Zucchini Carrot Cake Bars

I had a zucchini, eggs, walnuts, and cream cheese I wanted to use up, so I found this recipe that used all of the above.  I saved a few for us and took the rest to work for my coworkers.  I thought they'd be denser but they were light and fluffy like cake.  Delicious.  I would definitely make again.

 
Zucchini Carrot Cake Bars

Ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 small carrot, shredded

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Frosting:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Beat eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl for 1 minute until well combined.  Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Beat on low speed until well combined.  Fold in the zucchini and carrots.  Fold in the oats and nuts.

Spray a 15x10x1" pan.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake at 350º for about 25 minutes until knife comes out clean.   Let cool completely before spreading frosting.

Frosting:

Beat butter and cream cheese together in a large bowl.  Add in vanilla and mix.   Add in powdered sugar and mix on low until well combined, scraping sides occasionally.  Mix on high for a minute. 

Polish Kielbasa and Pierogi Casserole (Instant Pot)

We had some frozen pierogies in the freezer that we wanted to use, so I found this hearty recipe.  It was cheesy and creamy and delicious, and I don't even want to know the calorie count.  We were skeptical of the 1 minute pressure cook time, but it worked!

Polish Kielbasa and Pierogi Casserole (Instant Pot)

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon, chopped

1 cup diced onion

1 (12-14 oz) package of Polish kielbasa, sliced into 1/4" rounds

1 cup chicken broth

14 oz package frozen pierogies

1/2 cup frozen peas 

4 oz cream cheese

1 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Directions:

Set Instant Pot to Sauté.  When hot, add bacon and cook until crispy.  Add onion and sauté in the bacon grease for a few minutes.  Stir in the sliced sausage and let it brown for a couple minutes.

Pour in the broth and scrape any bits sticking to bottom of pot.  Dump in the frozen pierogies and peas.  Add the cream cheese on top.

Cover Instant Pot and pressure cook on LOW for 1 minute (yes, only 1 minute).  Let naturally release for 5 minutes.  Open lid and gently stir to fully incorporate the cream cheese.  Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top and let it melt.  Enjoy!

Meatball Zucchini Boats

This is a fun and easy way to use your garden zucchini as a main dish.    I used frozen cooked meatballs for convenience, but you could also make your own meatballs which would be even tastier.  The meatballs we had on hand were pretty big, so I could only fit 3 in each zucchini boat.  I used lots of fresh herbs from my garden in the sauce.

Meatball Zucchini Boats

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

1 Medium zucchini, halved lengthwise.

Olive oil

salt and pepper

Italian seasoning 

Frozen cooked meatballs (# depends on size of meatball)

~1 cup marinara sauce

1 garlic clove, minced

fresh chopped basil

fresh chopped oregano

fresh chopped parsley

shredded mozzarella cheese (~1/4 cup per boat)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350º F.  Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise.  With a spoon, scoop out the center seeds to make a boat.  Place the zucchini, cut side up, on a baking sheet pan lined with foil. Drizzle each half with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle Italian seasoning over each half.  Bake at 350º for about 15-17 minutes until mostly tender.

Meanwhile, heat the meatballs and sauce together in a small pot over medium heat.  I recommend adding garlic and herbs to the sauce.  

When the zucchini is ready, place the sauced meatballs in the boats and spoon any remaining sauce over top.   Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top.   Return to oven and Broil for about 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted.   Garnish with fresh chopped basil.

Creamy Pesto Chicken

I had leftover basil pesto, so I made this easy chicken dish.  It was creamy and delicious.  There was more sauce than I was expecting, and with the leftovers, we added some cooked pasta into the skillet and tossed with the pesto sauce which tasted really great (photo below).

Creamy Pesto Chicken

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (~1.3 lbs total)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (I just used a couple handfuls from my garden)

1/3 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/3 cup basil pesto

Directions:

Pound the chicken to an even thickness and cut each in half to make 4 total portions.  Season each side with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon oil.  Add the chicken and cook on each side until golden brown and cooked through, about 5-10 minutes, depending on thickness.  Remove to a plate.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the empty skillet.  Add the garlic and tomatoes and sauté for 3-5 minutes until tomatoes start to soften.  Add the milk, butter, and pesto into the skillet and stir to combine.  Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple minutes.

Add the chicken back into the skillet and turn to coat the chicken with the sauce.  Allow the chicken to simmer in the sauce for a couple minutes to reheat.  Serve hot.

Baked Pesto Salmon

This is one of my favorite recipes using basil pesto.  Easy, fast, and delicious.  Roasting the cherry tomatoes made them quite sweet which created a really nice bite with the saltier pesto on the salmon.  We had a side of cilantro rice as well as a cucumber salad from my garden.

Baked Pesto Salmon

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets, about 6oz each

salt and pepper

homemade basil pesto (see below)

cherry tomatoes, halved  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425º F.   Place salmon filets, skin side down, in a baking dish.  Arrange tomatoes around the salmon.   Season the salmon with salt and pepper.  Spread a couple tablespoons of pesto over each salmon filet.  You can be as generous as you like.  Bake uncovered for 12-15 minutes until the fish is moist and flaky (to about 140º).

*******************

Basil Pesto (makes 1 cup):

2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed 

1/3 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Add basil and nuts to a food processor and pulse a few times.  Add cheese and garlic and pulse several times more, scraping the sides of the bowl.  While the food processor runs, slowly add oil in a thin, steady stream, occasionally stopping to scrape the sides to get a uniform paste.  Season with salt and pepper.

Brown Butter Sage Skillet Chicken

 

I have a lot of sage growing in my herb garden so I decided to make this easy dinner.  The picture doesn't look the best because I overbrowned the sage a bit, but it still tasted good.  I really liked the buttery crispy sage.  I crumbled it into my couscous too.  

Brown Butter Sage Skillet Chicken

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin

salt and pepper

1/3 cup flour

6 tablespoons butter, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup fresh sage leaves

juice of 1/2 lemon, use other half for serving wedges

1/2 cup white wine or chicken broth

Directions:

Season each side of chicken with salt and pepper and dredge each piece in flour in a shallow dish to lightly coat.

Add 2 tablespoons butter plus 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When butter melts, add chicken and sauté for 3-5 minutes per side until golden and cooked through.  Remove to a plate and cover with foil.  Set aside.

Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter to skillet.  Once butter melts, add sage leaves and let brown and bubble for a minute or two.  Remove sage to a paper towel-lined plate.   

Add lemon juice and wine or broth to the butter in the skillet and stir well.   Let the sauce reduce and thicken a little and return chicken to the skillet to re-warm for a couple minutes, spooning sauce over chicken.  Serve chicken with sauce and top with sage.  Garnish with a lemon wedge.  

Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies

This recipe was a great healthy way to use the zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers in my garden.  You can add or substitute various other veggies too.  

Sheet Pan Chicken and Veggies

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 small onion, sliced or chopped

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 bell pepper, cut into strips

1-2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Toss the chicken and veggies with olive oil and add all the seasonings.  Toss to mix.   Place the chicken and veggies on a rimmed baking sheet coated with cooking spray or lined with nonstick foil.  Bake at 400º for 20-30 minutes until chicken is done.

Veggie Appetizer Pizza

 

I've made this recipe many times as a potluck item.  It's a winner.  I switch up the veggies I use depending on my whim.  It's versatile.

Veggie Appetizer Pizza

Ingredients:

2 (8-oz) packages refrigerated crescent roll dough 

1/2 cup Miracle Whip  (or 1 cup sour cream works too)  

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 (1-oz) package ranch seasoning mix (optional)

1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2 teaspoon onion salt  

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Chopped fresh veggies (choose your own adventure):

fresh broccoli florets

cauliflower florets

red bell pepper

tomato

shredded carrot

zucchini/cucumber

onion

radishes

olives

green onions

etc. etc. etc.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Spray a jelly roll pan with cooking spray.   Press the crescent roll dough evenly into the pan to form the crust.  Let stand a few minutes.  Pierce all over with a fork.  Bake at 350º for about 10 minutes until crust is golden brown.  Let crust cool completely.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the Miracle Whip, cream cheese ranch, dill, onion salt, and garlic powder.   Spread mixture all over cooled crust.  Arrange chopped veggies over the pizza.  Cover and chill a couple hours.  Cut pizza into squares to serve.

Pickled Radishes

We had a lot of radishes in our garden, so I decided to try Pickled Radishes.  We added them to our BBQ Pork Sandwiches.  They were just okay--not sure if I would try again.

Pickled Radishes

Ingredients:

1 bunch radishes, cut into thin slices (~1/2 lb)

1/2 cup white or apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

Directions:

Place radishes in a hot, sterilized 1-pint mason jar.   In an enameled saucepan, bring everything else to a boil.  Pour or ladel hot contents of saucepan over the radishes in the jar.  Center lid on jar.  Apply band and close tight.  Let cool on wire rack for an hour, then in fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.  Store in fridge for up to 4 months.

Blackened Cod with Avocado-Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Really good.  I made up my own little recipe, throwing spices together to make a rub and tossing some veggies together for the salad.  The fish was perfectly flaky and flavorful and the salad was a nice cooling bite.  

Blackened Cod with Avocado-Cucumber-Tomato Salad

Serves 1

Ingredients:

Cod Fillet

Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/4 teaspoon oregano

Salad:

Cucumber, chopped

Tomato, chopped

Avocado, chopped

Jalapeno pepper, chopped

Green onion, chopped

cilantro, chopped

olive oil

lime juice

salt and pepper

Directions:

Combine all the dry ingredients.  Generously rub all over the fish.   Heat oil in a hot skillet and cook fish a few minutes on each side until done.

Put chopped veggies in a bowl and toss with oil and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Place in fridge until ready to serve with fish.