Still have zucchini from your garden? Thinking about Fall? This baked treat is a perfect combination.

I was having thoughts of Fall this weekend. Fair season is starting up and all things pumpkin will be here before we know it! However, I'm still in full on zucchini mode over here, so my search for a combination of the two led me to this recipe.

I added a few spices and cinnamon chips to bring on even more Fall flavor. These muffins are super moist, and are going to be the perfect comforting treat for those long work and school days this week.

Here is what you'll need:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg 
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup cinnamon chips

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 24 muffin cups with baking spray, or alternately line with cupcake liner, and set aside.

Combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to bowl of stand mixer. Mix on low until just incorporated.

Add zucchini and cinnamon chips to batter and mix until incorporated.

Pour evenly into muffin cups (approx. 1/3 cup per cup). Reduce oven to 325F degrees and bake for 22 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean (or with a few crumbs, but no batter). Remove from oven and tilt each muffin in it's muffin cup to cool. Makes 24 muffins.

Alternately, you could bake this in 2 loaf pans for 50-60 minutes.

Source: Adapted from Spend with Pennies

It's zucchini-palooza around here these days! It seems like every other day I find a monster. You know the ones I'm talking about, somehow it wasn't visible yesterday and today it's the size of a baseball bat! I've been searching my yellow squash plant for the monsters as well, but it's funny how things work out sometimes. We have so many zucchini and haven't picked any yellow squash, yet my sister is the complete opposite with a lot of yellow squash and a dying zucchini plant.

For ease, we generally eat the zucchini grilled, roasted or stuffed, but that can only happen so many times before it becomes boring. Have no fear, since I haven't posted anything new in months, I figured I'd at least share with you my favorite savory and sweet zucchini/summer squash recipes to keep things far from boring!

Zucchini Cornbread

Shaved Summer Squash with Prosciutto and Goat Cheese

Zucchini Corn Fritters

Turkey Burger Pitas with Tzatziki

Harvest Muffins

Foil Packet Summer Squash

Here are some friends' recipes that I've made and recommend as well:

Chocolate Zucchini Bread from Alida's Kitchen

Pineapple Zucchini Bread from Sweet Beginnings

Pasta with Zucchini Cream Sauce from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Black Bean Roasted Zucchini Goat Cheese Enchiladas from The Way the Cookie Crumbles

If you don't get around to making these now, shred that zucchini and freeze it so you can make these yummy treats in the dead of winter!

I'll be honest, I was pretty stumped with what to make. Does that mean I don't have a happy place? Can't be so. I think the issue is narrowing down to 1 pick. I decided on these Harvest Muffins.  I'd say one of my most happy places is being outdoors during the harvest season. Whether it's strolling through a country fair, picking apples, taking a drive to see the colorful leaves or sipping something warm by a bonfire, being outdoors during harvest season always makes me happy.

These muffins were fantastic! If you're looking for something fairly healthy and just slightly sweet, here's your match! Additionally, they have little flecks of color and crunchiness, and a warm spicy smell and flavor. These are going to be a great grab-and-go breakfast for this week!

Be sure to check out Newlywed and Newly Cooking for this month's What's Baking round-up.
Here is what you'll need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1 shredded carrot
• 1 shredded apple
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/8 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder and spices in a large mxing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine shredded zucchini, carrot and apple.

In a small bowl, combine, eggs, brown sugar and milk. Whisk until well combined. Add egg mixture to shredded vegetables and fruit. Stir until well combined.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until almost combined (mostly wet, but a few dry spots). Add flax seeds and cranberries, and fold until combined being careful not to overmix.

Evenly distribute among pre-greased muffin cups (~1/4 cup batter in each cup). Bake for 12-14 minutes until browned and toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serves 12.

Source: Adapted from Shrinking Kitchen

While this recipe looks like a lot of work, this meal came together fairly quickly. I made the tzatziki and while it was chilling I made the burgers, cooked them and assembled dinner. You could also make the components the night before or morning of, which I love to do in order to make dinnertime more manageable.

The tzatziki really makes this meal great! The burgers were really juicy due to the zucchini, but I think next time I'll add some oregano and possibly feta to bump up their flavor a bit. If you like Greek food, these are well worth putting on your weekly meal plan!

For the Tzatziki:

• 1/2 English Cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
• 12 oz Greek yogurt
• 1 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp olive oil 
• 1 tsp lemon juice
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.

For the Burgers:

• 3/4 lb ground turkey
• 1 small zucchini, shredded
• 1/4 small onion, shredded
• 1 Tbsp cilantro
• salt pepper
• 2 tsp olive oil

• 2 pita with pockets, cut in half
• 1/2 English cucumber, sliced thinly
• 1 small tomato, sliced thinly
• 1/2 onion, sliced thinly

Place cucumber, tomato and onion slices in a pita half. Add 2 burgers and top with tzatziki.

Serves: 4, 2 mini burgers each

Source: Adapted from Weight Watchers as seen on A Taste of Home Cooking

As I mentioned in my last post, this month was my turn to host What's Baking! I was so excited to be hosting at a time when Spring produce is at its finest! Our farmer's markets are starting to open around here and I'm always looking for ways to use the produce we find. At some point I hope to make everything submitted this month, and I hope something in this round-up inspires you to seek out Spring produce at your local farmer's market. There are so many great posts this month!

First up, we have Hezzi-D's Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables. I love that Heather went with a savory meal option. I cannot wait to see these vegetables show up at the farmer's market!

Next up is Beantown Baker's Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins. Jen's blog is one of my go-to's when I'm looking for baking ideas. 'I see these muffins in my near future, a great way to use of the extra rhubarb I put in the freezer.


Here we have a first time participant, Newlywed and Newly Cooking's Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Almond Streusel looks delicious. Joanna also provides us a little comic relief in the form of a kitchen mishap, something I'm sure we can all relate to!


Another first time participant here, Pursuing Domestic Goddess-ness' Savory Cheese and Chive Bread. Catherine was happy to put her chive plant to good use, and gives us a tip on how to prepare fiddleheads.


Just Baked's Brown Sugar Berry Shortcakes takes the traditional shortcakes to another level with the addition of brown sugar.


Next up we have Jenna's Cooking Journey's Blueberry Lemon Loaf from another first time participant. I absolutely love that we have so many new participants this month!


Sweet Beginnings' Pineapple Zucchini Bread is a recipe I've made before. I save shredded zucchini in my freezer every year so I can make it again! Jaida, thanks for the reminder!

We had another blueberry entry from Yudith. Blissfully Delicious' Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake is an indication to me that it is perfectly fine to eat cake for breakfast!

Eva Bakes' Strawberry Greek Frozen Yogurt reminds us that Spring produce can be enjoyed cold as well!

If I had to choose a favorite vegetable it would probably be summer squash.  I find it incredibly versatile; there are so many options to prepare it and it goes well with just about everything.  I don't think I could ever tire of it.

You may still be getting summer squash or zucchini from your garden, and you're probably still grilling, so I thought I'd share my favorite way to prepare it with you.  This is just as easy to make for 8 people as it is for 1.  Actually when I first started making this I was living on my own, and I ate this more than I'd like to admit.

Here is what you need for each packet (1 serving):

• 1 medium summer squash or zucchini, chopped
• 1 small-medium green or red pepper, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• salt and pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon 
• 1 1/2 tsp butter
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp olive oil

Take 2 pieces of foil and layer them crosswise.  Place chopped vegetables on tin foil.  Salt and pepper to taste.

In a coffee cup, place lemon juice, butter, red pepper flakes.  Melt in microwave 40 seconds.  Add olive oil and stir to combine.  Pour over vegetables.  Wrap foil to make a completely enclosed packet. 

Place foil packet on hot grill.  Cook 8 minutes, flip and cook another 8 minutes or until squash is cooked to your desired tenderness.

Source: Adventures In My Kitchen original

I found this recipe when I was looking for a new way to use up zucchini.  Although I didn't get many zucchini from my garden this year, I wanted to try a new recipe, preferably something savory that was not a bread or muffin.  I made a savory zucchini muffin last year that ended up in the freezer and disguised as stuffing (trust me, they were not good!).

These fritters on the other hand did not end up in the freezer, there were none left, nor did they require a disguise.  Served with a fresh garden tomato salad, these made a great light summer meal.

Here is what you'll need:

• 2 medium zucchini
• sea salt
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 2 ears corn, kernels cut off 
• 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Freshly ground pepper
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• Canola oil, for frying
• salt 

Shred zucchini on grater.  Set in strainer, salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes.  Squeeze remaining liquid from zucchini.

Meanwhile in a small fry pan over medium-high heat, melt butter and saute onion and garlic until softened, stirring occasionally.  Add corn and saute about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

In a mixing bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, baking soda and pepper.

In a separate large bowl, beat buttermilk and egg together.  Add corn mixture and zucchini and mix well.  Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.

Coat bottom of fry pan with canola oil and heat to medium-high heat.  Using 2 soup spoons, scoop batter and place in hot fry pan.  Cook 3-4 minutes until brown, flip and brown other side another 3 minutes.  Remove from fry pan and place on paper towel.  Salt immediately and allow to cool slightly before serving.

I was able to get 11 fritters using this method.

Source: Food Network Magazine via Food Network

I'm so happy to be back participating in What's Baking!  This month's theme, Bake Local, was chosen by Lindsey from Our Share of the Harvest.  Lindsey's blog is dedicated to cooking local and a great resource when it comes to cooking from a CSA share.

It wasn't until this week that I nailed down a recipe and I'm glad I waited.  Zucchini season is now in full force, and every year I'm on the hunt for ways to use it.  Let's face it, zucchini is great, but it grows so rapidly that it tends to get overwhelming!  So began my hunt for a new way to use it.
 
The original of this recipe can be found on Baking Bites.  I think I did pretty good with the local ingredients, aside from the staple pantry baking ingredients.  In keeping with the local theme, I made several changes, subbing local honey for molasses, using local milk instead of buttermilk and adding corn.  I have to say that this experience was a real eye opener for me.  While I shop at farmer's markets, grow my own garden and look for local products at the grocery store, there are so many more opportunities for me to consider. 

JR and I both really enjoyed this cornbread!  JR liked that it was sweeter than my normal recipe, and I liked that it was very moist and a great way to add some veggies to our meal.  I can see us making this again, and it may even become our go-to recipe.  By the way, if you have picky eaters, aside from a few green flecks, I doubt they will even be able to pick up on the zucchini if you use the finest grate.

Here is what you'll need (items marked with * are local):

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter* 
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup brown sugar 
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup whole milk*
• 1 egg*
• 1 egg white*
• 2 Tbsp honey*
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter*, melted
• 1 corn cob*, kernels removed
• 1 cup grated zucchini*, squeeze off excess liquid

Preheat oven to 400F degrees.  Grease an 8x8 pan with 1 Tbsp of butter.  

In a large mixing bowl, add cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.

In a separate mixing bowl, add milk, egg, egg white, honey and melted butter.  Whisk until well combined.

Pour milk mixture into dry mixture.  Stir until just combined.  Add corn and zucchini and stir gently until evenly distributed.

Pour batter into greased pan.  Tap pan on the counter a few times to let out any air bubbles.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool before cutting and serving.  Serves 9.

Hello my dear readers!  I've been on a hiatus recovering from an unexpected ailment. My next few posts are recipes I made over a month ago.  I am so sorry, I just didn't have it in me to get them posted.  The good news is that I'm well now,  I finally feel like blogging and I have a bunch of recipes to share with you.  I thank you for sticking with me and hope you enjoy what is to come! 

You can see a trend with the last few posts; the weather was getting warmer and my last 3 posts are salads.  Well, I hope you don't mind, but the June 2011 edition of Cooking Light had several great looking recipes, a few of which happened to be salads including this one.  This works for me, because their prep really couldn't be any easier which is great for a weeknight meal.

My local store doesn't sell ricotta salata, so I opted to go with goat cheese which I think worked well.  Luckily I had just purchased a mint plant for my garden, because the mint really adds another dimension of freshness which I glad we didn't miss out on.  While I have a jar of dried mint, I think fresh ingredients all around is the only way to go with this dish.

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 medium yellow squash
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp thinly sliced fresh mint
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3 thin slices prosciutto (1 ounce), chopped (I think you need 4 slices, one to snack on)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled ricotta salata, feta cheese or goat cheese

Using a vegetable peeler over a large mixing bowl, shave the zucchini and squash lengthwise into long noodle-like strips.  Salt vegetables and toss.

In a small bowl, combine mint, olive oil, lemon rind, lemon juice, and black pepper.  Pour liquid over squash, toss and allow to sit.

In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, cook prosciutto until browned and crisp.  Transfer to a plate to cool.  Once cool, eat one slice and crumble the rest into bite size pieces.

Add prosciutto and cheese to squash and gently toss to combine.  Serves 3.