We’ve had squash, tomatoes, herbs and other delectable edibles growing out of our ears over here, and trying to find fun, new ways to cook ‘em, grill ‘em & bake ‘em up has been an adventure!
We knew one of the first creative ways we were going to use up some of our zucchini this year was repeating the grilled zucchini pizza we had made last summer. It.is.out.of.this.world. I mean, it has cream cheese, fresh herbs, grilled dough and garlic in it…what’s not to love?
And the various forms of squash continue to dominate this year.
We counted 57 butternut squash out there. Shut the front door! I’ve got my soup makin’, choppin’ & freezin’ work cut out for me this Fall. So if you live near me…please…come and get some!
My hubby’s dad brought over his extra tomatoes last week, and after making 3+ gallons of pasta sauce, the best bruschetta in the world, and popping approximately 257 of the sweet little cherries into our mouths on a daily basis…we’re still left with a hefty load of these red beauties.
Enter: one of the best new recipes I’ve stumbled upon on Pinterest that just happens to use cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and packs a fabulous protein punch with it’s inclusion of chickpeas and quinoa.
Meet the delicious Lemon Cilantro Chickpea Quinoa Salad. Say that three times fast. While I’m not a huge cilantro fan, we’ll definitely be serving this up again {maybe on a Meatless Monday, inside a halved acorn squash}.
This was a huge hit at the progressive dinner I took it to last week {the one I literally gorged myself at}. Several women tracked down its over-stuffed creator and requested the recipe. Well, here it is, ladies…
Lemon Cilantro Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of dry quinoa
- 2 cups of vegetable broth
- 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 avocados, diced
- 2 cups of spinach
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1/4 onion, finely chopped
- 2 small cloves garlic, minced
- For the dressing:
- Juice of 2 lemons
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tsp. dijon mustard
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. agave nectar
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- dash of salt and pepper
Directions:
- Make your quinoa first. Soak the quinoa, in the veggie broth, in a medium pot for about 15 minutes. Then turn the heat onto medium high and let the quinoa come to a boil. Once it boils, reduce heat to medium/low and let quinoa simmer. Stir every so often, and cook quinoa for about 20-25 minutes, just until the liquid absorbs. You don’t want it to dry out, so when there is just a little amount of liquid left in the pot, remove it from heat and put a lid on it. Set it aside, and make the rest of the salad (or pop it in the fridge to cool it a little faster).
- Wash/rinse your spinach and cilantro {I threw in a little parsley for good measure}, and dry it, either in a salad spinner, or by lightly twisting and bouncing between a clean, dry dish towel. In a food processor, chop your spinach and cilantro by pulsing it several times {or finely chop them by hand}.
- Add the greens to a large bowl, and set aside. Next, finely dice/chop your onion and garlic and add to the greens mixture. Then add your chickpeas and stir until everything is combined and evenly coated. If the quinoa is cooled, add it to the chickpea spinach mixture.
- Make your dressing by whisking all the ingredients together. Pour over salad, and mix until combined. Add in tomatoes and avocado stir carefully.
- Pop it in fridge for at least 10-15 minutes before serving to chill and meld all the glorious flavors.
Recipe from The Diva Dish
Ready for another one?
We still happen to have a couple of zucchini stragglers laying around the house. Okay, so they’re corralled to the kitchen and random spots on the deck, but they’re still just laying around looking horribly lonely.
Nothing like a few chocolate chips to rescue their lonely souls. Works for me every time. But that’s another problem story.
There were lots of zucchini muffins and loaves eaten this summer. Some with apple sauce. Some with smashed bananas. Some with chocolate chips. Some with instant coffee, cinnamon and chocolate chips. What can I say? Chocolate speaks delight to my soul {and cusses at my hips}.
That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread & Muffins
Ingredients:
- 4 cups grated zucchini (from about a pound and a half of zucchini)
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips (or replace with 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup of white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted
- 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
- Place the freshly grated zucchini in a sieve over a bowl to catch any excess moisture as it drains, while you work on prepping the other ingredients and preparing the recipe.
- Preheat oven to 350*, with a rack in the middle. Grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans with baking spray or butter, or cupcake liners/pan, depending on how you plan to bake these.
- Vigorously whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk until there are no more clumps and the ingredients are well combined.
- In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until smooth, about a minute (in a mixer or by hand). Add the melted butter, instant coffee granules, and almond extract and beat until smooth.
- Mix the shredded zucchini into the sugar egg mixture. Add the flour to the zucchini mixture in 3 parts, stirring to combine after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Work quickly, and divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans, or fill cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 50 minutes at 350* for the loaves, or for 30 minutes for the muffins – until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and easily. Remove to a rack. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely.
Recipe based on this one from Simply Recipes
And there you have it! Eat up.
