Grilled Zucchini

I LOVE grilled vegetables.  Here is a quick easy way if you are in a hurry and just want something flavorful and easy.

Ingredients:
Zucchini
Italian Salad Dressing

Directions:
Marinate your zucchini in italian salad dressing.  Lay right on the grill grates and grill until tender crisp.

Zucchini Cake

I’ve made this recipe twice now.  It’s a great recipe for Zucchini Cake.  No one will ever know it has zucchini in it.  

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups zucchini, blended
3/4 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, optional

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered supar
milk, to desired consistency
1 tsp. vanilla

Cake:  Cream butter, then add oil and sugar.  Mix well.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour.  When cool, melt butter and stir in cocoa for the frosting.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla and milk and beat until desired consistency.

Zucchini Brownies

I actually couldn’t decide what to make today with my zucchini, so I tried both the cookies and the brownies.  Mine turned out more of what I would classify as cake-like, than brownie-like, but they were delicious.  If you cut the brownies into 24 pieces, they are 4.5 weight watcher points.  

Ingredients:
For the brownies:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini (1 large or 2 small zucchinis)
up to 1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the frosting:
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the oil, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir. Fold in the zucchini. If your mixture is still very powdery, add up to 1/4 cup hot water (start with 1 tablespoon and work up from there, stirring well after each addition). The batter will be crumbly, but shouldn't be powdery. Add walnuts, if desired.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes until the brownies spring back when gently touched.
5. To make the frosting: Melt butter and cocoa together, stir and set aside to cool. Stir together milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies. Cut into squares.

Oatmeal Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s that time of year when Zucchini seems to be in abundance.  I didn’t even get a garden planted this year because of our move, however, I’ve still managed to get a hold of zucchini.  Today I tried these cookies.  I really like them because they are not overly sweet, yet soft and chewy like an oatmeal cookie should be.  My daughter is doing weight watchers right now, so I did figure out the points on these cookies.  I got 45 cookies out of this batch because I use a small cookie scoop.  For each cookie, it is 3 weight watcher points (just in case anyone else is interested).  I like to blend my zucchini, it makes it more moist and less obvious it is in the cookie.  If you decide to grate your zucchini, cut your flour back to one cup.  I used half wheat, half white.

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 cups quick oats

1 cup shredded zucchini (about 1 small)

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper (or spray them with nonstick cooking spray).

2.       In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and cocoa. Set aside.

3.       In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream butter, oil, and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients.

4.       Add oats and mix on low speed. Continue mixing on low speed and add zucchini. Mix until well combined.

5.       Scoop uniform balls onto cookie sheets. (I used a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop.) Bake 11-14 minutes until center of cookie no longer looks wet. Cool 10 minutes on cookie sheets before removing.

Zucchini Cake

Not the best picture, but I promise you, this cake is light, fluffy and will satisfy any chocolate craving. You'd never know it had zucchini in it at all! I like making it in a bundt cake and drizzling a chocolate sauce over the top, but you can make it in a bread pan and eat it plain.INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups flour
4 TBSP. baking cocoa
1/2 tsp. bakin powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
2-3 cups zucchini (chop in a food processor)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Beat the butter, oil and sugar well. Beat in the eggs, add the vanilla and sour cream. Dump in dry ingredients and beat into mixture, stir in zucchini. Pour into a greased and floured bundt cake or into loaf pans and bake at 325 for 1 hour. Cool in pan for 15 minutes.

If your like me, glaze with 3/4 cup whipping cream and 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips, melted over low heat.

Summer Zucchini Bread

This is always a favorite thing to make with all the zucchini coming out of the garden. I love it because it freezes so well! Of course, it never lasts too long! 1 cup white flour
2 cups wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini

Cream together sugar and oil. Add the remaining ingredients, leaving the flour and zucchini for last. Mix until blended. Pour into oiled pans and bake at 325 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let sit in pans for ten minutes before removing.