Zucchini Made Palatable . . .

I like zucchini but that taste is not always shared by everyone in the family. Yesterday, the zucchini got eaten without a fuss and even seconds were served! My secret? Went super simple and it turned out super tasty, it’s zucchini elements not quite as obvious!

Ingredients:

Three, medium to large zucchini
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Basil Pesto
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and diced
Two green onions, finely sliced
Grated Parmesan or Romano

First, wash the zucchini and slice in half, lengthwise. With a vegetable peeler, peel off long, wide strips of zucchini starting from the ‘open’ side of the cut vegetable. Place your finished strips in a bowl and set aside.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large frying pan or wok. Slowly saute the prepared garlic until just tender not browned. Add the zucchini and toss to coat in the butter/garlic mixture. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix carefully, toss once more with the grated cheese and serve.

Chicken Salad Recipe – Cool Fare for a Hot Day!

The temperatures are going up into the 90’s around here this weekend. Although I’m not particularly fond of the hot weather, it is a good excuse to make a cold dinner and get out of the kitchen sooner. A favorite around here are homemade chicken salad sandwiches. I usually keep hamburger buns in the freezer for just such an occasion but am not adverse to making my own . . . depending on how soon in the day I set the bread to rise and how hot it actually gets today.

Chicken Salad
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
2 cups very thinly sliced or diced celery
1 small shallot, finely diced or 2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish
Dijon mustard to taste, usually a teaspoon or two
Salt & pepper to taste
Thousand Island dressing

Romaine lettuce, washed and patted dry
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced Provolone Cheese
Hamburger buns or desired bread choice

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except for the Romaine. The Thousand Island dressing should moisten not drench the chicken.

Toast the buns or bread lightly. Line each side of the bread with Romaine and add the tomato and cheese on one side. Spread with the chicken salad, close the sandwich, and serve.

As usual, this is open to creativity.

Try dill pickle relish instead of the sweet.
Add some crushed croutons or potato chips to the chicken salad.
Try you favorite cheese.
A dash of barbecue sauce isn’t bad.
My son likes a few pickled jalapeño peppers.
Use a bottled Asian dressing instead of the Thousand Island.
Go with a Ranch dressing and add some crisp bacon.