By Tawra Kellam

So you have few zucchini left, huh? You've given bushel baskets full to all your friends and family. You've set buckets on the corner with a free sign. You've left anonymous "midnight deliveries" at all of your neighbor's houses and they still aren't gone. Now what do you do? Here are a few ideas of how to get rid of them without resorting to "Zucchini Baseball" (which is, by the way, an effective means of ridding yourself of these pesky but versatile garden items).

* Zucchini can easily be frozen for the winter. Simply shred and bag into 1 - 2 cup servings. Use in breads, cakes or meat loaves

* Substitute shredded zucchini for half of the ground beef in Mexican recipes, spaghetti sauces, meat loaves or meatballs.

Zucchini Saute
1 lb. small zucchini
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, cut thin
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté zucchini in olive oil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add onion and garlic. Sauté 2
minutes. Add Zucchini to skillet and season with salt, pepper and thyme. Serve Warm.

 

Chicken Cacciatore
2-3 lbs. chicken pieces
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cans (14 oz.) stewed tomatoes
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 cup zucchini, sliced
1 tsp. fresh basil, crushed or 1/4 tsp dried basil
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups pasta, cooked

Brown chicken in oil, 10 minutes, turning occasionally; drain. Add the rest of the ingredients
except pasta. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Serve over pasta

Zucchini Cake
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 cups zucchini, grated
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cloves, ground
1 tsp. nutmeg, ground
1 tsp. cinnamon, ground
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and beat on low for 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake for about 45 minutes. Serves 18.

Fried Zucchini
zucchini, sliced or cut into sticks
flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
cracker crumbs
vegetable oil for frying
salt and pepper

Wash all the vegetables. Slice the zucchini, onions and squash into thin slices. Put some flour in a bowl. Put egg and milk in another bowl and mix. Place crackers crumbs into a bowl. Put the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan or fry pan and heat to 375° or until a few crumbs of cracker fry quickly. Dip vegetables into flour, then egg mixture, then cracker crumbs and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels. Salt and pepper to taste and serve hot with ranch dressing.