Nestie Recipe Swap : Summer Veggies

Another round of the recipe swap has concluded and this time around it was for Summer Veggies and the recipe I got was from Jaida @ Sweet Beginnings.

To be honest, at first I was a little nervous.  I am new to this cooking thing and the word "bread" intimidated me!  I always remember my mom busting out her big bread maker and playing with yeast and getting upset when it didn't rise.  Needless to say, I was convinced I was going to mess this up one way or another.  To my surprise, I didn't!  With a few changes, I successfully made my first bread type food without burning the heck out of it :)

Zucchini-Cranberry Bread

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/zucchini-bread-with-dried-cranberries-and-vanilla-bean-glaze-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled (or 1/2 cup vegetable oil), plus more for the pan
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup walnuts  (I omitted...not a big nuts person)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (I used FF plain yogurt)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon grated orange zest(I omitted because I didn't have any...and to tell you the truth have NO idea what it is haha)
• 1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed dry

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter one 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or three 6-by-3-inch mini pans (I actually used cupcake tins and made muffins because I didn't have a loaf pan!  They came out so cute!)
2. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the dried cranberries and walnuts.
3. Whisk the eggs, melted butter, yogurt, vanilla and orange zest (if using) in a medium bowl. Stir in the shredded zucchini. Fold the zucchini mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.
4. Spread the batter in the prepared pan(s). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes for a standard loaf or 35 to 40 minutes for mini loaves. Cool 30 minutes in the pan(s) on a rack, then turn out onto the rack to cool completely.
   

Thanks for an awesome recipe, Jaida and for popping my bread making cherry!