Great Ideas for too much Garden Zucchini!

Too much garden zucchini? J.O. has great recipe ideas! They take no time at all and very few ingredients that most likely you have in the pantry! Pasta sauce, J.O. Italian seasoning, ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, pepperoni, cheese, mushrooms, onions, fresh tomatoes are just a few of the ingredients that you might need…it’s all up to what you want to create!

The biggest complaint I hear about zucchini is that there is always too much! (“I just planted one plant, why do I have so much!?!”)  Zucchini is a great, meaty-type vegetable that can take the place of ground beef. I have used it in lasagna, sandwiches and as a main dish and tricked a few people who claimed they don’t eat green ~yes, zucchini is THAT good! Grill it, saute or bake it and always add spice; the great thing about zucchini is that it does not have an overpowering flavor so you can add a variety of spices and always change it up! J.O. Italian Seasoning, J.O. Garlic Pepper, J.O. Rotisserie, J.O. Lemon Pepper, J.O. Oregano, J.O. Basil and if you want it spicy, do J.O. Cajun, or J.O. XHot #1. If you want to, fry it up using J.O. Golden Batter or J.O. Seasoned Southern Fish Fry. (It’s not just for fish! It’s the spicy batter that makes anything delicious!)

Too much zucchini is a great thing! Clean and cut the zucchini in half and then in half again (kind of like making zucchini boats). Then add whatever you would like…make it a Zucchini Parmesan (Think Eggplant or Chicken Parmesan and substitute with zucchini, then add the sauce, the cheese and bake.) There are pizza ideas where you add onion, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, basil, tomatoes, J.O. Italian seasoning, J.O. Oregano. Substitute it in your lasagna recipes or use it as an additional layer to reduce calories, and add veggies to your diet.

There are a zillion sandwich ideas where you can fry it up in some J.O. Golden Batter or J.O. Seasoned Southern Fish Fry and add to a bun with lettuce, tomato and horseradish mayonnaise; broil the zucchini in a little olive oil and garlic to get it tender to a fork-touch and put in your veggie panini sandwich (this is mine, picture on the right above); or grill up zucchini, portabella mushrooms (keep ’em whole!), onions (thick sliced for the grill) and either add on top of a turkey burger, grilled mahi-mahi burger or hamburger, or stack all the veggies up, add a slice of mozzarella, fresh basil, drizzle with pesto and voila, dinner is served.

This is from Ginger: stuffed with fresh tomatoes, ground beef, fresh basil, fresh garlic, and J.O.’s Italian seasoning topped with Parmesan cheese (the picture above on the left).

Don’t forget – stuffed with an artichoke-spinach dip or shrimp – sprinkled with J.O. #1 – very delightful! The zucchini ideas are endless. Don’t knock it because it’s a green veggie – once you try it, you will want to eat the entire dish! Trust us!

Happy Zucchini Dinner Days of July,

🙂 Pamela