I’m no gardening expert, but I have learned a couple of things about zucchini:
- A few zucchini plants produce A LOT of zucchini.
- When there’s a lot of zucchini, it’s hard to even give it away.
It’s a good thing August 8 is “Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Night” just so those of us who have zucchini coming out our ears can get rid of this hearty vegetable somehow.
It’s kind of funny, really, that just a couple of weeks ago, I was lamenting the state of my little garden, and now every day I pull 2 or 3 giant zucchinis out of my garden. I swear they grow six inches overnight!
I’ve been trying to keep up with the zucchini by doing a little bit with our harvest each day. I’ve shredded some in my food processor and put in two-cup portions in freezer bags in the freezer. And we’ve tried to eat a bit of it, too. One of my favorite ways to eat zucchini is to slice it lengthwise, brush a little olive oil on it and grill it.
We also tried the recipe for Campbell’s Chicken Zucchini. This was a big hit with the family and we’ll definitely make it again. I added a teaspoon of garlic powder to the recipe and I cooked the chicken with fresh garlic. It was delicious and super simple!
I’ve also done some baking. I’ve made several loaves of Amy’s Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread – most of which disappeared before I could put it in the freezer. I also made the very decadent zucchini brownies, which are really more like cake, and oh-so-rich and yummy.
I’m looking forward to trying a few other things as well. One reader suggested making zucchini relish, and since my boys are such fans of relish, I think we may have to give it a try. I’m also hoping to make a few salads and soups with our zucchini bounty.
As much as I joke about our zucchini, I realize that we’re blessed to be have such a bounty. It will help us stretch our food budget during the winter months, and for that, I’m grateful.
What are you planning to do with your excess zucchini?
I also have an abundance of zucchini this year and made some zucchini lasagna. It was amazing. Just replace the noodles in your favorite lasagna recipe with sliced zucchini (I slice it lengthwise so it is like noodles). I also chop it into chunks and freeze it to add to soup in the winter.
That sounds delicious, Sheryl! I’ll add that to my list of things to try!
I have discovered a great recipe to use zucchini (good old Pintrest). Slice into quarter inch thickness. Dip in Olive Oil. Coat both sides with a mixture of bread crumbs and pamesean cheese. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. SOOOOO GOOOD and even my picky family will eat them!
I tried a similar recipe last summer – but it also had seasoning salt and a bit of garlic powder. Yummy!
We make zuchinni pineapple bread and make it different ways as a cake with marachino cherries and walnuts added, as a loaf, or as muffins. we also freeze both breads and the shredded zuchinni.
zuchinni pickles and relsih are also good too.
Those sound great! It’s amazing to me how many things you can do with zucchini!