Lemon Zucchini Bread

I think zucchini bread is pretty darn good just the way it is. But adding lemon might be making it perfect. It is the easiest addition in the world, I just added a bit of lemon zest at the end of making the batter and that was it. If you wanted to have even more lemon zip, you could add the juice of the lemon that you zested. 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (whole grain preferred) 

 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons lemon zest

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, beat together the zucchini, sugar, egg, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; stir in the cinnamon and lemon zest. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. 

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Power Packed Fruit and Veggie Muffins

I have been wanting to make these muffins for a while, but Let's be honest, you have to work up a certain amount of bravery to put broccoli in a blender and then add it to a muffin. 

Turns out there was nothing to be afraid of!  These were so delicious.  I doubled the recipe when I made it, because so many of the ingredients called for a half of this, or a half of that. My kids ate the first 18 muffins right when they came out of the oven. Joseph was so impressed he took a plate over to his parent's house and the next day was Sunday, and that finished them up. 36 muffins in a day and a half. That has GOT to be a new record, even for us. 

I am going to post this recipe a bit different. I am going to list all the ingredients here - and then walk you through some photos of me making the muffins.  Then add the end, I'll post the recipe with ingredients and instructions in its entirety. That way, you can see my blender broccoli and not be totally freaked out when you see yours. 

Ingredients : 

1 cup flour, whole wheat

1 cup flour, all-purpose

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoon butter, unsalted

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup broccoli, florets

1 medium zucchini

1 1/2 medium carrot

1/2 medium apple

1 medium banana

1/8 cup apple juice

1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened

1/4 cup yogurt, plain

I started out by getting all my ingredients out on the counter. I like to bake this way, instead of getting each one out as I need it. I shredded my carrots with my tiniest shredder and I peeled the zucchini before I shredded it.

Next it was time to mix the dry ingredients together. I did this in my largest bowl, since this is the place that everything gets added to at the end.  I also always mix my dry ingredients together. I think it is really important to mix all the spices evenly through the flour mixture and also to get you baking agents like soda or powder to be evenly distributed so your muffins will rise equally. 

This is my sugar, eggs, vanilla and butter. I used a hand mixer for this because I think it really makes a difference in the texture of the eggs and butter to have them beaten light and bubbly. Be sure your butter is nice and soft - get is as soft as you can without getting it too melty. It is important as part of the liquid balance in the muffins. 

For those of you that make Popeye Smoothies this is probably a totally normal sight. But I was prepared to completely grossed out by it. Actually it just smelled like apples and tasted like banana. And the only sign there was broccoli was in it was the tiny little flowers that looked like dots. If you ask me, that is lots less scary that strips of unpeeled zucchini.  I decided this was nothing that I should have been worried about at all. 

You add your blender to your wet ingredients, stir and then add those wet ingredients to your dry. Stir just until incorporated and bake. 

Ready for the recipe? 

 

Ingredients :
1 cup flour, whole wheat
1 cup flour, all-purpose
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoon butter, unsalted
2 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup broccoli, florets
1 medium zucchini
1 1/2 medium carrot
1/2 medium apple
1 medium banana
1/8 cup apple juice
1/4 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1/4 cup yogurt, plain

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together flours, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.

Soften butter. (remember, soft, but not melty)

In a smaller bowl, with your hand mixer (or your strong arms) mix the sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla.
Beat well.

In a food processor, combine steamed broccoli, zucchini, apple, banana, apple juice, and applesauce.

Pulse until thoroughly mixed. (Don't make it a smoothie - just so it is all "smooth" that makes no sense until you try it)

Shred carrots.  If you don’t want the shreds in your muffin, combine your carrots with the rest of the fruits and veggies in the food processor. I added my carrots to the wet mixture so they would stay in shreds, my kids are really familiar with carrots in muffins (and cake) so it was very normal to them, if your kids might be timid, go ahead and blend them.

Combine the fruit and veggies, carrots, and yogurt, into the wet ingredient mixture sugar/butter/eggs) and beat until mixed.

Finally, add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined and wet.

In a muffin tin, place muffin papers or spray with cooking spray.

Scoop the mixture into a prepared muffin pan.  Fill each spot about 3/4 of the way full.

** For mini muffins: Bake in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes for mini-muffins

**For regular size muffins: Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes.

Bake until the tops are slightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean or they bounce back when you touch them with your finger.

Veggie Filled P.F. Chang Lettuce Wraps

 P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps are a seriously HUGE internet copycat sensation. Everyone with a food blog has practically done it - this is actually my second time.  - But this time, I wanted to save money and make it a little more veggie friendly, so I chopped up pretty much every vegetable that I had in my fridge and added it to the meat mixture.

SERIOUS WIN! I will never ever ever make them the other way again.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 pound ground chicken

2 Cups total chopped Veggies ( I used Cauliflower, Zucchini, Celery - but you could try Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms, Sweet Potato or Butternut Squash Cubes)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon Sriracha, optional

1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced

2 green onions, thinly sliced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 head butter lettuce (Butter lettuce is used traditionally, but I had Romaine in the fridge)

Instructions:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.

In a separate pan, (or in the same chicken skillet - with the cooked chicken removed) add your veggies and cook them to your desired done-ness. I wanted mine to stay crisp so I cooked mine for just a few minutes.  Then add your chicken back to the pan. 

Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and Sriracha until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes.

Stir in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-style.

Lemon Pepper Grilled Zucchini

I should be embarrassed sharing this with you and calling it a "recipe" because it was so ridiculously easy. 

But on the other hand, it would be a Crime NOT to share this with you - for that exact same reason. 

Ingredients:

Zucchini and Summer Squash
Olive Oil
Lemon Pepper seasoning

Instructions:

Slice your zucchini into spears. I slice mine down the center into half - and then I halved the halves. But the yellow squash were bigger, so I slice them into halves and then into thirds.  This is NOT as complicated as I just made it sound. 

Put them into a plastic ziploc bag and add your olive oil and lemon pepper - Shake! Shake! Shake!

Then just toss them on your grill and let the magic happen. 

I don't know exactly what happens to food under that grill lid over those flames, but it turns these zucchini spears into heavenly vegetables that will have you getting up at 9:30 at night to snack on vegetables from the fridge.

The Simplest Way to Freeze Zucchini

How to Freeze Shredded Zucchini

Sometimes stocking the freezer for later can seem like a lot of work.  A lot of veggies require blanching before they can be frozen, which always sounds hot and steamy to me in the middle of the summer. Fortunately, shredded zucchini doesn’t require much work.  Here are the simple steps…

Shred the Zucchini – Simple enough, right? When I have a lot of zucchini on hand, I like to use my food processor for this, but a box grater works just as well. I generally don’t peel the zucchini unless the skin is particularly tough.  If you have giant leg-sized zucchini, just scoop out the mature seeds from the center and shred the rest of the zucchini.

Portion Out the Zucchini – It’s easiest to store the zucchini in portions that work well for recipes. My preference is to store the zucchini in 1 cup portions.  Simply measure out 1 packed cup of shredded zucchini and transfer it to a zipper sandwich bag.

Seal the Individual Bags – Be sure to squeeze the air out of each sandwich bag and seal them well so that the zucchini keeps well.

Double Bag and Label – Sandwich bags aren’t really designed for freezer storage, so I like to double bag my zucchini.  I put 4 of the small sandwich bag portions in a larger freezer bag.  Then, be sure to label the bag so you remember what it is in a few months when you’re digging through the freezer.

Freeze It! Just put the zucchini in the freezer and you’re good to go.

Baking with Frozen Zucchini

You can use the frozen zucchini in just about any recipe that calls for shredded zucchini.  Simply remove it from the freezer and thaw it in a mesh strainer or colander (to remove excess moisture) before using it in the recipe!

Baked Cheddar Zucchini Fritters

Just when I thought that my kids might be getting tired of all the zucchini that we have been eating, I decided to make these. They are so yummy and different from a lot of other zucchini recipes out there - I have even had several people ask me for the recipe after they tried them.  

You are going to want to make these, Trust me. 

This is the original Food $ense recipe -  I altered mine a bit. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups packed shredded zucchini (no need to peel the zucchini - but to make them Extra crunchy - squeeze as much water out of the shredded zucchini as you can)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 - 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 cup panko or regular bread crumbs  (You could use Italian, but I really prefer to have the plain Panko in my pantry - so that is what I used. ) 

1/4 teaspoon dried basil (or 1-2 teaspoons fresh)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

 Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly coat with cooking spray or lightly grease an unlined baking sheet. Or if you have silicon sheets, use those.

Place the shredded zucchini in a clean kitchen towel and wring out all the excess water over the sink until the zucchini is really dry.

Place the zucchini and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until combined.

Drop the mixture by tablespoonfuls on the prepared baking sheet and lightly press the mounds with your hands to flatten slightly.

Bake for 16-20 minutes until the edges are golden.

Fresh Corn and Zucchini Pie

This amazing vegetable pie can be made with our without a crust. I made it without the crust and used parchment paper that I put a little bit of butter on. 

The ingredients and the cheese made the pie "set" perfectly and I really pleased at how easy this crust-less pie turned out. 

You can add a crust if you want, just prepare one your favorite way and use this recipe for the filling. 

Ingredients:

If Using - 1 pie crust - You can use a frozen one, make your own, or use a pre-made one

Filling:

4 tablespoons butter

half of a yellow onion, diced

2 ears sweet corn

2 large zucchini, sliced very thinly (about 4 cups)

1 tablespoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon salt

12 ounces shredded cheese (I used both Mozzarella and Swiss)

4 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Heat the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions, and the zucchini. 

While the veggies saute, cut the corn kernels off the cob. Add them to the pan and continue to saute until the veggies are soft, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Once the mixture has cooled for a few minutes, stir in the basil, oregano, salt, cheese, and the beaten egg. 

 Line a pie pan (9-inch or larger) with parchment paper or just grease a pan with nonstick spray.

Transfer the mixture to the pan. Arrange the top so the zucchini slices lay flat and look nice. Top with a little extra cheese for looks, cover with greased foil, and bake for 20 minutes. 

Remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes to brown the top. 

Let stand for 10-15 minutes before cutting into slices.

It will bubble up a little bit as it bakes, so put a pan under to catch drips if it's really full. 

Also, there was a little extra watery-ness (about 2 tablespoons) in the bottom of my pan when I sliced it, but the pieces held together perfectly so not a bid deal. I think the moisture could be prevented by just being a little more patient before cutting.

You can sprinkle yours with fresh herbs (parsley and cilantro or even basil or chives) 

Spiced Zucchini Whoopie Pies

Oh be Still, My Heart!

I made these for my dad, he is trying to eat much better and cut out processed food and chemicals and that has meant that he had to give up his beloved - Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. 

He has missed them. So I really wanted to try and see if I could make a spiced cookie with marshmallow pie that I could feel good about feeding my family. 

These turned out even better than I could have hoped. The cookie was so delicious to eat a a bunch of them "plain" without the middle. I even gave the baby a few plain cookies and he devoured them. 

But the passed the most important test of all, my Dad loved them. 

Ingredients:

Cookies:

½ cup butter

½ cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten fluffy

1 teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups zucchini, finely grated

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

3 cups flour

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1¾ cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a mixing bowl combine butter, sugar, brown sugar. Then add in beaten eggs and vanilla. 

Add baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, ginger, nutmeg and flour. Mix until all blended together. 

Then fold in grated zucchini.

Drop batter onto cookie sheet in about the size of a 1¼ inch cookie dough ball. These cookies tend to grow during cooking.

Bake for about 11 minutes.

Remove from cookie sheet onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Then mix all of the frosting ingredients together until smooth and frost one cookie. Add another one on top to make a whoopie pie sandwich cookie.

Cheese & Garlic Zucchini Bread

There is just not enough zucchini in the world right now for me. I could put it in everything and anything. I eat it plain and cook it up and oh, I love to bake with it.  There is not a single thing that you put zucchini in that isn't just delicious! 

These little loaves back up with a biscuit texture. You can make them into a single large loaf, put them into a muffin pan or drop them onto a sheet and make them as biscuits. They are amazing!

Did I mention they were amazing? - And also delicious!

Ingredients: 

3 c all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 c shredded zucchini

3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 c of finely chopped green onion

1 Tbs fresh dill (or 2 tsp dry dill)

2 lg eggs

1 c buttermilk

4 Tbs of melted butter

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 & prep a loaf pan (I used a 4 loaf mini-loaf pan)

In a really large bowl, Whisk together your dry ingredients:

- 3 c all purpose flour

- 4 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (feel free to get pretty liberal with the garlic)

Then add to the same bowl :

- 1 c shredded zucchini

- 3/4 c shredded cheddar cheese

- 1/4 c of finely chopped green onion

- 1 Tbs fresh dill (or 2 tsp dry dill) (or Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Any Mix) Herb it UP!! 

Toss and coat the above ingredients with the flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the following:

- 2 lg eggs

- 1 c buttermilk  (I make mine using regular milk and lemon juice)

- 4 Tbs of melted butter (make sure you butter isn't too hot, It will cook your eggs)

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, and gently mix until just moistened.  The batter will be lumpy.  This is essentially a biscuit dough, you are going to want to mix it together just until it is moist.  Resist the urge to work it any more than that. I know... It is hard. 

Pour it in your loaf pan and put it in the oven.  If  baking in a regular-sized loaf pan, cook for about 50 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test.

If you are using a mini loaf pan, start checking for done-ness at about 25 minutes, muffins start testing at 20 minutes and for biscuits check at about 15-18 minutes depending on how big you made them.