A frugal fall supper

 

I was looking for a warm and comforting meal the other evening and also happened to have a couple of zucchini languishing in a crisper drawer.  After searching through a few cookbooks and not finding anything that inspired me, I decided to do a search for zucchini recipes on my own blog.

I realized in doing so that I hadn't made this Zucchini Garden Chowder  in years.  I had everything on hand that I needed, and best of all it would neatly use up those two zucchini.  What a good choice!  This is such a delicious, comforting soup.

In my 2010 post I noted that my dad, instead of simply telling me supper was good, as he so often did, surprised me by exclaiming that this soup was delicious.  In tasting it again, I think I know why.  The flavor bears a good bit of resemblance to a "Welsh Rabbit" that my mother used to make occasionally -- a combination of cheddar cheese and tomatoes that she served over toast.  Not a classic Welsh rarebit by any means, but it was a warm and tasty quick meal on occasion.  

When we had the soup this week, my hubby also proclaimed that this was a very good soup.  I hope you'll enjoy this too, if you try it.

When Vee hands you a squash ...

[a little spin off "when life hands you lemons ... make lemonade"].

Vee actually did hand me a squash a week ago Saturday (along with many other lovely gifts which will be discussed in an as-yet-unfinished post).  I believe she said that her neighbor had given it to her and so she was passing it along to me.

The other night I needed a side dish with some BBQ chicken and potato salad for supper, so I decided to cook the gifted (or should I say re-gifted?😀) squash.  The side I ended up with was a little bit different and very easy, so I thought I would share how I did it.  I'm sure this would work with green zucchini as well, but it was so pretty with the yellow zucchini.  As per usual with food, I completely forgot to take a photo, so Pixabay comes to my rescue again.

So, here's the recipe:

A SIMPLE SQUASH SIDE DISH
 1 yellow zucchini or summer squash, sliced -- I cut the larger slices, from the middle, in quarters
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tomato, chopped
Italian seasoning or basil to taste

Heat some olive oil (I think I used a couple of tablespoons) in a saucepan.  Add the sliced squash to the hot oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes.  Cover the saucepan and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes or so, until the zucchini is nearly as tender as you like it.  Stir in the chopped tomato and the seasoning, cover and cook for another minute or two until the tomato is heated through.

Makes 2-4 servings.

I added the tomato for color, but it contributed nice flavor as well.  I wish I had thought to use my fresh basil in this!  I'm sure there will be other opportunities throughout the summer, as zucchini and tomatoes will no doubt continue to be abundant.

And there you have one idea for what to do when Vee (or anyone else) hands you a squash.

From the August archives, part 2

Graphic by Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

Here we go with another post containing links from the Kitchen Table archives.  Enjoy!

Shades of green, from 2012, might be a good one to start with.  Green is so refreshing, don't you think?

From 2009, A tale of four curtains is a cautionary tale about not taking on a project one is not qualified to carry out.  The voice of experience speaking here.



How about a couple of recipes?
Crab Melt Loaf and a picnic by the pond, from 2011, may give you a new idea for picnic food.


Great Garden Veggies is also a recipe I shared in 2011, wonderful for using up garden tomatoes, zucchini, and summer squash.

For something sweet, this Blueberry Almond Buckle, from 2010, will help make use of any fresh (or frozen) blueberries you'd like to use up.

Now for some simple crafting!
I'm probably a little late sharing these Citrus Coasters, although it was an August post.  But they are easy and fun to make!

Or maybe you'd like to try your hand at making felt food, as in this 2013 post:  Hamburgers, Anyone?.  It has links to instructions for several other foods, like sandwiches and ripple chips.


Lastly, Appreciating the little things (2013) is something I aim at doing every day.


Hope you've enjoyed this prowl through the August archives.  I have a third archive post planned for later.

Another good zucchini recipe

Photo from Taste of Home

Just in case there's still a zucchini or two in someone's fridge, here's a recipe we tried a month or so ago:Zucchini Parmesan.  It is very good and so simple.  I liked that it used the diced canned tomatoes rather than fresh ones.

You will want to file this one away for use next summer when the zucchini is abundant.  I intend to; that's why I'm posting it here!  A friend's mother-in-law always said that the best way not to lose track of a recipe was to share it.  That way you could always go back to the person you shared it with and ask for it.  Sound advice, and I've seen it proved true more than once!

An easy vegetable side dish

Photo from Taste of Home

For weeks, I have been meaning to post these links (which I don't think I have ever posted in years past, but you never know) to a couple of good side dishes using zucchini.  It may be that you still have a few garden veggies to use up, or can still find a good price on these at the supermarket or farmer's market.  So I will post one for today, and one for next week.

First, Great Garden Veggies.  This was so easy and very good.  Helps to fill out a meal and use up some of that prolific vegetable.  You've got to love a multi-purpose recipe like that.  Enjoy!

Very Veggie Frittata

(Photo by Taste of Home)

Last night I tried a new recipe.  It's actually been on my menu plan for weeks, but due to different factors (mostly using up leftovers), I hadn't gotten around to trying it.  Here's the link:  Very Veggie Frittata.

We liked this dish a lot.  I liked the fact that it only called for five eggs, and the addition of sour cream was a little different but very good.  (I used light sour cream.)

I was out of mushrooms so used diced zucchini instead, a substitution I would definitely make again.  And I don't have an ovenproof skillet, so I skipped the step of browning the frittata under the broiler, and left off the extra cheese as well.  It was just fine that way, and saved a few calories too.

We had this with home fries and fresh salsa on the side.  A very tasty meatless meal!  Maybe your family would enjoy it, too.

Summer squash/potato saute

Photo by Taste of Home

Last night I was looking for some sort of easy, stovetop potato side dish recipe to go along with leftover grilled chicken and hot dogs and a marinated vegetable salad.  I happened to remember this recipe which I had copied out of a magazine years ago: Summer Squash and Potato Saute.  (I have a couple of books filled with recipes like this.  I have tried many of the recipes but not all of them.)  This particular recipe was one I had never tried.

I didn't have any yellow summer squash on hand, but I did have zucchini, so used that instead.  I also didn't have red potatoes, but had some small russet potatoes so I used those, but I did peel them.  I do think the dish would be very pretty with the red potatoes and using both the green and yellow squash.

This was such an easy, quick side dish.  I'll be making this again.  Maybe your family would enjoy it, too!

Quinoa with Roasted Veggies & Feta Cheese

(Photo by Taste of Home)

Here is a recipe I tried this past Friday night for supper:  Quinoa with Roasted Veggies & Feta.  We liked this a lot!

Neither of us had tasted quinoa before, although I had purchased a bag of it some time ago.  We found it delicious and it certainly is nutritionally impressive as well. 

I didn't have red peppers on hand, but substituted chopped mini peppers since I had a bag of red/yellow/orange ones in the fridge.  I don't think it could have been any better with just the red ones.  It was very flavorful.  I also left out the corn.  I was going to be roasting the veggies while we were out for a walk, and didn't want to have to think about adding the corn halfway through.  I used some extra chopped yellow peppers to compensate for the color the corn would have added.

The recipe suggested serving this dish with lemon wedges.  I wasn't going to bother, but we had lemons on hand so we did squeeze some onto the dish.  It added a really nice flavor note, and I will plan to serve the lemon wedges with it every time. 

Perhaps your family would enjoy this delicious main dish as much as we did!

Results of zucchini bread recipe testing

As I mentioned in my last post, I was trying out a couple of different zucchini bread recipes to see which one I might like to make in tiny loaves to go in gift baskets at Christmas. Both of these recipes contain chocolate and pecans and (of course) zucchini, but there the similarities end.

Both recipes are deliciously different from other zucchini bread recipes I have tried. The Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread may be a tad bit healthier, since it calls for white whole wheat flour and dark brown sugar. It is not overly sweet, either. It does have a somewhat denser texture, but this is not a bad thing.

The Paula Deen's Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread is probably the recipe I will go with for the Christmas breads. It has a festive flavor with cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange in addition to the chocolate chips. This recipe calls for grated orange rind, but I had no oranges on hand, so I substituted 1 teaspoon pure orange extract for the rind component. It worked beautifully. I thought that miniature chocolate chips might be a good idea in this recipe (especially since I want to make the loaves small) instead of the regular ones called for. I was very, very pleased with the mini chips. I did cut the sugar back to about 1 1/2 cups, and the oil back to about 7/8 cup.

If you're looking for a yummy and different zucchini bread recipe, you'll want to give one of these a try!

An afternoon in Mrs.T's test kitchen

My family likes to tease me about my habit of trying new recipes. They would all have plenty to laugh about if they had seen me today... I tried three new recipes, and plan to try a fourth one at supper!

It's been raining steadily here most of the day (and most of yesterday, too) and so it was a good time to be in the kitchen baking up some zucchini bread and banana bars. I had both zucchini and bananas to use up before they really went bad.

To use the bananas, I didn't really care what I made as long as it was not banana muffins (have some of those still in the freezer), banana bread (since I was already planning to bake 2 kinds of zucchini bread), or banana drop cookies (which would take too much time).

So I paged through cookbooks and ended up with a banana bar recipe from a best brand-name recipe cookbook I've had for years. They contain wheat germ and almonds and also call for chocolate chips. No eggs, though, which seemed a little strange. I was expecting cake-like texture and it was almost more, but not quite, like a brownie texture. I substituted butterscotch chips for the chocolate ones, since both zucchini bread recipes contained chocolate. They are good, but I doubt I'll make them again. Just an experiment.

Now, for the zucchini bread. We have a lot of zucchini to freeze and/or use fresh, and I had the idea that I could bake up some small loaves of zucchini bread and freeze them for Christmas gifts for our neighbors. But I wanted a really good recipe, one that would be a bit more festive than the usual z. bread. So a couple of weeks ago I had browsed around on line and found two that I wanted to try -- Paula Deen's chocolate chip z. bread, and a double chocolate one from another site. I decided to try them both and then decide which kind to make and freeze for gifts.

I initially thought I would just go ahead and bake these in little loaves, but quickly realized I didn't want to take time to wash all of those little loaf pans. This was a good day for taking extra time in the kitchen, as we're having leftovers for supper and I only need to make a vegetable side dish to go along with them. But my time is not unlimited and I have other things to do, so went with the regular-size pans specified in the recipes.

Both kinds of bread (4 loaves) are cooling now, so we'll see which one is the winner. I tasted the Paula Deen recipe and it is just delicious. I'll post links to the recipes (along with my comments) in the next few days if others would like to try them too.

That's all from the test kitchen for now!

Zucchini Garden Chowder

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm still trying to use up all of our zucchini. We didn't have a huge harvest, but we have plenty. I'm going to shred some of it up and freeze it for baking later. And, I plan to make some little loaves of zucchini bread for Christmas gifts.

A few weeks ago, I tried this recipe for zucchini chowder. We really, really liked it, so much so that I made it again yesterday and shared some of it with my dad. I usually make supper for him on Thursday nights, and he often will say, "Supper was good." This time, however, he said, "That soup was delicious!" I had simply called it "a creamy vegetable soup" when I dropped it off -- maybe the name made a difference, I don't know. But I have to agree ... it is delicious.

Here's the link to the recipe:
Zucchini Garden Chowder

The only thing I changed was to use less butter -- a couple of tablespoons less -- and less cheese -- probably 3/4 cup less. Oh, and I used canned (drained) whole kernel corn rather than frozen. I have also made this using cooked corn kernels cut from the cob. I think one could use any number of different vegetables in this and it would still be good. Definitely a "keeper" recipe!

Best Zucchini Bars

I haven't made these bars in eons because they are very, very rich. But they are also absolutely delicious, and a wonderful use of zucchini. The recipe comes from an old Taste of the Country cookbook.

BEST ZUCCHINI BARS

BARS:
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 small carrot, shredded
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup chopped nuts (may use less or omit)

FROSTING:
1/2 cup softened butter or real margarine
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (more if needed)

For bars: Beat together sugar, oil, and eggs in large bowl. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; add to sugar mixture in bowl along with vanilla. Beat 1 to 2 minutes or until well mixed. Fold in zucchini, carrots, oats and nuts; mix well. Pour into a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Bake at 350º for 15-20 minutes, until bars test done. Cool in pan on rack.

For frosting: Beat all ingredients together in medium bowl until smooth. Add more confectioners' sugar if needed to make frosting the proper consistency for spreading. Frost the bars. You may wish to let them set awhile before cutting.

Yield: 3 dozen bars

Italian Sausage & Zucchini Stir-fry

Here is another zucchini recipe we enjoyed often in years gone by. I will be making this again soon!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND ZUCCHINI STIR-FRY

1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 small onion, sliced
2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes
4 cups unpeeled zucchini, cut in julienne (matchstick) strips
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
1/4 tsp. oregano
Parmesan cheese for topping

Slice the sausages 1/4 inch thick. Brown the sausage slices in a large skillet or wok. When sausage is nearly done, add onion. Cook and stir until sausage is cooked through; drain off any fat.

Add vegetables and seasonings; cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 5 to 10 minutes or until zucchini is cooked as you like it. Sprinkle with Parmesan before serving, or pass it at the table so it can be added to taste.

Zucchini Cheese Crisps

ZUCCHINI CHEESE CRISPS

1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs (or use corn flake crumbs)
2 Tblsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
Dash of garlic powder
4 small unpeeled zucchini, cut in half-inch strips about 4 inches long
3 Tblsp. olive oil (original calls for 1/4 cup melted butter)

In a small bowl, combine the crumbs, cheese, and seasonings.

Line a large baking sheet with foil or with parchment paper.

Place the zucchini strips in a gallon size zip-top bag. Add the oil and shake the bag to coat the zucchini strips thoroughly with oil. Add the crumb mixture to the bag and shake well again to coat the zucchini strips with the crumb mixture.

Place the zucchini strips on the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 375º for about 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp.

Serves 4.

I adapted this in a major way from a recipe I found in an old Taste of the Country cookbook. My family has always enjoyed zucchini prepared this way. I think it would probably be crisper/crunchier with the corn flake crumbs, but I never seem to have them on hand.

Stuffed Zucchini

We hadn't had a vegetable garden in years, but last year we decided to try again. It wasn't a great success -- our major harvest was lettuce, a few green beans and several winter squash -- but we tried again this year. This time, our zucchini plants are doing quite well and we have harvested several large zucchini already. In an old recipe box, I came upon this recipe which I'm pretty sure I copied at my friend Marilyn's house, many years ago. I tried it last week and it's delicious! I thought I would share, for others who are harvesting many zucchini right about now.

STUFFED ZUCCHINI

6 medium zucchinis, halved lengthwise
1/2 lb. Italian sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup Italian-flavored bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet, cook the zucchini in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain; scoop out insides of zucchini, leave a 1/4-inch shell, and place pulp and seeds in a large bowl. Chop up the pulp coarsely and place in a colander to drain. Put the zucchini shells in a shallow baking dish.

Remove casings from sausage (unless you happen to be using bulk sausage); break up meat. Using the same skillet you cooked the zucchini in, cook the sausage, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic; saute' until tender, about 3 minutes more. Stir in the chopped, drained zucchini pulp and the bread crumbs. Fill the zucchini shells with this mixture. Sprinkle with the cheeses. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until piping hot.

I haven't tried this variation, but the recipe states that one may also use this same mixture to stuff 6 medium ripe tomatoes or 1 large eggplant.