Zucchini Overload?
11 Ideas and Recipes to Get You Through Zucchini Time
by Monica Resinger
It's that time of year when it seems you don't have enough friends and family to
give zucchini to. I have come to love zucchini time because over the years I
have gathered quite a few ideas and recipes. Here are eleven ideas and recipes
to help you through zucchini overload time.
1. Freeze it. Shred it, measure it into the correct measurement for your
favorite zucchini bread, then freeze in a freezer bag. When you want fresh
zucchini bread this winter, all you have to do is thaw a bag out and add it to
the recipe.
2. Freeze zucchini bread. Make zucchini bread loaves (see recipe below) and
freeze them for later. These are handy for bringing to potlucks or giving as
Christmas gifts.
3. Add to... You can shred zucchini and add it to spaghetti sauce and meat loaf.
This adds nutrition and bulk.
4. Deep-fry it. Make your favorite beer-batter for making fish and chips, dip
slices of zucchini in it and deep fry for a delicious treat. Dip in ranch or
barbecue sauce.
5. Fry in butter. Dip zucchini slices into egg wash, then flour, then fry in
butter and season with salt.
6. Eat it fresh. Cut it up and dip it in your favorite vegetable dip such as
ranch.
7. Stir-fry it. Zucchini is excellent stir-fry material. Add it to your next
stir-fry, or stir-fry it all by itself. Heat a wok or large frying pan on high
heat, add a little oil and stir-fry until crisp-tender. Add stir-fry sauce or
eat it plain, either way is good.
RECIPES
8. Zucchini Bread
3 cups shredded zucchini (about 3
medium)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans that are 9x5x3
inches. Mix zucchini, sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in large bowl. Stir in
remaining ingredients. Pour into pans. Bake 50 - 60 minutes or until knife
inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves and
remove from pans.
9. Zucchini Relish
2 cups chopped zucchini (about 3
medium)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
2 tablespoons salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
Combine zucchini and onion. Sprinkle with salt and cover with cold water. Let
stand 2 hours. Drain; rinse and drain thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients
and bring to a boil. Add vegetables; simmer 10 minutes. Pack hot relish into hot
jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a
boiling- water canner.
10. Chicken Zucchini Parmigiana
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
seasoning salt to taste
1 large or 2 medium zucchini, sliced
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
In a large, heavy skillet saute chicken breast and garlic in oil about 8 minutes
or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with seasoning salt to taste. Remove from
skillet; set aside. Add zucchini to skillet, sprinkle with seasoning salt to
taste and cook and stir 5 minutes or until zucchini is crisp-tender. Push to
sides of skillet. Arrange chicken in middle of skillet. Top chicken with cheese,
tomato sauce and herbs. Cover, cook 3 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is
hot.
11. Black-Bottom Zucchini Bars
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup baking cocoa
In a mixing bowl, combine oil, sugar, egg and vanilla until. Blend in the
zucchini. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to
zucchini mixture and mix well. Divide batter in half. Add cocoa to half; spread
into a greased 13x9x2-in. baking pan. Pour remaining batter on top and spread
out evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until bars test done. Cool. As
you can see, zucchini is very versatile. I hope you'll come to appreciate it as
much as I have.
For more zucchini and other vegetable recipes, check out *The Vegetable Recipe
E-book* that includes over 100 vegetable recipes here:
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