zucchini

metsgirl31
metsgirl31 Posts: 45
edited September 20 in Recipes
In an effort to eat more vegetables, I bought a bad of frozen zucchini pieces from the food store. I heard of grilled zucchini, so I put them on the george foreman. They just came out blah, and I couldn't really eat them :frown: . I'm not too sure I like just plain zucchini, but i have had it at restaurants and liked how they prepared it. While i'm sure at those places it was smothered in not-so-good-for-you stuffs, does anyone have any healthy ways to incorporate zucchini into a meal and make it taste better? Thanks!

Replies

  • wljr02
    wljr02 Posts: 5
    I buy fresh zucchini and sautee it in a tiny bit of olive oil (good fat!) with lots of pepper and a little salt, if you want more flavor, you can add fresh garlic at the end too. Just don't over-cook, it tastes much better when it still has a little crunch! I eat it almost every day. :)
  • BiloxiBelle
    BiloxiBelle Posts: 680 Member
    I cut mine up and put it in a skillet/pan that has a lid. I let them cook without the lid for several minutes (until some start turning a light brown). Then I put the lid on & cook them until they are the desired texture. The cajun in me prefers my veggies cooked until almost mush, so for me that's about 20 minutes.

    I do variations of this...before I put the lid on, sometimes I sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning on them. Other times I add a can of diced tomatoes. I also like them sprinkled w/parmesan cheese. I have also been known to sprinkle a few packets of Splenda in the pan. (I don't do all of these "recipes" at the same time...sometimes its the lemon pepper, sometimes I do tomatoes....) I also like to cook down some onions before adding the veggies to the pan & then adding some Italian spices or oregano.... Its endless really!!!!
  • klhain
    klhain Posts: 35 Member
    We love to slice it very thin with a little butter and morton natures seasoning, then grill it on the BBQ. It's so good we stand there and eat it hot right off the grill. You can find this at almost any grocery store. It has a blue lid. Let me know how you like it.
  • tangib
    tangib Posts: 11
    One of my favourite dishes that calls for zucchini would have to be Ratatouille, it's so yummy! It's also good for you and it incorporates lots of veggies. Here is a good recipe for it. http://tastyplanner.com/recipes/517-ratatouille I sometimes will toss some toasted sesame seeds on top of it once it's on my plate to give it a little extra interest! I find the dish itself to be full of flavour!

    I too, love zucchini and probably could eat it everyday! I sometimes just cut it once lengthwise and drizzle just a bit of extra virgin olive oil on it, a dash of balsamic or red wine vinegar on it and then shake some no salt added mixed shaker seasoning (like roasted garlic seasoning, roasted red pepper seasoning or italian seasoning) on it!

    I hope this helps!
  • neenaleigh
    neenaleigh Posts: 584 Member
    I buy fresh zucchini and sautee it in a tiny bit of olive oil (good fat!) with lots of pepper and a little salt, if you want more flavor, you can add fresh garlic at the end too. Just don't over-cook, it tastes much better when it still has a little crunch! I eat it almost every day. :)

    i use a tiny bit of water to make mine more mushy.....a little steamed..i like them a little mushy more than crunchy.....oh and i sauted some onions with mine toooo!!!! yummmyyyy
  • fairy28
    fairy28 Posts: 13
    I make Greek Stuffed Zucchini, It's really simple.

    You boil water and cook 4 whole zucchini's for about 3-5 mins. Then cut off a sliver on top of each zucchini and scoop out the inside.

    For the stuffing part, it is just the scooped zucchini, fried for five mins, with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 onion diced, and 1 garlic clove. After that is cooled slightly stir in 1/3 cup feta cheese, 1/4 cup walnuts, 1 cup white bread crumbs, 1 egg (beaten), 1 tsp dill, salt and pepper (to taste).

    Stuff each of the four zucchinis and then put 1 tablespoon olive oil over them. Bake covered with foil, at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10-5 mins.



    I know you have zucchini pieces as opposed to the whole zucchini, maybe you could make the mixture and just blend it with the zucchini to make a stuffing. Zucchini casserole is really good to you can google it, there are plenty of recipes for it.
  • ali258
    ali258 Posts: 403
    You can also roast fresh sliced zucchini in the oven with any of the spices everyone else mentioned, or just some salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. Roast on a pretty high temperature (425-450) until it's a little brown on the edges and soft in the middle. It's delicious.

    For the frozen zucchini, you could throw the pieces in spaghetti sauce for some added texture or into a pot of vegetable soup.

    My grandpa makes "zucchini surprise" which is round slices of zucchini, yellow squash, and sliced onions sauteed together with salt, pepper and garlic until they're the texture you like. Then you add a can of diced tomatoes, heat it all together and serve it with hamburgers (without the bun, if you want it my grandpa's way).

    I love zucchini, and I hope you find some ways you love it too.

    -Alison
  • McFatterton
    McFatterton Posts: 1,358 Member
    I too love mine sauteed with a little olive oil and onions, I like mine nice and brown and more on the mushy side.

    Another way that I like it is baked: I cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out some of the seeds to make a little canal and then fill the canal with whatever you like, I like roasted red peppers and feta cheese - bake in the oven until the zucchini is to your liking (mushy or not so mushy :happy: ) and voila! You could even put a few bread crumbs on top and broil it at the end to make it nice and toasty and brown. I would recommend using smaller zucchinis for this though because they do take a while to bake.

    Enjoy! :flowerforyou:
  • cattiemac
    cattiemac Posts: 251 Member
    I like to roast mine with other veggies as a side dish. I'll usually cut the zucchini in smaller pieces, add in mushroom pieces, pepper strips (green, red, yellow or orange) and cut up onions. I drizzle with EVOO and add in what ever spices I like and cook on my George Foreman, the BBQ or in the oven in a casserole dish. Nice as a side dish or the next day in a sandwich (panini or as a wrap).
  • littlebigbird
    littlebigbird Posts: 88
    We call them courgettes on this side of the pond . . . :tongue:

    A simple way to cook them is just to slice them, brush them with a little dark soy sauce and grill them. Very yummy and very low calorie . . . but I guess not great if you're watching your salt intake.
  • TheGoblinRoad
    TheGoblinRoad Posts: 835 Member
    Blend it into a fruit smoothie. You won't taste it. :)
  • alipetrey
    alipetrey Posts: 18
    Frozen is horrible. It doesn't cook well, and tastes bad.
    A lil evoo goes a long way. salt and pepper. skillet, foreman, bake it... etc.
    put it in pasta over w sauce.
  • TuscanySun
    TuscanySun Posts: 3,608 Member
    www.sparkrecipes.com type in zuccini and see what comes up.
  • nicolet04
    nicolet04 Posts: 830
    :drinker: yum yum!!!!!
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    brush on olive oil and grill it on the bbq until desired texture. The natural sugars camalize and the slices have nice grill marks, delicious.
  • clk238
    clk238 Posts: 48 Member
    yum. bump
  • meana717
    meana717 Posts: 261 Member
    A little late, but haven't seen anyone suggest. I take and cut it up into slices, place in a ZipLock Steam Fresh bag, throw on some Mrs. Dash, seal the bag...cook in microwave for like 3-4 minutes (bag tells you how long!) and voila! MY KIDS LOVE THIS as do I!
  • mavsfan2009
    mavsfan2009 Posts: 261 Member
    bump :bigsmile:
  • mavsfan2009
    mavsfan2009 Posts: 261 Member
    bump :bigsmile:
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