Zucchini Slaw

I've never been a coleslaw fan, though I'll eat a bit if it's a vinaigrette style dressing rather than creamy dressing. I'm not a huge zucchini fan either, unless it's in chocolate cake; but I do have some zucchini recipes I like. I made one recently, and had one small zucchini leftover...about 6 inches long and an inch & a half in diameter; about a cup grated.

And I've always, only had zucchini cooked. But I knew somewhere I had zucchini slaw recipe. It's an older one from Cooking Light (May 2017). The honey-dijon chicken looks delicious too, but I was just in it for the slaw this time around. I reduced the oil a bit and threw in a pinch of onion powder so it's not just straight oil+vinegar. And no raw tomato for me, thank you! Though it would have added a nice pop of color!

Ingredients

1 small zucchini, grated

1 T olive oil

1 1/2 T red wine vinegar

pinch onion powder

s & p to taste

Directions

Toss everything together in a bowl. The longer it sits, the more the zucchini soaks up the flavor (and will eventually loose some of it's texture too), but it's fine to serve right away.

Zucchini Cakes

This is almost Trisha Yearwood's zucchini cakes & herbed sour cream. I reduced the recipe by half, and further reduced the breadcrumbs (and added a little extra parmesan). The bread crumbs are needed, as a binder, but I reduced the ratio a little; would love to more, but I'm afraid they'd fall apart. As is, they need to be handled gently. The herbed sour cream is great, but the cakes could be serve with other sauces or toppings as well.

Ingredients
1½ C shredded zucchini
¾ C bread crumbs
3 T grated parmesan
1 tsp each fresh, finely chopped basil and oregano
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
pinch pepper
2 eggs
¼ C sour cream
vegetable oil, for frying

Directions
Scramble eggs with sour cream. Stir together all ingredients until well combined. Let sit 10-15 minutes to allow bread crumbs to absorb moisture.

Heat skillet over medium heat, adding just enough oil to coat the pan. Form patties with zucchini mixture (about 3" in diameter and 3/8" thick). Fry zucchini cakes until crisp and golden on both sides. Remove to paper towel lined rack (or plate), salting to taste.

Serve immediately, while still warm. If reheating is needed, use the oven (not a microwave) to preserve crispness.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs
2 C sugar
3 t vanilla
1 C oil
2 C zucchini, shredded
3 C flour
½ t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
optional: 2 C chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat 2 loaf pans (9x5) with non-stick cooking spray; line with parchment paper if desired.

Beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, vanilla and oil, blending well. Stir in zucchini.

In another bowl, combine dry ingredients; blend into zucchini-egg mixture. If desired, fold in chocolate chips.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake 1 hour.

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Wonton 'Ravioli'

I had a little of this, a little of that -- a little butternut squash soup, a few leftover sweet potatoes, and some wonton wrappers -- and pulled off a close approximation of a Ree Drummond Pumpkin Wonton Ravioli recipe. It wasn't exactly the same, but mine was delicious! Wonton wrappers as a quick 'cheater' 
version of homemade ravioli! :)

butter
minced garlic
pumpkin puree OR butternut squash OR sweet potatoes...
chili powder (I think I used a squirt of Sriracha)
salt & pepper
wonton wrappers
1 egg

shaved parmesan

pine nuts

Brussels Sprouts with Butternut Squash

The colors are just beautiful for fall! It would look even prettier spread in a large serving dish or platter, but...right now this is what I've got available...

Ingredients
1.5 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered
1 lb  butternut squash, medium diced
½ red onion thinly sliced
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T honey
½ tsp chili  powder
¼ C dried cranberries
¼ C pomegranate molasses, warmed
s&p to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 400°.

In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey, and chili powder. Place Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and onion in a large bowl. Toss with olive oil & honey mixture until evenly coated.

Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes or until squash is fork-tender. Salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer to serving dish; garnish with cranberries and drizzle with pomegranate molasses.

Italian Stuffed Zucchini

Saw a recipe very similar to this online. I'd credit the original (or post it in a link) if I could find it again. This isn't exactly it, but...the same basic idea. Tweak it to your own taste.

Ingredients
3 medium zucchini
24 oz marinara
1 T olive oil
1 lb ground beef
½ C onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ bell pepper, chopped
½ tsp each: basil, oregano, thyme
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ C chopped italian parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1 to 1½ C shredded mozzarella
½ C shredded parmesan
¼ C Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°.

Trim zucchini ends and scoop out centers, leaving about a ¼-½" thick 'shell'. I used a Parisian scoop (melon baller). Chop scooped out centers; set aside.

Place zucchini into baking dish with ½" of water; cover with foil and pre-cook 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully pour off excess water; set aside.

Photos: I only made a half recipe.

Brown beef, onion, bell pepper and garlic in a skillet with olive oil. Drain off excess grease. Add chopped zucchini centers, 2/3 (approx 16 oz) of the marinara, basil, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes. Simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour remaining marinara in bottom of baking dish. Place zucchini 'boats' on marinara in baking dish. Scoop beef & veggie mixture into scooped out zucchini, dividing it evenly. I had extra filling -- no problem if it fills in around the edges too! Cover with foil; bake for 20-25 minutes, until zucchini is tender.

While they're cooking, toss chesses and bread crumbs.

Remove stuffed zucchini from oven. Set oven to broil; remove foil and top stuffed zucchini with cheese and bread crumbs. Return to oven just long enough to melt and brown cheese & bread crumbs.

Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce

The inspiration came from Food Network magazine a while back (Food Network's photo @ top), though I didn't use their recipe... 

I had leftover peanut sauce from making Chicken Satay skewers, If you're not inspired to take on either of those peanut sauce recipes, here's a quicker 'cheater' version of  Easy Thai Peanut Sauce as an option.

I usually don't get excited about a big bowl of squash as my whole dinner. But with a good dousing of peanut sauce, a few chopped peanuts, some chopped mint and/or cilantro, and a sprinkle of pepper flakes...a bowl of squash starts to sound like a pretty good (healthy!) way to go.


How to roast a spaghetti squash...

Hummus Stuffed Zucchini with Tomato & Basil

Serves 6-8 (appetizer portions)

Ingredients
3 medium (or 4 small) zucchini
10 oz hummus
2 C cherry tomatoes (red or yellow)
¼ C red onion, thinly sliced
2 T fresh basil, chiffonade
2 T olive oil
2 t red wine vinegar
¼ C panko breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚.

Trim zucchini ends and slice in half lengthwise. Place zucchini in baking dish, flesh side up, with a little water in the bottom; bake 20 minutes or until inner flesh is softened.

As zucchini cooks, halve tomatoes; toss together with onion, basil, 1 T of olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove zucchini from oven; cool as needed until handleable. Scoop out inner, seeded flesh of zucchini; discard or reserve for another use. Spoon hummus into hollowed out zucchini halves*. Top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle panko crumbs over top and lightly drizzle with remaining olive oil.

Return to oven for 10 minutes, using broiler for final 3 minutes to slightly brown tops.

Best served warm.

* If I was making a larger quantity of these, using a pastry bag to pipe the hummus into the zucchini halves would be quicker and easier -- and easier to be neat for a tidier presentation; but for just a few, it's probably not worth the trouble.

Spaghetti Squash

LOTS of things you can do with spaghetti squash...using it like "spaghetti" is just ONE! And spaghetti OR spaghetti can be topped with LOTS of things besides just marinara sauce. So this really isn't the most inspirational post. But since my cousin Mikayla commented on spaghetti squash when I was visiting this last weekend -- and we didn't really get the chance to follow-up at the time, I thought this might be worth posting.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/photos/how-to-roast-spaghetti-squash.html

Tip: When I put my squash on a baking sheet, I line the sheet with foil and give it a light coat of non-stick cooking spray. Easy clean-up! :)

Yellow (or Butternut!) Squash and Feta Grilled Crostini

I have folders full of recipes I want to try, saved over months. They're in a drawer in my kitchen, and I DO get them out and make them. Eventually. The inspiration for this one, however, came from this next month's (July 2015) Better Homes and Gardens. I say "inspiration" because I used butternut squash instead of yellow summer squash (it just needed longer to cook) and I didn't have arugula, so just used my own fresh greens. I was a little too heavy handed with the feta for my taste; I like feta, but it's fairly salty and with the cream cheese spread (with garlic and oregano) under the roasted veggies in this recipe, there's already plenty of cheese. But other than that this was a great, light dinner, or would make a wonderful appetizer as well. I get the magazine, but you can find it here:  BH&G Yellow Squash & Feta Grilled Toast

Roasted Butternut Squash

Ingredients:
butternut squash*
olive oil and/or butter
salt
herbs, spices, other seasonings - suggestions pictured and below

* Other firm squash would also work (acorn squash, kabocha, pumpkin). Smaller squash (like pattypan) or a softer squash (like zucchini) would need much less cooking time, but the same method would work.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Drizzle with olive oil or coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Slice the butternut squash in half lengthwise. (You can remove the ends if it's easier. I cut the top off mine.) Scoop out the seeds using a spoon. Place the halves cut-side down on the baking sheet. Bake 30-35 minutes until squash is just tender.
Remove from oven. Use tongs to turn squash cut-side up. Drizzle with olive oil or dot with butter. Season with salt. Sprinkle with your choice of herbs, spices or other seasonings. Return to oven for an additional 10-20 minutes until the top of the squash just begins to brown. If the squash is fully cooked yet not browned, use the broiler for just a couple minutes before serving.

Pictured: One squash I dotted with butter and seasoned with brown sugar, a little cinnamon and just a dash of cayenne; the other I drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with a little minced garlic, and fresh chopped rosemary.  Try curry powder, splashed with a little coconut milk if you have it, or topped with coconut flakes to toast brown at the last couple minutes. Any combination of pepper/herbs/spices that you like! I sprinkle the seasonings generously as it's only on the surface. You can eat the cooked squash with a spoon, scooping right out of the shell, and I want enough seasoning to distribute through the depth of the squash.

Parmesan Crusted Baked Zucchini

Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini* (about 1 lb)
1 Tbls olive oil
¼ C finely grated Parmesan
¼ C plain dry bread crumbs
¹/₈ tsp salt
¹/₈ tsp pepper

* Clearly this varies widely with the size of the zucchini. I used zucchini from my own garden, and they're huge. A single zucchini weighs about 8 lbs. Obviously...use your judgment. Other squash and some root vegetables would also cook nicely this way. The tasted great on their own, but I served this with an Asian plum sauce, but a marinara would compliment the Parmesan crust well too.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450°. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

Slice the zucchini into ¼" thick rounds. Toss zucchini with the oil to lightly coat. Combine Parmesan,
bread crumbs, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Dip zucchini slices in Parmesan mixture, coating evenly on both sides, pressing coating on to stick. Place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake until browned and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove with spatula. Serve immediately.

Orzo Stuffed Peppers

I had everything to make this recipe except the orzo, but I did have arborio rice...which has a creamier texture than other rices and I thought would make a reasonable substitute. I was not impressed with this recipe. I don't think it was the arborio-for-orzo substitution (though it may have contributed). The recipe (ingredients) looked/sounded good, but overall, the end result was very underseasoned. Salt and pepper after the fact helped (I even used my basil salt for extra herb flavor), but it was still...uninspiring. I couldn't taste the mint at all, so that -- which I was curious to sample in a stuffed pepper dish -- seemed like a waste. With the Italian seasoned tomatoes, I finally splashed on a little balsamic and it was tolerable.  But who wants to eat food that's just 'tolerable'?! Not me. I'm still posting the recipe, just as a way of saving it. Maybe I'll play around with it later...

 Ingredients:
1 14-oz can Italian diced tomatoes
1 zucchini, grated
¼ C chopped fresh mint leaves
½ C grated Pecorino Romano
3 Tbls olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
2 C chicken broth
1 C orzo
4 bell peppers


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.  Combine tomatoes, zucchini, mint, half of the cheese, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Bring chicken broth to a boil; add orzo. Cook for about 4 minutes (orzo will only be partially cooked). Use a strainer to pour broth into a baking dish, straining the orzo and adding it to vegetable mixture. Stir to combine.

Slice tops off peppers and remove all ribs and seeds. If needed, cut a thin slice off base of peppers so they'll stand on their own. Place peppers in baking dish with broth; spoon orzo and vegetable mixture into peppers. cover with foil, bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle tops with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, until cheese id golden - about 15 minutes.

Breaded & Fried Vegetables

The original recipe was for fried zucchini & mozzarella, with marinara sauce for dipping. Although I love fried mozzarella, I was asked to bring a vegetable dish to Easter dinner, and -- knowing that mac and cheese was also on the menu -- I opted to skip the mozzarella and include zucchini, mushrooms, baby corn, asparagus and broccoli instead. In addition to the marinara sauce, I still had some sweet & spicy Asian sauce from another recipe that was a sapid alternative, but they were also delicious just plain and seemed to be a hit with kids and adults alike.

Ingredients: (10-12 servings)
1 C flour
4 eggs
1½ C bread crumbs
4 Tbls finely chopped parsley
½ tsp each, salt and pepper
oil, for frying (1-2 cups)
zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms...(some vegetables will obviously work better than others)

Directions:
Beat the eggs in a bowl with ½ cup water. In another bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, salt and pepper. Slice zucchini into sticks; slice mushrooms, broccoli into bite sized portions. Dredge vegetables in flour (tapping off excess), then dip in egg, then in bread crumbs. In a large skillet, heat ½" oil over medium-high heat to 350°.  Working in batches, fry vegetables until golden, turning once (about 2-3 minutes). Transfer to paper towel lined plate to drain any excess oil, then to serving platter. Season with salt. Serve with marinara or your choice of dipping sauce(s).

Roasted Root Vegetables with Rosemary and Garlic

Ingredients
2 Tbls butter
2 pound root vegetables, large dice/sliced
   (carrots, parsnips, potatoes, red onion, etc.*)
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
3 cloves garlic, peeled and halved

 * I had some zucchini I needed to use up as well. It'll cook up much softer than firmer root vegetables cooked the same amount of time...unless you add it in later. Do as you please. :)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425° F.

Melt butter.In a shallow roasting pan or glass baking dish, stir together melted butter, rosemary, garlic and cut vegetables.Roast, stirring occasionally until vegetables are golden brown (about 50 minutes).

Spiced Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients
¾ C butter, softened
1¾ C sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
2 C zucchini, shredded
2 tsp vanilla
½ C milk
2½ C flour
½ C unsweetened cocoa powder 
1¾ tsp baking powder
1½ tsp soda
1  tsp salt
optional: 1 C chocolate chips

 Directions
Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl cream butter, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg until light.  Add eggs, mixing well. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk to zucchini batter, beating well after each addition. Pour batter in to greased pans, or paper lined cupcake/muffin tins.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about... 
cupcake/muffins = 25 minutes
2 9" round pans = 30 minutes
2 loaf pans = 35 minutes
1 9x13" oblong pan = 40 minutes

Cool. Frost with cream cheese frosting.