When I last wrote, I was off to make the banana pepper mustard. I have to say that it is the most amazing mustard I have ever eaten! I do think that I could have achieved the same results without using all my banana peppers from the garden. I can tell that there are chunks of peppers in the mustard, but I am not sure there is any more flavor from them than there would be with just the mustard, vinegar and sugar. It might be a worthy experiment to try one of these days if I am ever wanting to waste some time and energy.
How does it taste? Like I said AMAZING!!! I could not imagine what I was going to put it on, but as you will recall I was also anxious to make a pork sandwich that I saw made on the food channel. I have to say if you need a sandwich that makes your tastebuds do the happy dance of joy and your stomach so full you don't need to eat for hours and hours, this is the sandwich for you. I do not remember eating a sandwich I have ever liked so much. On a scale of 5 stars I would give it a 7.5. I started with chibata rolls purchased at Walmart then buttered the top and bottom insides with some of the banana pepper mustard, placed a slice (or 2) of swiss cheese on top of that then a slice (or 2) of ham on top of that and then two (or 3 ) slices of the left-over pork tenderloin from the night before then I put the top bun on and buttered both sides of the bread and put it on a cast iron griddle to grill like grilled cheese. The woman on the food network had placed a baking sheet with a heavy cassarole dish on top of the sandwich to press it down onto the griddle but I did not do this mine cooked rather quickly I am assuming because of the cast iron. Maybe it would have been better if I would have used the non-stick skillet. I felt it grilled rather quickly and my cheese melted but the meats were not hot, merely warmed. That was fine with me, but if I was serving it to someone else, I think I would want to present it hot all the way through. The flavors danced on my tongue. I tried to add of the calories and it seems that it came in at about 800. Not what I recommend for a meal. I tend to freak out if my meals go over 250 calories so this is a totally crazy number for me. I do have to say I didn't get hungry til about midnight.
What else have I been up to? Processing zucchini...I mostly grate it and God bless Don who is so sweet that he ground like 20 lbs of it for me while i sliced like 10 lbs of it and blanced it and then plunged it into ice water. Then we both put our zucchini into quart freezer bags. I believe we ended up with 13 bags between the two of us. I have finally admitted to Don that it is possible to have too much zucchini and have allowed him to pull 5 of the 6 plants. I swear every day we pick 6 of the things. I have 6 of them in my kitchen to process not counting the 3 of them i picked an hour ago.
We have also been pickling cucumbers. I think we have way more pickles than the man can eat in a year. I am not a pickle eater. Oh... wait I put some of our bread and butter pickles we made onto the pork tenderloin sandwich. We have even make pickles out of zucchini. WE have even made relish out of zucchini as well as the cucumbers.
We are finally getting a decent crop of tomatoes. As soon as I finish blogging for the night I am going to make a batch of salsa. I am going to cheat and use the Mrs. WAges prepackaged mix that Don talked me into buying at the beginning of the summer. We made amazing salsa previously, but as much as I want to repeat that taste, I do have 2 packages of this mix and I do not like to waste money. Also I am lazy this Labor day and just want to sit about and do nothing. I am just going to get this project done and overwith. I should probably make the basil jelly. I planted what I wanted to be an herb garden on mothers day. I got 3 amazing basil plants that produce about every 3 days. I found a recipe for basil jelly. Like the jalapeno jelly, I have no idea what it is supposed to taste like and I cannot imagine what one does with it. I suppose I might try it with the cream cheese, but mostly it is going to round out my holiday gift baskets. I am hoping I will be motivated enough to do that tonight. I purchased 2 more cases of jelly jars at the dollar general today which I intend to be the last of my jelly making for the summer. I am ready to put that part of the season behind me. My son gets married in 2 weeks. I am imagining coming home from a 3 day vacation to more tomatoes than we can handle, but I am looking forward to coming home to them all fresh and ready to take them on. Don wants tomato juice for chili. I would like to have about 104 pints of tomatos. I don't think we would have trouble using 2 pints a week in cooking.
With the abundance of zucchini, I have been trying to figure out what the heck I am going to use it all for. I have found some recipes I think I will try. ONe is a zucchini burger using shredded zucchini which I have tons of in the freezer. I think this sounds amazing. I don't think I will ever get donald to try it, but I am thinking it can't have that many calories and one of my goals is to become a stronger, healthier person. I am so sick of all the heavy food we have been eating lately I am honestly thinking about eating as much vegitarian as I can. I love a good salad, but I have given up buying greens to take home because we get so busy or don is home the week I have tons of salad stuff so since he don't eat salads I end up wasting the ingredients and eating the foods he likes.
I also found a zucchini recipe using the french fried onions we use for the beloved green bean cassarole. I have joked with donald that this may be our new thanksgiving tradition. He thinks I am kidding. I am honestly thinking about making it and putting it on the table and seeing if anyone but me tries it. Heck it is a way to use up some of the blanched zucchini. I am not sure about the stuffed zucchini logs. unless I do it in the very near future because our zucchini plant that is left is about to be pulled; if ever there is a morning don goes out and there is no zucchini on it it is done with. I just hate to purchase zucchini when i have some at home, but I guess I don't know how to preserve them whole. I am including the recipes here and maybe tomorrow I will make a couple of them. I am excited to try the burger and the cheesey zucchini with the french fried onions.
One of my favorite things to do with zucchini is to slice it, dip it in egg white then italian seasoned bread crumbs. Normally I put it on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, turn it over, sprinkle it with parmesan cheese and continue to bake an additional 10 minutes. Don has this thing about me using too much propane using the oven and since we have used 50 gallons on canning in the last 2 months I feel the need to comply. I have turned to the george foreman grill. I spray it with cooking spray, then put the squash on (dipped and breaded). It still takes about 10 minutes total but cooks on both sides at the same time and tastes just like the oven baked. After I remove it from the george foreman, i sprinkle with parmesan and toss it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. I like the shredded parmesan, not the grated kind in a can, but I have used the grated can kind when i baked it in the oven and it works fine. not sure if you need to nuke the can kind after sprinkling, since I have gone to purchasing the shredded kind almost exclusively.
EXPERT ZUCHINI PATTIES
These little treats make a great appetizer. They're easy to throw together and even easier to pop in your mouth!
Ingredients
2 medium zucchini (grated)
20 Ritz crackers (crushed)
1 egg
1/4 C. chopped onion
1/4 C. chopped green pepper
1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
Directions
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Form into about 6 patties. Fry in butter until golden brown.
STUFFED ZUCCHINI LOGS
Ingredients
8 zucchini, cut lengthwise
1/2 lb. chicken sausage, casings removed
1/4 C. plus 1/4 C. grated cheese
1/4 C. Italian flavored breadcrumbs
1/4 C. reduced-fat shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 C. reduced-fat ricotta (optional)
1/4 C. cooked rice (I use brown rice)
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 Tbs. oil
4 grinds black pepper
Pinch salt
1 tsp. parsley
Drizzle of Oil
Directions
Slice zucchini in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, remove just the seeds. Place zucchini on a microwavable casserole
dish, upside down, with 1/4 C. water and drizzle of oil and place in microwave and cook for about 4 minutes. Remove from microwave (watch out they are hot!) and let cool in another plate or platter without juices (set aside juices).In skillet, sauté sausage with 1 Tbs. oil until browned. Add onion and cook until tender. Drain liquids. Add rice, salt, parsley, pepper, ricotta (if using), 1/4 cup grated cheese and mozzarella and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine breadcrumbs and remaining grated cheese. Stuff zucchini logs with meat mixture and sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture.Place zucchini logs in greased (cooking spray) casserole dish with some of the reserved liquids in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes covered. Remove foil, check for liquid and add more if too dry and broil until golden. Remove to serving platter with spatula to avoid breaking.
DIVINE CHEESEY ZUCCHINI
Ingredients
5 med. zucchini or yellow squash, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 1/3 C. FRENCH'S® Cheddar or Original French Fried Onions
1/2 C. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. canola oil
3 Tbs. melted butter
Directions
Saute zucchini with 1 tsp. butter and 1 tsp. oil until lightly browned. Set aside. Mix French Fried Onions and Parmesan cheese in a plastic bag. Crush onions with hands or .rolling pin. Layer 1/3 of the zucchini with 1/3 of the French onion mixture in serving bowl. Drizzle with 1/3 of the butter. Repeat layers twice. Cover with foil. Place in 425-degree preheated oven and bake about 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5 minutes.
1/3 C. Cornflake crumbs
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
Dash garlic powder
4 small unpeeled zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch strips
1/4 C. melted butter
Directions
Combine crumbs, cheese and seasonings; place in a plastic bag. Dip zucchini strips in butter and shake in the crumbs to coat. Place on a baking sheet; bake 375F for 10 minutes or till crisp.
Mix together cornflake crumbs and parmesan cheese with a dash of
garlic powder and cover all over your zucchini to get a great appetizer to serve before your big meal. This goes very well with marinara or peppercorn ranch for dipping sauce.
CHEESE ZUCCHINI CRISPS
Ingredients
1/3 C. Cornflake crumbs
2 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
Dash garlic powder
4 small unpeeled zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch strips
1/4 C. melted butter
Directions
Combine crumbs, cheese and seasonings; place in a plastic bag. Dip zucchini strips in butter and shake in the crumbs to coat. Place on a baking sheet; bake 375F for 10 minutes or till crisp.
