Make A Meal Monday...on Tuesday. Again.

It just seems like I'm a day late and a dollar short. But I'm really not a dollar short. I have enough, thank you. But a day late, yes! This is the ZUCCHINI verson. Because. I. Have. Zucchini. If you don't have zucchini at your house....what's wrong with you?! We should all have zucchini in our homes at this time of year.
It's gotten much bigger since this picture was taken. It is taking over the garden. Zucchini everywhere! There are also tons of pumpkins in my garden. But I'll post those another time.

I have one zucchini plant because more than that is insanity at it's best. Or worse. I'll let you decide!

And you would think I would put all the zucchini together in a bunch so you can take in all the lovely zucchininess at once. But no. I only pick one a day and then use it.

So what do you do with all that zucchini?? I found some real ideas. Because when you just throw it into everything you make, the kids start to complain. Cold zucchini cereal just isn't cool I guess. Whatever.

So this is one great recipe I used. It's called Spaghetti Zucchini Bake. It's yummy. But don't tell your kids the real name. Mine get scared when I put zucchini in a sentence. So let's call it Yummy Dinner That You Will Eat, Or You Can Just Go To Bed.

You will need:

1 lb. Penne or just whatever pasta your kiddos like.

1 lb Ground Beef, browned and drained.

2 cans Diced Tomatoes

1 can Mushrooms

1 can Tomato Paste
1/4 cup Diced Onions

2 Cloves of Garlic, minced or crushed

4 cups Zucchini, cut into chunks

1 tsp Oregano

2 tsp Basil

2 cups Mozzerella Cheese, grated

Salt to taste

Cook pasta until tender. In another pot, combine diced tomatoes, mushrooms, tomato paste, onions, garlic, oregano and basil. Heat to boiling and simmer 5 minutes. Place zucchini in microwave safe bowl and zap for 3 minutes. Add zucchini and ground beef to sauce. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pasta and 1 cup cheese and stir together. Put in a baking dish and top with remaining cheese. Place under broiler until cheese is melted. If you aren't ready to serve yet, wait and then bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

And then you need dessert. Because we all need dessert. And we all need chocolate. This next recipe is good. If you like zucchini in your dessert. I tell ya, I thought I loved it. I really did. It smelled divine. But zucchini should really stay in garlic and butter. But I'll still share it.

Death By Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup White Sugar

1/2 cup Butter

1/2 cup Oil or Apple Sauce (You know, if you want to be all healthy and stuff)

3 eggs

2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Buttermilk

2 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (For healthy!)

1 tsp Allspice

1 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Salt

4 tsp Baking Soda

6 Tblsp Cocoa Powder

4 cup grated Zucchini

1 cup Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 325. Cream sugars, butter and oil. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix in well. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, then add to sugar mixture. Fold in grated zucchini. Pour into greased 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle top of cake with chocolate chips. Eat the 5 chips that scatter onto the counter! Bake for 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

And then we have this. Because I had leftover crockpot chicken with gravy stuff. So why not throw in some garden stuff, including zucchini, and then add some mashed potatoes on top? Seriously! This is the best of all this stuff to me. Because I made it up as I went and it turned out yummy! You see the green beans? The carrots? The zucchini? The onions? Those are all from my garden. Mmmmm...

Just as a side note, before giving you the recipe. kind of. No girl should be without real garlic ready to be thrown in something! But no girl should be without this... Garlic powder. It makes me happy!

Leftover Crockpot Chicken and Gravy with Garden Veggies and Mashed Potatoes on Top!

So here's what you can do if you don't have leftover chicken. Just get some chicken, cook it, chop it into bite sized pieces. Then get some chicken gravy mix. Make it and then add Cream of Mushroom soup. Mix well and throw it on the chicken in the baking dish. Add whatever veggies you have. Don't forget the garlic powder!! And don't forget the zucchini. Make some killer instant mashed potatoes from the dry pack cannery. Put them on top. Bake at 350 for, oh, say, 20-30 minutes.

It was a hit. Zucchini is everywhere. It may even be evil. But if you use it daily and try to hide it whenever possible, your kids may... Never mind. Your kids will still hate you! Unless they really really really really really like zucchini. In everything. Everyday!

That's all I've got to say on the matter!