Crustless Zucchini Pie

Have you eaten your fill of zucchini yet this summer?  Apparently last summer I overdosed Mr Pears with zucchini so he has been poo-pooing all my zucchini ideas lately.  But when I saw this recipe in Whole Living, I decided I was going to make it whether he liked it or not! Luckily, he liked it. :)

This zucchini pie is a great summer side dish. We served ours with grilled salmon and it was just perfect. Though it has all the same elements as a quiche, the veggies outweigh the eggs by alot so it doesn't taste like quiche, it is just a nice light veggie bake. The dill gives it a wonderful summer flavor and I loved the sweet roasted tomatoes on top and the tangy feta cheese.  This recipe was included under "Slim-down Summer Recipes" at Whole Living but unfortunately I couldn't find any nutritional information.  I'm sure it is pretty low-cal but either way this will no doubt find its way back to our table again before the summer is over. I hope you like it is much as we did.

Crustless Zucchini Pie, adapted from Whole Living
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 lb green zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
4 scallions, chopped 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 lb yellow squash, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
5 whole eggs
5 egg whites  (Save the yolks for making ice cream)
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped  (if you are using dried dill weed, you won't need nearly as much)
1 large tomato, thinly sliced
2 oz low-fat feta cheese

Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the zucchini and half of the scallions, garlic and marjoram.  Salt and pepper them and then let them cook about five minutes, or until they are a bit softened and browned.  Pour that all into a large bowl and then repeat the process for the yellow squash.

Preheat the oven to 325 F.

In a smaller bowl lightly beat together the eggs and whites and then pour them over the squash and zucchini in the large bowl.  Add the dill and mix it all together.  Pour everything into a 2 quart pie dish and then top it with the sliced tomato and crumbled feta.

Bake for 1 hour or until the top is set.  This can be served either hot or at room temperature.  Enjoy!

Zucchini-Corn Fritters

My little guys may just turn into zucchinis before the summer is over, or maybe watermelons... Zucchini is just such an easy veggie and the kids are eating a lot of it these days.  Zucchini is inexpensive and on top of that you can chop and saute it in olive oil and be done in just 5 minutes (which is awesome when you have two screaming and hungry babies). You can bake zucchini into banana bread without anyone becoming the wiser...or you can make these fritters.  These fritters are delicious, easy to make, and great for freezing.  And while they are perfect for little hands, they are so good I have a hard time not eating them all myself.  

I was actually making veggie fritters before I found this recipe in Food Network Magazine.  A fritter is a pretty simple idea: grate veggies, mix with flour and egg and fry until golden.  Easy peasy.  This recipe mixes cornmeal along with the flour though, which I really love.  The little cakes are light and sort of sweet with no sugar added at all!  These are a definite finger food favorite but they aren't just for the kiddos, I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad will love these too.

Zucchini-Corn Fritters, found in Food Network Magazine, September 2011

2 medium zucchini, grated ( I use the food processor)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 ears of corn, kernels cut off

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

freshly ground pepper

3/4 cup buttermilk 

1 large egg

vegetable oil, for frying

Toss the zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt in a medium bowl.  Allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.  The salt will help to extract excess moisture.  After 10 minutes turn the zucchini onto a kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as you can.  Set the zucchini aside.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Cook the onion and garlic until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the corn and cook for an additional 3 minutes.  Set aside.

Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and pepper in a large bowl.  Add in the eggs and buttermilk and whisk to combine.  Add the veggies and stir to combine them all.  

Now heat about 1/8 of an inch of canola or vegetable oil in your large frying pan.  Once hot, spoon about 1/4 cupfuls of the batter into the oil and flatten slightly with a spoon.  Turn the cakes when the edges begin to brown, they should cook about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.  Remove the cakes to a plate lined with paper towels and serve either warm or at room temperature.  I freeze these and then just thaw them in a small warm frying pan when I'm ready to serve them.     

Enjoy, and try to chew with your mouth closed ;)

Banana Zucchini Bread

After the kids had eaten sweet potato pancakes for a week straight I decided we might want to add another breakfast item to our finger food arsenal.  I had seen this bread on another blog and it sounded perfect.  Veggies and fruit, all in one!

This was a super easy and super quick recipe.  I had it whipped up and in the oven in the last 15 minutes before the end of nap time.   (You may want to allow yourself a little more time if you don't want to leave your kitchen looking like a cyclone hit it)  To cut down on some of the prep work I grated my zucchini in the food processor, scooped it out, changed the blade, and then used the processor to mash up the bananas.

The bread came out great!  Cooked through (not mushy) but still moist.  The kids had some bite size pieces this morning with scrambled eggs.  Kids, dogs (oops), and Parents all loved it.

Banana Zucchini Bread adapted from a great blog I've recently started following, Confections of A Foodie Bride

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 c. grated zucchini
3 Tbsp melted butter, more for greasing pan
3 Tbsp Canola oil
1/4 c. buttermilk

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat your oven to 350 F and grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan.  As I said above, I grated my zucchini first with my food processor.  Measure one cup and put that into the mixer or a large bowl.  Remove any remaining zucchini from processor, changed the blade, and pulse the bananas until mushy. (If you don't want to use the processor, a regular grater will work, and just mash those bananas up with a fork) Put the bananas into the mixer along with the melted butter, oil, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla.  Using the paddle attachment mix on low until blended.   Next add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  Pour into your greased pan and bake 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.  A knife inserted into the middle should come out with just a bit of crumbs attached.  Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out.  Finish cooling the loaf on a wire rack.  Enjoy!!