Friend brought me a few GIANT zucchini...I'm not generally a squash eater...only eat zuchhini at Benihana normally. For a girl who doesn't cook too much, what's the best and healthiest way to prepare? . Be sure to dumb it down for me if using cooking terminology. I don't grill but use a Foreman grill some. Would that work? Steam? bake?
i love Squash and Zucchini....
make it several ways...
1. Steam, easy to do with a steamer, add butter and salt and pepper.
Only tip with steaming is I tend to cut them a little thicker....
2. My new favorite way is sauteeing them, really, just cooking them on the stove top... ms dash vegetable seasoning is just one of my favorite seasoning... on stove top, either lightly coat them in olive oil (healthier) or put in a bunch of butter... i thought in just a tiny bit of water for some steam action too...I use the ms dash seasoning very liberally throughout the cooking... just cook them until tender... best tasting in my opinion...
3. not sure if this is an option on the foreman, it should work but just never do it. cut the zucchini in long slices.. uh, probably a techincally word for it, but not like little circles but instead down the length of it. this is thinner than your normal cut.. on you hot foreman, lay them down, and brush on soy sauce.... different way to enjoy zucchini....
Make a zucchini boat. Slice length wise, clean both halves out with a spoon, but leave about 1/4 inch meat. Boil for 1 minute to soften it up. Stuff with whatever you like and bake. I'm making that for tomorrow. Stuffing with mozzarella and pepperoni and cover with pizza sauce. I've done the same with meatball, sausage, hot peppers. Awesome side dish.
This is good too.
Will definitely add onion too. ...thanks for the boat idea MrPlastered, though that might be a little out of my league for now...I better start small with sautéing. ha. Sounds really good though. I also have some small broccoli florets....would that mix ok with the z and onion? I am sure I have some Mrs. Dash in the cubbard. Can't wait to try this. I better do it tonight before the cleaning gal gets back Friday. I know she will ask if I used them.
For the broccoli, I like to do this (If you will eat it raw). I cut it up rather small, add Cauliflower, cukes, tomatoes, feta cheese with a dash of salt and pepp to taste. Add Italian dressing (or your favorite dressing), for me this week it was Rasp Ving. And voila, healthy and tasty, and it makes enough for a few days. I also added whole wheat macoroni pasta this week too.
-If you do decide to cook them with the sautee mixture as suggested above, you probably will want to start the broccoli a few min before the rest to make sure they get cooked down and don't stay too hard.
ENJOY!
-If you do decide to cook them with the sautee mixture as suggested above, you probably will want to start the broccoli a few min before the rest to make sure they get cooked down and don't stay too hard.
ENJOY!
I usually just make them with cheese on the stove, but not sure how healthy it is. I did find lots of good looking recipes here that I want to try
http://www.yummly.com/recipes/baked-zucchini-with-cheese
Also I do remember the GIANT zucchini sometimes do not taste as good when they get too big
http://www.yummly.com/recipes/baked-zucchini-with-cheese
Also I do remember the GIANT zucchini sometimes do not taste as good when they get too big
This is true, along with about any gourd type veggie. I love Armenian cukes (not solely bc I'm Armenian, lol). these boogers will grow to 3 ft long, but they actually taste the best at about a foot long or so...
Thanks MM. I have made that pasta/veggie/Italian dressing salad before too. Usually make it with fat free dressing...still great. Thanks for the heads up on starting the broccoli early....and also the warnings about smaller ones being better..She brought two and some cucumbers...One of the zucs is huge...I'll probably make the smaller one...more than enough for me anyway.
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