Chocolate Zucchini Bread



The ingredients (check out the zucchinis, the are from our very own garden!)

I love the way shredded zucchini looks!

Mixing it up.

Chocolate!!

        

All ready to bake.

Ingredients:

2 (1 oz) squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 cups of grated zucchini
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 cups of all purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans, be sure to coat it really good! Combine all of the chocolate and melt it in the microwave, just enough so it is slightly melted and smooth.

In a large bowl combine, eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla and grated zucchini, mix well. Stir in the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Next, stir in the bowl of warm melted chocolate. Last, pour your batter into the loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes and enjoy!!!

*I melt all of the chocolate together, I don't care for the chocolate chips to stand out when I bit into my treat. To me it tastes better when the chocolate runs all the way through, that is why I melt all of the chocolate together, but you can leave out the chocolate chips when you melt the semi sweet and add them in whole.

Missing My Pup

We were at the mall looking around at clothing for the Fall and Summer clearance when my son spotted this display of Boo Dogs. He told me "Mom I miss my puppy Kosha". It made me so sad that he misses our dog. She was not a puppy but to him she was. The two of them were the sweetest pair of boy and dog. As soon as we get a home of our own the first thing I am getting him is a black lab puppy. I can buy him a million dog stuffed animals, and I do lol, but nothing is like having a real dog. I miss that sweet pup too.

We were updated by the people who opened their hearts and homes to our dog and she has found a permanent home with a woman who loves her. They said the woman was feeling lonely and not much made her want to go out and live life but having a dog as sweet as she is made this woman feel loved and a purpose. When I read the email update I was at work and tears started streaming down my face. I am happy someone loves Kosha as much as we did and she is living a good life.

Ancestry.com and New England History #ad

*This is a sponsored post.

I have always been fascinated with History. I love watching the history channel and reading books about people from the past. I remember in elementary school when we had a project out find out our ancestry. I loved asking family members about our heritage. When I was in school there was no internet to google that type of stuff. We are lucky that now we can use places like Ancestry.com to find out about past family members and famous people in American history. 

Ancestry.com is featuring New England History over the last 400 years. See the picture below for fun facts and famous people from New England. I found it fascinating that as big as Maine is there are not many people in that state. Many profound influential people of change in American History are from New England. Philosophers, abolitionists, civil rights activist, presidents, founding fathers and authors all from the same area rich in American history.

I wonder more about my family and who we are related to. Do we have any famous people in our family tree? I can search immigration records to see when members of my family came over to the USA. Being a Mom I am also curious about my husbands side of the family for my son. I have heard some great stories about their American adventures through the Midwest and Texas to California that I would love to document through records. 

 

Great Wolf Lodge here we come!

This summer is flying by, we are now into the month of August! This summer has been a pretty low key year for us, we decided that we weren't going to go on a huge vacation this year or travel far from home. To keep ourselves busy this summer we have been looking for great "Staycation" ideas, fun activities for our whole family that and close by and where we aren't spending a fortune in order to enjoy! To cap our summer off and ring in the new school year we are taking our boys to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, WA! The Great Wolf Lodge is an giant indoor family water park with a hotel on site with lots of waterpark fun and entertainment.

As you can see my boys are so excited that my 6 year old created a "countdown calendar" to mark off the days until our stay! I love that not only are they anticipating our stay, but day by day the excitement is around us, something to look forward to is always a good thing.

 

 

There are so many rides and attractions at the Great Wolf Lodge, fun for toddlers, young children, teens/tweens and the entire family. They offer activities like MagiQuest, an Arcade and even a Kids Spa!

 

 Fort Mackenzie!

 Alberta Falls!

 

 The KidCabin Suite

 

At the Great Wolf Lodge your water passes are included with your stay in any of the suites they offer. I love that we will be staying the night there, no driving home with tired kids, you just walk to your room and they are off to dreamland!

 

 

We can't wait  to share our "Staycation" pictures with you all and give you a peek into the waterpark at the Great Wolfe Lodge! Check out their site to see if you have a Great Wolf near by, what a great way to spend a few days. 

 

 

*I was not paid for this post, we will be guests at the Great Wolf Lodge. All opinions are my own.

Frugal Friday Coupons!!

 

Back-to-school Supplies - For Lunches

• $0.55 off any Jif Whipped Peanut Butter Spread
• $0.50 off 2 Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot
• $1.00 off 1 lb. of Sara Lee meat at the deli
• $0.25 off Betty Crocker Macaroni & Cheese
• $1.00 off TWO Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough

Snacks

• $0.50 off 2 Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot
• $0.50 off TWO BAGS Bugles Corn Snacks
• $0.75 off Food Should Taste Good chips
• $0.50 off ONE BOX Fiber One Chewy Bars
• $0.50 off ONE BOX Fiber One Protein Chewy Bars
• $0.50 off Nature Valley Soft-Baked Oatmeal Squares
• $0.50 off TWO BOXES Nature Valley Granola Bars
• $1.00 off TWO Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough
• $0.50 off Green Giant™ Veggie Snack Chips
• $0.55 off any two Martha White Baking Mixes
• $0.75 off TWO Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix

Breakfast

• BOGO on any Pillsbury Heat-N-Go Mini Pancakes
• $0.75 off THREE Pillsbury Toaster Strudel
• $0.40 off TWO Pillsbury Sweet Rolls
• $0.50 off ONE BOX Original Cheerios cereal
• $0.50 off Liberte Greek or Mediterranee yogurt
• $0.75 off TWO any flavor Yoplait products
• $1.00 off FOUR Yoplait Yogurt Multipacks
• $0.40 off SIX CUPS any variety Yoplait Yogurt
• $1.00 off FIVE CUPS any Yoplait Greek yogurt
• $0.50 off ONE 20 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick
• $1.00 off TWO BOXES Cheerios cereals
• $0.50 off ONE BOX Cocoa Puffs cereal
• $1.00 off TWO BOXES any General Mills kid cereals

Food

• $0.80 off 4 Hamburger Helper Home Skillet Dishes
• $0.60 off THREE Green Giant Seasoned Steamers
• $0.75 off ONE Pillsbury Gluten Free Dough product
• $0.75 off THREE PACKAGES Totino's Rolls Snacks
• $0.60 off 3 Old El Paso products
• $1.00 off FIVE Totino's Crisp Crust Party Pizza
• $0.50 off 2 Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad Mixes
• $0.55 off any two Martha White Baking Mixes
• $0.75 off TWO Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix
• $0.40 off any TWO Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls
• $0.25 off Betty Crocker Macaroni & Cheese

Storage + Baking + Protection

• $1.00 off Reynolds Wrap Foil, 35 sq. ft. or more
• $1.00 off any (1) Glad Food Protection product

Entertainment

• $5.00 off The Walking Dead Blu-ray™ or dvd

Beauty-Care Products

• $1.00 off COVERGIRL Clean Whipped Creme Foundation
• $0.75 off ONE COVERGIRL Flamed Out™ Shadow
• $0.75 off COVERGIRL Outlast Stay Brilliant Nail
• $1.00 off COVERGIRL Lipslicks Smoochies Lip Balm
• $1.00 off one GARNIER FRUCTIS STYLING Product
• $2.00 off any Burt's Bees Lip Gloss

Vitamins + Wellness

• $1.00 off any (1) Disney Omega Gummy Vitamins
• $1.00 off 1 Disney or Marvel Gummy Vitamin product
• $3.00 off any Phillips' Fiber Good Gummies
• $2.25 off Any One Nature Made Vitamelt
• $2.00 off Centrum Silver 100 ct. or larger
• $3.00 off any ONE TruBiotics™ product
• $1.00 off any One A Day Multivitamin product
• $1.00 off any Citracal Product

Oil

• $10.00 off Any two Valvoline Motor Oil

Simple Dessert: Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

For movies we love to pop fresh popcorn from our movie theater style popcorn maker. Sometimes I get a little wild with it making way too much for the night. I find it absolutely fun to make the popcorn and watch it pour out of the popper. Silly I know but this leaves me with extra popcorn all the time. Sometimes we feed it to the ducks at a local pond and other times we make popcorn balls.

This last time we made popcorn for a movie I had a whole grocery bag full left over. I decide we would make some simple marshmallow popcorn balls. I searched the cupboards to see if we had anything we could add in and I found some white chocolate and dark chocolate chips. I found some food coloring too so I decided to make my white chocolate pink.

My son wanted to help as always so I let him make a couple pink popcorn balls, his oddly turned out a little runny. I found out after clicking through some pictures and asking my husband that he had dipped his popcorn balls in his apple juice before dipping it into the white chocolate mix. ( I was baffled as to why his turned out so watery and strange lol)

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. butter
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4 tsp of salt
10 oz bag of Marshmallows
12 cups popped popcorn
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips


Directions:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the marshmallows, vanilla and salt. Heat, stirring constantly, until the marshmallows are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Place the popcorn in a large mixing bowl. Pour the marshmallow mixture over the top. Toss gently to combine and coat the popcorn. Allow to cool just slightly, then form into balls with well buttered hands. Place on sheets of wax paper. While popcorn balls are cooling melt the white chocolate in a small bowl in microwave, mix in coloring if desired, melt dark chocolate in separate bowl. Once cooled dipped the popcorn balls in the chocolate mixtures. ENJOY!

Frugal Friday Coupons!

Food

• SAVE $1.00 ON TWO when you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Cheerios® cereals: Original Cheerios® • Honey Nut Cheerios® • Multi Grain Cheerios®
• SAVE 75¢ when you buy ONE BAG any flavor Nature Valley® Protein Crunchy Granola
• SAVE 50¢ when you buy ONE 20 OZ. OR LARGER Original Bisquick® OR Bisquick Heart Smart® Baking Mix, OR 10.6 OZ. Bisquick® Shake ’n
• SAVE 80¢ ON FOUR when you buy FOUR BOXES any flavor Hamburger Helper®, Tuna Helper® OR Chicken Helper® Home Cooked Skillet Dishes
• SAVE 50¢ ON TWO when you buy TWO BOXES any flavor Betty Crocker® Fruit by the Foot®, Fruit Gushers® OR Fruit Roll-Ups® Fruit Flavored (DFSI)
• SAVE 50¢ ON TWO when you buy TWO BAGS any 4.5 OZ. OR LARGER Bugles® Corn Snacks, Chex Mix®, Pillsbury® Baguette Chips, Gardetto’s® Snack
• SAVE 50¢ ON TWO when you buy TWO BOXES any Nature Valley® Granola Bars (5 count or larger), Nature Valley® Granola Thins OR Nature Valley
• SAVE 50¢ when you buy ONE BOX Reese’s® Puffs® cereal
• SAVE 50¢ ON TWO when you buy TWO any flavor Betty Crocker® Suddenly Salad® Mixes
• SAVE 75¢ ON THREE when you buy THREE any flavor/variety Pillsbury® Toaster Strudel® OR Toaster Scrambles® Pastries OR Pillsbury® Pancakes

Personal Care

• $2.00 OFF TWO Pantene® products (excludes trial/travel size) De descuento en DOS productos Pantene® (excluye tamaños de prueba/viaje)
• $1.00 OFF ONE Pantene® Styler or Treatment Product (excludes trial/travel size) De descuento en UN producto Pantene® Styler o Tratamiento)
• SAVE $2.00 on any (1) NEOSPORIN® ECZEMA ESSENTIALS® Product (excludes trial sizes) (Redeemable at Walgreens)
• Save 75¢ off of one St. Ives® Apricot Scrub With 100% Natural Exfoliants (Excludes travel & trial size)
• SAVE $1.00 on any REACH® Brand toothbrush (*Except Crystal Clean)
• SAVE $2.00 on any REACH® Brand 2 Pack (*Except Crystal Clean)
• $2.00 OFF Any Tim McGraw $9.00 or more Fragrance Purchase
• SAVE $2.00 on any ONE (1) Revlon® Foundation, Powder, BB Cream, Concealer, Blush or Primer
• SAVE $1.00 on One (1) Package of Men's Fruit of the Loom® Underwear (Available at Walmart)
• Save $1.00 When you buy any (1) Tom's of Maine Children's Anticavity Fluoride Rinse Product

In the Home

• Save $0.50 on any one (1) pack of Angel Soft® Facial Tissue
• $1.00 OFF ONE Tide® Washing Machine Cleaner (excludes travel/trial sizes) de descuento en UN Tide® Machine Cleaner (excluye tamaños de prueba/viaje)
• 40¢ OFF ONE Tide® Detergent (excludes PODs and trial/travel sizes) de descuento en UN detergente Tide® (excluye PODs y tamaños de prueba)
• $1.50 OFF TWO Tide® Detergent and/or Tide® Boost (excludes PODs and trial/travel sizes) de descuento en DOS detergentes Tide® y/o Tide® Boost (excluye tamaños de prueba/viaje)
• 40¢ OFF ONE Tide® To Go Pen or Stain Eraser (excludes trial/travel sizes) de descuento en UN Tide® To Go Pen o Stain Eraser (excluye tamaños de prueba/viaje)
• 40¢ OFF ONE Tide® plus Bleach Alternative Detergent (excludes PODs and trial/travel sizes) de descuento en UN detergente Tide® con Blea
• $1.00 OFF ONE Tide® Boost (excludes travel/trial sizes) de descuento en UN Tide® Boost (excluye tamaños de prueba/viaje)
• SAVE $1.00 on any TWO Glade® Wax Melts (excludes warmer) available where Glade® products are sold
• SAVE $1.00 on any Windex® Touch-Up Cleaner Product
• SAVE $1.00 on any TWO Scrubbing Bubbles® Bath Cleaning Products

Summer Fun with Target and Justice League! #SummerUp

Check out our summer loot, we have been digging into it finding lots of great activities to do!

It is no secret how much my family and I love Target, in fact my 3 year old's favorite store is Target, even above the toys store! There are so many great things to shop for at Target and they did not disappoint for their summer items. Target has a line of summer gear of Justice League with a ton of things to help keep the kiddos busy while the lazy days of summer continue.

Enjoying the summer days with nice cold drinks in our pitcher and cups along with tasty treats :)

Ashley at the beach with our picnic blanket, perfect for keeping the sand under us, not on us.

The boy making their own Justice League masks!

Ashley (and the Chewie the dog) love to throw these light weight frisbees back and forth, again from the summer Justice League.

The summer is in full swing over here in Washington, we have been to the beach, the park, and any outdoor activity we can. The summer days can also drag and feel like they will never end that is why I love getting new ideas for activities and outings. In need some summer fun inspiration? Target has just that and more check it out here!

* This is not a paid post, I was provided these items on behalf of Target. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

A very vintage weekend...

This weekend consists of taking pictures of my beautiful, vintage inspired, little sister Megan, some thrifting in hopes of some vintage finds and taking in a movie in a local old theater with my wonderful husband. Here to the weekend, hope you enjoy yourself and find joy in the little things.

Day at the Lake with Save Mart Cantaloupe #FreshFinds #Shop #cbias

*I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client. #FreshFinds #shop #cbias All opinions expressed in this post are my own.

This summer has been filled with fun times. We swim at the pool, have BBQ dinners, attended festivals and even met some new friends. This year we decided we wanted to take our son for his first lake trip. He has swam in pools and dipped his toes in the river but we have not made it to the lake. When I saw the great deals at Save Mart for the food I would need to plan a picnic I knew we had to go. I have been wanting to try a new recipe for Cantaloupe Berry Fruit Salad that has a lemon yogurt and cinnamon dressing.

We made a list for our day at the lake using the Save Mart ad and divided it in half. My husband and I planned to divide and conquer in the store. We had a busy day planned and knew this would be fast. My son went with me since I had the "cool" racing cart. We ended up with 44 items all together and saved $36.86. Great shopping trip! You can read about our shopping trip in my Google+ story.

I found many fresh finds at Save Mart. Everything I need for my Cantaloupe Berry Salad, honey mangoes to snack on while I cook, watermelon to slice into wedges for the kids to eat and red bell peppers to add to the pasta salad. Thankfully my son loves fresh fruit and ate almost half the containers of strawberries and blueberries while I was preparing the fruit salad. I had to hide them or he would have eaten them all!

The sweet scent of fresh fruit filled the kitchen as I was preparing the salad. I always look forward to California summers that are filled with local fresh fruits and veggies. I often just set our a big bowl of cut fruit to guest to snack on. I wanted to fancy up our fruit for the day at the lake so I made a cinnamon lemon yogurt dressing.

Cantaloupe Berry Fruit Salad Recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup low fat lemon yogurt

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. sugar

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups sliced cantaloupe 

2 cups sliced strawberries

2 cups blueberries

Preparation:

In small bowl, mix yogurt, juice, sugar, and cinnamon and blend well with whisk. Combine remaining ingredients in salad bowl and drizzle with salad dressing. Cover and chill until serving.

We packed up the fruit salad, pasta salad, watermelon slices, fresh corn that we planned to grilled in the husk, the meat to BBQ and all drove to Folsom. The kids were super excited to be going to the lake. For a few of our friends this would be their first time at the lake, just like my son.

The food was delicious. The fruit salad was a big hit, some of the kids even asked for seconds! We ate so much I wanted to make sure the kids waited for a bit before heading back to the water. I did not want to sound like a cliche so I did not want to say "You have to wait 30 minutes before swimming" so I had them talking and playing with balloons I brought. We played balloons and had fun for about, 30 minutes lol. If its true or not about waiting to swim I still like to have them settle their tummies before swimming.

One of the benefits of serving fruit for a day at the lake dinner is we were all hydrated and full of antioxidants while we enjoyed the summer sun. Some people like to make things like S'mores but for us on a hot summer day fresh fruit is what we love. We all headed to the water to swim and build sand castles. We had a perfect summer day!

My son loved swimming in Folsom Lake. He wanted to stay as long as we could, the only way I could get him to leave is by promising he could have more fruit and swim at the pool when we got home.

You can find great recipes and see what items are on sale to plan your next summer adventure on the Save Mart website, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.