Zucchini Pie

I'm loving zucchini this year. It's one vegetable that I tend to buy every shopping trip even if I don't have specific plans for it.

My kids will tell you of course that they "HATE" zucchini.

Bless their hearts.....if they only knew how frequently they ate it.

It's my ultimate sneaky vegetable. Shred it up on a box grater and it goes in everything. Spaghetti, pancakes, chocolate chip cookies, etc.......



I realize the zucchini are a little more obvious in this pie. But their mild taste keeps vegetable consumption from turning into an epic, dinner battle.

And hey, a little  pie crust never hurt either.

I have been making this recipe since my 7 year old was a toddler and it's always a winner. Recently, I experimented a little by cutting back on the amount of zucchini and adding some crumbled, turkey Italian sausage. The result was so good I debated making that version for this post. Seriously consider that route if you have meat lovers to please. And though the recipe calls for mozzarella, I love a sharp cheddar here too. Enjoy!

~Erin

 

Zucchini Pie

Author: Erin (adapted from 6 O'clock Scramble)

Ingredients

• 1 T. butter or extra virgin olive oil


• 2 zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced (4-5 cups)


• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/2 tsp. black pepper


• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder


• 1/2 tsp. dried basil


• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano


• 1 9-inch pie crust


• 1 T. Dijon mustard


• 2 eggs, lightly beaten


• 2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375.


2. Sautee sliced zucchini and onion in a skillet with butter over medium heat. Stir and flip them frequently. The pan will be a bit crowded until they cook down and get softer.


3. When tender and lightly browned (about 10 minutes), remove from heat. Stir in in spices and seasonings.


4. Unroll pie crust into a 9 inch pie plate. Brush the bottom and sides of crust with mustard.


5. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs and cheese. Gently fold in zucchini mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly.


6. Bake for 30 minutes until top is lightly browned. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Either regular green zucchini, yellow squash, or any combination of the two work well in this recipe.

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Crunchers

Life has been crazy lately! My son started kindergarten, my daughter started preschool, they both have swimming lessons, my daughter has dance class, it goes on and on and on.... I feel like I'm always sitting in the car waiting to drop off or pick up a kid. God bless I-Phones and the Pinterest app! Its a great way to kill time. When you see a recipe that says "The Most Popular Recipe on Pinterest" you have to be a dummy not to try it, right? Well thats what I thought when I saw this one. One day when I needed an easy dessert recipe I decided to try it out.

(Here's our first day of preschool. Clearly she had her big brother's full support!)

These bars are very easy to make. They would have to be these days, I don't have time for complicated. Its a perfect dessert to take to a pot luck, picnic or party, super easy to transport. If you like peanut butter and chocolate its a clear winner. They really didn't last long in my house. Give them a try. If you're reading this in the pick up lane, lobby of dance class or doctors office, I feel your pain. :)

~Wendy

Crunchers

Author: Pinterest

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 16

Ingredients

• 80 Keebler Club Crackers (or a similarly buttery cracker that has a rectangular shape)


• 1 c butter


• 2 c graham cracker crumbs


• 1 c firmly packed dark brown sugar


• 1/2 c milk


• 1/3 c sugar


• 2/3 c creamy peanut butter


• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Line an ungreased 9 X 13-inch baking pan with foil, allowing foil to extend about an inch on either end. Line the foil with 1 layer of club crackers, cutting to fit if necessary.


2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, milk and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. (Begin timing 5 minutes from when you see the first bubbles)


3. Remove from heat and spread half of graham mixture evenly over crackers. Place another single layer of crackers evenly over graham mixture, cutting to fit if necessary. Spread remaining graham mixture evenly over crackers. Top evenly with remaining crackers.


4. In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter and chocolate chips. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over top of crackers. Cover, and chill for at least 1 hour.


5. Lift foil overhang and remove Crunchers from pan. Cut into bars.

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Swiss Cereal

Here's what you should be having for breakfast this weekend. Seriously this stuff is Ahhhh-Mazing! I could eat it every single day for breakfast but I'd weigh 1000 lbs. This is an incredibly decadent breakfast "cereal" but it is the BEST cereal I've ever eaten in my life. You may scroll down and see the "heavy cream" on the ingredient list and automatically dismiss this post. DON'T DO IT!! Try this at least one time, you absolutely must, must, MUST!

A big thank you to my little sister for finding/adapting this recipe for our family. Its a bit of a long story, so here's my short version. Every year for Christmas my family made an annual trek down to a little place called Singer Island, Florida. The tradition started when my Dad was a kid and (very thankfully!) carried on through my childhood. Weird for Christmas, I know. No snow? No white Christmas? No fireplace? People are always amazed we go south for the holidays. I say "heck no!" For me Christmas is palm trees, a beach, swimming pools, sun tans, the Breakers brunch... I'm very happy to give up the cold for the warmth!

We were always creatures of habit, staying in the same place, visiting the same restaurants every single year. One of my family's favorite restaurants was called Harpoon Louie's. They had the best breakfasts! It was in Jupiter, Florida right on the water with a view of the lighthouse and the boats going by. One of the absolute best breakfasts on the menu was Swiss Cereal. So, so, SO sadly Harpoon Louie's closed over a decade ago. Determined to recreate a family favorite, my sister Andrea scoured the internet looking for similar recipes. She was able to piece together recipes, adjusting them with taste, to land on this almost identical version. YAY!!!! She actually goes so much by taste, I had to work on the recipe to give you all measurements! :)

The fun thing about this cereal is that you can add whatever fruit you want. Harpoon Louie's always added golden raisins to their version and topped it with sliced bananas and strawberries. This tastes like Christmas to me. Its simply awesome!

~Wendy

Swiss Cereal

Recipe Type: Breakfast

Author: Andrea Bockewitz

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 3 c. instant oats


• 1 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream


• 1/2 c. milk (2% or higher)


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 2/3 c sugar


• 1/2 c sliced strawberries


• 1/4 c blueberries


• 1/4 c golden raisins

Instructions

1. Combine oats, cream, milk, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Stir until thoroughly combined.


2. Let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.


3. Remove from the refrigerator and stir in the fruit, add in additional milk 1 Tbsp at a time if needed to thin the consistency of the cereal.


4. Serve immediately.

Notes

You can store the cereal overnight, however you will need to add more milk in the morning before serving to thin out the consistency- between 1/2-1 cup. Do not add the fruit until you are ready to serve as the color will bleed into the cereal.

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Tomato Pie

As soon as tomatoes start looking gorgeous in the grocery store, I start thinking about this pie. And when I'm studying the sun throughout the day in our new yard, I'm thinking about this pie. Reason being of course that I have plans to be growing my own tomatoes next year. I think I have a decent spot picked out, though it happens to be in the front yard.

That's cool right?

I have a feeling that after a taste of this pie using my future little beauties, I won't be worrying about the appearance of tomato plants in the front yard.

I remember reading this recipe in an issue of Cook's Country magazine. At the time I was probably so overwhelmed with the desire to make EVERYTHING in the issue, that the tomato pie was forgotten. Then a google search a few years later led me to this Seattle Times adaptation of the same recipe. All I could think about was how much time was lost NOT knowing how delicious a tomato pie could be. I find it as irresistible as any sweet, dessert type pie can be. So at least I'm not feeling so guilty about coming back to the kitchen for just one more bite.

~Erin

Tomato Pie

Prep time: 45 mins

Cook time: 50 mins

Total time: 1 hour 35 mins

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 package of refrigerated pie crust


• 2 lbs. tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices


• 1/2 tsp. salt


• 1/3 c. mayonnaise


• 4 tsp. cornstarch


• 1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded and divided


• 1 beaten egg white


• 4 green onions, sliced


• 2 T. fresh chopped herbs such as tarragon, basil or thyme

Instructions

1. Drain tomato slices by laying them out on a stack of several paper towel layers. Sprinkle with salt and allow to rest for 30 minutes.


2. Preheat oven to 450, and place a cookie sheet in the lower 1/3 of oven.


3. Unroll one piecrust into a 9" pie plate. Brush crust with egg white and sprinkle with 1/2 c. of cheese.


4. In a small bowl, mix together remaining 1 c. of cheese, mayonnaise, and cornstarch.


5. After tomatoes have drained for 30 minutes, press them with a few more paper towels to remove as much moisture as possible.


6. Layer 1/3 of tomatoes over cheese in pie crust. Spread 1/2 of mayo mixture and sprinkle 1/2 of green onions. Follow with another 1/3 of tomatoes, and remaining mayo mixture, green onions, and fresh herbs. Top with remaining tomatoes.


7. Unroll top pie crust over filling and crimp edges. With a sharp knife, cut approximately 1" x 2" vents into top.


8. Place pie on heated cookie sheet in oven. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.


9. Reduce oven temp to 325, and continue baking for 40 minutes till crust is golden brown.


10. Allow pie to cool for at least an hour before serving.

Notes

I know I say to spread the mayo mixture over the tomato layers. Unfortunately, the consistency is not super spreadable. Maybe a better instruction would be to use your fingers and crumble and smoosh the mix over the tomatoes. It's not pretty but it works. Also, I find I get a better bottom crust when baked in a metal pie plate, instead of glass.

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Club BLT with Avocado and Chipotle Mayo

So a BLT seems kind of like it's not in need of an actual recipe. Bacon, lettuce, tomato. Duh. And even adding the "club" element to it by adding turkey still may not warrant a pin or a print of a recipe. One could even go so far as to say adding the avocado still doesn't necessarily make it a blog-worthy sandwich. Add the chipotle mayo (which is insanely good) and we're gettin' somewhere but the icing on the cake, so to speak, is the egg. Yes, egg. There is a freakin' fried egg on this BLT! You may think it sounds strange or gross, but just TRY it. When I saw the recipe from From Away  on Pinterest I just knew I had to try it. I made it for dinner one night and my husband was making all kinds of happy sounds as he was eating it. It seems a little over the top for a sandwich, but when it's for dinner, it's OK that it's ginormous and barely fits in your mouth, right?

The first time I made it, I had forgotten to buy chipotles for the mayo. :( But we always have the Chipotle Tabasco in our house so I just mixed some mayo up with that and voila! The second time I made them, I made the chipotle mayo as stated in the recipe. It was delicious...but SPICY...and when I say it was spicy, I mean it. We both love heat but it was even almost a little too spicy for us...but it did have much more depth and better flavor than just the tabasco mixed in. The recipe as I'm writing it will still be spicy but not cause you to cough and choke to death. If you can really only tolerate a little bit of heat, then I would suggest doing the chipotle Tabasco option and you can control how spicy you make it.

Also, Erin and I were discussing the necessity of the cheese in this recipe. When there's so much else going on, do you even taste the cheese? Do you taste it enough to justify the added calories?

My thoughts on that is that it does add another level of flavor and probably cuts the heat a little bit from the chipotles. But, I do think if you have a strong feeling against the cheese (who has strong feelings AGAINST cheese?!), I don't think the sandwich will suffer much without it.

Now I really want one of these sandwiches...

~Leah

Club BLT with Avocado and Chipotle Mayo

Recipe Type: Sandwich

Author: Leah (adapted from From Away)

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise


• 1-2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce


• 3 slices sandwich bread, toasted


• baby spinach or Romaine lettuce


• 3 slices of deli turkey


• 1/2 tomato, thinly sliced


• 4 slices bacon, cooked


• 2 slices Swiss cheese


• 1/2 avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced


• 1 fried egg, over-medium


• Chipotle Tabasco (optional, see notes)

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine mayo and chipotle chiles. Process until smooth. Set aside.


2. Assemble in this order: Toast (with chipotle mayo), spinach or lettuce, one slice of turkey, half the tomato, half the bacon, one slice of the Swiss cheese. Spread some PLAIN mayo on a second slice of toast and put that on top, mayonnaise side down. Spread the top of the middle slice of bread with more PLAIN mayo. Top with more spinach or lettuce, the sliced avocado, two slices of turkey, more tomato, the other slice of cheese, the remaining bacon, and the fried egg. Top with the third slice of bread with the chipotle mayo side down.

Notes

This is my version of cutting back on the heat a little bit. If you want to use chipotle mayo wherever it calls for mayo, more power to ya. If you prefer less heat, only use it on one slice, or just add some Chipotle Tabasco to some mayo and make it to the heat you prefer.

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