Summer Squash Boats

 

The problem with my cooking is this:  I believe in the waste not, want not theory.  So I throw a little bit of this in, throw a little bit of that into recipes in order to clean my fridge.  This is how I make sure we use things up without being wasteful and also how I have taught myself to cook (learning what works and what emphatically DOESN'T!).

This method is great for our palates, not-so-great for writing recipes.

So here is the how-to for making zucchini boats, with the superfluous stuff in italics.

You'll need:

• 2-3 zucchini or summer squash
• 1 pound meat of some sort (I used a jar of homecanned ground beef in tomato sauce but sausage would be good!  Or chicken!  Or beef cubes!  Kielbasa works great too!)
•  1 large onion, diced
•  1 large green pepper, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, depending upon your tastes (I used two)
  
• any other veggies you might like or have to use up:  I used some leftover roasted delicata squash, zucchini and potatoes from the other night and two carrots that we pulled up for Sketch Tuesday that I promised we would eat for supper (our first pulled up garden carrots create quite the excitement around here!) 
• spaghetti sauce, about a 1 cup. (Mine was canned with the beef and I also added five fresh small tomatoes.
• Cheese of some sort, shredded (any would be good.  I used mozzerella because that is what I had.)
• Seasonings:  a few pinches each of salt, pepper and italian seasoning

Here's what you do:

Cut in half 2-3 zucchini lengthwise and hollow out seeds with a spoon or scoop, leaving the bottom intact.  Place on a cookie sheet or baking pan and preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Meanwhile, brown meat (and discard some fat if necessary) (OR use canned beef, like me!) then saute onion, green pepper, carrots, garlic in mixture until onions and peppers are nearly ready.  (This is when I added my roasted leftover veggies) Add sauce and a few fresh tomato hunks (if you want) and simmer for a few minutes some of the water is cooked off.

Fill up your squash boats with your beef mixture and top with mozzerella and put in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until the meat mixture is nicely browned and the zucchini is cooked.

Beet Greens

I really love beets.  I love the taste of them, I love the look of them, I *love* growing them, I love thinning them!  So it is all the more unfortunate that I only learned about beet greens a few years ago; to think of all the delicious greens I just....discarded. (gasp!)

Next time you pull up some beets from your garden-don't throw those leaves away!  Utilize those flavonoids and vitamins for your own benefit: Try this recipe instead...and be forever converted.

**For an extra treat, I will occasionally add crumbled bacon pieces to the top before serving...but only when I want to impress.

You'll need:

• 1 pound beet greens
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup of water
• 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/6 cup of cider vinegar
•  1 or 2 strips of  bacon, chopped** (or a tablespoon of bacon fat)

** If you choose to impress with bacon, brown it now. Pat it dry and set aside.

Keep the hot grease or heat 1 Tbsp of bacon fat in your large skillet.

Add chopped onions, cook over medium heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions soften and start to brown. Stir in minced garlic. Add water to the hot pan, stirring to loosen any particles from bottom of pan. Stir in sugar and red pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.

Cut the leaves and stems an inch or two from the neck of the beet. Wash and pat dry your beet greens, and if you want to chop them, do so-I usually don't) and then add them to the skillet by gently tossing them in the onion mixture so the greens are well coated. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 5-15 minutes until the greens are tender. Stir in vinegar.

** Top greens with bacon pieces just before serving.

 

Saucy Spareribs

Spare ribs are a very special treat in this house but since we had our home-grown hogs butchered, we happen to have them in the freezer.  So on a middle-of-the-week, hotter than heck summer day, and nobody present except our very own selves, we decided to have a feast.  

These spare ribs were delicious.  The sauce was divine.  Try them next time you want a middle-of-the-week feast.  That's all.

6 lb. pork spare ribs
1 t. salt
water
3 T cooking oil
1/3 c. finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 c. ketchup
1/3 c. light corn syrup
1/3 c. vinegar
2 T. worcestershire sauce
2 T. soy sauce
2 T. spicy mustard

Place ribs and salt in a kettle with enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes or until almost tender.

Drain well.  Set aside (in fridge if it won't be for a while)


Meanwhile, heat oil in 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat and sauce onion and garlic in it about five minutes or until tender.  Add remaining ingredients, mixing well.  Cook until mixture comes to a boil and then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. 

To Grill:

Grill ribs over medium heat, turning and basting often with sauce, for about 30 minutes or until ribs are well glazed.  

Huckleberry (or Blueberry) Syrup

I have four children.  That is eight extra hands to help pick huckleberries with me every July that I can make good use of.  Of course, it can take some doing to make those small hands actually kerplunk them into buckets instead of mouths- but the promise of this blueberry sauce and pancakes for supper usually does the trick.

The above photo required making a (THIRD!) batch of pancakes after supper and scrape the bottom of the syrup pan just to get this picture.  You BARELY got a picture.  So, yeah...it is edible.

Here is the recipe, which I doubled for my family of six (and will likely triple in the future.) 

1 c berries

1 T. butter

1/2 c. water

1/3 c, sugar (or honey)

1 t. cornstarch

Mix cornstarch and water and then all other ingredients to a saucepan and boil until berries have popped.  Reduce heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened.  

Super simple.  Super delicious.

Zucchini Soup

It is probably foolish to admit how excited I was after I made this soup. What an awesome, different way to use up those zucchini that overwhelm during summer! (Simple pleasures for simple people!) This is so. SO. good. Seen originally, here.

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 4 large zucchini, chopped
• 2 large potatoes, peeled, chopped
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 3/4 cup milk
• salt and cracked black pepper

1. Cook chopped onion, garlic clove, zucchini and potatoes in a tablespoon oil for about 5 minutes, making sure vegetables don't brown.

2. Add chicken stock and 1 cup water. Bring soup to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.

3. Blend with a hand-held blender until smooth. Return soup to the heat and add 3/4 cup cream, salt and cracked black pepper.
   

Chicken and Zucchini Tortellini Soup

I didn't get a very good picture of this, but here it is anyway. The soup was good and a good use for all that zucchini from summer!

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1 large onion
2-3 medium zucchini, only 1/4 inch of flesh with peel-no seeds)
2 large carrots, cut diagonal
1 1/2 t. minced garlic
2 cans chicken stock
1/2 c. water
1/8 t. marjoram
1 1/2 t. lemon juice
1/4 t. red pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup tortellini
6 cherry tomatoes, halved.

Cook chicken cubes and saute onion together in a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add zucchini and carrots, liquids and spices and let simmer 15 minutes or until carrots are fork tender. Add tortellini and cherry tomatoes and cook for a few minutes more~ until tortellini is tender.

Can use shredded sharp cheddar as a garnish, if desired.

Sweet Pan Chili

Matt had a hunkering for baked beans one night, and I had only one can of Cambell's Pork 'n beans. Desperation is the mother of invention, and now we have a new favorite cool weather meal. That night I served it with cast iron cornbread and I wouldn't have it any other way.

In cast iron pan, brown and saute':

1 large onion, chopped
1 pound ground beef or sweet sausage (If necessary, drain excess fat)

Add to pan:

1 can black beans, drained.
1 can butter beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained.
1 can pork and beans, undrained

Then add:

3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 c. water
3-4 T. barbecue sauce
3 splashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. brown sugar
A sprinkling of: paprika, garlic powder, cracked black pepper and salt

Let simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Tuna Fish

I don't like fish. I don't EAT fish. I only COOK fish when Matt begs and pleads. The one exception is tuna fish, but I only eat my own.

If you like tuna to taste like tuna-this recipe probably isn't for you. If you like a whole medley of flavor with an only-slightly fishy taste, give this one a try.

I never use exact measurements so I have included approximations here.

• 2 cans of tuna fish packed in water, drained well.
• 1/3-1/2 cup Mayo or Miracle Whip (I use the latter)
• 2 T. zucchini relish (I think this is the secret ingredient that sets my Tuna apart from others, but if you don't have any just use pickle relish)
• 2 t. minced onion
• 1/4-1/2 t. parsley
• 1/4 t. horseradish (Optional. I add this when I am feeling frisky.)

Mix all ingredients together. (It is best to make the tuna a few minutes ahead of time, so that the minced onion will soften.)
Make a sandwich using whole wheat toast, salad greens, cheddar and tuna OR, for parties, a bit of tuna on Saltine crackers topped with thinly sliced extra sharp cheddar (only had colby jack in the fridge for picture day) is a GREAT appetizer.

Peanut Butter Popcorn (Balls)

You'll need:
About 1/2 cup popcorn, popped

1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

(I usually double this recipe for large crowds.)

Put your popped popcorn into a brown grocery sack but be SURE TO GET OUT ALL THE UNPOPPED kernels. (They can wreck havoc on your teeth!)

Mix the honey and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for a couple minutes, then remove from the heat and add the peanut butter. Stir vigorously until all the peanut butter is melted, then mix in the vanilla.

Dump pan-goodness into papersack, covering the top layer of popcorn as well as you can. Then, holding bag shut with your hands-SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE it until popcorn is coated. You may need to use a spoon or your hands as well. Serve as is or, butter your hands a wee bit and form into popcorn balls. Wrap individual balls with saran and they will keep for well over a week!

Garden Veggie Pie

You will need:
prepared single pie crust
zucchini or summer squash
onion
tomatos
garlic
lemon juice
flour
sugar
basil
egg
parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Saute' :
(in 2 T. olive oil for about 5 minutes until slightly tender but still crisp)

3 medium summer squash (I used yellow and zucchini)
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato (I used 6 or 7 cherry)

Add about 1 T. minced garlic for one minute before removing from heat.

Prepare pie crust: Once rolled flat cut into wedges like a pizza and put pointed side OUT in a greased pie plate. Pinch the wide wedges back together to create a solid bottom and leave points hanging over edge.

Mix:

1 egg
1/2 c. parmesan cheese (I like the shredded)
3 T. fresh basil, chopped
1 t. lemon juice
1/4 c. flour
1 T. sugar
kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste ( I like plenty)

...into the saute'd veggies and pour into pie crust.

Fold over the extra pie crust points. If you want a fancy presentation, paint with an egg wash. (I didn't) Sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes or until crust is nicely browned and cheese is golden.

TRULY delicious.