Zucchini Three Ways and a Happy Valley Surprise

Are there a lot of golf courses in Ohio? I keep getting a bunch of golf cookie orders that are shipping to my neighbors to the west (I'm in PA). 

Last week I got an email from a buckeye! 

Not from a nut.

A Buckeye is an Ohio State fan. Since my business is nestled in Happy Valley, aka Penn State Country, I knew I had to let these OSU fans know where their cookies came from. 

I made the cookies like I always do...

But on the top, I added ONE more surprise cookie for my friends in red and white.

I keep it pretty friendly, but I might not be so nice on November 13, 2010.

Life's been pretty busy lately. We've been on the go with my business and family and church stuff. But after receiving a gift from a friend, I had to make some time to get into the kitchen with my little helper!

I got this HUMONGOUS zucchini (and tomatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, yellow squash, and green onions) from a very generous friend...

These are both zucchini's. Here is my little girl giving them kisses.

We seriously had zucchini coming out of our ears. It was more than enough to make zucchini three ways...

I found two great recipes for quiche and bread that I want to share.

Before I made the zucchini quiche, I had posted the recipe on facebook. A few friends made it and give me a little feedback. I used some of their tips and made a few changes of my own.

My family and my mom loved loved this recipe, I doubled it and made one to eat and one to freeze for later. I think the Jiffy cornbread made it special because the cornbread component sinks to the bottom and makes a delicious crust for the quiche.

Here is the original recipe (click here) and here are the changes I made to it.

1. I used four eggs instead of two. And since I was doubling it, I actually used eight eggs.

2. I added a 1/2 cup of onion

3. I added 1 cup of cherry tomatoes.

4. I substituted fat free cheddar for the Parmesan cheese (I already had the cheddar and wanted to use it up.)

5. I also substituted fat free half and half for the regular. 

Then we sliced up the zucchini. I didn't bother seeding it or peeling the skin. It just went in as is. We mixed it all together. I put one half of the mixture in a pie dish and the other half in a square glass baking dish.

It baked a little longer than the recipe. I just used the toothpick test to see when it was done.

This recipe was so easy and the added veggies definitely beefed it up a little and added a little more flavor!

We still had so much zucchini left!!!! 

So next we made the zucchini bread (click here for the recipe)

I decided to peel a large section.

I cut it and my little girl seeded it.

Then I shredded it all.

It was enough for four loaves of zucchini bread! I didn't change anything from the original recipe. However, If I make it again, I would probably sprinkle a little cinnamon and sugar on the top before baking.

I have four loaf pans, but they are all a little different. So they were all done baking at different times.

We froze two, gave one to our neighbor (and in exchange they blessed us with a few bags of green beans - yummy) and we enjoyed the last loaf fresh out of the oven!

One thing I noted about this recipe was that the bread was deliciously moist. I think it had so much moisture because I did not drain the zucchini before using (per one of the comments left on the recipe page). 

The final way we enjoyed the rest of this giant zucchini was breaded and baked. Sorry no pictures. 

But this is so easy and such a kid-pleaser. Cut the zucchini in rounds 1/4" thick. Dip in fat free milk. Dip in bread crumbs (I used the seasoned Italian style) and bake at 375 for 25-35 minutes. I flip them half way through. Don't forget to use foil or spray your sheet. These little guys like to stick! 

If we are without breading....Topher just brushes them with a little olive oil and heats them up on the grill. Also delicious!

So that's all for today! Coming this week I have a great party post and of course lots of cookie updates. I just need to resize the pictures 

: )

Have a sweet day!

Anne