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I don’t have a recipe for you today, because I have been busy busy busy in the garden trying to preserve everything I grew this year. What you see in the above picture, that’s just the first crop of Zucchini. Since those were picked, I have twice more picked around the same amount. It’s safe to say, we’ll be eating A LOT of zucchini for the next little while.
It was a bit ironic last night I was cooking up some Rice-A-Roni for dinner. My plan was to saute some zucchini on the side and fry up some chicken with it as well. When I started reading the directions to cook the rice, I noticed it had a chicken and rice recipe on the box – and under that recipe the add in option of zucchini. So instead of 3 separate pan, I used 1 and cooked everything together. It was pretty good too.
Back on topic here – did you grow a garden this year? Did you plant Zucchini? If you did, and it was like me, your first time growing zucchini, you are probably also swimming in zucchini. My first two crops I took to my moms house. Our last crop, picked yesterday, I took care of all on my own.
Preserving Zucchini
If you’d like to preserve your zucchini the best way to do that, is in the freezer.
What you’ll need
Zucchini
quart sized freezer bags
food processor with grating attachment OR a cheese grater
a spoon
Process
Begin by washing all the zucchini. Cut off the ends, and throw them away.
If you are using a food processor (and I strongly urge you to, even if it means borrowing one from a neighbor), you’ll want to slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, and scoop out all the seeds. Then use the food processor to shred the zucchini.
Fill each qt bag with 3-4 cups of shredded zucchini. Most recipes call for at most 4 cups, so you will now have the perfect portion in each bag for baking.
If you choose to use a cheese grater (not my ideal, but I did it last night and it does work), cut your zucchini into spears, like you would a cucumber. Don’t worry about the seeds. Then go to town grating. This method does take much longer.
I did not shred all my zucchini, because it isn’t just for baking. Here are some other ways and meal ideas you can use that zucchini for.
sliced and quartered – perfect for stir fry, and sauteing.
Sliced into rounds – these could be breaded and fried
Cut into spears – also great for stir fry
Check out my freezer – I HAD to eat all the rest of our ice cream so I could fit in the zucchini. Can you believe Mark said I didn’t have to eat the ice cream..he thought I could just throw it away. shaking my head in unbelief!
The top shelf is filled to the back with zucchini, with only one bag of chicken taking up some space. The door is also stuffed with bags of zucchini and rhubarb.
~FEATURES~
Check out all these different ways you could use Zucchini!
Fresh Zucchini Tart
If you like quiche, you’ll probably enjoy this tart. Just try it!
Carrot Zucchini Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
zucchini is the perfect healthy ingredient to add to baked goods! This recipe doubles the nutrition with the carrots.
Summer Stir-fry
by far my favorite way to eat zucchini.
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