What I made with my Squash and Zucchinis

Well, I didn’t receive any suggestions for my large amounts of veggies, so I did some research and found these recipes.

Yellow Squash Casserole
(Recipe courtesy of Cheryl Alters-Jamison & Bill Jamison, American Home Cooking, Broadway Books)

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

1 3/4 pounds crookneck yellow squash or other yellow summer squash
1/4 pound zucchini or additional yellow summer squash
1/2 cup coarse-chopped carrots
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large onion, preferably yellow, chopped
1 plump garlic clove, minced
1 1/4 cups saltine or Ritz cracker crumbs
1/2 cup grated mild to medium Cheddar cheese
Hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a medium baking dish.

Slice the yellow squash and zucchini lengthwise into quarters, then cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Place the yellow squash, zucchini and carrots in a saucepan, barely cover with water and salt well. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat to medium and cover. Cook about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are very soft.

Meanwhile, warm 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
Stir in the onion and cook slowly until very soft and translucent, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook an additional minute.
Scrape the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Wipe out the skillet, return it to medium-low heat, and add to it the remaining tablespoon of butter.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the cracker crumbs and cook briefly until the crumbs are golden.
Scrape them onto a small plate and reserve them.

Drain the squash mixture, mashing the vegetables just a bit.
Spoon it into the mixing bowl.
Stir in the remaining 3/4 cup of cracker crumbs, cheese and a good splash or two of the pepper sauce. Salt and pepper generously to taste.
Stir in the eggs and spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Scatter the toasted cracker crumbs over the top.
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes, until golden brown and lightly firm in the center. Serve hot
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved


This one was pretty good. It made a nice casserole, though I think it would have been better, more solid with more crackers. It would actually be great I think for a Passover veggie dish with matzah farfel substituted for the crackers.


Rice with Squash and Cumin
c.1997, M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger, all rights reserved

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings


5 to 6 assorted small squashes, zucchini, yellow summer squashes, patty pans
1/2 cup olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups cooked rice, (aromatic is nice)
1 bunch parsley leaves, washed and chopped roughly

Trim squashes and cut into small 1/4-inch dice.
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan and add 1/3 of the diced squashes and some salt and pepper. Saute small batches briefly over high heat stirring often until lightly browned and slightly soft. Transfer to a bowl.
Cook diced onion in remaining olive oil in frying pan over medium heat 3 to 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic and cook briefly. Add cumin, reduce heat to low, cook stirring about 2 minutes, and then add to squashes in bowl.
Add rice and chopped parsley and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

This one was ehhh. I thought it would be a nice combo of flavors, but it was kinda ordinary. Tip, use less rather than more parsley, or leave it out all together, and salt the zucchini and squash well or it won’t have much taste. It was also kinda oily, frying the squash, I don’t love frying. I felt I could have used a lot less oil, but that would be easy to fix. I also think that the recipe needed more flavor than just cumin. Maybe I’ll play around with it some time. It was good enough if you had a ton of zucchini and squash to make, but I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to make it again.

Apple Zucchini Bread
Recipe courtesy Tama Hiles

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 to 3 loaves, 12 to 15 servings

4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
5 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup oil
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup shredded apples
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine first 6 ingredients and set aside.
Combine eggs, oil, sugars, and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat until well blended.
Stir in zucchini, apples, and nuts. Add to dry ingredients; stir until moistened.
Put into greased and floured loaf pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

This one was GREAT! I had never had zucchini bread before. I made it at the request of the friend who had given me endless amounts of zucchini in the first place. It came out really good, it was easy to make, and everyone at work loved it. It made 2 pretty decent sized loaves. One was devoured at work and the other my friend happily took home with her. As expected, I didn’t truly taste the zucchini in it, but I didn’t expect to. I LOVE “Rena’s” pumpkin bread, but I don’t particularly love pumpkin. I would definitely make this recipe again. YUMMY!!

Spaghetti with Zucchini and Garlic
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

2 small to medium zucchini
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 4 turns of the pan
4 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano

Pile up 2 or 3 layers of paper towels on a work surface. Working on the paper towels, shred zucchinis using a box grater holding the zucchini at an angle.
Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil to the pan.
Add chopped garlic to the oil.
When garlic speaks by sizzling in oil, add shredded zucchini. Season zucchini with salt and pepper.
Sauté shredded zucchini 7 to 10 minutes.
Add hot, drained pasta to the pan. Toss spaghetti with zucchini and garlic oil.
Add a couple of handfuls of grated cheese to the pan. Adjust seasoning and serve.
Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved

I haven’t made this one yet, (supper tonight) but it seems right up mu alley, something I have done with countless other veggies, and well I have loved every single one of Rachael Ray’s recipes, so I’m assuming that this one will be no different.

And that’s that! Just a few things to do with pounds of Zucchini and Summer Squash. I’m sure there are more out there, but these were pretty good too. :) :) :)