More Recipes and Colorado vacation photos

I've been in a cooking mood the past week (maybe because a friend gave me a couple cookbooks!). I don't have any photos of the food b/c I can't find the camera!

Zucchini Bread
This was my Grandma Vahle (dad's mom) recipe. If you like zucchini, you're sure to like this bread!

3 eggs
1 tsp. salt
3 cups flour (I used 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour)
2 cups sugar
2 cups raw, peeled zucchini
1 cup nuts/raisins (I only used 1/2 cup raisins, but will add walnuts next time)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 tsp. cinnamon (and I added 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice)

Mix together and bake in two greased bread pans at 350 for 50 minutes (or until knife comes out clean). Serve warm, refrigerate leftovers for 1-2 days, or freeze loaves.

Goulash
This dish is a result of trying to use some leftovers...we like the flavor the chili seasoning adds, and the veges and rice make it an 'all in one' dish.

1-2 lb beef
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can mushrooms
onion
garlic
mixed veges (peas, carrots)
2-3 tsp. chili seasoning (we used Tastefully Simple Wahoo chili seasoning)

Brown beef, add onion (can saute first if desired) and fresh minced garlic, mushrooms, and tomato sauce. Stir well over medium heat. Add brown rice and frozen mixed veges and seasoning. Cook additional 5-10 minutes or until veges are heated through. Martin added tobasco. If you need more liquid, add water until desired consistency.

Spaghetti Pie
I got this recipe years ago from a friend and thought there were too many directions for spaghetti pie...so I tweaked it a bit and combined it with another recipe and got this...

1 lb beef or sausage (we used sausage)
1/2 onion, chopped
seasoning/salt/garlic to taste
1 lg jar spaghetti sauce (we used roasted pepper and garlic)
8 oz spaghetti, broken into 2" pieces (we used whole grain spaghetti and loved the flavor)
2/3 cup parmesan
3 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 3/4 cup cottage cheese
8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese

Brown beef/sausage, drain fat. Add onion, seasonings/garlic/salt to taste. Add spaghetti sauce and stir well.
Prepare spaghetti according to directions. Drain water and add parmesan, eggs and butter.
In 9x13 pan, layer spaghetti mixture, cottage cheese, and meat sauce. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve with garlic cheese bread and green beans!
We actually cut the recipe in half and it made a full 8x8 pan...plenty of food for three people over two meals!
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Colorado....not only were the mountains a bit of heaven on earth, but we had a fantastic time hanging out with our friends Phil and Carol and their little angel, Elaine (plus the pups, Caesar and Riley!).

We took the girls (our Lillie and their Elaine) on the Georgetown Pass train. Great idea!! Lillie loved the steam engine and we loved being in the mountains and seeing rivers and the towns below. I saw a buck a few yards up the mountain from our train...its amazing how deer blend into their surroundings.
And we got some yummy pizza at Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs.










Lillie and Elaine had a blast swimming. Lillie preferred being in charge of filling the pool (she has this thing about not sitting right now...ever since she started walking last month, she doesn't have time to sit down!)

And this photo of the girls in the car was taken on our way to Breckenridge...we took a scenic highway (of course, it doesn't matter what road you're on in the mountains, it is all scenic!). Notice Lillie's camo outfit :-) This is actually her third camo outfit (she has a onesie, a dress, and now coveralls). Ready for deer season.