Start Summer, End Renting

School is officially out for Summer! With professional development all this coming week, I don't think I'll feel like I'm on vacation until after July 4th. In any case it's good to be out and get some time to read, sleep, and socialize!
I can't believe a whole year has gone by since I started this blog. I don't know if it's truly kept up it's original purpose of keeping in touch with old friends, but it has certainly been a way for me to keep a record of everything that has been going on in our lives. I can't imagine when I wasn't blogging! It's also a great place to keep all my favorite recipes. New schools, new rentals, new friends, new house (as of this Wednesday!), new jobs, it's all here!

Speaking of the new house....we have our closing on Wednesday and we're looking forward to finally getting in there and making it our own. It's going to be a good amount of work and we're going to be visiting Home Depot or Lowe's quite often. We went earlier this week and picked out paint colors. We bought some sample containers to test. We also think that we have found a light fixture for our dining room (which will soon no longer be pink). I'll keep you updated as we make progress on OUR NEW HOME!


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Zucchini Cake
adapted from simplyrecpices.com
Cake:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
2 cups white, granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (from about 3-4 regular sized zucchini) grated un-peeled zucchini (place grated zucchini in a sieve and press out some of the excess moisture before measuring)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 to 2 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9x12 or 9x13 baking pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.










In a mixer, beat the 3 eggs on high speed until frothy. Lower the speed and beat in the sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, a third at a time.















Stir in the zucchini and chopped nuts and raisins.
Pour mixture into a 9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. (For cupcakes/muffins bake 20 to 30 minutes).Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.









While the cake is cooling, let the frosting's cream cheese and butter sit at room temperature to soften.

To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter.















Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.Frost the cake and serve. Store covered with aluminum foil.