Sunday, August 02, 2009

Zu-Queenie

Wrangler Man is a BIG Gardener. He has plants all over the place. Which is good - cuz we all like to eat. The boys got in on the garden this year. And we are harvesting zucchini - a lot of it. So I have become the Queen of Zucchini.... therefore the Zu-Queenie!!

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First - the spelling of that word just looks wrong... but I googled it... so it has to be right? Right?
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So - Heres the first night of Zucchini.

Baked Potato and Zucchini packets.
For each person wash and dice a potato. Dice a small zucchini. In a piece of foil - spray with Pam - mine were about 9 x 12.
Put 1 diced potato, a handful of zucchini and 2 pats of butter. I also added a little Garlic salt.
Wrap them up - put them in the preheated 350deg oven and cook for 40 minutes.
We ate them right out of the packet.

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Night 2
Zucchini Lasgana - sort of
~ 1 Zucchini
~ 1 Pound ground beef
~ 1 jar spaghetti sauce
~ small cottage cheese ( I could have used more - this is all I had in the house)
~ Grated Mozzerella Cheese
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I washed and peeled a Zucchini, then sliced it into rounds. Layed them on paper towels and sprinkled with salt. I left them for about 30 minutes. I am thinking an hour would have been ideal. A lot of the moisture seeps out into the paper towels. ( it was a cool sciencey type thing)
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I browned a pound of ground beef ( okay mine was venison - no fat at all)
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I took a 9 x 12 pan and put spaghetti sauce in the bottom - just enough to cover it. Layered Zucchini, ground beef, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, pasta sauce, Zucchini, Ground beef, cottage cheese. Then I poured the rest of the spaghetti sauce on top. Put about 3 cups of shredded mozzerella cheese .
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Baked at 350 for 45 minutes.
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It was yummy and a little juicy. But awesome for me - it was an easy Gluten free meal.

Night 3
Fried Zucchini

I diced a peeled Zucchini. In a fry pan I heated up 2 Tbsp of Vege oil, stuck the Zukes in and fried them till soft. I served it with scrambled eggs, and bacon. Worked for us.

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I have 3 more Zucchinis in the house, I will have to pretend I know what I am doing and see what else I can make with them. I am thinking I might try a bread - but I have to bake Gluten Free bread - and it is not always successful following the recipe exactly. I am not sure about adding some crazy ingredients. Any body use Zucchini in a creative way?
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This was one of my brave excursions into public this summer. Wrangler Man and I went to a Big and Rich concert. It was fun, it was crazy... and it was LOUD!! Who knew?



But heres proof I was there....

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had to make seedless pickles for my MIL when she was still around, so I used to use small pickle- sized zucchini and the end cuts of cucumbers...before the seeds. Just made the pickles using my regular dill recipe. Also great diced and added to either pasta or green salad. Eat fresh just like cukes. Shari in AZ

Sherrill said...

I shredded a bunch that was 'gifted' to me, pressed to get the water out and then froze in one cup bags to use in muffins!!

Quilttiger said...

A friend gave me her recipe for "soup." Dice whatever you happen to have in the house or garden such as tomatoes, zucchini, green pepper, onion, etc. Maybe a little jalapeno pepper, too? I have added fresh mushrooms at times. Add your favorite herbs such as basil. Put into a pan and let simmer until the veggies are cooked. There is often enough juice form them to make it like a thick stew. Water can be added if desired. Serve with grated cheddar on top. Yum. Reheats well, too.

Liddy said...

Saute up sliced zucchini and onions that are either sliced or chopped big or small, depending on your preference. If you have fresh tomatoes, chop up a couple of them small enough to make them juicy, or whiz them in a food processor or blender just a little -- you still want to see tomatoes. If you don't have fresh tomatoes you could use canned stewed or diced tomatoes. Add those to the pan, heat through, add whatever seasonings you like. I like Italian seasoning, thyme, garlic (fresh, saute with onion and zucchini), and whatever else happens to sound good at the time. Adjust the amounts based on how many people you're feeding. I like this served over brown rice (which is gluten free, too!). You could also add chicken, ground meat, or any other protein source that sounds good to you. Oooooh, maybe meatballs? Good stuff, and good for you too, but don't tell the guys ;-)

Liddy said...

You could also add fresh mushrooms to the above if your gang likes them! If you want more liquid, use some broth or tomato or V-8 juice.

Lori said...

Thanks for sharing! I am going to have a truckload I think~ Yikes~