6/2/13

Zucchini! Zucchini! Zucchini!


     


Hey everyone!  I cannot believe we are already into June!  Are any of you scratching your head and asking the question, "Where has this year gone?"  As I know, many of you are just starting to get some warm weather with thoughts of outdoor activities, beautiful flowers to pick, and luscious gardens that will soon be overflowing with delicious bounty.  Well, we were into the thick of all that  last month and some of our veggies are starting to show signs of withering under the AZ sun -- mainly the yellow squash, but the zucchini is still going strong.  The tomatoes are producing like crazy, too,  and will for another month or so.  Last year we only planted one zucchini and one yellow which really wasn't enough; so this year we planted two of each.  Wow, what a differnce between one and two, and I've found myself searching every where for squash recipes, especially for zucchini!  So I thought I would share a few things I've made with.....

Nature's bounty!

First I got a little creative on my own, and came up with a Squash-Chicken Soup with 
Shirataki Noodles.

I chopped enough zucchini & yellow squash to fill my crockpot, mixed Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base with enough water to make about 4 cups & added to the crockpot.  
(If you've never tried this product, you simple must.  It is so much better than regular bouillon. It's available at Costco and Walmart.)
Then I grabbed a handful of fresh herbs from my herb pot & simply laid them on top of the veggies, seasoned with Kosher salt and pepper, and let that baby do it's thing most of the day.

When the veggies were all nice and tender, I removed the herbs (their flavor had already permeated the soup) and then used my emulsifier to make it creamy.  I rinsed and drained a package of Shirataki Noodles (I use these because they are almost carb-free) & 2 cans of chicken (you could certainly use your own freshly cooked chicken), added more salt and pepper to taste and a splash of heavy cream -- you know, for the creaminess aspect!  I sprinkled on a bit of freshly grated parmesan, & we had a wonderfully delicious soup.  It made a ton, so I froze half.

Another delicious way to cook squash is grilling.
I simply brushed on olive oil, sprinkled with salt & pepper, and grilled these for about 15 minutes.

And who doesn't love a sweet bread, especially when it's loaded with veggies and you can't even tell!
Gathered my supplies for Zucchini-Pineapple Bread, recipe found HERE.

I used the same recipe and added raisins to make a double batch of muffins.

I can't even begin to tell you how good my house smelled while all of this was baking.  Truly
had my mouth watering!

Well, I don't know about you, but I pretty much cannot resist a "warm from the oven" muffin.  Please tell me you have this weakness, too.  I made myself a nice glass of iced coffee latte to go along
with my delicious muffin(s).  I called it lunch!

As for these little beauties -- we eat them like candy, tossing back a few throughout the day.
They are a "party" for your tastebuds!

I'm hoping some of you will be sharing your recipes for "garden abundance!"  Thanks so much for stopping by, and please know you are always welcome!  I'll serve you sweet tea and send you home with some nature's bounty......lol!
  
I love to party with these fine bloggers:
The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays
Karen at Sew Many Ways for Sew Darn Crafty
Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Dawn at Creative Cain Cabin for Budget Decorating Party
Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Mondays
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday
Leslie at House on the Way for Twirl & Take a Bow
Mary Beth at Cupcakes and Crinoline for Project Inspired
Kim at Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays
Karin at The Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday
Angela at Hickory Trail for Efforts and Assets
Kelly at Live Laugh Rowe for Live Laugh Linky Party
Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home
Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday
The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Oh, The Places I've Been
Jody & Stan at Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays 
Amanda at Serenity Now for Weekend Bloggy Reading

17 comments:

  1. Gosh, zucchini already? Oh, I forgot you're in AZ. We're about a month behind because of the cold Spring. Nothing producing yet...just blooms. We just have boy blooms on our squash..not girl blooms yet. I agree with you about Better than Bouillon. It's a great product to use, and organic.
    Thanks for the suggestions for what to do with all that zucchini.

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  2. Looks like you're enjoying your zukes, the soup sounds great! I have one little volunteer plant from last year, I was happy to see it:@)

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  3. Everything looks delicious! I love zucchini. The tomatoes are beautiful, I would eat that whole basket in one day all by myself! :)

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  4. How delightful, Carol! I'm the same way with the tomatoes.
    Try the Mom's Zucchini Bread at allrecipes.com. It's my favorite! We won't have zucchini for weeks yet, but I still have shredded zukes and sliced zukes frozen from the garden last year.
    What a delightful post! Loved it.

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  5. Hi Cas,
    Wow, it all looks delicious and I love zucchini bread, but never had it with pineapple,
    that is an odd sounding mix, but it must be good if you made 4 loaves of bread and muffins.....have you ever made zucchini pancakes, they are wonderful. One of the bloggers had a recipe a few years ago, and I made them, and we so enjoyed them. They also freeze well, if you put them separately on a cookie sheet and
    freeze them before you store them in a ziploc freezer bag. They are great with sour
    cream on them, and sometimes they are just a great snack, or you can use them as a
    side dish, like potatoes or mac n' cheese or something.

    I just love homegrown tomatoes, they are just incredible. My son has a garden too,
    and he is about to have a crop of tomatoes soon. I really can't believe how much
    stuff he has grown in this small plot of land, amazing.
    My son is in the ag business, and recently one of his clients gave him a ton of home grown tomatoes and he made salsa and brought it while we were at the beach, Oh my
    Heavens, that was the best salsa I have ever eaten, and it was just tomatoes, onions,
    cilantro and some lime juice. It wound up being our staple all week, ate lots of blue
    chips and salsa while we were there, and one night I toasted bread and drained the salsa with a slotted spoon and made bruschetta out of it, which was great, and the
    next day I made chicken and black bean nachos and once again strained the salsa and
    put it on top of the nachos, that was some good eating! Those home grown tomatoes
    make a tremendous difference I'll tell you, and salsa is so good for you too.

    Well, guess I better go before I write a novel...........lol

    Enjoy every bite of all that great looking food, your hubby is a blessed man!!

    Blessings, Nellie

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  6. What bounty! I love fresh vegetables but have little luck in growing them myself. Everything looks so yummy, thanks so much for sharing at Amaze Me Monday!!!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

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  7. Everything looks delicious! I'm just getting my veggies in the garden, in Zone 6B. I can't wait for fresh veggies to harvest.

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  8. Better than Bouillon is wonderful, isn't it? But I must say, I can practically smell your zucchini bread here--it looks heavenly!

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  9. Oh yum, I wanna come eat with you! LOVE grilled zucchini.

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  10. Oh yes...fresh muffins right out of the oven. Yum! Can't resist it either. :) Your tomatoes look wonderful! Such a great snack food. I love tomatoes with a little olive oil, fresh parm, and salt and pepper. Now I'm hungry. LOL!

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  11. Carol, everything looks so good! You are so lucky to have your own garden. I know the veggies taste so fresh!

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  12. Yummy! The grilled zucchini and the muffins look irresistible! That's a lunch I would like to eat too! My garden is so behind- the weather has been stinky- but now I am really looking forward to seeing something sprout, as you've got my mouth watering! :)

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  13. Hi Carol! Looks like you've been really busy in your garden. Everything looks so good. Grilled zucchini is one of my favorites and I'm definitely going to give your soup a try. I've never used that chicken bouillon base but I'm going to be on the lookout out for it the next time I go shopping. Have a great week!

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  14. Here's a funny story - you know I can't cook. Well, apparently I'm not a very good grocery shopper either. I bought a cucumber for salads. When I started cutting it up it looked a little different on the inside. It didn't really have any seeds & it didn't have the moisture that a cucumber normally has. APPARENTLY, I bought a zucchini.

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  15. Yummy, Carol ... that looks delicious! I've always wanted to try grilled zucchini ... just might have to now! Your tomatoes look awesome ... I know you're ready for cold tomato sandwiches. :)

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  16. Looks good! Where do you buy your shirataki noodles? I've only found them at a little healthfood store nearby and they don't always have them. Have you tried the Miracle Rice? I've been looking for that one too.

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  17. I can't believe you are eating tomatoes and zucchini from your garden already....we just planted ours a few weeks ago.....ahhhhh the great white north. lol Cheers

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I truly love to hear from you and try to respond to each and everyone. If you have "no reply blogger," I will respond in my comments section and then visit your blog as soon as I can.

Make this a great day!
Carol

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