Baked Chicken Zucchini “Pasta”

Yup, it’s that time of year again. Time to savor the last few weeks of summer and then prepare to say hello to fall!

Aside from the craziness of beginning up school again, I really have no complaints about fall.

Actually, maybe one: no more in-season zucchini 😦

Bummer.

And so, with fall rapidly approaching, I wanted to post a few more summer-like recipes before moving into the fall realms of squash and pumpkins.

You win some, you lose some.

Baked Chicken Zucchini “Pasta”

Ingredients:

2 large zucchinis

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tbsp oregano

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

2 portabello mushrooms, chopped

14 oz can of fire roasted crushed tomatoes

2 eggs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella + extra for topping

1 cooked chicken breast (I use leftovers from the grill), diced

Directions:

Spiral zucchinis into “noodles,” place in a colander (with a bowl beneath the colander) and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt. Set aside for zucchinis to release water.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place oil in a deep skillet over medium-low heat and add onion, garlic, basil, oregano, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Sauté for 5-8 minutes. Add in mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes. Add in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Let cook for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, squeeze zucchini of all excess water and place in a bowl. Add in eggs, 1/2 cup cheese, and chicken and mix altogether. Once sauce in done, mix that in as well.

Pour entire mixture into a 9×13 baking dish and top with desired amount of extra cheese. Place in oven for 30 minutes. Once finished, let cool for 5 minutes to also baked pasta to set.

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Italian Eggplant Tomato “Pasta” (Paleo)

Soooo sorry, for being MIA for the last couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I’ve been having computer problems that I figured I should get fixed before my semester begins.

Actually, my computer troubles began over a year and a half ago when my laptop decided to no longer connect to the internet, unless it was right beside the router. Meaning, for the last year and a half, I’ve been blogging and doing anything requiring internet while huddled under the desktop computer desk.

Consider that a test for how much I love this blog.

Anyway, since my laptop is currently across the country, I have not had access to any of my recipes and pictures. Which has been driving me off-the-wall crazy! Now originally, the Geek Squad people told me my laptop would be back in “3-5 days.”

Currently, we’re at Day 11 of no computer (not to mention quite a few hundred more dollars for repair than predicted) 😦

Due to the delay of repair, the recipe and picture below is literally right-off the stove (har-har).

Italian Eggplant Tomato “Pasta”

Ingredients:

1 tbsp avocado oil

2 small eggplants, diced into bite-sized pieces

1/2 onion, chopped

1 sweet pepper, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 handful of fresh basil, ripped into chucks

1 tbsp dried thyme

1 tbsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

1/2 cup full-fat, canned coconut milk

10 tbsp tomato paste

3 cups fresh spinach

Zucchini

Directions: 

Heat oil in pot. Add in eggplant, onion, pepper, and garlic. Cover with pot lid and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use this time to chop tomatoes and turn zucchini into pasta “noodles.”

Add tomatoes, basil, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper to the pot and continue cooking for 15 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk and tomato paste until smooth. Add in spinach and cook until wilted.

Serve sauce over stove-heated zucchini “pasta.”

Zucchini Lasagna (Noodle-Free)

I used to have lasagna once a year. Christmas Eve at my mom-mom’s house. To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of it at the time. Or rather, I wanted to play with my cousins and open presents instead of eating. Food in general just had no appeal to me.

I don’t understand the mindset of my younger self. 

Anyway, my grocery store is getting in more zucchini and I wanted to try to establish a good relationship with lasagna by making… zucchini lasagna!

Now I can finally feel that I can relate to Garfield 😉

Zucchini Lasagna (Noodle-Free)

Ingredients:

3 medium-large zucchinis

salt

_____

1 – 1.5 lbs ground meat

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 tsp parsley

1 tsp thyme

pepper and salt

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 (28oz) can fire roasted crushed tomatoes

_______

1 (15oz) container of whole milk ricotta cheese

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

_______

2 and 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Make zucchini into noodles by either using a peeler, or carefully cutting zucchini with a knife. Lay slices on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Let sit to make zucchini “sweat.”

Brown meat in a deep skillet and then add onion, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. Add in tomatoes and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes (you want a thick sauce).

In a bowl, combine ricotta, parmesan, and egg. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 and grease a 9×13 baking dish. Remove “sweat” from zucchinis with a paper towel and use half the zucchini slices to make the first layer. Top with half of the ricotta and spread. Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella. Top again with half of the meat sauce. Repeat all layers. Once you get to the last meat sauce layer, top with the remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes before eating.

Summer Squash Chocolate Pudding (Paleo)

Recently, I’ve noticed that the number of views for my blog has gone up significantly. And all for one post: my Butternut Squash Chocolate Pudding.

As we are no longer in butternut squash season, I felt bad that people were now noticing this recipe. And so, I’ve modified my chocolate pudding so that summer squash can be used in place of the butternut squash.   

Since this pudding has been officially mom-approved, wanna guess what I’m making for Mother’s Day dessert? 🙂

Summer Squash Chocolate Pudding (Paleo)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup grated zucchini

1/4 cup nut butter

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp stevia

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to chill and thicken.

Zucchini Mash

This week has been full of new and challenging events for me. 

On Monday, I decided to go on a bike ride to celebrate the finish of my summer classes. Two minutes into the ride, my front tire hit a pipe hole that was left uncapped. As a result, I did a flip over the handlebars and got some nice road rash and bruises all up my body. My wrist also hurt a bit. But because I’m stubborn, I refused to go to the doctors.

Fast forward to later that night and I had a painful and swollen hand that I could barely move 😦

I gave in and went to the hospital the next night… and left with a bulky cast that I now have to sport for the next 6-10 weeks!

And just in time for vacation too.

Guess I can now say I’ve broken a bone! 

So, this week I’ve realized just how much I rely on 2 functioning hands. Who knew opening a lid, buttoning pants, washing a dish, and packing a bag could be so difficult? 

Making food has also become challenging for me. HOWEVER, with the help of my food processor, I was able to make this zucchini mash 🙂 

I’m thinking simple recipes are going to become a theme for my blog for the next few weeks…

Zucchini Mash 

Ingredients: 

Zucchini, coined  

1/4 cup plain yogurt

salt and pepper 

1/2 tbsp garlic powder 

1/2 tbsp onion powder

1/2 tbsp chili powder 

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded 

Directions: 

Place zucchini in a food processor and pulse until in small pieces (stop before it becomes mush!). Let sit for 5 minutes and then drain out excess water. Transfer 2 cups of zucchini to a pot and add yogurt and spices. Cook on low for 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Mix in mozzarella cheese before serving.