Banana Zucchini Bread

One more zucchini recipe for you and this one is amazing!  The combination of bananas and zucchini in one muffin make this bread so moist and delicious.  This is a perfect way to bid those last few zucchini plants good-bye.

This recipe makes one loaf of bread (9"x5" pan) or 12 muffins.

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 C canola oil
1/4 C unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium, ripe banana
3/4 C zucchini, shredded

Preheat the oven to 350.
Line 12 muffin tins or grease one 9"x5" bread pan.
Cream together eggs, sugar, canola oil, applesauce, vanilla, and banana.
Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Do not over mix or your bread will be tough.
Fold in the zucchini.
Pour the batter into the muffin tins or bread pan.
Bake muffins for 18-22 minutes or bread for 45-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Remove it from the pan and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.

This recipe is adapted from www.browneyedbaker.com.

Zucchini-Apple-Carrot Muffins

Zucchini season is winding down but there is so much left to use still!  These muffins are tasty and fairly healthy.  I made a double batch and put half in the freezer to pull out later.  They warm up nicely in the microwave when I need a little afternoon snack.  I love that they use wheat flour and various vegetables and tasty green apples.  They are so good looking, too.  The pops of green and orange look so vibrant and fall-ish!

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C flour (or just use 2 total cups of whole wheat flour)
2 C total, shredded zucchini, granny smith apple, and carrots (I used about 1 C zucchini, 1 small apple, and 10-15 baby carrots)
2 eggs
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 C unsweetened applesauce
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350.
Line or spray with nonstick spray 12 muffin tins.
Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix all of the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
Add the fruit and veggies to the wet ingredients.
Mix the wet ingredients in the dry ingredients until just combined (don't over mix).
Divide evenly among the 12 muffin tins.
Bake for 20-25 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
Serve warm or cooled.

This recipe is adapted from www.theleangreenbean.com.

Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

Maybe I should write a cookbook that is strictly zucchini recipes.  Then when I have an abundance I won't sit and search forever for the perfect new recipe to make!  These cookies are so soft and have just the right amount of chocolatey-ness!  They are simple and extremely tasty!

This recipe makes 4 dozen cookies.

1/2 C shortening
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C shredded zucchini
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP cocoa powder
1/2 C buttermilk
3 1/2 C flour
1 C chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350.
Cream together the shortening and sugars.
Add the eggs and vanilla.
Stir in the zucchini.
Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cocoa powder.
Mix in the buttermilk and flour intermittently (1 C flour + a little bit of buttermilk, until all is added in).
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Place spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.
Bake for 7-10 minutes until the cookies begin to firm and are cooked through (look cooked on the bottom).

This recipe is from jensfavoritecookies.com.

Lemon Zucchini Bread

 

Every year I am in search of new ways to use the abundance of zucchini from my garden.  It grows like crazy!  Even when everything else is gone, the zucchini just keeps on growing.
This bread is a moist, soft bread.  It is not too sweet and has a light lemon flavor to it.  The green speckles from the zucchini look beautiful in the yellow hues of the bread.  It is a lighter tasting bread that hit the spot when we were looking for something not too heavy and not too sweet.

4 C flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C canola oil
1 C milk
4 TBSP lemon juice
zest of two lemons
1 1/4 C sugar
2 1/2 C zucchini, grated

Preheat oven to 350.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Mix in the wet ingredients (minus the zucchini) until just combined.
Fold in the zucchini.
Pour into 6 mall loaf pans (4.5"x2.5") or two regular pans.
Bake for 30-35 minutes for the small pans or 50-70 minutes for the regular pans.
Remove from the oven and let them cook in the pans for 5 minutes.
Remove from the pans and let them cool on a wire rack before cutting and serving.

This recipe is adapted from www.intimateweddings.com.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

It's that time of year again...zucchini overload!!  This is a sweet taste on the typical zucchini bread.  You can make it lightly sweet or with a deeper chocolate flavor, just by adding chocolate chips.

This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread.

1 1/2 C sugar
1 C unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 C all-purpose flour (for higher elevation, lower elevations use 2 1/2 C)
1/2 C cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 C zucchini, peeled and shredded
1 C chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Lightly grease two bread pans with cooking spray (8"x4" or 9"x5" pans).
Mix together the sugar, applesauce, eggs and vanilla.
Add the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and baking powder to the wet mixture and blend.
Mix in the zucchini.
Fold in the chocolate chips (you can also make one loaf with chocolate chips and one without by adding the chocolate chips to the batter after you fill one pan).
Fill the two bread pans equally.
Bake for 45-55 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).
Let the loaves sit in their pans for 10 minutes.
Transfer them to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

This recipe is adapted from www.sixsistersstuff.com.

Cheesy Summer Veggies

I first had this recipe at a cousin's house for dinner and knew I had to make it at home.  I am kind of picky about how I eat squash because the texture can be a big "yuck" for me sometimes.  This was the perfect way to eat squash...pair it with cheese and tomatoes?  Love it!
I like tomatoes and my husband doesn't and he likes potatoes and I don't so I did half the pan with tomatoes and half the pan with potatoes.  You can obviously mix them all together if your taste buds are fans of both tomatoes and potatoes.

This recipe makes about 4-6 servings.

1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
1-2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 C yellow onion, diced
1 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp thyme
salt and pepper
1/1-1 C Italian cheese blend (the cheese could be omitted if you are looking for a way to cut back on calories)

Preheat the oven to 400.
Saute the garlic and onion in the olive oil on medium heat for about five minutes until they are soft.
Spray and 8"x8" baking pan or a pie pan (or really and pan you have that is small-ish) with cooking spray.
Place the sauteed garlic and onion on the bottom of the pan.
Place the zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and potatoes in an alternating pattern in the dish over the onion and garlic.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.
Cover the pan with foil.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Remove the foil and sprinkle the veggies with the cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for another 15-20 minutes until the cheese is golden and starting to crisp on the edges.

This recipe is adapted from www.budgetbytes.com.

Baked Zucchini Sticks

This recipe comes from a coworker of mine.  It is a great way to use up more of our overflowing supply of fresh garden zucchini!

2 large zucchini, sliced into sticks 1” wide

2 eggs

1/2 C Panko (or bread crumbs...Panko will make it crunchier)

1/2 C Parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400.

Line a cookie sheet with a layer of foil.

Coat the foil with a layer of cooking spray.

Combine the dry ingredients on a small plate.

Wisk the eggs in a bowl.

Coat the zucchini sticks in eggs followed by the dry mixture.

Place on the greased cookie sheet.

Lightly spray the sticks with a layer of cooking spray.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the sticks are soft, but not mushy.

Remove and serve immediately.