Friday, September 4, 2015

Week 12: My List of Fabulous Finds (Focusing on Zucchini!)

About ten days ago I mentioned the abundance of zucchini in my garden.  Instead of covering a variety of topics in my “list of fabulous finds” this week, today's focus is on the research I have done regarding ways to use this prolific vegetable.

My daughter observed that the two huge zucchini I brought in from our garden were the size of twin babies! She named, rocked, and burped them - - and had me almost feeling guilty when I said “Enough! We have to eat them!”



One of my favorite ways to serve zucchini is to slice it into thin rounds, saute these in olive oil with garlic,
and then add shredded Parmesan cheese just before removing from the stove top. 

I've used my mini food processor to grate some of the bigger squash. It freezes well, and there are many ways to use the grated zucchini, such as adding it to spaghetti sauce or using it for baking.

Here's a whole collection of uses for zucchini that I like ... 



This Week's Fabulous Finds:


~ Zucchini Bread

This recipe for zucchini-banana bread from the blog Healthy Eating for Ordinary People doesn't call for any oil, and we thought it was really delicious.  It would probably be even more healthy if the chocolate chips were omitted - but personally I don't think that would be as tasty!
Zucchini Banana Bread

~Stuffed Zucchini

I had planned to make this recipe last week, and then realized I didn't have any ground beef!
Mexican Stuffed Zucchini from Rockin' Robin. (Note: in addition to watching the video, if you click where it says "show more" there is a printed version of the recipe as well).
I did have some cooked, chopped chicken though, so I modified the recipe a bit and made an Italian version of it instead.




Italian Stuffed Zucchini
Following the recipe in the link above, I substituted 2 cups of chopped, cooked chicken for the ground beef, added about 1/3 cup pesto instead of taco seasoning, and topped it off with grated mozzarella cheese.   
Yet another variation of stuffed zucchini was recommended in a comment on my post last week by Rena, who writes the blog The Diary of an Alzheimer's Caregiver. She said she loves to fill large zucchini with spaghetti sauce, and she recommended this recipe:
Zucchini Boats

~ A Vegetarian Curry Stir fry

My daughter made dinner several nights when she was home, and one night she made a vegetarian curry. It was a fairly quick to prepare, delicious, and used up some of the zucchini! She didn't follow a recipe, but she told me how she prepared it:


    Curry Tofu Vegetable Stir fry

  1. Cut a container of extra-firm tofu into cubes.
  2. Chop approximately equal amounts of carrots, zucchini and asparagus into about the same size of pieces as the tofu.
  3. Saute the tofu in olive oil until it begins to brown.
  4. Add vegetables and cook until just tender.
  5. Stir in a prepared curry sauce, heat through and serve.
The curry sauce my daughter used to make this recipe
Suggested side dishes: naan bread or jasmine rice

~ Sauteed Zucchini and Tomatoes 

Last year my garden only produced two zucchini!  I sautéed one of them with tomatoes, following a recipe published by Lana on Two Teens and Their Mama. It was excellent - and I really had been looking forward to having plenty of zucchini to make it often again this year! Here is Lana's recipe:
Sauteed Zucchini and Tomatoes.

~ I haven't tried these recipes yet, but I think they look really good!

Parmesan Crusted Zucchini Sticks
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Zucchini Pie
Zucchini Brownies (and two other zucchini-dessert recipes)

~ Zucchini Slice

I had never heard of this, until it was recommended by Suzi T from Australia, who writes the blog Chronicles of a Lumpy Person. A little research turned up this recipe, and it certainly does look like one to try!
Zucchini Slice

~ And a few more zucchini suggestions I've received:
Add grated zucchini to meatloaf (River from Drifting through Life) 
Stuff the blossoms with feta or goat cheese (E.C. from Elephant's Child)
Make a lasagna using zucchini strips instead of pasta ( Carlee from Carlee Cooks)
Cut into strips, roll in cornmeal and deep fry (Susan from The contemplative cat)

Just a reminder of the reason for this series: 
There is a lot of really helpful, captivating and entertaining information available on the Internet. It can take a lot of time however, to sift through and find the articles that interest you. 
If you read this blog, I suspect we have similar passions. If I find something to be fascinating or useful, I thin you might as well.
In this series, I share the links to some of the “fabulous finds” I have discovered on the Internet throughout the week. I hope you enjoy and benefit from these links.
~~*~~ 

If you have a favorite zucchini recipe, feel free to share it in the comments. 
Which of these ways of serving zucchini appeals the most to you?

This post may be linked to one of the great link-up parties I follow and list on my blog. Check them out!

16 comments :

  1. Thank you for featuring a few of my zucchini recipes! What a nice surprise.

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    1. I am glad you are pleased to see them mentioned here - the recipes look delicious!

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  2. Huge zucchini. Huge! I congratulate you, Susan. My son declared he was going to plant veggies this summer. Excellent. Managed to plant carrots, cilantro ( for Bonanza - his bunny) and cucumbers. I had great success with cucumbers last year and suggested he plant the carrots in the same place. They were worthy of many photos. The cukes ended up in a much shadier area. Oh dear. We got one - the size of a dill pickle. One. Whoopsie. I like to saute zucchini in the same way you do. Yummy. And I really like the look of your stuffed numbers. Will try that with some farmer's market gems. Off to my brother's place soon. They have a wonderful farmer's market. I'll be sure to pick up some zucchinis there. Let ya know how they all turn out. Thanks for these great suggestions.

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    1. I have no luck with cilantro. I love to use it in salsa, etc - never thought about it being a favorite of bunnies! Sorry to hear about the cucumber. Gardening is a temperamental thing! Hope you found good things at the farmer's market Kelly!

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  3. Zucchini slice IS good. Quick, easy and tasty.

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    1. I plan to try it this week! It sounds yummy!

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  4. Zucchini is the chicken of the vegetable world - you can do anything with it! All those looked great :)

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    1. "chicken of the vegetable world" What a perfect description Leanne!! I love it.

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  5. I love good 'ole zucchini sautéed with olive oil and garlic too...my favorite. But, like you, I try many ways to use it ;-)

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    1. But what isn't good sauteed in olive oil and garlic, right?! I just made the brownie recipe I linked to, and although more of a dense, sticky cake than a brownie it is delicious!

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  6. Oh wow those are some impressive zucchini! I wish I could grow ones that size. I love everything zucchini, so thanks for sharing your fab recipe list. That curry looks delicious!

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    1. Hope you like any that you try Jennifer - and yes, the curry was fantastic!

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  7. I make zucchini bread -- not the healthy kind!!! I love stuffed zucchini of any kind so will definitely try the Mexican version. I used to make a casserole that was kind of like a quiche but used a lot of cheese. I am going to dig that one out and try it again. It was good. Someone at our church leaves a box of zucchini out in front of the church for anyone to take. That is my source!!! Ha! Nice rain, huh?

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    1. Your cheese and zucchini casserole sounds a lot like what my mom used to make. I have her recipe, and have been thinking about making it this week! The rain and cooler temperatures are hopefully settling the fires down. I am so happy that we have our view of the mountains back again!

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  8. This picture of your daughter made me laugh! I love zucchini - and I'm so sad that we never got our garden planted this year. Thanks so much for sharing my recipe - and thanks for all the other great suggestions!

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  9. Wow! So many zucchini ideas! They all sound wonderful. I agree your daughter's pic was terrific. She's beautiful like her mom. Thanks for the shout out much appreciated. I'm like Lana, bummed this year because we chose not to put a garden out. I've been making up for it at the Farmer's Market. I bought a bushel of green beans and canned 31 quarts this weekend. We put up 4 gallons of apples and getting ready to start on corn. I am working on a post about it very soon.

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