Chunky Vegetable Stew

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thickly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 1/2 oz) can stewed tomatoes, undrained
2 c cooked garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
2 yams, peeled, cut into 2" chunks
3/4 tsp crushed rosemary
1 large zucchini, cut into 1/4" thick slices
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, separating slices; cook 5 minutes or until soft. Add garlic; cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes and juice, beans, yams and rosemary. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. (You may need to add a little water at this point to make sure there is enough liquid to cover the bottom of pan.) Add zucchini and stir. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes or until yams are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste and top each serving with cheese to taste.

NOTES
From Vegetarian Times.
One of our favorites!
We like to add sliced kielbasa to this (add at the same time as yams etc.).
I usually use diced tomatoes instead of stewed.
When we have the time we like to cook this long enough for the yams to mush (a couple of hours). In this case we add the zucchini in the last 15-20 minutes so it doesn't also turn to mush.

Zucchini Coconut Cookie Bars

3/4 c softened butter
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c shredded coconut
2 c grated zucchini

Icing:
I Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 c confectioners' sugar

Cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla and mix until fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder; stir into sugar mixture. Stir in coconut and zucchini.

Spread batter into a greased 9"x13" baking pan; bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

To make icing, combine all ingredients and drizzle over warm bars.

NOTES
From allrecipes.com.
These are really tasty, but it makes too much icing and they started getting soggy after sitting for a while. I think halving the icing would fix that.

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 eggs
1 3/4 c brown sugar
1 c vegetable oil
2 c flour
2 c grated zucchini
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Beat eggs and brown sugar 10 minutes or until thick and pale. Add oil and melted chocolate; stir.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix into egg mixture. Fold in zucchini.

Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool 10 minutes in pan before removing from pan.

Cool and Frost with chocolate or cream cheese frosting.

NOTES
From allrecipes.com.
I believe I have frosted these with chocolate cream cheese icing.
Zucchini makes these nice and moist and you can pretend they're not so bad for you.

Corn and Zucchini Medley

4 slices bacon
2 c chopped zucchini
1 1/2 c corn kernels
1 small onion, chopped
1 pinch pepper
1/4 c shredded monterey jack cheese

Fry bacon until browned; reserve 1 Tbsp drippings. Drain and chop bacon.

Heat reserved drippings over medium heat in a skillet; saute vegetables until tender (about 10 minutes). Season with pepper; sprinkle with bacon and cheese before serving.

NOTES
From allrecipes.com
Good with or without bacon. One of my favorite summer sides.

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 c unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c shredded zucchini

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9"x13" baking pan.

Combine oil, sugar and vanilla.

Combine flour, cocoa, soda and salt; stir into sugar mixture. Fold zucchini into batter.

Spread in prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Optional frosting:
6 Tbsp cocoa
1/4 c butter
2 c confectioners' sugar
1/4 c milk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt cocoa and butter; set aside to cool. Blend sugar, milk and vanilla; stir into cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting.

NOTES
From allrecipes.com.
Moist, cakey brownies. Good enough alone that I've never bothered to make the frosting.

Zucchini Patties

2 c grated zucchini
2 beaten eggs
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 c flour
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
salt to taste
vegetable oil
marinara sauce and/or sour cream

Combine zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, Parmesan, mozzarella and salt.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Drop mixture by spoonfuls onto skillet; flatten slightly with a spoon or fork and fry until brown on both sides.

Drain on paper towels before serving; serve with marinara sauce and/or sour cream for dipping.

NOTES
From allrecipes.com.
Greasy but tasty.

Zucchini Bread

3 c flour
1 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
3 beaten eggs
3 tsp vanilla
2 c shredded zucchini
1 c vegetable oil

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, nutmeg, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix together eggs, vanilla, zucchini and oil. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.

NOTES
Original source unknown -- I got it via my sister's high school boyfriend.
Only zucchini bread recipe I ever use.
Usually skip the nutmeg out of consideration for the significant other's tastes; sometimes add ground cloves or allspice instead.

Zucchini Crust Pizza

3 1/2 c grated zucchini
3 beaten eggs
1/3 c flour
1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil
pizza sauce
pizza toppings

Combine zucchini, eggs, flour, cheeses and basil. Spread in a greased 9"x13" pan; bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Brush top with oil and broil 5 minutes.

Top with pizza sauce and favorite pizza toppings and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

NOTES
Original source unknown.
Untried.

Vegetarian Lasagna

1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into cubes
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 c tomato sauce
dried basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary to taste
1 c frozen spinach
2 c ricotta cheese
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz) package lasagna noodles, cooked and drained
2 medium zucchinis, thinly sliced

Sprinkle eggplant with salt; let sit 10-15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Toss with about 1 Tbsp olive oil; roast in a 400-degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until tender.

Heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir mushrooms, onions and garlic until softened. Stir in tomato sauce, herbs and spinach; cook until spinach is no longer frozen.

Combine ricotta, 1 1/2 c mozzarella and Parmesan.

Spread 1/3 sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9"x13" pan. Layer with 1/3 lasagna noodles, half of eggplant, and half of zucchini. Spread with half of cheese mixture. Spread with 1/3 sauce, 1/3 lasagna noodles, and remaining eggplant, zucchini and cheese mixture. Top with remaining lasagna noodles and sauce and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c mozzarella.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, then uncover and continue cooking about 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and browning.

NOTES
This is actually my own recipe, cobbled together from various other veggie lasagna recipes, reconstructed here to the best of my recollection.
Amounts and types of veggies are variable by taste. It's nice to roast all of the veggies )except spinach) along with the eggplant.

Roasted Vegetable Pot-pie with Feta

Vegetables:
6 c cubed peeled eggplant (about 1 1/4 lb)
2 c cubed zucchini
2 c (1") pieces red bell pepper
2 c (1") pieces yellow bell pepper
2 c sliced carrots
1 large sweet onion, cut into 8 wedges
20 slices portobello mushrooms (about 2 large)
4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 large garlic clove, minced

Pastry:
1 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c buttermilk
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 tsp cider vinegar

Remaining Ingredients:
1/2 c (2 oz) crumbled feta cheese
1/3 c thinly-sliced fresh basil
1/4 c chicken broth
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
salt and pepper
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Vegetables: Combine first 6 ingredients on a greased jelly-roll pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes, stirring once. Add mushrooms, tomatoes and garlic; bake 30 minutes more or until vegetables are tender. Remove from oven; reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.

Pastry: Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add buttermilk, butter and vinegar; toss with fork until moist. Place dough between two sheets of plastic wrap; roll into a 12"x7" rectangle. Freeze 10 minutes. Remove 1 sheet of plastic wrap; let stand 1 minute or until pliable.

Assembly: Combine vegetables with all remaining ingredients except egg white in an 11"x7" baking dish. Fir dough over filling; remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Brush dough with egg white; cut slits in top of dough to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly around edges. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

NOTES
From Cooking Light.
Untried.