Monday, August 27, 2018

A Busy Weekend & More Zucchini Recipes!

It was another busy weekend around my little house, no doubt about it. 

The garden was a mess of weeds and overgrown beds after all the rain we've had. 

And the veggie garden was spitting out cucumbers like there's no tomorrow. 

Seriously, I picked all of these on Sunday morning out of my tiny little veggie garden. Pure insanity!


Once I added them to the collection from the crisper drawer in the fridge, I actually got a little scared, I'm not gonna lie. 


Those are ALL cucumbers. Three different types. Seriously, what the heck was I going to do with all these? 

I had already put a bunch of jars of Sweet & Spicy Refrigerator Pickles in the downstairs fridge, that I made a few weeks ago.

I decided I'd make some Garlic Dill Refrigerator Pickles with some of these,  so I got to work peeling garlic and making brine. 

As I was winding down with that project, my daughter came home and begged me to make Bread & Butter pickles. 

Ummm, ok....I don't even know what those are, but sure why not? 

I did a little research and found a recipe, from the Whole Fed Farmstead blog - Easy Bread and Butter Refrigerator Pickles Recipe. 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner! 

Pickles? Done, done, and done.Whew. 

However, I still had a ginormous zucchini that needed to be dealt with. And two overripe bananas. 

What's a girl to do? 

Another google search turned up this recipe from Allrecipes for Banana Zucchini Bread Muffins - perfect!  Well.....almost perfect. They were perfect once I added chocolate chips!

I also whipped up a loaf of Zucchini Cheddar Chive Buttermilk Quick Bread, but even after that I still had about 2/3 of that massive zucchini to use up!


I decided that bread would be heavenly with a batch of Zucchini Chili for dinner that evening. I still had the food processor out, so prep was fairly easy. I ran out to the freezer and grabbed a pound of ground beef, and threw it into my favorite big red pot, and popped the lid on. 

I kept flipping it over and scraping off the meat as it defrosted/started to brown, and when it was all browned up I drained it in a fine mesh strainer and rinsed off as much of the fat as I could. 

Before I put it back into the pot, I sauteed some minced garlic (6 cloves) one yellow onion and one red onion (small dice) and a green pepper. When the veggies were fragrant and the onions translucent, the ground beef went back in along with the rest of the zucchini (grated in the food processor) and a half a bag of baby carrots, also grated. I wanted the veggies to be very fine, so you couldn't tell where one left off and one began. 

Next I threw a jar of hot peppers in tomato sauce into the food processor, ground it very fine, and tossed that in also for some heat. 

A can of diced tomatoes was next, along with a 6 oz can of tomato paste and a cup of water. 

Now it was time for the beans, all drained and rinsed. I used one can of red kidney beans, one of black beans, and one of pinto beans. 

Last but not least? My home made chili seasoning, which I keep in a small jar in the pantry. There were about 3 tbs left in the jar, so I dumped it all in. 


I gave everything a good stir, and brought it to a boil. Then I put it on the small simmer burner at the back of the stove, put the lid on, and put it on the lowest setting. 

My house smelled heavenly! 

While it was simmering, I cleaned up the kitchen, ran the dishwasher,  took the sheets off the line and re-made the bed, and vacuumed and mopped the floors. 

Every now and again I would pop into the kitchen and give the chili a good stir from the bottom, to make sure it didn't stick.


After two hours on low simmer, the chili was definitely ready. Like a good Bolognese, it needs that time cooking low and slow to really come together. 

All the veggies have melded into one amazing pot of chili. The fact that it has some heat to it is perfect, just the way I like it, because I like to serve my chili with grated cheese, sour cream, chopped scallions, and a good bread. 


Perfection!

A very, very productive weekend, and another easy peasy amazing way to use up some more of that zucchini. 

I have my eye on a few recipes out there that I'd like to try as well:


Zucchini Parmesan Crisps from The Food Network 


Sweet Potato Zucchini Tots from Life Made Sweeter

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies from The Recipe Critic



Cheesy Zucchini Tots from Lil Luna


Smoked Sausage and Zucchini Skillet from Yellow Bliss Road 

Here are five more ways to use up all that zucchini, from a post I wrote in 2016. 

What's your favorite zucchini recipe? 

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Sharing at Share Your Cup

38 comments:

  1. Oh wow, all those wonderful pickles and that bread and muffins sound totally devine, but my mouth is watering at that Chili. I've never had zucchini chili, but I probably need to try it. You really were one busy person.

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    1. You don't notice the zucchini in it at all, Marty, it just tastes like regular chili....but it's healthier since I jam so many veggies into it!

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  2. You know I have to say my favorite zucchini recipe is Chocolate Zucchini cake!! Your chili sounds crazy good....I must try it when Fall rolls around. You make great use of your weekends but you must sit down and put your feet up... a little!! :-)

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    1. We already made three of your chocolate zucchini cakes so far this season, AnnMarie - two are in the freezer and one is in our tummies!! :)

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  3. Wow Debbie, You have been working like mad there in your kitchen...not to mention your garden. All the things you made and canned and all the breads look amazing. I hope you get to rest soon. :):) Blessings to you sweet girl, xoxo, Susie

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    1. I rest in the winter, Susie, on those long winter's nights in front of the fire - that's when I catch up on TV!

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  4. We love putting Zucchini on the grill or bake them into chips in the oven. I love to make Zucchini bread too. I have never done any canning but again, our Winters are mild here and we just buy as we need. However, I would love to stock up with my own fresh veggies. You always have a great stock.
    Lisa

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    1. We can buy things all year long here, too, Lisa, but there's an incredible sense of satisfaction out of eating something in the winter that I grew from seed in the summer! I think I must have been a pilgrim in a previous life, ha ha!

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  5. Oh my goodness!!! How busy you've been!! Good gosh! at the cucumbers! It all looks so good and that zucchini chili looks delicious. I need to check back for your zucchini recipes. I've never known what to do with zucchinis. Is there anything you can't do? :)

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    1. Is there anything you can't do with zucchinis? Hmmmm probably, but I find that if I shred them fine enough I can toss them into soups, sauces, chilis, etc....they aren't even noticed at all, they take on the flavor of whatever you are mixing them with. People say the same about tofu but somehow I'd rather zucchini, Henny!

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  6. WOW! You were a busy women! You are going to really enjoy all of your canning and freezing this winter!

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    1. I finally made some room in a cupboard to put away a bunch of jars this morning, Penny - they were sitting on my counter waiting for me to make room!

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  7. Replies
    1. Ha ha well, that's what I do, Ellen! I wake up thinking about food, what can I say?

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  8. This is amazing. I have pinned the post, don't even know where to start!

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    1. Lots of good recipes, Rita, if you've got some zucchinis kicking around that you don't know what to do with!!

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  9. I was tired from reading all you have gotten accomplished, lol. Your bread sounds amazing and you are well stocked

    Enjoy the rest of your day

    Cindy

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    1. Sometimes I exhaust myself, Cindy, but it's tough to fit it all in since I work full time...I need a clone, I say that all the time!

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  10. My cucumbers have already dried up. I enjoyed them for a little while though. So glad to see your white stove. I just hate stainless steel appliances.
    Brenda

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    1. I don't think I'd be happy with stainless appliances and granite countertops, Brenda - I love my little country kitchen, it's quirky and not perfect but yet just perfect for me!

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    2. I'm the same way, Brenda and Debbie - I love my white appliances! I don't want SS ones, nor do I want granite countertops. My kitchen may be outdated and quirky too, but so am I! ;-)

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    3. Ha ha you and me both, Melanie!!! I do have a stainless fridge downstairs, but the only reason I bought it is because it was like $100 cheaper than the same one in white or off white!!

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  11. How nice to have that problem of two many cukes and zukes. You have made good use of it all. Nancy

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    1. I try, Nancy! I think that version of Zucchini Bolognese was my best batch ever, too bad I didn't write down what I put in it, ha ha!!

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  12. All those cucumbers would freak me out, too, lol! I can't believe how busy you were. You had never heard of bread and butter pickles? They're my favorite! I would love to taste your homemade. I'm going to be checking out a lot of your links - thanks.

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    1. I don't eat pickles, that's the funny thing, Melanie! I did try one of my sweet and spicy ones, since my daughter said they were so good....and they were pretty darned tasty, not gonna lie! Now I need to try the rest of them!

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  13. I'm smiling because I had this 'problem' back when I had a huge garden. The zucchini multiples overnight. I love the cheddar/buttermilk bread recipe...a keeper! One lesson learned: plant a little less next year---or send some my way!!! ;-D

    Jane

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    1. You know what, Jane? I DID plant less this year than last! I think all the rain has helped the cucumbers, at the same time that it hurt the tomatoes. Our tomato harvest so far has been absolutely minimal compared to years past, which is a crying shame.

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  14. Such a wonderful post, Debbie! I love the photo of all your jars and bread! You are so creative and productive...truly making a home.

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    1. I've always been a homemaker, Linda - since my very first apartment when I was a very young woman. I remember even then painting, decorating, hanging curtains, replacing floor tiles, painting furniture, learning to bake and cook....and I was all of about 19!!

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  15. Replies
    1. Insanely busy, Karen Ann. Sometimes it's just too much....but then I did an inventory of my pickles and I have canned over 50 jars at this point, I'm pretty proud of myself!

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  16. I can just imagine the wonderful smells coming from your kitchen! However, that is a tremendous amount of work you've done. I'm sure come winter, you will be a happy girl. Hopefully you will time to relax a bit this long weekend...
    Take care and pats for the pups
    Jeannette

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    1. My oldest pup celebrated her 16th birthday this weekend, Jeannette! I adopted her when she was 6 months old, so we've been through a lot together! Yes, teh smells in my kitchen were so amazing I was afraid they were going to draw the bear up onto my deck....thankfully I haven't seen him lately around my house!

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  17. You certainly have been busy. It all sounds delicious! I made raspberry jalapeno jelly today. One of our families favorites. Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. That sounds pretty amazing, Jann! I've never heard of it, must be a Southern thing?

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  18. Hi Debbie, just hopping by to let you know that you will be one of the features at SYC tomorrow.
    hugs,
    Jann

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