Zucchini Crust Pizza

This is one of my favorite zucchini recipes to date. I love the flavor and the fact that it makes use of our fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and my herbs. You can definitely make this without fresh herbs, but I absolutely love oregano and basil fresh from the garden.

Fresh, Healthy, and Tasty!

I've adapted this recipe from taste of home. I changed some of the ingredients and added some of my own.

Ingredients:
3 cups shredded zucchini
3 eggs, well beaten
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tbs. fresh chopped oregano or 1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano (divided)
1 tbs. fresh chopped basil or 1tsp. dried basil (divided)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sliced ripe olives
1/3 to 1/2 cup red onion chopped (could also use 2/3 cup green onions with tops)
1/2 cup either yellow, orange or red bell pepper (original recipe called for green pepper)
2 cups (8ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I probably use more, I cover the pizza to my taste)
 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
2 to 3 medium tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced. (I substituted some cherry tomatoes from our garden for some of the pizza)

Directions
Press excess liquid from zucchini and place in a bowl (I squeeze the water out a handful at a time to get most out possible). Add eggs, flour, 1 1/2 tsp. fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tbs. fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried basil, and salt; mix well.

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Spread evenly over bottom of a greased 12" pizza pan. Bake at 450 deg. for 10 to 15 mins. check after 10 mins. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 350 deg.

Sprinkle zucchini crust with olives, onion, yellow bell pepper or pepper of your choice.

Add mozzarella,  Parmesan cheeses, sliced tomatoes, and remaining oregano and basil.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. I sprinkled a little kosher salt and some fresh ground pepper on the top before eating.  Enjoy!!!

Zucchini & Avocado Salad w/ Lemon-Thyme Dressing

No you're not seeing double...

Because my husband appears to have a  zucchini fetish, I find it impossible to use or even give away the amount he grows. I challenge myself to find new recipes each year.

I was so excited to come across this recipe that I adapted from Inspired Eating! It makes use of two of the herbs I grow, and I had all the ingredients in my home.(How often does that happen?) It was delicious!

I'm sure I'll be posting many more zucchini recipes this summer!

...this is the amount my husband plants each year.

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini (about 4 small zucchinis)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 tbs. minced thyme or lemon-thyme leaves

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1 ripe avocado

Romano or Parmesan cheese (I used Parmesan)

black olives

grape tomatoes

sea salt to taste

fresh pepper to taste

(I find it best to mix the dressing ahead so it can meld 

together.)

1. Whisk oil, lemon juice and thyme together in a small bowl. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. (Let sit for a bit while you prepare the rest of the salad) 

 2. Trim and discard stems from zucchini. Using a vegetable peeler, and holding zucchini as if you were going to peel it, slice thin ribbons from the zucchini into a large bowl, including skin and white flesh. When you get to the center seed portion of, stop peeling. (I also peeled down the one end of the zucchini that has the fleshy part.) Discard center and seeds.

3.Stack basil leaves and thinly slice crosswise into very thin strips. Add to bowl with zucchini. Pour dressing over the zucchini and basil and put in the frig.

4. Heat a small skillet over low heat, and toast pine nuts for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently, until fragrant and just starting to turn golden. Remove from pan and set aside.

5. Right before serving cut up avocado, grape tomatoes, and black olives and add to the zucchini along with the pine nuts and Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately

Served with whole grain bread covered in pesto

Asian Wonton Salad

I'm not sure why, but in the summer I LOVE Asian salads, I find them so refreshing! I'm serving this salad at a Reception/Reunion up in Sparta, WI. I've served it to groups from our church and they have loved it!

Sweet Sesame Dressing

2/3 cup rice vinegar

1 cup canola oil (I used grape seed oil)

2 Tbs. sesame oil (store in frig after opened)

4 gloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbs. soy sauce

1/2 cup sugar

4 Tbs. sesame seeds (store in freezer after opened)

Place all ingredients into a quart jar (or something equivalent) and shake vigorously. If desired, make ahead of time and store in the fridge. (dressing recipe from ourbestbites.com) Sesame seeds and sesame oil go rancid quite quickly, be sure to refrigerate the oil, and put the seeds in the freezer for future use.

For the salad:

1 large head of Napa Cabbage cleaned and cut into bite sized pieces
1 large bag of Romaine lettuce
5 or 6 green onions cut up
slivered almonds
 Wonton strips (store bought, or you can bake a healthy version-recipe below)
(you can also add a little chopped cilantro to the salad like Panera does in their Asian Sesame Chicken salad)

I like to toss just the cabbage and lettuce with the dressing first (you won't use all of the dressing) to coat the lettuce, and then add the other ingredients so they stick. You can make a meal out of the salad by adding slices of chicken breast.

Wonton Strips

Stack wonton wrappers on a cutting board and cut them into 1/2 inch-wide strips. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Separate the strips, lay them on the baking sheet, and mist them lightly with the cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Scrunch each strip to give it a wavy shape, if you like. Bake at 375 until golden, 7 to 9 minutes.