Zucchini and Feta Fritters

Recipe:

1 pound zucchini, grated (grater or food processor)
1-2 eggs
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 oz feta cheese


Directions:
Grate the zucchini and then place in a cheesecloth or light kitchen towel and squeeze as much of the excess water you can out of the zucchini. Then place in a medium size mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. I used two eggs because it was not sticking together at first, but if you let it sit, you may not need 2 eggs. Mix well.

Pour 2 tbsp of oil into a cast iron skillet and bring up the temperature. Drop the zucchini ‘batter’ onto the skillet in lumps and allow to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Turn over and brown the other side. Remove to a napkin-lined plate to allow the oil to absorb. Serve warm.

Review: Thumbs up from me. Kids were ok with it, but didn’t like the onion taste.

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Fried Zucchini Rounds

1 C. Plain Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp. Flour
2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 C. Parmesan Cheese
1 C. Milk
1 large zucchini - cut into rounds
Vegetable Oil ( frying )



Mix breadcrumbs, flour, and Parmesan cheese together. You can see that I added a bit of shredded cheese too.




Place milk in dish for dipping. Dip zucchini in breadcrumb mixture and then in milk and then back in breadcrumbs.



Place on plate and refrigerate for 1 hour. (I didn't plan ahead, I just breaded and fried which accounts for the loss of breading on some slices).



Place in fry pan with the oil that has been heated and fry at medium to medium low temperature until golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve with sauce or dip.




Review: 3 thumbs up. My picky eater of course said she didn't like it, but everyone else LOVED it. It was suggested that next time we add some pepper to the breadcrumb mix but it will be on our regular dinner menu from now on. Also, this makes A LOT of mix. I had a very large zucchini and there was breadcrumb mix left over, but I guess if you double bread things it would be just enough.

Note: Served with corn and mashed potatoes (I leave my skins on, YUMMY!)

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Such a Greek

I adore Feta cheese, it is divine and wonderful. Things like feta make it very unlikely that I could ever be a vegan. 
So a glorious, simple, filling veggie meal topped with feta is what you get tonight.


Zucchini, Tomato & Feta Sauce with Tri-Color Rotini.


There really is no recipe, its that easy.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large fryng pan and sauteé the onions and garlic until they begin to soften.  Add the zucchini (I used 3 med - quartered and chopped) and continue to sauteé until it also starts to soften.

Add 28oz tomatoes and about a tsp. sugar and allow to simmer until the zucchini has softened as much as you like, and the sauce is heated through.  Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook and drain the pasta.  Add the sauce and about half the container of feta cheese to the sauce and mix well.

Serve with the remaining feta crumbled on top.

The sauce simmering

Sauce and Pasta

~Venus

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Busy, Busy, Busy!

Most "real" moms I know are BUSY! They are running kids to the doctor and various activities. They have a million balls up in the air all the time and sometimes it really is impossible to do it all.

Dinner is one of those balls that so easily drops to the ground and after a hectic day it can be the last thing you want to think about. Well this is a great last minute meal, no phone book or pizza delivery required. This is another wonderful recipe from The Veggie Table.


Black Bean Zucchini Quesadillas
Black beans, zucchini, and a bit of cheese folded into tortillas - this may be the best quesadilla you've ever tasted.

Yield	4 quesadillas
Time	15 minutes
Tools	grater colander large bowl large frying pan(s) or baking sheet
Ingredients	2 pounds zucchini, grated 1½ t salt 30 oz cooked or canned black beans, drained 12 oz Monterey Jack, grated 2 green onions, chopped 1 jalapeño, minced 8 eight-inch flour tortillas olive oil
Directions	Toss zucchini with salt in the colander, and squeeze out excess water.Combine zucchini with beans, cheese, green onions, and jalapeño. Brush one side of each tortilla with oil. Place four tortillas oil side down and spread each with one fourth of the zucchini-bean mixture. Top each one with an oil-side-up tortilla. To Cook 1. Fry: place one quesadilla in a frying pan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side, until golden. 2. Broil: Place quesadillas on baking sheet and broil about 1-2 minutes per side, until golden.
Notes	Serve quesadillas with salsa and Spanish rice for a hearty meal. I don't brush with oil. My method is place them on a cookie sheet (you can spray that with a little oil) and bake at 350 for 10 minutes or so, just until the cheese melts. And since I know how fond of pictures you are.. here we go. :D  the tomato and lime were for the topping zucc, bean, green onion. jalapeno on the side for mom and dad's tortillas add cheese and stir it all up. I add a bit of cumin too almost ready for the oven SO GOOD and really filling. This is another family fave here, I hope your crew likes it as much as we do. ~Venus

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Baby, It is COLD outside!

Yes, I live in the deep south and my cold is no where near as cold as your cold but it is still cold to us!

And, in my opinion, there is NOTHING better on a cold day than a wonderful soup or stew. There is just something so warm and comforting about a bowl of hot soup when it is cold and yucky outside. Pair it with a crusty bread and that is heaven in a bowl.

As you will learn, a lot of times I use recipes as a guide but I often stray off the path and I think that is just about the perfect way to cook. Some recipes need to be followed to the letter... lots don't and soup is definitely a food you can play fast and loose with. And here is a really nice one to play with.

Ok first I will give you the full original recipe, just so you have it... and then we can go crazy. ;)

Minestrone

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 c chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 c zucchini
• 2 c garbanzo beans
• 5c veggie stock
• 2 c tomatoes
• spices/herbs to taste
• small pasta of your choice

Saute onion & garlic in oil  - 5 minutes
Add celery, carrots, herbs, spices. Cover and simmer - 10 minutes
Add zucchini and beans. Cover & simmer - 15 minutes
Bring to a boil, add pasta. Cook until done
Stir in tomatoes &v serve.

Ok, so that's out of the way...  I don't do that at all. lol  You ready? Here come the pictures.

So here is what I use.. the veggies can vary by your taste. I had a yellow squash so it's going in too. all the veggies get diced up. You want soup bite size pieces, or a little bigger if you want it more stewish. Up to you. I always put kidneys in my minestrone, I like it that way. Those were soaked/cooked from dry but the garbanzos were canned. Either way works just as well.



I had sauted the garlic and onion (less than called for because my family isn't so thrilled with the onion so we go easy). And here we have thrown in the carrots and celery plus spices and herbs. I used salt, pepper and italian spices.


This recipe calls for 5 cups of stock. If you are not a vegetarian/vegan you can use whatever stock you choose. Obviously I need veggie stock but in my area it's not always easy to find. I did find this though so if you need veggie options keep your eyes peeled for other things that will work.


So, I don't really do the adding the rest of the ingredients to the soup in little steps. I find it works just as well to dump it in. It's soup, you really can't screw it up. Here are all the veggies and tomatoes tossed in the pot. Let it simmer... well maybe a bit higher than simmer for a little bit.


Toss your pasta in. Whatever kind you like, on the smallish size. I found these adorable little pearls and thought they'd be perfect.


Just cook the soup until your pasta is done... you could cook the pasta separately but I rarely want to dirty more pans than necessary. And that is pretty much the end of it. My family likes it with a little parmesan on top.


Even my teen meatasaurus boy gave this a thumbs up. So give it a try and tell me what changes you make.

~ Venus

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