Zucchini Recipes

Those huge ones are great grilled too. Cut in fat slices and put in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper etc to coat. Then grill until tender.
I also like them sauteed in evoo with onions and then when tender, I top with shredded mozz cheese, cover and remove from heat until cheese melts!

You could always slice them lengthwise, brush on some olive oil, and sprinkle with garlic salt. You grill them and they are delicious!

Cut in half lengthwise, scoop out meat and set aside. Brush the shells lightly with oil, salt and pepper. Bake the zucchini shells at 375 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, saute the zucchini meat with chopped onion, minced garlic, a small drained can of diced tomatoes (I like fire-roasted Muir Glen but any kind will do). You can also add in some ground beef or turkey as well. Once the zucchini shells are done, pull from over, top with the tomato/meat mixture and some grated cheese. Put back in the oven until cheese melts. Hope you like it.

We like to grill/saute zucchini and mushrooms together and then melt mozzarella cheese on top. Sometimes to change it up we add a little bit of corn.

This is another recipe we like:

1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper


In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 5 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 3/4 cup equals 61 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 557 mg sodium, 13 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 vegetable.

I noticed you asked for main dishes or sides but thought I would share this recipe for zucchini bread in case you hadn't thought of using it to make bread. It is wonderful with or without the nuts.

http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/zucchini_bread/

Just roast it.

Slice, not too thin, toss with olive oil, put on a foil lined pan, sprinkle with salt, put in oven, turn on at 400 degrees, watch it, take it out when soft and browned on the edges.
Its good.
My kids like it too.
Easy.

We loved stuffed zucchini.
Cut the zuke lengthwise, scoop out the seeds. Set aside.
Scoop out some of the flesh to hollow the zucchine out, leaving about a quarter inch of flesh and skin.
Mix ground beef as you would a meatloaf recipe using the scooped out flesh and even some of the seeds for moisture. You can even add uncooked rice.
Mash the meat and spices all together and stuff the hulls of the zucchini.
Lay them meat side up on a foil lined cookie sheet or place in a large baking dish. Cook until the meat is done. The zucchini shells should be tender and flavorful. You can sprinkle parmesan or another grated cheese on top during the last minutes of baking to melt.
You've got your meat and your vegetable all in one.
It's delicious.
You can serve with some pasta, cottage cheese and/or fruit on the side.
My kids absolutely love it.
My neighbor brought me some humongous zucchinis and I even made some for her.
Her husband loved it.

Best wishes.

How about dessert?

Zucchini bread (dozens of recipes out there) and a recipe for Chocolate Nut zucchini cake... yum!

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,166,151183-228197,00.html

I just use a 9 x 13 cake pan, same temp and time, and instead of melting the Baker's chocolate, I use the dry baking cocoa.... 3 TBSP dry cocoa and 1 TBSP oil =1 square baking chocolate.

I made a side dish tonight that was simple but pretty good.

Slice zucchini (as much as you want - I did rounds of an entire large one)

Slice onion (again what you want; no dicing or whatnot - I used a candy onion)

Chop garlic (my uncle just quickly cuts a few cloves in big chunks; I happened to have some minced garlic around)

Toss some oil in a skillet, throw in everything else, cover and cook over medium heat until onions are soft. You can add pepper or anything else to taste. I sauteed in basil pesto grapeseed oil this evening.

Easy, no brainer, doesn't take a lot of watching and most of all, it was eaten!

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/zucchini-spice-muffins-68...
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/zucchini-frittata-687782/

Great recipes for kids to follow as well!

If you like stuffed shells or lasagna, I grate zucchini like cheese & add it to either of those dishes. It adds flavor - and vegetables!

Slice them long ways then maranade them in italian dressing for about half an hour then grill them. Put 1/4 cup of parmesean in the italian dressing. After the zucchini is grilled mix them up in the dressing. Vey yummy!

What about zucchini bread?

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=zucchi...

Mmmmm.... all the ideas below AND

Ratatouille!

I prefer the 'movie' version:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/dining/131rrex.html
http://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/rat-a-too-ee-for-you-ee/

zucchini pancakes. kind of taste like potato pancakes. my kids LOVE them. you can google a recipe. they are simple to make

I saute a small coarsely chopped onion in olive oil with pressed garlic. Add sliced zucchini, cook for a couple of minutes then add more garlic and coarsely chopped tomatoes. Remove from heat and place in baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese melts.

Zucchini Crusted Pizza. YUM! It's a recipe from the Moosewood cookbook. You can google it. You essentially make a "pizza crust" out of shredded zucchini, mixed with flour and egg, baked, and then topped with your favorite pizza toppings. It comes out with more of a lasagna texture than pizza but it is scrumptious!

Another yummy recipe I just remembered- Ribbon Squash. Peel you zucchini using a carrot peeler. Peel into long ribbons. Saute in a pan with thinly sliced red onion and garlic for a few minutes until tender. Toss with grated parmesan and salt and pepper. Sooooo good! I also use yellow squash, but just plain zukes wouldbe good too!

How about zuchinni fries? I made some the other day and my DS and DH gobbled them up.

The only change I made to the recipe was putting them on a cookie cooling rack, then putting that on a cookie sheet (it lets the bottom side crisp) to go in the oven.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/zucchini...

We call it a Grill-Side Garden Salad. Basically you can eat it like you would salsa or pico-de-gallo. Or put it on top of your grilled meat. Or eat is as a side dish with a fork. Or put it on top of salad along with your fav salad dressing. And yes, it's all raw. And use as little or as much of each veggie as you want. We also sometimes add black beans.

1 medum zuchinni (1 cup) diced
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup white shoepeg corn (drained)
green onion
1 small ripe avocado
1/3 cup salsa (Pace's whatever you want)
2 TB veg oil
fresh cilantro
1 TB lime
garlic salt
cumin

Combine veggies. In a separate bowl combine sauce (oil - cumin). Mix together. Chill. Eat.