Zucceazy

The great zucchini harvest is upon us! Here is another recipe to add to your repertoire of zucchini cookery.

Ingredients

• 2 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

• Step 1

Season zucchini with salt and pepper and brush lightly with olive oil.

• Step 2

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Place zucchini slices, a few at a time, into hot pan and cook until the pattern of the pan is imprinted into zucchini, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes.

• Step 3

Combine olive oil, vinegar, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Brush cooked zucchini with olive oil mixture and serve.

Roasted Strawberries

Usually strawberries are more associated with Spring, but a post on Instagram by Green Valley Gable got me thinking about folks who grow ever-bearing strawberries that produce fruit throughout the summer. This recipe makes the perfect topping for yogurt or ice cream on hot summer days.

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled

• 2 tablespoons white sugar, or more to taste

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Quarter large strawberries and halve smaller ones. Place strawberries in a 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle sugar on top and toss several times.

• Step 3

  Roast in the preheated oven, stirring once, until strawberries are soft and juices are thick and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely.

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Stuffed Cabbage Leaves

My wife and I made this recipe over the weekend. However, we scaled it up so we would have 4 pans to freeze for later meals. If you scale up the recipe, I recommend also increasing the amount of tomato sauce. We found that we came up a little short on the sauce distribution.

Ingredients

For the sauce:

- 13.5 fl oz tomato sauce

- 3.4 fl oz vegetable stock

- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

- 2 tbsp sugar

- 1 tsp cinnamon

- 1 pinch salt

- 1 pinch pepper

For the stuffed cabbage rolls:

- 1 cabbage head

- 17.5 oz ground meat

- 2 eggs

- 4.2 oz jasmine rice

- 1 diced onion

- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

- 1 cup parsley, chopped

- 1 pinch salt

- 1 pinch pepper

Directions

1. To prepare the sauce, mix the tomato sauce with the stock, balsamic vinegar, and seasoning. Now spoon the sauce into a casserole dish; the bottom of the dish on the inside should be completely covered in sauce.

2. Next, remove the cabbage stem and boil the entire cabbage in salted water for 10 minutes. Take it out of the water and remove the leaves that are already soft. Keep boiling the cabbage and removing leaves until you have enough for your shells. Refresh the leaves in cold water and leave them to dry. To finish, cut away the stem at each corner.

3. It's now time to make the filling. First, add the ground meat, eggs, jasmine rice, onions, garlic, and parsley in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients by carefully kneading them with your hands. Now mold a handful of the mixture into a roll using your hands.

4. Now we come to rolling up those rolls. Place a meat roll in the center of a cabbage leaf, fold in its sides, and roll the leaf from the bottom so that the meat is completely covered. Repeat this process until you've used up all the meat mix and leaves.

5. Place the finished cabbage rolls in the casserole dish, keeping them tightly packed. Then spoon the rest of the sauce on top.

6. Bake the stuffed leaves at 320°F for 45 minutes in a convection oven.

Independence Day Cupcakes

A light fluffy cupcake filled with cool vanilla pudding offers a light alternative to a traditional cupcake. Substitute applesauce for a healthy alternative to shortening.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

• 1 ½ cups white sugar

• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup vegetable shortening

• 3 egg whites

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 cup milk

• 1 (1 ounce) package instant sugar-free vanilla pudding mix

• 2 cups skim milk

• 1 (7 ounce) container light whipped cream

• 12 thinly sliced strawberries, or as needed

• 24 fresh blueberries

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

• Step 2

  With a pastry cutter, chop the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture becomes crumbly, then beat in the egg whites, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of milk to make a smooth batter. Spoon batter into the paper-lined cupcake cups, filling them about 2/3 full.

• Step 3

  Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

• Step 4

  In a bowl, beat together the pudding mix and 2 cups of skim milk until the pudding is thickened, about 2 minutes. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to finish thickening. Spoon the pudding into a pastry bag with a medium tip.

• Step 5

  To fill and decorate cupcakes, use a thin paring knife to cut a small hole, about 1/2 inch in diameter, into the top of a cupcake. Insert the knife about 3/4 of the way down into the cupcake, and remove the core. Use the pastry bag to fill the hole with pudding, piping in enough pudding to fill the hole flush with the top of the cupcake. Frost the tops of the filled cupcakes with light whipped cream, spreading it into a smooth layer.

• Step 6

  Place a blueberry in the center of each cupcake. Around the blueberry, arrange 5 slices of strawberry, pointed ends outward, to make a star shape. Store in refrigerator.

Cream Cheese Squares

This incredibly simple desert is the perfect accompaniment for a cookout potluck.

Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent roll dough

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• ½ cup margarine, melted

• ¼ cup white sugar (for topping)

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan.

3. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

4. Spread over the crescent layer.

5. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer. Do not press down.

6. Pour the melted margarine over the entire pan.

7. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top.

8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

Campfire Meal: Hobo's Delight

This recipe combines hamburgers with onions, baby carrots, and potatoes in individually cooked foil packets. It’s easy cleanup makes it the perfect meal for camping.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean ground beef

• 1 onion, sliced

• 1 (16 ounce) package baby carrots

• 4 potatoes, peeled and sliced

• seasoned salt to taste

• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat grill for medium-high heat.

• Step 2

  Form the ground beef into individual patties, and place each patty on a piece of foil large enough to hold the patty and some vegetables. Layer each patty with onion slices, carrots, and potato slices. Season with seasoned salt, salt, and pepper to taste. Wrap foil around food, and seal each packet tightly.

• Step 3

  Grill 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Carefully open each packet (the steam that escapes will be very hot), and serve.