Stuffed Zucchini

Have loads and loads of zucchini again this year?

You know, I purposely only planted one zucchini plant this year and I still have more than I know what to do with.  Seriously!!!

So I was at a loss with what to do with it all.  I am pretty sure my friends were avoiding me so I wouldn't 'offer' (aka force them to take 3 or 4) them a zucchini or 2.  Whatever...

So I was talking to my mother on the phone and she gave me another brilliant idea… Stuffed Zucchini!  Woot Woot.  I was so excited I cooked it that night for dinner and just and to share it with you so you would have a brilliant idea too!

Conversation went something like this…

me, 'so, what are you having for dinner, I don't know what to make?'

mom: 'we are having stuffed zucchini, you know, like peppers but with zucchini.'

me: 'I think your a genius, I'm pretty sure its hereditary, and I'm awesome too.'

Ok, maybe not that last part but I was super excited!

This recipe is so easy, and one of my all time favorites growing up.  Just altered for zucchini lovers like us!  So here it is...


You are going to need:
2 large zucchinis
1 pound ground beef
1 cup rice, cooked
1/2 lemon
1 can tomato paste
seasoning of your choice
      I usually go with salt pepper garlic and onion powder

slice your zucchini in half and scoop out most of the insides.

Brown some ground meat, how much will depend on how many people you are feeding.  I will generally do a pound for our family of 4.  And there are always leftovers.  With a pound of meat there was enough filling to fill 2 large zucchinis.

Anyway, now add some lemon (fresh squeezed if you have it, about a Tbsp of lemon juice of not) and a can of tomato paste.

add in your seasoning and rice and mix it all together.

Now stuff your zucchinis and place them in the oven and cook at 350˚ for about 30 minutes.

now plate and done!  This meal is great with some garlic bread and parmesan.  If you want you can put the cheese, any cheese you like ,on top before you cook it and let it get all melty in the oven too!

And a beautiful meal to serve your family and get rid of some of that zucchini in the pantry.  

Woot woot, double bonus!

Thanks for stopping by everyone, come back and visit us again soon,

 -Sarah

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Microwave Blanching Corn on the Cob

Blanching Corn on the Cob in the Microwave?  

So I have a great crop of corn on the cob this year and I wanted to save some of it for this winter because there is no way we would be able to eat it in time before it freezes outside but I was just not into stovetop blanching today.  Do you ever have one of those days?  Well I am.

So I did a little research about blanching corn in the microwave.

What I read was that you dont want to cook it all the way, just partially.  And only at about 60%-70% of your microwave is about 1000 watt microwave.  (Mine is 1150 watts.)

Now I cook corn on the cob in the microwave regularly for dinner so the time to cook the corn only partially in my microwave is 3-4 minutes.

Heres what I did:

Microwave Blanching

pick your corn when it is ripe

let it soak in a water bath for several minutes to free it of bugs and dirt. 

place a plate in the microwave with a small amount of water on it and place 4-5 pieces of corn on it (depending on the size of your corn).

cook it for 2-3 minutes, flip it, and cook another 1 minute or so.  

as soon as it is out of the microwave place it in an ice water bath.

let soak for about a minute in the ice water, this will stop the cooking process keeping your corn crisp, not chewy.  

now place in freezer bags and done.  

I am super excited to have 'fresh' corn on the cob this winter!  

I know, more blanching, you will thank me this winter when you are loving your fresh fruit and veggies, 

-Sarah 

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Pickles!... Canning Your Own Crunchy Dill Pickles

Pickles.... Pickles.... Pickles....

So, I pulled about 6 quarts worth of pickles out of my garden within the last couple days and figured it was time to get to pickling!  This recipe came from my husbands grandmother.  She has been doing pickles every year for the past, oh I don't know, since the beginning of time?!  So I figured her recipe must be worth using since everyone raves about how crunchy and fabulous they are, and then I wanted to share it with you!

Here is what you will need:

Homemade Crunchy Dill Pickles:

Pickling cucumbers

*garlic

*onion

1 part Pickling salt

2 parts vinegar

2 parts water

***dill (fresh is best but dried works too)

*Now heres the thing, the onion, garlic and dill is not really measured, it is a fill the jar and see what you like kind of a situation.  (I'll explain better later.)

***If you are using dried dill I like to put it in the brine so the flavor really gets a chance to bloom but if you are using fresh you will just pack it in the jars with the pickles.  

Here is what I did for one quart jar of 

Brine:

1/2 cup Pickling salt

1 cup Vinegar

1 cup water

then since I was using dried dill I added it now.  (about a Tbsp)

 Here is the pickling salt




(And don't forget to put your two part lid in some boiling water to start heating up.)

 Now bring it to a full boil.  It has to be HOT because we are not doing a hot water bath so this is what will make the lids seal.

 While you are waiting for your brine to boil you can start packing your jars.

**Make sure you wash your pickles before you pack them in the jars.

Start with some garlic and onion on the bottom of the jar.

Add some pickles...
















Add a bit more garlic and onion...

 top with more pickles, then whatever you have left of the onion.  (I would say for one jar I used half of the onion pictured above and 5 or so garlic cloves)





















now that your brine is boiling add it to the pickles.

And place your HOT 2 part lid on top.




And let them sit for at least 6 weeks to really get a great pickle flavor.



All done, pretty quick and easy I think.  Plus you can make just a couple jars at a time if you keep up with it.  One jar only takes about 15 minutes start to finish.

Let these cool overnight on a cooling rack, the lids should pop overnight, if they do not, just put them in the fridge.  They will stay fresh in there.






You are really going to love this recipe, it has been enjoyed in this family for generations...

-Sarah



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Zucchini Chips

Zucchini Chips - What else are you going to do with all that zucchini

In my quest for more creative things to do with zucchini I found chips were a viable option. What a great idea right, someone out there is a genius! I didn't want them just plain though so I thought about all the fabulous chip flavors I love and decided to do vinegar and sea salt.

They are super easy to make, especially in your dehydrator.

Yummy Zucchini Chips

1 or 2 large zucchinis
Vinegar
Salt
Pepper if you like
Olive oil

First slice your zuchs either on a mandolin or thinly by hand

Let soak in vinegar while you are slicing them










Place them on your trays...













Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper




Now wait until they are a nice crunchy consistency.
















Awesome, right?

You have got to try these, I just know you are going to love them!
-Sarah

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Bowling Ball Garden Bugs

DIY Garden Bugs...

I have seen these on pinterest a couple of times and thought they would be a super cute addition to my veggie garden!  

All you will need is: 

an old bowling ball

Paint

bailing wire
scraps of fabric
hot glue
cotton balls

Thats all.  And this whole project cost me Just $1!  Thats it!  The scraps of fabric I already had, I had bailing wire but you can use any old wire you have lying around your house (how about a couple of paperclips straightened out), hot glue, (please, like my house would ever be void of hot glue!), and the bowling ball I thrifted at the salvation army for, you guessed it $1!  SWEET!  (I may have picked up 3 bowling balls for that price... shhh... I don't have a problem.)

So first you will just want to paint you ball whatever color your base will be.  I used yellow spray paint because I chose to go with a bee first.

Paint your stripes.  I freehanded mine because I am not super picky about these things.  If it bothers you, feel free to use painters tape to make your lines a bit straighter.  I did clean them up a little after I painted them with just a wet washcloth.  This will take a few coats to get nice dark lines.


Now for this next part I just used whatever I had.  I decided that fabric would be just fine outside in the weather so I found some polkadot that I thought I could scrunch up into ball size and glue on the ends.  This is what I did with this one.

I used E-6000 glue for this bug but I found that with the lady bug hot glue worked better for me because it dried much faster and I didn't have to sew the fabric to keep it in place.  either way works great.  (as I have said before, I am a 'use what you have' kind of crafter, because really, you can't do it wrong, right?!?  It's whatever you LOVE!)

Place glue ont eh ends and put the wire and fabric together. 

I then placed the wire in the side by side holes on the bowling ball with glue on them and stuffed the holes with cotton balls to keep them in place as they dried.

No paint the eyes...  white first...

then black...

and when you are done with painting (and it has dried) seal with any sort of sealer, this is what I had.

And there it is.  Super cute, and the kids love them.

Ladybug, yeah!  looks like one of his antenna is twisted, oops, oh well.
See, you can make any bug you want.  I will be making a green one next I think.

Happy garden everyone,
-Sarah

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