Tuna rice salad

 Nice cold summer dish 😃 — found it here https://www.healthylittlefoodies.com/wprm_print/14392

Nice served with homemade focaccia bread!

I do like Italian dressing on this as well. Go to link for the directions. Here are the ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1½ Cups (300g) White Long Grain Rice (equivalent of 4.5 cups of cooked rice)
• 2¼ Cups (560ml) Water

Dressing

• 3½ tbsp Lemon juice ,freshly squeezed
• ⅓ Cup (80ml) Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3 tsp Dijon Mustard
• ¼ tsp Lemon Zest
• Salt and pepper to taste

Salad

• 1 Red Capsicum / Bell Pepper ,finely diced
• ½ Small Red Onion ,finely chopped
• 1 cup (135g) Frozen Sweetcorn
• 10 Cherry Tomatoes ,quartered
• 1 Persian Cucumber (or ½ English Cucumber) ,seeded and diced
• 10 Olives ,pitted and chopped
• 3 tbsp Parsley (fresh) ,finely chopped
• 2 x 145g - 185g (4-6oz) Canned Tuna ,drained

Zucchini brownies gf

 Extremely moist and easy. Found the idea here but made mine with gf flour. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/277062/vegan-zucchini-brownies/?printview

Ingredients

• cooking spray 
• 1 cup white sugar 
• ½ cup brown sugar 
• ½ cup olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour  (for gf I used King Arthur measure for measure gf flour plus 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum)
• ½ cup cocoa powder (such as Hershey's®) 
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 3 cups shredded zucchini 
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips or regular chips
  

  Directions

  Instructions Checklist

  • Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9-inch square pan with cooking spray.

  • Step 2

    Combine sugar, brown sugar, and olive oil in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Mix in vanilla extract. Add gluten free flour and xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined. (Mixture will be dry).

  • Step 3

    Add zucchini and mix with a spoon until incorporated. Allow to sit for 5 minutes until mixture becomes more wet. Stir in vegan chocolate chips. Transfer batter to the prepared pan.

  • Step 4

    Bake in the preheated oven until top is dry and edges have started to pull away from the sides of the pan, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

  
  

  
  
  

Zucchini lasagna

 Delicious but I did cook it way longer than the 40 minutes. Pictured above is how it looked at 40 minutes, but I let it cool for 30 minutes and realized the zucchini was not done....the zucchini was too rubbery so I cooked it about another 40 minutes and it was perfect. This would not work if you had the mozzarella on top at the start of cooking. I used a smaller amount and placed it all in my 7 by 9 pan. But the full ingredients are below.

I found  the recipe here: https://fourseasonsofautumn.com/wprm_print/14048

Go to link for all the directions. Here are the ingredients:

• 3 Zucchini Sliced thin with a Mandolin (used favorite knife)
• 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese ( used just a tad of cheddar as I was out of mozzarella)
• 1/2 cup Fresh Basil Leaves (used most of this in the filling below for a total of 1 cup)
• 2-3 cups Homemade or Jared Pasta Sauce 
• 2-3 sheets No-Boil Lasagna Noodles *Optional (omitted)

Ricotta Cheese Mixture 

• 3 cups Ricotta Cheese (me cottage cheese)
• 1 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan 
• 1 tbsp Fresh or Dried Oregano 
• 1 tbsp Fresh or Dried Thyme 
• 1/2 cup Freshly chopped basil (used a cup 😋)
• 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes 
• 1/2 cup Freshly Chopped Parsley 
• 6 cloves Garlic - Minced or Grated 
• 1 tsp Salt 
• 1 tsp Pepper

Go to link for directions 

Zucchini fries

 https://www.krazykitchenmom.com/baked-parmesan-zucchini-fries/

 Very yummy -/ nice snacking ! Recipe found at link above. 

Note: I just mix everything in my large bowl and when cooking I flip it after 15 minutes and cook another 5. 

Here are the ingredients, but I left out the pepper 

Ingredients 

• 2-3 zucchinis - spiralized or sliced thin
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Go to link for directions 

Gf eggplant dish

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise ( I used less)
• 1 teaspoon onion powder 
• 1 lb unpeeled eggplant sliced-about 12 (½ inch slices)
• ⅓ cup fine dry gluten-free breadcrumbs (fine ground)
• ⅓ cup fresh grated parm
• ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• Salt

Optional:if making casserole 

• Marinara - about a jar and a 1/2
• Cheese :mozzarella or cheddar and more Parmesan 
• 
  
• 
  

Directions 

Slice and salt both sides of eggplant and place in a colander in the sink for 1 hour.

Pat slices dry, squeezing them between paper towels.

Mix your bread crumbs, onion powder, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with mayonnaise and dip both sides in the crumb mixture. Place on greased pan (not an air bake one). You can spray the tops with olive oil spray after breading if desired.

Bake in preheated oven 425 for 12 minutes turning and cooking another 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Then after cooking eggplant if doing casserole—

Assemble in a small pan -like 7 by 9 starting with sauce, eggplant, cheeses, sauce, eggplant cheeses, sauce and cheeses and bake at 375 about 20 minutes until cheese melts and sauce is hot.

Gf focaccia bread

 

This recipe is fantastic. My husband has been making regular Focaccia bread and I have found a great gluten free version. It is WONDERFUL!!! A different recipe here : https://www.onelovelylife.com/gluten-free-focaccia-with-rosemary/

The full recipe can be found here https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/wprm_print/11891

Or here https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/gluten-free-focaccia/#recipe

Here are the ingredients, but go to the link for the details 

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 ½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour with xanthan gum— I used King Arthur measure for measure gf flour and added 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum ( which I may not have needed to do?)
• ▢ 1 packet rapid yeast/instant yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons of rapid yeast/instant yeast
• ▢ 1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
• ▢ 2 cups warm water (110°-115°) (heat 30-45 seconds in the microwave)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon honey Vegan use granulated sugar.
• ▢ 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ▢ ½ cup olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil (for greasing the pan and for the top of the bread)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary You can use your favorite herb in place of the rosemary. I really like a combination of garlic powder and an Italian seasoning blend too

NOTE: I used sliced black olives to push in the holes. After finished cooking I also sprinkled some Parmesan  cheese.

It is great served with the sun dried tomato pesto— better than pizza!! 

Corn chowder

 Nice summer soup

Ingredients 

1 cup chopped carrots 

1 cup chopped celery

1 large onion chopped 

1 large potato chopped

1 can chicken broth — 15 ounces 

1 package frozen corn around 10 ounces

1 can creamed corn

1 cup milk

2 and 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions 

In large soup pot sauté onions, celery and carrots for 5-10 minutes until onions start getting tender. Add broth and potatoes and cover cooking 15 minutes. If veggies are pretty tender add frozen corn and creamed corn. Let them get hot. Meanwhile mix cornstarch and milk together. When veggies are done add the milk mixture to the pot stirring until thickened. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Zucchini black bean bowl

 Easy and tasty- takes 10 minutes 

For one serving:

1/2 medium zucchini 

3/4 to a cup of black beans

1/2 to 3/4 cup  cooked corn

Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and pepper 

Fresh basil

Parmigiana 

Directions 

You can really just use the amounts you desire as the above is a rough estimate.  Chop the zucchini in small bite sized pieces and cook with garlic  and sprinkled with Italian seasoning in an iron skillet about 3-4 minutes until just crisp tender. Nice to have zucchini a bit on the crunchy side. Add in the beans and corn heating 2 minutes or until just warm. Serve in a bowl and season with salt and pepper if desired. Add in chopped fresh basil and parmigiana.

Zucchini pasta sautéed

 For one serving

Spiralize one small zucchini 

Handful of cherry tomatoes 

Teaspoon minced garlic

Italian seasoning 

Meatballs in a bit of marinara 

Parmigiana 

Fresh basil 

Directions 

Heat iron skillet and sauté the zucchini which has been freshly spiralized. I didn’t need oil except a spritz. Add garlic and seasonings and tomatoes sliced. Once warm serve with some meatballs and parmigiana. Add fresh basil.

Sweet potatoes roasted

The above photo is more caramelized— cooked at 425 f for 40 minutes but microwaved 2 minutes prior to make cutting easier 

 Easy — if you cook them longer than I did they will caramelize more. Makes a super sweet potato!!

Ingredients 

Potatoes

Olive oil salt

Dried thyme 

Parchment paper

Directions 

Preheat oven to 400F

Place parchment on pan.

Cut potatoes in half leaving skins on.

Brush both sides with olive oil. On the skinless side sprinkle salt and dried thyme. Turn them face down on the parchment. 

Cook 40-45 minutes or until caramelized if desired.

Note : to make them easier to cut before cooking you can microwave them for a minute.

Squash soup

 Nice tasty soup with summer squash on a rainy day 😀

• 1 lbs. ground beef OR ground vegan crumbles
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 shallot or 2 green onions sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 zucchini cubed to bite size
• 1 summer squash cubed to bite size
• 1-2 yellow  or red or green bell pepper cubed to bite size
• 1/2 sweet onion
• 4 small red potatoes chopped with skin left on
• salt and pepper to taste
• Parmesan cheese and fresh basil (optional) for garnish

DIRECTIONS 

Brown onion ,garlic, bell peppers,and meat or vegan crumbles in large pot using a bit of olive oil if needed.

Add all other ingredients except for parmigiana and fresh basil. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until veggies are done. Can serve with the added parmigiana and basil if desired.

Zucchini corn cheese casserole

 Super yummy. Idea from https://pinchofyum.com/sweet-corn-zucchini-pie

Go to above link for original recipe. The recipe called for pie dish but I did it in my square casserole.

What I used:

1 and 1/2 to two tablespoons butter

1/2 large onion

Cup frozen corn

4 cups chopped zucchini 

4 and 1/2 ounces chopped mushrooms from a can

1 tablespoon dried basil 

1/2 teaspoons dried oregano 

4 eggs

7 ounces cheese- used combo mozzarella and sharp cheddar 

directions

In large iron skillet melt butter and toss in zucchini, onion,and cook till almost tender medium high heat. Add corn and mushrooms cooking till tender (total cooking time about 10-15 minutes)

Meanwhile-Preheat oven 375. Beat eggs, seasonings, and chopped cheese.

Pull pan from heat and let cool a few minutes. Grease pan . Mix veggies with egg cheese mixture and pour into prepared pan. I actually pored veggies into prepared pan and then mixed the egg cheese mixture into it.

 Bake covered about 25-30 minutes until it looks set. Uncover and cook 5-12 minutes or until edges start to brown. Cool a bit before slicing or spooning 😜

Veggie pasta sauce with zucchini

Above photo before blending.

 The original recipe which calls for cream cheese with the veggies can be found here https://elavegan.com/veggie-pasta-sauce/#recipe

 I used cottage cheese instead of the cream cheese and I did 2 versions -/ one for hubby with tomatoes and one Gf one for me without the tomatoes. 

2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used fresh plum tomatoes- Roma)

1 and 1/2 cups chopped zucchini 

2 minced cloves of garlic

1 small onion chopped

1 cup bell pepper chopped ( I had orange and yellow ones)

1/2 teaspoon Italian spice blend

1/2 cup vegetable broth

5.3 ounces of cream cheese ( I used cottage cheese)

Salt and pepper if desired

Fresh basil and cooked pasta of choice

Directions- basically you mix all ingredients but not the pasta or basil and bake at 390 F.  I cooked mine for about 40 minutes then blended and served on pasta with fresh basil. The recipe just called for 22 minutes and letting the cream cheese brown. But it depends how big your veggie chunks are— you can leave some not blended  mixed in with blended as I did in the first photo— all depending on how you like. I also added a bit of parmigiana when serving.

Go to link for more details.

Yes and I still had more zucchini 😂 I did 2 recipes and actually used 2 cups of chopped squash in both recipes and still had some of this big guy left!! Was wonderful fresh squash!