What to make with Zucchini and other foods


Iggy
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My husband seems to think that zucchini is the ONLY squash there is and he wants me to serve it often. I detest soft, mushy zucchini unless it is in the form of cookies or cake and THAT is not what he wants. 

 

He won't eat it raw, like in salads or just to finger dip in sauces. I even chopped it up and put it in my version of pico de gallo. (not much hot spicy, and a bit more cilantro - for him loving Mexican foods, he doesn't like much cilantro ~ go figure <_< )

 

Can anyone help me with some recipes? I am getting rather tired of quickly tossing around in a skillet with garlic, butter and some lime/lemon powder, topped with some freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.  

 

Oh, side note ~ the first time he asked me to get some squash and cook it for dinner I happily bought some butternut squash, cut it in two, put the cut side down on a piece of parchment in my baking dish and baked it. Then scooped the partially cooked (softened) squash out of its shell, put it back into the baking dish, sans parchment and continued to bake until mashable. Mashed/whipped and seasoned with a pinches and dashes of sweet spices aka cinnamon, allspice, clove, and a bit of brown sugar, etc. He added butter at the table. Told me that he didn't know what kind of *potato* that was, but Boy Howdy I love it. :bouncingclap:

 

 

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Zucchinni is always icky when mushy. 

 

I cut it in julienne strips, toss with your favorite oil (avacado oil) and Italian Seasoning and roast on a cookie sheet until crisp tender.  I also cut it into bite size chunks (1/2 in.) and put it in homemade spaghetti sauce.  Its also good in Homemade Mac N Cheese.  You back the Mac N Cheese, then add the Zucchinni slices on top for the last few minutes and top with cheese.

 

My family will eat it fried.  1/4 inch thick slices, dip in egg, flour, salt and pepper to taste and then fry in oil in a frying pan.

 

Will your husband eat salads?  Shred the zucchini and add on top.

 

Jerry Seinfeld's wife wrote a cook book about hiding veggies in other foods.  I bought it.  I don't use all her recipes but I use her ideas with my own recipes.  Such as, pureed cauliflower in Mac N Cheese or pureed spinach in brownies.

 

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  If I think of something else I'll post again.

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Thanks Applepansy,

 

Husband likes it in soup- the homemade soup I make for him, and he wants it mushy. BLEH- He will eat salads, never thought to shred it raw. Always cut it in rounds like cucumbers (which he doesn't like at all)

 

The Mac & Cheese sounds good. Zucchini fries 'er bakes- that sounds good to me. Our favorite restaurant sautes them along with celery, onion chunks, grape tomatoes cut in half in garlic butter. Just enough to get them all hot but still crisp. Then sprinkles freshly shaved Parmesan cheese on top when they serve it. We have an extra serving of that in place of the rice/potato. 

 

I love raw veggies. Put them all in a air tight container, add a bottle or two (depending on the amount of veggies) of Italian dressing (We really like Paul Newman's Own) then let sit overnight. I eat that with some cold ham, chicken, turkey, etc. Husband won't eat it. He will use the Italian dressing on salad but no veggies.

 

In the above I only use whole grape tomatoes. Once cut, tomatoes tend to get mushy and slimy. The grape variety are so sweet and good, which is an added plus.

 

If I can get more ways to eat the zucchini without resorting to cakes and cookies & jam, then I will grow some next season. 

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Iggy, my kids replace the spaghetti noodles with zucchini noodles in any dish that needs spaghetti noodles... So, it's as easy as opening a jar of preggo and pouring it over the zucchini noodles.

This is how you prepare the zucchini noodles - wash the zucchini (my family of 4 can inhale 8 zuchs for lunch!) and then cut the peel off of one side so it will lay flat on the cutting board. Take a julienne peeler or a regular veggie peeler and run it deep on top to make strips. Or you can use the biggest holes on the cheese shredder. Or you can buy a zucchini noodles maker (I got one for 10 bucks at Walmart in their "as seen on TV" area). Or you can just use a paring knife to cut noodle sized strips.

Put the zucchini noodles in a colander and season with salt and pepper to taste and just let it sit and drain for 15 minutes. The salt will cause the water to drain out of the zucchini and make it tender. Toss the noodles in a pan - you may use a little bit of oil but it's not necessary - for 2-3 minutes to finish.

Here are 2 things popular with my kiddos:

Garlic Shrimp spaghetti - sautée shrimp and minced fresh Italian parsley in garlic, butter, olive oil, and capers brine (get a jar of capers and instead of discarding the liquid when draining the capers, keep it instead to add to the garlic shrimp). Salt and pepper to taste. Put the thing over zucchini noodles and sprinkle Parmesan on top and more fresh parsley.

Okonomiyaki Anatess style - take some flour and mix with pork (or chicken) bullion broth to make the consistency of pancake mix. Pour onto pancake griddle (has room for at least 2 pancakes - or use 2 frying pans) on medium heat to make one pancake the size of a burrito tortilla. Put very thinly sliced pork (or chicken) on top - I usually put the meat on the side for about 30 seconds first so it will become white and then turn it over to make the other side white and then put on top of the pancake. Add a little shredded cabbage and bean sprouts if you like and flatten with spatula. Pour a little worchestire or oyster sauce and then pour more pancake mix on top then flip the whole thing over to cook.

When the pancake is almost done, on the other side of the griddle, pour beaten eggs to make the same size as the pancake. Add a bunch of prepared zucchini noodles on top. Pour some more worchestire or oyster sauce over the noodles. Then scoop up the pancake with a spatula and put it on top of the noodles. When the eggs are done, flip the whole thing onto a plate with the eggs on top. Drizzle worchestire or oyster sauce on top to make it pretty. Stick a fork on top and watch your husband say... Whoa!

:-)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I love zuccihini and I also hate when it is mushy. I have made it in to a vegetabel soup when in the end I put everyhing in to a blender and make it smooth. I also put it into chikchen soup just in the end so it does not have time to go mushy.  Other favorite is to make pizzatopping. Thin slices  on top off tomatosauce, mushrooms and pesto and mozzarella . I also sometimes make lasange with zuccihini eather put it in the sauce or make it in to "pastasheets".

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Man am I boring, I either have Zucchini Julian cut and deep fried, or round cut and sautéed. That's pretty much it. Considering the healthy tone of this thread, I'm guessing deep fried and the amount of butter I sauté things in are off the table.

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Man am I boring, I either have Zucchini Julian cut and deep fried, or round cut and sautéed. That's pretty much it. Considering the healthy tone of this thread, I'm guessing deep fried and the amount of butter I sauté things in are off the table.

Not necessarily Jerome. Husband and I are big fans of Olive oil, butter and though I don't deep fry, I will coat with olive oil and bake.

 

I hurt myself really bad with a home deep fryer when I was 30 something. Never got another one, and have no intention to either.

 

Thanks all for the tips, recipes -  The other day I took one green and one yellow zucchini, a med onion and two ribs of celery. Cut the zucchini into 1/2" rounds, the med onion into chunks and the celery into slanted slices. I sauteed them in Olive Garden dressing until the zucchini was clear only in the middle - then added cooked chicken tenders-ettes and heated till the chicken was hot through. That was husbands dinner, along with my personal blend of wild, forbidden and un-enriched/ un-polished Basmati rice. I had barramundi filet baked in a citrus marinade. 

 

I have two smallish Salmon roasts (the part of the salmon past where it is gutted to the tail. I will semi cook that to get the skin off, then cut it up into bite size pieces and make the lobster thermidor sauce. Will steam the zucchini, onion, celery till they are hot but not even tender and throw them in with the saucy salmon. Again, will serve with the Rice blend. 

 

Now does anyone have a favorite recipe for Eggplant other than eggplant lasagna or Parmesan? Right now eggplant is selling for $0.99 each. This sale goes until midnight this coming Tuesday. 

 

Oh, one other vegetable ~ Jicama - I eat it raw, has anyone cooked it? 

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I love zucchini sauteed in olive oil with salt and pepper. Even a little on the mushy side. 

 

I know you said he does't want it baked in things, but I grew up on a "zucchini pie" that is really a quiche that makes its own crust. It's so easy and delicious and everyone in my family loves it (that is a rare dinner in this house!). My favorite is eating it with sliced garden tomatoes, or even cold out of the fridge for breakfast. 

 

 

 

ZUCCHINI PIE

3 C grated zucchini
3 eggs
1 C cheese, shredded (we like cheddar best)
1/2 C onion, chopped
1/2 C oil
1 C Bisquik
Salt & pepper
Cooked and crumbled bacon, sausage, ham, or chopped cooked chicken (optional) 

Mix all together and put in greased pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees until knife inserted in center comes out clean.

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Eowyn - that sounds so good. I would add broccoli and or fresh spinach. Husband likes my crustless low carb quiche. 

 

Of course I can't find it - has fresh mushrooms (lots of them), Monterrey Jack cheese (I add mozzarella, Parmesan and some Colby) bacon (or any meat), eggs, I also add broccoli, fresh spinach, green onions. 

 

My feet are really hurting right now - so will wait until tomorrow to hunt the book down - then I will post that recipe. 

 

I like sour cream, lots of it on my quiche. Husband likes salsa. 

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