zucchini

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

February 28, 2018

If you are a parent trying to sneak in extra veggies into your child’s diet…or just an adult who needs to sneak veggies into your own diet (like me), then this is the recipe for you!

Zucchini is one of those wonderful vegetables that can be a total chameleon. It can replace noodles, added to bread, and accompany some chocolate in these delicious muffins!

For those of you worried about the presence this green-skinned squash in your chocolate zucchini muffins, trust me, these muffins are way more chocolate than zucchini. At least in taste.

The zucchini actually has no taste or texture, really. It just makes the muffins super moist and extra delicious without a whole lot of extra fat or sugar. Okay, there’s plenty of sugar in here, but not as much as you would expect for a chocolate muffin!

How to Make It

First, break out your grater and grate 1 big zucchini. That should give you more than enough zucchini to add to the batter.

I recommend that you let your zucchini drain on some paper towels while you prepare the rest of the batter so that you don’t add too much extra moisture.

Next, assemble the dry ingredients in one large bowl. Give them a good whisking to break out any lumps and bumps in the flour and cocoa powder.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine all of the wet ingredients (except the zucchini). Mix the wet ingredients together to break up the egg and emulsify everything into one smooth liquid.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until it forms a very thick batter.

Fold in the shredded zucchini which will immediately loosen up the batter so that it feels more like a regular muffin batter.

If you want even more chocolaty goodness, toss in some chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into prepared muffin tins then pop them in the oven to bake.

Note: I prefer to use an ice cream scoop for portioning out my muffins because it’s a perfect size! And much easier to use!

Once they come out of the even they will have risen slightly over the edge of the muffin liner and the chocolate chips will be soft and melted.

Because these muffins are so moist, thanks to that zucchini, you definitely want to let them cool a bit before sinking your teeth into them. Otherwise, they will just fall apart right in your hands. Not that that’s a bad thing. I am just warning you so you can either grab a paper towel beforehand or just eat them over the sink.

All in all, these chocolate zucchini muffins are not a bad way to sneak in an extra serving of veggies into my diet!

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Zucchini Squash Fritters

March 29, 2017

What is a girl to do when she buys a Costco sized bag of zucchini and summer squash? I mean, I can only eat zoodles so many meals in a row. Baking zucchini bread seemed to defeat the purpose of buying the zucchini in the first place (not to stuff my face with carbs). So I thought I would try something a little different: zucchini squash fritters!

Not only did I now have a healthy and delicious lunch option that wasn’t a bowl of zoodles, but was finally able to use the one attachment I have never used on my food processor! The grater!

Let me tell you, that was almost more satisfying than actually eating the fritters.

Start by grating your zucchini (and in my case, also some summer squash) in whatever way you prefer. If you have a food processor, break out that grater attachment and have some fun!

Then dump your grated squash into a colander and set it in the sink or over some paper towels. Sprinkle in some salt to extract the moisture a bit more quickly.

After about 15 minutes, transfer the zucchini to a couple layers of paper towels and then squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Add it to a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients, including two different types of cheese, garlic, turmeric, and black pepper.

I have been on this kick of adding turmeric to a lot of my food just for all the health benefits. (Don’t believe me? Just Google “turmeric” and you would have to dig pretty deep past all the healthy articles before you got to any recipes.) But it also adds a nice subtle flavor that goes really well with the zucchini.

Finally, mix the zucchini in with the rest of the ingredients and form into ball. Place the balls into a hot, oiled pan and press them flat into their fritter shape. Once the first side starts to brown, they should be easily lifted off the pan. If you meet any resistance, they may not be fully cooked, or you don’t have enough oil.

I guarantee you will be pleased with these little zucchini squash fritters. They are a little crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside. Since there is a little cheese hidden in there, every once and a while you will get a little of that melted goodness.

These made for the perfect light lunch and the second most delicious way to use up some extra zucchini (first if obviously this way).

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:146]

Zoodle Pad Thai

February 1, 2017

My husband and I are lucky enough to live within waking distance of some pretty great restaurants. We have everything from good old Southern fried chicken to a raw-vegan restaurant. While my husband refuses to go to the raw-vegan restaurant, it is definitely one of my faves when my body is just craving something healthy. It was there that I was first introduced to the zucchini noddle (zoodle) pad thai. Even without the meat and the noddles, it was amazing and I have been itching to try something like it at home!

But in order to make thing something that my husband would eat, I had to add some meat and lightly cook the veggies. While he’s pretty good at trying everything I make, I think he draws the line at a bowl of uncooked vegetables.

I started by sauteing thin slices of chicken breast in a bit of sesame oil until the were browned and completely cooked through. I created some space on the pan and cracked in one egg, scrambling it and letting it cook through. Then I added in the shredded carrots (pre-shredded from the store), julienned red bell pepper, and my zoodles and gave them a good toss in the remaining oil and chicken. After about a minute, I poured over a very simple (and light!) pad thai sauce.

It only took about another 5 minutes for the sauce to thicken and caramelize around the strands of zucchini noodle, and for the veggies to get nice and tender.

After that, I just plated it up with some crushed peanuts, sprouts, and cilantro! Now I had my very own zoodle pad thai!

It was so delicious, but not overly heavy like a traditional pad thai can be with it’s thick peanut butter sauce. It was the perfect light dinner that I bet even my husband would enjoy!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:122]

How to Make the Perfect Zucchini Noodles

January 6, 2017

So I made the mistake of making my first grocery store trip on Monday, February 2nd at 4:00 pm. You know who else was doing their grocery shopping at that very moment?

EVERYONE!

I should have known how crazy the store would be when 1) I couldn’t find a parking spot, and 2) couldn’t find a shopping cart. Once I got inside, I couldn’t find anything on my list! The store was cleaned out! Well, not completely. Just of all the healthy stuff. It’s almost like everyone had started a diet or something…

Once I realized they were out of zucchini, I just upped and left. Apparently everyone and there mother plans on cooking with zucchini this week. And I have a sneaking suspicion they will be making zucchini noodles!

Sounds like the perfect time to share my method for making the perfect zucchini noodles!

My method for making zucchini noodles starts out just like any other…by spiralizing the zucchini. I use my Kitchen-Aid attachment, but you can use counter-top or a handheld spiralizer if you want something a bit more budget friendly.

My advice, start with the handheld version, which you can get for under $10, just to make sure you like zucchini noodles. If you do, you can consider upgrading to another device.

After all the zucchini has been spiralized, I lay them down on a couple layers of paper towels then sprinkle them with salt. The salt actually draws out some of the moisture which helps reduce the sliminess of the zucchini noodles.

Then, to get rid of that moisture, I press some paper towels into the noodles to soak up all that zucchini juice.

Now this next step, which I think is key, comes from the genius that is my husband. He always hears me complain about how my zucchini noodles are soggy, no matter what I do. So he came up with the bright idea of spinning them through a salad spinner!

I thought he was a little crazy at first, but I was amazed at how much extra water came out of those noodles! Soggy noodles no more!!

From this point, there are several ways I like to cook my zucchini noodles.

Saute them – The primary way I cook my zucchini noodles is by sauteing them in a teaspoon of oil (especially herb infused oil) for just a few minutes.
Blanch them – I only cook my noodles this way if I am adding them to soup or something else that’s already pretty soggy.
Don’t cook them – Zucchini noodles are also good raw! I like to add raw zucchini noodles to salads for some fun textures.

So there you have it, my method for ensuring that I have perfect zucchini noodles every time! And if you need some inspiration for some zucchini noodles recipes, I have quite a few coming to the blog soon!

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Homemade Zucchini Bread

July 27, 2016

I had my very first piece of zucchini bread at a place called Bread Winners in Dallas. As one can assume by their name, they have pretty great bread. If you are ever in Dallas, I would highly recommend going for brunch. Not only is their menu amazing, but they serve you a nice warm basket of bread (that includes their delicious zucchini bread) when you sit down.

But up until then I had absolutely no interest in making or tasting zucchini bread. No offense to all the zucchini out there, but putting it in bread didn’t sound all that appealing. If you haven’t had zucchini bread before, you may feel the same way I did. And like Bread Winners did for me, I hope I can change your mind!

So what makes zucchini bread so good?

Cinnamon.

Nutmeg.

Zucchini.

Oh yeah, the zucchini actually serves a purpose (other than making you feel like you’re eating something healthy…serving of vegetables – check!)! It makes the bread super moist and soaks up all the wonderful flavors from the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Because I had never made zucchini bread before, I did a lot of research of various recipes around the internet. What I didn’t like about most of them was that they included raisins or cranberries and large pieces of nuts. Hard pass on both of those.

In the end, I pretty much adapted my banana bread recipe, swapping out the banana for shredded zucchini and adding in coarsely ground walnuts instead of whole ones.

Once I had shredded the zucchini and ground down the walnuts, the rest of the batter came together in no time. But I can’t say the same thing for the baking. “Quick” breads like this may save you time because you don’t have to let them proof, but they still take a long time to bake. One loaf took a little over an hour in my oven (which is notoriously inconsistent). It may not take as long for you, but I would recommend setting your timer to 50 minutes, and checking it every 5-10 minutes after that if it’s not done.

But it was well worth the wait! I couldn’t help but cutting right into this loaf and having a warm slice with my coffee on Sunday morning. It was delicious! There is absolutely no zucchini flavor (does zucchini have flavor?), but instead tastes so warm and rich thanks to the cinnamon, nutmeg, and walnuts.

Actually, this would be a great recipe to make in the Fall and Winter now that I think about it.

If you make this bread, tell me how you like it or if there is anything you would change. Also, if you live in Dallas and are familiar with Bread Winner’s Zucchini Bread, you will have to let me know how this stacks up! It’s been a while since I have been there.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:58]

Zucchini Lasagna

July 11, 2016

After a weekend of eating like crap, the first thing I cut out of my diet is processed carbs, like bread and pasta. That is, of course, until the next weekend when apparently all carbs are back on the table. Fortunately this little diet roller coaster has made me somewhat of an expert at making my favorite dishes without those pesky carbs, like this zucchini lasagna.

This healthy zucchini lasagna has quickly become one of our favorite dinners. To me, is tastes exactly like a classic lasagna, but better because I know I am not eating all that pasta along with it.

I will say, though, that cooking with zucchini can be a little tricky. If not prepared right, zucchini can get really soggy and mushy once it’s cooked. So for this particular dish, I sliced the zucchini really thinly on a mandolin. Then I laid all the slices out on paper towels and sprinkled then with salt to draw out all the moisture.

While the zucchini was doing its thing, I prepared the rest of the ingredients for the lasagna, including the meat sauce. I made the meat sauce with ground turkey and my classic pasta sauce.

To assemble, I could have layered everything in a casserole dish like you would normally make a lasagna. But for this zucchini lasagna I baked it in this mini loaf pan which makes it so much easier to portion out and serve.

I started by spooning a little bit of the sauce down at the bottom of the pan, then topped it with strips of the zucchini. On top of the zucchini, I spread on a bit of ricotta and sprinkled on some mozzarella cheese. After that, I just repeated all those steps, starting with the sauce. I ended with a layer of sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.

Once everything has baked together, and the cheese has melted over the sauce, and the sauce has soaked into the zucchini, I can barely tell that I am eating a healthy version of lasagna. It’s packed with all the same flavors and textures of a classic lasagna.

I can honestly say that I would prefer this lasagna over the pasta filled version. Not only does it taste just as good, but it doesn’t have all that guilt. This is one of my husband’s favorite meals that I make. Not just one of his favorite healthy meals. Favorite meals. That’s saying a lot.

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Lemon Squash Muffins

September 5, 2013

These muffins were inspired by a recipe I saw in a recent Women’s Health magazine for lemon zucchini bars. I had obviously heard of zucchini used in baked goods before – in breads, muffins, even brownies. But it was always green zucchini, and it was always paired with chocolate.

A light bulb went off in my head and I immediately felt the need to translate the lemon bar recipe into a muffin recipe.

The grated squash not only replaces the need for some of the flour and sugar, but it keeps the muffins very moist. It does not add much flavor or texture, which is great if you are weirded out by having a vegetable in your muffin.

Other than the squash, the recipe I used was fairly close to my standard muffin recipe. I used egg whites instead of a whole egg to cut down on the fat. Because of the added moisture from the squash, the extra fat isn’t needed. I also cut back on some of the sugar even though I was using a pretty tart fruit like lemon. If you prefer your lemon baked goods on the tarter or sweeter side, you can adjust your recipe accordingly.

As usual, feel free to use whole wheat flour, almond milk, or sugar substitute in your recipe. Just bare in mind, it may change the flavor or consistency of your muffins slightly.

What other ways would you use a vegetable in a baked good?

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