Freezing Shredded Zucchini and Tidbits

This is an old blog draft I had before all things in life went BAM!   Funeral is over, but we are all hurting.  Again, thank you for your prayers and good thoughts.

It is taking all I have to get up and go this morning.  I am slammed with tomatoes, and I should have been up at 4:30am today.  I am so far behind, but I am up, as my husband had to work today as well.  Oh, I am slammed with green bell peppers as well.  I'm still dealing zucchini, and did not have a chance to check on the plants, as we had a day of visitation, and a full day with funeral services.  I thought I just heard the radio mention thunderstorms today, so after I get tomatoes prepped, I may run out and do a very quick look-see.

I have to get my morning work out in first, then there is the unloading of the dishwasher, and then moving produce around to make room for a full day of canning.  It's very hot here as well, so that is a double whammy in my kitchen this week.

A beautiful morning sunrise we had a few weeks ago.  Just another sign that summer is coming to an end, as that moves directions.

I learned something new from one of my favorite chefs (Mary Ann Esposito) - when freezing shredded zucchini, place it in waxed paper, twist the ends, and then put it in a plastic freezer bag to freeze.  It will be so much easier to get out of the bag when you thaw it.   I wanted to use freezer paper, but could not find mine, and I was out of pint bags.  I had just been to the store, so I was not going back.  We live in the boonies.

Speaking of TV, my husband worked late one day, so I watched the movie on Netflix, "Poisoned."  There wasn't much in the movie that I didn't know, but when they were asked one thing they would never buy from the grocery store, it was bagged greens/lettuces.  It was suggested to buy the head of lettuce and wash it yourself.  Hence, that wake up call, we will be making sure we have a raised bed for all of our spring greens next year.

I have a cheap spiralizer, so I made yellow squash casserole with it (another new recipe).

I made Julia Child's Shredded Sautéed Zucchini with garlic.  We really liked it too.

Zucchini Tortillas ~ Breakfast just got healthier

 

Yes, you can make foldable tortillas from zucchini!  It took me 3 times to get one right, although a bit toasty.  I followed a recipe I found online.  By the way, not all online recipes are accurate. The one above, although crisp around the side, still folded for a breakfast tortilla.

Here is what recipe I followed:

Zucchini Tortillas (Gluten-Free, Baked), by Alexandracooks

I used the exact ingredients.  You really do want your shredded zucchini very dry for these.

To make these 6-7 inches, I could only fit two on the parchment paper.  Recipe instructions state to use parchment paper.  Do NOT use parchment paper.  These stick to parchment and I was lucky to get this one off the paper to try.  By the way very delicious, and a great way to make a breakfast tortilla healthier.

Bake time on these?  12-15 minutes at 450°F.  You can see the parchment paper turned brown.  Anyway, the first two trays stuck (recipe says it makes 5).  Oh, and with my experimenting, I think I will try at 13 minutes with my oven.  The one that I made in the first photo was 15 minutes, the others were 12 and 13 minutes.

I then realized I own a silicone baking mat, and have never used it.  These tortillas come right off of a silicone baking mat!  Yay!  Now that I figured that out, I have another mat on order.  You can freeze these, according to the recipe.  I think I would layer something between them before freezing, like waxed paper maybe.

So there you have it.  My crazy brain finding more ways to eat zucchini before the season ends.  I used this recipe, to avoid white flour.  I think there is one with rice flour online, but these were good.  Due to crazy cooler weather here, my plants have shot up another foot.  I cannot believe how big they are this year.

Ha! No Quick Garden Days!

 

I finally found the other tomato worm, while I was tying the tomato plants up again.  By the way, the plants are as tall as me , and have gone way above their stakes.  I am a hair from being 6 feet tall, if that tells you anything.  We will be watching end of summer sales, for 6 foot metal (sturdy) tomato cages for next year.  I  don't know that they'll work, as our plants are fully loaded, and very heavy when the tomatoes are on. 

I don't know what I was thinking.  I went out, thinking I'll just quick pick green beans and be back inside for inside work.  Ha!  Not only did it take an hour to pick beans, but I had more zucchini, and cucumbers to pick.  I had no yellow squash, but the plants are once again loaded with blossoms, and the bees are a buzzing out there.

I sent more zucchini to work with my husband, and I will be taking any other extra to the library staff next.  I am still freezing some for us, but it is coming in daily here for us.  I am okay with that, as it is such a versatile vegetable (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner).

The hot peppers are on, but not ready, as well as the bell peppers.  I have quite a few spaghetti squash on, for just one plant, and as well as pie pumpkins.  My acorn is just not coming on.  We have plans to put the pea fence back up soon, and fall plant some vegetables.  

We are enjoying the garden goodies daily here.  Every meal actually.  I even thawed some of last years frozen corn (off the cob) to make our favorite recipe with zucchini, and chopped cucumbers for our absolute favorite orzo salad.  We have talked about trying the salad with added black beans too.  I may try it with quinoa vs. orzo too, but we really love the flavors, and it's perfect for a hot day meal.  I cannot find the source of the recipe, but will post it soon. 

Although these einkorn flour "muffins" were delicious (and used 1 1/2 cups zucchini), they tasted like a cupcake.  I am not on the hunt, per my husband's request for a muffin that uses coconut or almond (or both) flour that are not chocolate. I may look for other einkorn muffin recipes, but the last einkorn/zucchini bread we tried was too dry for our taste.

Thunderstorms may roll in early today, so I'm getting this posted.  I need to tie more tomato plants up, to secure them again.  The heat is here for sure!  In the 90's now.

I think I asked last year, but does anyone have a healthy cucumber salad recipe?  I found one with sour cream, but I'm looking for a delicious low fat, low carb, zero sugar recipe for us.

Rain and Heat ~ More Squash! ~ Motherhood Moments

 

(this was a few days ago)

Me to my husband:  Sure looks like it's about to come down out there.

Husband to me:  Oh great!  Another 1000 green beans (ha ha ha!)

We have been getting rain off and on.  We are also getting heat.  We canceled our first camping trip as fast as we booked it due to the heat.  What's the fun in camping, if you can't enjoy a campfire meal?  Not only will the heat be here this weekend, so will thunderstorms.  

I decided to only freeze shredded zucchini, and not diced this year.  I prefer to be able to squeeze the water out prior to freezing.  

I sent a large bag of squash with my husband to work.  I also picked more, and reduced the numbers by about 10 of them with some baking and cooking (and freezing).

The muffins are delicious, but a bit sweet.  I may make them again and swap the honey for maple syrup, and only use half amount.

Although we recently got a small bit of rain, it was not enough for the garden.  I will be watering this morning, so I must get this posted and get busy.  We are getting into the 90's this week, and it heats up pretty fast out there.

I did not get any answers regarding the cucumbers, so the chickens are getting the treats for now.  I will try and do more research today, but I have very little free time right now.

I was talking to a friend, who travels to upper MI to pick blueberries.  I told her I have never purchased a box with so many un-ripe berries, stems and leaves.  She said they may have switched to machine picking them due to lack of help.  My husband and I are not happy with them this year.  We are unable to grow them on our property due to lime stone sadly.

On the motherhood front, we are worried about Daughter K.  She has a doctor appt this morning due to high blood pressure.  If you get a moment, please send prayers for her.  It is not normal for her to be experiencing this, and the doctors so far have not (even with an ER visit) treated her with any medication.  

Zucchini Season ~Zucchini Hummus ~ Chocolate Chip Einkorn Zucchini Bread ~ Ham and Egg Breakfast Cups

 


We are blessed with a good harvest of zucchini this year.  The rain and bees are doing their jobs wonderfully.  We have had a poor harvest the last few years.

Tip: When freezing shredded zucchini, drain in cheesecloth and squeeze out water before freezing.  It will help reduce a mushy thaw when needed for baking.  

I wore out my first cheese grater, so I replaced it with one that will also shred/slice some vegetables.  It worked great for the zucchini.

Delicious!  I may try other recipes, but this was a new recipe, and I did not even know you could make hummus with zucchini.  The recipe did not say to shred and squeeze out water.  It said to chop and toss in a food processor.  It is somewhat on the runny side, so next time I will shred and squeeze the water out for a thicker hummus.  I can then use it on sandwiches etc.

Jovial's recipe, and it's online.  My batter and bread did not look anything like their photos, but it tastes great!  I did not use the 1 cup sugar.  I used 1/3 cup monkfruit, and it was so good.  My husband has been begging for zucchini bread, so he got a healthier version.  He said it is a bit "dry" to the taste.  I may try tweaking the recipe for a more moist bread (with einkorn flour).

We haven't found good organic ham since 2020.  I found some low sodium organic slices, and made egg cups for the first time.  I think I would use parchment cups next time.  Even though I oiled the pan, I had to scrub and scrub to clean it.

Apron Time! ~ Sweet Pickle Relish ~ Zucchini All Day!

My husband went back to work yesterday.  It's time to get back to cooking and baking and getting my kitchen in order.

First I had to put away a stack of clean dishes, then it was time to start chopping.

My first batch of sweet pickle relish was canned.  So thankful for the cucumbers and green pepper from the garden.  It was too early to dig up carrots, but they are growing.

Baked a zucchini breakfast casserole with garden zucchini. It was fantastic.  I used one from AllRecipes and used up some zucchini.  So good!

Baked a Chocolate zucchini cake, because we could all use some comfort food right now.  I thought about adding a glaze, but decided against it.  The reviews said it would be a very moist cake, and the glaze would make it softer too.  Boy is it good too.  I swapped out half the oil for home canned applesauce.

Dinner?  Meatballs with home canned hot pepper mustard sauce over quinoa and zucchini/corn off the cob saute.

Brought in 4.6# of jalapenos.  My job this morning - can most of them.  My tomatoes are not even ready yet, so no fresh salsa sadly.

As for the "order" in the kitchen?  I officially dirtied all the dishes in the entire kitchen.  Today is clean up day, because I just plain ran out of time (after I can today).

Turkey Zucchini Meatballs

I like to freeze these uncooked, because they cook up pretty quickly.  It's a great way to use zucchini too.  I double this and use my large pampered chef cookie scoop, getting about 34 to 35 meatballs.

Turkey Zucchini Meatballs
1 lb. ground turkey, organic
1 cup shredded zucchini*
1 tsp. homemade Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. homemade garlic powder
1/2 tsp. homemade onion powder
1/4 tsp. organic (or homemade) crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

*if using thawed, frozen shredded zucchini, squeeze out liquid before adding.

Shape into balls and freeze or cook.  To freeze, I put them on a try and freeze, then remove and freeze in an airtight freezer container or freezer bag.

To Bake (thawed):
Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a pampered chef stoneware bar pan.  Bake 16-18 minutes, or until done.

To Bake Frozen:
Bake 20-25 minutes or until done.

I like to bake the meatballs about an hour to an hour and a half, prior to dinner.  Place them in a crock pot on low and top with a sauce.

Sauces we love:
Homemade marinara sauce
Hot pepper mustard sauce
Home canned BBQ sauce
Mixing home canned ketchup with home canned grape jelly

We've also considered using our habanero/apricot jelly in place of grape, as well as our hot pepper jelly.  It all depends on what you like.  It make a super easy meal.

These sauces are terrific with beef/pork meatballs as well.

Coffee and a Day of No Weeding ~ Dehydrating Miner's Lettuce

Thursday evening, to honor my hard work in the garden, Hubby surprised me by not working overtime.  He took me on a ride on the Harley, ate at our favorite steak house (which has special motorcycle parking), and ended the evening with adult beverages on the porch.

Friday I piddle-dinked around, sucked down coffee, moaned and groaned, complained, let out heavy sighs, wished I drank the beer and not the Crown Royal the night before, and contemplated.  I won.  Even though we have weeds to pull, I decided I didn't want to poke my eye out bending over the 4 foot grass and weeding the sweet potatoes.  Hubby volunteered to weed wack it down to where I could easily see the roots, so I took the day off, in hopes for rain.    There was a 50% chance of rain at 10am, and that motivated my decision (although I'm out there at 7am and done by 10am). By the way, the rain arrived, and may arrive again today.

Oh, I had inside work to do, like make a batch of turkey-zucchini meatballs (recipe to come soon) and get them in the freezer.  

I placed an order to restock my dry beans, brazil nuts and other organic items I cannot buy in stores.  Of course, right after I placed the order, I remember one item I forgot.

I had carpets to clean and spot clean, and books to dust and get back on the book shelf.  I have a HUGE load of stuff to take to the thrift store, and lapghans to crochet (for sale).  I now have 4 lapghans on my hook. Yes 4.  I'm a crazy crochet lady lately.  

Why 4?  Well, when I start them, they are just perfect in hot weather on the porch, but when I get about 1/4 of them done, they become indoor projects, with good ol' air conditioning, and a good movie to watch.

We've been visiting our 19 year's place of business, where she just became the Assistant Manager (movie rental business).  We are so proud of her. Although this business is highly unlikely to stay open much longer, she'll have this experience on her resume and higher pay.


Miner's Lettuce was new to the homestead this year.  In looking to winter food stock and preparedness, I decided to dehydrate some of it.

I am grinding up into a powder.  I will be adding it to my breakfast smoothies (or lunch), to soups, stews, eggs, pasta, and what ever else comes to mind.  

Pre-Weekend Update ~ Finished

The weeding continues daily.  I have to make decisions on which is more important, and sooooo mucchhhhhh needs weeded.  It's a battle of water one day, weed the next, because it's been getting fried here on a constant basis.   

If you've ever weeded carrots, you feel my pain.  Pictures to come soon.