Mrs. Sparks' Zucchini Bread Recipe

So I love zucchini bread. well, let's face it. I love all quick breads--pumpkin, banana, apple, you name it, I'll take a couple of slices and slather them with either butter or cream cheese, pair it with a great cuppa coffee and I am in heaven.

I made some last week and it was great, but . . . err, I guess the recipe was really for two loaves and I stuffed it into one. So the resulting explosion was good, but UGLY. (Let's just say it was the second time in a week that I set off the smoke detectors.)

I told my husband about it and he told me about a friend of his at work that brought in his wife's zucchini bread. And Chris went on and on and ON about it. Okay, I said, get me the recipe. So here you go, this is Mrs. Sparks' Zucchini Bread. And oh, it is DIVINE.










3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 1/2 cups sugar (I know, I thought this was a lot, but it gives the bread a sweet and crunch crust)
2 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Oil the pan and place wax paper on bottom only. (I just buttered the pans).
Bake at 350 for 45 min to 1 hr. (This made two loaves and it took 80 minutes).

Thanks Mrs. Sparks!

Homemade Bread and Bolognese Sauce

I wanted a warm and comforting meal for Sunday evening. Comforting to me means bread and peasant food.

I have often struggled with getting my homemade bread to rise, and have been searching for a fail-safe recipe. I found it on a new blog I have been reading called Home Grown.


Not only did the two loaves come out perfectly, but the total recipe time is less than an hour-and-a-half. Her recipe calls for bread flour, I used King Arthur's All-Purpose.


The bread was so chewy and moist--I could hardly believe that I had made it. And the best part? My son said, "Mommy makes the BEST bread."


Next part of the meal? A Bolognese sauce. My husband is the one who usually makes sauce in our household. His is a simple Marinara that is just fantastic. Loaded with fresh basil, garlic, and crushed tomatoes--it sits on the stove all day filling the house with LOVE.

But for Sunday I wanted something a little heartier. I am a fan of Tyler's Ultimate on Food Network. Last week he made his Ultimate Lasagna and made a Bolognese sauce to use in the filling. I have been trying to make things that will give me two meals, or leftovers, or enough so that I can stretch my grocery store dollar a little further, and I thought that this Bolognese would be great over pasta. I could freeze the rest and use it later in the week for lasagna.

Tyler's recipe didn't dissappoint. You can find it here.


The end result? A wonderful, family-style Sunday dinner that was pretty simple and full of flavour!


I will note here, that as always, there had to be at least ONE thing that went wrong during my cooking and baking adventure. I think this picture says it all!

My husband got quite the laugh out of this.

Best wishes to you if you decide to make these recipes. I will definitely be making them again.