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2 medium zucchini (about 1 pound total)
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
¼ cup plain dry bread crumbs
Salt and pepper

Slice the zucchini into ¼-inch thick rounds. Sprinkle with salt and let sit until much of the water has been pulled out. Blot with a paper towel.

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Lightly coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or a little olive oil.

In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini with the oil. In a small bowl, combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and pepper. Dip each round into the Parmesan mixture, coating it evenly on both sides, pressing the coating on so it sticks, and place in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the zucchini rounds until browned and crisp, 25-30 minutes. Remove with a spatula. Serve immediately.

Here’s a recipe I came up with a couple years ago for a zucchini/herb bread. Zucchini bread can be savory too, ya know! I made this in my bread maker some time ago. It had a light, fluffy texture and fresh flavor. You can sub in any kind of herbs you want, and even add more than just 1 tbsp. Yum!

½ cup water
¾ cup grated zucchini
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
¾ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1 ½ tsp active dry yeast

Add all the ingredients to the bread maker. Use the 1-lb loaf setting. If the dough looks dry during mixing, add up to ¼ cup water until the dough comes together.

I came across this recipe in my zucchini travels, and I was very, very curious to try it out. Turns out, zucchini can do wonders for the texture of chocolate cake. Weird, right?

I actually made the “cake” in two bread pans and passed it off as chocolate zucchini “bread.” Amazing how the perception of “bread” can actually convince people to eat cake for breakfast!

Anyway, here’s the recipe.

¾ cup softened butter, more for greasing the pan
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini
2 ½ cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
½ cup cocoa
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Glaze (directions follow)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch tube or bundt pan or (two bread pans), and dust with flour.

Beat together the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with additions of the milk. Stir in the nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

If you want to add the glaze, the recipe says to mix together 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tbsp milk, and 1 tsp vanilla, whisk until smooth, and drizzle over the cake. I didn’t use the glaze since I was passing it off as bread, but the glaze would add a nice touch to a cake!

I really liked how moist this cake came out. I would probably add more orange zest and cinnamon next time. And maybe grind the nuts finely to not upset the smooth, rich texture. Mmm…

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But I’m not done yet! I give you — Zucchini risotto.

I love this dish. It uses up a ton of zucchini in a very sneaky way. I won’t give an exact list of ingredients for this one, because it varies every time I make it based on what I have in the house. But here’s a general list of what you’ll need, and the risotto method.

You will need:
Zucchini or yellow squash
Other veggies (preferably including onions and garlic)
Oil/butter
Arborio rice
White wine (optional)
Chicken broth (I’ve done this with just water as well and it turned out great)
Grated cheese (optional)
Fresh herbs (optional)

First, chop up some veggies and sauté in a little oil and/or butter until lightly browned. Here I used yellow squash, red bell pepper, onions, and garlic.

Sauté chopped veggies

Then add arborio rice to the pan. I use about 2 cups. Stir it around until the edges of the rice begin to appear translucent, 1-2 minutes.

Add the arborio rice

Pour in about a cup of white wine and cook for just a minute. Then (and here’s the sneaky part) add shredded zucchini (or in this case, yellow squash). You can add an awful lot. It breaks down along with the rice as the risotto cooks, and it adds a wonderful creamy texture to the dish. I’d say 1-2 cups should do it.

Add white wine, then stir in shredded zucchini

Add enough hot chicken broth (keep a pot of hot broth on the stove while you’re cooking the risotto) to just cover the rice. Bring it to a boil, and adjust the heat to a nice simmer. Stir frequently. Once the broth is absorbed, add another bit of hot broth (say ½-1 cup). Repeat for about 20-25 minutes, until the rice is tender. The risotto will be nice and creamy.

Continually add broth for 20-25 minutes

Remove from the heat, stir in some grated Parmesan and fresh basil (or whatever cheese and herbs you desire), season to taste with salt and pepper, and bam! Risotto.

Stir in cheese and herbs, season, eat

See how easy that was? All that grated zucchini just kind of disappears into the risotto, but it adds a wonderful texture. Hidden vegetables! Might be a great thing to feed kids.

You can really go wild with what you add to this dish. Try steeping some dried mushrooms in the broth for an extra punch of earthy flavor. Experiment with different vegetables, herbs, and cheeses. Add some ground meat or sausage. Heck, substitute corn for the zucchini (I’ve done this, and it is amazingly delicious). That’s what I love about risotto. Simple yet versatile, and always impressive. Enjoy!

These cookies are really cakey, kinda spongy. Really different, and quite tasty!

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 ½ cups shredded zucchini
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
½ cup golden raisins
½ dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Or, if you ran out of parchment paper like I did… Grease two baking sheets.

Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Gently mix in the shredded zucchini.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. Gradually add the flour mixture to the zucchini mixture, beating slowly with the mixer. Stir in the golden raisins and dried cranberries.

Scoop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto the prepared baking sheets at least 1 inch apart.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Simple, lightly spiced cookies. The shredded zucchini adds a nice texture. Easy to eat too many of!

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Imagine these suckers toasted with a little butter spread on them… Ohhhh yeah… I’m telling you, these are some seriously good muffins. Or bread. Either way, it’s the same recipe, just different baking pans!

Here’s the recipe:

2/3 cup melted unsalted butter, plus more for the pans
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp allspice
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp kosher salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped toasted walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Grease the muffin tins (or bread pans) with butter. Combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix well. Stir in the grated zucchini.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture, and stir until combined. Stir in the dried cranberries and walnuts.

Plop the batter into the muffin tins (or bread pans). The batter should come all the way to the top.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Set the pans on wire racks for a few minutes, then pop the muffins out and place them directly on the wire racks to cool completely.

I really love this zucchini bread/muffins recipe. They’re not too heavy, not too sweet, wonderful texture. And hey, they use up zucchini, so you know I’m happy!

Mammoth zucchini make for a great vessel for a variety of stuffings. I like to use ground turkey breast, and whatever vegetables/herbs/spices I have on hand. Here’s the method.

Start by slicing off the top and bottom of the zucchini, then cut it in half lengthwise. Do your best to cut it right down the middle so the two halves are the same size.

Scoop out the seeds using a spoon. Scrape away enough of the flesh so that you only leave about ¼-inch wall for your zucchini boat. Cut a little slice off the back of each half so they don’t rock when you place them skin-side-down in your baking dish.

Cook up your filling. About 1 lb of ground beef, chicken, or turkey, plus some veggies should be enough to fill one 12-inch zucchini. Onions, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, artichokes… Really any veggies you want.

Just brown the vegetables in a little olive oil, then add the ground meat, breaking it up as it cooks. Throw in a splash of white wine if you like. Once the meat is cooked, remove from the heat, add some fresh herbs, like basil or rosemary, maybe some Parmesan cheese.

Let the mixture cool slightly, then mix in one beaten egg so that the stuffing holds together. Fill the zucchini boats, and bake at 375° F for about 40 minutes, or until the stuffing is browned and the zucchini is tender.

One large, stuffed zucchini serves 4. This is a great cleaning-out-the-refrigerator type of meal, and you can really get creative with the filling. Plus, it’s a cinch to prepare!