Lemon Zucchini Drops

I was looking for a cookie with zucchini in it.  There were several, today I tried this one.  Really good, but Amy didn't like it.  I omitted the raisins, but I did use walnuts.  I wished I'd had a fresh lemon for the zest, but I just put a little lemon juice in the cookie dough.  They are cookies with a cake like consistency.

Lemon Zucchini Drops

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

LEMON GLAZE:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg, zucchini and lemon peel. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Stir in raisins and walnuts.
2. Drop by tablespoonfuls 3 in. apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.
3. For glaze, combine sugar and enough lemon juice to achieve a thin spreading consistency. Spread or drizzle over cooled cookies.

Vegetarian Penne

Here's another Zucchini dish with pasta.  I thought this was really good.  I did happen to have some whipping cream, so it might work with just milk, but I haven't tried it yet.  I used more like 1/3 cup of cream.  I also used 1 cup of mushrooms instead of 1/2 cup.  I didn't have yellow summer squash, just lots of zucchini.

Vegetarian Penne 

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked penne or medium tube pasta
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onion, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms and garlic in butter until tender.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour, seasonings and cream until smooth; add to the skillet. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thickened. Drain pasta and add to vegetable mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

Angel's Pasta

Yet another awesome zucchini recipe! This time with pasta.  I didn't have any ripe tomatoes, so I used a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes.  Next time I will use fresh - mmm!  I also don't have any fresh basil :(.  I need to get some. 

Angel's Pasta

Ingredients

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 12 leaves fresh basil
• 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour in oil and saute garlic until golden. Stir in zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute 2 minutes, then mix in tomato and cook a few minutes more. Chop basil and add to vegetables right before mixing with pasta.
3. Combine pasta and vegetables. Serve topped with mozzarella.

Blueberry Zucchini muffins

This was a zucchini bread recipe, but I turned it into muffins.  It makes a lot of muffins, so fill those cups up!  I added a crumb topping before baking them. 

Blueberry zucchini bread

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pint fresh blueberries

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tablespoons butter, cubed
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (190degrees C). Lightly grease muffin tins.
2. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared muffin tins. 
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. 
   
4. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven.  Let cool 5 minutes in tins, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Zucchini Parmesan

This is not really like an eggplant Parmesan (it doesn't even call for Parmesan cheese), but it is really good.  I've always just made my own spaghetti sauce (but a jar would work nicely here).  I didn't slice mine really thin, maybe 1/4 inch.  And it was a pretty big zucchini (that's what happens when you leave for 5 days).  We sprinkled Parmesan on top for fun.

Zucchini Parmesan

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large pot boil the zucchini until tender; drain. Meanwhile, in a medium frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is tender.
3. Combine the zucchini, onion and garlic in a 9x12 inch casserole dish, and mix well. Pour the spaghetti sauce over the mixture and stir well. Top with mozzarella cheese (use more or less depending on your preference).
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Zucchini Bread

With the dozens of zucchini (not exaggerating) we have harvested this year I have had to come up with a lot of zucchini recipes.  So get ready for a plethora of zucchini recipes  All of them have come from allrecipes.com - Love that site!  Links to original recipes are included.  I can't believe I haven't included this recipe before now.  I love it!  So easy, and tasty.  I follow it as is, although you could easily substitute whole wheat flour in there, or applesauce for the oil.  I usually omit the walnuts though. 

Mom's Zucchini Bread

 (I don't know whose mom created this recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Blueberry Muffins

Since we had a lot of blueberries I thought it appropriate to post a blueberry recipe.   Blueberry pancakes are pretty obvious (just add blueberries after you pour the batter on the griddle), but I wanted to make blueberry muffins with a struesel topping.  I'm out of walnut and pecans right now, but this one was great.  I reduced the topping recipe by a lot.  The recipe shows what I usually do.  The recipe as is makes 12 regular muffins, or 8 large muffins.  I often double it.

Blueberry muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Topping

• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp butter, cubed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together sugar,  flour, butter, and cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.