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tjkeen

Zucchini

tjkeen
6 years ago

A lovely neighbor dropped off bags of zucchini from their garden. I love it but am at a loss what to do with such a large quantity.

I need suggestions for what to make so it doesn't go to waste. Any ideas?

Comments (38)

  • Uptown Gal
    6 years ago

    Not much help...I just love the desserts made with it...cakes and cookies and breads. You can grate it and freeze it in plastic bags for use whenever. I don't eat it as a veggie. ;)

    tjkeen thanked Uptown Gal
  • nicole___
    6 years ago

    There's boiled zucchini in Italian tomato sauce w/ Motzarella cheese on top. Then there's zucchini bread. Breaded & pan fried zucchini.

    tjkeen thanked nicole___
  • PKponder TX Z7B
    6 years ago

    LOL! We are having a bumper crop of cherry tomatoes this year and our neighbors are avoiding us :-)

    tjkeen thanked PKponder TX Z7B
  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    6 years ago

    Purchase an inexpensive spiralizer to make zuke noodles, delicious raw in a salad or very gently sauteed as a pasta substitute. Shred a big pile of zucchini, dry it well, then add egg, minced onion, a bit of flour, corn meal, and panko, seasonings of your choice, then fry up zuke patties.

    Use a veggie peeler to make thin ribbons to replace lasagna noodles with white or red sauce. Make a batch of homemade creamy dressing to use as a dip. My favorite is green goddess, made from scratch. Slice thin coins of smaller zukes to saute gently in butter until barely cooked.

    Scoop out the larger ones and fill with whatever you like....rice pilaf, spanish rice, ground beef, shredded pork, veggies, cheese, the possibilities are endless for stuffings.

    I like to make low (or no) carb muffins with eggs, different veggies, and cheese. Shredded zucchini is perfect in these 'muffins'. And it goes without saying that cakes and quick breads made with this vegetable can't be beat.

    I never, ever get tired of zucchini. ;-)

    Oh, don't peel it!


    tjkeen thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
  • Summer
    6 years ago

    Rhizo - I want to dine at your house. I never tire of zucchini either. A few more suggestions - zucchini chocolate cake, grilled on BBQ and my favorite jars of relish with onion, red pepper and turmeric for sandwiches, burgers etc.

    tjkeen thanked Summer
  • User
    6 years ago

    I use a julienne peeler to make noodles of zucchini. This is a favorite recipe for those and cherry tomatoes.

    Zucchini Noodles with Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Cream


    http://www.prouditaliancook.com/2014/07/zucchini-noodles-slow-roasted-cherry-tomatoes-cream.html

    tjkeen thanked User
  • irma
    6 years ago

    I often grate it into homemade spaghetti sauce and chili.

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  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    6 years ago

    Yum, everybody! I forgot to add grilled zucchini! It's wonderful on a skewer with onions, peppers, and mushrooms.

    tjkeen thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
  • ravencajun Zone 8b TX
    6 years ago

    I slice it thick slices, brush with olive oil, spices and seasoning, sprinkle with Parmasean cheese and put it on a broiler pan and stick it in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I add a slice of tomato and mozzarella and cook till bubbly.

    tjkeen thanked ravencajun Zone 8b TX
  • sheilajoyce_gw
    6 years ago

    We love zucchini bread and zucchini cake, kind of like carrot cake. I also like stuffed zucchini "boats."

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  • clearwaters
    6 years ago

    Slice it thin, lengthwise, like lasagna noodles. Then use them to make a lasagna. Don't boil the slices. Just start building the casserole. If you have a spiralizer, turn some into noodles. Make meatballs. Healthy spaghetti and meatballs. Slice it thin, in rounds. Place into a 8X10? baking dish. Mix up bisquick with milk, eggs, Italian seasoning and parmesan. Pour over zucchini. Bake at 350 until the top is golden. There's always zucchini bread. For a little change, add some baker's cocoa to the mix for a chocolate, zucchini bread.

    Can you tell we like zucchini?

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  • lovemrmewey
    6 years ago

    Rhizo_1, do you feel like sharing the low/no carb muffin recipe?

    Thanks.

    tjkeen thanked lovemrmewey
  • lily316
    6 years ago

    Don't even mention zucchini. We had four little spindly plants sold in a four pack for 99 cents. They grew to enormous proportions and now we have zucchini the size of baseball bats( well almost.) They grow inches over night. We like to grill them either sliced long ways and brushed with olive oil and seasoned heavily or cut up with onions, mushrooms, carrots and grilled. We took two enormous ones to our daughter tonight and she will make zucchini bread.

    tjkeen thanked lily316
  • Lindsey_CA
    6 years ago

    Yeah, no one ever tells you how HUGE zucchini plants and the zucchini itself can get!

    I used to make a very simple casserole with our home-grown zucchini. This was in the early 1970s. Haven't had zucchini plants since then.

    I'm not going to give amounts because you can vary it to suit your tastes and the size of your family. It's easy to figure out.

    Brown some ground beef and drain off any fat. Set aside. Slice the zucchini into circles about 1/4" thick. (If you want to lightly steam the zucchini slices you can do that, but it's not strictly necessary.) Slice mozzarella cheese (into circles if you get mozzarella in a "ball" shape), or if it's easier, grate the mozzarella. (It's going to be melted so it doesn't matter how it starts out.) Add the browned meat to spaghetti sauce (home-made or from a jar, whichever your family normally eats).

    Take a casserole dish (size to match the amount of ingredients you have), and put a layer of the meat sauce on the bottom. Add a layer of zucchini slices, then a layer of sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese. Add another layer of meat sauce, followed by another layer of zucchini slices, then another layer of mozzarella. If you have more "stuff," just add more layers in the correct order. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

    tjkeen thanked Lindsey_CA
  • DawnInCal
    6 years ago

    I make tortillas out of zucchini. They are my low carb version of traditional corn or flour tortillas. We love Mexican food and the zucchini tortillas allow me to indulge in tacos, burritos and enchiladas without deviating from low carb eating.



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  • caflowerluver
    6 years ago

    You can make zucchini pickles. I did that one year. Lots of recipes on the web.

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  • mamapinky0
    6 years ago

    PKponder..I'd gladly take ALL of those cherry tomatoes, my boys eat them as if they are grapes. I'll stop by with a truck..LOL

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    6 years ago

    I like zucchini - all the ways mentioned above but I've never made zucchini noodles. I don't have a spiralizer yet. My FIL used to stew it with tomatoes, and that can be good.

    These threads of what to do with an overflow of summer zucchini make me chuckle. Have you ever priced zucchini out of season at the grocery store? I had none left grated and frozen one year and wanted some for a recipe. Instead of calling around to see who had a bag to share with me, I looked in the produce dept at the store. I don't remember the exact price per pound now, but I do remember being stunned that my one ingredient - squash most can barely give away earlier in the year - was going to cost approximately the same as my meat entrée ;0)

    tjkeen thanked morz8 - Washington Coast
  • evatx
    6 years ago

    We used to have a garden with a very prolific crop of zucchinis. One of our favorite ways to eat it is to slice it in half and sprinkle olive oil, salt, pepper and bread crumbs on the halves and bake for a few minutes. So good. Also had a neighbor who baked lots of zucchini bread and made zucchini salsa.

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  • susie53_gw
    6 years ago

    I use up zucchini by making what is called Zucchini Pineapple. It is so easy and tastes like crushed pineapple. I use it just regular pineapple. Here's the recipe!!

    Zucchini Pineapple


    peel and shread 1/2 Gallon zucchini

    1/2 of a 48 oz can of unsweetened pineapple juice

    1 1/2 cups sugar

    3/4 cups lemon juice

    Mix well in large pot and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour into pint jars and process by hot water bath for 30 minutes or pressure can for 10 minutes at 5 pounds of pressure. This can b easily doubled.


    We even like it on cottage cheese as a side for a meal.







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  • Jasdip
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I grate it and freeze it, when thawed squeeze well, and I make muffins, or chocolate-zucchini cake. I also like the shredded zucchini in meatloaf, it's an easy way of getting more fiber.

    When you have an abundance, you can always leave one on your neighbour's porch in the dark of the night, or in a car with opened windows :-)

    tjkeen thanked Jasdip
  • tjkeen
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    So many delicious ways to use it. I'm going to try most of the suggestions and I love zucchini relish so would like to make some. Homemade is always better.

    Dawn do you have a recipe for tortillas? Thank you everyone and I really appreciate the recipes. I'll grate and freeze some too so I won't have to resort to the after dark/neighbors porch deed. lol.


  • terilyn
    6 years ago

    I love it raw with some balsamic vinaigrette.

    tjkeen thanked terilyn
  • bengardening
    6 years ago

    Ingredients

    • 8 cups chopped seeded peeled zucchini (from about 3 pounds)
    • 2/3 cup lemon juice
    • 1 cup sugar
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    • CRUST:
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1-1/2 cups cold butter, cubed
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

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    Nutritional Facts

    1 piece: 337 calories, 14g fat (9g saturated fat), 37mg cholesterol, 141mg sodium, 51g carbohydrate (31g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein.

    Directions

    1. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, cook and stir zucchini and lemon juice for 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Add the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat; set aside.
    2. For crust, combine the flour and sugar in a bowl; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir 1/2 cup into zucchini mixture. Press half of remaining crust mixture into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Spread zucchini over top; crumble remaining crust mixture over zucchini. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
    3. Bake at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Yield: 16-20 servings.

    Originally published as Zucchini Cobbler in Reminisce July/August

    I used to make this at the restaurant I cooked at. I always put more cinnamon in it and omitted the nutmeg because I don't like nutmeg and then sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on top before baking everyone liked it and thought it was apples. O and I also used margarine instead of butter.

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  • DawnInCal
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    I'd be happy to share the recipe, tjkeen.

    This is the original recipe which I found on the internet when I first started eating low carb:

    1 16 ounce bag frozen cauliflower, thawed, drained and diced/processed (about 3 cups)
    3 eggs
    3 cups mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese

    Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

    Mix cauliflower, eggs and cheese. On two greased
    cookie sheets, drop dough by scant 1/3 cup, to form 12- 6” rounds. Bake
    one pan at a time for 12-14 minutes or until edges have browned slightly
    and crust has slightly golden hue. Let cool on pan. Once shells have
    cooled, carefully loosen them from the pan and let set.

    * * * * *

    They were ok, but I found them to have too strong of a cauliflower flavor for my tastes and I also found them to be quite greasy. I started thinking about what type of vegetable I could use that had a milder flavor and zucchini came to mind.

    Here is the recipe which has been adapted from the original. There has been quite a bit of trial and error and I finally come up with veggie tortillas which have a nice texture, don't fall apart when folded or rolled and that have a flavor that lends itself well to making Mexican food.

    3 medium zuchinni

    3 chili peppers (can be any type you wish - I use jalepenos or fresnos because I like spicy food. These can also be left out entirely)

    1/4 pound low fat mozzarella cheese

    3 tablespoons masa (corn flour)

    3 eggs

    garlic powder and/or cumin if desired

    Finely chop zucchinis in food processor (skins can be left on but this will result in tortillas that are pale green in color - I peel them) Add mozzarella cheese and masa to zucchini and process until cheese is finely chopped. Add eggs and seasonings and process until everything is well blended.

    Drop 1/3 cup of mixture on parchment lined baking pans and spread thinly into circular shapes. They should be average tortilla size and I can get three onto one baking sheet.

    Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until edges start to brown. Remove from oven and let stand for five minutes. Carefully flip tortillas and return to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Watch them at this point as they will brown rather quickly.

    Remove from oven and cool on racks. When completely cool stack tortillas with wax paper in between to prevent sticking. Store in a zip lock bag in the refrigerator.

    When using these to prepare Mexican style food, heat on a dry cast iron griddle or frying pan (no oil needed) to warm and soften. Once warmed, use them as you would corn or flour tortillas.

    They sound like a lot of work, but with a little practice they are pretty easy. I can have them in the oven in 30 minutes or less from start to finish.

    tjkeen thanked DawnInCal
  • DawnInCal
    6 years ago

    And, here is another one that is a favorite around here. It makes a nice meatless meal so is also a good option for vegetarians. This recipe won grand prize in a California Almond Growers contest years and years ago. I clipped it out of the Sacramento Bee (newspaper) and have made it many times.

    I scanned this so I wouldn't have to type it all out and it's kind of light in some places. If anyone needs help reading any of it, just holler!



    Also, it occurs to me that the zucchini tortillas would be a good fit here!

    tjkeen thanked DawnInCal
  • arcy_gw
    6 years ago

    I am jealous!! I am no where near zucchini season!! I think my plant has four leaves on it about now. Fat Free Chocolate zucchini bread is our favorite use. I bake two loaves at a time one for eating one for freezing for Christmas time breakfasts. When I am tired of that I grate and freeze. DD#1 takes all I can give her and uses it in place of pasta--she has a grater that noodles it for her. For day to day use, I slice in rounds sprinkle with what ever cheese is around and season with what strikes me and pop them in the microwave for a minute. Perfect before dinner appetizer or quick vegi with dinner.

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  • citytransplant(zone5)
    6 years ago

    Love all of the ideas look forward to trying most of them.

    For a quick and tasty, savory side dish, I fry an onion in olive oil, when partially cooked, add diced zucchini, sprinkle with a bit of salt and a bit more of curry.

    tjkeen thanked citytransplant(zone5)
  • share_oh
    6 years ago

    Yum! We have our first two little zucchini's on 1 of 5 plants... can't wait!

    I love to spiralize mine and make zoodles - saute in a little bit of coconut oil and they're so delicious!

    My husband sliced some into rounds for me once and burnt them while he was cooking them and I had to have them burnt from then on! So flavorful.

    I will definitely be writing some of the above recipes down and giving them a try. I love all things zucchini!

    Oh and I also like to make zucchini boats - using cooked ground turkey. You just slice the zucchini in half, length-wise. Scoop out the seeds and fill with cooked ground turkey or hamburger, add some sauce and a little cheese and bake.

    Now I'm hungry.

    tjkeen thanked share_oh
  • faerygardener z7 CA
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Also love (and have tried) many of the ideas. Other than spiralizing the noodles, my favorite squash recipes are:

    1. Summer squash patties http://ceodraiocht.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/summer-squash-patties/

    2. Martha Stewart's Spice bread (make multiple batches of the recipe and freeze) https://ceodraiocht.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/summer-squash-spice-bread/

    3. King Arthur flour Double chocolate zucchini bread http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/double-chocolate-zucchini-bread-recipe

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  • raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
    6 years ago

    They are an essential pizza topping for me!

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  • marcopolo5
    6 years ago

    I use 4 or 5 medium zucchini, sliced into rounds about 1/4 in. Slice up a medium onion, and a green pepper if you like. A tab. of oil in a large fry pan. Turn heat up high add squash, onion and pepper if using. Add salt, pepper, granulated garlic (or sliced fresh clove) to taste. Little italian seasoning also good. Continue cooking on high, squash will release lots of moisture. Stir being sure to get any sticking moving. Continue to stir and scrape any browning squash off bottom . I always feel like I am trying to burn it, but it won t happen. Stir till it is a browned mass that really does not look like squash. Takes 30 to 45min. It has a wonderful nutty flavor. You will have 75% less volume after the moisture is cooked off. This is a very low calorie tasty dish.

    tjkeen thanked marcopolo5
  • tjkeen
    Original Author
    6 years ago

    Thank you for all the great suggestions and recipes. Hope I have enough to try each and every one. lol.

    DawninCal, much thanks for the recipes!

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    6 years ago

    Amongst all of these wonderful ideas and recipes, I don't see a favorite: squash blossoms! We love them stuffed, dipped in tempura type batter and fried, or stuffed and served raw an an appetizer or addition to a salad entree.

    But you need to plan ahead to have enough squash blossoms on hand.

    tjkeen thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
  • dances_in_garden
    6 years ago

    Copied that tortilla recipe to try! For zucchini, I try to pick them small if possible, they taste better to me that way. Usually just have them sliced or cut into sticks and sautéed with salt and pepper and butter. Or tossed with some vinaigrette or seasonings and grilled (my fave actually). Grilled slices or cubes are also very good cold or at room temp dressed with vinaigrette and topped with cheese like feta or crumbled goat cheese.

    I have sliced, blanched or grilled, then layered with meat sauce and cheese lasagna style, or rolled then sauced and baked and they are very very good.

    They make good pickles (sweet or dill) but I like them sliced very thin for that.

    My mom likes to dice them raw and add to salads or into sticks to use with veggie dip but I am not a fan of the texture that way.

    To use older zucchini, spoon out the pith and seeds and cut the outside portion up into smaller pieces. I do this even for baking. If the seeds are older you can roast them like pumpkin seeds, the coats might be a little tougher.

    Dances.

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  • DawnInCal
    6 years ago

    rhizo, I had stuffed, deep fried squash blossoms in Saigon and they were delicious! They were stuffed with minced pork and vegetables.

    tjkeen thanked DawnInCal
  • DawnInCal
    6 years ago

    My pleasure, tjkeen.

    dances, if you try the tortilla recipe come back and let us know how it turned out.

    tjkeen thanked DawnInCal