1001 things to do with excess zucchini

[wifezilla]

Have you tried it with Texas Tarragon? That is readily available and has similar flavor.

 

[hoodat]

A little coarsely grated zuchini mixed into hamburger meat helps keep it moist when cooked, especially good if you prefer really low fat hamburger which can get very dry when cooked.

 

[wifezilla]

Keep em coming people! If you have a specific recipe you like, don't forget to include a link. I have been lucky and found links for all the stuff mentioned so far.

 

[hoodat]

Cajun zuchini casserole. This can be spicy or mild depending on your taste. I don't cook by recipe so I'll just list the ingredients and leave the amounts to your own taste.
Start with the Cajun "holy trinity" chopped onions, bell pepper and celery with a touch of garlic. Sautee in butter or olive oil till the onions turn tranparent but don't brown.
Slice zuchinis about 1/4 inch thick and place a layer in a greased or oiled casserole dish. Cover with a thin layer of the sauteed trinity, followed by a layer of shredded cheddar cheese. Dust a light layer of flour or bread crumbs over this to help absorb the juice. If you want spicy now is the time to sprinkle some cajun spice mix over it. If not, just use salt and pepper to taste. Repeat till your dish is as full as you want it. Sprinkle the top with a layer of mixed bread crumbs and grated cheese with a touch of olive oil mixed in to get a nice brown surface. Bake at 325 degrees for an hour or so, depending on how full your dish is. At the end increase the heat to 425 degrees to brown the top. You could also use the broiler cycle to do this if you prefer but watch you don't burn the top if you do it that way. Just nicely browned.

 

[Whitewater]

We enjoy roasted veggies (well, *I* do and our friends do, Hubby won't touch other veggies at all, so he gets a portion of just zukes! LOL!) and zukes roast in the oven pretty nicely, particularly with the juices of a beef or chicken roast. It's really easy! Oh, and they grill well (we put them in a tinfoil 'bag' with some garlic and butter -- really, technically, they steam in the bag, but the grill adds some extra flavor dimensions) and are also great if you deep fry them -- the recipe for that is dead easy, just slice them in long thin strips (don't peel), make up a deep fry batter, dunk in the batter, and put in your oil/fryer. Yum!

We sautee zukes and stir fry them with mushrooms (and chicken, this is FABULOUS over rice!), we make bread, we freeze for later (just shred them and drain them, then pack into a freezer-type plastic baggie), and Mom made a baked recipe involving layers of motzerella cheese, tomatoes and zukes, also a bit of olive oil here and there. Kind of like a margharita lasagna, with zukes instead of noodles. Sort of. I find a bit of parmesean cheese added to the motz gives a flavor boost.

And we grill kabobs with zukes, onions, mushrooms (or whatever else you've got) and meat (shrimp, steak, chicken, whatever) on the grill or in the broiler.

We also eat them raw in salads or with dip if we have friends over, as an appetizer.

Not to mention zuke bread, which I make with walnuts and a variety of spices including mace and cardemom, among others. Zuke bread freezes really well, and I make those little mini loaves, because we never want more than a few slices at a time. One regular loaf size batter makes 4-5 mini loaves. They are also a great size to give away as gifts or whatever.

This year I'm going to experiment with stuffing/broiling our pattypans (if we ever get any!) like you would a mushroom.

I just love squash! And we have our first green one growing in the garden right now! Yesterday it was 4" long and about 3/4" of an inch around! Will probably be ready for picking tomorrow.


Whitewater

 

[vfem]

Now yesterday I just made Hummus... and I happened to make it with summer squash because that is what I had available, but I think zucchini would work for my recipe too!


2 lb summer squash (or zucchini) cut into 1-2" chunks
1/2 onion chopped abou 1-2" chunks
4-5 cloves of garlic
Toss in olive oil with salt and pepper
Roast in oven 400 degrees about 15 minutes (until edges begin to brown)

1 can chick peas drained and in the food processor
Added roasted squash mixer and turn processor on
Squeeze in juice of 1 lemon
slowly pour in 1/3 cup olive oil directly to the mixer

Eat warm with chips or refridgerate for later!

We had this yesterday for lunch.

 

[Ariel301]

Where was this last summer? I planted six plants last year and we got so much zucchini that I ended up ripping out the plants, we were so sick of eating the stuff! It made some good pickles, I pickled it with onions and whole cloves of garlic. Yummy.

This year I planted it again and none sprouted. :/

 

[mothergoose]

I cut it into long strips like fat spaghetti noodles saute or stem until cooked add favorite marinara or meat sauce and you have veggie spaghetti. My kids and I love it.
Christie

 

[SweetMissDaisy]

speaking of zucchini... look what i found today!

blogged about here...
http://sweetmissdaisy.typepad.com/sassy_sweet_notes/2010/07/jumbo-sized.html

I've got zucchini bread baking in the oven as I write this. Mmmmm!

 

[vfem]

I cut it into long strips like fat spaghetti noodles saute or stem until cooked add favorite marinara or meat sauce and you have veggie spaghetti. My kids and I love it.
Christie

Good idea! What's the easiest tool to do this?