Foody Friday - Heritage Recipes and Zucchini Casserole

Earlier this week I came across a website called Heritage Recipes; sharing old fashioned recipes and traditions. Their website states; 

These are more than just recipes.  These heritage recipes - our links with our past and our connections to special people and special events are tied to those scraps of paper.  At Heritage Recipes we are dedicated to the preservation of memories and old recipes.

I don't know about you but I prefer old fashioned recipes to modern ones that call for a number of prepackaged items and I love the idea of a website that shares them. In fact the website is always looking for new recipes to share. I sent in my great grandmother's tomato soup recipe, along with a story about her, and a relish recipe from a family friend. 

Then I started cruising their site. I found a website for zucchini casserole. (Remember my intense hatred for zucchini?) I didn't plant any zucchini this summer but I do have yellow summer squash that I've been sauteing in butter all summer...and I'm getting a bit tired of it. I thought it would work in a zucchini casserole. 

Although, when I pulled it out of the oven I had my doubts. It sure didn't look that appetizing. My kids, of course, hated it. My husband thought it had an odd texture. I, however, ate half the pan. Granted it was only a 9x9 pan but still, I had a stomach ache from eating so much! 

Heritage Recipe Zucchini Casserole 

Slice thin zucchini (no quantity given, I used 2 yellow squash)

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

4 large tomatoes (homegrown if possible, I only had 2), sliced

1 green pepper

1 onion (didn't have one)

Salt (no amount given, I just sprinkled some in)

1 T. brown sugar

2 bay leaves 

1 tsp. oregano

2 c. sharp cheddar cheese (I used mozzarella and only about a cup)

Melt the butter, add flour.  Stir constantly until flour begins to brown. Add sugar, bay leaves, oregano and salt.  In a baking dish, put a layers of zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and cheese.  Pour flour/butter mixture over and bake at 350 degrees.  (No time is given. I judged mine to be done after 45 minutes.)

I've learned that old fashioned recipes are more flexible than more modern recipes. Most of the time substitutions or detracting from an old recipe doesn't guarantee failures. 

I was very surprised how good it was! The vegetables had a warm buttery flavor and the cheese was just right without being overwhelming. I ate half the pan and I'm ready to eat the other half all by myself! 

Do you have a favorite Heritage Recipe to share? Why not hop on over to Heritage Recipes and send them an email? And don't forget to send me a copy too!! 

Foody Friday - Broiled Zucchini and Tomato Bites

Look! Another zucchini and tomato dish!! 

I bet you are looking forward to when my garden stops producing aren't you? HA, me too! 

This is so simple and addictive! I've been eating a lot of these lately. 

First slice up your zucchini and small tomatoes and layer them on a greased baking dish or cookie sheet. Top off the tomato with a dollop of ricotta cheese and seasonings. I like sprinkling some pepper and basil on top but experiment and tell me what else works well on top. 

Place the bites under a high broiler until cheese is beginning to brown which should take 10-15 minutes. 

I eat it right off the pan. Yum! 

Foody Friday - Zucchini Pizza

Zucchini and Okra is taking over my summer/fall diet. But, on the positive side, it's forcing me to be more creative in the kitchen. And it's forcing me to finally learn how to spell the word zuchinni....zuchhini....zucchinni...

ZUCCHINI! There we go! 

Zucchini Pizza

Make up your favorite pizza dough recipe. I used 1/4 of Pioneer Woman's Pizza Crust Recipe.  Then I set it aside to rise. 

Slice up one medium zucchini. Zucchini have their best flavor when they are small, don't let them grow huge before you pick them. Pick them when the vegetable is about 2-3" in diameter. If you can't wrap your wrap your middle finger and thumb around it and touch (or almost touch) it's way too big. 

Saute the zucchini in butter or olive oil for a few minutes until just beginning to brown. Set aside. 

Prepare pizza dough. Cover dough lightly with Parmesan cheese. Layer zucchini on top. Sprinkle zucchini with dried basil. Place shredded Mozzarella cheese on top of zucchini. Place in 500 degree oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly. 

This pizza was great! Even though I cooked it a bit long :)

Don't make more than you can eat though because although it was wonderful, warmed up days later it wasn't quite as good. 

ZUCCHINI!! I done learnt how to spell it! 

Foody Friday - Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna

Despite a drought and my garden being dry and thirsty most days, I've still had an overabundance of zucchini. We only have three plants and I still have zucchini coming out of my ears! What to do with it all? 

DR found this recipe for me the other day, actually submitted to the paper by a family friend of his back in Indiana. Small world. 

Zucchini Ribbon Lasagna.

I thought it was great! My kids didn't agree with me. 

This is what my kids thought of it. 

As long as you aren't feeding kids it is a great recipe! 

For sauce

1 can of tomatoes with juice (I also added a small can of tomato sauce)

2 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1/4 t red pepper flakes

 12 oz. ground meat (I used sausage but use whatever floats your boat)

1 T dried oregano

2 T salt

For Lasagna

2 medium zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthwise

1 cup Ricotta cheese

1/4 t. olive oil

Make sauce

Pulse tomatoes in blender til finely chopped. Heat oil in skillet over med. heat. Cook onion and red pepper flakes, stir occasionally, til onion is tender. Add ground meat and cook til browned. Add tomatoes and sauce (if using) and bring to a boil. Simmer til thick, about 20 minutes. Stir in oregano and salt. Let cool.

Make Lasagna

Preheat oven to 375. Slice zucch's lengthwise. Place 5-6 zucchini slices in bottom of 8 inch square pan. Top with sauce, dot with 1/4 c. ricotta cheese. Repeat twice with zucchini, sauce and ricotta until you run out of ingredients. Bake uncovered til lasagna bubbles and top browns. Bake at 375 for 50-60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. 

As long as you aren't a veggie hater or Calvinesque little kid you will enjoy this lasagna! 

Foody Friday - PDub's Marinated Tomatoes, my version.

I love to cook in the winter. Summer? Not so much. I'm finding that I just can't bring myself to cook anything in the kitchen when the temperatures are soaring above 100. The kids and I have been living off cold meat sandwiches and Popsicles. Last week I ate nothing but watermelon for dinner! Watermelon is sure cool and refreshing but it got kind of boring after a week.

So because of the heat I have been in a food rut. I dont' know what to fix. When I saw Pioneer Woman's Marinated Tomatoes they sounded so good I knew I had to try them. Of course I had to tweak it a bit; I used dry herbs rather than fresh (it worked just fine) and as I was mixing up the marinade I spied the two zuchinni I had picked that morning. Aaaahhh!!! Zuchinni would be great with the tomatoes.

So here's my version of PDub's Marinated Tomatoes.

1 cup Canola Oil

1/4 cup Vinegar
4 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 white Onion, Sliced
1/4 cup Dry Parsley
1/8 cup Dry Basil
1/4 teaspoon Ground Thyme
2 cloves Garlic, Minced Finely
2 pounds Tomatoes, Cut Into Quarters (if Big) Or Halves (if Small)
2 zuchinni, sliced


Combine all ingredients except tomatoes in a large glass bowl. Whisk to combine, then add tomatoes and zuchs. (You can up the quantity of tomatoes or zuchs if need be.) Allow to marinate for at least 3 to 4 hours, several hours if possible. Tomatoes will give off liquid as they marinate.

Yum, I tell you these tomatoes were so cool and refreshing I ate the whole batch in two days. I can't wait to make some more but next time I'm going to add a jar of olives too! Yum, I'm drooling just thinking about it.

What is your go to cool food dish for hot steamy summer days? I need some more ideas!

Zuchinni Pie

When I was growing up my grandfather raised zuchinni....ACRES of zuchinni. Now if you know anything about zuchinni you know that it grows fast. In a backyard garden you pick zuchinni about every other day. In a FIELD of zuchinni it has to be picked EVERY DAY..sometimes twice a day! What better work force at my grandfather's disposal but his grandchildren. I remember two or three summers where we picked zuchinni everyday and then packed them in boxes to get hauled off to who knows where. The final destination of the zuchinni wasn't on the mind of a eleven year old.

What did all the grandkids think about the mountains of zuchinni we picked and washed and packed everyday? WE HATED IT!!! There was always zuchinni around and of course Mom and Grandma thought we should eat zuchinni too. How DARE they entertain such a thought? By the end of the hot summer day picking zuchinni there was only two things we even thought about doing with one of those vegetables of death.

We carved boats. I wished I had a picture to share with you of our zuchinni boats. When a zuchinni was really large it lost a lot of its flavor (zuchinni has flavor?) and couldn't be sold. So the grandkids would carve them up and float them in the cattle's water tank. It was quite gratifying to carve those big green veggies up!!

The only other thing we enjoyed about zuchinni was Grandma's zuchinni pie! Wonderful! As much as we hated zuchinni, my sisters and I would actually fight over this pie. Normally you would throw away the peel but we always talked Mom and Grandma into leaving it on. If it's left on the pie turns out green and relatives at family reunions aren't too keen on trying a green pie...which meant more for us!! This pie tastes just like a sugar cream pie with a bit of texture. Try it out! It will be a bigger hit than you can imagine!

ZUCHINNI PIE

1 cup Grated Zucchini (about 2 small zuchinni)
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Evaporated Milk
1 whole Egg
2 Tablespoons Flour
1-½ Tablespoon Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 whole Pie Crust
Preparation Instructions
Blend all ingredients together and pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Pie is done when a knife inserted comes out clean. Time may need to be adjusted if you are using a deep dish pie crust. How easy is that?