Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This recipe and photo is from Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 3/4 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour milk- I used sour cream
  
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups zucchini, finely diced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
2. Cream butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk. Beat until smooth.
3. Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and cinnamon together and add to creamed mixture. Beat well. Stir in diced zucchini.
4. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan and sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Rate It!
Jen: 6.5
Kile: 7
Kiley: 6
Madee: 6.5
Destrie: not good

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

This is a Taste of Home Recipe that was sent to me by my friend Karen, who got it from her sister. I was so excited to get another zucchini recipe to help me use up my box of zucchini!
(Picture from Taste of Home.)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 can (15 ounces) Italian tomato sauce
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped

Directions

• Place zucchini in strainer; sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes. Squeeze out moisture.
• Combine zucchini with the eggs, Parmesan and half of the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Press into greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
• Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture.
• Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; add green pepper. Bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Rate It!
Jen: 7
Kile: not home
Kiley:5.5
Madee: 6.5
Destrie: didn't have any

Summer Garden Zucchini Soup

Recipe and Photo from My Kitchen Cafe

3 medium zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces
4 medium tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil (or 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (can use fat-free or low-fat)
1 ½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the zucchini, basil, parsley and onion and saute, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir and cook for one minute. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking or stirring constantly. Add the lemon juice; mix well. Bring the soup to a simmer, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the zucchini is tender but still has some bite to it (it will continue cooking for a few more minutes). Add the tomatoes, evaporated milk, and corn. Bring the soup to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the soup and simmer until the corn and zucchini are tender. Stir in the cheese just before serving.

* Comments from my kids were-"Wow, this is a lot better than we thought it would be!"

*This was really good.

RateIt!

Jen: 9

Kile: not home

Kiley: 8

Madee: 7.5

Destrie: good

Baked Zucchini with Mozarella

In case you're wondering what's up with all the Zucchini recipes lately, let me explain. Last week we were in Brigham and we stopped at a produce stand- the one across the street from Maddox and I got this whole box of Zucchini for $3. So I have been on a mission to find Zucchini recipes. This is really this first year my family has eaten Zucchini and so far so good! If anyone has Zucchini recipes they would like to send me- that would be great! On to another recipe...

Baked Zucchini with Mozarella

This recipe came from the Real Mom Kitchen Blog.

• 2 medium sized (or about 5 small) zucchini
• Johnny’s Garlic Spread & Seasoning (I used Italian Seasoning and Garlic Powder because I could not find this product.)
  
• salt
• 2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
  

1. Slice your zucchini up into 1/2 inch rings.
2. Lay them out flat on a large cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Johnny’s Garlic Seasoning and a bit of salt.
3. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 10-15 minutes or until crisp tender.
4. Take the hot pan out of the oven and sprinkle the zucchini with cheese. Turn the oven to broil, throw that cookie sheet back into the oven and let the cheese get all bubbly and a bit browned. This should only take about 3-5 minutes. Be careful here. Broiling things in the oven can get out of control in a fast hurry. (my trick for broiling is to not move the rack up, I just keep it in the middle of the oven and things are less likely to burn. It may take a minute longer, but no burnt food.

RateIt!

Jen: 7

Kile: 4

Kiley: 5

Madee: 7

Destrie: not good

Marinated Zucchini Salad

This recipe and photo came from theReal Mom Kitchen Blog.

Ingredients:

• 4-5 small zucchini, cut into half moon slices about 1/2 inch thick (or bite sized pieces)
• 1 can large pitted black olives, drained very well
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained very well
• 1 red pepper chopped into bite-sized piece
  
• 1 red onion chopped into bite-sized pieces

Dressing:

• 1 cup Italian dressing
  
• juice of half lemon (2 T)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, Asiago, or Romano cheese
• 1 T dried basil (or use 2 T basil pesto or 3 T. chopped fresh basil)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano

Optional: additional 1/4 cup grated parmesan to sprinkle over salad just before serving

1. Cut zucchini into quarter slices or bite sized pieces.
   
2. Steam zucchini until barely tender/crisp, about 3 minutes.
   
3. While zucchini is cooking, open olives and artichoke hearts and dump into a colander to drain well. (Draining the zucchini and olives well is essential or the finished salad will be watery.)
4. Chop the red bell pepper and red onion into bite-sized pieces.
5. Combine zucchini, olives, artichoke hearts, red pepper and red onion in plastic or glass container with a lid (or use a Ziploc bag.)
6. Pour dressing over, just enough to cover veggies, and stir gently. (use part of the dressing to marinate the veggies and then stir in a little more dressing when I serve it.)
7. Marinate in refrigerator 4-8 hours. Turn it over once in a while to keep the vegetables covered with dressing. Just before serving stir in a little of the reserved dressing. Sprinkle the salad with more freshly grated Parmesan cheese when serving if desired.

Rate It!
Jen: 7
* No One else at my house liked this

Zucchini Flat Bread

Zucchini Flat Bread

This recipe and photo from The Real Mom Kitchen Blog

Zucchini Flat Bread

• 1 large Boboli® pizza crust (I used a Pillsbury Pizza Crust)
  
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 zucchini, sliced into 1/8 inch slices (you want about 2 dozen slices)
• 1 1/2 tsp. Johnny’s Garlic Spread & Seasoning (Couldn't find this- used garlic powder)
  
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese (I just eyeballed it as to what looked good)
• 1/2 of a small can sliced olives, drained

1. Place zucchini slices on a baking sheet and cook at 425 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on these you just want to get them tender and about 1/2 the thickness they were originally. If you cook them too long they will burn.
2. Brush top of pizza crust with olive oil. Arrange cooked zucchini slices on crust.
3. Sprinkle seasoning over zucchini followed by cheese. Then top cheese with olives.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 5 or so minutes until cheese is nice and melted.
   
5. Cut into squares.

Rate It!

Jen: 7
Kile: 7.5
Kiley: 7.5
Madee: 5
Destrie: not good

Zucchini Fritters

Recipe from -Angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
*Zucchini (2)
* 1 Tbsp flour
* 1/4 tsp paprika
* Salt and pepper to taste
* Oil for deep frying

Directions:
1. Cut the zucchini in half, then cut each length into sticks. Season the flour with salt, pepper and the paprika. Roll the zucchini sticks in the flour, making sure they are well coated.
2. Heat a skillet 1/3 filled with oil until hot. Fry the zucchini sticks in batches until they are crisp and golden. Drain each batch on kitchen paper and season with more salt. Server hot with ranch dipping sauce.

Rate It!!
Jen: 8
Kile: 8
Kiley: 7.5
Madee: not home
Destrie: good