New and Improved Zucchini Alfredo

We are continuing "Zucchini Week" here and so far it is going well! I am still freezing more than we can eat, but it will be good in casseroles and zucchini bread this winter. Tonight we had sausage, potato, and zucchini packets on the grill, but last night my husband wanted my new and improved version of zucchini alfredo. The original recipe is HERE, but we like this one better. It is creamier and the texture is better with the addition of some pasta. If you are going for low carb, use the other one.

New and Improved Zucchini Alfredo

1 lb. penne pasta, cooked and drained

8 cups thinly sliced zucchini

2 cloves garlic

1 stick butter

2 cups milk

8 oz. cream cheese

6 oz. bag shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella

1 tsp. salt

Saute the zucchini in butter with minced or pressed garlic cloves until soft, but not mushy. Meanwhile, melt cream cheese with milk in a medium saucepan. Stir in parmesan and mozzarella. Add salt. When the sauce is creamy, combine with the cooked pasta and zucchini. Heat thoroughly and serve.

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Zucchini Pie

It is zucchini season!!! Yay!!!

We have an abundant harvest this year, so as a little challenge, I am going to try to make zucchini a different way each night this week. Tonight was zucchini pie! I have posted this recipe before, but I made a few tweaks so I thought I would repost it.

Zucchini Pie

• 4 cup sliced zucchini

• 1 stick butter

• 2 eggs

• 1/4 tsp. pepper

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1/4 tsp. oregano

• 1 Tbsp. parsley

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 1 tube crescent rolls

Saute zucchini in butter. Meanwhile, press crescent rolls in bottom of pie pan. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. When zucchini is cooked and softened, stir in the egg-cheese-spice mixture. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare to be bombarded by zucchini recipes again!

Easy Cheesy Eggplant

My family LOVES eggplant. As a kid, I turned my nose up at it just because it sounded gross. It really isn't. You just have to know how to cook it- which I didn't, until recently. This cheesy eggplant tastes like a mouthful of butter and cheese. Yummm... And I can justify it because eggplant sounds healthy. Wanna' know how? Good. I took pics...

Start with some pretty eggplant. Any color is just fine.

Peel and slice 3/8" thick. Not 1/2". Not 1/4". 3/8". Got it? Good.

Place the slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. If you are smarter than me, always use parchment paper underneath for easy cleanup. Then, put a little dab of butter on each one.

Broil until they turn golden brown and are tender. If you don't cook it long enough it will be bitter. I do mine on low.

Put a little cheese on each one. You can use any cheese you want. Here I used American...

...and here I used a Monterrey Jack & Cheddar blend and Mozzarella (and I was smart enough to use the parchment paper.)  Cheddar is pretty good, too. Make a variety and taste-test if you want to.

Put it back in the oven to broil again until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

That is it! Easy, right?

For my Eggplant Parmesan post, click HERE.

Freezer Jalapeno Poppers

OK. So, I took these pictures last summer. I mean, I DO plan on making jalapeno poppers but not just yet. I am supposed to be taking it easy (which is killing me!) Instead I am just gonna' sit here holding this super cute baby and blog about it.

The ingredients...

24 jalapeno peppers
12 oz. softened cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4-1/2 cup crumbled, cooked bacon or bacon bits
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
2 cups bread crumbs

The directions...

Wash your jalapenos. 

Put on some gloves if you know what is good for you.  Cut off the tops.

Slice 'em down the middle.

Scoop out the seeds.

Look how pretty!

Mix up softened cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon or bacon bits.

Fill each pepper half with the cheesy mixture.

Lay them all out on a cookie sheet covered with paper towels.

Now, here is the secret to these... a triple dipping process! It gives them a lovely coating. So... dip in milk...

...then flour.

Here they are all spread out on the cookie sheet to dry a bit.

Dip in milk again...

...then bread crumbs.

This is how they look after one bread crumb coating.

Not good enough. When they are dry, do it again.  Milk, then bread crumbs.

Much better.

Then, just pack them in freezer bags. All done!

Yes, the triple dipping is tedious, but worth it.  When you want to cook them, just throw 'em in the deep fryer until they are golden brown and crispy.  We have tried grilling and baking them, which is OK, but frying works best.

It is so nice to have something quick and easy to make in my freezer (which is not often the case since most of our food is home-grown) and these are much, much, much cheaper than the store bought ones!

One of these days, when I fry some up, I will take a post-cooking picture and update this post.  Right now, I am too busy holding this sweet little baby!

A Big Batch of Filling- Freezer Cooking

Now I am going to show you what to do with those leftover crusts from the uncrustables sandwiches... 

I save them to make filling!  I get a lot of compliments on my filling and it is so moist!  It is really simple to make, too.  Here is what you need:

6-7 loaves of white bread
3-4 medium onions
3-4 stalks celery
8 sticks margerine

I know!  That is a lot, right?  I like to make my filling in my electric roaster in a HUGE batch so that I have some to freeze for later. When I have some stocked in my freezer, it makes a quick side dish that is way cheaper and so much tastier than that boxed stuff (not to mention I can pronounce all of the ingredients!) So, I go to our local discount bread store and grab a lot of bread.  

I get to work (and put the kids to work) cutting the bread into cubes - it does not always fit in the roaster.  I let it sit out for awhile so that the cubes are not so soft.  If I am making a large noon meal, I will cut it in the evening and let it sit out overnight with the lid cracked a bit to let some air into the roaster.  You can cut up those leftover crusts, too!

Then I cry my eyes out and peel the onions.  I cut the onions and celery into big chunks...

...and my trusty, old food processor chops it all up for me!

This is probably how a normal person would chop them.

I don't like onions.  Or celery.  So I practically puree it to disguise them.

In my big skillet, I melt 8 sticks of margarine 

I mix in my veggies and let them simmer for a few minutes.

I also dump some parsley in there to give it some color.

Then I pour it all over the bread cubes.

I give it a good stir.  It doesn't seem like it coats every bread cube, but it works out just fine.  I cook it at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Do NOT crank that temperature up.  Trust me.  It burns.

It cooks down quite a bit, so you should be able to add any extra bread that didn't fit in no time.  All of the bread in that first picture cooked down to this:

Oh, it is so yummy and delicious!  You can eat it right away...

...or freeze it for later.  It is a quick side dish- just pull it out of the freezer and warm it up!  I like to use the microwave to get it thawed and then I pop it in the oven in a baking dish at 350 for 10-15 minutes just to make the edges a little crispy (but if you leave it in the oven too long it will dry out and you'll need lots of gravy).  I have also squished it into filling balls to freeze.  This would be great to pull out just a few at a time for smaller households.

I am hoping that my little cooking tips can help someone save a little $ while feeding their family healthier foods!  I would love to know if anyone makes this, so just leave a comment to let me know if you do!

Eggplant Parmesan (Freezer Cooking)

One of the best ways to save money (and have better food) is to preserve fresh vegetables when they are in season.  I love to have eggplant already breaded and frozen for a fast, easy meal in the winter.  If you don't have a garden giving you lots of lovely, purple eggplants you can pick some up for cheap while they are in season at a local farmer's market.  Out of two very large eggplants, I got enough for four meals! 

Start out with a fresh eggplant, peel it, and chop the very ends off (that is the most bitter part).

Then slice it about 3/8" thick- yes, I know that seems awfully precise, but 1/2" is too thick and 1/4" is too thin.

Sprinkle both sides with a little salt- the seeds will turn brown very quickly- this is normal and you do not have a rotten or mutant eggplant.

Pour a little oil in a frying pan- just enough to evenly coat the bottom of the pan- and turn it on med-low heat.

Get everything else ready while the oil is heating.  You will need a bowl for eggs- I beat two of them thoroughly- and a bowl for bread crumbs.

Coat the slices evenly by dipping first in the eggs (that picture was blurry and I figure that you are smart enough to figure that out) and then in bread crumbs.

 Fry in oil until golden brown, flipping them to cook each side, of course.  The oil will get all yucky and bubbly after a few batches, so you might need to add/change oil partway through cooking.

Place the cooked slices on a paper towel covered plate to absorb the grease.

When they cool off, you can lay the fried eggplant slices flat in a freezer bag and save them for later.  When I cook them, I place the frozen eggplant in a baking dish that has a little tomato sauce spread on the bottom and spread a little more on top of the eggplant.  I bake it at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until it is thoroughly cooked and soft (if you don't cook it long enough it will be bitter).  I sprinkle mozzarella on top for about the last 10 minutes and serve it with spaghetti.

Here is how I prepared it fresh, though!  I took a tomato from our garden and put thick slices on top of the eggplant, topped with a little oregano (I just used sauce on half of them for those of us who are a little bit picky).

I baked it for a half hour and then added mozzarella.

  Here was the final result...

Doesn't it look pretty?

I know a lot of people that say they have never eaten eggplant- to be honest I was intimidated by it at first, too.  If you are brave enough to give this a try, let me know how it turns out!