It’s that time of year again.  The overflowing basket of zucchini that magically appears on your doorstep because your kind, elderly neighbor, Mr. Green Jeans, wants to dump share some with you but you already have 182,976 zucchini sitting on your kitchen counter.  What to do?  What to do?  Oh, I don’t know, how about a few…ok, 100 recipes.  That oughta hold ya.

Stuff ‘em

1. Dana’s Stuffed Zucchini @ Homesteading Housewife
2. Foot Long Stuffed Zucchini @ Sage Trifle
3. Lamb and Ricotta Zucchini Boats @ Delementals
4. Zucchini Boats with Puree of Parsnip @ Chocolate Chip Trips
5. Southwestern Stuffed Zucchini @ Mindful Plate
6. Stuffed 8 Ball Zucchini @ Aileen’s Musings

Make a salad

1. Zucchini Carpaccio @ Gina’s Weight Watcher Recipes
2. Cold Tomato Zucchina Pasta Salad with Sherry Salad Vinaigrette @ The Cooking Corner
3. Corn, Zucchini and Blue Cheese Salad @ Sugar Laws
4. Farmer’s Market Zucchini Salad @ Freshly Baked
5. Zucchini Ribbons Salad @ My So-Called Kitchen
6. Arugula, Zucchini and Fennel Salad @ La Tartine Gourmande

Saute ‘em

1. Lemon Garlic Zucchini @ dlyn
2. Braised Zucchini Wheels with Almond-Mint Pesto @ Cooking Books
3. Ravens’ Restaurant Crabless Crab Cakes @ Just Veggin’ Out
4. Zucchini Cakes with Dill and Feta @ Sounding My Barbaric Gulp
5. Sauteed Zucchini with Spinach and Basil Pesto @ Kalyn’s Kitchen
6. Zucchini Fritters @ Chickens in the Road
7. Shrimp, Eggplant and Zucchini Spaghetti @ Kath Eats Real Food
8. Seared Flounder with Zucchini and Toasty Garlic Mojo @ Eats Well with Others

Bread ‘em

1. Breaded and Baked Zucchini @ The Perpetual Plum
2. Breaded Zucchini and Squash @ Our Life in Food
3. Corn-Breaded Zucchini @ Savin’ It Up
4. Baked Breaded Zucchini Sticks @ Healthy Life with Jenny
5. Breaded Zucchini @ Dumpling

Make soup

1. Zucchini Spinach Soup @ What’s for Dinner?
2. Zucchini Basil Soup @ Caviar and Codfish
3. Spicy Summer Zucchini Soup @ Sideoats and Scribbles
4. Quick and Easy Zucchini and White Bean Soup @ Dinner Cakes
5. Roasted Zucchini Soup @ Salty Spoon
6. Cold Zucchini and Summer Squash Soup @ Two Kitchens

Make pasta

1. Pasta Primavera with Garden Zucchini and Herbs @ goodLife {eats}
2. Zucchini, Soba Noodles and Cake @ Cookie Crumbs
3. Zucchini and Summer Squash Fettucini @ Jenn Cuisine
4. Pasta with Zucchini @ Morta di Fame
5. Zucchini Tagliatele Alfredo @ FoodieTots
6. Summer Risotto with Corn, Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Oil @ Herbivoracious
7. Zucchini and Tomato Couscous @ Friesencold

Bake ‘em

1. Zucchini Gratin @ The Italian Dish
2. Ratatouille @ Gluten Free Homemaker
3. Zucchini Pizza @ Brick and Plastic
4. Zucchini Gratin @ The Italian Dish
5. Ovenroasted Zucchini Wedges with Proscuitto Crudo and Oregano @ Lucullian Delights
6. Zucchini Polenta Tart @ Chocolate and Zucchini
7. Zucchini Strudel @ Gotta Little Space
8. Zucchini Mexican Lasagna @ What’s Cooking
9. Dilly Zucchini Casserole @ Frugal Upstate
10. Zucchini and Tomato Gratin @ Pinch My Salt
11. Zucchini Tart with Raclette @ Kosher Camembert
12. Creamy Potato and Zucchini Gratin @ Not Quite Nigella
13. Zucchini Galette with Heirloom Tomatoes, Asparagus and Pesto @ Spatulas, Corkscrews and Suitcases
14. Zucchini Sausage and Feta Casserole @ Elizabeth’s Edible Experience
15. Zucchini Tart on a Hazelnut Thyme Crust @ Once Upon a Plate
16. Vegetable Casserole with Zucchini, Tomatoes and Potatoes @ Soupbelly
17. Zucchini and Goat’s Cheese Pizza @ Purple Foodie
18. Zucchini Pie @ Dinners for a Year and Beyond
19. Zucchini Biscotti @ Treehouse Kitchen

Roll ‘em

1. Zucchini Rolls with Goat’s Cheese aka “Makis” au Chèvre @ Nami Nami
2. Zucchini Wrapped Salmon with Dill @ One Tree Past the Fence
3. Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini Rolls @ Apple Pie Patis Pate
4. Zucchini Roll Ups @ The Party Dress
5. Lemon Grilled Zucchini Rollups @ Fab Frugal Food
6. Zucchini Rolls with Roasted Garlic Ricotta @ Pithy and Cleaver

Transform ‘em

1. Zuni Cafe Zucchini Pickles @ Cookography
2. Patyence’s Spicy Turkey Meatballs and “Zughetti” @ The Yuca Diaries
3. Zucchini Ribbons with Mint @ Zoe
4. Veggie Burger # 1 @ Mango Power Girl
5. Chicken Breasts with Zucchini Pappardelle @ The Bitten Word
6. Zucchini Lemon Basil Toss @ Once in a Blue Moon
7. Zucchini Pickles @ Kitchen Gadget Girl
8. Zucchini Relish @ The Abundant Life

Grill ‘em

1. Mediterranean Vegetable Grilled Wrap @ Panini Happy
2. Grilled Fresh Zucchini @ Simple Daily Recipes
3. Quinoa with Grilled Zucchini, Chickpeas, and Cumin @ Dana Treat
4. Grilled Halibut Esconsced in Zucchini @ Hot Off the Garlic Press
5. Grilled Zucchini with Pine Nut Butter @ Lime in the Coconut
6. Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Herbs and Cheese @ Indulge and Enjoy

Go international

1. Mini Burger Pitas with Zucchini Yogurt Sauce @ The Cooking Photographer
2. Soba Noodles with Edamame, Zucchini, and Spinach @ Two Peas and their Pod
3. Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas @ random anderson
4. Zucchini Fritters with Tzatziki Sauce @ The Noshery
5. Hibachi Shrimp Zucchini @ Beachlover Kitchen
6. Zucchini Sushi @ CreatiVegan
7. Spicy Migas with Zucchini @ The Accidental Housewife

And, of course, bread and cake

1. Whole Wheat and Honey Zucchini Bread @ Heavenly Homemakers
2. Geeky double chocolate zucchini bread @ What Geeks Eat
3. Special Zucchini Bread Recipe @ 101 Cookbooks
4. Zucchini Bread @ Simply Recipes
5. Zucchini Cakes @ The Pioneer Woman
6. Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread @ Home Joys
7. Whole What Zucchini Cake @ Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
8. Whole Wheat Zucchini and Cherry Bread @ Daily Unadventures in Cooking
9. Zucchini Pecan Flaxseed Bread @ The Kitchen Sink
10. Zucchini Pistachio Cupcakes @ Noble Pig
11. Chocolate Wave Zucchini Bread @ Taste Tell and Blog
12. Blueberry Zucchini Bread @ It Feels Like Chaos
13. Zucchini Muffins With Walnuts and Cranberries @ Mango & Tomato
14. Dolce Italiano’s Zucchini Olive Oil Cake @ Stacey Snacks
15. Zucchini Brownies @ Pantry Diva
16. Zucchini Cheddar Bread @ Honey and Jam

Now smile and say thank you to Mr. Green Jeans!

        

Oatmeal Cookies are the Rodney Dangerfield of the cookie community.  They just don’t get no respect, ya know?   They have a reputation as being bland, slightly boring attempts to pass off a healthy breakfast grain as a dessert.    Even my youngest thumbed her nose up…like so:

“I don’t like oatmeal cookies.”
“You’ve never had oatmeal cookies.”
“I know.  Because I don’t like them.”

Ok, there is a certain “8 year old kid” logic to that.

Maybe what we need is a marketing campaign for oatmeal cookies.  Like..

• “Hey, it’s a cookie.”
• “Oatmeal: It’s not boring, just laid back.”
• “They were good enough for Grandma.”

Grandmas know that oatmeal cookies are economical, delicious and easy.   And I think this recipe might change your mind about oatmeal cookies.

First, we’re going to soak the raisins.  And feel free to swap out the raisins for dried cherries or cranberries.  Those are great too!

Put your raisiny mess in the fridge for about 1 hour.

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Grandma’s Oatmeal Cookies

3 eggs, well beaten
1 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Pour the beaten eggs over the raisins and add the vanilla.  Put in the fridge for 1 hour.

Cream together butter and sugars together.  Combine the flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and add to the creamed mixture.  It’ll be crumbly.

Blend in egg-raisin mixture and add the oatmeal.  The dough will be stiff.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet (a silicone sheet works great), or roll into balls and flatten slightly.

Bake ‘em at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Then visit your Grandma and share ‘em.

You might also like:

Peanut Butter Filled Chocolate Cookies
Amish Snickerdoodles
Lemon Cookies are Like Spring Without Sneezing

        

Every Christmas, the manly men at the Christmas table all take turns spooning heapfuls of my uncle’s potent homemade horseradish onto their ham to see who is first to break out in a sweat and cry.   No one will admit he is not enough of a manly man to swallow heaping spoonfuls of the superhot stuff so each one keeps adding more until you can’t see the ham anymore buried under the pile of horseradish.

Since these manly men love all things spicy, and the kids like all things sweet, I came up with not too sweet, not too spicy slaw to go with the ham.  Everyone can enjoy this dish since you can control the heat.  Just leave a bottle of horseradish and hot sauce next to the slaw for your manly men to duke it out.

Sweet and Spicy Slaw

2 bags preshredded coleslaw mix or 8 cups shredded cabbage
2 seedless oranges, peeled and sectioned
1 red pepper, julienned
1 green pepper, julienned
1 cup of mayo (I use light mayo)
1/2 cup buttermilk
Fresh squeezed juice of 1 lime
3-5 tablespoons sugar (sugar substitute or honey can be substituted)
3-5 tablespoons of prepared horseradish
2 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp onion powder
Couple shots of Tabasco
Couple grinds freshly ground pepper

Combine the mayo, buttermilk, lime juice, sugar, horseradish, garlic salt, onion powder and pepper to taste. Toss with the cabbage or coleslaw mix and peppers.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Overnight is even better.  Just before serving, add the sectioned oranges.

Have a blessed Christmas.

        

“Oh, Francie,” you say, “all these recipes for chocolate-peanut butter this and sugar cookie that!  “My belt is too tight!”  Fear not, chickens.  After all, do you think Francie eats like this all the time?  Well, ok, a lot of the time, but I do like something healthy and delicious every now and then like normal folks.

Ergo, I present my recipe for a creamy, delicious, spicy, bright soup that will warm you head to toe, fill you with lots of energy (chickpeas are a great source of protein, dontcha know!) and best of all, all this fabulousness will cost only a couple bucks to boot!

Want to see that magic?  Here ya go.

Creamy Chickpea and Rosemary Soup

1 tablespoon of olive oil
5 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaf minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 (15-19 ounce) cans chickpeas rinsed & drained
4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
sea salt to taste
fresh group pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add garlic, rosemary and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic starts to brown, about 1 minute. Add chickpeas and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes; let cool slightly. Transfer soup to a blender, cover loosely (hold that lid down with a kitchen towel…safety first, chickens!) and puree until just smooth. Or use an immersion blender if you have one of those magical toys.  Return to the saucepan and stir in lemon juice and sea salt and pepper to taste. Serve, garnished with a fresh rosemary sprig, or an additional drizzling of olive oil. If you’re wowing somebody, you can add a drizzle of Crème fraîche or heavy cream and do a little drizzle swirly art thing.

See?  I told you it was easy.  Have I ever lied to you?

And here’s a bonus:  this soup is also fantastic with cannellini beans. There ya go!  Two-for-one!

        

For years I begged my husband to get a dog.  After all, I reasoned, he’d have someone to point the blame on when the room was less than fresh.  He had always pointed the finger at our small cat, but I called him out because based on the sounds I heard, if our cat had been the culprit, she would have hit the wall at a force of Mach 5. So he broke down and got the dog.  But here’s the funny thing.  The dog is worse than my husband…much, MUCH worse.  We happened to adopt the one dog from the shelter whose gastric emissions put my world-champion husband’s to shame.  Still, the dog does come in handy for hubby who happens to get gas when he eats most any vegetable of which beans are his digestive mortal enemy.  If my husband were James Bond, beans would be Dr. No. And yet, he loves this soup.  I love it too because it’s cheap, healthy and made in 15 minutes with pantry ingredients.

BEAN SOUP WITH SALSA VERDE

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can fat-free refried beans
1 (8 oz.) jar salsa verde or 2 c. of your own green chili salsa
1 c. chicken stock
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. chili powder
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh cilantro
Sour cream
Your favorite shredded cheese

You probably already know how this goes.  In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute the onion and poblano in the oil until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic, beans, salsa and chicken stock stirring gently to blend in the refried beans.  (The refried beans really thicken the soup.  You can leave them out if you prefer a broth type soup.)  Add seasonings including salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in the juice of 1 lime.  Simmer about 10 minutes until warmed through.  Serve with fresh cilantro, sour cream and shredded cheese.  Warn the kids and ask hubby to sleep in the spare room tonight.

        

I think I mentioned before that I grew up smack dab in the middle of an Amish community and learned a lot about simple, easy, frugal recipes.   This one is a fave because you can toss it in the fridge and throw it in the oven the next day (I’ve broken a few dishes from all that throwing and tossing in my kitchen)!

Let me count the ways I love this recipe.

1. It’s like eating a cookie for breakfast.  Don’t tell Mom.
2. You can prep it the night before and pop it in the oven while the kids are getting dressed.
3. Leftovers are yummy warmed up in the microwave.  In fact, I often double this and have a warm, filling, healthy breakfast in the bag for the whole week!

Ready to rock your breakfast world?

You’ll get 9 servings out of this so don’t freak out about the butter.

Now if you don’t think that looks like a great way to start a fall day, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve ever really known you.

        

My neighbor, Shala, is passionate about the food from her native Syria.   Several times a month, she shares another delicious dish that is exotic to us but home cooking to her.  Our family favorite is her delicious version of tabbouleh which she tells me is favorite picnic food in Syria.  And when she offered to show me she makes her it, I jumped at the chance. And this is your lucky day, chickens, because you get to see too.

It’s a bit hard to see. This is bulghur mixed with tomato paste in a red bowl.

Now, we’ll start putting it all together.

        

Every Halloween we have a treasured family tradition that we follow exactly.

• Take kids to pumpkin patch where they lovingly spend 1.2 hours picking out the perfect pumpkin.  Pay $23.75 and bring them home.
• Husband sets up perfect pumpkin carving station complete with newspaper and specialized, intricate carving tools such as the dog food can opener and a bent steak knife.
• Kids lovingly draw faces on the pumpkins that require 1,205 intricate cuts to create.
• Husband cuts tops off pumpkins.  Kids look inside and proclaim that “pumpkin guts are gross!” and refuse to touch them.
• Husband gives them my heirloom silver soup ladle and cajoles them to stop making faces and start digging.
• After 5.7 seconds, children declare pumpkin guts to be “disgusting, cold and icky”.  Children ask to go inside to wash hands and never return.
• Husband retreats to his recliner and picks up remote while muttering something about “every #@%@# year” and “never again.”
• Search for kids unsuccessfully.
• Spend next 3 hours scooping, carving and drilling until sun sets.
• Carry two 23 pound pumpkins to the front porch.
• Dig in junk drawer looking for two stubby candles and box of matches.
• Call kids and husband outside to ooh and ahh and proclaim that these pumpkins are the best they’ve ever done.

Aahhh, memories.  Where would be without family traditions?  I also like to serve a nice warm bowl of soup before they rush to the door and anxiously wait like racehorses chomping at the bit while I take “just one more” photo.  This is one of my faves because it’s super easy and is made with pantry ingredients.

ROASTED PEPPER AND TOMATO SOUP

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 16 oz can of whole tomatoes with Italian seasoning, undrained
• 7 oz. jar of roasted red peppers, drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 Tablespoon dried basil or 2 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large saucepan.  Stir in flour to make a roux and cook for about 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, red peppers, broth, tomato paste, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper. Cook until soup bubbles. Puree with an immersion blender or in batches in a standing blender.

BAT WINGS

4 slices of bread (makes 2 sets of bat wings)
Olive oil, butter or cooking spray
Garlic salt

Tell your kids the garlic in the soup did him in.

        

P.S. – You can make that glaze by mixing a little milk or maple syrup into powdered sugar to get the consistency you want.

        

By now, you know that my family is from the south so turnip greens, soup beans and cornbread were a staple growing up.  What you don’t know is that I grew up smack dab in the middle of Amish country where every mailbox listed Miller, Swartzentruber or Yoder, where our local grocery had more hitching posts than parking spaces and where out of towners descended to buy quilts, wood furniture and delicious baked goods.

The Amish were green before green was hip. They reuse, recycle and make do.  Simplicity is a way of life.  So with today’s economy, I’m reaching back into the recipes my Amish neighbors taught me.   From Shoofly pie to Soda Cracker Pudding,  Homemade Egg Noodles to Half Moon Pie, Amish recipes are simple, frugal and delish!

Today we’re going to learn how to make the Amish version of Snickerdoodles which are large, soft, puffy cookies dusted with cinnamon and sugar.

Oh, and when my Amish neighbors said they were baking, they were B-A-K-I-N-G! Not one pie, not two, but 5 or 6 pies at a time, 12 loaves of bread and 6-8 dozen cookies.  So if you’re wondering if the measurements in this recipes are correct, the answer is, as my friend Wanda Swartzentruber would say, “Ja!” (yep!). This recipe makes about 5-6 dozen cookies but it can easily be split in half.  I like to bake the whole batch because they freeze well, and my neighbor happens to love them.

AMISH SNICKEROODLES

• 1 cup shortening (traditionally, homemade lard is used but since I haven’t slaughtered a pig this summer, shortening will do)
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla (the vanilla isn’t traditional either but I like the taste with the cinnamon)
• Cinnamon and sugar for rolling

Preheat oven to 350° Farenheit.

In a mixer, cream the shortening and sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.   Add the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar together.  Add slowly to the mixture until well combined.

Mix about 2-3 Tablespoons each of sugar and ground cinnamon in a shallow bowl.  Roll into walnut sized balls and roll into the cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes.