2 Fun Things to do with Zucchini

Yes, I am very aware that the title of this post makes me sound like an 85-year old grandma from the depression years.

However! (and yes, I'm smiling over here in front of my laptop), since I believe firmly that good news should be shared, I am sharing two of my favorite recipes that utilize this lovely green vegetable.

Numero Uno:
I learned this one from my mama, who (although actually Irish) married an Italian and therefore learned to cook exceptionally well with olive oil and garlic:

- Chop up zucchini, summer squash, and a red pepper into various sizes and shapes
- Saute with olive oil and salt until slightly tender
- Add several teaspoons of garlic and saute for a minute or two longer (because burnt garlic is truly wretched)
- If you don't have red pepper, subsitute crushed red pepper for a punch of color and a little zing
*my addition

Buon appetito!

I can honestly say that my darling husband LOVES when I make this. This coming from a man who used to eat iceberg lettuce with cucumbers and croutons and French dressing and truly believed that was a magnanimous concession on his part in the way of vegetables. We've come a long way, baby.

Numero Dos:
If you've never tried these before, don't groan. These are truly amazing. You will notice tiny bits of green, but honestly, I think I actually might possibly like these even better than real brownies. Try them and see. If you do end up thinking they're gross (which will never happen, but still!), console yourself with the fact that you made your colon happy with the extra fiber. ;)

Zucchini brownies (from Allrecipes.com)

1/2 C vegetable oil
1 1/2 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 C zucchini, shredded
chocolate chips, as desired *my addition

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 13x9 pan. Mix first 3 ingredients until well blended. Mix next four ingredients in separate bowl. Stir into sugar mixture. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips. Spread evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Tonight, I had planned on using zucchini with dinner, but quickly realized that I was going to have two much. So I kept 2 C zucchini out for the brownies, which I'll make either tonight or tomorrow. No waste and two great recipes! Aren't I fancy?

Happy cooking!

I think it's sufficient to say that I am basically obsessed with yard-saling (doesn't that word look ridiculous?) I'm not sure why, but somewhere in my genetic make-up I have been programmed to get a rush of adrenaline and a large dose of whatever-it-is-that-puts-you-in-a-good-mood (epinephrine?) when I see those magical words on a (usually) bright neon sign. It calls my name.....piles and piles of junk delights, and who KNOWS what you will find?! What's not to love?!

Tomorrow I'm going to a church rummage sale (I went to one last weekend, also). Every other morning it is a struggle to get out of bed, but when my alarm goes off on a yard-sale day, Bam!, I'm off and running - and there's no turning back. If I get anything good, I just might have to show ya tomorrow. ;)




*The house saga: the bank gave us their final offer today! $8,400 less than their original, but $13,500 above what we had counter-offered at! Ahhhh!! Where's my fleece when I need it? Gideon had it so good......

Shake What Your Mama Gave Ya......Or Something Like That....

This post is all about using what you've got....in the kitchen. lol ;) I blogged a few weeks ago about how hard I was trying to not let any food go to waste - even produce - and I have to say, it's been almost fun to be really creative with what I have on hand. I figured I would give a few examples of things that I've done recently, hopefully to encourage you to do the same!

Lettuce - Okay, so I get reaaaaally grossed-out by wilty, brown lettuce. But have you ever noticed that lettuce usually browns on the "thick" part first, and the leaves last? I had about 1/2 bag of lettuce starting to get icky the other day - and was about to chuck it before I remembered: "Tostada Pizza!" This is a Mexican-inspired recipe (duh, Jess) from my BH&G cookbook that requires shredded lettuce on top. I had the rest of the ingredients, so Voila! I ripped off the perfectly good and crunchy leaves, chucking only the brown "thick" parts. (Seriously, what is that part called?!)

Blueberries and Bananas - I have a great muffin recipe that needs 3 very ripe bananas. Usually when I buy a bunch of bananas, for some tremendously mysterious reason, one is always left for days. Now I've started to purposely do this - adding one brown banana at a time to my freezer. When I have 3, I pull them out to defrost and make some muffins. My favorite blueberry muffin recipe (also from BH&G) only uses 3/4 C berries - perfect for that last little bit left in the bag.

Assorted produce/deli items - One of my favorite things to eat (all year round) is a pasta salad. I have found this to be a great dumping ground for tiny bits of left-over veggies. (I'm not a big fan of vegetable soup.) I've chopped up broccoli, peppers, cukes, even small pieces of carrots! Those small cuts of cheese left from a block can be cut into blocks and thrown in - so can leftover pepperoni or ham. Half a box of leftover pasta, a little Italian dressing, and some parmesan cheese, and you're good to go!

Ice cream - when you're left with a little bit of ice cream in your freezer, scoop it out and throw it in the blender with some milk! My mom used to do this all the time growing up to make more freezer room, and we loved it. I have yet to do it with my new blender, but it's a fun idea.

Just a few ideas to get those creative juices flowing! Hope this is a little inspiring for you guys! :)

It's Frugal Friday Time!

I am linking to Biblical Womanhood today because after all of my CVS posts this week, I have a few thoughts about how to make frugal gifts from your CVS purchases. Aren't I fancy? ;)

Graduation baskets:
For a high-school graduate like me who was going to college in the middle of the Ohio cornfields (yeah Cedarville!), without a car, this was such a blessing! My aunt's gift to me was a big plastic shower caddy (which I'm sure you could get at Wal-Mart or the dollar store for $3 or less) filled with all sorts of bath supplies! She loaded mine with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a pretty washcloth, razors, shaving gel, lotion, and more. If you're like me and have a stockpile of toiletries, pick yourself up a caddy and maybe some nice lotion, and you have an easy gift that most graduates will really appreciate once they get to college and realize they're broke!

Wedding shower gifts:
A close family friend from my church did the cutest thing at one of my bridal showers. She composed a little story about Chris and I, and inserted words from everyday household products to "fit" with the story. I have the story filed away, but to give you an example of how she might have done it: "I hope you will "Snuggle" [dryer sheets] close together often." Or, "I know you will bring each other lots of "Joy" [dishwashing detergent] in the years to come!" I'm sure you could creatively think of your own story, or get ideas from the internet. It was SO cute - as she read, her daughters brought each of the items to me.

This would require a little more purchasing, but you could certainly supplement it with your CVS buys - candles, air fresheners, dishwashing detergent, etc. There are many little household items you can pick up at CVS, and just like my graduation basket, this was such a blessing to me when we moved to a new state after we got married and we were trying to save all the cash we could. I still have some of those items, almost two years later!



A little creativity goes a long way - and these gifts will be remembered for their thoughtfulness long after the party is over!