Zucchini Hummus

As the zucchini began their intrusion into our lives again this summer, I wanted to find some more unique recipes to use them instead of just bread or shredded for sauces.  So I found this recipe and really liked it.  Dave was still not keen on the idea of zucchini, even in a dip form, and since this recipe makes about 2 cups, I had a lot of hummus to pawn off on people.  I ended up taking this into work and you would have thought I fed the ladies in my office crack.  Seriously, they loved this stuff. First we ate it with some pretzels we had kicking around, then I brought it out with some fresh veggies during a staff meeting. This hummus is unlike most hummus you've likely had (no chickpeas!) and has a clean, fresh flavor, but at the same time is undeniably hummus-y.

Blueberry Zucchini Mini Muffins

Mini muffins are the perfect little treat to add a bit of sweet flavor to breakfast or tea time.  These mini bites of muffin goodness get their softness from the moisture in the zucchini, a slight sweetness from the blueberries, and are healthed up with the wheat flour.  I also like the depth of flavor from using both white and brown sugar so the muffins are sweet but not sugary.  Plus the cinnamon is a nice kick of flavor.  If you took my suggestion of preshredding and freezing some leftover zucchini at the end of last summer's harvest, you'll be glad you did when you whip up these mini muffins.  I popped a couple of these into my work bag for breakfast and also shared them with my January Foodie Pen Pal as a yummy but healthy treat to help us both stay on track with our New Year's resolution of not eating too terribly.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ok, so I've got one last zucchini treat up my sleeve for the season.  Maybe you still have some squash lingering in the garden or saw them at the farm stand.  Or maybe you took my advice and shredded, drained and froze it so that you can enjoy more zucchini treats between now and next summer.  No matter how you get your hands on some zucchini, you'll be glad you did when you bake up this tasty bread.  A double dose of chocolate makes this bread so rich and delicious, you'll forget about the extra fiber from the added veggies.  And the zucchini adds moisture so this bread has a perfect crumb and makes a delicious treat for breakfast or a snack.  Chocolate chips strewn throughout provide sweet bursts of flavor, still a little melty if you want to indulge before it's cooled completely.

Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats

As the zucchini harvest slows and these last few days of summer make you want to spend more time savoring the fun of summer rather than cooking up elaborate meals, this recipe will be a special treat before we switch into fall-mode with back to school, activities and cooler weather.  There is a lot of flexibility in the flavor of these zucchini boats, depending on what kind of sausage you use.  Of course, Italian sausage would be fine, but to lighten them up, use a chicken sausage which can come in a variety of flavors.  The tomato, basil, and mozzarella chicken sausage from Casual Gourmet that I used was delicious and played well with the rest of the veggies and added cheese.  As a full meal or just a side dish, these zucchini boats are delicious and easy.

Last month a friend shared a link to this Skinny Taste recipe for another friend, Erica.  After Erica comment how good these were, I jumped on board to try them myself.  I used my own marinara sauce, but you could use jarred or your own version.  And I had some huge zucchini (one green and one yellow), so I only needed two of them to get to 31 ounces, which was fine because that made four boats that I was serving as the main meal for dinner. (Yeah, Dave had pizza.  Sigh.)  Gina at Skinny Taste recommends cutting the sausage out of the casing, and then crumbling and cooking it.  I couldn't separate the casing, so I just diced my sausage and it was fine.  I also cooked the veggies with the sausage, rather than removing the sausage from the pan.  These were pretty easy to put together and the stuffing cooked up quick, although the cheese in my sausage just melted and cooked out, so it created more of a sauce than another flavor of sausage might.  But since the boats are topped with additional cheese anyway, it was no big deal.  Leftovers were still delicious, so you can make this one night and enjoy another lingering summer evening dinner later.

Zucchini Cranberry Coconut Bread

Oh, zucchini.  My plant has just about taken over the deck and I've got so many yummy squash growing I could probably fill two weeks worth of recipes using it all.  But I won't. I'll just make extras of stuff and share.  Like this yummy bread laced with zucchini, cranberries and shredded coconut.  Delicious.  This was my attempt to get Dave to eat zucchini.  He actually did like it, but I have a feeling it was the cranberries and coconut that won him over, since the zucchini plays a minimal flavor role, coming in mostly useful to keep the bread moist.  But that subtley (spell check is telling my that's not a word--subtleness?  No.  Whatever.) is exactly what makes zucchini bread so good.  It's a sweet bread, moist, but can be paired with loads of jam or eaten plain and still be delicious.  I particularly like this bread plain, but a light toasting is also tasty.

Most months, Food Network Magazine features a mix & match recipe, perhaps for pulling together a pasta salad or stuffing, but in May 2011, they did a mix & match for quick breads, starting with a shredded fruit or veggie, adding mix-ins like nuts, dried fruits or flavored candy chips, then the basic batter ingredients, all topped off with an icing or glaze.  While I left off the topping, this bread would be delicious with a light vanilla icing.  Using the mix & match recipe as a guide, I came up with this delicious recipe, making a few tweaks such as replacing some of the oil with applesauce.  Bake this up in a standard or pan or easily adapt it to 3 mini loaves and bake for 40-45 minutes.  Then you can share more zucchini goodness with more people.

Zucchini Tots

These might be a perfect way to help you get your little ones (or big one, in my case) to eat zucchini.  All shredded up, seasoned, mixed with cheese and baked in a mini muffin cup!  Dave was quite skeptical at first, but he surprised me by eating a few of them.  Maybe I've finally found a way for him to like zucchini?  They probably could be a little crisper, but overall they are a tasty savory bite that has the slightest sweetness from the zucchini itself.  Perfect finger food for little hands or a unique potential appetizer, you may find yourself making these a few times with your zucchini abundance.

This recipe comes from Skinny Taste and I actually doubled it to have enough for everyone. And it was a good thing because between the four of us, we nearly ate them all.  It's an easy recipe and adaptable if you'd like to alter the flavor by adding in different herbs or even a little spicy kick.  I definitely think I'd bake them a little longer next time to get a more crispy edge, but regardless, they are tasty and fun.

Zucchini-Carrot Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Well, I actually didn't make these bars for the Airstream event, but since I've already posted the recipe for the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars that I did make for Madaline and Ernie's rally, I thought I'd substitute a yummy zucchini recipe as part of zucchini week and in keeping with the bar theme for Wednesdays this month.  See how well that works out?  And these bars are delicious.  They are soft and full of flavor, sweet with a little crunch from the walnuts and the cream cheese frosting, with a light hint of lemon, is a perfect match.  Almost like a carrot cake, these bars have a nice flavor, cakey texture, and are perfect for a snack, dessert or breakfast.  In fact, I took half the pan to my aunt and uncle's house when we visited and we definitely had them with breakfast.  These were a lovely sweet alternative to other breakfast pastries on a hot summer day. 

These bars were one of my first pins and I was so happy to have an overabundance of zucchini to have an excuse to make them.  Laura over at Real Mom Kitchen posted this recipe and I really like how she included the carrot, but didn't make these into a carrot cake bar with zucchini thrown in.  The walnuts are a nice touch, too.  I was a little skeptical since a bit of ginger was the only seasoning, but it really worked with the creamy frosting, which piled super high on these bars.  I adjusted the recipe to include more zucchini than carrots because I was running low on the orange veggies and high on the green ones (I just eked out a full cup of carrot).  I also forgot to pick up a lemon to add zest to the frosting, so I used a bit of lemon juice instead, which I liked for a more prominent lemon flavor.  These would be great for a morning meeting, church social, book club, or just for a new way to enjoy a zucchini enhanced dessert.  If my zucchini plant continues on it's current path, I might be making these a few more times this summer.

Baked Zucchini Fries

Three out of four people in my house loved these (guess who the hold out was.)  I don't understand how Dave couldn't love these unless it's because he's just weird.  I will frequently slice up a sweet potato, season it with salt and spices and bake it in the oven to make "fries."  But these zucchini "fries" are actually breaded and have a wonderfully seasoned crust on the outside of the baked veggie sticks, giving a satisfying crunchiness.  But alas, even with the marinara dipping sauce, he would not be swayed.  Whatever, more for Madaline, Ernie and I to enjoy.  We finished them up and probably could have eaten more.

Finding zucchini recipes right now isn't tough.  And Maria from Two Peas and Their Pod even rounded up a comprehensive list of 35 zucchini recipes.  But I'd printed this recipe of hers long ago, so when two extra zucchini found their way onto my counter, I knew just what to do.  While Maria makes her own whole wheat bread crumbs, I substituted finely ground Original Fiber One cereal for my bread crumbs for an added boost of fiber and the slightest of sweetness to the coating.  The result was perfect and even if Dave won't eat them, I'm making these again.

Caprese Zucchini Boats

So I started a little container garden on our deck.  My friend Beth shared with me her excess plants that didn't fit in her container garden.  I planted two tomatoes, two zucchini and two cucumbers in the Earthbox Madaline and Ernie gave Dave and I at Easter and hoped for the best.  Almost immediately both cucumbers and one of the zucchinis died.  But then something awesome happened.  My tomato plants grew and the remaining zucchini went berserk!  It got so big it fell off the edge of the box and Dave and I staked it up, just like the tomato plants.  And the zucchini just started growing and growing.  So, by way of sharing my bounty with you, I'm treating you to a week's worth of zucchini recipes, because if you don't have your own exploding plant in your back yard, you've got friends who do and keep giving the extras to you or your enamored by the pretty green squash at the farmer's market but just don't know what to do with them.  Five recipes, five delicious ways to enjoy this tasty veggie in both savory and sweet preparation, starting with this summery side dish loaded with Caprese salad flavors.  I love the tender squash, seasoned just right, under the wonderful tomato, basil & mozzarella stuffing, warmed from the oven (or in my case, the toaster oven).  A couple of these would make a great light supper eaten together, or split them up as a side to grilled chicken or beef.

I pinned this recipe earlier this summer, knowing/hoping for a big zucchini harvest.  Proud Italian Cook gave the overall concept of the recipe, but I jotted down my measurements and steps to share with you.  I used Roma tomatoes rather than cherry and fresh mozzarella, but I didn't load on the cheese since I wanted something a bit lighter.  You could certainly pile on the cheese and be very happy, though.  Adjust the quantities for as many people as you need to serve, or make extra--they reheat wonderfully for the next day.  These zucchini boats are light, fresh and lovely--and even better when you pluck some of the ingredients from your own back yard.

Zucchini Bread

It didn't occur to me until I found myself at the farmer's market faced with a bunch of beautiful zucchinis that I have never 1) made zucchini bread, or 2) eaten zucchini bread.  And this from the girl who used to eat the overabundance of squash from her grandfather's garden raw all throughout the harvest.  So I was determined and bought a nice two pound squash hoping that would be enough.  Turns out I got enough to make two of these delicious breads. I was surprised by the sweetness and enjoyed the toasted nuts scattered throughout.  It just looks like the perfect loaf right out of the oven and smelled heavenly while baking.  The moisture from the zucchini kept the bread from drying out and preserved the softness inside the crunchy edges.

Since I didn't have a go-to recipe, I turned to one of my favorite bloggers, Brown Eyed Baker.  She didn't fail me on this one, providing a simple and delicious recipe for a first timer like me.  I'd considered adding cranberries but stopped myself, wanting to appreciate the pure taste of a classic zucchini bread.  This recipe could easily be adapted for muffins or mini loaves, and you probably could throw in some additional mix-ins.  But the beauty and flavor of this recipe rests in the simplicity, so I actually think I may leave well enough alone. For once.