July 26, 2012 - Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard

*8/19/2012 Correction was made in the ingredient list for the Zucchini Pizza Casserole, and Blogger re-published it out of order.

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard, AKA Granny's Garden Dinners. Garden and pantry items are in (parentheses), * means the recipe is included.


Thursday
*Zucchini Pizza Casserole (zucchini, onion, seasoned tomato sauce, green pepper)
Green beans and Crookneck Squash (pole beans, squash)
Bread Machine Italian Bread
Iced Tea
Home Made Chocolate Ripple Coffee Ice Cream

Zucchini Pizza Casserole

 4 cups shredded unpeeled zucchini
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
  1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups Italian seasoned tomato sauce
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup sliced black olives

Directions:
Place zucchini in strainer; sprinkle with salt. Let stand for 10 minutes. Squeeze out moisture. (Place in a clean towel and wring out as much moisture as you can)
    
Combine zucchini with the eggs, Parmesan and half of the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Press into greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish.
    
Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook beef, onion and bell pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add Italian tomato sauce; spoon over zucchini mixture.
    
Sprinkle with olives and remaining cheeses. Bake 20 minutes longer or until heated through. 




Friday
*Swiss Steak (onion, carrot, celery, green pepper, Sweet Chili Sauce)
Mashed Potatoes (potatoes)
Broccoli (broccoli)
Corn on the Cob (local corn)
Fruit Salad
Iced Tea

Swiss Steak

vegetable oil spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds round steak, cut into 6 servings
4 tablespoons flour, seasoned to taste
2 cups diced onion (12 oz.)
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1 cup Sweet Chili Sauce
2 cups (1 can) diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 beef bouillon cube
1cup water

Heat oil in a large frying pan, which has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray.

Dredge the steak in seasoned flour and brown on both sides in the hot oil.  Move steak to one side of the pan, and add the onion slices.  Cook and stir the onions, over medium heat, until they are golden and caramelized.  

Add all the remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until steak is tender.  I removed the cover of my dutch oven the last half hour, to let the sauce reduce and thicken.


Saturday
Mr. Granny's best friend from high school through adulthood passed away last week, so we drove to Idaho for his burial.  We ate breakfast on the way, and had a late lunch at our old favorite Chinese restaurant before driving home.  We had a late snack when we got back:  Strawberry Shortcake (strawberries)




Sunday
Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato on Toast (lettuce, tomatoes)
Fried Zucchini (zucchini)
Fruit Salad




Monday
*Creamy Braised Chicken  (onion, carrot, parsley)
Mashed Potatoes (potatoes)
Sliced tomatoes (tomatoes)
Iced Tea
Zucchini Granola Cookies (zucchini)

Creamy Braised Chicken

1 tablespoon margarine
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (2)
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1  carrot; thinly sliced
1 stalk celery; thinly sliced
1 can chicken broth
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup evaporated skim milk

In a large fry pan or Dutch oven, brown the chicken breasts in margarine. Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté until vegetables are tender. Stir in broth and seasonings, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink inside.  

Remove chicken to a serving platter.  With a large, slotted spoon, remove vegetables and place over and around chicken pieces.

Combine flour and milk until smooth; stir into pan juices.  Cook and stir until thickened. Serve sauce on the side as a gravy for mashed potatoes and to spoon over chicken.

Revised from: Taste of  Home Light & Tasty, premier issue 2001, p.37


Tuesday
Leftovers - Swiss Steak from Friday
Baked Yukon Gold Potatoes (potatoes)
Lettuce and Cucumber Salad (cucumbers)



Wednesday
Taco Salad with 
Garden Fresh Pico De Gallo (Black Cherry tomatoes, sweet onion, jalapeno pepper)
Iced Tea
Home Made Chocolate Ripple Coffee Ice Cream


Preserving the Harvest


7/24  1-1/2 pounds Fortex pole beans for the freezer and 15 half-pints Sweet Zucchini Relish.  There was a lot of syrup left from the double batch of relish, so I used it to make a quart of cucumber refrigerator pickles.



7/24   I had too many tomatoes for fresh eating, but not enough to can, so I made a small batch (2 -1/2 cups) of plain tomato sauce.  It's in the freezer, but I'll can it when I get enough to do a few pints.

Hop on over to Robin's place at The Gardener of Eden and link up to let others see what you've been using or preserving from your garden and/or pantry!


27 comments:

  1. I'm gong to be making my relish out of cucumbers. They may be dying for the wilt but at least they are putting out some before they give up totally. The zucchini on the other hand look beautiful. But they aren't making any female flowers. Any that start are turning yellow long before they open. Dang zucchini.

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    1. I've made my relish both ways, and we like them both the same. It's great on hot dogs. I only have to make it about every two years.

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  2. Wow... you were a busy gal. I feel like a slacker! You're menus are beautiful.

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    1. Thanks, Chili, and thank you for visiting my blog!

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  3. I wish I had too many tomatoes. The dang squirrels stole most of the first wave. Right now we are in a lull waiting for the next wave of tomatoes to grow and ripen.

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    1. Vanessa, I don't think I planted enough of the larger varieties that I like to use for canning. I'm getting mostly small ones that are fine for sauce, but I really want some whole or diced tomatoes.

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  4. The zucchini casserole looks tasty.. I need to try that. Everything else looks fabulous too.

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    1. Julie, it's not too bad for a zucchini recipe. It tastes a lot like pizza, and I found I liked putting a forkful of it on the French bread for each bite. Then it tasted like French bread pizza.

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  5. Replies
    1. Cloud, plant every inch, harvest every day, cook and can and freeze as much as possible, give the rest away to someone who appreciates it? Yep, that's my system!

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  6. I just have to try that zucchini pizza casserole! We are in zucchini heaven right now!

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    1. Robin, I've made it a couple of times. It's not my favorite meal, but it's pretty good and uses up a lot of zucchini!

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  7. I went a little nuts this year with making relish and pickling in general. Zucchini is by far my favorite, though.

    http://cordarogarden.blogspot.com/

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    1. Kris, I did that a couple of years ago. In fact, I think it was 2009 and we're still eating the pickles! I was running short on sweet relish though, and only planted cucumbers for salads and slicing, so the zucchini was welcome.

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  8. Every thing looks awesome. You guys eat so well around your place!! Thanks for the recipe for the zucchini pizza casserole, we are always looking for new ways to use zucchini!!

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    1. Thanks, Stoney, and you're welcome for the recipe!

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  9. Thanks for posting that zucchini pizza recipe! Definitely looks like one I'll try. Your chicken recipe looks real good too. There you go inspiring me again!

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  10. Oh my how my mouth is watering right now. I am sure you hear that every Thursday but wow. Seeing your plates give me good ideas of what I can feed my family. In these times you can't go to the store without spending a lot of money for way too little. Your plates are an awesome example of how we can grow our food at home for our families. I see some stuff I am definitely going to be growing next year. Awesome meals and thanks for including recipes.

    http://www.growitathome.wordpress.com
    Joelle

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    1. Thank you, Joelle. I'm happy to hear the posts are helpful to you.

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  11. I'm envious of your "too many tomatoes"! Ours are just babies still. And this week is forecasted to be overcast (coming week). Meals look yummy and creative as always! The zucchini casserole sounds pretty good! Everytime you post about the fortex beans i am all happy! My pole beans are coming along but no beans yet, the bush beans are actually starting to make teeny tiny beans. So happy. (and need to do a LOT of cooking b/c my fridge is STUFFED, my freezer stuffed with frozen strawberries, and then I still haven't gotten any blueberries from the upick and soonish the blackberries here will be ripe. eek!

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    1. I don't have too many tomatoes, AmyT. I don't have enough tomatoes. I need more for the canning I want to do, I just have more than the two of us can eat fresh. My garden is in a bit of a lull right now, but I need the breather. The second planting of bush beans is just about ready for picking.

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  12. When i see your photos, my tongue is zealot to check their taste. I will try to make your recipe.

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  13. Catching up on blogs this morning. Sorry to hear about Mr. Granny's friend passing away. As always your meals look absolutely delicious. I am going to use your braised chicken recipe today as I have a half chicken thawing in the fridge for Sunday dinner and that looks like it would be absolutely delicious.

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    1. Kitsap, I hope you enjoy the chicken. I make that recipe often, and sometimes double up on the gravy ingredients.

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  14. this is nice.i like your pizza recipe.there is all recipe those we need all. i like it. thank you for post it.

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    1. Umesh, you are welcome. Thank you for visiting my blog!

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