Celebrating with food

I love the Fourth of July! Not only do you get to make things explode and spend as much time outside as possible, but you get the celebrate with friends, family, and food!

Our holiday menu includes Stuffed Hamburgers, red and blue potato chips, lots of cherry tomatoes, and frozen bananas with chocolate shell over them.

How about you?

Cheese-Stuffed Zucchini Squash

It's that time of year, when zucchini is almost as plentiful as mosquitoes... almost. I try to find as many creative uses for zucchini as possible, for ourselves and for those who are buying the produce at our farmers markets. This one was DEEE-licious!

Stuffed Zucchini Squash

4 large-ish zucchini, about 3 inches in diameter
1 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 onion, diced
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
3 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup mozerella cheese

1. Boil zucchini, whole, for 10 minutes. Remove from water and let cool to the touch.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Cut zucchini lengthwise and scoop out all the pulp. Save the pulp for later! Place zucchini in a casserole dish. (I needed to use two because I had such large zucchini halves.)
4. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add onions and carrot and cook until onions are translucent. 
5. Meanwhile, mush the zucchini pulp with a potato masher or fork.
6. Stir the zucchini pulp into the skillet with the onions and carrots. Add the bread crumbs, sour cream, cream cheese, 1/2 cup cheese, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir over low heat until cheeses are melted. 
7. Spoon the cheese-zucchini stuffing into the zucchini halves.
8. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
9. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup mozerella cheese on top of the zucchini. Broil for 3-4 minutes, until cheese is melted and stuffing starts to golden.

Summer Garden Casserole

We picked a Napa cabbage this week and, it was so huge, I stretched it out into three meals. The first meal, we made a Napa cabbage salad. The second, we had cole slaw. And the third, I intended to make cabbage rolls. But, the leaves remaining weren't big enough to roll around the meat. So, I put together this summer garden casserole from a few different recipes.

Summer Garden Casserole
2-3 cups of cabbage leaves
4-5 carrots, cut matchstick-style
4-5 small onions, diced
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cup cooked steamed rice
10-12 small new potatoes, cut in half
1 pound ground beef, thawed
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Sweet and Sour Tomato Sauce
1 can pureed tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Sauted diced onion in olive oil until translucent. Set aside to cool.
2. Mix together ground beef, onion, minced garlic, rice, salt, and pepper.
3. Place cabbage leaves in a microwave-safe bowl with 3-4 tablespoons of water.
4. Microwave cabbage leaves in covered dish for two minutes.
5. Make sauce by combining tomatoes, garlic powder, white vinegar and sugar in a saucepan. Heat to a simmer.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. In a dutch pan, place carrot matchsticks.
   
8. Layer steamed cabbage leaves on top of carrots.
9. Place new potatoes on top of cabbage leaves.
10. Mix meat mixture with 1/4 cup (or so) of tomato sauce. Mix well and form into 1-inch balls. Place meat balls on top of cabbage leaves.
11. Pour remaining sauce over meat balls.
12. Cover the casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
13. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese for the last 5 minutes, if desired. And we desire it, because we are a cheese kind of family.

Weekly menu, June 13-19

Sorry I haven't been posting many recipes. We've been on rerun mode, as far as cooking. Most of what I've made lately are things I've already posted or are old standbys. But, I do still have our menu to share, and this week has some new items on it. I'm just hoping Sunday night is a bit cooler, so I won't mind heating up the oven for baked potatoes and yummy chicken! The good news is that, despite our go-go-going and K&M home from school, our grocery bill has dropped considerably. That is due in large part to our garden veggies.

Sunday, June13
Chef salad
Twice baked potatoes, parmesean chicken

Monday, June14
Dipping lunch
Tacos

Tuesday, June 15
Taco salad
Vegetable stir-fry

Wednesday, June 16
Hot dogs, Mac-N-Cheese salad
Picnic supper

Thursday, June 17
Sandwiches
Fish sticks, mac-n-cheese

Friday, June 18
Cheesy tacos
Tater tot casserole

Saturday, June 19
Leftovers
Stuffed pasta shells

French Toast Casserole, aka Hot Dog Bun Breakfast

Hot dog buns were on sale for 68 cents for a pack of 8. At that price, I had to pick up a bag, even if we don't eat buns with our hot dogs. Since we are big breakfast eaters around here, I decided to make it into a breakfast.

6 hot dog buns, cubed
6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon alspice
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/3 cup Splenda or sugar
1/2 cup raisins
2-3 Tablespoons butter or margarine
Syrup or powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x9 dish with Pam.
2. Beat together eggs, milk, sugar and spices. 
3. Add the buns (cubed) and raisins until the bread is covered.
4. Pour egg/bread mixture into the dish.
5. Bake 40 minutes.
6. Add butter and about 3 tablespoons of syrup to the casserole. Bake 5-10 more minutes.
7. Serve with syrup or powdered sugar.

Katie added, "If you don't have a sugar allergy in your family, you could top it with a dusting of confectioner's sugar to make it fancy." I think she's watched too much Food Network.

Weekly menu, May 30-June 5

Sunday, May 30
Ham sandwiches
Pasta and grilled chicken

Monday, May 31
Hot dogs, chips
Leftovers

Tuesday, June 1
Cheesy tacos
BBQ ribs

Wednesday, June 2
Grilled cheese
Homemade pizza

Thursday, June 3
Chef salad
Zucchini lasagne

Friday, June 4
Hot dogs
Kabobs

Saturday, June 5
Ham
Kid kabobs

Squash Blossoms

Some meals are just sustenance. Others are good, repeatable, respectable. Then there are the 'Oh-my-goodness-I-get-the-last-one-can-we-make-it-again-tomorrow" meals. These fried squash blossoms fall into the third category. YUM! Trust me...they are delicious. This recipe is a combination of three different recipes and makes a creamy filling with an Italian flare.




Fried Squash Blossoms
12 squash blossoms
Oil for frying

Filling:
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon sour cream
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Batter:
1/2 cup flour
4 Tablespoons corn starch
1/2 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare the filling by mixing all the filling ingredients until well blended. Put it in the fridge to set up, while you prepare the batter and squash blossoms.
3. Mix together the flour, corn starch, and salt. Whisk in the water until smooth. Place it in the fridge while you prepare the squash blossoms.
4. Prepare squash blossoms by gently washing them to remove any dirt or bugs. Remove the stamen from the inside of each petal. Spin gently, one at a time, to remove any excess water. Set on a paper towel while you prepare the remaining blossoms.
5. Pour 1-inch of vegetable oil into a pan. Heat on medium-high heat until the oil sizzles if you add water to it.
6. While the oil heats, construct the blossoms. Pick up one blossom and add about 2 teaspoons of filling to it. Gently twist the pedals to close. Dredge the blossom through the batter until coated on both side. Set on a plate while you prepare the remaining blossoms.
7. Turn off the preheated oven and place a cookie sheet in it. 
8. Once the oil is heated, gently place the filled blossoms in the oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning halfway through, until the batter turns golden. Once the blossoms are fried, place them on the cookie sheet in the oven to stay warm while you fry the remaining blossoms.

How to construct the blossoms