Happy National Zucchini Day!

betsygee

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There's a holiday for everything. :lol:

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My brother-in-law gave us some huge zucchini from his garden so I've been making zucchini recipes this week. Earlier this week, I made double chocolate zucchini muffins and crustless zucchini pie, both delicious. :yummy:

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Tonight I'm going to try zucchini mac 'n cheese.

Do you have any favorite zucchini recipes?

Has anyone tried freezing it? I've read you can freeze it if you blanch it first. I haven't tried it yet but probably will. I still have a ton of zucchini left! :lol:
 

LTS3

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Zucchini bread. The next door neighbor where I was growing up gave us a loaf one time :yummy: and eventually gave us the recipe.
 

1 bruce 1

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We love zucchini. If you make it with meat, or other vegetables or herbs, you can bulk out a recipe to huge amounts because it takes on the flavor of anything you make it with (kind of like green beans.)
We like it steamed, salt and pepper, and cheese on top for a simple side dish. Once or twice a week we cut up zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, onions, sometimes carrots or celery, and (if available) green beans and make ready to heat mixed vegetables. They store well in the refrigerator for a week or so if you put them in a bag or large container lined and covered with a paper towel to soak up moisture and prevent them from getting slimy.
If you hate zucchini, try it sauteed with a vegetable you like (chopped up), add some herbs, spices, or just salt or pepper and when they're done, put some shredded cheese of your choice on top and let it rest under a lid for a few minutes until the cheese melts. If you're a meat eater, cooking it with some sausage or other seasoned meat can add to this flavor. Just get creative ;)
 

Winchester

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The best zucchini recipe I use is Zucchini Relish. It takes like sweet relish for hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Several years ago, I had an abundance of zucchini in the garden and I had no idea what to do with the stuff. I refuse to let food go to waste. Rick and I had just eaten burgers with Heinz Relish and we were talking about how it was nothing but liquid anymore. I was on AllRecipes, just surfing around, and saw a recipe for Sweet Zucchini Relish. And I canned several pints of the stuff.

OMG! It is so good! I've made it every year since then. My sister and her family use it, Rick's sister and BIL use it. You would never know that it has zucchini and not cukes. I use it in our potato and pasta salads, too, as well as tuna salad, egg salad, etc. It'a really good stuff and an excellent way to use up your garden zucchini.
 

Kat0121

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I don't know why zucchini gets a bad rap. It's so good. I like the spiralized kind that I get frozen from Green Giant. I like it with a little butter and Old Bay. It's very good. Then again, Old Bay makes most foods better. :yummy:
 
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betsygee

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The best zucchini recipe I use is Zucchini Relish. It takes like sweet relish for hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. Several years ago, I had an abundance of zucchini in the garden and I had no idea what to do with the stuff. I refuse to let food go to waste. Rick and I had just eaten burgers with Heinz Relish and we were talking about how it was nothing but liquid anymore. I was on AllRecipes, just surfing around, and saw a recipe for Sweet Zucchini Relish. And I canned several pints of the stuff.

OMG! It is so good! I've made it every year since then. My sister and her family use it, Rick's sister and BIL use it. You would never know that it has zucchini and not cukes. I use it in our potato and pasta salads, too, as well as tuna salad, egg salad, etc. It'a really good stuff and an excellent way to use up your garden zucchini.
Is this the recipe? I'm going to try it--I still have a bunch of zucchini to use up! :)
 

Winchester

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Is this the recipe? I'm going to try it--I still have a bunch of zucchini to use up! :)
That's it! You might want to reduce the sugar a bit. Otherwise, it is way too sweet. I use a little over three cups of sugar per batch. Taste as you go, for the best results. Also if you want to use a hot pepper instead of sweet peppers, that will work. Read some of the reviews for the relish to get an idea!

It's really good stuff!

@lizzie has a great recipe for zucchini relish, too!
 
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betsygee

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That's it! You might want to reduce the sugar a bit. Otherwise, it is way too sweet. I use a little over three cups of sugar per batch. Taste as you go, for the best results. Also if you want to use a hot pepper instead of sweet peppers, that will work. Read some of the reviews for the relish to get an idea!

It's really good stuff!

@lizzie has a great recipe for zucchini relish, too!
:thanks:
 

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We got one of those machines for Christmas last year that makes zucchini into noodles but haven't tried it yet. We're planning on making regular noodles from scratch (boy, that's a big job :help:) sometime in September or early October, so maybe we'll break her out and do a taste test.
 

Kat0121

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We got one of those machines for Christmas last year that makes zucchini into noodles but haven't tried it yet. We're planning on making regular noodles from scratch (boy, that's a big job :help:) sometime in September or early October, so maybe we'll break her out and do a taste test.
I'll help you out. They taste like........ zucchini
They have the texture of...... zucchini

I eat them. They are good. It's just another way of eating zucchini. Are they a good way to cut carbs and calories? Yes. Will they make you not miss pasta if you really like pasta? Absolutely not.
 

Winchester

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:yeah: We have a spiralizer and use it for zucchini. I bought on sale at Amazon and it was a lower price because Cook's Illustrated had a coupon code. It's really good. Honest. But it's not pasta by any stretch. I like to saute it in oil with onions. And then sprinkle with Parm.



When we had our garden, I'd go looking through the zucchini-corn patch very faithfully, trying to find the zucchini and summer squash before they became the size of baseball bats. Inevitably, though, I'd always find one or two that got away from me. The really huge bats ended up being cut up and tossed in the compost bins where the deer and raccoons would gobble them; after they get too huge, there's really not much taste or texture to them.

betsygee betsygee Yours are gorgeous! How was your zucchini mac and cheese? I'm tempted to try that! And your muffins look yummy!

I like to make my own noodles. Yeah, it's labor-intensive, but man. They are so good. Rick's mom gave me her old Atlas pasta machine and I do use that. But I'll also just roll the noodle dough out on the counter, really really thin, and then cut the noodles out that way, using a pizza cutter. I dry them on dish towels because I don't have, nor do I want, a noodle rack; it's just something else for the cats to play with!. It works. I'll also make my own ravioli. And gnocchi. Good stuff.
 
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