choco-zucchini cupcakes

Seems a lot of you are already in the “Fall” Baking Mood, so we thought we would share one of our favorites with you! Enjoy this tasty treat!
ingredients
•    Nonstick cooking spray (optional)
• 2  cups  shredded zucchini (about 8 oz.)
• 3    eggs
• 2  cups  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup  cooking oil
• 2  tsp.  vanilla
• 2  cups  all-purpose flour
• 2/3  cup  unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1  tsp.  baking soda
• 1  tsp.  salt
• 1/2  tsp.  baking powder
• 3/4  cup  milk chocolate pieces (optional)
• 1  recipe  Peanut Butter Frosting
directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line twenty-four 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with double or single layer of paper bake cups or lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl stir together zucchini, eggs, granulated sugar, oil, and vanilla. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and, if desired, chocolate pieces; stir until combined. Spoon batter into prepared pans, filling cups about half full. Bake about 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire racks for 5 minutes. Remove from cups. Cool completely on racks. Frost with Peanut Butter Frosting.
Makes: 24 cupcakes
Peanut Butter Frosting: In a medium mixing bowl beat 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup softened butter, 1 tablespoon milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, beating until combined. If necessary, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons additional milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Makes about 1-1/2cups.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you only have 12 muffin cups, cover and refrigerate half of the batter while the first batch bakes.
nutrition facts
• Calories263, Total Fat (g)13, Saturated Fat (g)4, Monounsaturated Fat (g)5, Polyunsaturated Fat (g)4, Cholesterol (mg)33, Sodium (mg)207, Carbohydrate (g)35, Total Sugar (g)25, Fiber (g)1, Protein (g)4, Vitamin C (DV%)3, Calcium (DV%)1, Iron (DV%)6, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

RILEY

Riley is a good boy. He knows sit, paw and speak. He’s housebroken too. He enjoys car rides and likes being in the yard to hang out. He isn’t very interested in play but likes being part of the scene — except for games around water! Yuck!
Riley likes people and enjoys attention. He is friendly and comes over to greet you. He grew up with two cats and did well with them. Another dog member of the household might be okay, so bring your pooch along to meet him.
A fenced yard would be great, so he can sit out and take in the world. Come on over to Animal Friends in Pittsburgh to meet him!

9.11

We will never forget. God Bless all lives lost, our armed forces, police and firefighters and all that fought to help that day, God Bless America.

Adoption Success!!

From Adam.

“We got our animals from Crossroads Shelter in Buffalo, MN – near our home. Before we were married, my wife, Megan, and I used to take dates to the local shelters to visit the animals and donate toys and food. We always had a great time and the staff was always so appreciative. It was inevitable that we would end up taking one of these cute little guys home – probably my plan all along. I always had dogs growing up and Megan always had cats. She told me that if I was going to get a dog, we had to get a cat for her too. So it was settled, we were after a cat and a dog. We went back to the shelters for another play date. At the local Humane Society we found a tabby kitten and a lab mix puppy. We put them in a room together and it was clear it was not a match made in heaven. We decided we’d try again at Crossroads just down the road. There we found an adorable 16 week old black lab mix named Oreo (due to her white striped chest) and a tiny 12 week old Turkish Angora kitten named Squigy. After seeing that they weren’t going to kill each other when they met, we took them to their new home. We changed their names to Lilo (dog) and Stitch (cat). They’re almost 7 years old now and, as you can see from the pictures, they “tolerate” each other.”

Thanks for sharing Adam, there is no more rewarding love than from that of an adoption pet!

TRINITY

Trinity is a charming brown tabby who was found as a stray and had her luck turn for the better when she was brought to Animal Friends. Now she’s waiting in her condo to meet her new owner and go to her forever home.
At just under three years old, Trinity loves to play and wants nothing more than to chase some toys! When playtime is over, she will very happily sit in your lap and be cuddled.
Animal Friends is a great place, but Trinity needs someone to love and a home to call her own. Ask to meet with an adoption counselor to see if she is the cat for you!