Italian Sausage Soup with Tortellini

I was hoping fall cool weather, and thought making soup would encourage it to come quicker.

1 lb. sweet Italian sauage, casings removed

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 cups beef broth

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup red wine

4 large tomatoes-peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup thinky sliced carrots

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

1 (8 oz) can tomatoe sauce

1 1/2 cups sliced zucchini

8 oz fresh tortellini pasta

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a 5 quart Dutch oven, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain, reserving 1 tablespoon of the drippings.

2. Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in beef broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce, and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

3. skim fat from the soup. Stir in zucchini and parsley. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese on top of each serving.

We really liked this soup. The kid Chubbs gobbled it up. Big Chubb said that this soup was just like what he ate in Italy which means it must be good. The only thing that I would change about this recipe was the zucchini. I don't particularly care for boiled zucchini.

Here is a good substitute for red wine: beef broth plus a little vinegar, red wine preferably. 

Zucchini Cake

I found a zucchini that was hidden in the plant and got bigger than I prefer. I don't know why I thought I should use it to make a cake. The kids were already asleep by the time I frosted it and Brian was still on his trip that day. Oh, well.

Zucchini cake
1 1/2 c flour

2 c sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1 t salt
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 c vegetable oil (I substituted half the oil for applesauce.)
4 eggs
2 c shredded zucchini
1/2 c walnuts, optional

Frosting:
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 c butter or margarine, softened
1 T milk
1 t vanilla extract
2 c powdered sugar
Additional chopped walnuts, optional

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Combine oil and eggs; add to dry ingredients and mix well. Add zucchini; stir until thoroughly combined. Fold in walnuts if desired. Pour into a greased 9x13-in baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool. For frosting, in a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add powdered sugar and mix well. Frost cake. Sprinkle with nuts if desired. Store in a refrigerator. Yield: 20-24 servings.

It was good. I over cooked it a little, but the applesauce and zucchini kept it moist.

Zucchini Day 2015

We had zucchini day yesterday, sponsored by The Cupboard Project. We don't have enough to do zucchini week, but one day of all zucchini meals was pretty good.

I began with these muffins.

Zucchini Muffins

Mix together:
1 1/3 c flour
1 t salt
2 t baking powder
1/4 c sugar

Combine 1/4 c oil
2/3 c water
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c dry milk
1 c shredded zucchini

Fill greased muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Take out of pans immediately.

They were pretty good, especially considering I used whole wheat flour and, substituted the oil with applesauce. They were plenty sweet, even with only 1/4 c sugar.


For lunch Camille and I had Vegetable Quesadillas:

1 c salsa
1 c drained canned black beans, rinsed
1 zucchini, shredded
eight 6 inch fat free flour tortillas
3/4 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In medium bowl, combine salsa, beans, and zucchini. spread 1/4 mixture over each of 4 tortillas. Top each portion with 3 tbsp cheese. Cover over with another tortilla.
Heat an 8in nonstick skillet over med. heat. One at a time, cook each quesadilla, turning once until cheese is melted, about 1 min per side. Cut each into quarters.
Makes 4 servings - 5 pts per serving.

I really liked these. C told me she didn't like the red in it or the zucchini in it, but I managed to get her to eat a few bites.

Dinner was this Zucchini Beef Bake:

2 zucchini (sliced in 1/4 inch slices)
1 lb ground beef
1 T chopped onion
1/2 c diced celery
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 t salt
1/2 t basil or oregano
1/4 t pepper
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese

Layer a 9x13 pan (greased) with 1/4 inch slices of zucchini. Brown ground beef with onion and celery. Pour off grease. Stir in tomato sauce, salt, pepper, and basil or oregano. Pour over zucchini. Spread grated mozzarella cheese on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

This was especially good. Brian said it tasted kind of like lasagna. Since it has zucchini instead of noodles, it must be healthier, right? I made it in a smaller pan (8x11 maybe) because I didn't think I could spread the 2/3 lb of meat I had across a 9x13. It has been a long time since I used real ground beef instead of ground turkey. I forgot how fatty it is when you buy the cheapest kind.

Bonus Dessert! Brian actually made these a few days ago. C and O "helped." Brian commented that he didn't understand how I ever managed to cook anything without going nuts when the kids help. The cupcakes were delicious. I remember Mom making them a few times. They are pretty ugly cupcakes, but they are also very yummy. 

Zucchini cupcakes

3 eggs

1 1/3 c sugar

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/2 c orange juice

1 t almond extract

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

2 t ground cinnamon

2 t baking powder

1 t salt

1/2 t ground cloves

1 1/2 c shredded zucchini

Caramel Frosting

1 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c butter or margarine

1/4 c milk

1 t vanilla extract

1 1/2 to 2 c confectioners sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice, and extract. Combine dry ingredients; add to the egg mixture and mix well. Add zucchini and mix well. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cupcakes test done. Cool for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

For frosting, combine brown sugar, butter, and milk in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to a lukewarm consistency. Stir in confectioners sugar until desired consistency is reached. Frost cupcakes. Yield: 1 1/2-2 dozen

Oh, I forgot to mention that the cupcakes really didn't rise much at all. Brian was a little disappointed, but again, they were delicious, so appearance doesn't matter.

Zucchini Bread

Bisquick Zucchini Bread

2 c. Bisquick
1 1/2 c. zucchini, shredded
1/4 c. vegetable oil
3/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. nuts, chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of loaf pan. Beat all ingredients on low speed, scraping bowl constantly, 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan and bake until toothpick comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing. Store in refrigerator.

I made the bisquick with 2 c flour, 1 T baking powder, and 1 t salt. 

Meh, it was zucchini bread. There was nothing wrong with it, but there are other ways I prefer to use my zucchini.

Jackee's Quick Vegetarian Delight

Another good vegetable meal.

Jackee's Quick Vegetarian Delight

1 cup margarine
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ears of corn or 2 cups frozen
3 zucchini squash, sliced into round pieces
1 green pepper, sliced
1 large tomato, wedged
1 tablespoon garlic salt
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt margarine with oil in skillet. Saute husked corn off the cob for 10 to 15 minutes.
Add zucchini and green pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add tomato. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes more.
Season with garlic salt and salt and pepper.
Serve over rice.

I did not use 1 cup of margarine! I couldn't decide whether or not that was a typo on the recipe card. I replaced it with a cup of chicken broth, which gave it some good flavor without the heart attack waiting to happen. I also didn't use a tablespoon of garlic salt. I just seasoned to taste with garlic powder, salt, pepper.

It was pretty fast, pretty cheap, pretty healthy, and pretty good. It made a lot, enough for two meals for us. Take note for upcoming zucchini season.

Zucchini Bars

I had some zucchini I needed to use up, so I made these.

From Allrecipes

Zucchini Bars 

    These bars are so delicious that my family can eat the entire batch in one day!!! They are very easy and moist. Prep time: approx. 15 minutes Cook time: approx. 25 minutes Ready in: approx. 40 minutes Makes 1 9x13 pan (24 servings).

3 eggs

1 c. vegetable  oil

2 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/3 c. all purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 c. grated zucchini

1/2 c. margarine

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese

2 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the zucchini. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, blend together the margarine, cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Spread over cooled bars before cutting.

This recipes was very similar to Mom's carrot cake recipe. You could barely tell there was any zucchini in it. Big Chubb said it tasted like buttered popcorn (?) the Little Chubb and Baby Chubb gobbled it up, so I'd say it was a success. I liked it enough to eat too much of it. 

My only problem with this recipe is that it took about twice as long to bake as the recipe said. If I would have taken it out at 25 minutes we would have still been eating batter.

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Parsley Brown Butter

Brooke just threw up all over me.  Actually, all over everything--the floor, her beloved teddy, the couch, herself, my hair, and down my shirt.  We finally got everything cleaned up and the smell of vomit lingers in my nose.  Needless to say, food does not sound very appetizing right this moment.  Good thing I had already cleaned up this tasty dinner.

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Parsley Brown Butter
from eatingwell.com

I used whole wheat gnocchi

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 medium shallots, chopped
• 1 pound zucchini, (about 3 small), very thinly sliced lengthwise (see Tip)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter is beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add shallots and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, nutmeg and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Parmesan and parsley. Add the gnocchi and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Well, I love this meal.  Jacob doesn't like zucchini, so he wasn't a big fan, but he ate it graciously.  Brooke wouldn't touch the zucchini with a ten foot pole (side note--I'm never going to get my zucchini week with a family that doesn't like zucchini), she already dislikes tomatoes, and she thought the gnocchi had a weird texture, so she kept putting it in her mouth, then spitting it right back out.  My only issue was the nutmeg.  Maybe it's my altered taste buds, but I felt like I put too much in.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to eating leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a quick, tasty dinner. 

Something

I have no idea what this recipe is called. It is kind of like Maque Choux.

2 Tbsp. Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup Kraft Mexican Style Shredded Four Cheese with a Touch of Philadelphia
1/2 cup Breakstone's or Knudsen sour cream
3 slices Oscar Meyer bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

MAKE IT

Heat dressing in large skillet on medium-high  heat. Add vegetables; cook and stir 8-10 minutes or until crisp tender. Remove from heat.

Stir in cheese and sour cream; cook on medium heat 3 to 5 min. or until cheese is melted and mixture is heated through, stirring frequently.

Top with bacon and cilantro.

Well, let me admit I did not use any name brand ingredients in this dish and left of the cilantro. I don't think it would have made any real difference to the dish anyway. We all liked it, except Little Chubb doesn't like to eat zucchini if he is aware that it is in the dish.

Vegetable Gratin and Gross Tuna Burgers

Last night we had tuna burgers with vegetable gratin for dinner.  Jacob was not excited.  Tuna burgers are not a favorite of his and he hates zucchini (is that possible? I guess no zucchini week for us).  Surprisingly, he very much liked the vegetable gratin.  He went back for thirds and finished it off for lunch today. 

Vegetable Gratin

1/4 c creamy spread mustard
2 T oil
1/2 t italian seasoning
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 c bread crumbs
3 small zucchini thinly sliced
3 medium tomatoes
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine spread, oil, and spices.  Mix 1 T spread with bread crumbs.  In lightly greased pie plate, layer 1/2 zucchini, overlapping slices.  Dot with some of mustard mixture.  Layer 1/2 the tomatoes over zucchini.  Dot with mustard, sprinkle with cheese.  Repeat with zucchini, tomatoes and mustard.  Bake uncovered at 400 degrees 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Bake 5 minutes more.

You can see we don't have a pie plate, just a shallow round cake pan, making the nice layers a little crazy.  But it was still good.  Jacob even liked the zucchini when it had mustard and cheese on it.  Jacob almost needed more sauce, but then the sauce king decided he didn't need it, which is a big deal.

The main dish was tuna burgers, but not your normal tuna burgers.  These were Cupboard Project tuna burgers.  They were not very good.  Do not make these. 

Tuna Burgers

1 can tuna
8 oz can cream of mushroom soup
buns

Mix tuna and cream of mushroom soup.  Put on burgers and bake at 400 until crispy.  Serve with dill pickles or cinnamon apple slices.

We do not have dill pickles or cinnamon apple slices, but we do happen to have a surplus of pickled beets, so we substituted. 

I like normal tuna burgers better.  Jacob thinks they are both equally bleh.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

We started getting lots of late zucchini right around the time I found out I was pregnant. The sight and smell (yes, it smells) of zucchini made me feel sick, so Brian took charge and froze all that zucchini while I hid in my room. We still have lots of it in the freezer. I don't love the texture of frozen zucchini in things like stir fry, but baked goods are the perfect way to try and use it up.

I'm almost certain I've eaten this cake before, made by Mom.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 c soft margarine
1/2 c cooking oil
1 3/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
2 1/2 c flour
4 T cocoa
1/2 t cloves
1/2 t cinnamon
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 c chocolate chips
2 c chopped or grated zucchini

Cream together margarine, oil, sugar. Add eggs, vanille and milk. Add dry ingredients then stir in zucchini. Put in greased 9''x13'' pan and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Needs no frosting!

Tip: For large zucchini, remove pulp and seeds, and if skin is not tender, peel.

Yep, it was zucchini cake. I used delicious mondo-sized milk chocolate chips, but it there would probably be better chocolate coverage if I had used small ones. Either way, it was a good basic chocolate zucchini cake.

Zucchini Latkes

Zucchini Latkes Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Our zucchini supply overcame demand over the course of four days when I forgot to pick the zucchini. This was one way to try and use a bunch of it (4 1/2 cups!).

Zucchini Latkes

Ingredients
3 medium zucchini, shredded (about 4-1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon salt, divided
2 eggs, beaten
1 small onion, grated
1/4 cup matzo meal or dry bread crumbs
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Oil for frying
sour cream, optional

Directions
In a large bowl, toss zucchini and 1/2 teaspoon salt; let stand for 10 minutes. Squeeze zucchini dry. Stir in the eggs, onion, matzo meal, pepper and remaining salt.
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into oil; press lightly to flatten. Fry for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Serve with sour cream if desired. Yield: 16 latkes

 I've made something similar and didn't love it, and now I remember why. They were oily discs of rather tasteless zucchini. Not awful, but not especially good either. Brian likened them to Paraguayan tortillas, which are basically lumps of fried flour and water and an egg if you're rich that day. Save your zucchini for the pumpkin zucchini bread.

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

This was a delicious intro to fall recipe I made a few weeks ago when the weather was cooler, and I was getting excited for fall to come. Even though today was the first day of school, it looks like we'll still be waiting a while for the fall weather to come for good.

Ingredients
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup shredded zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Pour into two greased and floured 9x5x3 inch loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until breads test done. COol in pans 10 minutes. Remove to wire rack.

We thought this bread was delicious! Before I mixed it up, I was very tempted to substitute some whole wheat flour for part of the white flour, but I stayed true to the recipe and didn't. I was also worried when I tasted the batter because it was super sweet! After baking it, we tried it. It was just the right amount of sweet.

This is the perfect recipe blend of summer zucchini and fall pumpkin. I made sure to freeze some zucchini so I can make this again later in the fall.

Zucchini Bars Plus Bonus Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

This recipe was a good use of our precious zucchini. We've gotten maybe 7-8 zucchini, but I won't be happy until I have enough zucchini to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in one day. I fondly remember the year of the zucchini in which that happened. That my friends, is what summer is all about.

Zucchini Bars, originally from Allrecipes

They were almost gone by the time I took the picture.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 cup margarine
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the zucchini. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow bars to cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting, blend together the margarine, cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until well blended. Spread over cooled bars before cutting.

These were good and very moist. I substituted 3/4 c applesauce for that much oil and used all the zucchini I had, which was 3 c. It was almost too moist, so if you add more zucchini, squeeze some moisture out and/or don't substitute quite as much applesauce as I did. They were still very good. Brian thought they tasted kind of like carrot cake, and I agree. They were more cakey than bar-y.

BONUS! 

I feel a little guilty because I changed the original recipe so much that it wasn't really the same cake, but here is a recipe for chocolate zucchini cake from Simply Recipes.  I only had the second page of the recipe (the instructions), so if someone else has the first page, maybe she can make the recipe as it was written and give a better review. Since it was printed off the internet, I looked up the website and made it from there. I don't remember exactly what I changed (it's been over a month), but I know I didn't have any orange peel or nuts, and this might have been when I ran out of brown sugar.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup soft butter
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini (from about 1 pound of zucchini)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze (directions follow)

Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1 Set the shredded zucchini to drain in a sieve over a bowl. If no moisture drains out and the zucchini feels dry, sprinkle some water over it and let the excess drain.

2 Vigorously whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bow, and set aside.

3 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugars until smooth. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a wooden spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

4 Alternately stir in the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.

5 Spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan or tube pan lightly with cooking spray (or grease with butter). Wipe off the excess. Pour in the batter and use a rubber spatula to level the top of the batter. Bake in the oven for about 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean (test at 45 min). Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.

6 Make the glaze by mixing together the glaze ingredients. You can easily do this by hand with a whisk or a spoon. If the glaze is too runny, add some more powdered sugar. If too thick, add more milk. Drizzle glaze over cake.

Cut in thin slices to serve.

Yield: Makes 10-12 servings.