Zillions of Zucchini?! ~ Twelve Things to Do With Them

If you have a husband who is trying to kill you off by planting 38 zucchini plants, then read on. Yes, this is a true story (maybe not the "killing me off" part since I think he loves me). But 38 plants?! I must have been doing something wrong (no... that can't be possible either *wink*).

Here are some ideas on what you can do with all those squash. Some healthy, and some hardly healthy but all very delicious.

Zucchini Patties

These are easy to prepare and tasty. I serve them with rice and a green salad for dinner. You can find the online recipe here that I used and liked. Also, include some hard boiled eggs into that green salad for extra protein.

Zucchini Pasta Sauce

Saute a few chopped onions and some fresh, pressed garlic together in olive oil until just tender. Then add cubed zucchini and continue to saute until soft. Then, add enough tomato sauce to graciously cover all the vegetables. Let simmer for a half of an hour. Add in some Italian seasoning, salt and some sugar (all to taste but I generally add a TBSP of sugar per quart of tomato sauce) during the last five minutes of cooking. Serve on a bed of pasta and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. 

Note: You can also use tomato puree but you will need to simmer longer to get the sauce to a thicker consistency.

Grilled Zucchini

Cut zucchini into strips and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper (you can also add italian seasoning for variation). Grill until golden strips appear on each side. This is an excellent and healthier side dish to go with some grilled chicken or beef. 

Note: Grill extra and use it as a topping for a summer style pizza the next day. We really enjoyed that as well. Or grill extra for the following recipe.

Grilled Zucchini Pasta Salad

This cold pasta salad is amazing!

Toss together the following:

• 1 bag of cooked and cooled rotini pasta (you can also use whole grain pasta)
• 1/3 bottle of Salad Supreme Seasoning (Size 2.62 ounce)
• 1/4 cup of chopped red onion
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 can of sliced olives (use basic black or green marinated ones for different flavors)
• 1 basket of cherry tomatoes cut in half or a few garden fresh diced tomatoes
• 2-3 cups of grilled and cooled zucchini cut into chunks
• Italian Dressing (according to taste, about a cup or more)

Serve chilled. You can always add more veggies to this than the amount specified. The more raw ingredients the better (and healthier). This makes a tasty side dish to any grilled meat, etc.

Breaded Zucchini

These are sinfully good when served with ranch! Simply slice your zucchini into wedges, dip them in a beaten egg mixture and then dredge in Italian flavored bread crumbs. Fry in oil (medium heat) until golden on each side. 

Stir Fried Zucchini

Saute with olive oil and a pat of butter. Sprinkle in some italian seasoning and sea salt. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar during the last minute for a tasty and quick side dish.

Zucchini Sticks

Just cut them up for dipping. Anything tastes good when submerged in ranch.

Zucchini Quiche

We love quiche!  I like to freeze the fillings so I multiply the recipe by four and then fill my freezer bags with one recipe each. Here is the recipe I use and love. That would call for about 3 1/2 cups of quiche filling per gallon bag. We try and save them for the autumn and winter seasons (I said "try"). I thaw the bags in the refrigerator the night before and then make my simple as can be "freeze four pie crust" recipe (though I decrease the sugar by half since this is a savory dish) for the crust. Then I freeze my other crusts for the days I am going to use my other quiches. Just spoon the filling into the quiche crust and bake on 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes, until puffy and golden on top. Let sit five minutes prior to serving. This is a great brunch dish and a wonderful dinner partner with a winter soup come the season. And obviously, you can make just one quiche but if you have zucchini like I do, that is just not an option...

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins

These are extraordinary! (You have no clue there is zucchini in them!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners and spray with baking spray. 

Combine in bowl the following and set aside:

• 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. salt

In a separate bowl, mix together the following until smooth:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar

Then add into the egg and sugar mixture the following and blend well:

• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Slowly stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Add in 1 cup of finely shredded zucchini, ¾ cup of chopped walnuts and 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Fill cupcake liners to about 1/3 full. Bake until tops are golden and toothpick inserted into the center of muffin comes out clean of batter (approx. 23 minutes). This can be doubled which we highly recommend.

~ Recipe was gleaned from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook by Elinor Klivans

Lastly, freeze your zucchini for the future (see our tutorial here) or dehydrate them down to size!

And this is only the beginning of what you could use them for! There is also zucchini bread and casseroles featuring the zucchini (although I forgot where I found the recipe above, it was delicious). 

Happy harvesting!

"And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,

which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree,

 in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed;

to you it shall be for meat."

~ Genesis 1:29