Feeling Ambitious-- Refried Beans, Applesauce, and Zucchini Bread!

Tyson came for the long weekend (Labor Day Weekend). We had tons of fun! On Saturday, we looked at houses in Star, ID-- and decided we still like Middleton. That night, we had the neighbor over for a BBQ (grilled chicken, corn on the cob, etc.).

Sunday, we drove up to McCall. It was a busy little town! We stopped at My Father's Place for hamburgers and fries (OMG!!) and ate at the lake watching the sailboats. Once we were done eating, we drove to Ponderosa State Park. It was great! They have a lot of hiking and biking trails there. We took the pups on a 90 minute hike. After the hike, we headed back to Payette. The pups were pooped!

Monday, Tyson left at 11am to go home. I went to Purdums (produce stand) and got inspired. When I got home, I made Refried Beans in the big crock pot, applesauce in the little crock pot, and Zucchini Bread. They all turned out great! The Refried Beans recipe is from Sherelle Christensen. I went to high school with her and she has one of my favorite blogs-- with really yummy recipes! The Zucchini Bread recipe was from my neighbor Aimee Hughes. I tweaked it a bit. The applesauce recipe was just one I made up and it turned out great! The recipes are below. Hope y'all have a great week!

Fresh Applesauce

6-8 apples (I used 4 pink lady and 2 granny smith apples)

1 Tbl brown sugar

1-2 tsp cinnamon

1. Core, peel and chop the apples. Place in the crock pot.

2. Sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar on top. Stir well.

3. Cook on low for 8-9 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. Use a potato masher to mash the apples to the desired consistency. Taste, and add more cinnamon and/or brown sugar if needed.

Refried Beans

5 cups dried pinto beans, picked through and rinsed well

5 slices bacon, halved

1 small onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalepeno, cut in half lengthwise

1 Tbl seasoning salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried garlic

2 Tbl. cumin

1 Tbl. chili powder

1. Place beans in a large pot and add water to cover them by one inch. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour.

2. Put the bacon, onion, and jalepeno in the crock pot. Add the beans and the rest of the ingredients. Add enought water to just cover. Stir well.

3. Cover and cook on high for 8 hours or until beans are tender, stirring occasionally. Check the water level every couple of hours and add water as necessary. After 6 hours or so, remove bacon and jalepeno.

4. Let beans cool, then refry them!

5. To refry, put about a Tbl. of corn oil or vegetable oil in a pot. Add about 2 cups of drained beans and mash with a potato masher until desired consistency. The cooking liquid from the beans can be added to thin out the mixture. Taste for seasoning, and cook on low, stirring often, until bubbly.

Zucchini Bread

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ginger

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2-1/4 cups white sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup sliced almonds

1. Grease and flour 2 8x4 inch loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325°F.

2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and spices together in a bowl.

3. Beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in Zucchini and nuts until well combined. Divide batter between the two prepared pans.

4. Bake for 60 minutes. Cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and let cool completely.

The bread will freeze well and keeps in the refrigerator for weeks. Enjoy!!