Landscaping Cleanup

It's amazing what some hard work and effort will do in improving the appearance of your foundation.

Yesterday we spent most of the day pulling weeds, trimming bushes, transplanting hostas and removing a thorny bush in preparation of putting in a sidewalk. 

Below is a before photo of the back of the house.

And an after photo all trimmed and weeded. It was a struggle removing the quackgrass from between the plants, but well worth the effort.

The quackgrass had taken over in the front of the porch and my husband got his revenge with a bottle of Roundup a few weeks ago. I pulled as much as I could from the rock (wearing a pair of gloves).

The bush on the left had lots of thorns and was painful getting near it because of them. We decided it needed to go. We had one on each side of the steps but the other had previously died.

So glad to have that bush gone! It's still up for debate whether we stick with the rock or remove it for flowers.

We took the hosta next to the bush and part of one from the other side of the steps and replanted them around the two hydrangeas we planted last spring.

The bushes were trimmed way back. Our next step is to add a sidewalk. You may already notice the old partial sidewalk removed as we began prepping for the new one.

Lots of hard work done. Lots to come. Stay tuned.

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Zucchini Brownies

These brownies are from my spiralized zucchini. Because these brownies are made with zucchini, they will get moister after sitting a day. Recipe to follow.

Zucchini Brownies

2 eggs
2 to 2-1/2 cups spiralized zucchini
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1/4 cup cacao
2 cups flour
1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Blend the eggs, zucchini and butter in a blender. Pour mixture into a standing mixer bowl. Beat on medium speed and add the remaining ingredients as it continues to mix. Pour into 9"x13" greased and floured cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Frosting is optional.

I tried the following frosting recipe with my own variation from I Am Baker. I loved it! It was easy to make, didn't feel like it was overly sweet and definitely deelish!! The best part was that it didn't contain 3-1/2 cups of confectioner's sugar like so many of the other recipes I viewed. And, the husband approved. :)

Brownie Frosting

4 T. soft butter
3 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 T. 1% milk
1 T. honey
1 t. vanilla
1 cup confectioner's sugar

In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine butter, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and sugar. Add milk one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved. (You may need one to two tablespoons more of the milk.) Spread over brownies. Cut and enjoy!!

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!

Spiralizing Zucchini

Today was a cooler day for August and I had several zucchini waiting to be used. I decided to bake some goodies using some zucchini and freeze the rest for later use.

First I brought out my spiralizer. I've only used it once before and it was so easy to prep my zucchini with it last time, so it was used again.

I had previously debated on getting a spiralizer. I didn't want another food prepping item sitting around not being used and questioned if it was just another fad item to buy.

One day while out shopping, I was up to $85.00 for items I either wanted or needed and had a coupon for getting $50.00 off by spending $100.00. Spending another $15.00 would mean less total money spent. Sounds crazy doesn't it?

I am usually annoyed with these type of coupons because I have the hardest time finding that last item to buy when I'm not looking for it in the first place. However, spending $50.00 instead of $85.00 for items I did want or need was a no-brainer.

So I went on the search for something I would actually want or use for around $15.00. I came upon the spiralizer for $20.00. I figured I would either use it or gift it, and added it to my other items to purchase.

The spiralizer box sat in my basement for about six months before I finally decided to bring it up and try it out. I am so very glad I did!!

The spiralizer was so easy to use. I just put the blade in, put the zucchini in front of the blade and turned the handle using a bit of pressure to move it forward. It goes super fast and the zucchini turns into the longest strands of spaghetti noodles you've ever seen!!

I then measured and bagged the noodles into two cups each and stored in the freezer for later.

I plan to use them in soup, cupcake, brownie and bread recipes.

Stay tuned for a great zucchini brownie recipe to come!!

Disclosure: The Excalibur Dehydrator link under "Other Sites" is an affiliated link. If you make a purchase using this link ~ you will receive free shipping, along with other specials. I also earn a small percentage to help support my blog. Thank you, your support is appreciated!!