apple slices are an easy, healthy snack. Not only are apples packed with vitamins and fiber, but they taste great. We find that slicing apples makes them easier to eat. We also waste less if we slice the apples. Kids just don’t generally get all the edible bits off a core.

Since we try to pack a lunch when we go on outings, I’ll often cut up several apples, douse them in lemon or lime juice, bag them up and stash them in the cooler.

Over the years we’ve tried a number of different slicing techniques and tools. Choose one you like:

The Old School Method

This is the way your gramma did it. Cut the apple in half, then quarters, then cut out the core. A good paring knife is essential. Then slice each quarter into this wedges.

Make Rings Using the Apple Peeler Corer Slicer

I love this gadget. It peels, cores, and cuts apples in one fell swoop. Plus the apples are cut into these cool spirals. You can slice one side to have apple rings. I usually break out this gadget when I am making lots of pies at one time. The kids can devour apple slices at a tremendous rate. The trick to this tool, however, is that only small to medium sized apples really work.

Make Rings with an Apple Corer

An apple corer is another tool we regularly use. It’s great for hollowing out the fruit for baked apples, but also very handy for making apple rings. Simply shove it through the middle of the apple and remove the center core. Sometimes, you have to fiddle with it. Not all apples are created equal. Then slice your apple into rings.

Make Quick Cut Wedges with a Knife

The quickest way that I use is the “quick cut wedge.” I first saw Amy do this and I thought she was nuts. But, a friend agreed that it worked really well. Yes, there might be a little more waste around the core, but at the same time, if you’re too lazy to cut it the old school way, you might as well just get them cut and enjoy them.

This is really easy. Just slice around the core like we did with the pineapple. The slices are all symmetrical, but that’s okay. They’ll get eaten. I have been doing it this way for a year and no one has complained.

How do YOU slice them apples?

How ‘Bout Them Apple Slices? is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

Brussels Sprouts Linguine – What’s On Your Plate? is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

As you may already know, I love cooking shows. And while I don’t watch reality TV or most network stations, I love me some cooking competitions. One of the highlights of my Sunday afternoons is to watch “The Next Food Network Star” with the fam. The boys and I discuss the pros and cons of each contestant and try to guess who’ll win.

However, I’m slowly clueing in that there is a whole world of cooking contests besides my dear FN. Sears, in fact, is hosting one of their own.

The Sears Chef Challenge is a nationwide contest that invites aspiring chefs to enter for a chance to win a newly-renovated kitchen from Sears and up to $20,000 donated in their name to a charity food bank in their hometown.

One of the things that I love about this contest is that such a substantial amount of money is being donated to a food bank. Most of us have never known what it is to go hungry, not truly. But, I know that helping out others in need is good for all of us. I’m so glad to hear that Sears has come up with this plan.

There’s actually quite a lot to see over at Sears Chef Challenge. You can:

• Submit your “best recipe” for a chance to have it demonstrated live at the Kenmore Live Studio
• Download recipes from Sears chefs and “at home” contestants
• Play foodie games and be entered for a chance to win daily prizes including $20 Sears gift cards
• Enter Sears Chef Challenge online sweepstakes for a chance to win new Kenmore appliances

This week Sears is offering a great giveaway to one reader here at Good Cheap Eats. Up for grabs? a Kenmore portable, single burner induction cooker.

Quite honestly, I know nothing about induction burners. It sounds fancy, doesn’t it? At first glance I think an appliance like this would be a great asset to an efficiency apartment or guest house/basement if you are so blessed to have one.

But, even if you already have a full kitchen, I could see some advantages to owning on.

1. An extra burner for holiday meals or busy kitchen times, like freezer cooking days.
2. A portable heat source for outdoor cooking. Get the BBQ going for the meats and use the burner outdoors for an additional heat source for cooking rice, boiling pasta, or simmering chili.
3. A safer heat source since the burner doesn’t get hot unless the right kind of pan is used on it. I am thinking this would reduce the risk of accidents? Not making a claim here, just a guess.

We had an egg bar one morning this weekend, and I set up the cooker to try it out. It was really fun to do my cooking on the kitchen island where I could see everyone instead of staring at the wall. The eggs cooked perfectly on the burner, and I loved using the “keep warm” feature while I got kids situated with their plates.

The kids commented that the eggs were more tender than normal. Don’t know if that was my gentle, light hand or the burner. But, that makes for some good eats, either way.

To enter this giveaway, tell us about your favorite appliance.

Giveaway will be open until Sunday night, July 25th at 8 pm PST. Winner to be chosen at random and notified via email. If I don’t hear back from the winner within 48 hours of sending the email, I reserve the right to choose another winner.

Disclosure: Sears provided me with an induction burner to review as well as a gift card. I was not compensated for publishing positive comments. My opinions are my own. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.

Sears Chef Challenge & Induction Cooker Giveaway is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher

It wasn’t until we found ourselves buried in debt that I really gave plain yogurt a chance. Previously, I bought the more expensive sugared varieties in individual packaging. Once I started to drastically cut my grocery budget, I became a little more cut-throat in my yogurt buying: I only bought store brand on sale or a name brand on sale with a coupon.

Buy Plain Yogurt

As it turned out the store brand’s flavored varieties were pretty gross and they were filled with ingredients and fillers I didn’t want my family to eat. So, I started buying plain yogurt which had the great price, but without all the additives I wanted us to avoid. I doctor it up with fresh fruit or jam or even maple syrup or honey. My older children haven’t quite caught on, but my younger ones are totally on board. As for me, I love to make parfaits with berries and granola.

I’ve also used plain yogurt as a substitute for sour cream in dressings and in baking. It’s a key ingredient in Mix and Match Muffins and Chocolate Banana Marble Cake as well as our favorite topping for fish tacos, Yogurt-Dill Dressing. It makes Fish Tacos into Happiness on a Plate. Plain yogurt is also a fantastic base for marinades like this Buttermilk-Yogurt Marinade or Tandoori Chicken.

My target price is $0.30 to $0.40 per individual cup or $2 or less for a large carton. The full fat version from Mountain High is divine in parfaits, but I opt for the nonfat because I can’t shake my lipo-fears. (I’m open to reforming my ways, though. So tell me why full fat won’t make me fatter.)

Either way, plain yogurt is a healthy and economical ingredient. Most definitely a good cheap eat.

Do you use plain yogurt in your cooking?

Plain Yogurt is a Good Cheap Eat is a post from: Good Cheap Eats. All rights reserved © Jessica Getskow Fisher